thanksgiving isn’t complete without getting shouted at and disrespected by your uncle’s freak brother! good times!

Where I Need to Be

 had just pulled into the clubhouse after returning from New York to see how everyone’s been. It’s been six months since my parents passed away, and I was feeling particularly down about it. I wanted to stop by to check in on the boys, but more specifically, I wanted to see how Teller was doing. Even though we weren’t dating the whole time I was in NY, I was hoping to spend some time with him dor the few days I was in Charming. When I wheeled into the clubhouse, it was wrecked. They must have had some hell of a party. I made my way past all the garbage, hung over hang-arounds, and knocked on the dorm door. Receiving no answer, I gently pushed it open.

There, I saw my best friend in bed, lighting a cigarette. I looked over to the bathroom and saw Ima standing in the doorway, tits out, with a smile playing on her lips. “Good morning,” she smirked. I looked back at Jax, and I felt the room start to spin. I felt nauseous and dizzy, but of all things, I felt like I was in the right place at the wrong time.

“Well, I’ll leave you guys to whatever it is you were doing,” I said. I meant to simply shut the door, but I put a little too much mustard on it and slammed it instead. I didn’t care, though; I just rolled back out to the bar where Tig was.

“Well, hello there, babydoll; good to see you,” he looked like shit, but Tig usually did when he was surrounded by a dozen Coronoa’s at 1 PM on a Wednesday.

“Hey, Tiggy.”

“What are you drinking, doll face?” he asked, brushing off the table, clearing it of cigarette buts, ashes, peanut shells, and some mysterious fluids I hoped were spilled beer.

“Coke with lime, please,” I smiled and rolled up to the table.

“Did you know Jax was with Ima?” I asked curiously as Tig reached over the bar to grab my drink from the mini-fridge.

“What? He was?”  Tig was a shit liar, and I heard it in his tone before I even had to look in his eyes.

“He did what?” Donna shouted from behind us. I didn’t even know she was there, nor did I hear her come in.

“Yup. I walked into the aftermath a few minutes ago. I opened the door to the dorm room, and there they were.”

“Damn. I’m sorry, bestie,” Donna sat down beside me, “I guess I knew too. Opie said something about it last night, but there was alcohol involved, and I thought he was just talking nonsense. That’s usually all he ever finds at the bottom of the bottle.”

“Well, we all know what Jax found at the bottom of his bottle,” I quipped, “And if you go look, I bet you she’s still in his room getting dressed.”

“Are you okay?” Donna whispered in my ear.

I rested my head on her shoulder. “No, not really,” I whispered back.

Just then, Ima came walking down the hall with the smuggest of smiles. If I could have lept out of my wheelchair to kick her ass, I would have. I think Donna wanted to beat her ass too, but for the sake of keeping it civil, at least for the moment, she just glanced at her with the devil’s eyes.

“If looks could kill,” I heard one of the boys say from the half-packed clubhouse.

I had no right to be angry. We aren’t together anymore, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sting a little. I don’t know what I expected out of him either; I mean, just because I wasn’t out and about spreading my legs didn’t mean he couldn’t do what he did with— with her. Even thinking her name made me want to throw up in my mouth.

“We could go slash her tires,” Donna whispered.

“Hey, let’s fight nicely, ladies. Keep it to hair pulling and slapping,” Tig winked. “I can get the kiddie pool out of the storage shed, and we can fill it with Jello or pudding, your choice.”

“You’re gross. Has anyone ever told you that?” Donna winced.

“Not today, but it’s early,” Tig blew her a kiss and then went back to his own little world, letting us to our conversation.

“Donna, we aren’t together. He can sleep with whoever he wants,” I dipped my finger into my soda and stirred it around, a clear sign I was feeling overly anxious about the whole ordeal.

“I know, but it’s Ima. He knows better than this,” Donna said. “I love Jax, and I don’t think this was personal, but you really got to think, sweetheart—”

“What’s that?” I asked, sipping my drink.

“He could have any girl, and the ones he can’t have, he could probably find a way to get. Why Ima? Why did he fuck the only one that you’d give a shit about?”

That was true; it did really hurt, but at the same time, I don’t think I would have liked to walk in on him with anyone. I was perfectly fine with the illusion that neither of us was hooking up with anyone else, but I wasn’t ready to do the math right now.

 A few minutes later, Opie walked back the hall, I’m guessing to get Jax. They were only gone a moment before they both came out. Jax looked like he had just gotten out of the shower, and Opie gave Donna and me a little side-eye. I couldn’t tell if he was saying, ‘Have at it’ or ‘Go easy on him,’ but the truth was, I wasn’t looking for a fight. Jax came over and pulled a chair up between Donna and me and sat on it backward like all the teenagers do. He had a shameful, disgusted look on his face, but I couldn’t tell if it was because he felt guilty or if it was the fact that I caught him in the act.

“Hey, how have—”

SLAP!

 Without missing a beat, Donna whacked him upside his head. “Please, for the love of all that’s holy, Teller, tell me you put a hat on little Jax before you jumped into that cesspool,” she said loud enough to garner a look and a scoff from Ima, who was now sitting with two prospects.

“Ow! Christ, Donna! I was horny, I didn’t have a death wish!” he responded. Ima heard that, too, and her mouth dropped to the floor. It was funny, and I smirked, but I didn’t laugh.

Jax looked up at me with those puppy dog eyes and a disappointed look on his face. “Sorry, you walked in on that. Everyone was drinking last night, and honestly, it was a hole in the dark before I realized who it was. Not that it makes it right, but I don’t want you thinking there was a deeper meaning behind it.”

I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse. Just a hole in the dark? Maybe guys just go through it differently than girls. Although, I knew Jax long enough to know when he was full of shit, and this was not one of those times. “Hey, we’re not together anymore. You can sleep with whoever you want.”

Next thing I knew, the two prospects sitting with the queen of the crows had started fist-fighting each other, a scuffle fueled by Ima, no less. Needless to say, Jax had to deal with it, and that was pretty much it.

Later on that evening, I ended up at Jax’s place. I don’t really remember how I got here, but it started with heading out to the park with Donna and Ope. They got hungry so we stopped for burgers, and low and behold, I now found myself sitting on Jax’s porch. Ope had a surprise for Donna and said I could go along if I wanted, but I didn’t want to be a third wheel. Plus, I think they kind of wanted to get Jax and me together to talk about what happened earlier. These two red birds showed up shortly after I got here, and I’ve been infatuated with them while I replayed the past few months in my head. 

“You’re the only face I see,” Teller said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“Huh?” I said, confused.

“When I’m with someone, you’re the only face I see,” he clarified. “I need you here. This is where you need to be!”

I just rolled my eyes, “Yeah, I’m sure.” I started to lead my chair inside, and he followed right behind, helping me get my wheels over the door ledge. “I can do it, but thanks.”

“I’m not even going to try to explain myself because I already said what it was. I was drunk and stupid, and she was willing and easy.”

“I get it. You don’t need to say shit, really. You’re a big boy, and you can do big-boy stuff with whoever you want. I’m not sure if it would have made a difference, but I just can’t bear the fact that it was Ima. Fuckin Ima, Jax! Maybe I don’t want to see you fucking anybody, or maybe I just don’t want to see you fucking anybody but me, but of all the crows in the nest you got with Ima!” I yelled. I can’t believe I just told him I didn’t want to see him fuck anyone but me.

Before I knew it, he had my face sandwiched between in his hand, and he was kissing me like we were the lead roles in a romance movie, and this was our big, sappy ending. In the heat of the moment, I dug my fingers into the chest of his shirt and ripped it off his body.

“I’ll buy you a new shirt, I promise.”

“I don’t care about the damn shirt!” he said, helping me out of my pants.

A little while later, we were both lying on the floor, all cuddled up. I gently scratched his beard as he smiled and kissed my forehead. He was right; this is where I needed to be.

Mock Trial (fmaa2)

***

We have seen what the Creepypasta Squad were up to, so it is about time we explained where the JR trio has gone.

As I explained in earlier one-shots, Dream is a lawyer but as a workaholic he decided that he was not suffering enough and is also a teacher.

Ink and Finch are both students of Dream even though Ink and Dream see each other as friends more than anything, Ink is in his latest year.

***

Warnings: Triggered PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Synopsis: Dream ignored the commotion created by the topic and continued. “I will send you all the details about the mock trial and the fake evidence that would be used during it. Only a handful of you would be able to participate and I trust that you will settle this matter among yourselves.”

Then, he glanced at Finch with a hint of worry. “Also, you are totally entitled to choose not to participate if you feel strongly about the topic.”

***

“We’ll be having a mock trial next week.” Dream announced at the end of the class, gathering his papers. “The topic would be quite the difficult subject as it involves modern slavery.”

A few groaned at that. “What?! That is the most complex one! There are so many topics, of all of them, why this one?”

Finch, however, seemed to be glued to his words; hands curled into fists that rested on the desk as he stared into the teacher. He had been waiting for this, taking this kind of case was why he went for a law degree in the first place.

He noticed his fist shaking and he frowned at them, holding one with the other.

That is what he was here for, he could take it just fine.

Dream ignored the commotion created by the topic and continued. “I will send you all the details about the mock trial and the fake evidence that would be used during it. Only a handful of you would be able to participate and I trust that you will settle this matter among yourselves.”

Then, he glanced at Finch with a hint of worry. “Also, you are totally entitled to choose not to participate if you feel strongly about the topic.”

He turned back toward the rest of the class, the student pretending not to have noticed the staring. “If you have any questions, you are free to ask me while I’m still here, we have quite some time before the bell rings.”

Used to Finch always bombarding the professor with questions, the other students crossed their arms, waiting for Dream’s usual ‘Yes, Finch?’

However, it never came.

“Very well, you are free to leave then.” Dream dismissed them, a handful of people turning a wide-eyed face toward Finch, who did his best to ignore the stares.

It was fine, perfectly fine.

***

Finch was just on his way to get lunch when he suddenly overheard a conversation between other students. “Professor Von Licht’s comment was definitely directed at Finch.” One of them stated with disdain, causing Finch to freeze.

“Well, duh!” The other one replied, rolling their eyes. “He was definitely looking at him when he said that. Cannot see the point by the way, it is just a mock trial, it’s no big deal. Does he think he is some sort of baby or something?”

“I think it is more because Professor von Licht so obviously favors Finch. I mean seriously, he might as well be his secret child or some shit at this point!” Said one stood around the corner, hidden as he held onto his wallet a bit tighter.

“Yeah, he is definitely showing bias toward him. Hey, do you think that is why he has such good grades?”

“Now that you say it, yes! I knew that no one could get those without cheating in some type of way.” Finch was so busy listening to their conversation that he did not even notice a figure walking past him straight toward the group.

“Could you guys shut the fuck up?” A wild Ink butted in, looking annoyed. “I was trying to enjoy my lunch. Besides, I don’t think you should be talking shit about people behind their back, that’s a coward move.”

One of the students narrowed their eyes on him. “It’s none of your business. Who are you anyway?”

“You guys are talking louder than a wailing toddler so yes; it is my business. If you didn’t want anyone to butt in, then maybe you should have considered lowering your voice.” Ink rolled his eyes, one of his fists resting on his hip. “As for who I am, someone better, obviously.”

The man of the group raised his voice. “Why you--”

Before one of his companions grabbed his arm, hissing. “Stop it, Nathaniel.” She glanced back at the shorter one. “It’s Ink.”

Realization seemed to creep up and he finally gritted his teeth, letting out an aggressive ‘whatever!’ before his group walked away.

Finch flinched as the older man snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Oh uh, yes? Do you need anything?”

“Are you that Finch guy they were talking about?” He asked, crossing his arms around his chest, a sketchbook tucked under his elbow.

“I am.” He confirmed, looking down, slightly awkward.

“Next time you hear them talking shit, you should punt them in the face. Would save me the effort of shutting them up myself.” Was all he said before he walked away, not leaving Finch the time to respond.

Well, that was... an interesting encounter.

***

Today was the day.

Finch walked to the establishment as he usually would, additional bags under his eyes. He was not one with healthy sleeping habits to begin with but the anxiety excitement of seeing the sun rise today was just one additional factor as to why he had to ignore sleep.

After some convincing with his classmates, he managed to get the role of the plaintiff, the role he would hopefully be playing in the future when he graduated.

The only difference is that this time, there would be real victims counting on him to get them out of here.

He shook his head to get the thought out of his head before stepping into the auditorium.

Since it was quite early, Finch was not surprised to see that no one had arrived yet. After all, he did always make a point to be in class at least twenty minutes before the actual class started while the others would be busy trying to avoid looking at the clock.

He could not really blame them though, some of them looked like they were forced to be here.

Normally, the empty room would have given him peace of mind, the calm atmosphere working wonders on his soul. But today, it seemed like it was doing the opposite.

He tapped his finger onto the bar stool, hoping to distract himself from his tight chest with the noise. Seeing that it did little to relieve him, he opened his bag and took out the files that the professor had sent them all about the trial they would be playing for.

He swept his gaze over the details for the millionth time, muttering the information under his breath before they could be taken in by his irises. He had already memorized the whole case.

That meant he was prepared for it academically.

Finch just hoped that his mental state would follow that example.

“Well damn, you really are a mini Teach.” A voice interrupted his train of thoughts, jolting him away from his daydreaming. He looked around him, but the room was as empty as he had noticed before.

He frowned. “Who is there?”

“Look up, loser.” Looking up he did, and Finch almost choked on air as he recognized the man from before hanging by his legs from the lights.

“What the—How did you even--” Finch stumbled on his words before he shook his head, gaining back his composure. “You should get down from there, you might fall.”

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes before he jumped down, somehow making a perfect landing. He crossed his arms behind his head before he started walking away.

Again, Finch ended up all alone with this time even more questions than before.

Ha vaguely wondered if he should be used to this.

***

Before long, the bell rang, and students came flooding into the auditoriums. Most simply ignored Finch being there early, which had been the norm, before they all sat down in their usual seats.

It did not take long for most of them to notice the special arrangements in the middle of the room.

“Greetings everyone.” Dream walked into the room, causing most of the student body to stand up. The teacher smiled before quietly motioning for them to sit down. The first ten minutes of the class were spent like a regular one before Dream finally decided to start the mock trial.

“Have you all chosen the participants?” At the affirmative response he got, he walked toward what could be assumed to be the judge’s seat, sitting down on the chair.

“Can the plaintiff, the defendant and the jury take their seats then?” A few students stood up and walked over to the miniature courtroom, sitting down. Dream’s eyes held a glint of concern as he noticed Finch taking a seat, but it quickly disappeared to his usual stoic expression.

“We may begin then.” A religious silence swept over the room. Dream turned toward the student playing the baliff at his side, who nodded before turning toward the audience.

“Please rise.” The players stood up as requested. “The Court of the Second Judicial Circuit, Criminal Division, is now in session, the Honorable Judge Dream presiding.”

Dream smiled encouragingly.

“Do you solemnly, sincerely, and truly affirm and declare that you will conscientiously try the charges against the Defendant, and you will decide them according to the evidence. You will also not disclose anything about the Jury's deliberation other than as required by law.”

***

He should have been ready.

He should have been.

His hands were trembling on the table as they had entered the cross-examination stage of the trial.

“He said he would hit me if I didn’t cooperate.” His classmate stated before they suddenly began to blur, their figure overlapping with one much shorter than they were.

‘She’ looked over to a younger Dream, who was sitting across from ‘her’ in panic as ‘she’ desperately fought off the urge to cry. He gave ‘her’ an encouraging smile. ‘She’ took a deep breath, imagining ‘she’ was just speaking to Dream and counting ‘her’ story.

“So, I listened...” ‘Her’ voice shook but ‘she’ tried not to let it get to ‘her, gulping down before starting again. “But after I completed the task, he got mad at me and--”

‘She’ was starting to feel ‘herself’ back into that horrendous room, ‘she’ never wanted to go back there ever again. “And he took my eye-”

A desk slam made ‘her’ flinch as ‘she’ looked up toward the noise. ‘Her’ eyes widened as ‘she’ met the furious gaze of the man ‘she’ feared the most.

“You ungrateful brat!” He screamed, ‘her’ ears ringing. “You would have been on the streets if it weren’t for me!” He leaped toward ‘her’ earning a terrified scream from the child. The officers who have been stationed there jumped into action, their hands in the air as they tried to reason with the furious man.

Meanwhile, the baliff called order to the court on top of the chaos, Dream having rushed to Finch’s side to calm ‘her’ down.

“Hey Finch, why did you not object there? That was totally a hearsay!” The person next to him exclaimed, looking annoyed. At the lack of a response from the other, they turned around, only to notice his violent shaking and irregular breaths. “Uh Finch? Are you all right, dude?”

Dream took notice of that, and his eyes hardened as he stood up from the judge’s seat. “Everyone, please stay in your seat. I will be right back.” He walked over to Finch and led him away under the questioning looks of his classmates.

‘She’ sniffled as ‘she’ held onto Dream’s hand for dear life, wiping at ‘her’ tears as the noise gradually subsided. While he might have been out of view and reach now, ‘she’ could still hear him threatening to kill ‘her’ in ‘her’ head.

‘Her’ missing eye felt like it was burning.

‘Her’ breath sped up as ‘her’ sobs got louder, ‘her’ ears ringing again with the sound of ‘her’ own screams destroying ‘her’ earbuds as ‘she’ remembered getting pinned to the ground, a figure growling as sharp pain made itself known through ‘her ‘eye.

‘She’ was going to die here.

“...ch!”

‘She’ could feel the darkness staring into ‘her’, ready to swallow ‘her’ whole and leave nothing behind.

“...Inch!”

It hurt, it hurt so--

“Finch!”

He jolted awake, vision blurry and breathing haggard. Meeting Dream’s concerned eyes, he tried to say something only for his voice to be caught in his throat, choking as he felt his head spinning from the lack of oxygen.

“Finch, I need you to copy what I’m doing, alright?” Finch nodded to show he was paying attention and Dream began to inhale exaggeratingly before holding his breath. Dream kept going for a while, waiting for Finch to follow his lead.

It was tough at the beginning, but he eventually calmed down enough to breathe properly, sniffing ever so slightly. The older one handed him a tissue and he gladly accepted it, wiping at the tears he had not noticed had the time to fall.

He sucked in a deep breath before he lowered his head. “I’m sorry.” He choked out after a few tries, almost getting sent right back to bawling town.

Dream frowned. “What are you sorry for?”

“I’ve ruined the trial.” He said, his shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry sir, I don’t know why I’m like this.”

Dream shook his head before he cupped Finch’s cheek and made him look toward him. “The only person you need to apologize to is yourself for not respecting your own boundaries.”

He opened his mouth to protest. “But-”

“I know that helping others out of forced labor is your final goal.” Dream declared, cutting him off. “It is quite a noble one and I do encourage you to pursue it. However, there is no way you can help anyone lost at sea when you are drowning yourself.”

Finch stayed silent at that before he looked down again. “Am I... ever going to ready to do this?” Uncertainty was laced in his voice.

“Yes.” Dream responded with confidence. “You will, but first you’re going to need to help yourself first.”

“Are you sure? I mean today was a disa--” Dream held up one of his hands and he cut himself off again.

“We have hundreds of students in the same class, and you still have a few years before you finish your studies.” He stood up, extending a hand to help Finch up too. He did not even notice they were sitting in the first place. “There would be other mock trials, and there would be plenty more opportunities for you to practice.”

Finch took his hand and stood up as well.

“But you can only take advantage of said opportunities if you are healed enough to. I might sound like a hypocrite, but health must be your priority and that includes mental health as well.” Finch nodded.

“I understand.” Dream smiled in response.

“Very well, in that case, let us go back. I would also have to ask you to step down from this mock trial for now and let someone else do it.”

Finch wanted to protest but it was for the best, so he nodded anyway.

“I’m sorry...” ‘She’ sobbed against Dream’s chest, clutching onto the front of his shirt. The latter petted ‘her’ head as ‘she’ buried ‘herself’ in his embrace.

“There’s nothing you need to be sorry for.” He attempted to soothe ‘her,’ voice gentle. “You did the right thing; you were very brave to come testify yourself. I am proud of you Finch.”

Do You Believe in Magic?

AYO second day in a row can you believe it? I come with more content.

Fics Masterlist

Wallynette Oneshot 3.1K words (no warnings apply) Summary: “What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?”

without further ado:

“That’s ridiculous!” He was pacing back and forth, arms waving in the air to compliment his theatrics. “Magic shouldn’t be able to do that, it defies all logic!”

“That’s the point! Magic exists outside of logical reasoning!” The shorter girl was equally as furious, standing in place and growing redder by the minute.

“Nothing exists outside of logical reasoning! Everything can easily be explained with science.” The redhead had paused his pacing to stare down the noirette before him. He was uncaring of his volume, ignorant to how his voice echoed in the large cave. “Your Lucky Charm is nothing more than transdimensional materialisation. An already pre-existing object is broken down into subatomic particles and rearranged at your location.”

“Are you really trying to tell me how my own Lucky Charm works?” She had sounded absolutely livid at the assumption. And Dick had to agree with her. Wally was in no position to tell her how her own powers worked. Before he could interject the screaming match between his two best friends, she was going off again. “And are you really trying to tell me that somewhere in the world existed a red and black-spotted doughnut just waiting to be used? That when Antibug was around a ladybug patterned flamethrower was just lying somewhere?”

“Oh please, there are plenty of flamethrowers all over the world and they probably only appeared ladybug themed due to shifts in light refraction.” He had stopped waving his arms around and crossed them in front of his chest. He was standing in her space now, leering over her trying to be imposing. “Simple fact is magic. Isn’t. Real.”

“You can run faster than the speed of sound! If you really think it was your precious science that saved you after willingly striking yourself with lightning in hopes of tapping into a cross-dimensional ‘speed-force,’ then you’re dumber than I thought.” She had gotten even closer now, pressing a finger into his chest and pushing him back.

“Are they still at this?” Kaldur had walked up beside Dick with two soda cans, silently offering him one. His voice sounded tired, visibly annoyed at the constant bickering.

“An hour and counting,” he sighs. The sounds of their bickering slowly faded into background noise. “For today at least. But they’ve been butting heads ever since she’s joined the team. Kinda exhausting.”

Marinette, a.k.a Ladybug, had joined the team after Wonder Woman deemed Paris officially safe from any more magical mayhem. While the rest of Paris’s heroes chose to retire and preserve the rest of their teen years, Marinette did not have that option. Magical Guardian and all. The JLE welcomed her with open arms and Wonder Woman decided to introduce her to the Team. She got along great with M'gann, the two could almost always be found baking or exchanging recipes in the cave’s kitchen and they, plus Artemis, went on frequent shopping trips. Conner saw her as a little sister, which was unexpected but it probably had to do with the fact she was a whole foot shorter and he had natural instincts to protect those who looked meek. She was anything but meek but first impressions were a damning thing sometimes. Marinette was Kaldur’s biggest supporter, always ready to back him up when it came to tough Team related decisions, something born from her own experience as a leader. The two understood each other the best. She also related to Dick on the importance of secret identities and while the Team still only knows him as Robin, she was the only one who never pestered him on it, respecting the lengths he would go to for the sake of anonymity.

Wally was the only one the newest member clashed with. Magic skeptic, meet magic connoisseur. Unstoppable force, meet immovable object. They almost never agreed on anything. Every time the two were left alone for more than two minutes it evolved into a screaming match. Wally was insistent on pushing all of Marinette’s buttons and she was always eager to defend herself and magic as a whole. Her rather short fuse didn’t make matters any better. It hadn’t affected missions, arguments reserved for the safety of the cave, but it was only a matter of time before that became an actual issue. He voiced as much to Kaldur who agreed with only a contemplative nod.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s moments like these where Kaldur hated when Robin was right. At least he was on another mission with Batman so he didn’t have to bear witness to this fiasco.

The Team was currently in Louisiana investigating the disappearance of Dr. Kent Nelson, better known as Dr. Fate, the Sorcerer Supreme. And Wally was being argumentative with Marinette while simultaneously trying to impress M'gann. It had put Artemis on edge and she kept taking jabs at him whenever an opportunity arose. And even when one didn’t.

They had just barely escaped the pit above lava, standing above the cool platform.

“Don’t worry, Megalicious,” Wally had moved to support M'gann, throwing an arm above her shoulders, drawing her into his side. “I’ve got you.”

“Enough!” Artemis had cut in between the two of them, pushing Wally away from the Martian, her frustration palpable even from where Kaldur was standing. “Your little ‘Impress Megan at all costs’ game nearly got us all barbecued.”

“When did this become my fault?”

“When you lied to that whatever it was and called yourself a true believer.”

“Wally, you don’t believe?” M'gann sounded hurt at that. Wally looked across the room, before coming to a silent conclusion.

“Fine, fine! I lied about believing in magic. But magic is the real lie, a major load.”

“I can’t believe you’re still on that.” Marinette, who had remained silent before, finally entered the conversation, ready to defend her craft. “We just fell over five hundred feet below ground into an almost fiery death and you still don’t believe it? Was the magically appearing Tower not enough? Or the fact that our feet are not being scorched right now?”

Wanting to put an end to this conversation, Kaldur said his piece.

“Wally, I have studied for a year at the Conservatory of Sorcery in Atlantis.” He had crouched down, rubbing the surface of the floor. “The mystic arts created the skin icons that power my water bearers.”

“Dude, have you ever heard of bioelectricity? Hey in primitive cultures fire was once considered magical too. Today it’s all just a bunch of tricks.”

“What I do is not a trick. Do you really think destroying the Eiffel Tower, and putting it back in place is just some trick? Or how about when an old akuma was able to control the weather and created a volcano in the middle of Paris? Were those all tricks too? Were the casualties just results of things that don’t exist?” Marinette was becoming increasingly agitated as her rant went on. M'gann moved to comfort her, embracing her slightly.

“Don’t put words in my mouth! I never said the lives lost weren’t real! It was tragic, yeah, but that was due to real scientific explanations.”

“Science can’t bring people back from the dead.” Her voice was more subdued and sombre and her shoulders were curling into her body. The atmosphere was increasingly getting more depressing so Kaldur grabbed onto the latch, hoping that making progress into the mission would revive the Team’s energy.

He ignored Wally’s protests about heat backdrafts and came face first to a rush of frigid air.    

“Do you ever get tired of being wrong?” Artemis was rather smug as she threw a smirk over her shoulder. Kaldur just wished the rest of the mission wouldn’t be like this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Artemis was going to tear her hair out. Or probably Wally’s. Yeah, she was going to tear Wally’s hair out. It had been a week since the Dr. Fate mission and he still hasn't apologized to Marinette. His refusal to believe in magic was not only screwing up the team dynamics but it was forcing Marinette’s hand, pushing her to dig up trauma, to try and prove to him that magic is real. Artemis didn’t understand why it was so important to her that Wally believed in magic but it was and that was enough for Artemis to stand by her friend.

The two haven’t even spoken to each other since the mission and it was painfully obvious that Marinette was avoiding him. Valid, but still aggravating when it put everyone on the team on edge. Artemis wasn’t one to play peacemaker, leaving that to Kaldur and Marinette, but since this ongoing conflict involved the Parasian, and Kaldur had his hands full with a mission in Atlantis, someone had to step up and that person was her. Wonderful.  

She had tracked Wally in the medical facility, tinkering with some of the equipment and taking inventory of their supplies, a job Red Tornado routinely asks him to do. She skipped any greeting and just started plucking items out of his hands. Ignoring his protests, she kept going until his hands were empty then grabbed his wrist, pulling him into the training room and shoving him into the center ring.

“Shut up and stay,” was all she said, crossing her arms and freezing him with a glare. She wasn’t in the mood for any of his gimmicks tonight. The sound of the zetatubes announcing the Ladybug designation alerted her to Marinette’s return from Paris. Time for the next part of her plan.

“Don’t move,” she said as she turned to retrieve the other person for her plan. A firm ‘I mean it’ was tossed over her shoulder as she left.

Collecting Marinette was easier said than done. Artemis was headstrong on a good day, she will admit, but now as a woman on a mission she was down right intimidating and she knew it. Marinette took one look at her expression and bolted for the zetatube she just stepped out of. Artemis was having none of that and was able to grab the much shorter girl before she could get any further. While Artemis was mentally applauding herself she was also begrudgingly impressed with how difficult it was to hold the girl. Dragging her to the training deck was becoming more trouble than it was probably worth.

Artemis could pinpoint the exact moment Marinette’s eyes landed on the speedster because her efforts doubled and she almost escaped Artemis’s grasp. She dropped her gracelessly on the floor and moved to block the exit before either could do anything.

“Neither of you are leaving until you work out your issues,” she was huffing from exhaustion, both mental and physical. “Whether that means punching the shit out of each other or talking it out like normal people: I don’t care. But no one leaves this room until you two stop screwing with the team dynamics.”

She left no room for arguments and turned to stand outside the exit, giving them some semblance of privacy. If they didn’t work out their issues here, Artemis’s plan B involved Connor tossing them into the far end of the coastline. Hopefully, Wally and Marinette were reasonable enough it wouldn’t have to come to that.

Oh, who was she kidding?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wally stared at Artemis’s retreating figure and then at a very interesting spot on the cave wall. He felt like an asshole all week and, after his experience with the helmet of Fate, he knew he would have to be the one to mend the ever growing gap between him and Marinette. Still, he couldn’t face her yet. Every time he looked at her, or saw her hastily leave any room he was in, his mind flashed to those haunting words she had said.

Science can’t bring people back from the dead.

He knew that. He knew there were harsh limitations on what science can and can’t do. Magic shouldn’t have been any different. And he thought he understood what she had to deal with during her time in Paris but he was wrong. He was so painfully wrong that it took his body being overtaken by a mystic ‘Lord of Order’ for him to really comprehend that. He just… He just couldn’t wrap his head around someone so young being entrusted with so much power. Magic was inexplicable. It defied reason and was unpredictable so he never understood how someone as self-assured as Marinette could put her faith in something that unreliable. So he lashed out at her. Then he did it again. And again so much so that he can’t remember ever having a civil conversation with her.

He messed up and he knew it but the shame he felt in the past week was too much for him to handle and he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“Look,” his head snapped to the sound of her voice. She wasn’t looking at him, holding herself for comfort. “I’m sorry for ignoring you, I didn’t realise it was affecting the rest of the team.”

No. no no nonono.

She shouldn’t be apologizing. She had nothing to apologize for and Wally is the ass in this situation not her so why is she apologizing? He needs to fix this. Fast.

“You don’t need to apologize,” such a terrible start, Wallace. Congratulations. “I was the one who pushed your buttons and called magic a big trick.”

She had lifted her head slightly but her gaze still wasn’t focused on him, rather she was looking beyond him just above his shoulder. He took a step closer and when she hadn’t made a break for the exit, he took that as a good sign.

“Listen, Marinette,” her eyes dart to and away from him in an instant. He didn’t let that stop him though. “All those times, times when I called magic fake or belittled its legitimacy, I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I was just trying to wrap my head around its absurdity.”

“It doesn’t matter what you were trying to do,” she finally locked her gaze on him and the pain swimming in her eyes was going to burn him alive. “You still hurt me. You took everything I did, everything I’ve learned and lost and loved and called it a hoax, you called it unreal, and you doubted everything I’ve ever accomplished. I have memories I may never recover from because of magic, scars that will never heal from something you didn’t want to believe in.”

There were unshed tears in her eyes and Wally wanted to brush them away. He didn’t, but fighting the urge was herculean of him. He didn’t get the chance to respond, though, but he wouldn’t dare interrupt her.

“Did you ever realise how those arguments affected me? I used to look up to you, Kid Flash, before joining the team.” He never knew that. Why didn’t he know that? “You were always so cheerful and the media framed you as someone who believed in the impossible. That was something I needed back in Paris. Because there was nothing more impossible to me than ever getting a chance to defeat Hawkmoth.”

She was openly crying now, her cheeks blotchy and eyes red. Wally didn’t know what to say so he took a chance and opened his arms to her. A silent invitation, a quiet apology. Whatever this little spitfire needed from him. He would willingly give it.

She took the offer and crashed her face into his chest, hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. He wrapped his arms snuggly around her, almost crushing her to his chest.

“I needed someone who believed in the impossible to believe in me.” Her sobs were heartbreaking. Wally could only caress her on the back in a futile attempt to comfort her. “That someone was you but then you had no problem looking me in the eye and saying you don’t believe in magic. How could you?”

“I am so sorry, Marinette.” He could never apologize enough. He was willing to dedicate his life making it up to her. He was silently praying to gods he also didn’t believe in that she would let him try. Before she could say anything, and he felt the hitch in her shoulders as she was taking steadying breaths to do so, he continued.

“I never knew what I—Kid Flash— meant to you. I only argued against magic so much because I didn’t want to believe that something that unpredictable was the only thing keeping someone like you safe. I heard all the stories; Wonder Woman loved to gush and brag about her mother’s successor, but I could never believe that someone could do such incredible things by magic alone. It was mind boggling.”

Wally felt more than heard the faint gasp at his confession. He pulled her off his chest, holding her a short distance by her shoulders, so that he could look into her eyes.

“I’m really sorry; I don’t think I can ever tell you how sorry I am.” She needed to know how genuine he was. He may clown around a lot but he was absolutely serious in this moment. He hoped she could see the sincerity in his eyes.

“I—,” she cut herself off, and Wally could see her growing frustrated with her own loss of words. She opened her mouth to speak again but she was interrupted.

“OH just kiss already!” Artemis’s rough voice echoed in the room and Wally’s gaze flashed to where her back was facing them by the entrance. She looked uncomfortable standing there but clearly she had an agenda she was seeing through. He didn’t pay her any more attention as he focused back on the increasingly red girl still within his grasps. The hurt that was previously in her eyes was quickly replaced with embarrassment and she couldn’t look Wally in the eyes.

He felt a sudden rush of confidence at her demeanor and hoped he wasn’t about to make the second biggest mistake of his life. He bent his head slightly, casting a smirk at the small girl.

“Well, if that’s what the people want,” he pulled her closer to him then, her mousy ‘eep’ sounding adorable in response. He cupped her chin between two fingers, tilting her head up. “May I?”

She didn’t speak but her answering nod and slow closing of her eyes encouraged him to close the distance between them.

Wally’s been struck by lightning before but it doesn’t compare to the feeling of her lips on his. Her lips tasted like slowly drying tears and her favourite vanilla lip balm. The kiss wasn’t perfect, her lips were slightly chapped, as were his, and their noses bumped into each other, but it was the best kiss of his life.

They broke away from the kiss but neither moved far from each other. They stayed like that for who knows how long. Staring intently at each other, committing the other’s face to memory. And as Wally stared at her tear streaked face and into her slightly red and puffy eyes, he came to a single conclusion.

He definitely believed in magic.

The Criminal Psychology Majors, Jason Todd x Fem!Reader Part 16/?

Word Count: 4.2k

Author’s Note: Y/N - Your name

I put two days into this chapter<3  I guess the timeline may speedup a bit<3

Warnings: Jail discussion, Victim Shaming, Fighting, Mentions of Injury, Disassociation, Disconnect, Trauma, Swearing, Mentions of alcoholism and drug use, No beta bitch we die like Jason Todd

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12) (Part 13) (Part 14) (Part 15) (Part 16) (Part 17) (Part 18) (Part 19) (Part 20)

Family game night was well underway in the Wayne Manor when Y/N got a phone call from the prison that Justine Wong, her high school friend who went to jail protecting her, was incarcerated in until her trial or the man who attempted to assault Y/N dropped the charges. 

She excused herself and went outside in the Autumn weather to take the call.

“Hello.”

“This is an automated call from Gotham County Prison from Inmate ‘Justine Wong’, to accept this call please press 1.”

She did as such.

“Thank you for your cooperation. All inmate calls are recorded. Your account balance is $50.69.”

“Hello?” Justine asked into the phone.

“Hey, it’s me. Why are you calling? Are you alright?” Y/N asked.

“I need you to come here and get me a lawyer.”

“You’re up my ass right now, aren’t you? I thought he was dropping the charges?”

“He isn’t. Christopher, Thomas, Kaitlin and I seriously need your help now.”

“Are you all in the same prison?”

“Yes, they transferred over the boys yesterday because of this. We can all meet in a recorded room while you get us a lawyer.”

“Fuck, dude. Uh,” she thought about game night, but decided this was more important, “Do you need me now?”

“Yes, we can all get into the room and then you can meet us, I think the jail is 10-20 minutes of a walk away from the Manor?”

“Fuck. Okay. I’ll be there.”

Click. She thought about going back inside and asking someone to drive her to the jail, but she was also just not prepared to answer anyone’s questions about it. It was cold outside, but if she ran she could get there in 10 minutes. But that’s when Bruce joined her outside, she assumed Jason sent him because he was crushing his siblings in Monopoly at the moment.

“So, I’m friends with the commissioner of the county, Jim Gordon,” Bruce said, “And I know what your friends are dealing with.”

“Well, it’s not like it’s plastered all over the news or anything,” she said to Bruce, with a slight [massive] amount of sarcasm tinged in her voice.

“Do your parents know?”

“If they did I wouldn’t be in Gotham anymore.”

“Do you need a ride to the jail?”

“Yes.”

“I can do that, no issue.”

“Thank you, Bruce.”

“Anytime,” he said before leading her to one of his cars.

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

In the car, Y/N tried to keep up conversation with Bruce, it was a short drive but the time seemed to slow and he could tell she wasn’t talkative. This was, what he thought was likely, very, very stressful for her. He was used to this, the court dates, the police station, but he knew that her attackers’ court dates were coming up and she was going to need emotional support, since her parents weren’t in the city.

He didn’t know how to support her as the dad of her boyfriend, he’d probably just mention it in passing to Jason and Jason would deal with her. ‘Deal with’ probably was not the way to describe the girl that his son was dating, especially when she’s in as much emotional distress as Y/N clearly was in that moment, but Bruce was terrible with wording. 

She didn’t even want him to bother with her emotions about it all, because she didn't know how she felt. She didn’t know anything about the situation and how it made her feel, she just froze in the sight of this confrontation and hid from it all behind a mask of seeming to know what she was doing.

They pulled up to the prison, and she got out of the car and waved off Bruce before walking to the front desk and saying who she was and why she was there, providing her ID if need be. They led her into the backrooms, and told her that the room was being recorded and that she couldn’t touch them before letting her in the room.

She looked at the 4 of her friends who were all being charged with assault and battery.

“Y/N?” Thomas asked.

“This... this is surreal. Didn’t think we’d ever end up like this,” she said, looking at the floor before crossing her arms.

“What do we do now?” Kaitlin asked.

“Do any of your parents have enough money to pay for a lawyer? I can call them for you,” Y/N said.

“You didn’t already call them?” Christopher asked.

“No, I didn’t. I’ve been pretending this entire thing doesn’t exist, I don’t want it to exist.”

“But we need a lawyer,” Justine snapped.

“No fucking shit, Sherlock Holmes.”

“Well you should have gotten us a lawyer!” Justine snapped again, raising her voice.

“Now is not the time to yell at her, Justine,” Thomas interrupted.

“Shut up, Thomas! You,” she turned to Y/N, “Look at me! Look what you made us do and you can’t even look us in the eyes!”

“I didn’t make you do anything, Justine.”

“You’re the one who’s a fucking alcoholic and can’t handle her drinks so she almost got raped! You’re pathetic.”

“Now is not the time to victim shame me, Justine” Y/N sighed, “What you’re saying is very hurtful and makes me not wish to help you anymore, understood? You can lash out at me to get the anger out, but this isn’t my fault and you know it,” she said, finally locking eyes with Justine.

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be.”

They continued talking about what to do for hours, with Y/N ignoring most advances Justine made to prove the point that yes, she was pissed at Justine about what she had said to Y/N.

Y/N wasn’t taking anyone’s shit anymore. Ever since she met Jason, and pissed off the press, she stopped letting people get away with everyone, she stopped telling people what they wanted to hear.

And people were noticing, especially her 4 friends in that room. She was trying to get better, to recover so she wouldn't relapse, and it was obvious. 

“Y/N?” Justine said.

“Justine?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I am aware. I’ll be calling your parents when we’re done here.”

“So do you forgive me?”

“I’ll consider forgiving you.”

“You’ve changed.”

“Good,” she turned to the other 3, “Anything you 3 want before I leave?”

“Nope, that’s it,” Thomas said, “Thank you, Y/N.”

“That’s everything yeah,” Kaitlin said, “Thanks, man.”

“What they said,” Christopher joked, “Thanks.”

“Alright, I love you 3, I’ll try to arrange phone calls with you 3,” she said putting emphasis on the word 3. Oh yeah, she was pissed.

She would leave the room without even saying ‘goodbye’ to Justine. She would tell the police she was done with the meeting. They asked who would be handling getting lawyers to the 4 kids, she said she would call their parents. Commissioner Gordon walked up to her and held out his hand, “You must be Jason’s girlfriend. I’ve know that kid all his life basically, I’m Commissioner Jim Gordon,” he said.

“Y/N,” she said, shaking his hand.

“I know these last 2 weeks have been extremely stressful for you, Y/N,” he said.

“I think everyone’s caught onto that.”

“I called Bruce to come get you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

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

Meeting new people filled her with a lot of life after the hell she was pulled through. From stabbing, to head injuries, to friendships crumbling, to court, Y/N was being strewn through the wringer.

She knew it would calm down eventually, she was just being put through a few bad weeks for a lifetime of happiness, and she hoped that happiness was with Jason.

She couldn’t think much longer when Bruce pulled up and she got to the car.

“How was it?” he asked.

“Do you really want to know, Bruce?”

“I do. The justice system can be draining.”

“You could say that again,” she joked, “So, where do I start? Well, I get in there and tensions are high, obviously. I’m sure prison sucks when they shouldn’t really be there, they did the job the vigilantes here do, and we all let them do it. Anyway... my friend I guess, she comes at my throat about my attack,” she paused, trying to swallow her pain, “Starts blaming me for it, uses my alcoholic past against me, you know, the stuff you shouldn’t do. I don’t care if she’s right and I shouldn’t have drank, but she fucking led me to the bar.”

She fumbled with her hands a bit, still trying to not cry, “Anyway, I told her that she can’t talk to me like that, that I won’t let her talk to me like that and she apologized. Guess what? I said ‘You should be.’ and I know that might not mean much to you, Bruce, but I would have never stood up for myself like that had I not met your son, you did something right with that boy, Bruce, I swear,” she joked, “But that was about it, I have to call everyone’s parents to get them lawyers, but that’s it.”

“I figured you had a backbone from the start, kid,” Bruce said in response.

“You kidding? I had to ask Jason if you would hate me for flipping off the press? I’ve never, ever had a backbone.”

“Well maybe, besides the lack of protection,” he joked, “Maybe Jason and you are a good couple.”

“You think so?”

“I think so.”

“Thanks, Bruce. Really. Your kids are a hoot to hang out with and you’re not half-bad yourself, old man.”

“Are you going to start calling me that, too?”

“Maybe jokingly.”

“I’m not that old, kiddo.”

“You just called me kiddo and you think I don’t deserve to say you’re old? Really? Bruce, c’mon, you’re smarter than that.”

“You don’t deserve it. You’re just going to do it.”

She laughed, “About the protection lecture, I wouldn't have done it if I wasn’t on the pill, Bruce. I appreciate the concern, but you were so wrong about us ‘not being prepared’.”

He laughed, “Maybe you should have said something.”

“You never asked me, Bruce.”

“I wouldn't make a good detective, then.”

“That’s why Commissioner Gordon is on the cases I’m involved in, and not you.”

He paused, “Isn’t your head-butting buddy’s trial starting tomorrow?”

“It is.”

“Are you going to watch it?” he asked, off-handedly, “I think Dick might, just to see what the ‘sicko’ looks like.”

“I’m definitely going to watch it,” she laughed, “Might even make it an essay for school.”

“Well that’s one way to handle it.”

“Might as well turn the sick fuck who tried to turn me into a ransom note be turned into a 100% in my classes. Call it; Classy Revenge.”

They pulled into the driveway together, while Bruce was laughing at the comment Y/N made. She laughed, too. It helped heal some of the wounds she experienced over the 2 weeks of knowing Jason, even some of the prior wounds. Bruce told her that the kids were still playing Monopoly, none of them had apparently gone bankrupt yet, it was 12:00am.

To say she was impressed with Jason and his siblings would be an understatement, she remembered playing Monopoly with her family, and they’d all always declare bankruptcy within an hour or so, and thee was never a back-to-back winner when they all played.

Maybe they were bad at managing money, maybe thee Wanes just were too stubborn to declare bankruptcy and they bent the rules of Monopoly a little bit to suit their family, she didn’t know.

They walked into the house and sat back down, Y/N at Jason’s side where she had been the 4, or-so, hours before. Everyone seemed to acknowledge her presence and wished to ask her what happened, but no one knew how to bring it up to her. They knew she wasn’t used to the life of court and trials, the needing to talk to police, it was really one the Waynes and the kids of police officers that were used to tat stuff.

She pretended to not notice them wanting to ask her and opened her phone while Jason tried to negotiate for the 4th railroad from Tim, to see her mother texted her.

How are you, sweetheart? Her mum had asked.

I’m fine, mum. Shouldn’t you be sleeping?

I should, but I can’t sleep thinking about the trial of your attacker

Same. It’s such a stressful situation.

I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling through all of this.

She couldn’t put how she felt into words. How the way that the moments she was in the alleyway made her feel. the way that man’s face was burned into her memory to be a constant reminder tat she wasn’t safe wherever she went. It was something she had never experienced before.

Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was pain.

I don’t know how I’m feeling either, Mum.

How’s your nose?

It’s healed basically. No more nosebleeds at random intervals.

You didn’t tell me about the nosebleeds.

I didn’t tell anyone about the nosebleeds, Mum.

Why not?

I don’t need people to worry about me, to feel for me, to make their times and schedules molded to fit me. Good intentions or not, I don’t need charity hand outs.

Then do we stop paying your rent?

Well, I mean you could. I wouldn’t stop you from stopping paying my rent, but the difference is that you giving me money is to keep me at the top of the school, to make myself the best I can be.

How badly would your studies be impacted if we stopped paying your bills?

Probably massively. Don’t worry, mum. It’s a two-year program and then I can get my own job and make enough money. I’ll get you a little house on a hill and you can be the Queen of the Hill.

That’s nice of you honey. We should both try to sleep if we’re trying ot catch the trial today.

Goodnight, Mum.

they were all still glued to the game, when Barbara chose she would  take the risk and ask Y/N about the meeting.

“So, how was it?” she asked, innocently.

“How much time do you have?”

“We have pretty much all night, the others can go at this till the trial tomorrow,” she joked.

“I mean, challenge accepted,” Y/N laughed, “So, we pull up to the county jail, right. I wave off Bruce, no big deal, everything was going to plan, which should have honestly been my first sign that things were going to be fucked, but I digress,” she paused, “I walk in, give the lady my ID and she looks at m funny, like she knew that I had been drinking underage in that moment and was disappointed in me, as she should be.”

She fiddled with her hands, “So they lead me to the back and before they do they tell me the usual, I can’t touch any of them and my conversation with them will be recorded, then they let me in. I greet everyone like the good friend I am but tensions are high and everyone’s on edge, which is understandable, but.”

Jason perked up when she put emphasis on but, knowing the story was about to get real, really quickly.

“My friend Justine, she called me to get me there, she starts going at me about how this is my fault for being an ex-alcoholic and drinking, which, yes, i should not have been drinking. But she lead me to the bar,” she paused, “She starts blaming me for how I almost got raped and putting them all in there, whatever,” she paused again, “I basically told her that if she wanted my help she was going to have to behave and be nice to me, to which, she apologized,” she paused.

“You didn’t accept that apology, right?” Stephanie asked.

“God, no. I said I’d consider forgiving her. Everyone else was fine though. anyway, I have to call their parents and get them in contact with a lawyer soon.”

“You’re still doing that even after that whore victim-shamed you?” Jason said, he seemed in awe that Y/N would be so kind to someone who did her so wrong.

“Jay, I’m borderline legally obligated to do that,” Y/N said, “I wouldn’t do it if she hadn’t saved me.”

“I think you still shouldn’t do it,” Damien said.

“And you seem very vengeful, Damien. But that’s only sometimes me.”

“Look, thou shalt not sin or whatever, love thy neighbor or whatever, but that girl wronged you in that conversation, do you really owe it to her to call her parents?” Tim asked.

“You know, for a family who’s known for being the ‘Nice Billionaires’ you all tend to really hate my choices,” she joked.

“Don’t make dumb ones, and we wouldn’t judge,” Tim retorted.

”Okay, smartass. I hope you go bankrupt.”

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

Waking up next to Jason on the day of her attacker’s trial was something to her. The comforting aura of the room seemed to be stripped away because the sun hadn’t risen, the blinds didn’t need to be closed, and Jason wasn’t cuddled up next to her.

She would find him already dressed, pacing back and forth in his room. For her 3 back-to-back days of being in Jason’s house without going home, she never saw him this actively distressed about anything. But given the situation they found themselves in, it was understandable.

Someone actively threatened her life for an attempt at a ransom on her name, because she was now tied to Bruce Wayne, and Bruce had money. Of course, for the Wayne household, the kids and Bruce were used to ransom attempts on themselves, with some of them actually being taken hostage before, but Y/N wasn’t.

She defended herself, and since it was, thankfully, caught on camera unlike the attack on her attempted-rapist, she didn’t have to appear in court, she didn’t even need to video her side of the story, she wrote it in a letter and sent it to the District Attorney's office. The District Attorney, being the prosecutor, was obligated to give her statement to the defense, so she was curious as to how her words would be spun to fit their narrative.

Jason and Y/N were both in the criminal psychology major at their college, they both knew what they were in store for, and they both had the ability to tear the defendant into pieces the minute he spoke. If, he spoke, that is.

Jason didn’t seem to notice that she was awake. He was really lost in his own thoughts, his own concerns. He stopped pacing though, and he was just staring at his laptop, possibly zoned out from the situation.

She got up as quietly as she could and went to hug him from, she could hear him let out a little chuckle, so she greeted him, “Good morning, Jay.”

“I thought you were still sleeping,” he turned to look at her.

“I was, but I woke up, that’s how that works,” she joked.

“That’s insane I would have never thought people wake up after they sleep,” he said with heavy sarcasm, “The more you know.”

“Insane, I know,” she said, “I still don’t even have clothes here,” she laughed, “I really need to go home eventually.”

“No you don’t, what?” he said with more sarcasm, “You can just wear my clothes, baby.”

“I don’t think they’ll fit, Jay, I think you forget you are literally massive.”

He laughed, “Listen, being massive is not my fault.”

“How is it not your fault?”

“Don’t ask questions.”

“I am asking questions, I am curious now.”

“Shhh,” he joked, “No need to worry.”

“Billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and he’s got rippling abs? But zero cause for concern? Where do you even find the time?”

“Well, when you’re not over it’s during my downtime.”

“Can’t believe you won’t work out in front of me,” she laughed, “That’s just rude.”

“You already have free entertainment here,” he joked.

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

Somehow she found clothes that somewhat fit her so she could go downstairs and watch the start of the trial. She didn’t know if she could sit through the entire trial, she was victim. No one expected her to be able to sit through the entire thing. It was a lot different from studying trials to actually being a part of the trial.

There was more of an all-seeing-eye presence in the living room of the Wayne Manor that morning before the trial began. The sounds of reporters through the television while everyone sat and waited for it to begin, it was not something many would enjoy.

There would be an ending to this story, to this court case, whether it was a month from that moment on that couch or a year from that moment. There would be justice for that bullshit. 

Part of her didn’t even want the trial. She wanted the man to take a plea deal. She didn’t want to be in the spotlight when murders were happening. But no one would let it go, a beautiful woman being hurt in an attack against her? It was the kind of stuff that the news sources wanted, craved, from every court case.

And that was the thing about it. She didn’t want to be the tabloids newest escapade into being more and more corrupt, broken, deceitful. 

She looked to the television as Jason put his arm around her, bracing for any sort of reaction to the news. No one really knew how she was going to react. And then it started.

Cameras were being let into the courtroom and panning over to him. The man who had attacked her in the alleyway. She subconsciously brought her hand up to her nose and felt it. For a moment, it was like she was back in that alleyway, head-butting that man and then running to the Manor. But she wasn’t there and she knew that, trying to snap herself out o that state brought nothing, though. It took the Judge having to shush the entirety of the courtroom to get her attention back to the real world.

The Judge would introduce himself to the press, but mainly to the court, and then request opening statement. Or at least, Y/N thought that was what he was doing. She didn’t really know what was going on, something pulled her away from the court trial she was witnessing for the man who attacked her.

To the outside, the people surveying her to make sure she was okay, her eyes seemed to glaze over and she seemed to just disconnect from the situation. But they didn’t realize she had disconnected. She just looked to be in thought.

She saw colours fade in and out of her sight, people showing up in front of her, him showing up in her sights, the images dancing in her mind as if she was there in that courtroom.

The time began to slur in her mind. Hours became minutes to her. And before she knew it, court had ceased fro the day. She was snapped out of it by Jason letting her go. He offered to drive her home, she agreed.

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

“Y/N?” Jason asked while they were in the car.

“Uh huh?”

“Are you alright?”

“Good question,” she answered, flatly.

“Are you?” he asked, seeming more concerned.

“Probably not.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Is that a no?”

“Mhm.”

He reached to place a hand on her thigh, attempting to comfort her, “That’s okay,” he said, “You don’t need to talk about it.”

“Mhm.”

He sighed, “I’ve decided something,” he said, “I’m going to spend the night at yours, just to make sure you’re okay.”

“Okay.”

“You still don’t have to talk about it.”

“I know.”

“Okay, here,” he smiled, “Have I told you the full story about the time that we did chair-racing in the halls of Wayne Manor?” he asked.

“No, you haven’t.”

“Well, what happened was we ended up flying down the halls at like 4 in the morning, right? Well,” he paused, “Dick used to be an acrobat, so when he almost went flying off the stairs, he actually caught himself on a handstand on the rails. Chair still went flying,” he said.

She smiled a little bit. He knew he was doing something right.

“We ended up breaking a vase. Bruce was okay with it because it wasn’t his parents, but Alfred was pissed at us for it. Grounded us all for weeks about it.”

“As he should.”

“Look at me go, getting multiple word answers out of you, and I even got you to crack a smile,” he laughed and grabbed her hand to hold it, “I’m just so good at this boyfriend thing.”

She smiled again. The smiles wouldn’t last for long, but they did happen. He knew the trial was traumatic for her. He could tell. Just from the way she drooped after the trial ended, she could normally not shut up when it came to Jason, so this was out of character.

When they got to her house, he would walk, basically lead her, to her house. She was so far disconnected from everything, that he even just let her rest in her bed with his clothes on and her shoes still on, because she wasn’t functioning. 

He would crawl into bed with her and let her rest her head on his chest. 

Autumn Birds

Written for @witcher-rarepair-summer-bingo

Prompt: We fell in love, but your previous lover reappeared/returned Relationships: Eskel/Jaskier (w/ past!Geralt/Eskel and past!Geralt/Jaskier) Rating: T Content Warnings: None Summary: They’d met just as the leaves were turning yellow. 

Read on AO3

* * *

They’d met just as the leaves were turning yellow.

Jaskier had heard of a witcher staying in town and, as was his prerogative since his acquaintance with a certain White Wolf, he’d ventured to see what the man was all about. It was not so often one got to meet someone of their caste. Why not have a little courage to break the ice himself?

The whispers spoke of a witcher with a terribly scarred face. Two swords strapped over his back, their pommels shaped into wolf heads. The women said he had a voice like a dog’s growl, so grave that when he spoke, it made children cry.

He thought that last bit was rather mean, and followed the trail of curses into a grimy tavern where a fight was about to break out.

“You promised fifty.”

“The best I can do is half.”

Jaskier’s hand freezes on the door. Whatever he’s come to doesn’t look good. The witcher’s back is to him, his padded shoulders raised with tension. The village’s alderman paces in front of him, fuming over a contract’s fee. There’s a few antsy people in the crowd too. The anger written on their faces makes him nervous.

He’s seen how this ends a dozen times. It’s gotten his own arse kicked butting into the middle of a witcher’s bargaining, actually.

“Now, now, gentlemen,” Jaskier interjects boisterously from the doorframe anyway. “This is no mood for drink and cheer. Calm your spirits with a little of the former—”

The alderman grumbles under his breath about merry idiots meddling in what they shouldn’t. “Shut up, bard. This here’s serious business. And I’m not about to be robbed by a witcher’s ridiculous high prize.”

“It’s not ridiculous. The contract says fifty, and,” the witcher stops to lift the bloody stump of a water hag’s head, “it’s already done.”

“That contract was up weeks ago. The reward’s gone down. You’re lucky half’s on the table at all.”

The witcher grunts—a familiar sound to Jaskier’s ears which translates to wordless annoyance—and drops the head on the floor. “You’re lucky the hag didn’t move closer into the village in that time.”

“Is that a threat?”

At the rising outrage in his tone, Jaskier slips closer to stare at the alderman over the witcher’s swordless shoulder. “Ah, I believe the witcher means more of your people would have died, had he not taken care of the problem so promptly. The reward hardly sounds like an unreasonable amount. I could get twice as much on a profitable eve of singing. In fact,” he flips to the witcher, who does not yet deign to look back at his unforeseen defender, “I could turn this place around and earn us both a decent share in one night. I’m no fop on the job!”

It’s then that the witcher looks towards him, but the bard only manages a quick glimpse of an incredulous set of eyebrows before the alderman starts shouting.

“Get out! Both of you! Out of my town or I’ll have the dogs chase you out!”

They both take that as their leave, Jaskier with a bit more speed in his jog.

At the outskirts the witcher turns fully, and at the sight of his whole face Jaskier almost gasps out loud. A long scar runs through his cheek, from eyebrow to jaw, and over his lips. It puckers the skin all around it, disfiguring half of his face.

Whatever caused that scar must have hurt a lot.

The witcher shifts in place, quiet for a long second as Jaskier does his best to hide his nerves. “I’m sorry to have involved you.”

“Oh, please, don’t be. I involved myself. Jaskier’s the name, by the way,” he introduces himself, hand extended in greeting.

The witcher scratches the back of his head. His lips twist to one side, bashful. One of his teeth peeks through the scarred tissue over his mouth. “Uh. Eskel.” He takes the offered hand and shakes it.

It’s the firmest handshake Jaskier has ever received.

“Well, Eskel. Are you short on coin? Because so am I.”

The snort he gets is—soft. Not at all like the gruff from before, with the alderman.

“I’m not doing too bad, I’d say. Just currently fifty short of what I expected to have at the end of the day.”

"How about I help with that? I wasn't lying when I said I could earn both a decent share, given the right crowd."

It's the sunset hour, and the leaves were falling on top of them. Everything is gold. The sky, the trees. Eskel’s eyes when they blink at him and he breaks into a genuine laugh.

Jaskier knows he’s a romantic. His heart flutters every odd day over strangers with pretty smiles. He’s just never seen such a shy, sweet smile on someone with such an intimidating facade.

Making him smile again became a personal quest.

* * *

At the next town over, Eskel speaks to the alderman there. This one is more reasonable at least, and up front about the sort of beast that lurks in the northern farms. Which brings up a whole new conversation as Jaskier doesn’t part from Eskel’s side despite the obvious danger.

Eskel grunts and sits him down, not unlike the times Geralt tried—and failed—to convince him to stay put. Jaskier just blinks his pretty blue eyes and says, “and how will I write a song of your prowess in battle if I am not there to witness it?”

“This is a dangerous contract, bard. It would be best if you let me handle it alone.”

“Oh no. No, no, I’ve heard that before a dozen times.”

Eskel pauses at that. “What?”

“I am perfectly capable of staying out of your way.”

The wyvern they encounter says otherwise.

To be fair, he had done a good job of staying out of the witcher’s way for most of the fight. It is only when the beast slams its tail into Eskel’s side on a backswing that Jaskier shouts in worry from his hiding place and brings undue attention to himself.

Wind whips around him for a split second, scattering dust into his eyes. It takes a moment to wipe them clean so of course he doesn’t see the great shadow flying at him. Doesn't realize the immediate need to hide or flee for his life until a giant claw snatches him by the bunched fabric on his back.

Jaskier's stomach plummets as he soars up. The ground recedes. His clothes start to rip. This is it, he panic-screams in his mind, this is his final day. Either as monster food or a blood splatter on a rock, his time has come.

A severe overreaction, and his own mistake for not trusting in a witcher's skill. He doesn't realize it in all, what with all his flailing about, but Eskel fires a crossbow bolt perfectly at the wyvern’s eye.

The beast screeches terribly loud in his ears. It flaps its wings once, twice, before twisting midair and letting him go.

They both fall, but Eskel catches him.

By the silence that follows after an earth-shaking crunch, he knows the witcher's won. Victory is not immediately on his mind, though. The way his sight spins and the sun paints a halo behind Eskel's hair, Jaskier dumbly thinks, oh—I've quite literally fallen in love.

“See?” he says instead, breathless with terror at almost having died, “I’m perfectly fine.”

Eskel raises a thick brow at him. And he's smiling too, the bard thinks. Could just be the scar making it look like a lopsided smile, but he wants to believe that he's made the witcher smile again with his foolish sense of humor.

“Are you alright? The tail,” Jaskier frets once his vision settles. Some of these monsters have poisoned stingers on the end of their tails. Are wyverns one of them?

But Eskel waves him down before he can consider the worst. “Relax. I cast Quen in time.”

“That’s a, uh, magic shield, right?”

Surprise colors Eskel's features. So it seems he's right. A point of pride on Jaskier's belt for remembering witcher signs.

Getting proof of a contract well done takes the witcher a good minute to collect. Wyvern skin is tough. The head would normally satisfy as proof, but it's too heavy to be lugging around town. He will have to make do with the wing tips. Should they question him, the remains aren't going anywhere.

“Come on, bard. Time to get our day's work done. And after that, we're going west.”

“'We'?” Something about the proclamation has his heart beating fast.

“'Course. I'm not letting you out of my sight now.”

He makes a show of bowing dramatically. “I wouldn’t want to be elsewhere.”

* * *

“You’re a friend of Geralt’s.”

Jaskier looks up from his notes.

Traveling with someone is always interesting—with a witcher even more so. So far he's learned that Eskel has far more routines than Geralt ever did, like counting his coin at the end of every week, and making sure he has two of every potion ready.

Jaskier quirks a half-smile. “I am. How did you figure? I never said his name.”

“Your song.” He points to the scribbled mess on his lap. “Or, I guess your work in progress. I see an expression he uses a lot, that he learned from me.”

“Oh?”

Eskel sits by him and nods, as if finally understanding Jaskier’s odd ease partnering with a witcher, and starts the story of where the expression in his handwriting originated from.

It’s funny at first, imagining a much younger, somehow more foolish Geralt together with this huge, frightening man who is not frightening at all to talk to. Eskel speaks so softly, so tenderhearted about the old memory—two boys, witchers-to-be, practically joined at the hip, making crude jokes. So he reciprocates with a tale of where he comes from, as destiny deigned to put them in each other’s paths.

As it happens, a lot of their first stories aren’t even their own, but Geralt’s.

And Eskel has many more over his. He’s more than happy to share them over camp.

Some of it leaves Jaskier’s throat aching. This is someone who clearly cares about his big grumpy friend. It's someone he can understand.

Then Eskel claps a bare hand on his back, his thumb and forefinger a hot press just under his nape, and oh, he’s more than a little foolishly in love actually, as his head is emptied of all reason at the small touch.

“Am I to become your travel bard,” Jaskier quips with an airy giggle. “I’m excellent entertainment at parties.”

“Not for long. It’s almost winter. Soon I’ll have to head north to meet my brothers.”

His heart sinks. “Oh.”

Eskel squeezes his shoulder with careful strength. “You better keep out of trouble while I’m gone, you hear?”

“Of course. I don’t go looking for trouble.”

“No, trouble just finds you.”

Well, if ‘trouble’ is a scarred, smirking witcher, he sure hopes that to be true.

* * *

They meet again when the trees are just beginning to color with spring blooms.

There is also a griffin tearing through the town's cattle, but that’s besides the point. Easily dealt with. Which is good, seeing as Jaskier had been near the scene and probably next on the menu. No one had told him about the griffin, so really. He's just as surprised to find Eskel as he is about the beast.

“You alright, bard?”

“I am now.”

Matter resolved, Jaskier walks in step next to Eskel. The town opens before them, welcoming the witcher not with smiles, but grudging gratitude.

“You sure? Trouble didn’t come knocking while I was gone?”

“Only a man with a lover’s grudge come to kick my ass out of a wonderfully luxurious establishment. Didn’t even get to enjoy the hot bath I paid for, which is such a terrible waste of hot water.”

A deep hum comes out of the witcher. “A lover’s grudge?”

“Just a past dalliance that won’t forget me.”

Eskel stops and shifts on his feet, like he wants to say something but he doesn’t know how to start.

Oh, witchers and their awkward conversation skills.

“You know what, I’m starving. I think a good, hearty meal is owed between us. What do you say we go collect your reward and we break fast at the alderman’s recommendation?”

“We don’t have to get the coin right now. I could go for some food.”

“First tavern we see then. Come on.”

Right as he says it, he wraps his arm around Eskel’s, and maybe he’s just being too obvious, too hopeful, but Eskel doesn’t shrug him off. They make their way to a large and welcoming tavern, him talking his head off about the barn smell that permeates the whole town and ignoring the dark looks people give them down the street, as Eskel listens, not a word coming from his mouth. It worries Jaskier a minute that he’s becoming more annoyance than the teasing meddler he wants to be. But Eskel is just scratching his chin, looking down and letting Jaskier lead.

When it becomes clear that Eskel doesn’t have any rented lodgings yet, Jaskier offers his own. “I’m sure the innkeeper won’t mind us bunking if we pay for two, at the end of our stay.”

Eskel doesn't say no. He also doesn't say yes. It takes them finally being settled in a table of their own, full of fruits, cheese and bread, neither of them taking the first bite to eat, for Jaskier to nervously ask, “What is it?”

“Nothing,” comes the too-quick response.

“If I overstepped in some way, please tell me.”

“It’s nothing like that, I—uh.” Eskel shakes his head, his expression scrunched up unpleasantly.

“Whatever it is, I won’t be offended.”

He's already writing a million apologies in his head for any of his imagined offenses, that he's not quite prepared for what Eskel says instead.

“You are...different from what I expected.”

Jaskier blinks. “How so?”

“I don’t know. You’re just. Human. You’re normal.” He makes a point of gesturing at the table, the people keeping their distance. “I don’t get why you do all this for me.”

It's slow-creeping, but once the pieces align, Jaskier starts to understand what he means. That confusion, he’s known it with Geralt. Why do you stick with me? What does a witcher have to offer a human that isn’t the service of a silver sword? What does a human want with a mutant when there are plenty of other ordinary, uncomplicated folk in the world to have for company?

“Because you’re a good man,” he tells the witcher gently. “Because you saved my life and I want to repay you in kind. Most reasonably of all, because we’re friends, and friends take care of each other.”

Of course there’s more to it than that, but if a friend is all Eskel wants, then a friend he shall be.

The rumble of the tavern fills the air as Eskel stares at him a little wide-eyed. Jaskier gives him a slight smile. As a close, he pushes the platter of cheese forward with an encouraging, “now eat your fill, my friend.”

Once Eskel returns his smile, he thinks that, well, that everything will turn out alright.

And they’re happy eating their food when Geralt shows up for the griffin that’s already dead.

At his distinct silhouette, Eskel stands up. “White Wolf.”

“Eskel,” Geralt calls back gravely.

They clasp arms and pat each other’s shoulders in sync. It might not seem like much to outsiders, but what a rare sight to behold—two witchers, two mirrored grins on both their faces.

Eskel is the first to part from the hug with a chiding, “You didn’t come for winter.”

“I know. I had a lot going on. Saw your handiwork hooked to your horse’s saddle.” Then he looks down, and spots Eskel's table company. “Jaskier?”

“Geralt.”

Their held eye-contact feels longer than it is. Looking away, Jaskier half expects the whole tavern to be staring at them, but as it turns out, no one cares to pay the witchers and their odd bard any attention now that the monster's been dealt with. It's just him, imagining his heart hanging out of his sleeve for everyone to judge.

And maybe Eskel senses something's up between them, because he leaves them with the excuse to collect his coin.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Jaskier says after Geralt takes Eskel's abandoned seat. “Have you really been so busy that you couldn’t let your friends know you were alive?”

Geralt's silence is its own answer—a little shame, a little remorse. He remembers how Eskel had said that as time went on, Geralt just, lost touch. There had been something heavy in Eskel’s eyes when he said it, and Jaskier had felt it in his soul. Now he understands why. Him and Eskel, they'd both gone through the same impossible task of loving someone who doesn’t believe he can be loved.

By gods, he still loves Geralt, but Geralt's heart is a rusty cage, and neither of them can coax the old bird that lives in it anymore. Soft words and gentle promises have run their course.

“So,” the witcher starts, “you and Eskel? Didn't know you knew each other.”

“Maybe if you’d met either of us during winter you would have heard.” The phrasing's rough, but there's no resentment in his voice. He would have liked to know that Geralt had been safe in his wintering home, with Eskel.

“Yeah. I’m...surprised.” Jaskier raises his brow at him. Which just earns a quick shake of Geralt’s head. “He doesn’t make friends easily.”

“Neither do you, and yet look at us.”

“Look at us,” he echoes, staring at the empty plates.

“We missed a lot of opportunities together, didn’t we?” It doesn't make the truth any easier to swallow, but acknowledging the what-could-have-beens has always made him feel better afterward. Like closing a book, and getting ready to open a new one. He hopes Geralt knows that there's no bridges destroyed between them. Only those missed moments.

He still very much cares for Geralt, and he knows that Geralt does as well. They just have to come to terms with what's over—and what might come next.

“I won’t lie to you,” Jaskier adds more seriously. “I don’t want to miss any opportunities with him.”

The 'him' in question is unmistakable. Geralt nods. He looks down, one end of his mouth drawing up to dimple his cheek.

He says, like an olive branch offering, “His favorite flower is yarrow. Not because they’re pretty, but because they’re useful in the most surprising ways.”

* * * 

They spend the day catching up, all three of them, before Geralt is on the road again, taking his own path. Jaskier sees how it brightens Eskel’s spirits to have seen him off, and cheers up twofold. 

“I’ve known him practically my whole life,” Eskel tells him.

“I’ve known him half of mine.”

“So you understand.”

“That he’s a prat? Oh yes. Good at heart, backwards about verbalizing it. Cheeky when he wants to be. Oh by the way, here.”

From out of his little travel bag, Jaskier pulls a swathe of yarrows.

“Saw some at market street,” he explains, presenting them. “Thought you might find use in them for your potions.”

Eskel turns to him, his bright witcher eyes bouncing between him and the yarrows. Jaskier feels his heart climb up his throat, wondering what runs through Eskel's mind that makes him pause for so long.

Then Eskel takes them with one hand and with the other, he touches Jaskier’s face. It's big, warm, calloused against his skin. And sudden.

“‘Cheeky when he wants to be’, right?”

Jaskier stutters to say, “Well, yes, I mean, but this isn’t about him—”

He forgets how to speak after Eskel kisses him. It’s the lightest peck on the corner of his lips, so light that once he draws back, he wonders if he's not still dreaming back in their rented room.

“Thank you. I know just what to use them for.”

The yarrow gets tucked away with the other herbs in Eskel's saddlebag. A few glasses clink together as he moves things around so they don’t get crushed. And then, as Jaskier stands there, stupefied and slack-jawed, Eskel mounts his steed, a soot-black beauty that neighs softly at Jaskier’s face.

“Where are you headed for now?”

“Nowhere. Anywhere.” Wherever you’ll go, he thinks to himself. Wherever you'll have me.

Eskel grins wide at him, and it's the most beautiful sight, his smile, with all his teeth gleaming.

“That sounds like trouble.”

Left Behind

Anon requested: Hey! Would you be willing to write something where the winchesters drop their sister who is in her younger teen years (13-14ish) off at bobby's when they go on a hunt and shes super upset about it so she wont talk to them when they call or even when they come to pick her up? And it ends up with her and Dean having some big argument and Sam having to calm the down?

AN: This story took a lot longer than I expected to write and I am so sorry that you had to wait, whoever you are,  I changed it up a little towards the end, sorry.  And sorry if this was crap.

Summary:  When Sam and Dean leave you behind for a hunt, you don’t take it very well.

Warnings:  Angst, Sibling Arguing, Language, Fluff at the end.

Pairings:  Dean x sister!reader, Sam x sister!reader, Bobby x reader

Word Count: 2252

Y/N’s POV

You were currently in the backseat of the impala listening to your older bothers conversation.  Sam was talking about some hunt in Minnesota.  Dean was nodding his head along with the conversation, both paying attention to Sam and the road in front of him.  You listened with curiosity as you tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together in your head.  There were bite marks on all of the victims, they were all missing blood but they were also missing their hearts.

“Sounds like we’re dealing with a vamp and werewolf combo.”  You said as you leaned over the front seat between your brothers to be a part of the conversation.

“Or...”  Dean said.

“Or what?”  Sam asked as he started to scroll through the news articles to get more information on the case, not even bothering to look up from his iPad.

“Come on.  I know you want to say it.”  Dean said with a smile while looking over to the both of you.  “A were-pire.”  He said with a proud voice.

You and Sam both groaned in sync.

“Dude, just drop it already.  There is no such thing as a were-pire.”  Sam stated in a matter of faculty tone.

“Says you.”  Dean said, returning his attention to the road.

“Anyways... how far away are we from the case?”  You asked as you looked over Sam’s broad shoulder.

“Well lets see.  We’re in Cheyenne, Wyoming and the case is in Stillwater, Minnesota.  So we’re about 13 hours out.”  Dean said.

You groaned yet again to the thought of being in the car with your brothers for that long.  

“What are you groaning about over there Rugrat?”  Dean asked.

“Maybe the fact that I have to spend 13 hours with you two dumb nuts.” 

Sam looked up from his iPad and have you a weird look along with Dean.  “Umm, you’re not going to.”  Sam said.

You were now confused.  “What do you mean?  I’m gonna work the case with you two and in order for me to do that I have to get over there which involves me staying in the car with my brothers for 13 hours.”  You explained in a duh tone.

“Who said that you were coming along?” Dean asked, still looking at you like you just grew two heads.

“Umm... well... no one but I thought that I was going to work the case with you guys.  Right?”  You asked with a hint of insecurity.

Sam and Dean shared a look, having a silent conversation with each other.

“That wasn’t really the plan squirt.”  Sam said now turning in the seat to face you.

“Then what is the plan?”

“We were going to drop you off at Bobby’s and then Dean and I are going to work the case.”  Sam explained.

“What?  I thought that I was going to help you with the case.”  

“Not quite.  You’re not ready for hunting yet.”

“What do you mean?  I’ve worked my ass off with training every single day for the past 3 years and now I can’t go hunting with you two.  How is that fair?”  You said in a pissed off tone.

“Y/N I know that you want to come but your just not quite ready yet.”  Sam said in a patient tone, sensing your anger.

“The hell I’m not!  I-”  You were quickly cut off by Dean.

“Okay first of all, watch your language and second of all, your going to Bobby’s while me and Sam work the case.  End of discussion.”  Dean said in a tone that he used with you when you were starting to take things too far.

“But-”  You started.

“No ands, ifs, or buts about it.  I’ve already made up my mind and that is that, whether you like it or not.”

You sigh as you decided to go with the smart choice and keep your mouth shut.  You leaned back into your seat and start to fidget with the bracelet that you always wore on your wrist, hoping that it would help you cool off a bit.

After another couple of hours in the car, you pull up in front of Bobby’s house.  You grab your duffel from beside you and sling it over your shoulder.  As you start to open the backdoor to the impala, Sam starts to speak.  

“Love you kiddo.”  He said with a small, loving smile on his face.

You get out of the car, slam the door and walk towards the front porch all without saying a word to either of your older brothers.

~~~~~~

Its been four days since your brothers left for the case without you.  You hated that you couldn’t be there with them, saving people and hunting things.  The family business that you were supposed to be a part of.  Sure you were only 14 but you knew all there was to hunting and you take care of yourself.

Whenever your brothers are away on a hunt, they call everyday to check in.  Usually you answer the phone happily, eager to talk to your brothers and see how the case was going, but this time it was different.  You’ve been ignoring their calls and texts.  They’ve even called Bobby to try to get a hold of you but you still declined.  You were a Winchester which meant that you were hot headed and stubborn.  

You were now scrolling through Youtube, trying to find an interesting video to pass the time.  You’ve already looked at all possible cases on the police radar but there was nothing other than the case that Sam and Dean were working.  You were about to lay down for a nap, hoping that it would kill a couple of hours but you were interrupted with a knock on the door.  

“Come in!”  You yelled as you turned off your phone and placed it onto the bed next to your thigh.

The door opened and Bobby walked in.  “Hey Y/N.  I was just letting you know that your brothers are back from the case.”  He said.

“Oh, okay.”  You said as you picked your phone back up, showing that you weren’t interested in going to see them.

Bobby sighed while he ran a hand on his face.  “Look I get that your mad at them but at least acknowledge them.”

“I am acknowledging them.  I am acknowledging the fact that I am mad at them and therefore I do not want to make conversation with them.”  You said as you kept your attention on the small screen.

Bobby sighed yet again and walked out of the room while closing the door behind him.  There was a minute of silence then the door opened again.  You raised your head to see who walked in.  You were disappointed and pissed as you watched Sam and Dean walk into the room.  Sam came in first and leaned onto the wall opposite of you as Dean walked in and closed the door.  Dean then turned to face you as he crossed his arms across this broad chest as he stared you down.  You returned the gesture.  After a minute of silence between the three of you Dean finally spoke.

“So Y/N, anything to say.” 

“Nope.”  You replied as you returned your gaze to your phone.

Dean made it across the room in four steps and took the phone out of your hand in order for you to be focused on him.

“Oh so this is the reason why you didn’t answer us, you were too busy being on the internet to give five minutes to your brothers.”  Dean said as he held up your phone just out of reach.

You sighed as you leaned back into the headboard and crossed your arms, not even making a move to get the phone back.  “If you want to assume that.  Like you always do.”  You said in an icy tone.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  Dean asked, anger flashing his eyes.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe the fact that I can’t hunt because I’m not good enough.”  

“Who ever said that?” 

“No one did.  I’m just saying what’s on everyone's mind.”  

“Now look at whose assuming things.”  Dean scoffed.

“I’m not assuming anything.  I’m just stating facts.”  You argued back.

“Well no one asked you to do that.”

“Yeah well, no one asked you to come talk to me.”  You said as you stood up and walked up to Dean.  “No one asked you to be here.”

“No one had to.  It’s my job to be here for you.”  Dean said as he looked down at you with a deadly glare.

“Yeah?  How can you be here for me when your on the other side of the fucking country?  How can you be here for me when you just dump me here and take off?  Huh?  Riddle me that!”  You said as tears start to form in your eyes.

“Y/N, its for your own good.  Its for your safety.”  Dean sighed as he drug his hand down his face.  “We’ve been over this.”

“Yeah I know Dean but its stupid.”  You huffed in frustration.  “I’ve trained over and over again for the past three years without complaint.  I’ve taken both of you down before and I know how to use just about every weapon known to man.  Not to mention that you two will be there with me for every step of the way, protecting me from getting hurt or worse.”

“That’s what I’m talking about Y/N!  I know that you can handle yourself, hell you’ve kicked my ass more times than I like to admit but there is always that possibility that something will go wrong.  There is always that possibility that you will get hurt or worse on a hunt.  We don’t take you with us because we’re scared of what will happen.”  Dean explained with some of his anger melting away.

“Don’t you think that I know that Dean?  Believe me, I know the risks of hunting.  Look at Dad, Ellen, Jo, Ash and Pamela, they were in this life and they suffered the consequences of it.  But one thing that I can trust is you two.”  You said as you looked between your brothers.  “I trust the fact that when you two are with me, that everything will be okay.  I trust the fact that you will keep me safe.”

“Then there is your first mistake.  Everyone that was in this life and knew us are now dead.  Dad, Ellen, Jo, Ash and Pamela are all dead because of us.  All we do is get the people that we are close to and love killed.  We can’t protect you anymore than we can protect them.”  Dean said as his voice broke.  “We can’t protect you.”

As you heard Dean say those words, anger started to boil in your veins.  The need to cry was replaced with the need to punch something, preferably your brother for thinking so low about himself and Sam.

You suddenly take a swing at your brother, catching him off guard.  “Don’t you say that!”  You cried as you punched him yet again in the face, making him take a step back.  “After everything that you have done for us, for them!  You cannot just throw that out there like it is true because its not!”  You yelled at him as tears spilled down your face.  You took a step so that you could punch him in the face again but a pair of strong arms wrapped around your waist from behind to stop you from going further.  You thrashed against Sam’s hold as much as you could.  You were practically bawling now.  “You don’t get to say that.”  You said as you finally stopped fighting Sam and you turned around and hugged his toned body.

Dean now had tears streaming down his face as he looked at you with both sadness and shock.  Sam was shushing you, trying to make you calm down a bit.  You had a death grip on his flannel as your tears started to make the material damp.  After a couple of seconds, you felt Dean start to take you into his arms.  You quickly turned and hugged Dean’s torso as tight as you could.  You felt tears start to fall onto your head as Dean silently cried.  After a minute of standing there you decided to speak.

“Don’t ever say that again.  It wasn’t your fault that they died.”  You said as you turned to look at Sam who also had tears in his eyes.  “Or yours.  Don’t ever think that.  You understand?” 

Dean sniffled and looked into your eyes.  “Yeah.”

“And don’t ever think that you can’t protect me.  I trust you two more than anyone.  I know for a fact that you two will be there when I need you the most.  And I’m sorry that I gave you such a hard time this past week.  You were just trying to keep me safe even though I was acting like a total super bitch.”  You explained.  “I trust that I will go on a hunt with you two when I’m ready.  And that doesn’t mean when I’m 30 either.”

Both Sam and Dean chuckled at that.

“Com´er.”  Dean said as he engulfed you in another bone crushing hug.  Sam joined in shortly after. 

You knew that you were going to be okay now that your brothers are there when you need them most.

Period

Summary: Swallowing his panic, he tried his hardest to take a deep breath. He grabbed a wad of toilet paper and wiped, hoping to scurry to his room and get rid of the evidence of any injury before anyone could find out, but it came back soaked in just as much deep, dark blood as before. Tears sprung to his eyes as he let his hyperventilating take over. 

“Daaaaaad!”

(Trans!Virgil; Adoption AU; Romantic Logicality, Paternal Moxiety, Brotherly Prinxiety, Creativitwins)

Warnings: Blood, periods, crying, explanation of the menstrual cycle, brief mention of sex, implied/referenced past child abuse, brief mention of past character death, Remus Antics (brief, non-graphic mention of a gory scene in an old movie)

Word Count: 2316

A/N: So, this has been a fic I’ve wanted to write for 12+ years, a fic that’s transpired fandom after fandom after fandom: an explanation of what a period is, to help others who won’t get/understand an explanation from other sources. I know this gets a little info-dump-y, but I tried to make it understandable. This fic is for you kids who are nervous about getting yours for the first time, like I was, and I hope seeing characters you love going through it, too, can help!

This is also the first fic I’m posting, I guess, of this Adoption AU I’ve had in my head for a while! I’ve got a couple other ideas in mind, including a part 2 to this focusing more on Roman and Virgil, sooo hit me up for some AU questions, if you have any!

-----

It was true that Virgil hadn’t really been feeling well in the past week.

He didn’t know what it was, but everything just felt… off. He didn’t want to socialize with anyone; being around people had been making a fire of rage burn in his chest, and the fact that he didn’t know why just made it ten times worse. He was exhausted to the point of nearly falling asleep in class, and would have slept through his alarms twice and been late if it hadn’t have been for Roman waking him up when he didn’t come for breakfast.

Speaking of, he hadn’t had much of an appetite, and he’d hardly been eating because of it. Even the idea of eating anything had made him feel a little gross. And his stomach had been cramping a lot.

Realistically, Virgil knew this was something he should tell Patton or Logan, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. It didn’t matter how many times Roman reassured him that their dads wouldn’t be angry at him for getting sick; until he saw it for himself, he wasn’t going to be able to believe him. So what if Patton was a nurse? So what if Roman and Logan had butted heads dozens of times since Virgil had moved in, and it had never dissolved into a screaming match? That didn’t mean they wouldn’t turn on him, or that he was a good enough kid to avoid getting on their bad side!

Besides, he wasn’t throwing up or running a fever! He was just going to waste their time if he said anything. They had more important things to worry about than him. It’s not like he was dying or anything.

…Or, so he’d thought, until Thursday afternoon when he went to the bathroom and found his underwear covered in blood.

Virgil almost screamed at the sight. As soon as he recovered, he frantically searched his body for any sign of a scrape or scratch that could have left such a mess. There was nothing. Maybe… Maybe it had already healed?

Swallowing his panic, he tried his hardest to take a deep breath. He grabbed a wad of toilet paper and wiped, hoping to scurry to his room and get rid of the evidence of any injury before anyone could find out, but it came back soaked in just as much deep, dark blood as before. Tears sprung to his eyes as he let his hyperventilating take over.

“Daaaaaad!”

Footsteps came rushing to the door faster than he’d ever heard in this household. “Virgil, are you okay?”

He choked back a sob. “I-I’m bleeding…!”

“Okay, it’s going to be okay, kiddo,” Patton soothed. “Can I come in?”

Virgil looked at himself, still on the toilet, and set the wad of toilet paper on the tank. He scrambled to stand and pull his pants up before whimpering out an “Uh-huh”.

Patton calmly came in and shut the door behind him. “Alright, where are you bleeding?”

“I-I don’t know!”

“You don’t know?” he asked with a frown.

“I…” Virgil picked up the toilet paper and showed it to him, lowering his voice to a whisper despite no one else being in there with them. “It was all over my underwear,” he explained. “And when I wiped, I…”

He trailed off as Patton tilted his head to inspect the blood, and then understanding faded onto his face as he looked away in thought. While it was only a few seconds, it felt like an eternity; his stomach started to cramp again, and Virgil found himself trembling.

“I-I haven’t been feeling good this week,” he admitted. “My stomach’s been hurting, and—and all I want to do is sleep, and I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to bother you guys, and I’m sorry, I should’ve said something, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to be sick, I don’t want to have to go to the hospital, please—!”

Patton shushed him and ran his fingers through Virgil’s hair. “Hey, hey, relax, it’s alright! You’re okay, Virgil. You’re not going to die, trust me. Especially not on my watch.”

He leaned over, put the toilet lid down, and gently pushed Virgil to sit on it before kneeling in front of him. He took a few seconds to chew on his lip in thought.

“Virgil,” he started, “At your old school, did your teachers ever take an afternoon to talk to you guys about puberty?”

Virgil shook his head.

Patton let out a breath and nodded. “I guess they probably think it’s a little too early to talk about it, huh?” he muttered. “Am I allowed to touch your stomach, honey?”

Virgil hesitated, but he nodded after a moment. Patton reached up and placed his hands on Virgil’s lower belly. When he flinched, he used his thumb to rub gentle circles into it.

“Okay, so, in your body, right down here, you have this thing called a uterus,” he softly explained. “When people are pregnant, that’s where the babies grow before—”

“Am I PREGNANT?!”

“No, no, no—!” Patton had to hold back a laugh, taking his hands away to cover his face for just a second before returning them to their original position. “You’re not pregnant, Virgil, don’t—don’t worry about that!”

Virgil snapped his mouth shut, lower lip still trembling. Patton offered him a reassuring smile as he continued.

“Your uterus has these two things connected to it called ovaries.” He used his two index fingers to draw out where they would be. “They hold a bunch of tiny little eggs inside of them that eventually would turn into people—but only under certain circumstances, at certain times, usually involving another person. If you were to get pregnant, you’d know, understand? It’s not going to happen randomly.”

Patton didn’t move on until Virgil nodded.

“Okay. Now, about once a month, one of these two little guys is going to let one of their eggs go,” he said, “and it sticks to the wall of your uterus. And your body goes…”

Patton threw his hands into the air and waved them around. “’Yay! We’re gonna have a baby!’” he cheered in a cartoony voice. Virgil let out a weak snicker. Patton counted it as a win.

“It starts to get ready for this potential baby by building up this lining around the walls, so that it’ll be extra protected from harm. And for a little while, if you… Ah…” Patton’s face turned red. “Do… certain things, with certain people, that egg might get fertilized, and that’s how pregnancy starts.”

“Like… kissing?”

Patton hummed. “No, you’d have to do a little more than that. More, uh… adult stuff.”

Virgil nodded, looking at the floor very seriously. “Taxes.”

It was a fight to keep his laugh in. “R-Right. Taxes.” He cleared his throat and continued. “Um, anyway, if that egg doesn’t get fertilized, your body says, ‘Oh, darn! Well, maybe next time!’, and it gets rid of the egg, and then it gets rid of that lining so it can make a fresh one for the next egg.” He pointed to the bloody toilet paper still gripped tightly in Virgil’s hands. “That’s what that blood is. It’s not a cut, and it’s certainly not an omen of death. It’s just a sign that you’re growing up.”

Virgil stared at the toilet paper for a long moment. “…Am I going to have to do this every month?”

“Well, not at first,” Patton replied, putting his hands on his knees. “This is a brand new feature in your body right now, so it’ll take a bit for it to fall into a real cycle. For a little bit, you might have a couple within a month, or you might not have it for another three after this. But, eventually, yeah, the body will balance itself out.”

“How long is that gonna take?”

“It depends on your body. If it takes a while, or it doesn’t seem like it’s going to balance at all, we can look into some options to help, like birth control or hormone therapy. Modern medicine is a great thing,” he said with a wink. “How about we save that conversation for a little later, though? See how this pans out for now?”

There was a beat, and then Virgil slowly nodded. He shifted and tipped his head away. “What do I do about my underwear?” he whispered.

Patton hummed and sat back, looking up at the ceiling. “Well… I’ll be honest, kiddo, I can talk your ear off about anatomy and the medical side of things, but I don’t have a clue about the products and stuff. How would you feel if I called Remus’s mom and asked her to come explain that stuff to us?”

Virgil wiped at his eyes. “Okay.”

Offering a gentle smile, Patton held his arms open; there was a moment of hesitation, and then Virgil leaned forward and wrapped his smaller arms around him. Patton held him tight and rubbed his back.

“Thank you,” he whimpered.

“Of course, sweetie. That’s what your Pop and I are here for,” he reassured. “And don’t you ever worry about bothering us if you’re not feeling well, okay? We care about you more than whatever silly things we might be working on. We want to take care of you, okay?”

Virgil shuddered in a manner that was suspiciously similar to that of a repressed sob; when he spoke next, his voice was tight and high-pitched. “Okay.”

They sat like this for a moment, with Patton holding his son close, rubbing a hand over his lower back, until he pressed a kiss into his hair and pulled back.

“Alright, Virge, I need to go call Mrs. Drake,” he said. “Is your stomach still hurting? Or anything else, for that matter? I can get you some medicine to help, if you want.”

Virgil nodded, scrubbing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

Patton nodded and climbed to his feet. “Okay. I’ll be back as soon as I can, promise.”

He stepped out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and leaving Virgil alone with his thoughts again. He was still shaking, yes, but the terror of thinking he was going to die was settling into the more manageable fear of learning a new routine…

And maybe, a little, the risk of starting to put his trust into someone.

But maybe there wasn’t so much to fear in that one.

Virgil leaned forward and finally dropped the bloody toilet paper into the trash.

----------

The front door slammed open; Logan and Roman both nearly jumped out of their skin from where they sat at the dining room table.

“Virgil, we got your little butt-diapers!”

There was the sound of a light swat, and then the snatching of a plastic bag.

“Stahp, Remus, he’s already having a hard time with it!”

Snickering echoed through the entryway as the two climbed the half-flight of stairs leading to the main floor. As Remus made a beeline to tackle Roman out of his chair, Logan adjusted his posture to be more formal and nodded at Mrs. Drake.

“Good afternoon, Alya,” he called.

“Hi, boys,” she quickly responded. “Are they still in the bathroom?”

“I believe so, yes.”

Mrs. Drake nodded and hurried off just as Roman wrestled Remus off of him. He glanced at the hallway, and then between his twin and his father.

“Wait, what’s going on?”

“Your baby bro’s anus is bleeding for the first time!”

“No, Remus,” Logan scolded. He turned to Roman. “He’s experiencing his first menstrual period. Your father called Mrs. Drake to help teach him the technical aspects of how to best handle it.”

Roman blinked and sat up straight. “Oh! Is he going to be alright?”

“Yeah, Mom brought a bunch of stuff to help,” Remus replied, waving his hand as he plopped into the open seat next to Roman. “Pads, painkillers, heating rice bag sock things, the whole shebang. And a bunch of chocolate and candy and stuff!”

“Ah, good. I’ve seen studies that dark chocolate helps with cramps,” Logan stated.

Remus sighed. “A shame. I was hoping we’d get to see Virgie’s tiny baby rip out of his stomach. Like that scene in Aliens!”

Roman let out a whine and swatted him. “Dude, that’s my little brother!”

“Oh, come on! Your other dad’s a nurse! He could stitch him back up in no time!”

“That is not how nurses work!”

Logan hummed and adjusted his glasses, turning back to the papers he was grading. “Astounding. In less than two minutes, you’ve expressed your ignorance in both anatomy and the careers of the medical field. I suggest you brush up on them both if you truly wish to study in the field of dentistry.”

“Haa, brush up,” Roman laughed.

Logan shot him a glare over the rim of his glasses; Roman and Remus high-fived.

“Do your homework, Roman.”

Roman grinned and turned back to face his homework, but his mind instead floated back to Virgil’s condition. He bit down on his lip and shifted before looking up and tapping his pencil end against the table.

“Seriously… Virgil is going to be okay, right?” he asked.

Logan let out a soft breath. “Your brother is going to be just fine,” he gently reassured. “This is a natural thing for many people who possess uteri. He might be in pain for a little while, but ultimately, he will be alright.”

“My mom deals with it every month, and she’s not dead yet,” Remus pointed out. Then, with his grin fading a bit, he added, “Our mom probably had them, too. She must’ve, if she had us.”

Roman watched him for a long moment, and then he nodded, swallowing the lump that had snuck into his throat.

“Okay,” he whispered. “Okay.”

---------

Second A/N:

Hey, folks-- So, as it turned out, I made a bit of a mistake in explaining this. So sorry about this! Thank you so much to @romanslunchbox​ for pointing this out and correcting me:

“ It isn’t a huge mistake. However, in your fic you stated that the egg gets stuck in the lining of the uterus. But that is only possible with a fertilized egg. An non-fertilized egg dies in the oviducts before it can even reach the uterus. After the egg dies certain hormones are released to start the menstruation about 2 weeks later (how that works is an entire shit show of hormones and stuff). It takes a while for these hormones to be released, so the uterus keeps producing more lining for the egg to get stuck in. When the uterus finally gets the signale that there is no pregnancy, that is when the menstruation starts. “

Pairings: None

Word Count: 1,544 Words

Summary: Twin trouble and the bakusquad plans to take Touya out shopping.

Warnings: Child Abuse Mention, Death Mention, Homophobia Mentions, Cursing, Injury Mention, Immunocompromised Character, let me know if I should tag anything else.

Notes: Touya’s clothes include links to what they look like.

Hair Dye Buddies: Chapter 3

Learning the basics with his new quirk took to him instantly as he used ways he'd used to watch their father train Shoto with his quirks. The snow felt so calm under his fingertips, the naturality of it far better than the fire that he was born with.

By the end of the class, several snowmen and snow angels had been made and he was very proud with his quick advancement. Everyone seemed happy with his quirk and it made him so eager to please them.

"Tomorrow's training will be more fighting with quirks. I need to get you all ready for the upcoming licensing exam." Aizawa told them on their walk back to class. "Yes, you will be included, Touya. I've spoken to Nezu and all you'll need to do is catch yourself up in your studies and your quirk training, which should be no problem given you take to things so easily. Though yours would be temporary." Aizawa told him.

"This doesn't mean you all will be hurrying to spar with each other tonight, I will put you in detention if you do. Touya, you're allowed to tinker around with your quirk under teacher supervision if you want since, even if you've taken hold of it quickly, it's still brand new to you." Aizawa told him.

Of course, Sir." He nodded, trailing with Shoto.

"So you're officially a UA student, Touya." He was giddy, he'd always wanted to attend UA but father forced him into a no-name school with barely any accountability for their students and had even listed him under their mother's maiden name to keep him away.

"How are Fuyumi and Natsuo?" Touya asked abruptly. Shoto looked bewildered at the sudden conversation shift. Then he realized it might be because Shoto was never allowed around them. He might not know their names, even.

"Sorry, I know you're not even that close to them, us three were so clumped together and you were so much later we never actually bonded together as siblings or anything and you were probably forced away once I was gone so you probably never even knew them." Touya sighed.

"Actually, we're pretty close now. I guess we all realized losing you meant we needed to stick together as much as possible. We even have a group chat without dad. We call it the Endeavor Hate Chat." Shoto smiled and Touya laughed.

"Oh, now you have to show me how much you bash the old man. How old's he now, 45, 46?"

"46. Just turned it like two months ago." Touya gave a chuckle.

"Wow, talk about the timing of that stupid deaging. It's the same time in the year too. I'm starting to think someone put a spell on me like Sleeping Beauty. Come back the same age five years later to torment my little brother." Touya teased.

"I'm not so little anymore. I'm a week older than you." Shoto teased back.

"Oh come on, it's not by much!" Touya exclaimed, getting the class to snicker at their petty argument of age.

"Anyway, how are Natsu and Yumi? You never answered." Touya reminded him.

"Well, Fuyumi's a kindergarten teacher's aid, she's got a secret girlfriend or two and a secret boyfriend too. That woman is pulling too many people at this point. I really have tried to get her to talk to a therapist about her mommy and daddy issues but it isn't really working as you can tell. Natsuo is in college still, becoming a nurse. He has a husband now, they eloped not this summer but the summer before. He's really happy. Both are doing okay. Yumi says she wants kids in the future still and I'm hoping Dad doesn't latch onto it and try to pick her a husband or something to keep 'good quirks' in the family."

Touya smiled knowing his now-older siblings were happy in life. It was all he'd hoped they'd get when he was younger, he couldn't believe they got their happy endings despite his lack of involvement.

"Me, though, I'm going to be a hero just to save people. Unlike his goals for me, I want to be a hero that's a good person as well as a good hero so he won't be giving me the title of Number One, he'll be handing his mantle to part of the next generation he didn't make, likely. And he has a rude awakening if he thinks he'll get his grandchildren to succeed him." Shoto smiled deviously.

"Why?" Touya asked.

"Because he doesn't know I'm gay yet and I won't be giving him biological grandchildren. I plan to adopt kids in need instead. The only children he'll have are Fuyumi's and yours." Shoto proudly stated.

"You say this like I'm not gay too. I'm not having kids." Touya cackled.

"Yumi's got a whole next family generation on her hands then. All the boys can now wipe their hands clean of the reproduction process." Shoto was trying hard not to laugh, so was Touya.

"I ain't never seen four straight siblings. Always three of 'em gotta be gay." Midoriya announced, bursting the whole class into laughter besides the grape-looking gremlin.

"Ew, gays!" The juice gremlin exclaimed, interrupting everyone's fun.

"Shut the fuck up, Mineta." Aizawa instructed the grape gremlin.

"Yes, sir." Mineta agreed.

"I'm glad you ended up bonding with them. I remember being so worried when you were born because the three of us had each other and you were five years younger than us. I was always worried you'd never bond with us."

"Well, you guys were triplets. It's a different bond, I guess." Shoto sighed. "I just know that they were devastated when they heard you disappeared. We all thought you'd run away because the old man never said anything about kicking you out. We thought you'd died on the streets. You have a tombstone in Mom's garden still." Shoto told him.

"They always did joke about burying me in the yard." Touya laughed.

"I'm so glad you get another chance at life. Once we're able to tell Natsuo and Fuyumi, they'll be overjoyed." Shoto butted his shoulder with his own.

"I hope they'll be happy." Touya smiled a bit.

The day was easy after that. He wasn't all that behind in his studies, even excelled a English. During a hero lesson, he got sent to Recovery Girl, who tried to figure out the quirk that caused this and how it worked.

They'd ultimately ended up that this was more than likely permanent now that things had changed from how his life had originally went, especially once he told her of Ryuu and the quirk change. Then she forcefully healed the cuts and burns on his hands and arms from Ryuu and sent him back to class for Math.

The school day was over before he knew it and he was following Bakugou back to the dorms and he went to his own room, it was still bare, just a bed and a desk and a television set up in the corner.

"Hey, Cotton Candy, we're going out, you wanna come?" Bakugou asked.

"I'd be in my school uniform. Aren't we not supposed to wear them when we're not on campus?" He asked.

"We're the same size, just take some clothes. Mina wants to go clothes shopping anyway." Bakugou told him.

"Okay, but I don't have any money." Touya reminded him.

"IcyHot already agreed to let you take your dad's credit card. We're buying you clothes whether you like it or not." Bakugou told him, shoving some clothes at him and he fumbled a second but held them while Bakugou closed his door. "Get dressed! We're leaving in like twenty minutes once Pikachu does his makeup."

Touya was grateful Bakugou had handed him black jeans with cuts on the knees and a baggy black sweater with a skull on it, the comfort of it was astronomical. He put back on the black boots he'd shown up to UA in last night and headed out to Mina in the men's hallway, wolf whistling at him and Sero laughing telling him he fit right in.

"Question, does anyone have a mask I can borrow? My immune system is pretty weak, I got a lot of the weaker genetics in the family so I get sick pretty easy."

"Yeah, man, Shoji has a ton of extra masks." Sero told him. Kirishima was already knocking on Shoji's door for him.

"Hey, man, can Touya borrow a mask, his immune system sucks and we're taking him out shopping."

"Sure, I have some smaller ones my sister sent me a while back that don't fit me." Shoji rummaged a moment and then handed Kirishima a few masks with Halloween themed patterns on them. "Have fun out in the world, Touya." Shoji reminded him.

"I will, thank you, Shoji!" Touya smiled brightly at him as he put on the black mask with the orange and yellow jack'o'lantern pattern.

Being handed Endeavor's credit card by Shoto and told to go wild at the mall was like a fever dream when he used to have to ask and beg for months for new things and then he was made to work himself to the bone for it.

Taglist: @lgbtforeverything @rin-tanaka @everythingisstardust

teachers pet - johnny au

WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT 18+ (no protection mentioned, sexual content) NO student x teacher relationship or sexual contact but potentially triggering themes surrounding a creepy teacher

Word Count: 

Themes: university au, student x student, friends to lovers, soft dom, spanking, exhibitionism

Pairing: Johnny Suh x Female Reader

PLOT: Y/N is absolutely intoxicating and everyone knows it. She garners the attention from boys and girls in school all the time but when her friend Johnny notices that she’s captured the attention of her professor as well, he decides its time to put all his cards on the table once and for all to win over his crush and put an end to the wandering eyes at their university.

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      You pushed your way through the doors of the campus café where you frequently stopped in between classes. The smell of fresh coffee beans and pastries filled the air, and as usual most students were hunched over their books or enthralled in some conversation with their friends as they occupied the tables and couches in the cozy space. You slowed your pace towards the line as you peered up at the menu, the clicking of your boots commanding the attention of the people seated at the nearby tables. Some just stared while others whispered quietly amongst themselves as they watched you. It wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary. You were the president of at least 3 clubs in school and were frequently a fixture on campus. You figured most people simply recognized you for being so involved. A group of girls’ chatter died down as you got closer to their table, and a flustered boy jumped up from his seat before making his way over to you. “Hey, Y/N... Do you need a seat? I was just about to leave,” he stuttered. You smiled at the boy before politely declining. “No I’m fine, thank you. I’m just making a quick stop before class but I appreciate the offer,” you said -- shooting him a sweet smile that made a blush creep up his cheeks, before he headed back to his table.

You approached the glass display to admire the baked goods. Most of the baristas were busy making cup after cup of coffee at an impressive speed -- dealing with the rush of students with ease and shortening the line. Just as your eyes landed on a beautifully decorated cookie made to look like a maple leaf, a head popped up from behind the display. “Hey Y/N,” they said in a lowered voice, “do you want your usual? I can get that to you in a minute so you don’t have to wait in line.” It was Rin, an upperclassmen who had worked at the cafe for 2 years now who was there almost every time you came in. Just as you opened your mouth to respond, two large hands popped up at either side of your head as they held two cups of coffee up from behind you. 

“She’s good,” murmured the boy whose voice you could recognize from a mile away. You titled your head up and met the gaze of your friend Johnny who was smiling down at you. Rin nodded quietly before heading back to work behind the counter, disappearing as quickly as he first appeared. 

“You’re a lifesaver, Johnny. What would I do without you?” you said as you took a sip of the vanilla Frappuccino he had gotten for you, moaning at the heavenly taste. He laughed before mumbling under his breath and gesturing towards the workers again, “You would probably be better off since you'd be getting lots of free coffee.” You rolled your eyes at his remark. “But it tastes so much better when you buy it for me,” you said sweetly as you pouted your lips and batted your eyelashes. Johnny rolled his eyes and smiled as he reached out to wipe a bit of coffee from the corner of your mouth before you both turned towards the entrance.

Eyes followed the pair of you the entire way out of the coffee shop. The chilly fall air felt nice against your skin and blew through the waves in your hair as you made your way through campus. 

“Its starting to get cold,” Johnny began, “I have no clue how you manage to still wear skirts like that without freezing your little legs off.” You wore a knit sweater and a pleated brown plaid skirt with a pair of booties that had a slight heel. 

You looked down at your legs which were in fact covered with goosebumps before walking a couple steps in front of Johnny, strutting dramatically. 

“Exactly. When winter comes, I’m going to have to cover these up so enjoy it while it lasts instead of complaining,” you said as you did a little spin. Your skirt lifted into the air, revealing a little more than expected as your hand reached down to flatten it out again -- narrowly avoiding a wardrobe malfunction. 

Johnny had reached his hand out towards your skirt as well, clearly predicting what would have happened if you hadn’t handled the situation yourself first. He exchanged a fiery glance with a group of boys who had witnessed the close call, and now were staring intently and chattering excitedly amongst their group -- unbeknownst to you. 

“I definitely wasn’t complaining but if you don’t at least start wearing a coat then you’ll freeze to death,” he said as he rolled his eyes, laughing quietly at your antic. He shrugged out of his peacoat and draped it over your shoulders as you continued your walk. The interaction summed up your friendship perfectly. For as long as you had known Johnny, you were the outgoing and reckless one while he was calm, cool, and collected in all situations. Johnny always knew exactly what to do, and what you needed before even you did. He looked out for you more than you looked out for yourself and you knew that he always had your best interest in mind. There wasn’t a single person in the world who you blindly trusted with your life but him. It was the perfect balance. 

The two of you continued your walk until you reached the business building where you both had your finance lecture. Students were trailing in an out of the building as you approached. One in particular stopped in his tracks as he got to the door, holding it open for you with a smile on his face as his cheeks blushed pink. You thanked him before heading in, and he followed directly behind you, cutting in between you and Johnny. 

As always, Johnny remained cool, calm, and collected. He was used to this more than you were. He knew you were oblivious to the way others treated you but he noticed it all. Every glance that trailed up and down every inch of your body, every whisper about how gorgeous you were, the stares of both jealousy and admiration from the other girls... he noticed it all. But of course, he couldn’t blame anyone. He understood what they all saw in you because he saw it too. He saw the way your smile lit up every room you were in, and how your eyes would crinkle shut if you laughed too hard. He saw how cute you looked whenever you got confused about something in class, squinting at the dry erase board and pouting your lips as you rolled your pencil between your fingers. He especially loved the way you looked after you had spent hours studying in the library because no matter what, you always came back out with a messy bun in your hair that certainly wasn’t there when you first went in and barely noticeable bags under your eyes -- so tired that you’d fall asleep in his car as he drove you home. 

“Hello... Johnny... Did you finish it or not?” you asked. “H-huh?” he responded. 

“The homework. I need help on the last question,” you stated. He had been too caught up in his own thoughts again. “Oh, that. Yeah,” he murmured under his breath before reaching into his bag to rummage around for his notebook. He didn’t know why it was so hard to keep you off of his mind these days. Well actually, of course he knew why but he had spent years keeping his emotions in check and wasn’t sure why he seemed to be losing control of them lately. His crush had always been there but it was getting almost unbearable as the days went on.

“Y/n, I can help you with that. I have it right here,” said Doyoung, a student from your class, as he butted right into your conversation. It especially made it harder for Johnny to process his feelings when seemingly everyone around him seemed to be throwing themselves at you. He wasn’t sure if it was better or much worse that you barely took note of it. You looked back at Johnny whose mind seemed to be wandering elsewhere again before he gave you a sheepish smile and tilted his head in the direction of Doyoung, silently telling you to accept the kind boy’s offer. You returned his smile before heading into the room, hoping that whatever was occupying your friends mind wasn’t taking too much of a toll on him. 

Johnny sat in his usual seat while you took the seat next to Doyoung right as he began his quick lesson on the final math question you struggled with. Other students poured into the lecture hall as it got closer and closer to the start time of the class. You glanced back at Johnny ever so often only to find him staring into space as he propped his elbow up on the table in front of him, resting his cheek against the palm of his hand. 

Johnny on the other hand had a lot on his mind. He couldn’t help but notice the way Doyoung inched closer to you as he went through the math problem. His eyes wandered away from the two of you as he peered around the room, looking for something to distract him. He watched as two girls huddled over their phones, scrolling through pictures of your instagram account talking about how rare some sweater you were wearing in your latest picture was and how they wished they could pull off that colour as well as you did. His eyes eventually landed on the professor who stood behind a podium at the front of the room. The man was smart and probably the most sought after finance professor in the entire university. Students fought to be in his class but he had an awful wandering eye. Johnny watched as the professor stared a little too long at each of the female students who walked through the door. Disgusting, he thought to himself. The professors eyes scanned the room before landing on you -- or more specifically your bare legs that you dangled out in front of you as you worked through the problem with Doyoung. Johnny could feel his cheeks heating up as he watched the professor scan the length of your body with his gaze, licking his lips. Johnny’s rage intensified as he heard the man call out your name. 

You raised your head away from the homework sheet that you and Doyoung were wrapping up on before heading over. Johnny’s eyes never left you for a second, and he sat up a bit straighter in his seat. He couldn’t quite make out what the professor was saying but he figured it had to be some bullshit as the man was basically undressing you with his eyes during the entire exchange. He watched as the professor slipped you a business card with a sinister smile on his face as you turned on your heels and headed back towards Doyoung. You gathered your things from the seat next to him and thanked him, before retreating to the familiar spot next to Johnny. The professor was still gazing at you from across the room. 

“What did he say to you?” asked Johnny as he stared ahead, sounding very unlike himself. His tone was firm, almost cold and emotionless. “Huh? Doyoung? Nothing.. he was just --” you began before being cut off. 

“Not him, the professor. What did he say to you?” Johnny asked again, this time more urgently and this time, as he looked right into your eyes, his gaze now darker. 

“Well...” you began, unsure of what had gotten into your friend, “he knows that i’m the president of events and planning and wanted to know if I could help him plan a finance networking event for seniors and alumni.” Johnny let out a deep sigh and didn’t say another word for the next half hour of class. You stole quick glances at him here and there but he carried the same expression on his face each time. He stared intently ahead at the professor, jaw clenched as he fidgeted with his pen despite not having taken a single note since the lecture had begun.

“J...” you whispered to him as the professor turned around to begin scribbling an equation on the white board. “Hmm?” responded Johnny, still staring ahead. “Why aren’t you taking notes?” you asked him. He glanced down at his paper before checking the time on his phone, as if he had just realized how out of it he had been.

“I - i can’t focus, I guess,” he murmured as he sighed again. An hour had passed and the professor momentarily stopped the lecture for a 15 minute break. Johnny decided right that second that 15 minutes was all he needed. At this point the frustration and angst were both eating him alive. It was now or never.

You were enthralled in a conversation with a boy next to you when you felt a hand grip your thigh under the table. Your cheeks flushed red trying to ignore the feeling that ran through your body before turning to Johnny — the owner of that hand.

“We need to talk... somewhere private,” he said in a hushed tone. You looked at him, concerned. Something seemed to seriously be bothering him these days. You nodded before excusing yourself from the conversation and getting up from your seat to leave the lecture hall.

Johnny’s piercing gaze remained on the professor who was once again watching you as the two of you walked out of the room. Fuck that guy, he thought. And any other guy who looked at you the way that creep did.

You walked Johnny down towards the private office you had due to your position as the President of events. Everyone else seemed to be in class so no other members were hanging around the area.

You opened your office door with your keys and locked it behind you before settling down on the small couch that was inside, gesturing for Johnny to sit down next to you. He ran his fingers through his hair before speaking.

“Before I say anything I just want to apologize for being so uptight lately. The thing is, I’ve tried to ignore this but it’s getting too hard these days,” he said.

You watched as he clenched his fists. “It kills me when they look at you like that...” he said. You were confused. You watched as his cheeks flushed pink.

“Johnny what are you talking about?” you asked as you reached out to touch his knee.

He turned to you to rest his hand on your face. “I’m talking about the fact that I’m in love with you and how much I hate it when guys, especially our creep of a professor, look at you the way they always do,” he said.

Your mouth fell open slightly, shocked at his revelation. Of course you had feelings for him. Who didn’t? Johnny may not have realized it but you weren’t the only person who got a lot of attention. You couldn’t go anywhere without overhearing girls talking about how handsome and tall and smart he was. You’d be lying if you said it didn’t make you a little jealous too but you never once thought he would see you that way or that he was experiencing similar feelings as you. You wanted to tell him these things but with his hand on your face and your hand on his knee, other thoughts began to run through your mind.

You looked up into his eyes as your breathing increased. Your faces were mere inches apart. “Then show them,” you said in a near whisper. Johnny’s eyes dropped to your lips momentarily as his tongue ran across his own. His eyes shot back up to your eyes when he processed what you said.

“Wait what? Y/n, what do you mean by that,” you asked as he traced small circles on your cheek with his thumb. You ran your hand higher up his leg and squeezed his thigh softly.

“If it bothers you so much then maybe you should show them. Show then how much you love me, Johnny. Show them that I’m yours,” you cooed. His eyes glazed over at your words as he leaned back onto the couch and shut his eyes, cursing under his breath.

“Fuck... I really wish you hadn’t just said that,” he proclaimed. Before you could ask him why he would say such a thing you were being yanked from your position on the couch and into his lap, as he gripped your face and pulled it to meet his own. He captured your lips in a kiss. Despite his initial roughness, the kiss started off soft. He dipped his tongue into your mouth to massage it against yours before trapping your bottom lip between his teeth, biting down softly on the soft flesh. You moaned quietly in response.

Johnny’s free hand made its way down your back before he reached under your skirt to grip your bare ass underneath the plaid fabric, massaging it with his hand before he pulled it away from your skin only to land it firmly back into place with a loud spank.

You jumped at the sensation letting out a gasp before moaning at the tingling feeling. Before the pain could set in, you were met with the comforting feeling of Johnny’s hand massaging your sensitive skin to ease the stinging. Wetness began to pool at your core as you moaned into his mouth as your kiss became increasingly desperate and sloppy due to your arousal.

You pulled away for a split second to say the word “Again,” as you looked into Johnny’s eyes. You could feel his erection grow underneath him. “Please, Johnny,” you said as you circled your hips into the tent that had formed in his pants, hissing at the friction against your clit. You yanked your sweater over your head and discarded in on the floor along with your bra before getting Johnny to do the same. Thank God you had locked that door.

He let out a soft groan before reaching his hand away from you to slap it against your skin once more. You let out a much louder moan this time, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of his large hands covering your skin. He became less gentle with each spank and by the fourth one you were shaking in his arms. “Is that what my baby girl likes?” he cooed as he reached down to draw circles on your clit through your panties.

You were already a mess. You rocked your hips against his hand as you felt the wetness between your legs increase. Johnny continued the assault on your clit as he trailed kisses down your jaw and over your neck, pausing to suckle at the skin in a discrete yet visible area — leaving his mark on you for everyone to see.

“Mine...” he whispered as he continued to kiss his way down your body, pausing to capture one of your nipples in his mouth, sucking desperately at the delicate flesh as he rolled the other between two of his fingers.

“Johnny...” you hissed as you threw your head back. You reached down to palm him through his pants as he moaned into your chest, mouth vibrating against your skin sending shockwaves through your body.

“We only have five minutes left baby,” he said as he drew your mouth in for another kiss.

You got up out of his lap, pulling him up from the couch before leading him over to the desk in the room.

Johnny followed obediently. You wanted to take control for a little. You leaned back against the desk as you unbuckled his pants and his erection sprang free. You pumped your hands against its length as he let out a breathy moan, resting his hands at either side of your body against the desk. His head dropped down lower as he focused on the pleasure and you took the opportunity to leave a mark of your own on his neck too as you sucked and licked at his soft skin.

You could feel him growing harder and harder in the palm of your hand as your fingers danced over the head of his cock, precum sticking to your fingers. “Y/n, that feels so good,” he struggled to say between gasps as he began to jerk himself into your fist. Just as he was about to reach his peak, you let go of him. He let out an irritated groan in response.

You pushed him back away from you slightly to give yourself room before turning around. You slipped your panties off before bending over the table and flipping your skirt up, spreading your legs wide enough to give Johnny a clear view of your dripping core. You looked over your shoulder innocently and Johnny stood there with his mouth agape, breathing heavily as he pumped his hands over himself.

“We’re running out of time and there’s no way I’m leaving this room without you fucking me over this desk,” you exclaimed. Johnny wasted no time. He groped your ass, spanking you again as he slipped two fingers into you, pumping them in and out as he spanked you a few more times. He knew how horny and desperate you were when he did that and he wanted you to be dripping wet.

He watched as your juices trailed down your leg before he inserted himself into you with a firm and quick thrust. You gasped at the feeling of his length filling you up so perfectly. You almost couldn’t handle all of him and he could tell. He thrusted in and out of you quickly, making sure to only give you as much as you could take. Your moans became increasingly louder as he reached around to cover your mouth.

“Be careful baby, are you forgetting where we are?” he began. “You don’t want everyone to hear how naughty of a girl their Vice President is, do you?” You moaned into his palm at the thought of people hearing the two of you fucking like this in the office. You wouldn’t mind all of those girls knowing that it was you who got to be bent over a desk for Johnny, taking his cock like a good girl. Maybe then they’d back off a little. “You like the sound of that don’t you? You may be a good girl but you are so bad for me, aren’t you? I love that,” he said between raspy moans. You were both so close and you could feel his thrusts become more frantic as his hips seemed to jerk forward involuntarily at times as he began to lose control. Your upper body was pressed against the cool wood beneath you as the warmth of Johnny’s body was pressed against your back. The desk shook with every thrust, the sound of it filling the room along with the slapping of your flesh against his.

You circled your ass back against him slowly, this time pushing yourself back onto him to make sure every inch of his length was inside of you. Johnny struggled to keep his voice down as he burried his head into your neck, feeling the warmth of your center completely engulf his cock. Your movements were slow and intimate and soon you felt him empty himself into you, as his cum filled you with warmth and you felt your orgasm spread through your body causing your insides to contract and your legs to shake. You were both gasping for air when he removed himself from you, using some tissues on the desk to clean you off as you both giddily got dressed.

Before stepping out of the room, you frantically fixed the collar of his shirt as he ran his fingers through your hair trying to tame it. You did the same to him between quick pecks here and there, totally intoxicated by him and incapable of keeping your hands off of him for too long. You knew it would look far too inappropriate if you went back into your lecture looking completely fucked out. The hickies you both donned were enough of hint at what you had gotten up to during the short break of your lecture.

You rushed back down the hall hand in hand, almost running as the two of you giggled. Students watched you and whispered to each other but neither of you cared. Soon you were back in the lecture hall and in your seats. You did get the odd glance here and there but everything seemed fine otherwise.

You sat a little closer to Johnny than you usually did, his hand was draped over the back of your chair as you both took notes and shared sweet glances throughout the rest of your lecture. Johnny watched you as you looked up at the white board confusingly knowing exactly what was going to come next.

Not even a few seconds later he watched as you shoved the end of your pen into your mouth and furrowed your brow. He chuckled softly to himself. Typical y/n, he thought. If only you knew how much of a tease you were when you did that. He leaned over to you before whispering in your ear “ If you don’t take that pen out of your mouth and stop working me up like this I might have to replace it with something else more enjoyable later on,” he said. You let out a soft gasp as your cheeks blushed pink and as your thighs clenched together on their own. The professor was silently watching over the class and Johnny couldn’t help but feel a little smug as he met his gaze across the room. He was almost certain he would be leaving you alone from now on.

Thank you for waiting so patiently for this. I really hope it meets your expectations. I’m officially on winter break and excited to be more active. Love you guys sm🖤 - mia... p.s let me know what you guys think. I love hearing your thoughts and overall reactions to my work. Or leave me a random ask, whatever you want!

Humans are Space Orcs, “Family Drama.”

I did not sleep in today, and have written you a story.

Warning: there are a few mentions of drugs and addiction, but not a ton

He had never felt so defeated.

As the Taxi door opened, and he stepped out onto the quiet residential street he had to hold back his shame and kept his head high. What would his family think? Should he even tell them? Well of course he should, that wasn’t an option anymore. If he wanted to make them proud he was going to have to make himself ashamed for a little while. 

Waffles whimpered at his heels.

He looked down at her with a small smile, “Alright, alright, you’re right, I’ll shut up.”

He rubbed her ears and walked up the concrete stepping forward onto the grass as a group of kids whirred past on hover-skates. They turned upon seeing them, voices suddenly raised pointing and waving at him as they rolled past.

He raised a hand to wave back, but quickly turned to the front door.

There was no way he was ready to interact with people that weren’t his close family.

He walked up the step and held out his implant to the door, it would open when it knew it was him.

The lock clicked, and he reached forward ready to finally relax and let off some steam.

The door clicked open, and he was immediately assaulted by a wave of sound.

“ADDIE!” He was grabbed around the shoulders and pulled into a massive crushing hug. It took his brain way longer than it should have to figure out what was one person, but then again, there was only one person he knew who called him Addie…. Like a fucking dog.

“Uncle Ben?” he grunted 

The man set him down on the floor and slapped his back. Below him Waffle growled nervously, but she was ignored, “It's been YEARS. We had no idea you were coming.”

The sound of kids screaming reached his ears and a t least five of them came rushing into the hallway.

“Hey that’s not fair, I wanted to be a pony too!”

“But I was one first, you can pick something else.”

Uncle Ben turned, “Hey everyone! Guess whose back!” His legs swiveled uselessly under himself as he was dragged through the hallway and into the living room, where the entire extended family seemed to be crammed. 

He blinked as the group turned into an uproar upon seeing him.

“What is that on his face?”

“Did you really lose a leg?”

“It’s been so long?”

Aunt Marry got up, “Lost all your baby fat finally.” He winced as she grabbed him and pinched his cheek, which wasn’t really for pinching anymore, or honestly had never been, but when he had more of a baby face she had always done that.

“Tell us about space!”

He was shoved onto the couch with Jeremy on one side and Grandma Vir on the other.

Jeremy gave him a look.

He grimaced back as Waffles crawled under his feet resting her head on Jeremy’s shoe.

“Where is dad?” he muttered to Jeremy, and his older brother leaned in to whisper, “where do you think. Hiding in the garage while mom entertains.”

“Coward.” Adam replied with some amusement.

That was just like their dad to avoid all extended family, even his own.

“Wait, wait, everyone calm down, our little Addie is Commander of the UNSC. You all remember when he was just a little guy who used to believe in flying saucers.”

Adam crossed his arms over his chest. Uncle Ben had always made fun of him as a kid.

His grandma looked at him from across the room, “What is that on your face?” She repeated.

He sighed, “An eyepatch grandma.”

“Why are you wearing an eyepatch.”

“Because I lost my eye.” He sighed.

She put a hand to her chest just as his mother came walking into the room, a Trey in one hand an apron tied around her waist and her hair pulled back in a messy bun. She looked more than a little frazzled.

“Martha, why didn’t you tell us he lost an eye!” She sighed, “Because I didn’t want to worry you mom.”

“How is the army still allowing you to command a ship with a missing eye?” Uncle Andy wondered 

“He flipped up the eyepatch and the mechanical tech hopped to life nearly freaking out as it tried to track all the faces in one place all at once.

Gasps, “IS that a mechanical eye!”

“Yes.”

His other grandma put a hand over her face, “and he used to have such pretty green eyes. Now look at them, he looks like one of those cyborgs! Did you know some of those people intentionally cut off their limbs to look more like that.”

Martha sighed, “That’s not how it works mom.”

His Mother’s sister waved at him from across the room. He smiled back, he had always liked her, “I love your eyepatch, it looks cool.”

Her husband grinned, “Space pirate.” he nodded sagely.”

Adam tilted his head across the room where he found  David and Jordan squished against one wall sitting on the floor Jordan mostly sitting in David’s lap as they tried not to take up any space.

His brother grimaced at him, he grimaced back.

His mother's father leaned forward his steel grey hair and serious face set, “So tell me Adam, what are exactly your duties in the UNSC.”

The entire family rolled their eyes at once, some not even discreetly. He only got involved in conversation if he considered it “useful” and that meant all of the thing other people didn’t want to talk about, money, religion, politics, family history…… 

“Er, well Uh.”

“After commanding an entire fleet of ships you would think he’d be better at public speaking.” Uncle Trevor announced from where he was hidden behind the piano.

Adam frowned and cleared his throat, “I am fleet commander of fifteen UNSC deep space vessels for both exploration and military combat, but my primary directive is to foster good will with alien races , and save others from destruction, subjugation and slavery while expanding our knowledge of the universe through prolongued deep-space exploration.”

“Ohhhh his directive!” The rest of the family oooooed as well, but it was mostly sarcastic in nature.

His niece, Kimver walked into the room and crawled up to sit with him and Jeremy leaning against both of their arms as she played on her handheld. Kimber’s new obsession seemed to have shifted into vintage gaming. Glancing over her shoulder he could see her throwing tiny white and red balls and strange looking animals and a very pixelated screen.

“Have you met any sexy alien ladies.” Ben butted in

The rest of the family raised their eyes to the sky. Grandma looked almost offended.

“Ben would you stop with that.” His wife muttered from where she sat on a chair in the corner.

“What the whole LFIL thing is legal now, so he totally could have met some sexy alien babes.:

“It’s not a joke Ben, those people had a rough time of it the past few years.” David piped up from the other side of the room.

“Why the GA decided to legalize that behavior is a mystery to me. The world really is getting more wicked.” Grandpa muttered,

Adam clenched his fists, “Actually, Grandpa, I convinced them to lift the ban.”

The room went very quiet very suddenly.

Adam wished he had just shut his mouth.

“You what!”

“Look I spent a lot of time around LFIL members when I was securing the GA hall from protestors. I met a lot of them, and they are just good people who want to be left alone to do what they want. So yes, because of my position I was able to walk into the GA council chambers and convinced them to lift the ban.”

They stared at him.

“But what they are doing is wrong, it’s like bestiality.”

He felt his fists clench, “Grandpa if you ever met an alien you wouldn’t say that. They are sentient being that can consent, and if they can do that than it isn’t bestiality, and also stop calling my friends animals. My ship is staffed by some of the best alien crewmembers I know, and I wont have you comparing them to cattle or dogs or whatever else you want.”

The room went quiet.

Grandpa stepped out in a huff.

HE sighed and leaned his head back against the wall with an audible thud.

His mother walked over and handed him a stack of cookies with a smile on her face that said: Sorry about that.

He took the cookies greatfully shoving one completly into his mouth to avoid saying something else stupid. 

“So, does this mean you DID find a sexy alien girl.” Ben wondered and was immediately elbowed in the ribs from two sides  producing a grunt of surprise.

“So Jeremy, how long have you two been dating.” Adam looked over Jeremy’s bulk towards where a petite red haired woman with grey eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across her face was squished into the other side of the couch.” 

Sensing him looking, she waved a hand with a bright smile, and he waved back.

“Almost a year now.” Jeremy beamed putting his arm around her.

“Should we be expecting an announcement from you two soon?’ 

Everyone groaned, “Grandma!”

Jeremy’s girlfriend took it like a champ and continued to smile unaffected.

“Speaking of relationships.”

Dear god please descend from heaven and rapture him straight to hell, not that, that's how it worked but anywhere but here would have been great

“Adam, when are you finally going to settle down, how old are you now 25?”

He wondered if he prayed to satan hard enough he could summon a demon to swallow his soul whole.

“I know have you ever even dated anyone”

“Kissed anyone?” “Kissing is fun, you should definitely try it sometime.”

“You're grandmother definitely needs more grandkids.”

Oh the irony, the thought bitterly to himself.

At his feet the dog whimpered.

“You know there is this really pretty girl who works down at the corner store, I think she might do really good for you, a very down to earth girl. You could get promoted into a better paying desk job at the UNSC work 9-5 it would be a dream.”

Jeremy placed a hand on his shoulder, “Actually, Adam is more of an action guy, right Adam/”

Adam gave a weak smile, “Yeah.”

“Oh, he’ll grow out of that, besides you wouldn’t want to put a family under that kind of stress. It’s like you’re never home.”

“Space is my home.” He grumbled 

“Don’t be silly, humans weren’t meant for that sort of thing, besides your obsession was cute as a kid, but now that you’re older, you really need to start thinking about the future and having kids before you’re too old.”

He wanted to scream and bash his head against the wall.

“You know what though, how about that cute younger guy that works at the DMV, he looks about your age Adam.”

“I’m not interested in having a family right now!”

The room looked at him quietly, “You asexual or something?” Uncle Ben piped up awkwardly.

Adam felt his face go red, what kind of question was that? No, no uncle Ben I am not horny, or yes, yes uncle Ben I would love to find some hot person to plow just not right now.

And in front of the entire family?

Because he really wanted to have an extended discussion about his sex life with his entire extended family.

Waffles whimpered at his feet.

And then like an angel she descended from the sky to save him, either that or a billowing superhero cape like the saint she was. He couldn’t decide, angel or superhero, but decided on both.

Supermom, and part of her costume is angel wings and a halo.

“Adam why don’t you take waffles outside, she sounds a little nervous. Maybe take her out through the garage?”

He nodded and bolted to his feet like there were rockets firing from his ass, and hurried towards the door with the dog trailing at his heels.

Voices faded behind him, and he quickly hurried through the door and into the garage, where he found his dad sitting with Thomas on a set of lawn chairs drinking cold sodas and watching the clouds pass overhead.

They turned as they heard the door open.

“Adam! We didn’t know you were coming, pull up a chair.” 

He did so and unfolded it between the other two men sitting down as Thomas handed him a drink.

“They drive you off too?” Thomas grumbled 

Adam looked at his brother. Thomas was looking a little better than usual. His hair was only a little bit scruffy and his scraggly beard was at least trimmed. The tract marks in his arms had faded to pale scars on his arms.

“Yeah, uncle Ben asked about my love life in front of god and all his creatures. You?”

“Rehab. “

“I thought you were out of rehab.”

“I am, which is why I would rather not talk about it.”

“You doing good?”

“Yeah, got a stable job now, so that’s nice, go to meetings twice a week. One more month and I'll be six months sober.”

“Awesome, congrats.” He paused, “You know what, bet I could get you a job as a stuntman if you wanted.”

Thomas laughed, “Maybe I'll take you up on that. Once this job bores me to tears, which it will.”

“Did grandpa bring up LFIL.” Dad asked turning to look up at him

“You know he did.”

“He’s been meaning to ask you. He’s worried that spending so much time up in space has confused you.”

Adam snorted, “Don’t stargaze to long dad, the stars will make you extrial.”

“So that’s what dark matter is.” Thomas muttered and the three of them laughed. Waffles had climbed up on the chair with him and curled up on his legs to fall asleep.

“So what are you doing back here?” Dad wondered, “I thought you had just taken time off.”

He sighed, “Yeah… but things got complicated….” He paused, “Ever feel like no  matter what you try to do you keep failing at it.”

Thomas raised a hand “You mean my life.”

More laughter.

Then he got serious again, “Been so stressed lately that I can barely function as a person, has the UNSC questioning whether they should ground me or not. My friends set up an intervention, and it turns out that I am a raging control freak.”

“Could have told you that.”

“You got that from your mother.”

He glanced over at thomas, “What do you mean, could have guessed that?”

He shrugged, “Come on Adam, did you ever do anything you weren't sure you could do properly. Like riding a bike, or swimming, or how you threw a fit if we moved literally anything in your room, or how you had to have everything arranged on your plate before you ate it, or….”

“Yeah yeah ok. But I’m a fighter pilot, that's kind of not-”

“Yeah that is the most control freak job ever. You have to be in so much control that traveling at more than three times the speed of sound won’t kill you. Imagine the amount of control you need to fly in formation without killing everyone.”

“Alright I get it.” He grumbled.

“So what, you try to do everything yourself?” dad grunted 

He turned to look at the older man, “how did you know?”

“Every school project you ever worked on in a group, but you just ended up doing the entire thing.”

“I thought that’s just because the other kids were lazy and weren’t going to do their jobs.”

“Or because you wouldn’t let them and they just gave up on trying.” Dad responded 

Adam sighed and sunk back against his chair, “I had no idea.”

“Welcome to personal growth, how may we kick you in the balls.”

He sighed, ‘I just, how can I be a leader without losing my identity and becoming boring and stuffy. How can I still… I don’t know, be happy and have fun when I have a job like this…. Or am I just not meant for it.”

Dad waved a hand, “You were born for it, but you need to remember that while, most of the time, you can be friends with the people you work with sometimes you need to stop being their friend and be their commander, which entails doing some things that aren’t so friendly. At the end of the day it is a ship, so you have to make them and allow them to do their jobs, fun comes later.”

“How am I supposed to reduce the stress?”

He glanced at thomas who shook his head, “If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be a recovering heroin addict.” 

“You just have to find something you love doing, and then take a little time every day to do that thing which you love. Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out.” 

He sighed and looked out at the deepening sky.

He really hoped so 

Jim’s Best Friend

Part Sixteen - Love F*cking Sucks

Word Count: 2300

Author’s Note: I love this chapter, I’m not going to lie. A chance for Y/N to interact with Michael and Dwight and Pam a bit more. Update in two days, it’s my mum’s birthday tomorrow so I won’t have the time. And if you want tagged, let me know!

WARNING: none.

May, 2007.

Being the office pariah was hard work. 

Despite talking to Karen, the office was still divided, Jim wasn't talking to you, and now you had managed to ruin what little friendship you had with Kelly since you agreed to go to Phyllis' wedding with Ryan. In hindsight, it was a bad move, but you still decided to go through with it, and as the big day came a week later, Ryan picked you up at your apartment in a handsome suit, meeting you at the door with a smile and a rose in hand.

"Oh, wow... Ryan, you really shouldn't have." You smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, accepting the flower that matched your pastel pink dress.

"Oh, it's nothing..." He shrugged, and with that he led you to the car, opening the passenger door for you. Once you were both settled in the car, Ryan took off towards Pam's apartment, per request. You hadn't wanted anything to be too serious between Ryan and you, so Pam suggested she carpool with you both. You had hastily agreed, and Pam hurried from her flat to the car in a gorgeous mauve dress, jumping in the backseat as Ryan tried his best not to glare.

"Thank you guys so much for the ride." Pam said as Ryan pulled out once more, this time for the Scranton Unitarian Church. You reached behind your seat and squeezed Pam's hand in greeting.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong... But did Phyllis steal our wedding stationery?" You asked, and Pam nodded fast, her eyes widening. When it all came down to it, you had planned more of Pam's wedding than Roy ever did, and the pair of you had began talking about it with nostalgia as the wedding you shared.

"You noticed it too! I thought I was going crazy." She chuckled a little, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I thought it was a little too suspicious how involved Phyllis got towards the final stages of wedding planning... $10 says she copied something else."

"You can't really think Phyllis would do that..." Ryan interrupted, laughing nervously. You and Pam just looked him over.

"If you are so sure, bet on it. I'm with Pam on this one though..." You dared him, and Ryan sighed, giving you a little look before smiling and nodding, taking the bet.

--

By the time the reception rolled around, Ryan was out by about $70, paying Pam a tenner for every thing Phyllis stole from her wedding plans, with you as the unbiased judge. From the wedding band Scrantonicity, Kevin so lovingly on drums and lead vocals, to the flower arrangements and even the wedding dress, Phyllis had taken Pam's wedding and just changed the names on the invite. What began as something that had bummed Pam out soon turned into a fun game, the three of you making comments all night on the similarities. When Roy made his way over about halfway through the night, he remarked on the flowers, and the three of you couldn't stop laughing at the inside joke that had been formed.

The ceremony could have gone better, Michael trying his very best to steal the limelight, and Kelly had turned up in white to try and torment Ryan. You even heard through the grapevine that Jim had Dwight on the lookout for wedding crashers, and a part of you wished to have been a part of the joke. But he wasn't talking to you, not the other way around.

By hour two, Michael had been told to leave.

By hour three, Ryan and Kelly had gotten back together. It was not in any way surprising, and you were honestly glad, since Ryan turned out to be a terrible bore, and he wouldn't shut up about the work website you had talked about the week before. You were going to turn to Pam for intelligent conversation, but she had ended up disappearing with Roy.

By hour four, you had exhausted the singles market, and after spotting Phyllis' nephew Jordan headed your way, now with a soul patch and fedora, you decided it was a good idea to go have a cigarette, or four. You found your way to the church's garden area, and while a part of you wondered if smoking on hallowed ground was really appropriate, you spotted the preacher over the road with a cigar in hand, and decided to just say fuck it.

"I thought you quit that stuff." a voice spoke up as you took the first drag of the stick, and you turned to find Michael sitting on a bench beside a rather old man. When he had been kicked out of the party earlier, Dwight had refused to let him back inside, and you had honestly thought he would have just gone home.

"Old habits die hard... Kinda picked it back up again." You said casually, taking another hit. A part of you wanted to stub it out, you could see the disappointment in Michael's eyes, but you couldn't quite do it.

"Well, if you want to die of lung cancer, Y/N, I won't let you do it alone." Michael laughed, and walked over, taking the smoke from you and breathing in. He coughed excessively on the exhale, and you patted his back. "Jeez, I forgot how bad it tasted." You laughed at him, taking one last drag before stubbing it out on the picnic table. The pair of you sat down across from the old man, who looked more than a little confused.

"Who is-" you started to ask.

"I don't know, he doesn't talk sense. I've been listening to him for twenty minutes now." Michael butted in, and the pair of you fell silent for a while. You played with the cigarette box and lighter in your hands, Michael loosened his tie. You blew a fallen strand of hair away from your nose, Michael took off his blazer and draped it over your shoulders to battle the cold air. "So, word around the office is you kissed Jim." Michael finally spoke up, and you looked to him. He raised his hands in defence. "Hey, manager doesn't get involved with the gossip... But Dwight did tell me, also said something about a secret mission?"

"Managed to convince him that I was a deep cover spy with the CIA... Karen is a Russian agent..." You chuckled to yourself as your spoke.

"Is Jim the conflicted love interest?" Michael pressed, and you sighed.

In truth, you weren't exactly sure how you had been feeling the past few weeks. Since Oscar's welcome back, and that kiss with Jim, you had no clue where you stood with your best friend. You had barely spoken, and despite apologising he was still avoiding you. And even though you knew it was just a drunken mistake, that you didn't feel that way about him... Well, you didn't really know for sure.

He was Jim, the guy with the smile and the pranks and the laugh. He was the shoulder you had cried on, your partner in crime, your confidant. He was your HHD buddy, and your go-to guy for movie night. He was the one who gave your life that little extra colour, who made sure to keep a spare umbrella in his car in case of rain, with his straggly hair that needed a trim and his messy habits that led to you finding his car keys in the fridge one time. He helped you through Brian, through Patrick, through however many more guys and girls who broke your heart.

He was the friend who picked you up one warm Saturday morning at 10 am on the dot, despite his tendency to be late, and drove you to Scranton Cemetery. The guy who bought your mom's favourite flowers to place on her grave after seeing a photo in your apartment. The man who stood beside you and held your hand as you talked to her headstone, recounting stories of your childhood. You remembered he talked to her too, and told your mom what an incredible woman you had become, how proud she would have been to see you all grown up. And then, he drove you around town all day, letting you take him to the different parts of Scranton that reminded you of her. You ended up on your couch that night, an Alfredo's pizza and chinese takeout feast in front of you, while he picked out your favourite movie and let you fall asleep on his shoulder.

Jim was the only person in this world who made you feel like you were unconditionally, wholeheartedly, absolutely loved.

And suddenly, it pieced together in your head.

Pam and Patrick's words on Casino Night, Dwight's analysis, the looks the pair of you had got in the office when he first started. Teasing from Michael and the warehouse crews for years over something you completely denied, because you never believed you would be so cliché as to fall in love with your best friend.

"How long have you known I was in love with Jim?" You asked after minutes of silence, but before Michael could answer, Phyllis and Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration, appeared from the reception hall, wedding guests in tow, to embark on their honeymoon. Phyllis stopped by the pair of you, looking between Michael and the old man.

"You found Uncle Al!" She said with a smile, hugging Michael quickly to thank him before Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration, whisked her away.

Amongst the crowd, you spotted Jim and Karen, and it felt like a dull pain that had been in your gut for years just intensified until you felt tears brimming. You rushed inside, aiming to grab your clutch and jacket from your assigned seat and leave, but on the way out you crashed into someone.

Dwight.

"Who did this to you?" He asked, surprising you as tears began to roll down your cheeks. Dwight wasn't the sort to notice tears, rather the mud on your shoes over emotions.

"I-" You tried to speak, but instead you sobbed, and Dwight pulled you into an awkwardly placed hug, letting you cry onto his shoulder. And even though you were 99% sure it was the same suit his grandfather died in, you were grateful for the comforting gesture. You stayed there a moment with him, only moving away once you heard the crowd coming back into the building for a few more hours of an open bar and semi-decent music.

"Do I need to hurt somebody, Agent DeMarco?" Dwight asked in all seriousness, and you let out a little laugh.

"Shit, Dwight..." You wondered if it was wrong to keep up the facade, but the idea made you smile wider. "Nothing to worry about, Agent. I'll see you at work?" Dwight nodded, and you glanced quickly around the room, hoping to see Pam and say goodbye.

Instead, Jim caught your eye. He took one look and his face fell from laughter to concern, and he mouthed a quick 'you ok?' across the room. You bit your lip, taking a few deep breaths before walking out, not wanting to give a reply. Not knowing what to say.

Once you were back in the cool night air, a cigarette between your lips and a shaky hand lighting it, you shrugged off Michael's blazer in place of your own jacket, sitting it on the picnic bench beside your boss, who had remained in the cold despite the party continuing.

"Share a cab?" You asked him, and he nodded, getting up and walking to the main road with you. Words weren't exchanged, two lonesome souls walking the pavement surrounded by an air of, what could only be described as, uncertainty. Michael waved down a cab, the pair of you getting in, and making the short journey home. As you pulled in to your apartment, Michael finally spoke up.

"That first day Jim came in, you two hit it off right away, and I just saw the look in your eye. Everytime he spoke, you were completely focused on him, on his eyes, on his smile. You tried so hard to make a good impression." Michael chuckled softly, and you looked over to him, you hand hesitant on opening the door. "And then he asked you out that day you were complaining about grocery shopping..."

"That wasn't a date." You quickly corrected him, stepping out of the car.

"Of course it was! And for whatever reason, you both decided it wouldn't work... Greatest mystery I've ever been witness to." Michael countered, leaving you speechless as the car drove away. You stood for a few minutes on the sidewalk until you got cold, then headed into your flat.

That night, you didn't sleep. Instead, you went through photo albums, through computer photo folders, through memories, an endless glass of wine by your side, trying to figure out exactly how you looked at Jim... This rumoured look you had for him, one you had never noticed before, was suddenly glaringly obvious. And you compared it too, with other photos you had with friends, with ex partners. You never looked at anyone like you looked at Jim.

And as it rolled on 5 am rolled in, the sun slowly rising outside, casting light into your bedroom window, and you were beyond drunk on the amount of alcohol consumed, you decided it was time to come to terms with the truth:

Love fucking sucks, and you were in love with Jim Halpert.

--

Tags: @imsuperawkward​ @rosie2801​ @onceuponahuntersrealm​ @poppirocks​

Summary: Entrapta receives an invitation. 

Content Warning: A neurotypical writer attempting to portray an autistic character (with respect, compassion, and love, but I recognize there’s a chance I’ve fumbled here—just know it’s unintentional), Sea Hawk, Hordak’s poor sense of self-worth, cult-typical abuse, veiled references to masturbation, genital discussion, discussion of sex and sexual relationships.

-

Entrapta looked through the microscope, studying the micro-welds she’d made. Her mouth twisted a little, dissatisfied with the results. She sighed. “Emily, make a note—I need more silver solder. This prototype is a bust.” She tossed it behind her head, hearing it crack against the ground a moment later. One of the little recycling bots would be by to pick it up and take it apart soon enough, making sure nothing went to waste.

She glanced at Emily. “You know, Hordak’s really good with delicate work like this. His hands are so steady, and his welds are so...precise.” She gave a happy little shiver. “I wanted to surprise him with a working prototype, but maybe I should just give him the designs and let him build it. That’s still a surprise, right?”

Emily made a negative-sounding beep. Entrapta winced. “You’re right. Of course you’re right.” She stood, stretching. “I just need to make a working prototype—it doesn’t have to be pretty, just functional!” She used her hair to perform a tight backflip, shaking out her limbs as her feet came to rest on the ground once more. “Okay! Let’s do this—Emily, play recording.”

Emily made a happy whirring sound, the top half of her chassis spinning. Then Hordak’s recorded message began to play. Entrapta shut her eyes, listening to him describe the far-off stars that were normally too dim to see with Etheria’s many moons. She knew he’d probably assumed she would only listen to it while gazing up at those stars, but she’d found herself listening over and over again, lulled by the sound of his voice, even if she’d long since memorized his words.

She sat down and went back to work, adjusting her initial design into something more workable. When Hordak returned,  they could refine and revise her work. She just needed to provide proof of concept. S he hoped it would work. She thought it would. The data indicated that it should, but she couldn’t exactly test it. Well. Maybe if she asked Kadroh...but would he guess what it was for? She knew Hordak would prefer to keep this—

“What?” she asked, looking up when Emily insistently butted against her. “What is—?“ Then she realized her communicator had been ringing for quite some time now. “Oh! Answer call!”

Scorpia’s face appeared on-screen, accompanied by Perfuma. “Hey!” she said, waving a claw. “I was getting a little worried there. We called twice, and I didn’t want to bother you—“

“I’m not bothered at all! If I was in the middle of something dangerous, Emily wouldn’t have interrupted me.”

“...dangerous?” Perfuma asked, gripping the front on her shirt more tightly.

“Oh, good!” Scorpia said, while Perfuma frowned. “I just wanted to invite you to the flower festival.”

“Flower festival?”

Perfuma stepped forward, smiling a little. “Yes! Plumeria has an annual flower festival during the week of the summer solstice. It celebrates the transition from a time of renewal and recovery to a time of joy and growth!” Entrapta smiled while Perfuma spoke, waiting for her to finish, but she stopped abruptly. The silence lingered.

Entrapta checked the data pad.

“Hold on, I think there’s a lag. Can you repeat the last part? I missed your explanation.”

“Um.” Scorpia and Perfuma looked at each other.

Clearing her throat, Scorpia said, “It’s uh, basically a big party to celebrate summer. There’s flower crowns and food and music. Perfuma says it’s a lot of fun. I was hoping you, um, might want to come too?”

Entrapta’s hair curled and twisted. “Are a lot of people going to be there?”

“Oh, yes.” Perfuma smiled widely. “People come from all over the region for the festivities. We’re hoping all members of the Princess Alliance—“

“And their partners!” Scorpia added.

“—will be able to attend.”

“Oh.” Her hair knit itself into anxious hands, the psuedo-fingers laced together. “I don’t know....” She looked away, thinking of all the people that would be in attendance. Would it be like the Prom or another formal party? Could she skirt the edges and just observe? (Would that be weird?) On the other hand, they’d specifically called to invite her, and this wasn’t like Princess Prom—they didn’t have to include her at all. Despite her concerns about the crowd, it was hard to pass up what seemed like an obvious overture of friendship. “Can I think about it?”

Scorpia blinked. She looked at Perfuma, scratching the back of her neck. “Um. Sure. Take all the time you need! The party’s in a couple weeks, so you’ve got time.” She smiled. “Hopefully, Mermista will let Hordak take some time off, so he can come too.”

Her hair frizzed. “Hordak’s invited?”

Scorpia nodded. Perfuma looked at Scorpia, who returned her gaze, eyes wide. After a beat of silence, Perfuma said, “Y...yes. If you come, he may...join you. As your guest.”

Entrapta couldn’t help but spin in place, her hair coiling under her to lift her high. She hugged herself, humming giddily. As she dropped back down to the ground, her hair formed a  large cushion to catch her. “Really?!”

Scorpia beamed, and Perfuma exhaled slowly, though she too smiled. “Yes. Really,” Perfuma said. She looked to Scorpia, who offered her the Scorpinoid version of a thumbs up.

“Well, that changes things. I don’t think he’s ever been to something like this before. I’d really like to bring him. He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to engage in leisure activities, and I’m trying to get him to explore and experiment with activities he might find enjoyable. This seems like an ideal opportunity.”

Perfuma looked at Scorpia again, and Scorpia slung an arm over her shoulders, shaking her gently. “Yep. This would be perfect for that, right Perfuma?”

The other princess smiled, exhaling again. “Right. It’s definitely the perfect opportunity for the former—“

“My former boss!” Scorpia interrupted, “Yep! Perfect—perfect opportunity to see if my former boss can, um, relax.” She blinked, and withdrew her claw from Perfuma’s shoulders to press it against her chin. “Actually, that’s a good question. Can he?”

“In very specific circumstances,” Entrapta said.

Perfuma looked between Scorpia and Entrapta before saying, “As long as he behaves himself.”

Entrapta cocked her head. “I don’t really know what you mean by that; Hordak is very well-mannered.”

Scorpia was already reassuring her, though. “Of course he will! I’m sure we won’t even notice he’s there.”

“Oh, you’ll probably notice him. His height makes him stand out,” Entrapta said. “If that’s going to be a problem, I’m not sure how to fix it.”

“No! Nope—Hordak’s height is not a problem,” Scorpia said very quickly, watching Perfuma. “Well, anyway, I, um, I hope to see both of you soon. Bye!” She hung up before Perfuma could say goodbye. Entrapta didn’t mind. As soon as the communicator cut out, she called Hordak.

His image resolved a moment later. “Hello, Star—“

“Entrapta!”

Hordak’s ears folded back, and he glared at the back of Sea Hawk’s head. “Hi!” she told them both, waving. “I just got a call from Scorpia—“

“Ooh. What did she say?” Sea Hawk asked.

“Well...” She rolled the word around, bouncing a little on her toes. “Plumeria’s going to have a flower festival during the solstice, and we’re both invited to come!”

Sea Hawk’s eyes widened. “You are?”

She nodded, bouncing a little more. “Mmmh-hmm. Scorpia really seems to want us to come. And Perfuma too! Well.” Her hair deflated a little. “I think she was excited? It’s hard to tell.” Perfuma always seemed so nice...until she suddenly wasn’t.

The data pad twirled as Sea Hawk ran off with it. “You have to go—both of you. It will be the perfect setting for romance . What are you you wearing? Wait, don’t tell me right now. I’ll call you later, and we can plan. Don’t worry about Hordak’s wardrobe; I’ll make sure he dresses appropriately.”

She cocked her head. “There’s a dress code? Scorpia didn’t mention that.”

“Oh, yes. A dress code—for love!”

The data pad was snatched from his hands, and Hordak’s face appeared, though he was glaring off-screen at Sea Hawk. “That is enough.” He shook his head, ears back, then he faced the data pad. “My apologies, Starlight. I believe he is being overly optimistic as well as overly involved. Reconstruction will not be complete by the solstice, and I do not believe Mermista will give me to leave to attend—with travel, I would be gone for nearly ten days, and I doubt she would approve of that.”

“What makes you say so?”

“I conquered her country and essentially destroyed Salineas.”

“You think she’s still upset about that?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

His ears twitched. “I will ask, of course.”

“Okay. I mean...” She looked away, running her fingers through her hair. “It’s all right. Maybe next year?”

“Perhaps.”

Off-screen, Sea Hawk yelled, “No! This is unacceptable! I will not stand by and allow such a travesty.”

Hordak looked at him. “You are being dramatic. This is not—“

“A travesty, I say!” The data pad jerked, then the camera lifted high—from the little she could see, Hordak was holding it overhead to keep it out of Sea Hawk’s reach. “How can you stand by and accept this? Are you not a man?”

“I am a clone, and I do not understand why my gender is important to the conversation.”

Sea Hawk made a wordless sound of mourning. “You aren’t willing to fight for your love?”

“There is nothing to fight! The treaty clearly stipulates I must prioritize the restoration of Etheria above my own personal happiness. Considering the destruction I wrought waging a completely senseless war—considering I brought Prime here, to the very doorstep of this world, I think those terms are more than fair! And considering that you yourself fought in both conflicts, I am stunned you are so determined that I break those terms.”

“It’s just ten days!” Sea Hawk said, “Besides, you haven’t taken a day off since you got here and that cannot be healthy.”

Entrapta blinked. “Hordak, is that true?”

As if abruptly remembering she was still there, he turned the data pad so she could see them again, though he was still scrupulously keeping it out of Sea Hawk’s reach. “Well. Yes. I do not require—“

“Hordak! I know you know that taking breaks is important—the Horde soldiers were allowed time off.”

His ears folded back. “Of course they were—Etherians are not very productive if they aren’t permitted unstructured free time periodically. My Force Captains insisted this was true and research seemed to prove them correct. But I am not Etherian. I do not need—“

“That’s ridiculous!” Sea Hawk said, “Everyone needs to take time off.”

“Clones do not. Even when at rest, we were put into stasis pods and our neural networks were used as relay stations for the hivemind.” He cupped a protective hand over the back of his neck, and Entrapta slammed her welding mask down, trying to keep out the thoughts of Prime and what had been done to Hordak and Kadroh and their brethren. Hordak noticed. “It was not that bad—“

“Don’t.” She exhaled slowly, voice shaking. “Don’t minimize what he did.” Through the mask, everything took on a soft teal tone. It made everything feel distant and ethereal, like she was looking at a world encased in glass. The tension in her chest eased, though the pit in her stomach lingered.

“Fine,” Hordak said, his voice soft. “The fact remains—I do not require time off to maintain productivity.”

With her mask on, she could hear her own breathing, steady and strong, and her voice echoed faintly. “Etherians do not regard time off merely as a necessity. It is considered inhumane to force someone to go without for long periods of time.”

“Yes. Because it is a necessity. I understand that—“

“You clearly don’t.”

He shut his eyes and his ears folded back. He exhaled slowly before saying, “I will ask Mermista.”

She lifted her mask a little. “...I just want you to take better care of yourself.”

“I will ask Mermista, but I don’t want you to be disappointed when she says no.”

“If she says no, then I’m coming over there. And we’ll go to the beach. And get ice cream. And maybe go swimming, if the salt water won’t damage your ports.”

His ears twitched, and his features softened. “Though I am uncertain of the swimming, I would otherwise be amenable to that.”

“Okay. Promise?”

His mouth twitched a little. “If it pleases you, then yes; I promise.”

She pushed the welding mask up the rest of the way. “Excellent. I’ll speak to you later, then. Unless there’s something else?”

“Nothing for now. Goodbye, Starlight. We will speak soon.”

Sea Hawk waved. “Bye, Entrapta! Never fear—I will use my masculine wiles to seduce my lady love, and convince her to release your...um—to release Hordak to you!” Hordak shut his eyes, and though it looked like Sea Hawk had more to say, the feed suddenly cut out.

Entrapta smiled to herself and resumed working on the prototype.

-

The next morning, a robot delivered a small package with her breakfast. Seeing that it was from Salineas, she made a high-pitched, happy sound and tore it open. Inside, she was surprised to find several sea shells, along with a note that merely said, “The shells are for Kadroh.” Among the shells, she found a data chip that was surely for her.

With a happy hum, she plucked the chip from the package and set the box aside, attaching the chip to her pad to see what he’d sent. It contained two files. One was her research notes. The other was her procedure proposal for their Intimacy Log. Seeing that, she had to get up, pacing and using her hair to flip and twist as she completed a circuit of her suite of rooms—her excitement simply couldn’t be contained, though she cautioned herself aloud, trying to minimize her expectations. After completing a third circuit, she finally felt settled enough to actually read what he’d sent. “Okay. Okay. Let’s do this!”  She shook out her hands and settled back on the bed, opening her proposal.

She smiled a little, reading his notes. She wished he was here; she would have loved to demonstrate how she would ‘reward him for good behavior’—and to test out the newly revealed sensitive spot behind his ears. In fact, she could demonstrate the former by showing him how much she appreciated his willingness to reveal the latter to her. She hummed again, reading his response to her question about biting. It wasn’t a ‘no’, and she was eager to see what he might mean by a “strong reaction”, though she would wait until he was ready for such a step, of course.

Then she saw the short paragraph he’d written at the end.

‘I do not think it would be wise to extend your study to my genitals at this time. I have limited knowledge of them myself; I’m not even sure if I am capable of penetrative sex, though I understand that is not necessarily a requirement. I know enough to be certain that my genitals differ from all standard Etherian configurations. I would not want to subject you to anything unusual or surprising without forewarning. For this reason, it would likely be best if I were to conduct some private research first, then we will discuss the possibility of mutual study.’

She leapt to her feet, using her hair to guide herself through a midair somersault. She began pacing her rooms again, punctuating her circuit with various acrobatics and occasionally humming to herself when her thoughts grew too loud.  She fumbled for her recorder, talking fast as she said, “Intimacy Log, personal notes, number 12. This is so fascinating! Hordak has revealed that his genitals are not Etherian in nature—which is unsurprising—and that he has limited knowledge of their form or function.” Something unpleasant itched at the back of her mind, but she just started to pace faster, burying those thoughts.

“I cannot begin to speculate on either. I have every reason to believe Hordak is what we would classify as a mammal—the presence of nipples implies his species at one time nursed their young, and he is quite warm, suggesting he does not have to rely on external heat sources to maintain his body temperature—but he is still an alien. These mammalian traits may be evidence of convergent evolution, rather than a common ancestor, though I still believe the bipedal body type suggests that our species are not entirely unrelated. Nonetheless, none of that necessarily implies so-called ‘sexual compatibility’. Hordak already seems to know that penetrative sex is not a necessity for a sexual relationship, but I will also endeavor to reassure him that our genitals do not need to be ‘compatible’ for sex to be satisfying. I should also relay that I am not put off by his confession. If anything, I am excited by the opportunity for discovery!”

She performed another somersault, shaking out her hands as she landed. “This is so exciting!” she hissed under her breath. To the recorder, she added, “He’s said that he would like to experiment on his own so as to avoid surprising me, but I would be very interested in experimenting with him. Query—has Hordak decided to experiment solo primarily out of concern for my comfort or his own? If the former, then he may allow me to at least witness any experiments he performs on himself—though I would welcome a more hands on approach, if he is willing to wait. However, if he is uncomfortable including me because...”

The unpleasant thoughts managed to break through, and she pulled her mask down securely. “While it is possible Hordak wants to experiment on his own in order to sate his curiosity in private—which would be completely understandable—I believe it is more likely that he’s uncomfortable sharing this with me due to shame and prior conditioning from Horde Prime, a suspicion reinforced by his lack of education regarding his own body’s sexual organs.” She flexed her hands, hair coiling around her limbs. “If that is the case, then I am unsure how to proceed. Hordak’s health, safety, and comfort are of primary importance, and I’m worried I’m not well equipped to make sure he isn’t harmed by our experiments. I’ve...never been good with people.” 

She shut off the recorder and cycled through her mask’s filters, trying to find a more soothing way of looking at the world. She settled on infrared, gazing at the smear of colors meant to represent variations in temperature. It was comfortably alien, and pleasing to place her hands on the metal wall and watch the colors change—like painting with her own body heat. She traced patterns on the wall and watched them fade as the transferred heat dissipated.

She took a breath and raised her mask when she felt settled enough to proceed, blinking as she readjusted to her surroundings. Clicking the recorder on, she said, “Hordak has consistently proven himself to be unlike anyone I’ve ever known. He seems to understand and respect my need for clear communication. Thus far, we have been able to prevent the kinds of misunderstandings I’ve had in the past simply by talking to each other. I have to assume I can keep him from coming to harm in the same fashion. When we next speak, I will—“  Her data pad signaled an incoming call. “Oh!” She clicked the recorder off, assuming that was him. “Hi, Hordak—wait. Sea Hawk?”

“Greetings, Princess!”

“Hi! Do you need something?”

“No. Not...not exactly.”

“Are you sure? People don’t usually call me unless they need something.”

“I don’t need anything, I just.” He winced. “I...may have...possibly...slightly overestimated my ability to convince my beloved to allow Hordak time off. And...vastly underestimated her vindictiveness.” His gaze grew watery and distant. “She is as magnificent and unforgiving as the sea.”

“Oh. Well, that’s okay. At least you tried. I’ll just—“

Sea Hawk held up a hand, shushing her. “Entrapta. Are you in a secure location?”

She glanced around her bedroom. “I suppose so.”

“Good, good. Now, tell me...how far are you willing to go to prove your devotion?”

She blinked. “What?”

“Do you want to take Hordak to Plumeria?”

“Well, yes—“

“How far are you willing to go to get him there?”

“What?”

He moaned, as if in pain. Before she could ask if he was okay, he leaned close to the camera and said, “Listen to me. I have a plan to get both you and Hordak safely and happily to Plumeria. But it may possibly be slightly illegal.” Entrapta cocked her head. “And by ‘slightly’, I mean ‘extremely’. So, how far are you willing to go to prove your affections?”

She snorted. “Sea Hawk, don’t be ridiculous; at least three of my current experiments are technically illegal. Breaking a few laws won’t prove anything. With that said—what’s your plan?”

“Well—wait. Technically illegal?”

She gestured dismissively. “Mystacor isn’t really equipped to oversee scientific studies, but my experiments are technically overseen by their ethics committee. Which is guided by a woefully outdated moral system and staffed by technophobes. I stopped asking them to approve my more interesting studies ages ago.”

“Oh. Well. I’m going to assume that’s not at all nefarious—“

“I guess that would depend on your definition.”

“—and tell you my incredible, masterful plan! First—do you by any chance own any strappy high heels? A low cut dress, perhaps? Preferably in black.”

“What?”

“Never mind! We can continue without, but I feel that ignoring the aesthetic shows a lack of commitment.”

She stared at him. “What?”

-

A/N: As always, I’m extremely grateful for all the comments you guys leave. I read them all, often multiple times. I’m not good about replying, but I am always intensely grateful.Thank you so much. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. ^//^

Beauty And The Beast

Gangster AU

Stray Kids Fanfic

Chan x Reader

Other Appearances: GOT7 BTS

Genre: Smut, Fluff, Angst

Warnings: Angst, Blood, Death, Voilence, Language, Smut, Homosexuality, Making out

Beauty and the Beast Masterlist

Chapter 7

“YOU!!!” Moon exclaimed, eyes wide open   “Uhhh hi” he awkwardly smiled trying to avoid eye contact “Wait, you two know each other?” Mavis asked, pointing between the two “In this moment I wish I didn’t” Moon grumbled “Oh feelings are mutual” he whispered under his breath “C’mon sis, he’s a nice guy, he treats me really good” Mavis tried to lighten the mood “Yeah? By lying to you?” Moon said “What do you mean?” Mavis asked “Didn’t you just say that you’re the only one he sleeps with?” Moon raised a brow “Ba -Mavis let me explain, it’s not-I-” “Don’t, just, don’t.” Mavis said calmly “Bu-” he started “Give it up. And with all due respect. Get lost” Moon glared at him “I’m sorry” he whispered before walking away, seconds later the door closed

“You okay?” Moon asked cautiously “I’m hungry, what about you?” Mavis simply replied “Yeah, what are you having?” “I came back yesterday, my fridge is empty, wanna order takeout? Or do you prefer going out?” “I’m good with anything. Whatever you prefer,  I came to spend time with you”  Moon smiled “Let’s go out, it’s been long.” Mavis said enthusiastically “Yeah last we went was my 18th birthday, I’m turning 23 at the end of this year” “Gosh you’re an oldie and still a virgin” Mavis stuck her tongue out “Yeahwellunlikeyouatleastimnotsingle” Moon grumbled under her breath “I have no idea what you said there but I’m gonna assume that was you complaining about not being able to fulfil all your kinky and dark not to mention sadistic fantasies” she said running away “Get back here you little shit” Moon said chasing after her

“I’ll call the Uber, where are we going?” Mavis said “No need, I have a car” Moon said dangling the car keys in front of her sister’s face “About time you got one. Late night sisters drives are long overdue” Mavis said walking out  the door “Don’t get too excited, it’s my boyfriend’s” Moon replied as the two got in the elevator “When the heck did you get a boyfriend” “Yesterday” “And you’re already using his car. Is he your boyfriend or sugar daddy?” Mavis spoke sarcastically “You do realize that’s not how sugar daddies work right” “But you’re not denying it” Mavis wiggled her brows “I really can’t with you” Moon shook her head “Damn, the guy owns an Audi, no wonder he’s your boyfriend” Mavis spoke dramatically “What do you take me for?”   “Gold digger?” her sister replied more of a question “I’m not you” Moon simply said getting in the car, her sister following suit “Where are we going though?” “Like old times” Moon replied driving away

“I still can't believe the ice-cream machine was broken” Mavis complained as the two sisters sat on the car’s hood parked on the hill “It’s McDonalds, what did you expect” Moon shrugged “Don’t even know at this point” she laughed “Hey! At least we got the chocolate shake”  Moon nudged her sister, taking a bite of her burger “Yeah” she laughed. A comfortable silence filled the air as the two admired the city view from the hilltop “So how long have you had a boyfriend and why was I not informed about this” Mavis striked up a conversation “Since when do I report back to you?” Moon replied sarcastically “I’m just saying, he’s your first boyfriend, and as your sister, I should be the first one to know” “You’re making me sound like a nerd” Moon whined “Well it is true, you’ve always had your nose in computers and games, never really went out and had fun” “I preferred it that way” she shrugged “Too much internet and violent video games have not done you any good”   “Excuse me” Moon said an octave higher “You’re like the female version of Christain Grey and please don’t get me started on how you explained to Nay what you’d do to your supposed enemies” Mavis shivered “You should know the reason” “I do, but that’s not you, you’re just letting it get to your head” “I wish that was true but it’s not. I even scare myself sometimes. These thoughts and urges, it’s fucking crazy, I’m a monster” “Would you ever hurt me? Would you hurt mom, Nay, or anyone dear to you for that matter?” “Why are you asking tha-” “You won’t, that’s the answer. You care, you care so much. I know you think you don’t, that you’re just a heartless monster, but I know you’re not. You pretend that you don’t care, but you do, you show others that their words or actions don’t hurt, but deep down you know that’s not the case. You’re not a monster, you’re my sister, you’re the responsible caring adult who’s always been there no matter what. You’re a warrior if anything, I love you. Please don’t ever call yourself a monster. You’re not. If anything, he’s the monster” Mavis said gripping her sister’s hand  tightly “But I want to hurt people. I want to watch them suffer” “Who? The ones who’ve wronged you? So what, it’s only natural, who doesn’t want to watch such people suffer” “But I-” “No buts. You know I’m right” “I guess you are, I mean you got the sadistic part right” Moon smirked “I- dear lord” “I blame Fifty Shades of Grey for that” Moon shrugged “Well you are the female version of Christain Grey so yeah” “Hhmm, you’re not wrong, I guess the only difference is that, I not only want to inflict pain, I want it to be inflicted on me as well. And much much worse than the movie. I want to feel that pain, as fucked up as it sounds, I find that pain pleasurable, more so than the sensual touches” Moon explained “You’re saying that like you’ve experienced it” Mavis looked at her confused. “Maybe I have” Moon simply shrugged thinking back to all the training sessions she had with Chan. How being punched and thrown around by Chan was much more exciting than the brief touches on her bare waist when he’d help her. “I’m not even gonna ask” Mavis looked away “Hey you’re the one who called me Christian grey, I’m just agreeing with you by stating facts” “Exactly why you shouldn’t worry about anything” “I’m confused” “You’re agreeing with me. Yeah Christian Grey was a sadist, he had issues, but once he got it out of his system, met the right person, he overcame it. He realized he was a better person. And just like him, once you get it out of your system, maybe you’ll feel better. And one day, someone will come along, who’ll accept you the way you are and won’t care about your issues, rather help you” Mavis explained. Moon just looked at her sister, surprised at the fact that everything she said indeed made sense. “When did you get so smart?” Moon nudged her, laughing “One of us has to when the other won’t” Mavis stuck her tongue “Not so fast there, I haven’t interrogated you yet” “What for?” Mavis asked confused “Let’s start from, where you met that duffer” Moon said “Oh him? We met at a club, one too many drinks led to a wild night” “And just like that, you decided to become friends with benefits?” “Not really, we exchanged numbers and carried on with our lives, occasionally hooking up. Hooking up turned into hanging out. He was really a sweet guy. It was a nice friendship until he confessed an-” “HE CONFESSED?” Moon exclaimed “Let me finish. I rejected him, saying I wasn’t interested in relationships. Pretty clishĕ if you ask me. At first it was awkward but then we simply forgot about it, I really thought our friendship was going somewhere. He told me he wanted to ‘officially’ become friends with benefits where we’d only sleep with other, but apparently he lied” she explained “Did he ever bring up his feelings again?” Moon asked “By his actions, all the time, he got possessive sometimes, other times, he would do sweet things. Verbally, once, when he showed up drunk to my apartment. But he was too wasted to remember anything the next morning so I kept my mouth shut. I was thinking of giving him a chance though. I felt too bad for rejecting him when he was so sweet to me” “I never knew he had the ability to be nice” Moon grumbled “I guess I made him wait too long, he got tired” Mavis sighed “No, NO, just no. You’re not taking the blame for this. You weren’t ready for something, he should’ve understood. And if he expected you to be loyal, then he should’ve been too. He’s the jerk here” “Jerk move, sure, but I wouldn’t call him a jerk” “Do you like him?” Moon asked seriously “Maybe, I just thought that maybe, for once someone was willing to accept me despite my flaws. I told him about dad. I never thought I’d open up about that to anyone but you. He was so amazing and understanding, and I couldn’t help it. I guess I ruined it by my stubbornness” Mavis said, as a tear rolled down her cheek “Are you crying? Mavis no, this isn’t your fault” she said getting closer to Mavis, hugging her “I just, dad’s behaviour always got to me and I always thought that if my own father never wanted me, how could someone else”. Moon’s blood boiled with anger, she wanted to just march up to the man and kill him, but she couldn’t knowing that her sister had feelings for the said man “I know the feeling, trust me I know. Why do you think I was single all this time, I thought the same thing. But once I let it go, it got a little easier, not much but a little bit. Stop thinking about dad, honestly, I know it's easier said than done, but let it go. You’ve come so far, don’t let him bring you down” Moon said stroking Mavis’s hair “You think he’ll come back?” she asked “I don’t know, if he really has strong feelings for you, he might” Moon answered looking away “Oh no, I know that look, don’t you dare, you’re not getting involved in this” Mavis said sternly “He made you cry, I’m gonna kill him, try and stop me” “I’ve been sensitive these days, I cry over everything. Don’t hurt him please” “He’s still getting a piece of my mind” Moon glared “Just let him stay in one piece” “I’ll try. No promises” “Of all days, you had to visit today” Mavis shook her head, making Moon laugh.

Moon had dropped Mavis back at her apartment and was now parked outside her  place. She was happy to have spent time with her sister but she couldn’t help but let her emotions get the better of her. Taking a deep breath, Moon calmed herself, knowing that if she got emotional, the situation would get worse than it needed to be. However calming down seemed to be a failed option, because as soon as she stepped foot in the living room, her blood boiled. Snatching the fruit knife from Anna’s hand Moon leaped at Hyunjin, she pushed him onto the couch and put the knife against his throat, “Give me one good reason,why I shouldn’t kill you right now” she gritted, glaring at him “I-” he started “This better be good Hwang, my control is at its peak” “Moon, what is this about” Minho asked “Stay out of it, I swear anyone gets in my way, I won’t hesitate to-” her voice cracked. Moon knew she was scared, scared of what she’d do if she lost control, scared she’d do something she’d regret for the rest of her life. And everyone could see it. “Moon, please calm down, don’t do something rash” Bree said cautiously moving towards her “But he-” “Whatever he did, I’m sure you guys can talk it out. Doing this will only hurt you, put the knife down, he’s hurt” El spoke pointing at Hyunjin’s bleeding neck “Not as much as my sister” she gritted, her knuckles turning white from the tight grip on the knife “What’s going on?” Chan questioned as he, Seungmin and Jeongin entered the living room “I’m sorry” Hyunjin said barely above a whisper “Why? I don’t understand. I know you, or at least I thought I did” Moon asked, her grip loosening “I couldn’t help it” he said avoiding eye contact “WHat the hell is going on? Moon put the knife down” Chan ordered “Stay out of this Chan, you don’t know what’s going on” Moon replied harshly “No I will NOT. You’re hurting my brother” Chan said moving forward, grabbing Moon’s wrist “But he hurt my sister, I’m sure you would’ve done the same” Moon glared at Chan “And you! She really thought you were different from the other asshats she’d been with. She even opened up to you, and you just-and the worst part is she blames herself. I hope you feel great about yourself” Moon looked at Hyunjin. She forcefully released her wrist from Chan’s grip, threw the bloody knife at his feet and stormed out. Hyunjin let out a breath and buried his head in his hands. “I’ll go talk to her” Chan spoke and left

"Care to explain?" Chan snapped at Moon as soon as he entered her room "Chan please leave me alone, I'm not in the mood" she replied lying on her bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling "You almost killed Hyunjin, and you expect me to just leave you alone, I'm not going anywhere without an explanation" "The only person who deserves an explanation right now is me, from Hyunjin. Once we clear it up, you'll know" she sat up glaring at him "Whatever the case, you had no case to be insensitive towards him" "What the fuck is that supposed to mean, all I asked was for an explanation, there was nothing insensitive about it" she said, her voice raising "You said it to his face that he'd never understand since he was an only child" "The fuck Bang?! I never said that" "When you said and I quote 'But he hurt my sister, I’m sure you would’ve done the same'. Isn't that what you were insinuating?" He raised a brow "Are even hearing yourself right now? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR? I WOULD NEVER. I ONLY SAID IT TO YOU, SO YOU'D BACK OFF" she shouted at him "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO STUBBORN?" "I'M NOT BEING STUBBORN, MY SISTER CRIED BECAUSE OF HIM, AND WORST PART IS THAT SHE BLAMED HERSELF FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO KEEP WHATEVER THE TWO HAD, AND YOU JUST EXPECT ME TO SIT AROUND. TELL ME CHRIS, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?" “OH GOSH YOU’RE JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER" regret took over him just as fast as those words left his mouth. In the two and half years of knowing each other, Moon had never shown emotions this clearly. She was good at masking her emotions. As soon as those words left his mouth, Moon's eyes twitched and the amount of hurt present in her eyes shook Chan to the core. But as quickly as the emotions flashed in her eyes, they disappeared just as quick. Her eyes turned ice cold, just like they had been when she started living with them. "Moon I-" he started "I get it. Don't, you have nothing to explain, I've known it all along. No matter how much I want to deny it, his blood indeed runs through my veins. So thank you Chris for clearing it up for me." His name sounding foreign "That's not what I me-" he couldn't finish his sentence, Moon had walked out past him.

After the fight broke between Moon and Chan, things had been very weird. She didn’t necessarily ignore anyone or was rude, just distant. It was like the days when she had joined, barely talked to anyone and just did what was asked of her, she never missed her training sessions or when they had to go out for missions. “Hey!” said Jisung as he entered the kitchen “Hey” Moon replied from the stool she was sitting on “What are you doing?” he asked taking a seat next to her peeking at her laptop screen “Uh no-nothing” she stuttered trying to hide the screen from him. It was too late, he had already seen the screen and his eyes were blown wide. Unfortunately for Moon, Hyunjin had entered the kitchen just in time to see Jisung’s bewildered expression. “You’re leaving?” Jisung asked, barely above a whisper “She’s what?” Hyunjin asked “Leaving” Jisung answered loudly this time “Why?” Hyunjin questioned “It’s complicated, I can’t stay here” she answered vaguely “Were you going to tell us or were just gonna leave” Jisung looked at her with sad doe eyes “I’m sorry, I thought it would’ve been best if I left quietly, I don’t want anyone to talk me out of it” contrary to her claim, her decision was wavering just by looking at the sad expression on Jisung’s face. Hyunjin decided to exit the scene, not wanting to anger Moon by voicing his opinion. Ever since that day, he had tried to steer clear of Moon, even though her anger had cooled down and she was feeling extremely guilty for blowing up on him like that. Hyunjin wanted to apologize to her and just clear everything up but he knew if he brought up the topic, Moon would want an explanation, something he couldn’t bring himself to give. “Sung please don't make that face, you know I can’t resist it” she smiled weakly at him “I’m not doing it on purpose, I can’t bear the fact of you leaving, or any of us for that matter, if they found out” he replied “Please don’t tell them. I don’t want to create a scene” she pleaded “Why not, they deserve to know” “I know, I know, I’ll tell them when the time comes. I still have 4 months. For now just pretend you don’t know, that you never saw this” “Can I atleast know why” “It’s complicated, lets just say me staying will only hurt you guys, I’m unstable” she sighed “Why? Because you shouted at Hyunjin, or how you killed that man 3 days ago? You think those things make you unstable? Moon, you’re a fucking gangster, and you acting like one isn’t ‘unstable’. Ask anyone they’ll say the same thing”   “It’s not just that, its-” she started “Hyunjin? Look I don’t know what happened between him and your sister, but I know for a fact that your reaction was justified. I know he would’ve done the same. He probably even would've killed, you didn’t, you were scared, you know that, we all could see it. You’re just scared that you might lose control” Jisung spoke “But doesn’t that make me unstable? Not knowing when I might lose it, what I might end up doing. I don’t want any of you near me if that ever happens, I’m afraid of becoming the monster I’ve always feared” “I get you, I can’t understand your reasons, but I get where you’re coming from. Everything you’ve been through, obviously it had an effect on you, but in the end it’s up to you isn’t it. It’s up to you to make you. Are you going to let your past define you? Are you going to let someone else’s mistakes take control of your actions? You can’t let your past control your present and ruin your future. I know it's easier said than done but Moon, you’re not alone, not anymore” “Do you really think I can get better? Do you think I can get rid of that hatred inside me? The hatred I have for myself” Moon asked, eyes desperate. Even she didn’t know what the desperation was for but it was there. “You can.” Hyunjin answered from behind her before Jisung could say anything “Were you eavesdropping?” Jisung asked “Sorry I couldn’t help it, I wanted to leave but I wanted to know the reason” he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck “It’s okay, I’m glad you were listening, I don’t want you thinking I’m leaving because of you” Moon smiled at him “Everything you’re feeling, I know it, I know it all too well” Hyunjin said taking a seat next to the two “What do you mean?” she asked him confused “Hatred, the hatred you have for yourself. There must be a reason for it, do you know it?” Hyunjin questioned “I-I don’t know, I guess I just hate myself for being my father’s daughter. For having his blood run through my veins, the blood that makes me the same as him. I hate myself for hurting people, especially the ones I’m close to” she replied “Who have you ever hurt to make yourself hate you” Jisung said “I hurt you, if I had better control, maybe things would’ve been different, maybe Chan and I wouldn’t have fought. He was right you know, when he said I’m just like my father, but the tragic part is, I’m so much worse than him.” Moon replied looking at Hyunjin “Not necessarily, ultimately that’s for you to decide” Jisung spoke “How come?” Moon asked “His blood may run through your veins but it doesn’t define you, that blood doesn’t decide your actions for you. You’re the one who has control over them, your blood doesn’t determine your personality, it doesn’t represent you as a person, that again is up to you, you’re the one who has the power to define yourself, not his blood” Hyunjin said “That’s the thing, I don’t have control, even if I had it, it’s falling out of my grasp” “That’s it. You’ve practically figured it out, you just need to dig a little deeper and you’ll be there” Jisung pointed out “What do you mean?” she asked confused “Control. You said you had it but now you’re losing it. There must be a reason, you held on for so long, why is it now that you’re losing it, something must’ve triggered it” Jisung explained “Come to think of it, that makes sense” Moon spoke, lost in thought “Do you think you know what might have caused it?” Jisung asked “Me” Hyunjin spoke before Moon could answer “No, I admit you could’ve been the one to trigger my pent up anger but it wasn’t you” Moon said putting the puzzle pieces together “You seemed pretty scary though” Hyunjin chuckled “Sorry” Moon smiled sheepishly “No it’s alright, you had every reason to, I’d have done the same” Hyunjin said “Do you know the reason then?” Jisung questioned “I think so” Moon said “What could it be” Hunjin asked, Moon sighed before speaking   “A few years back someone tried to rape me” Moon closed her eyes trying to ignore the horid memories “Hey, you don’t have to talk about it, it’s alright” Hyunjin squeezed her hand “No, it’s alright. It’s time I let it out. I’ve held onto it for so long, thinking I could forget it, but I never could, it’s always at the back of my mind. Maybe if I do this, I’ll finally be able to let it go” she answered “Don’t push yourself, I know the feeling all too well. If you can’t, we completely understand” Hyunjin softly smiled at her “Thanks, it’s alright” Moon smiled, taking a deep breath she started explaining “That’s why I guess I was angry, I saw him the day I decided to visit my parents and everything just came crashing back, he completely ruined my life and disappeared into thin air. And then he had the audacity to walk back into my house claiming he has feelings for me. If Chan wasn’t there I’d have killed him” Moon finished “As you should’ve, the bastard deserved it” Jisung spoke “Seeing him again triggered all those suppressed feelings?” Hyunjin asked “Yeah and it was fucked up and I felt angry at myself because I spent years looking for him, eventually giving up. But he showed up at my house so easily” “Who showed up where?” Seungmin asked as he entered the kitchen “Long story dude, you came here too late” Moon laughed “But just in time, help us convince her into staying” Hyunjin said “SHE’S LEAVING” Seungmin shouted “Why don’t you announce it on a loudspeaker” Moon spoke sarcastically “Sorry but what the hell is going on” Seungmin asked “Take a seat, you’re in for a long one” Moon said gesturing to one of the empty bar stools near her seat. “I can help you find him. I mean it’s better if more than one person does it, odds are we might be able to locate him that way” Seungmin said once the three explained the whole story to him. “Yeah and you don’t have to leave either, I’m sure together we’ll work something out” Jisung said “That’s sweet of you, and I’ll think about it. Thank you guys, I really needed that” Moon smiled at the three boys “Ofcourse, and if you ever need to talk about anything we’re always here. That’s what family is for” Hyunjin smiled at her “I don’t want to overstep my boundaries here, but what happened between you and Chan, the two of you have been really weird lately” Seungmin questioned “Uhm, I’m not sure, we kinda argued and I guess we haven’t talked much since then” Moon shrugged “You seem a lot distant from him lately, did he say something?” Jisung asked “Nothing big, it was just a little argument and he wasn’t wrong either, he only defended you” she smiled looking at Hyunjin “There really wasn’t anything to defend me on, what I did was wrong” Hyunjin said “Well at first I thought so too but I guess I was unintentionally insensitive, so he was right” she said “When?” Seungmin aksed “When I told Chan he’d do the same if it was his sister, I was kinda just throwing it in his face that he wouldn’t understand since he was an only child. I was quite angry so I didn’t realize I was being disrespectful and I kinda fought Chan because of that as well, but when I calmed down, I realized I was wrong as well” she explained “I can see why he was so worked up” Jisung mumbled “What?” she asked not quite catching what he said “What happened between your sister and I was partially because I’m an only child” Seungmin and Jisung looked at him wide eyed as soon as those words left his mouth “I take full responsibility, what I did was really messed up but I guess I couldn’t help it. It’s just that for the first time I felt that someone was willing to have something with me other than a sexual relationship. I felt comfortable with her and I felt accepted despite my flaws, so somewhere along the line, I started developing feelings. I was- actually am willing to wait for her but I guess my urge and guilt took better of me and I couldn’t stay true to my word” Hyunjin continued. “What do you mean guilt? And what did you mean by ‘because of being an only child’?” she questioned. Hyunjin took a deep breath before talking “I had a twin sister” he said “Hyun, you don’t have to-” Seungmin started “It’s okay, maybe like Moon said holding onto it isn’t going to help” Hyunjin smiled “There’s no pressure, I can sense this something sensitive” Moon said “No it’s okay” He smiled and took a deep breath before speaking “Ever since I was young, I was always complimented on my looks, it was flattering at first but then it got annoying and offending too at times. Like how people would say I can do anything because of my looks or how I could simply make money by modeling or something like that and didn’t need to study. They even went to the point where they said that if I couldn’t get into modeling agencies I could always become a pornstar. My sister Yeji, she was literally the only one who always supported me no matter what. She did have similar problems but people were never extreme about it since she was a lot smarter than I was. Jiji and I had a very special bond, not just physical but emotional as well. We always knew if something was wrong with the other. Even physically, if one of us was hurt the other would know immediately. I loved dancing but no one really took me seriously, whenever I’d be practicing, people would often come to me saying, I didn’t need to work so hard because any agency would accept me based on my looks. And God did I fucking hate it. Yeji however was very sassy and was always quick to defend me. She was the one who motivated me into becoming a trainee. Apart from Yeji, the boys were the only true friends I had. I met them back in highschool and they were also very supportive of me having a dance career. They even covered for me when I was missing school because of my trainee schedule. During the end years of my high school I had a very good chance of a solo debut. I was so ecstatic, I felt like I could conquer the world. But life's a bitch and is full of surprises. A fellow trainee of mine was having a hard time with her dancing and asked me to help out. I obviously didn’t think much of it and agreed. For about three weeks we trained together, and we got really close as well. She was the first girl I ever had feelings for. More time in training, she confessed and I really thought nothing could go wrong, but boy was I wrong. The night I lost my virginity to her was the night everything went down. While I was asleep, she took some indecent photos and leaked them on purpose. Later I found out it was all just a fucking joke. My debut was cancelled and my agency terminated my contract. Apparently she and her friends had betted on who could get the hottest trainee to help them with their dance. Bitch thought it would be funny and then betted on getting me into bed. Later when I asked her why she leaked our pictures, she simply said it was a prank and didn’t think it was a big deal anyway. She said and I quote ‘You’re so good looking anyway, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to get into other agencies’. That’s when I gave up. I thought it was pointless, I closed myself off from everyone then just used my body to my pleasure, it was what I was good at apparently. Yeji really pushed me into trying out for a new agency but I had already made up my mind. Then Chan asked us to join his gang and I didn’t really have much to do so I thought why not. Yeji gave up her dream for me as well. I told her not to but she never listened. I promised myself I’d give her everything because of all the things she had done for me. I wanted to give her the world yet I couldn’t even protect her. It was my fault. Every single thing was my fault. If I hadn’t trusted him, if I had my phone with me that night. I’d have known something was up if only I wasn’t-” and he completely broke down, crying loudly. Jisung hugged his body close to his own, whispering soothing things all while his own tears fell down his cheeks. Moon and  Seungmin weren’t any better, both were crying looking at Hyunjin’s shaking figure. “It wasn’t your fault, none of us could’ve known he was a spy” Seunmin spoke “But, I could’ve still saved her if I ha-” “Hey, some times, we think that if you were to do something different the outcome could be changed. But if given a chance to redo it, something else would happen and the outcome would remain the same. Some things are just not in our control.” Moon cupped Hyunjin's face to comfort him

3 Years Ago

“HWANG HYUNJIN, YOU’RE SO DEAD!!!” Yeji shouted on top of her lungs, soaking head to toe “Catch me if you can” Hyunjin stuck his tongue out and ran inside locking the backdoor “I’m not having any of your bullshit today” she gritted before taking the gun out and shooting at the door handle “BITCH, ARE YOU CRAZY” he shouted running away from her angry figure “YOU’RE NOT ESCAPING TODAY” she shouted following after him “AAAAHHHHHHH, YOU’RE AN ANIMAL, WHAT THE HELL” Hyunjin shouted running towards his room. “Just you wait, I’ll make you regret that” she said getting closer to him “Woman calm down” he said getting inside his room and locking it “Open the door you asshole” Yeji banged on the door repeatedly “Oi language, I’m older than you” Hyunjin laughed from the inside “By 20 minutes, open the door or else” she said “Or else what” he teased “You better run” she said shooting the door handle again “Jesus Christ what the hell is wrong with you today” he said grabbing her from behind locking her in his arms as she entered the room “Let me go idiot, I’m really not in the mood” Yeji said wiggling in his hold “Not until you tell me what’s bothering you” he said, rocking her side to side. Yeji sighed relaxing in his arms “Can’t I go with you” she asked “Jiji, you know you can’t. The more people, the more dangerous it gets” Hyunjin said, guiding her to his bed “But why, isn’t there another way, where no one goes. It’s dangerous as it is” Yeji sighed “If there was, we’d do that. Now cheer up. Everything is going to be alright” he patted her soaking head “But you better not get hurt.” Yeji warned. Hyunjin smiled, already feeling her mood lifting “Yes ma'am” Hyunjin stuck his tongue out, rummaging through his closet “Put these on” Hyunjin said throwing a pair of hoodie and sweatpants at her “Why the hell did you even think this was a good idea. I could get sick you know" Yeji asked "I made sure the water was warm so no need to worry your highness" Hyunjin replied sarcastically

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“Remind me again why I have to stay in the van?” Yeji asked Chan “Because it’s safer, besides they’re good company” Chan replied pointing towards Seungmin, Jeongin and Anna “You’re kidding right, even Liv is going. C’mon man, I’m not a kid” Yeji whined “I can stay with you if you want” spoke a voice from behind Chan “Dave, man I like you but that doesn’t mean I approve of you and my sister” Hyunjin spoke through the ear piece “C’mon man, don’t be like that” Dave replied laughing “Jiji, I need you out of harm's way, can’t risk you getting hurt, it’ll affect my mission as well” Hyunjin spoke “Boy you’re getting on my nerves” Yeji said sitting back in her seat understanding his concern "I think it's cool to have such a bond with someone" Anna striked up a conversation as the others left "It is but it's terrifying as well. Just feeling your heartbeat rise out of nowhere. Knowing something is up but not knowing what." Yeji replied "I can't imagine what's that like" Seungmin said "Honestly it's just heartache. I can actually feel my heart constrict when Hyunjin gets hurt. And it's so much worse when he's not near me." She replied "Aww Jiji, I didn't know you cared so much" Hyunjin spoke through the earpiece "Shut up. Get back in one piece so I can take care of you" Yeji scowled "I see you're still mad about the water incident" Hyunjin chuckled "Oh just you wait, I'll get you back so good, you'll never think of messing with me again" "That's what you always say" Hyunjin remarked "It must be cool to have a twin, all my brother does is treat me like a kid" Anna complained "You know I can hear you right?" Chan said through the earpiece "Good for you" she grumbled "Y'all should be lucky you're still together. I miss having this with Wonpil. We rarely see each other anymore" Seungmin said "Yeah wel-" Jeongin started "Hyunjin what's wrong?" Yeji said catching everyone's attention "Something doesn't seem right" Hyunjin replied "Jinnie I don't feel good about this, get out of there" Yeji said worriedly "I should be fine, no one knows who I am" Hyunjin said "Please be careful" "I always am princess" "Chan what's the update?" Jeongin asked "We've surrounded the building, no one should be able to get out undetected. Minho, Felix what's the status at the drop-off sight" Chan replied "Not sure, we're still waiting" Minho replied "Chan we're compromised. We might have to exit the building" Woojin said "What do you mean?" Bree asked "There are people coming up here, if we stay on the roof we'll be exposed" El replied "Dave, what's your position?" Jisung questioned "Saw someone exiting from behind the building, was tailing them" Dave replied "Did you identify the person" Liv asked "Male, 5'9, didn't see his face, lost him in the crowd" he replied "Seungmin, anything on the drones?" Changbin asked "Nothing, too suspiciously quiet" the younger told "Fuck!" Came Hyunjin's voice followed by gunshots "HYUNJIN!!!!" Yeji screamed "What's going on?" Chan asked alarmed "It was a fucking trap" Hyunjin said

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"They knew, I don't know how but they knew" Hyunjin said, now everyone back and alive "They probably saw it coming because of what happened 2 months ago" Chan deduced "Still, it doesn't make sense, how did they recognize me?" Hyunjin said confused "Did you see someone you've met before?" Minho asked "No. That's the alarming part." "Maybe someone was there, behind the cameras who recognized you? There is a possibility. Many of the top gangs were present there, so security was bound to be tight" Dave reasoned "Still, something doesn't seem right. This was very carefully planned, it seems too suspicious to have failed just like that" Yeji eyed Dave "We'll have to look into it. But for the meantime, lay low." Chan said, dismissing everyone

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"Ah fuck baby, just like that" Hyunjin moaned as the girl sunk down on his hard length. She whined grinding down on him. "C'mon baby, show me what you got" he groaned guiding her hips over his own. "Faster baby" Hyunjin breathed, thrusting up into her wet hole. "I'm so close sir" the girl moaned, riding him fast, chasing her high. "Cum for me baby" he groaned, desperate to reach his own high as well. "Fuck" he groaned feeling her clench around him tightly ."Ahh" the girl moaned, releasing around him, triggering his own orgasm. Hyunjin released in the latex with a deep groan, his thrusts slowing down as the overstimulation kicked in. Getting off of him, she lied down beside him as Hyunjin removed the soiled condom from his softening cock, discarding it in the bin. “Wanna go for another round in the shower” he asked, peppering her neck with kisses, she giggled looking at him and nodded. “Come on le-” He was cut off with Chan barging into the room “We nee-” “I’m in the middle of something” Hyunjin said pointing towards the naked girl beside him “It’s Yeji” Chan said, Hyunjin’s eyes went wide, finally realizing that his heartbeat was going crazy twenty minutes ago because of the bond he and his sister shared and not because of the pleasure. Getting up from the bed he apologized to the girl before quickly getting dressed and followed Chan. “What the hell happened and where is Dave?” Hyunjin questioned as the gang was gathered in the weapon room “He was a spy and he has Yeji.” Bree answered “Fucking bastard, I’m gonna rip him to shreds” Hyunjin gritted “We need to get her quickly. Hyunjin, you good?” Minho questioned “Yeah, she’s okay, but I can’t say that for long” he said strapping in his knives “I have the coordinates, let’s go” Jeongin said

“Jesus Christ, why is this taking so long? And why the hell didn’t she call, actually come to think of it, where is my phone anyway. Seungmin give me the coordinates” Hyunjin started blabbering due to the nervousness building up and snatched the GPS device from the younger’s hand “Hey Hyunjin calm down, we’ll get her yeah” Chan said trying to ease his worries “I fucking can’t, how could I have been so stupid. Aarrgghh” Hyunjin pulled at his hair. No one said anything because judging from his behaviour they could tell that something was very wrong on Yeji’s side. “Let’s hide the van there, Seungmin and Jeongin set up the drones, Cha-HyuNJIN WHAT THE HELL” Minho started but got cut off seeing Hyunjin jump out of the moving van as it slowed down. Hyunjin didn’t reply, he just ran until his body disappeared into the darkness. He stopped as the GPS pointed that he was where he needed to be "YEJI!! YEJI, WHERE ARE YOU? YEJIIIIIII" he shouted at top of his lungs trying to locate his sister "Ye-ah" he grabbed his chest as his heart started beating extremely fast and chest started aching "No, no, Yeji" he called kneeling on the pavement, hands clutching his chest as his breathing became laboured. Taking a deep breath he got up and let his legs take control, knowing he didn't need the GPS anymore to get to his sister. With every step he took, the pain in his chest intensified. He came to a halt seeing his sister's body lying on the cold hard ground with a knife deep in her chest. "No, no, Jiji, you can't, hey I'm here now, please open your eyes. Princess please. You can't"  he cried cradling her body in his arms. "J-ji-jin-nie" Yeji choked feeling her brothers grip on her "Yeah, I'm here, stay with me hhmm" he said cradling her head with one hand while the other put pressure on her chest trying to reduce the bleeding around the weapon "Wh-why di-dn't y-you p-pi-p-ick up" she stuttered, coughing up blood "No no, sshh don't talk, I'm so so sorry. I'm so sorry" he said burying his head in her hair crying loudly. Yeji caressed her brother's hair one last time like she had been ever since they were young whenever he cried, until her body went cold and her hand went limp beside her lifeless body. "Jiji, Yeji wake up" Hyunjin shook her pale body "Ye-ah, ah." He clutched his chest as the pain suddenly increased until he couldn't take it anymore "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH" he screamed on top of his lungs until his vision blacked and he passed out due to the pain.

Hyunjin opened his eyes and realized he was in his room, looking around he saw his members standing around him. "What hap-" he started when his eyes went wide "I can't feel her" he whispered touching his chest "Why can't I feel her, where is she? WHY CAN'T I FEEL HER, WHERE IS SHE. WHERE IS MY SISTER? WHY CAN'T I FEEL HER HEARTBEAT" Hyunjin screamed, tears streaming down his face. No one said anything, just stared at their best friend with heartbroken expressions, failing to keep their own tears in. He leapt off the bed and lunged forward at the leader "Tell me, tell me right now, where is she, she's in the infirmary right? She's just asleep right? She's gonna wake up soon, she's alright. It's just me. This can't be real, it can't be. Where is her heartbeat? Why can't I feel it, WHY CAN'T I FEEL IT CHAN?"  He grabbed Chan's collar and buried his head in his chest crying loudly "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" the older cried, wrapping his arms around the younger male, trying to calm his shaking figure. "NOOOO PLEASE, NOOOOO AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH" He fell to his knees crying loudly, mourning his sister's death.

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“Ever since that day, I've developed a habit of having sex too much. Deep down, I always hope that one day my heartbeat will increase like it did that day, or my phone will ring. But it doesn’t. That’s also the reason why I ended up sleeping with other people even though I told your sister I wouldn’t. And God I know it’s no excuse but I just want you to know that I never would’ve hurt your sister intentionally” Hyunjin sniffed, wiping his eyes, now calmer than before. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. And thank you for sharing your story, I’m sure it wasn't easy" Moon smiled at Hyunjin “The reason I shared it with you is because of the question you asked earlier" Hyunjin replied "What question?" She asked "When you asked if you could get rid of the hatred you have for yourself" Hyunjin replied "How?" Moon asked "Why do you hate yourself. Because you're your father's daughter. No that's not it, it's because you blame yourself. You blame yourself for not being able to get away from him and building yourself up how you wanted to. You think it was your fault you couldn't, because eventually your life is in your hands and how you live and shape it. But Moon, after hearing your side of the story, that's not the case. It will be if you decide to spend the rest of your life in self pity and giving yourself up into the life of your so-called blood. Your life was shit until you were given a chance to leave through the sports scholarship, what happened? Someone tried to force themselves on you, but you stayed strong and kept fighting. Yes you lost your chance at escaping your father how you originally wanted but why? Was it entirely your fault? No, partially yes, if you had opened up to your parents maybe things would've been different. But you'll never know. Who's fault was it if it wasn't entirely yours? Andre, if he hadn't drugged you that day, things would've been different. Okay, fine chapter closed, but that's not where it ends. You have still so much to do. You proved it yourself. You picked yourself up, decided to do something, sure you closed yourself off but did you just let yourself go? No, eventually you escaped your father. Maybe not how you wanted but you did. Again it doesn't end there. You thought you sold yourself for the sake of your mother's happiness but you didn't. You took an opportunity when it presented itself and you made the best of it. Each and everyone of us can see how much you've changed since you've joined. Like I said, your life didn't end there. You kept fighting. In that time, you ignored the blood in your veins and built yourself up how you wanted to. But why are you giving up now? You saw Andre again, and all that control threatened to break. The control that made you different from your worst fear. You don't hate yourself, you just blame yourself. Deep down, you want to finish Andre and you not being able to do it, that's what's taking a toll on you, you're constantly letting your anger show. And that is making you think you're what you fear. You hate Andre not yourself because of what he did. You only blame yourself and you're mistaking that for self hatred" Hyunjin explained. Moon just looked at him in awe, how did he figure it out in mere hours when she couldn't in many years "I know it's a lot to take in but that's what it is. How I know, because I'm in the same situation. Different story but same situation. My sister died. I may not have been able to save her but I wasn't the one to kill her either. I blame myself for her death, for so long I hated myself for it until I realized I hate the man who stabbed her. And I'm the one to blame for that, maybe if I was in a clearer headspace I could've got there sooner. But the past is past, we can't change it. It took me such a long time to realize that. What did I do to heal my scars, well avenge my sister's death. I'm gonna find that bastard and rip him to shreds. So Moon, if you think you staying here is dangerous because of who you think you are, no that's not the case. If you still wanna leave to figure everything out, I respect your decision and I support it. But just know that whenever you decide, we'll all be waiting here for you. Because you're our family now" Hyunjin hugged her close. "And we'll help you make Andre pay for what he did as well, you're not alone anymore" Seungmin spoke. "Thanks guys, this means so much to me. I feel so much better now" she said sniffing and wiping away her tears. "Well this was an emotional rollercoaster, let's give ourselves some space to think straight. And Moon, take your time and think rationally. Don't let anything cloud your judgement" Jisung said patting Moon's shoulder and left "He's right. Make a decision you know that is right. It doesn't matter what it is, we support you" Seungmin said and left as well. "Everything is going to be alright" Hyunjin squeezed Moon before leaving her in the kitchen with her thoughts

“C’mon you said the same thing last time as well” Jisung whined sitting on Minho’s bed “And I’m saying it again” Minho answered “But whyy, who else will I go with” “I don’t know, anyone really” Minho shrugged “Why are you being like this, are you mad at me. I swear it wasn’t me” Jisung raised his hands in surrender “Sungie do you even know what this is about? Because it most certainly is you” Minho joined him on the bed “Curse it, I wonder what I did this time” he said looking at Minho, his heartbeat rising due to the close proximity “You- oh fuck it” Minho spoke before joining his lips with Jisung’s. The younger male was caught off guard and remained still, completely shook. A few seconds later Minho pulled away due to not being kissed back. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t ha-just leave, this is why I-” Minho started “Again” Jisung whispered, eyes wide looking at Minho with the utmost adoration “W-what” Minho stuttered “Kiss me, again.” Jisung said. Wasting no time, Minho joined their lips again. Jisung kissed back his hands grabbing Minho’s waist while the older pushed him back on the bed hovering over him without breaking the kiss. Swiping his tongue on Jisung’s bottom lips, Minho silently asked for entrance, Jisung gently parted his lips allowing their tongues to dance together. Minho’s hands went under Jisung’s shirt caressing his chest while the kiss deepened. Minho was the one to pull away first, lips swollen and a string of saliva connecting their lips. “God, you make me crazy” Minho whispered, diving back in to kiss him again, the feeling of Jisung’s soft lips against his own, driving him insane.

Moon was in her room thinking about the conversation she had with the three boys earlier. Was she going to leave, did she even want to. Countless questions filled her head, her attention was stolen from the familiar ding of her phone. She went to her closet to quickly change into a different set of clothes as soon as she saw the text. “Where are you going?” Chan asked as he saw Moon all dressed up exiting her room “Oh, Nay just texted me, we’re going out for a girls night, want some time to think about some things” Moon smiled at him walking away “Are you really leaving?” Chan grabbed her wrist turning her around, his eyes sad “I don’t know, maybe” she replied looking away from his gaze “I’m sorry” he whispered, releasing her wrist “What for?” Moon asked “For calling you-” “Chan, it’s the past, just forget it, I was not in my right mind either and I took it to heart. You don’t need to apologize” she cut him off “But-” “No buts, I’m over it, let it go.” she said “Are you still mad at me?” he asked “No, I never was, I just needed some space, I’m sorry if it came off like that” she said “No baby girl, you don’t have to, I understand. Have a fun night and stay safe” he smiled at her. Moon loved his smiles, the dimples poking out, eyes shining, making him look absolutely breathtaking. Instead of saying anything, she moved forward and kissed him. Chan kissed her back hands circling around her waist, he tilted his head to the side deepening the kiss as their tongues collided. “Let’s go on an official date when I come back” Moon said pulling away “I’d love that.” he said kissing her again. Kissing for a few minutes Moon pulled back much to her displeasure. “As much as I love kissing you, I have to go” she said stepping out of his embrace. Chan smiled at her and nodded.

“You seem happy” Woojin pointed out, everyone gathered in the living room having random conversations. Chan giggled like a five year old, his ears turning red. “He made out with Moon, of course he’s happy” Minho smirked “You don’t really get to say that you know, you aren’t any less happy, seeing you finally grew the balls to kiss Jisung” Changbin said, everyone's attention now on the new couple. Oohhs and aahhs thrown around as the two blushed furiously. “You’re one to talk, your dick gets hard everytime you se-mmphh” Changbin put his palm on Minho’s mouth before he could finish his sentence. “Well this just got more interesting” Felix high fived Seungmin “I wonder who has the ability to make Chanbin’s dick hard” El laughed “I say we all put on bets” Hyunjin suggested “You guys ar-” Changbin was cut off by the doorbell “Expecting anyone?” Chan asked “Yep, my weed stash is here” Minho said as Jeongin went to check “Hey guys” Nay said, entering the living room. Chan’s eyes went wide looking at her “Chan, you good, you look like you just saw a ghost” Anna asked “Aren’t you supposed to be with Moon for a girls night” Chan asked Nay “No, was I?” she replied confused “She said she was going out with you, where did she go?” Chan asked worriedly

A/N: I did proof read, but let me know if you find any typos 

Hang ‘Em High {Arthur Morgan x OC} Chapter 14

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x FemOC

Summery: Belle Hawthorne is high society looking to escape her mean husband. A robbery by the Van Der Linde gang could be her chance. Can she escape his cluches and possibly discover what love should feel like?

Warnings: None

.....

Chapter 14

Walking back into camp from the river, dumping my belongings at my small tent then borrowing one of the girls pocket mirrors they keep by their bedrolls. The dye definitely did its job. My hair now a deep earthy red reminiscent of the red chestnut Arabian my mother used to own and spoil like it was her fourth child. Happy with the outcome I then set off in search of Hosea. I couldn’t see him anywhere in camp but as I was passing John I asked if he knew where he could be. Told me he was going to meet him at the moonshine wagon they had stolen yesterday. Following him out of camp to where it was hidden. Hosea was there, inspecting the many bottles of moonshine that filled the back of the small wagon. Both of us greeting him as we approached. 

���Ahh, Miss Bella, Just who I wanted to see. I have a little plan with this shine here and I was wondering if you want to join.” Hosea asked, climbing down from the wagon. He seemed to sense my hesitation, coming over to stand beside me and placing a hand on my arm in the hopes it would ease me. “Don’t worry, nothing dangerous and you won’t be left alone. I was just thinking, having a lady present would make us seem less threatening.” 

He looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer.  

The chance to do something more than camp chores is something I wanted, not that doing chores wasn’t important but I desired to do something more to help. Maybe even bring in some money plus having a few dollars to myself. Growing up on a large farm I’ve never been one to shy away from hard work. Getting my hands dirty on a daily basis was normal, but getting them dirty on the kinda jobs the gang does will involve more than just soil under your nails and hay in your hair. But I’m sure I could trust Hosea seeing as he was one to avoid bloodshed and fights whenever possible, instead, running scams to take what they wanted from right under the noses of unsuspecting folks. “Okay. I’ll help if you think it will be of benefit.”

“Great! I'd suggest it would be better off if you wore something other than pants and equip your gun. Just in case,”

I nodded, feeling a bit more apprehensive about having to be armed. Better safe than sorry I thought as I turned to head back to camp.

“Oh, and Bella,” Hosea called back to me “Love the hair.”

 I changed into a plain baby blue skirt and a white blouse, donning a shawl to avoid the inevitable chill of the evening. Styling my hair into a loose bun allowing a few strands to fall around my face. Once I was ready and had my Cattleman holstered securely to my hip and the knife I still hadn’t returned sheathed beside it I made my way back to Hosea and John. Arthur was there too, asking Hosea what the plan was as they mounted up on the wagon. I sat at the back, feet dangling off the edge acting as the lookout. With this much moonshine just passing the wrong people could cause an unwanted interaction. Arthur called over to ask if I’m sure I’m okay coming along to help. Hosea butting in before I could speak to tell him Arthur will be just fine as I won’t be leaving their sides. Arthur looked over his shoulder at me either waiting for my confirmation or some words of worry. I just gave him a smile and a nod as we made our way along the roads in the direction of Rhodes.  The two men conversed on the plan. Returning the liquor to its owners for a ‘finder's fee’of sorts and to make a formal introduction to the Braithwaite family. In the back of my head, that name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place any faces to the name that dealt in the moonshine business. As they talked about the two apparent rival families in the area, Arthur mentioned a couple torn between both families that he has been helping keep in contact with one another. Imagine that, a big mean outlaw helping two young lovers. The ride wasn’t long, the historic plantation house sitting only a little further south to where we are situated along Flat Iron Lake. The men at the entrance let us go through to make our way towards the house, the grandness of it not being unfamiliar to me.

As we came to a stop the doors ahead opened revealing an older woman, Catherine Braithwaite, followed out by several men. “What you want?” She called out to us from the porch.

“Found something...out on the hills, thought...thought maybe you was in the market for it.” Hosea called back as he made his way to the steps.

“For what?”

“Some liquor.”

“I ain’t in the market for what’s already mine.”

“Way we see it, it’s ours,”  The three of us dismounted and made our way to the foot of the porch. I stood back a little and decided to stay near the horses.  “What with us possessing it, and i-i checked it all over for the life of me I couldn’t see your name on it.”

Now I could see the woman clearly, the faces to that name came flooding back to me. I had met Mrs Braithwaite months ago regarding a couple of horses Frank was wanting to buy. Surely she wouldn’t recognise me considering i had only met her once before and let’s face it, I looked a bit different then. She didn't seem to pay any mind to me. Looking me over once before returning to Hosea as their conversation continued.

“The alternative is you get shot.” a man stepped out behind Mrs Braithwaite, one of her sons I believe, shotgun in hand. Arthur instinctively going for his sidearm, hand hovering over the pistol just waiting for the word. Hosea quick to step in, “Now who wants to get shot over a bottle or two of liquor?” 

The man raised the gun but the woman was quick to stop him, pulling the weapon from his grasp. “Pay the man.”

“Pleasure doing business with ya,” Hosea said as he was handed a clip. “And, listen, we didnt take it, least not without orders from…”

“Oh, I know exactly who gave you your orders. Old sheriff Gray. You know what? I don’t want it. In fact, sir, now you can do me a favour, there’s an extra 10 bucks if you do. Drive the stuff into Rhodes head over to the tavern run by Mr Gray and give the stuff out for free,” She said, shushing one of the boys at her side. This feud between the two families ran deep for sure since she was willing to lose out on some business just out of spite.

“I believe they call that a promotional expense.”  Hosea huffed out a laugh, giving the woman a nod and turned to climb up on the wagon again. Mrs Braithwaite leaving us with parting words regarding playing a game of cribbage.

Heading into Rhodes was the last thing I wanted to do, especially so soon. I just had to make sure I kept my wits about me and to not leave their side for too long. Lord, I felt pathetic being as scared as I was. My pistol being the heavy presence at my side reminded me I could use that if need be.

“I ain’t playing dress-up. You know how I feel about that.”

“Of course you’re not...You’re a clowns.... idiot... brother.”

“Hosea, please…” Arthurs voice taking on a deep tone, one of irritation to whatever Hosea was proposing.

“I’m the clown. You’re the idiot. Just...look sad and keep quiet. Even you can do that, Arthur”

“Do I have to?”

“Put this hat on.” Arthur didn't have a choice in the matter. Hosea already removing his worn gambler hat and replacing it with a wide brim flop hat that was anything but attractive. Without missing a beat Hosea hands him a pipe to smoke and instructing him how to form his face. Despite Arthurs reluctance, he still followed whatever Hosea instructed, but he wasn’t happy in the slightest. I couldn’t help but giggle minutely as I watched. Arthur turned to me with a look of anger and disbelief before huffing out a quiet “shut up.” Covering my mouth to stifle my laughter. 

“What about you?” Arthur now turned his attention back to Hosea

“Shh. You can't speak. You’re turned idiot,” Hosea and I both started laughing now. “Quite broke poor mammy’s heart.” Hosea continued putting on a voice to get into the part causing Arthur to gruff in annoyance. He was hating this. We were loving it.

“There there, Fenton, there there. Don’t get mad now.” The humour had calmed me some. A warm sensation in my stomach overcoming the dread I was feeling the whole ride here. The ache on my cheeks a pleasant one. We pulled into Rhodes parlour house, Arthur dismounting and making his way to where I was sat. Hosea still spewing this little backstory he had created on a whim. 

“Okay, Fenton, stay calm now...for momma, she loved you so...just a shame you had to strangle her in a rage. Right, grab two cases of that stuff and follow me.”

Arthur held out his hand to help me down from the back of a wagon, his expression one of exasperation as he looked at me. Both of us reaching for a crate. 

“You, erm, gonna be okay?” He asked in a whisper.

“I’m sure I will be,” I replied with a smile

“Just stay near me. I’ll keep an eye out, make sure you’re safe.” “Thank you, Arthur - I mean, Fenton.” I couldn’t hold back the grin forming on my face, Arthur just looked at me deadpan as if to say ‘not you too’ as we followed Hosea towards the Parlours side entrance.

This was going to be fun.

@kashasenpai​

Creep- FFVII Biggs X Reader Ch.12/?

Summary: You get on the wrong side of one of Corneo’s men and now you have a target on your back

A/N: I’m so sorry this chapter took so long! Ever since the pandemic I’ve lost all concept of time and it still doesn’t register with me that chapter 11 was posted over a month ago. I can no longer promise that you’ll get weekly updates, but that is my goal. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter! its the longest one so far. Any and all feedback is appreciated and it helps me become a better writer! 

You, Biggs, Jessie, Tifa, and Wedge were sitting down at the table in Avalanche's hideout, listening intently as Barrett spoke. That is, everybody but Tifa.

She had just lost her childhood friend, and though she tried really hard to act like nothing was wrong, to carry on for everyone else's sake, she wasn't very convincing. Her stare was blank and every once in a while she'd tear up, looking anywhere but people's eyes as she fought them down. The group tried to comfort her, but she kept insisting she was fine.

This was the meeting you had been waiting for, the meeting where you'd figure out what to do about the men looking for both you and Barrett. You had already volunteered to go check out the Corneo mansion and finish the business with your little stalker, but so far that's been pushed aside or discouraged. You understood their hesitancy, but you also couldn't spend another day with the fear of a stalker hanging over your head. You couldn't stand to live like this anymore, and if you met him up at the mansion, you'd be much more prepared than if he found you. There would also be the element of surprise on your side.

"I asked some of guys in the watch about this Corneo character. Apparently he's the crimelord who runs Wall Market. I'm sure you've all heard the rumors about him," Barrett took slow, paced steps as he spoke.

"See? Another reason you shouldn't let Y/N go in there!" Biggs added. Barrett stopped in his tracks, staring the man down. So far, Biggs has interrupted the meeting a number of times to share his distaste for your involvement in any plans.

"Will you let me finish?" He barked. Biggs slid back into his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So why is he interested in you?" You asked, ending the tense silence.

"I'm not sure of anything, but I think we all know why he's interested. Depending on his intentions and his loyalties, this Corneo guy might become a real problem for us."

"You think he might be working for Shinra?" Jessie spoke up.

"Can't be sure without proof."

"You think they're all in on it? All his goons?" You asked, "Maybe that's why one of 'em picked me on the train. Maybe he knew I was part of it. Maybe that's why he's... well, stalking me."

"No. He picked on you on the train because you were a pretty girl sitting right across from him. He's stalking you cause you almost knocked his lights out. You probably embarrassed him." Biggs said.

"Hold on, I embarrassed him? He embarrassed me!"

"He cowered in his seat while Biggs dragged you away. I'm sure it embarrassed him." Jessie said

"Probably hurt his pride or something. He seems like the kind of guy who wouldn't let the little things go, so if he thinks you slighted him on the train, he's gonna fight dirty by bringing his little crew to terrorize you," Biggs leaned further back into his chair.

"The nerve of that guy..." you seethed, "he knows he's not scary alone so he gets a group of men to come intimidate me."

"Or who knows, some of the other people on the train could've let him have it once you left the car. Maybe that's why he's upset." Wedge added.

"Really? Cause they didn't seem to stand up for me when I needed it," your voice trailed off, leading to a momentary pause in the conversation.

"Now tell me, what exactly did this guy say to you on the train?" Barrett asked, you fidgeted in your seat as the memories you tried to repress were starting to creep back in.

"Nothing I want to repeat."

"You've got to give me the details," Barrett said, urgent but not demanding.

"Well, I was sweaty because of the mission and he... commented about that. Then he said something about taking me to guy in Wall Market. I'm guessing he meant Corneo. He called me property and then we started arguing. Biggs tried to take me out of the car, then he made a comment about my ass and that's when I swung at him."

Barrett had finally sat down at the table and was listening intently. His usual hard-ass demeanor had vanished, and instead he appeared sensitive to your problem. You appreciated it, as well as the fact that he never yelled at you for getting into this mess. It still didn't make sense, though. He always yelled when people did something stupid. So why were you an exception?

"And what about yesterday?" He asked.

"Well, he and his little gang surrounded me, Jessie, Biggs, and they started harassing us. He told me I was lucky cause he was busy looking for you. Apparently Corneo put him up to it. He said I should watch out for now on, 'cause that's what a bitch gets" you paused, "Jessie asked what we could do to get them to stop, he said only I could make it stop. He told me to meet him at the Corneo mansion, said something about a truce. I don't know what he's planning but I've got to do something. I don't think he even expects me to come. I think this is the only chance to get an upper hand on him."

"I don't think that's a good idea, y/n," Wedge spoke up.

"What other options do we have? Sit and wait around to see what business Corneo has with Barrett and see what that creep wants to do with me? We can kill two birds with one stone if I can get in there."

"No, Y/N, that's a bad idea," Biggs warned.

"What if we sent someone else in there?" Wedge suggested.

"For Barrett, that might work. But I've got to face that dirtbag myself, he won't speak to anyone else."

"And what do you think you're gonna do once you get in there, huh? Kill a man in front of his boss? Or just give 'em a little warning? How do you expect this little plan of yours to work out?" Barrett's sensitive disposition dropped.

"I.... I don't know"

"See, you don't even have a plan! Now there's no way I'm letting you go in there alone!"

"... I'll go with her," Tifa spoke up. She had been silent most of the meeting, her mind far away from this place. Her sudden inclusion in the conversation surprised all of you.

"What?" Biggs did a double take.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" You whispered to her, and she nodded yes. Barrett simply watched the woman, hand holding his chin in thought.

"And I think I have a plan, too." She added. The room was silent for a moment. Biggs couldn't shake his shocked expression; Jessie and Wedge glanced at each other, they knew his surprise would soon turn aggressive. Barrett looked between you and Tifa, eyebrows furrowed.

"You're not seriously thinking about this, are you?" Biggs stood up from his chair.

"And what if I am?" Barrett said, giving Biggs a long and intimidating look.

"... With me and Y/N's skills combined, we won't have anything to worry about." Tifa said.

"They could take on a damn army..." Jessie muttered.

"No, no, absolutely not! There's no way I'm letting either of you go in there!" Biggs butted in again, he could be such a stubborn pain when he wanted to.

"We're not asking for your permission!" You said to him.

"Shut the hell up!" Barrett yelled, causing everyone to silence, "I'll think it over. In the meantime, meeting's over."

Everyone got up to leave, but before Biggs could exit with the rest of the team, Barrett grabbed onto his shoulder.

"We gotta have a talk."

Biggs sighed, arms crossed against his chest as the he waited for everyone else to go back up to the bar. Then, once they were all gone, he turned back to Barrett.

"It seems you've forgotten who's boss around here..." Barrett began, voice a low growl, "and your little playground crush on Y/N is really starting to get on my nerves."

"Crush? So because I'm worried for her safety it means I have a crush on her?" Biggs fired back. He was pissed, he's been pissed since the day on the train. And now it was beginning to bubble over.

"Don't you dare insinuate I'm not thinking 'bout her safety, cause I sure as hell am."

"Then why are you thinking about sending her into Corneo's? Huh? You think she's gonna be safe there?"

"Never said I was. I wouldn't send her or Tifa into any situation I didn't think they could handle."

"But you're thinking about it."

"That's right, I am thinking about it," Barrett snapped, "You need to get it into that thick skull of yours that I am the one who makes decisions around here. What I say goes."

Biggs' cocky attitude fell away when he realized he crossed a line. Barrett wasn't playing. This wasn't just a heated discussion, this was serious. And when it came to handling Barrett, there was only one way to go about this: stand down.

"Y/N is not yours to control or protect. She's capable of handling herself," he stated firmly, voice a low growl. Somehow me managed to make it scarier than his yelling, "Now whatever decision I make, you better keep your mouth shut about it. Do I make myself clear?"

Biggs was caught off guard by the intensity of Barrett's stare, but he regained his composure and shook his head.

"Yes sir," he said. Barrett kept the man's gaze a second longer before grunting and nodding; a wordless dismissal.

Biggs turned and walked away, knowing full well that his boss's eyes were following him. He took a step onto the elevator platform, facing away from Barrett.

"Tell Tifa and Y/N to come down here next." Barrett said, same tone as before.

Biggs shut his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and biting his tongue.

"Yes sir."

——————————————————————

You, Tifa, and Biggs approached the small chocobo stable in sector 6. It was on the very edge of wall market, the creep's stomping ground. If you and Biggs were caught out here, you'd be screwed, so you tried your best to lay low. You had borrowed some of Jessie's clothes and styled your hair differently to try and disguise yourself, Biggs did something similar.

Just ahead of you was a bearded man tending to a chocobo. He wore a cowboy hat and leather vest; the typical uniform of a Chocobo carriage driver, but he wasn't just an ordinary worker. He ran the entire business. Chocobo Sam, you remembered. He had made a real name for himself in the slums, being an entrepreneur and all... but that wasn't it. He was also known for his ties to Corneo, Tifa had told you, and apparently he was one of the few who could grant you access to the Don.

He looked up from his brushing, eyes intense as he scrutinized you and Tifa. Your breath caught in your throat. Not another creep...

"Need somethin'?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed at Biggs, staring at him as though he were the leader of your group. Oh, how far from the truth that was.

"Yeah, you're Sam, right?" You asked, voice a hushed whisper. Even though there weren't many people around, you weren't taking your chances. He seemed to get the hint, stepping closer to you and crossing his arms.

"And what if I am? What your business here?" He drawled, voice a soft growl.

"We heard you could help us see Don Corneo," Tifa said. He looked the both of you up and down, taking a little too long to do so. Biggs cleared his throat and the man stopped.

"I can't help you," he said to Biggs, "But you two are a different story. I could get one of you girls into an audition tonight."

"Just one of us?" Tifa asked.

"Audition?" Biggs also asked, but was ignored.

"Now that I think about it... I don't think the other two have anyone in mind. I think I could get you both in. You girls are right up his alley."

"What? The hell is this audition for?" Biggs asked again, this time too loud to be ignored.

"Well..." Sam started, his voice hushed, "its an audition to be Corneo's bride for the night."

Biggs face went slack as he stared at the man.

"So this is a sex ring."

"Keep your voice down, man!" Sam whispered, giving Biggs a look before scanning the surrounding area for any onlookers.

"Uh uh. No fucking way," Biggs said, grabbing both you and tifa's arms, pulling you away from the stable, "No way I'm letting either of you in there!"

"C'mon, you know we can handle this!" You yanked your arm out of his grasp

"Not with how you've been freezing up lately! Remember yesterday?"

"We were surrounded! We weren't prepared last time. This time will be different. We have an actual plan, a solid one," You said.

"Did you two know this was a sex ring?" He asked, arms crossed over his chest.

"... It was part of the plan," Tifa admitted. Biggs let out an angry sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"I knew you'd react like this..." you muttered.

Tifa looked between the two, and sensing the tension, she took Biggs by the arm, leading him a few yards away.

"Do you trust me?" She asked, trying to initiate eye contact with him but he wouldn't look away from you. She sighed, even when he was pissed at you, he was still fiercely protective. Oh, he had it bad, "Biggs, Do you trust me?"

He finally looked back at her, noticing the serious look in her eyes.

"I do," he said, quickly glancing back to you and everyone in the vicinity.

"I will make sure she stays safe. I promise. But you've got to trust her, too. Can you do that?"

He hesitated to answer, and for a moment, Tifa thought that his lack of response was his response.

"I guess I don't have a say in this, do I?"

"Barret already approved of the mission..."

Tifa waited a moment for a response but never got one. She shook her head; Biggs rarely ever got this upset, but whenever he did he was unbearable.

She walked over to where you were still standing, gently grabbing your hand and leading you to Sam. She didn't have to look back to know Biggs was staring her down.

Sam turned towards the both of you again, and then he glanced behind you for a moment before meeting your gaze.

"We're in," Tifa said. He studied her expression a moment, and then yours.

"You sure you want in on this? I can't promise you'll be leaving that mansion anytime soon."

You looked over at Tifa to see her response, you didn't want to force her into something like this.

She looked turned to you and nodded.

"I'll send a carriage tonight at 9. Dress your best." —————————————- Tifa sorted through her closet for something nice enough to wear to a formal audition. You already had a dress picked out. Jessie let you borrow her only nice gown for the occasion; it was laying on tifa's bed as you stared at it. The dress was beautiful, but you mind wandered from the gown's delicate details to something you couldn't get out of your head...

You and Biggs hadn't spoken since the encounter with Sam, and though you were still a little angry, the thought of him being angry at you really pulled on your heartstrings. He's been your rock the past two days, always there with you and for you, holding you tight when you were scared... No, stop. That was the crush talking. No matter how hard you tried to be mad at him, that stupid crush wouldn't let you.

You hated to think you'd have to go through another pervert to end all of your pervert problems, but you couldn't live your life like this anymore. You didn't want to live in fear of those dirtbags and what would happen if they decided to visit you again. You shivered at the thought. Part of you wanted to stay away from him so badly, to avoid all of your problems and stick to hiding with Biggs. Deep down, though, you knew your problem wouldn't go away unless you did something about it.

That's what Biggs didn't get. Every waking moment you were on edge. You felt like you were going crazy, you couldn't even sleep anymore. You didn't have it in you to play the waiting game. And though your plan was risky, (probably more risky than you'd like to admit) you had come to terms with the fact that there was no safe or correct choice in this situation. You'd have to face him someday, so why not on your own terms.

"How about this one?" Tifa asked, pulling out a dark blue mini dress from her closet, holding it out for you to look at. Your eyes widened; It was a very sexy dress.

"If you wear that, he's definitely gonna pick you," you replied, looking back down at your dress. Yours was still alluring, just not to the level of Tifa's. Or maybe Tifa was just sexier than you. That was probably it.

"I don't know about that, I think you definitely have a chance too," she said, eyeing you from behind. You laughed.

"I'm serious, Y/N!" She said, "You're turning heads everywhere you go!"

"Yeah, and getting the wrong kind of attention," you admitted. And though it was a joke, your smile faded as you faced its bitter implications.

You picked up the dress from the bed, feeling it's material between you fingers, and then took it off the hanger. Uzipping the back, you stepped both legs into the gown and then pulled it up to your chest. You zipped the dress up half-way before realizing that you couldn't finish the job alone.

"Hey Tifa, can you help me out?" You asked. She stood in front of the mirror, trying to tie her dress up in the back.

"Yeah, give me a minute," she said, concentrating on the two ties that fastened behind the neck.

There was a knock on the door. You held your dress at the front to keep it from falling down as you headed over to the door. Looking through the peephole, you were both relieved and a little upset to see Biggs standing there.

"Who is it?" Tifa asked.

"It's Biggs." You said, "Should I open it?"

"Yeah, let him in."

You reluctantly opened the door, ushering him in with your one available hand before anyone could see you. As soon as he entered the room, the air went tense.

"Can you help me zip this up?" You turned around, showing him your bare back. Perhaps this wasn't the best way to alleviate some of the tension, but it was all you could think of.

He stared at your bare back for a moment, his mind still hadn't caught up to the present.

"Biggs?" You asked, "Never used a zipper before?"

"Sorry," he said, before stepping closer to you.

His hands pushed your hair over one shoulder so none of it would get caught. Cold air hit your exposed neck, and then his breath. It was only then that you realized how close he was. A finger gently brushed across your back, moving the remaining hairs away from the zipper. You fought back a shiver. And just a second later, he had zipped you up, finally stepping away.

You turned back around hesitantly, before holding your arms out away from your body. "What do you think?"

Biggs looked you up and down, staring a little too long.

"Well?" You asked again.

"...Beautiful," he slipped, " I-I mean, you look beautiful. The dress is beautiful."

"Thanks." There was a thick silence that permeated the room as you looked down at you dress, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. Biggs glanced around the room, but you caught his eyes wandering back to you every once in a while.

"Hey, can I get some help over here too?" Tifa asked.

"Of course," Biggs said, turning his gaze to her.

"No, I've got it!" You butted in, running over to Tifa and tying her dress up for her. She raised an eyebrow at you through the mirror, and you glared at her.

You walked back over to Biggs, who stood awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. He looked up at you as you approached.

"So what's brought you here?" You asked, moving to sit on Tifa's bed as you took your makeup bag in your hands. He sat down on the bed a foot away from you. "You're not trying to make me reconsider, are you?"

He didn't answer.

"We've been through this already," you searched through the clutch for your compact mirror. The door open and shut again, you looked up for a second, noticing Tifa had left the room.

"I just don't see how this is a good idea. He's bound to be at Corneo's place, how do you suppose this is gonna fix it?"

"Look, I've got to do something. I can't live like this anymore."

"What if you make it worse?"

"Then I'll have to leave Midgar."

The both of you grew quite at the thought. You didn't want to leave Midgar. Ever. But if you didn't deal with this guy, you'd probably have to. And if you were to mess up on this mission, you'd have to leave. The odds weren't looking good for you.

"But I'll still have to leave if we don't face this head-on. So do you understand why I have to do it?"

He stared down at his lap and thought for a moment.

"Yes, I do," He turned to look up at you, "Promise me you'll be back."

You searched his eyes, his expression, all too tense. He looked worried, was it really all about you? Could he care that much? It made you feel guilty that you could have ever put this weight on him.

"I promise," you replied, your voice barely a whisper. His eyes hadn't left yours, and it was then that you realized how close your faces were, just a few inches apart. His jaw was still tight, you noticed, and you lifted up a hand to touch his face. You smoothed our his cheek with your thumb, "you need to stop clenching your jaw, you're gonna hurt yourself," you whispered again. There was a pause, and though it was only a few seconds, it felt so much longer.

"I have something to tell you..." he began, his eyes leaving your own for a moment, almost as if he were ashamed, or maybe embarrassed?

"What is it?" You whispered, locking eyes with him again. You had unknowingly scooted a little closer to him, and he to you. Your hand hadn't yet left his face, no, you held onto his face, drinking in his features as if it would be the last time. He moved closer...

The door opened and you two jumped, quickly scooting away from each other. A shocked Wedge stood at the doorway.

"Umm, hey guys, uh..." he trailed off, his cheeks going red as he looked anywhere but your eyes. Your cheeks were burning, too, "the carriage is here. Do you know where Tifa is?"