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xxsabitoxx · 1 year

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Experience

Kishibe x Fem! Reader

Warnings: large age gap (reader is in her 20s but it’s unspecified) and Kishibe is 50, car sex, hand job, degrading, praising, smoking

A/N: this was meant to be a short 1-1.5k Drabble but it turned into a mini smut instead (my brain is weird so some of y’all may still consider this a Drabble or you may consider it a full fic… idk man) anywho here he is :)

Word count: 2.6k

“You… you can’t be serious, oneechan.” Denji was staring at you with an udon noodle hanging between his lips. You chuckled at Denji’s constant use of calling you “big sis” — Aki had reprimanded him forever ago about using formalities with you. You had told him senpai was far too much and that calling you oneechan was fine. Still, it made you chuckle that it was the only nickname he ever stuck too with no bribery needed. Aki still used the gum tactic to get Power and Denji to use the correct terms while addressing him.

“I am serious.” The smile never left your face, watching as Denji slurped his noodle the rest of the way. “But why? He’s so old! Hell he’s over half your age! Ain’t he like 50 or something? And you’re like 20-something? I doubt he can even get his dick hard!” You rolled your eyes, laughter bubbling in your chest as Denji’s clear shock at your crush on his mentor. You’d known Kishibe since you joined public safety a few years prior, having worked alongside Aki when it came to training under the man’s brutal regime.

“Oh I doubt that. Kishibe is a man of experience, he probably has over 30 years worth with women.” Denji still couldn’t see how that would appeal to you, if anything he thought it should be a turn off. “That’s 30 years of use. You’ll probably catch a disease.” At that you couldn’t help but snort, putting your cigarette to your lips and inhaling. “Just think about it for a second, Denji. Wouldn't you want a woman that knows what she’s doing? One that would know how to take care of you?”

“I mean yeah, but maybe a woman that’s only a couple years older than me. You’re going after a man that was well into adulthood by the time you were born.” You shook your head, finding it rather funny that Denji was seemingly peeved by this. “That’s real bold coming from you, Denji-kun.” The blonde quirked his eyebrow, eyeing you suspiciously as he went in for yet another helping. “You and your crush on Makima? The fact that she seems to reciprocate your advances? Kinda a similar situation… but mine is legal.”

You shrugged your shoulders, blowing the smoke you had inhaled. “Yah, whatever… go for your creepy old man then.” He stuck his tongue out as you rolled your eyes, a victorious smile still present on your lips. “No really…” he drawled softly “he’s right there.” You froze, head whipping around to the direction Denji had motioned to. Sure enough, Kishibe was sitting at the bar, a glass of whisky in front of him… typical. You turned back to Denji, utterly mortified. “You don’t think he heard us, do you?” The blonde shrugged, a shit eating grin creeping up his face.

“Denji!” You whisper yelled this time, face growing warm. “Huh?” He spoke a little louder than necessary “I don’t think he heard? What’s the big deal anyways? Ain’t you want him to know? So you can like…actually do something about ya crush?” He drawled loudly, enough to draw a few wandering eyes to your table. “N-not the point! Shut up!” You were snuffing out your cigarettes on the underside of the table seconds later, ready to make a quick escape before Kishibe could even notice you there.

The problem being, you knew your old mentor fairly well. It was more than likely that he was already aware of your presence. Not only that but you were nearly positive he’d probably heard you and Denji talking about him. You wouldn’t be able to escape him unless you put a conscious effort into sneaking out of here. Even then, he’d find a way to corner you and ask you what the hell was going on. “Eh, whatever oneechan… at least I have the guts to go for the people I like.” Now you knew you were done for.

If Denji was going to make this a game of confidence, you’d have to do your “big sister” duties and simply one up him. “You’re a pain in my ass.” You scoffed, watching the grin return to the blonde’s face as you pushed your chair out. “You can thank me later.” Was all he said, returning to his udon as you made your way to the bar. “Captain Kishibe.” You fought to keep your voice steady. Kishibe turned to look at you, the usual stoic expression on his face.

“Come to talk to the creepy old man sitting alone at the bar?” He chimed softly, watching your face morph into embarrassment as he confirmed your biggest fear. He heard everything you and Denji had said. “Blame blondey over there for that nickname. Guessing that if you heard what Denji had to say you also heard what I had to say.” Your arms clasped behind your back, fidgeting with your fingers nervously as you waited for him to speak.

Kishibe swirled his glass around, watching the amber liquid slosh before he brought it to his lips and downed the rest. “Oh, I did. Not that I’m shocked… you’re far more transparent with your emotions than you think you are, y/n.” You could have melted on the spot, seeped straight into the floorboards and disappeared forever. Instead, you shifted your weight from foot to foot, willing yourself to grow some confidence and test the waters. It didn’t seem he was necessarily shutting you down just yet.

“Well… I guess this was a pretty lame ass way of saying I have a thing for my old mentor.” Kishibe leaned back, eyes shutting briefly as he inhaled through his nose. “You’re just looking for someone to show you a good time. Tell me, have you ever actually enjoyed any of the men you’ve slept with?” His eyes opened and he turned to face you fully now, tapping the wooden top of the bar twice to signal that he was ready to pay his tab. “Truthfully, no.” A breathy chuckle left him, one that sent shivers down your spine.

“I see. I guess that would make it my duty, Hmm? Your old mentor has to show you the ropes… show you the good from the bad. A private lesson, if you would.” You didn’t quite know how to react, your brain working in overdrive to try and process the words he had just spoken. “S-so you’re saying you’ll…” you flinched at your own stutter, watching Kishibe eye you carefully. “That I’ll show you how a man properly satisfies a lady? Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying, Sugar.” Your heart jumped at the nickname.

You found it hard to speak, instead you kept your mouth shut and watched your old mentor pay his tab before grabbing his coat off the back of his chair. “I paid for the fool’s meal as well as yours, he’ll get home on his own just fine. Let’s go.” Kishibe was heading towards the door, you waited till he was facing away to shoot Denji a look. The blonde seemed a bit awestruck that you were already leaving with him, you just shrugged as you left. You’d probably have to apologize the next time you saw him.

Before you knew it you were slipping into the passenger side of Kishibe’s car, thanking him softly for opening and closing the door for you. He slipped on the other side a moment later, turning the key so the engine roared to life. “I didn’t think you were the car type.” You commented softly, eyes scanning the amount of gadgets that littered the dashboard. The car’s interior was all black leather, that was at least something you expected from him.

“I’m not but the holiday bonus was nice and I needed an upgrade anyways.” He cracked his window, lighting up a cigarette before pulling out of the restaurant’s small lot and out into the bustling street. You didn’t expect him to be nervous, nor did you expect him to be awkward about the situation. Yet you were practically squirming in your seat, hoping he’d show some sort of nervousness to help you feel less inexperienced.

His cigarette hung half hazardously from his lips, one hand on the wheel while the other came down to rest on your thigh. You nearly choked on your own saliva, heat pooling in your gut at the simple action. “Amuse me, would you? What’s the best thing a guy has done for you, Hmm?” Smoke puffed out around his cigarette, eyes locked on the road as he waited for your response. “Offer to walk me home.” You admitted sheepishly, not quite sure how he’d react to such a lame response. It was true your taste in men hadn’t really benefited you in any way up until now.

He let out a gruff laugh, slowing down as he pulled up to a red light and plucked the cigarette from his lips. “That’s it? Seriously? Where the hell are you finding these bummy men?” You weren’t sure why his clear annoyance affected you the way it did, but you found yourself struggling to not press your thighs together. A small effort to relieve some of the ache, you knew if you moved your legs even a little he’d feel it. Then again, he was driving you back to his apartment to fuck you… would it really matter? “No need to be tense.” He murmured softly, hand squeezing your thigh.

“…’m not tense.” A stupid lie but it made him chuckle so you couldn’t really be mad at it. “Let me help you relax.” The cigarette was back between his lips, hand on the wheel as the light turned green. Kishibe pushed on your thigh, silently asking you to spread them. It took your brain a few seconds to properly respond, spreading them just enough that he could fit his hand between them. “Atta girl…” smoke puffed out around his lips once again, filling your nose in an almost intoxicating way. You were a bit shocked by the praise, nearly letting a whimper slip out.

The man you knew as your mentor was certainly not the same as the man sitting beside you. Then again you doubted he would ever woo the amount of women he did with his mentor attitude. Kishibe’s hand gingerly crept up your thigh before dipping between to cup your panty covered cunt. You mentally thanked yourself for wearing a skirt, giving the man in the driver's seat easy access to where you wanted him the most. He could feel your warmth radiating through the thin material, on top of that he could tell you were already wet.

Kishibe exhaled deeply, forcing himself to remain focused on the road even though he’d really like to look over and gauge your reaction. Truthfully, he had been waiting patiently for quite some time now for you to be the one to make the first move. He wasn’t lying when he said you were transparent with your emotions, but even then he didn’t want to risk creating awkward situations. He was getting old after all, a fifty year old man going for a woman in her twenties would certainly look terrible on his part if the other party didn’t reciprocate.

Maybe he was just a creepy old pervert for thinking that way.

Regardless, it was starting to get hard to ignore the persistent stiffness between his own legs. You’re breathing had hitched, suddenly dizzied by the fact that his hands were already on you. Two fingers pressed against the wetmark on your panties, drawing a sigh from your lips as he rubbed the material softly. “You’re more excited than you let on.” it was an off hand comment, one that had your fingers gripping the door handle to keep yourself grounded. Kishibe’s fingers slid along your slit, settling over your pulsing clit.

“You’ve said no man has ever satisfied you… I take it because he didn’t know where this was…” he pressed down, sending a shock of pleasure through you. Your mouth opened but nothing came out, slowly he began rubbing tentative circles, making sure you keep his fingers on the cloth of your panties. He wouldn’t let you feel his bare fingers just yet. More smoke puffed out, filling the car briefly before being sucked out the window. “I asked you a question, sugar.” you turned to look at him, face warm as his fingers continued to pleasure you. “T-that would be right…”

“Every woman is different, is this good for you?” you knew he was referring to his current action. “Y-yeah but…” you reached for his hand, placing yours over his as you guided him to a faster tempo. Kishibe took the reins again instantly, chuckling softly as you let out a soft moan. “Hmm, that better?” it was low, enough you send shivers through you as your hips jerked into his hand. “Need more…” you couldn’t quite figure out what specifically you needed, you just knew you needed more of him. “I know.” was all he said, fingers working you up continuously as he drove.

Part of you had to wonder if he was even driving you to his apartment at this point. It felt like you were going in circles around the city as he got you off in his front seat. Before you knew it, you felt your orgasm creeping up on you. “S-shit…” you clenched around nothing, the tension in your gut had appeared a lot quicker than usual. “You’re gonna cum, aren’t you?” he teased softly, fingers picking up speed ever so slightly. You mumbled out some sort of ‘yes’, gasping softly as the tension continued to build.

Maybe it was the combination of everything, Kishibe, his hand, the fact that he was doing this almost absentmindedly while driving through the city, everything was edging you on. “Then cum for me. Show me how much of a little slut you are. I mean really, you’re going to cum from me rubbing you through your panties. You’ll ruin them.” You whined at his words, the tension building so intensely that you were certain you’d fall apart. “Atta girl…cum for me” encouraged again, rolling to a stop at yet another red light.

He looked over at you know, the sudden motion causing you to turn to look at him. “C’mon… no need to hold back.” he sneered, the ghost of a smirk on his lips. You felt your lower lip tremble, head turning to look back at the road as your orgasm crashed down over you. Breathless gasps escaped your lips, hand shooting down to hold Kishibe’s wrist as he continued to work you through your ogasm. “…ough… enough…” you squeaked, overstimulation taking over as the light turned green.

He only slowed because of the light turning green, hand never retracting from where it was between your legs. “Here we are.” He commented offhand, pulling into the parking lot of his apartment building. You blinked, the throb already returning. “Hope you’re not worn out… I haven’t even gotten to show you a proper good time.” He pulled into a numbered space, shifting into park and plucking the nearly gone cigarette from his lips. You watched him put it out on an ashtray in his cup holder, turning the car off a moment later.

“Well?” You shivered as his hand pulled away, making you want to chase after him. “Y-yeah…I’m not worn out. Hell, after your training it’s hard to ever get worn out these days…captain.” You teased softly, not knowing where the confidence came from. A smile actually tugged at his lips, hand reaching for the door handle and pushing it open. “I’ll remember that, sugar.” For some reason, you felt as if you had just dug your own grave.

#chainsaw man #chainsaw man fanfiction #chainsaw man drabble #chainsaw man smut #csm fanfic #csm kishibe #chainsaw man kishibe #kishibe x y/n #master kishibe #captain kishibe #kishibe x reader #kishibe x you #kishibe smut #csm smut #xxsabitoxx’s work!

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ryuichirou · 8 days

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Replies

Some replieeeees, also hey it’s Summer (just noticed that)

Anonymous asked:

WELL I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS GETTING BLESSED WITH SAVANACLAW ROOK TITS TODAY

GOOD LORD I'M GOING TO MOTORBOAT ON THEM VROOM VROOM 😚😚😚

SURPRISE, ANON! Motorboat them to your heart’s content.

I am very happy that you liked Rook tits; it was probably very naïve of me to think that his nipple won’t be the main star of the drawing lol

Anonymous asked:

Planning on revisiting aus?

We might, but there isn’t any planning involved here; we just randomly remember about them from time to time and sometimes want to add to them lol

I’ve sketched a comic for the mafia AU not so long ago, but we only posted it on ko-fi for now…

Anonymous asked:

More Lilia content when?

Hopefully soon! We have some new stuff with him, so it’s a matter of time... If everything goes well, you should see a lot of more stuff relatively soon. For now he’s also on ko-fi, being unable to post regularly has fucked up our posting flow really badly.

Anonymous asked:

I'm not exactly caught up on the Savanaclaw Rook stuff,

But that doesn't mean I don't have some pretty fun thoughts.

Like one I had while looking at that art you recently posted.

And I'm just imagining Savanaclaw Rook and Pomefiore Rook are in the same room, for whatever reason, who knows, and Vil walks in-

And Pomefiore Rook looks at Savanaclaw Rook-

And he just sees the hearts in Savanclaw Rook's eyes while looking at Vil.

And he knows that Savanaclaw Rook's already as hooked on Vil as he is.

Cause Rook just having an "on sight" moment when first meeting Vil is something I absolutely love.

Awwww, this is so cute. At first I thought you were going to make a ménage à trios joke…

He absolutely had an “on sight” moment when he first saw him at NRC; and while I think it’s fair to assume that this isn’t Rook’s actual first time seeing him (being such a theatre nerd and all), seeing him irl probably felt different somehow.

Looking at S!Rook’s reaction is probably pretty nostalgic for P!Rook.

No but really they really should hug Vil together and show him all kinds of love-

Anonymous asked:

Thinking nonstop about the characters being called daddy and master post,, it makes me imagine a scenario where Silver's sleeping around campus (probably because his father told him to so he could live a little) and someone asks him to call them daddy... He would be so confused like "???? I am not your son 🤨" save my boy LOL

Silver calling Lilia daddy or papa in bed would just end up being so cute 😭 Lilia stopping what he's doing and totally breaking his image as a cool and strict dom to be like "Eh?? Ehh??? You haven't called me that in years 🥺"

(this is about this post)

I am very happy you enjoyed that one, Anon!

Oh poor Silver lol Or should I say poor people who will never be the father that Silver loves dearly… even though this isn’t what they wanted from him at all. And these poor fools would think that the issue is that the word is too familial, and this is why Silver doesn’t consider it sexy. If only they knew…

Imagining Lilia dropping his dom thing to gush over his precious son being very cute and suddenly calling him daddy/papa is very funny though, he wouldn’t expect that at all. Despite being all kinds of cursed, for some reason this is the one moment that Lilia would consider pretty wholesome… which only makes it even more cursed lol

Although to be honest it’s surprisingly difficult to imagine Silver calling Lilia anything other than “oyaji-dono”. Imagine Silver’s first word being not “papa” but “oyaji-dono” instead…

#replies

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steve0discusses · 1 year

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Ep 45 Part 2: I, Again, Did Not Expect Ryou

The revolving door of characters wandering into this boss arena continues, and this time it’s Pharaoh who is trying to catch up to the plot with the dead woman on the ground, the giant tablet to the side, and Seto who is cackling to himself in a corner.

And Seto does a big ol laugh and it’s been a while since we got a villainous laugh out of Seto. Been a LONG TIME. Probably felt great for this voice actor to go back to his roots.

(read more under the cut)

Y’all.

It’s been a while I’ve been doing this blog, right? And I take it slow, especially right now with chronic fatigue stuff, but MAN I really thought we’d be dueling SETO. Not Aknadin in a Seto Bean! That’s a different guy!

Yugioh! That’s a completely different guy!

And there’s time for the big showdown between Pharaoh and Seto to actually happen. But trying to write it so we no longer develop this rivalry between Seto and Pharaoh feels like...they had to do that because Seto became a friend maybe kind of unintentionally.

It still works, they haven’t lied to us, I just...I have mixed feelings about it.

Mimicking Blue Eyes in Season 1 and Season Zero, this dragon will not work for you if you are not Seto Kaiba. Or Yugi. She’ll sometimes allow Yugi to play her in his deck. But definately not Seto Imposters. And like that, Aknadin is dead by his own hubris.

Hubris be killing a lot of billionaires lately, amiright? Yugioh just leaning into my love of killing billionaire gentry with hubris.

This romantic moment somewhat ruined by the animation team refusing to draw fingers and always keeping everyone’s hands clenched like they’re gonna furiously poop.

Yami watches as Seto recreates the vision that Kaiba had seen several years prior on the blimp. And Yami I’m sure felt entirely 3rd wheel. But he’s used that. He lives in Yugi’s bean. He probably thinks 3rd wheel is normal and how everyone feels all the time.

And then THIS HAPPENS.

Seto decides he’s had enough of watching behind a pillar, and now that everyone is dead and sobbing he should go out and harass Yugi. Youknow, at this funeral. The funeral of his beloved from like a previous life or whatever. Seto is kind over it and for once he is the one that needs a ride home.

And he’s like “hey so...I noticed that guy looks like me”

And then, when you think “well I guess Seto joins the party?” they just start screaming at eachother, within earshot of Seto, within earshot of the dead dragon card, within the earshot of like the entire world.

Remember that no one can actually see Seto but Pharaoh, which makes it even more funny.

Bakura segue’s us back to Yugi and his cursed friends, where he’s trying his best to explain the logic of cursing your classmates with dark magic so you can go on playdates.

The idea that you go through all the trouble to curse people into liking you, but the puzzle itself is made of dark magic, so it finds the most terrifying people to make your friend, is funny to me although it is completely my headcanon.

Anyway, get ready for the still my computer caught for this next one.

(it’s “surprise” but eh I don’t feel like fixing it at this point.)

It DOES look like Tristan is doing a weird cross punch, he’s actually tossing both of them and his hands over extended to the other side, which is a thing we do in animation, we go past the point you intend to go so it looks more fluid--but it does make the tweens funny.

The floor gives way and creates scales made out of the eyes.

Will Yugi leap from his scale and send his friends to purple doom, or will he find Pharaoh’s name and save the world?

which like, wouldn’t be a good episode of Yugioh unless multiple people were asking to die, and Joey nailed it in the most Brooklyn way this Japanese boy knows how.

And so Bakura was like “never mind.” which I guess was an option in the footnotes that only he could read.

Not shown is a hard to cap animation where Yugi leapt from his edge of the scales and just clung to Joey’s waist and Joey was like “gotta hang on to your friends, right Yuge?” And Yugi was like “Does that mean you forgive me already? Or are you being sarcastic right now?”

Inside of the room is this.

I LOVE the outline tool in photoshop. Good stuff. I LOVE it. and so does this animation team. Outlined the HELL out of those birds.

They leave the name zone room, with no idea at all how to say Pharaoh’s name. Where, they ran straight into Tristan and decided enough was enough, it’s time to have a chat. Because no, they haven’t figured it out.

You may be asking “so where did Tristan go?”

I DON’T KNOW.

He’s probably not fine. But um. No idea where Tristan went.

Also, guess who we haven’t seen in like 20 episodes since Seto stepped over his prone body on the steps?

Ryou! Little Ryou is back!

This guy who we...thought was a good guy? Anyway he’s off to literally kill Yugi, just like he’s want to do.

Straight up...I can’t fully predict Ryou, mostly because we rarely ever see the kid, but damn, he sure did wake up just ready to do a murder today, didn’t he?

And yes, this does mean that Ryou was pretending to be Bakura pretending to be Tristan, just so we the audience could get a fun triple reveal in this episode.

For some damn reason Ryou brought a duel disk to ancient Egypt. So we WILL get actual proper cards. And by proper cards, I mean Yugioh TV show cards, which line up not at all with the actual card game. Can’t wait to spell FINAL and then die.

Anyway, here’s the link to read these in chrono order.

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

We are quickly running out of people in this season to kill, but we still got a few of Pharoah’s ancient friends left, and as for who dies next episode? My bet is on...Isis. Sorry Isis, I know you got a cool hat and you’re the token girl but, she’s super dead next right?

#Yugioh #YGO #Yu-Gi-Oh #Yami Muto #Pharaoh #Seto Kaiba #Priest Seto #Bakura #Theif King Bakura #Ryou Bakura #Yugi muto #Tea Gardner #joey wheeler #tristan taylor

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petertingle-yipyip · 2 years

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DEVIL ON MY SHOULDER - MATT MURDOCK

finale - devil on my shoulder

tags: @astrobees @americaarse @dusstory @johnmurphys-sass @ironprincessstranger @ahoytherebean // nine // bonus chapter // masterlist

Pairing: Daredevil x Reader (Matt x Reader)

Word Count: 11,816

Summary: Daredevil, Exodus, and Elektra v. The Hand. Three go in, two go out and nothing is quite the same between the ones who remain.

You were lying on Matt’s living room floor after tying up Stick, at Matt’s request. He told you to hang out on the couch or in one of the chairs but you waved him off, saying you’d hate to stain them. You were flat on your back instead, mask sitting at your throat and hands folded over your stomach.

What you thought was funny about that moment was that neither of you had actually told the other your secret, yet you were so comfortable around each other it was like you already knew.

“Do you even have a plan?” Stick challenged.

Matt was quiet as he thought for a moment. You turned your head to face him, partly wondering the same thing.

“I’m working on it.” He answered finally.

“You got me.” You called from the floor. “That’s a start, no?”

He offered you a small, grateful smile. “Yeah.. Yeah it is.”

“While you’re working on it, do me a favor and pull your head out of your ass. The Black Sky-“

“The Black Sky is the same type of manipulative, peer pressure tactic that was used on me growing up.” You cut in, sitting up quickly and almost instantly regretting it. “I used to think that whatever made me good at this-“ You shook your wrists. “-meant it was who I was always gonna be. Then I learned that it just takes the right people and some effort.”

“You think love and therapy are gonna help Ellie?” Stick mocked. “I guess I was wrong about you.”

“And I would care why?”

“You’re just as naive as he is. What are you two going to do about the war?”

“What I’m good at.” You shrugged and got to your feet. “Because it’s my choice. And El should get to choose too.”

You left after that, heading up to the roof to check on Elektra. You found her standing on the ledge, and if that were anyone else, the sight would’ve been startling.

“Came a long way since college, eh?” You tried as you came and stood beside her. When she turned to face you, you gestured to your suit and tugged your mask lightly. “Never would’ve seen me in this back then.”

She cracked just the smallest smile and it only lasted a second.

“How can you be so calm?” She asked in gentle disbelief. “I’m the Black Sky!”

“And I’m a Black Widow.” You countered. “I’ve probably killed more people than you have. I’ve had to leave everyone at some point… Yet we both ended up here, in Hell’s Kitchen, with Matt. Gotta admit, could be a point to it.”

“You think Matthew can save me?”

“I think he’ll try… He tried like hell to change me. I went for months with this little voice in my head, the Devil on my shoulder, chirping at me to do the right thing.” You chuckled slightly. “And I swore I’d never get mixed up with him again, yknow? Try to keep safe from that little Devil. He just knows me so well that he kept looping me back in… Everytime I think I’m free, he’s calling me and pulling me right back in.”

“But he gave up. And eventually, he’ll give up on me.”

“He won’t.” You gently put a hand on her elbow. “You are different to him than I am. In this suit, I’m not… I’m not the person he knows. You are still Elektra, whether you’re in this outfit or a dress or a t-shirt.”

“I really wanted to be better, for him…”

“I get it. And I’m not saying it’s the wrong reason to change but, El, what do you want to do for yourself?”

“I don’t know…” She said sadly.

“Can I give you an opinion?”

“Everyone else has.” She sighed heavily.

“I think that Matt brings out the good in both of us. He sees something in each of us that maybe we don’t always see in ourselves. But at the end of the day, I do this to protect people. What I think you need to figure out - Black Sky or not, doesn’t matter right now. You need to decide why you draw your sword. Why do you put on that mask? Is it for you or for them?” You gestured to the city.

“You still love him?”

“That’s not what this is about.”

“But you do?”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

“Everything you’ve done has been for him.” She chuckled slightly, almost like she was in awe of you. “Coming back here. This vigilante persona. All of it was to be close to him.”

“None of that matters now, because it’s not up to us who he chooses to be with. As much as I’d rather it be me than you, I can’t make that choice for him.”

“You could.”

“Let me rephrase. I won’t.” You answered firmly. “El, I don’t want to make this about my feelings for Matt.”

“He’d be better with you than me.. I think he likes you better.”

“Elektra.”

“You know it’s true..”

“It’s not my decision.”

“When this is over, I won’t come back.”

“You can leave him like that?”

“I’d want him to come with me. Would you.. Would you be able to let him go?”

You were quiet as the thought of Matt leaving you settled deep in your stomach. All you could do was nod.

“You won’t even fight me on that?” She exclaimed in disbelief.

“It’s up to him. It’s his future..” You shrugged, though the thought dug daggers into your heart. “Just like your future is up to you.”

“Leave us alone, Matthew.” She grumbled, not moving from the ledge.

“Am I interrupting?” He asked, trying to make light.

“A bit but it’s fine..” You nodded with a small smile. “I think we were coming up on a circular argument anyway.”

Elektra scoffed lightly in clear annoyance.

“Whatever you’re feeling, it’ll pass.” Matt tried.

“What do you know about what I’m feeling?” She challenged.

“Just consider the possibility that there’s no such thing as a Black Sky… That it’s all mysticism, yknow? It’s nonsense.”

“I’ve been trained to kill it since I was a kid.”

“Maybe everything they taught you was a lie.”

“It’s not that easy.” You admitted. “I’ve been away from the Red Room for a long time and it’s still carved into my brain like a prophecy… It still makes me question who I am. You watch me struggle with it every night so you know that.”

“He told me I had a gift… The special kind, the kind very few people have.” She insisted.

“Dreykov told me basically the same thing… That I was different, that if I could harness my gift I’d be a revolutionary. He told me the world didn’t deserve me, but he would teach me to be worthy of that gift… But at the end of the day, that man was abusing helpless little girls and using them to fight his war.”

“Training children to fight a war is easy when you’re using cookie cutter wisdom that sounds good to them.” Matt added, standing on Elektra’s other side.

“Some of what the Hand does defies explanation.” Elektra urged and you had to give it to her on that one.

“Just because I don’t understand something doesn’t mean I’m ready to chalk it up as some fairy tale.” He reasoned.

“I’m sorry, is this coming from the Catholic altar boy?” You teased and he rolled his eyes at you.

“True or not, legend says once they have the Black Sky, they’ll be capable of anything.” Elektra explained. “It’s not about what I’m willing to do. Even in a cage, I’ll be their false idol. They’ll do terrible things in my name because they think the Black Sky makes them invincible.”

“They can’t have you. You don’t belong to anyone.” He shook his head.

“You’re incredibly smart, strong, and powerful.” You said honestly. “You are Elektra Natchios. No one can tell you what to do, who to be, or what to be. It’s all up to you… Always has been.”

“We can take them down. Not Stick’s way. We can do it our way… The three of us.”

“You would trust me after all I’ve put you through?” She asked in disbelief, but deep in her chest, you felt those sparks. Matt was bringing back something Elektra thought was long forgotten and you couldn’t help but feel that if she asked him to leave with her, he would.

“The Hand can mask their heartbeats… But yours has always been loud and clear.” He leaned around Elektra. “Yours too.”

“Oh, bullshit.” You shook your head. “You can’t read me.”

“Not completely… But I’m starting to figure you out when you let me.”

You scoffed lightly with a small smile as you turned back to Elektra. “You could’ve killed me earlier and I would’ve let you… Mieux vaut mourir à la lame d'un ami que à la lame d'un ennemi… But you didn’t. Personally, I think there’s some merit in that.” (Better to die at the blade of a friend than the blade of an enemy.)

“Some stories say Nobu has lived three lifetimes, a criminal record that goes back decades. True or not, he’s the head of the snake.” Elektra explained. “He’s our best chance at taking down the Hand.”

“It’s a simple job then.. Find Nobu. And finish him.” You shrugged.

“No. We get him away from the Hand without alerting his troops.” Matt countered.

You groaned quietly and rolled your eyes.

“Killing him only makes him a martyr.” He reasoned. “I wanna dethrone him. Show his cult that their holy man is nothing but a guy.”

“An empty throne is an invitation for someone else.” You warned. “But if you’re sure…”

“We’ll have to find him first.” Elektra sighed.

“I say we head straight into the lion’s den. The last thing they’re expecting is us to hit back at them right now.”

“You’d risk everything for me?”

He simply smiled back at her.

“So how do we do it then?”

You sighed to yourself and stepped back off the ledge. You had wondered, when Elektra came back into town, just got much of Matt still belonged to her. In times of crisis, he only belonged to her. But if you could really defeat the Hand, would he still put her first? Could he really be okay with the ease she killed with?

And even though Matt said he wanted balance and so nearly confessed he wanted you, maybe there would always be an exception for Elektra, a hope that somewhere deep down they really can make it work.

You also wondered - if only for a moment - if he only accepted Exodus as a friend and ally because you reminded him of Elektra.

“Not alone… We do it together.” He explained before turning towards you. “That means you too, Ex.”

“Huh? Yeah.. Yeah, I’m in.” You nodded.

“You don’t sound sure.” His head tilted.

“It’s nothing, we’re good.”

He took a step to turn his body fully towards you. Elektra turned too, offering a slightly concerned expression. You looked between the two and ran through a thousand scenarios, of who Matt would pick. Where he and Elektra could go. What a life together could look like.

“Ex?” He tried and your attention focused back on him. “I need you with me.”

“I know.. I’ll be there.”

He flashed you a thankful smile and you relaxed a bit. You knew that he was still unsure what distracted you and it worried him, he knew better than to press for a confession.

“C’mon.” He took Elektra’s hand, though dropping the topic was by no means an acceptance of what you said. “We gotta go see Melvin.”

“Who’s Melvin?” Your brows furrowed since as far as you knew, Matt didn’t know a Melvin.

“Guy who made my suit and made that.” He gestured to you.

“Oh.. Make sure you tell him thanks then.” You nodded and headed back to the door to Matt’s apartment.

“You’re not coming?” Elektra asked.

“Don’t need to.” You shrugged. “I got this.” You tapped one of the plates of your top. “I got these.” You shook your staffs. “I don't need anything else… I’ll just go home and reload.”

“Exodus.” Elektra tried and you couldn’t tell why.

“It’s getting a little too… romancy.” You gave her a pointed look. “Just call when you’re ready, Red.”

You went home and tossed your mask on your table on your way into the kitchen. You washed your hands in the sink, ringing out your gloves and watching the sink be stained red before you threw some leftover pizza in the microwave. As the food warmed, you headed to your bedroom and pulled your case out. You put a couple more shock discs in your belt and checked the charge on your Bites. You switched your bloody knives for new ones and packed another wire cartridge. You stopped in the bathroom to wash the blood off your face before heading back for your food.

You sat at your table, taking a deep breath and blowing the steam off your pizza.

Jumping right back into a fight with the Hand wasn’t how you want to spend your night. You wanted calm, peace to process and begin accepting some of your grief. But it felt like you were running from it, same way you ran from everything else in your past.

It’s what you do best, right?

Maybe running from it made it less real. If you could get away from those feelings, even just momentarily, you could pretend it didn’t happen. You could pretend that you could pick up your phone and call Frank, see if he was able to get a drink. You could just exist without looking over your shoulder and throwing a punch.

But you chose that life, the vigilante life. Things wouldn’t be simple so long as Exodus existed.

The sound of your phone going off made you jump slightly.

“Ready?” You said, a mouthful of pizza.

“Are you eating?” He laughed slightly.

“Yeah, leftover pizza. You want some?” You said sarcastically. “Where are we meeting?”

“I need you to meet me at the 15th precinct first.”

“For?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Be there in five.” You threw on your mask and damp gloves before hurrying out your fire escape and into the city.

As you got to the precinct, you found Matt and Brett outside on the fire escape.

“The masked vigilante is the only one I can trust.” He said sarcastically. “And his little friend.”

“Я заслуживаю большего признания, чем это.” You rolled your eyes as you stood beside Matt. “Why am I here?” (I deserve more credit than that.)

“What happened?” Matt asked Brett.

“Knew it was just a matter of time till you two showed up… Again.”

“Speaking of time, you’re wasting ours.. Can you get to the point?” You sighed.

“This ain’t the first time some asshole roughed me up. This job, it ain’t easy. But then he said they got eyes on my mom. Said they were gonna kill her, even put her on the phone.”

“Who?”

“No idea… Worked for someone big though. They wanted everything we had on you two.”

“Couldn’t be that much.”

“You’d be surprised to know that we do keep track of two things really well. Incident reports-“ He glared at you. “-and records of people you put away.” He focused on Matt. “They wanted to know everyone you saved.”

“They’re making it personal now.” You realized quietly as Matt seemed to realize the same thing.

He grabbed your hand and took off, dragging you behind him and leaving Brett on the fire escape. As you two were running, you were quickly trying to remember any names that stuck out. Anyone that you could track or could try to get to first. But the faces, the names, everyone blurred together.

Until one face stuck out. One familiar face.

Karen.

Matt seemed to have the same thought because you two were easily moving in the same direction. He broke down the plywood that had been put up over her busted windows and found the place empty, and her phone on the floor.

You couldn’t track her without it.

You let out a short string of curses as something caught Matt’s attention on the wall. Turning, you saw the long strokes of a sword. You were quick to check the floors and other walls for any blood splatters, bloody prints, or rogue drops but you saw nothing. You put a gentle hand on Matt’s shoulder.

“Let’s get to the roof.” You said gently. “I have a terrible idea.”

“Yeah?” He said tightly but followed you nonetheless. “What’s that?”

“Y’know how I can read people’s emotions? Usually I block it out so it doesn’t overwhelm me but I’m gonna open up to everyone until I find her.”

“Are you sure that’s smart?” He tried, genuine concern lacing his words.

“Should be fine.”

“Ex.”

“Matt.”

“That’s not fair.” He gave a lazy smile. “I don’t know your name.”

“You will soon.” You nodded, speaking before your mind really processed what you were saying. “When this is all over.”

You knelt on one ledge while Matt on the other one. You took a deep breath and opened yourself to everyone. You were hit with a wave of… well, everything. Opening yourself to that many emotions at once meant you would absorb everything without a filter, but it also meant there was more for you to tap into later.

Anger. Fear. Regret. Happiness. Loss. Lust. Pride. Envy.

You clenched your jaw and tried to focus. You thought of your memories with Karen. You remembered her reaction when you first told her the truth, how she worried about you both before and after she found out, the way the walls she tried to put between you two crumbled. The comfort you felt when she finally accepted things the way they were. You focused on your friendship.

Vaguely, you heard Elektra talking to Matt in the background but you were too close to tune in. You had found a small cluster of fear and panic, interlaced with calm arrogance. You willed your powers to work harder, to find Karen specifically because if she wasn’t there then you weren’t going.

Your eyes snapped open and you saw the faintest glowing ball in front of you. It called to you, asking you to follow it. It was a strange manifestation, but you had seen stranger from your abilities. You cocked your head in silent question and you could almost hear Karen’s voice in your head.

Please. Please get here in time. I don’t wanna die.

You glanced behind you and found your friends huddled together. Matt was listening for something, and given his struggle less than a minute ago, you didn’t want to interrupt. Instead, you discreetly hopped off the ledge and climbed down the building on your own.

You weren’t surprised when the ball of light led you to an area of town not that different from where you had killed Nobu. Or, where you thought you did, rather. You wouldn’t make that mistake again, you decided. He wouldn’t get back up if you got the chance.

Your new problem became the archers on the roof. You knelt at the ledge and tapped your mask to figure out what you were walking into.

“Nice of you to join me.” You commented as you scanned the building and you heard the familiar sets of footsteps join you on the roof.

“If you had told me you had something, we would’ve gotten here together.” Matt scolded.

“You two were sharing such a tender moment, I didn’t want to interrupt…”

“Are you.. jealous?” He chuckled .

“Anyways.” You stood and he nudged you playfully with his shoulder. “About twenty hostages. Two cops dead already and archers on the roof.”

“Nobu’s men?” Elektra asked.

“Crawling the building like cockroaches.”

“How many?”

“Probably an army.”

“Can you isolate Nobu?” She asked Matt.

“No.” He answered simply.

“We can’t move until we know he’s here.”

“Then you can stay here and play guard dog.” You sighed and stood. “I’m going in there because my friend is in there.”

“I didn’t come here for them. I came to take down Nobu and you said you’d help.”

“We will, Elektra, but right now, the people in that building-“ Matt tried.

“Were used to draw us out.” She cut in. “Saving them won’t help us.”

“I can handle it on my own.” You said easily, attaching your wire to your belt.

“Ex.” Matt warned.

“I have the most experience getting in and out of places I’m not supposed to be. You two worry about finding Nobu.”

“You go in alone, you’re as good as dead.” Elektra warned.

“По крайней мере, я могу умереть, зная, что сделал что-то хорошее.” You smiled sadly and turned to Matt. “Isn’t that what you wanted?” (At least I can die knowing I did something good.)

You fell backwards and slid down the side of the building. You landed lightly on your feet and were quick to disconnect from your wire. You flicked it hard so it would unwrap and retract. You let the little glow guide you to the right floor so you climbed the fire escape on the neighboring building. You shot your wire at the window frames and pulled your gun in one hand before swinging feet first through the windows.

You would’ve liked to have done it Matt’s way, but there were too many people at risk. You had to be quick and efficient. Meaning one shot, one kill.

You rolled through your landing and were met with an outcry of screams, though it was clear they weren’t all meant for you. You finished in a kneel and were quick to fire headshots, clearing four Hand ninjas easily and quietly. Soon after, Matt crashed through the other windows and took out the remaining two. You used the time to disconnect your wire and holster your gun.

“Are you okay?” You hurried to kneel in front of Karen while Matt directed everyone else out.

“How did you find us?” She asked quickly, her fear and panic still skyrocketing.

“Cause you were terrified.” You admitted. “I told you I’d look out for you, didn’t I?”

You reached for a discarded knife and cut through the zip ties around her hand as Matt came to her side. You moved and helped the man beside her get to his feet, but he limped heavily so you had to help him to the hall where another member of the group took over.

“When you get out, keep your heads down, okay?” You warned. “There’s men on the roof and I don’t know if I can get their attention first.”

There was a chorus of thanks and praise before the group hurried away. Karen was last to leave, stopping to tell you about the gunshot wound on Matt’s chest. Before you could get to him and check, you saw he was preoccupied fighting four ninjas. You picked up one of the discarded blades and hurried to his side.

You swiped the blade across the backs of two of the Hand that were fighting Matt. They turned on you quickly and you taunted the closer. One of them swiped their blade at you from the side but you avoided it with a fancy aerial move. As you landed, you had to throw the blade up quickly to block another attack.

You kicked one of them away and fired a quick red shot from your Bite. You gripped the blade tightly and threw the other Hand into a spin. You used the gap to pick up your own momentum and pierce his spine with the blade. You pushed his body over and hurried to Matt’s side. There was one more ninja that Matt wasn’t focused on so you moved in.

You ran at him and did a quick aerial to get your ankles around his neck. You continued your momentum to throw him to the side and out the window. When you unlocked your ankles, you reached for the remaining window frame and ended up with a piece of glass slicing through your hand. You cried out loudly as you tried to climb back up but Matt ended up grabbing your forearms and pulling you up.

His fingers traced the gash on either side of your hand and frowned. He pulled your glove with one hand and reached for the side pouch of your belt with the other. When his fingers slipped into the pocket, he gave a slight tug to pull you against him and you couldn’t stop the gasp as your bodies hit and he grinned. You furrowed your brows but didn’t stop him as he pulled a couple gauze pads and the tape. You smiled slightly to see he remembered as he brought your other hand up to hold the gauze in place as he taped it down. He handed you back the tape and glove with a slight smirk.

“Better than a bullet hole.” You joked as you put the tape away and your glove on.

“Barely a hole, okay?” He countered with a small chuckle.

“I thought you were bulletproof.” You teased.

“First time for everything I guess.”

You saw two more Hand members coming in from over Matt’s shoulder but before you could react, you saw the tip of Elektra’s weapons piercing through their bodies.

“Glad you joined us.” You smiled.

“I got bored.” She shrugged.

You chuckled slightly and pulled your staffs, interlocking them together as four more Hand members burst in. You flicked the dial for the long blade and moved in. You attacked with the single staff hard from the right side, slicing a deep gash across one of their stomachs. You turned and used the blunt end to sweep the legs before spinning the weapon over your hand and driving the blade down into their chest.

While Matt jammed the butt end of his club into one of their noses, two hands shot through the wall to grab Elektra. You quickly followed after her and slid on your knees, spinning yourself and disconnecting your weapon. You put the blade away and swung your staffs at his head after Matt kicked him towards you. Elektra finished the other and then the room was empty save for you three. Elektra winced and peaked at the back of her arm, your attention moving to it as well.

You summoned the heat of anger to your fingers and offered them to Elektra. She nodded quickly and you pressed the fingers along the length of her cut and she hissed as you burned the wound shut. Matt pulled you two up the stairs as you finished and you wiped the blood on your pants.

Matt barricaded the door after you all went in. You pulled him back and called on that anger again. Only instead of directing it to your fingers, you pictured it as pure heat. You held your hands to the slot where the bar fit and pushed the heat outward, watching the metals meld together.

“I’m not gonna lie to you… There’s a lot more coming.” Matt said simply.

“One thing’s for sure… We’re gonna die.” Elektra answered.

“I say we take a few more of them out with us then.” You shrugged.

“You wanna end it here or on the roof?” Matt asked.

“I’ve always liked the fresh air.” Elektra replied, earning a small chuckle from Matt.

You three climbed the rest of the stairs and you tapped your mask, seeing through the walls to the heat signatures outside.

“What’s out there?” She asked.

“Oh, Jesus.” Matt sighed.

“Remember that army I mentioned?” You answered.

“Packed with katanas and longbows… More from below with the same weapons.” Matt explained and you let out a long sigh.

Elektra dropped to the floor by the door so you knelt beside her. You offered a comforting hand on her arm and she covered it with her own.

“Even if we survive, the three of us may not see each other again.” She said quietly.

“What if… What if, from now on, if we make it…” Matt tried, kneeling in front of Elektra and removing his helmet. “Wherever you run, I run with you.”

“You’d leave?” You asked softly. Though you had done the same to him so long ago, you hated the idea of being in New York without him.

“This… This Is a part of me that I need.” He continued when Elektra didn’t say anything. “And you’re the only one who gets it.”

“The only one…” You repeated quietly.

The pain in your chest was hot, begging for acknowledgement but it was your own doing. By not telling Matt sooner, he didn’t know that you were the one by his side. You were the one who had saved his life, risked your own for him so many times. He didn’t know you were the one who fought beside him.

He didn’t know that you got it, too.

“I’m free with you, like with no one else.” He said firmly.

“You hide from yourself…” She said gently. “You don’t let anyone in.”

“I let you in.”

“And what about Y/N?” She spoke softly, giving your hand a small squeeze. “You let her in, too. Matthew, you love her. And you’d leave her?”

“She left once because she was running from her past.. I think she’d understand.” He reasoned, but he couldn’t hide the pain when he thought of leaving you. “Maybe not at first, but she would.”

“But you love New York..”

“Yeah.. I’d give my life for it but there’s one thing that makes me feel more alive… What do you say?”

You began wondering how long you could stay in New York if Matt left with Elektra. You’d have Foggy and Karen, but would that be enough? Matt, realistically, was the one thing that kept you from going back to London after your Bar exam. With the firm gone and the relationship you stayed for now fallen apart, what was left for you?

You decided then that if Matt left, so would you. You’d tell Foggy and Matt the truth, apologize for hurting them in any way, and be out of their lives.

At least you wouldn’t be able to hurt them anymore.

Elektra pulled you up with her, in turn pulling you from your spiral of thoughts. You three went out onto the roof and found the Hand’s army standing calmly across from you. You could vaguely feel a familiar presence not too far away, one that was calm and charming but also angry. You glanced around as you tried to pinpoint it but saw nothing in the darkness.

Rather, you saw Nobu. He made some short speech about destiny before attacking your trio. He threw his weapon at you first and it sliced across your arm. You cried out but wrapped the chain around your hand, gripping it tightly and pulling him closer.

Once he was close enough, you twisted your arm around his neck and stepped behind him. Your knee was jammed against his back as you steered into hit after hit from Matt and Elektra. Once the rest of the army realized Nobu was losing, they jumped in.

Nobu reached behind him and caught you by your shirt, dropping his shoulder to flip you over. He pinned the hand you wrapped with the chain under his foot and yanked the chain across your throat. You coughed as you felt the metal pressing on your windpipe. You used your free hand to slip under your back and reach for one of your knives.

Reaching up, you sliced through his calf. You planted one foot firmly against the floor and used the other to kick up at his head. When he fell off of you, you were quick to roll to your stomach. Matt came in quick from the side and slammed his knee into Nobu’s head. You were quick to unwrap your hand and grip your knife firmly, launching it into Nobu’s back and giving yourself room to get to Elektra.

You hurried to your friend and pulled another blade, reaching over a Hand member’s shoulder to slit his throat. You and Elektra kept your backs to one another, fighting and protecting each other. Squelching sounds of punctures and the sound of metal hitting metal echoed across the slowly emptying rooftop as the bodies began to pile up around you and Elektra.

Soon, it felt like it was just you three and Nobu.

The three of you alternated your attacks, one stepping in when another was knocked down. But none of you stayed down for long. The variations in your fighting styles kept Nobu on a constant defense, only getting temporary upper hands on any of you. Until…

He dislocated Elektra’s arm and she hadn’t gotten up yet. He kicked Matt so hard his helmet flew off. That only left you.

“There’s still room for you here, Exodus. Maybe we are your destiny, as well.” Nobu offered through heavy, tired breaths.

“I choose my own destiny.” You growled and charged back into the fight.

You flicked your knife towards his chest but he avoided it easily, just as you hoped he would. You ran towards him and hooked your foot behind his knee, reaching across his chest to grab his shirtfront. You dropped and pushed yourself backwards to flip you both and put Nobu on his face. You spun to kneel on his back and lifted your arm to wake your Bite. As the device glowed red, an arrow came and sliced your forearm.

You cried out and fell to the side, giving Nobu a chance to climb on top of you. He hoisted you up by your shirt and landed sharp jabs against your face, causing your head to bounce off the concrete beneath you. You grabbed the wrist holding you up with one hand and slammed your opposing arm against his, crying at the pain but hearing the deep snap of his bone. You curled your legs up and kicked out at his chest, sending him flying away and giving you a chance to get up.

You moved to Elektra’s side since she was closer and helped her up. You pulled her to her feet and turned to see Nobu grabbing Matt. Panic froze you momentarily before you felt Elektra grab you. Together, you ran to Matt.

You drew your staff and stuck it out in front of Matt, causing Nobu’s weapon to clatter against it. He switched grips and slammed his elbow into your nose which made you stagger back. When he turned to slam the weapon into your stomach, Elektra stepped in front and took the hit. Your mouth fell open but no sound came out as you felt everything drain from your body. The tears welled up quickly so you yanked your mask down.

She kicked Nobu away before falling to her knees. You hurried to catch her when she dropped backwards and Matt was at her other side and his panic rivaled your own.

“No. No, no!” You cried and shook your head violently. Matt pressed his hands over her stomach in an effort to stop the bleeding. “Don’t do this, El. Don’t die on me!”

“They have nothing now.” She said weakly. “I took it all away.”

Blue and red clouded your vision, mixing swirls of bright colors that remained their own. Your fingers burned but the rest of your body felt ice cold.

“I know now… what it feels… to be good.” She managed through broken gasps and tears.

“Please.” You whispered. “El, please!”

“Look after him…. He.. He needs… you.”

You shook your head again, as if you could deny the situation and it would change. Your shoulders shook with your quiet sobs as your eyes closed, holding your friend close for as long as you could.

“Does it always hurt this much?” She asked Matt and your heart broke even further.

“Yeah.” He sniffled. “It always hurts this much.”

And then she was gone. You felt her go limp in your lap and you gently crawled out, leaving her in Matt’s embrace. You collapsed over your knees, one hand clutching your stomach and the other was a tight fist against the ground. You took in a shaky breath and screamed, letting out a broken sound of pain as you slammed your fist to the floor.

You felt two hands on your side that were pulling you up. You let them, looking up to see Matt hauling you to your feet. You ran your sleeve across your eyes, smearing the tears across your blood splattered face. You ground your teeth and took one last glance over your shoulder at Elektra.

She seemed at peace, finally.

Looking back at the few Hand soldiers that were left, your vision had grown bright red. There were blue swirls at the edges but the focus was the manic haze, the sadistic bloodlust. You pulled your gun and sniffled, weighing the bullets you had left.

Eleven rounds. Four Hand members.

You looked over at Matt, feeling his anger at the same level as yours. But you felt something else too, something from behind you. Someone familiar, but you didn’t care to figure it out.

Matt moved in first, beating the two Hand soldiers that came in first. Once he pushed them aside, you stepped in and put a bullet in their skull. You raised your gun to fire on a third one but another bullet beat you to it. You quickly spun on your heel with your gun ready and saw Frank on the rooftop behind you.

You felt the slightest wave of relief, dulling the red of your vision as your arms dropped. Your hand covered your mouth as you smiled slightly, a fresh wave of tears coming. You saw him offer you a quick salute before firing on the Hand behind you. You returned the gesture before hurrying across the rooftop to Matt’s side, though he was already engaged with Nobu. Matt’s anger easily fueled him into getting the upper hand, but you were determined to have the final shot. As Matt threw Nobu off the roof, you followed.

You stepped over the ledge and flicked your wire at the railing. As you slid down the building, you drug your heels against the side to slow your descent. You aimed your gun and once he hit the ground, you pulled the trigger, watching the bullet pierce through his skull and bounce his head off the concrete. You hung there for a second, waiting to ensure he wouldn’t get up, but the growing puddle of blood that he laid in was enough of an answer for you.

You were climbing back up to the roof when part of Matt’s new club came towards you. You took a hold of it and he helped pull you up. He tapped your arm and pointed to the roof behind you where Frank was and he gave you the slightest smile, as if he knew you’d be happy to see Frank.

You pointed to yourself before your fingers made the shape of a phone and then you pointed to Frank, hoping he’d get the message that you would call him later. He nodded before disappearing.

You blew out a sigh to calm yourself and settle your deep anger. There was satisfaction in knowing Nobu was dead and that you had pulled the trigger. Not even for yourself, but for Elektra.

For your friend who gave her life for yours. For your friend who annoyed the hell out of you and pushed every button she could, who was arrogant beyond belief and stole the man you loved right out from under you. Your friend who was a liar, but also smart. Powerful. Beautiful. Vengeful and angry, but also just wanting to be loved for who she truly was.

You wished you could tell her that she was. That despite it all, you did love her.

Matt took your hand and walked with you back to Elektra, both of you falling to your knees beside her.

“I’m sorry…” You said quietly, more to Elektra than Matt. “I’m so sorry.”

Matt put a hand on your shoulder and you turned instantly, falling against his chest. His arms came around you quickly and held you tightly. You kept muttering the apology as a new wave of sobs ran through you and he hushed you gently, saying it was okay. You held him with all the strength you had left, terrified that he would slip through your fingers too.

He leaned his chin on the top of your head, seemingly trying to contain his own grief. You took a deep breath and pulled away, putting your hands on either side of his face. He tried to give you a smile but it broke instantly.

This time, he fell into you. He buried his face in the crook of your neck and you put one hand behind his neck and the other over his shoulders. You said nothing, other than a gentle reassurance that you were there.

You two stayed that way for a while, consoling each other despite your own grief. You only moved when Matt heard the cops getting close. Hesitantly, you followed him off the roof.

Sleep didn’t find you that night. You sat on the floor of your shower, letting the stream wash away the blood, sweat, and tears of that night. But nothing could help your pain. You didn’t even care to try and heal yourself, other than your hand.

At least you didn’t have to grieve for Frank anymore… Just Elektra.

A few days later, you still hadn’t slept much but you were beside Matt and Stick at Elektra’s grave. You had your arm linked with his and you leaned into him slightly, almost using him to keep you standing.

“I wanted to say a few words but… I don’t have any.” Matt said after a while of standing quietly.

“Can I?” You spoke up, though your voice sounded hoarse. You had sounded that way since that night, having cried so much and screamed so loud your throat was rubbed raw.

“Yeah..”

“Elektra was a lot of things, some good and some bad… But ultimately, she was my friend. She saw and did things that no one should have had to as young as she was, but maybe it’s because of that that we were the friends we were… She was complicated but loyal, willing to give her life for-“ You sniffled and took a deep breath. Matt turned to you and placed a small kiss to the top of your head, an old but not unusual gesture between you two. “Elektra was so loved… I loved her, and I’ll miss her.”

“God rest her soul.” Stick added solemnly. Despite their last spat, he still loved her as his own. “Was it worth it?”

“What?” Matt asked.

“Loving her.”

He took a deep breath as he thought, but decided not to answer. But standing beside him, you knew. It was worth it to him.

“One time in college, I brought her roses.” He said instead and you gave a small smile.

“She hated roses.” You chuckled weakly. “It was orchids, right?”

“Yeah.. She likes orchids… And yeah, it was worth it.”

“Matt, you are the toughest son of a bitch I’ve ever met.” Stick praised before leaning around to you. “And little lady, you are a close second.”

“I don’t feel very tough.” You admitted.

“What you see in yourself and what you are don’t always overlap.” He nodded. “Let’s go home.”

The car dropped you off at your apartment first. Matt offered to stay with you but you told him you’d rather be alone. Hesitantly, he let you.

When you got to your apartment, you headed for your bedroom and found your suit peaking out of the closet. The memory of that night flashed in your mind when you caught a glimpse of the blood stained on the front. It could’ve been the Hand or it could’ve been Elektra’s. You hurried over and slammed the case shut.

You had no plans of returning to that life anytime soon. You doubted Matt did either. And if you were going to take up Dex on the FBI offer, you couldn’t be a vigilante and a federal agent. It was too risky. You had to choose. Y/N or Exodus.

The choice was easy.

You shut the closet and pulled your phone, sitting on the floor and leaning against your bed. You weren’t sure if he had changed numbers but you had to try. You had to find out why.

“Hey.. I’m sorry about your friend.” He said gently, honestly.

“Thanks… How are you?” You answered, not sure how to bring up the main reason you called.

“Same shit, different day. Gotta finish what I started and see this through… For my family..”

“What’s the plan?”

“Nah, not this time, Princess.”

“You don’t need to coddle me, Frank.” You tried.

“I’m not.”

“Then why won’t you tell me? I thought you trusted me more than that.”

“Y/N..” He sighed. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, alright? It’s not. It’s that I know you’re only using this as an excuse so you don’t have to deal with your pain. You wanna use any sort of fight you can to ignore what’s really going on. You’re so used to fightin’ that you can’t deal with peace.”

“Yeah, you’re one to talk.”

You wondered if Frank had always been able to read people so easily, or if you were just especially transparent. But what you really noticed, was that he wasn’t condescending about it. He never made you feel bad or inferior because of your struggles or your shortcomings. Frank was a real friend, even if your friendship was still new.

“… Why did you do it? Fake your death for a while with the boat explosion.” You asked instead.

“Cause Frank Castle is dead.” He insisted.

“So you’re nothing but the Punisher now?”

“You ever really think I was anything more?”

“I did… I really did… The Punisher isn’t the one who convinced me that it was my choice who I was. The Punisher isn’t the one who made sure Karen was safe. The Punisher isn’t the one who wanted to save me first on that boat. The Punisher isn’t all you are.”

He chuckled slightly.

“Gotta admit, Imma miss that, Princess. Your little optimism.” He said and you could hear the small smile on his voice. “Red really got to you, didn’t he?”

“I’m serious, Frank.”

“I know… But I can’t keep dragging you into this, alright? I just.. I’m sorry but I can’t. Not this time.”

“You don’t plan on dying for real this time. Do you?”

“Guess we’ll find out.”

You sighed loudly.

“I can’t convince you to let me tag along, can I?” You tried.

He chuckled slightly.

“Not this time.”

“Alright… Just try not to then.” You said reluctantly. “I can’t lose another friend right now, okay? I can’t… Call me if you need anything.”

“Alright.. See you ‘round, Y/N.”

“Bye, Frank.”

You had gotten more sleep that night than nights before, and maybe that was due to the closure from Frank. You didn’t necessarily like that he was running off to a seemingly never ending battle by himself, but if anyone could handle it, it was him. Maybe it was also due to the fact that Elektra was put to rest. You said what had been bouncing in your head and felt a sense of closure in that regard, too.

The only thing left was telling Matt and Foggy.

Matt called you the next day and asked if you could meet him at the office, just for a minute he insisted. You reached into your closet and pulled the Red Room emblem out of the corner you had shoved it into. It took one of your knives and a lot of pulling during your most recent redesigning, but you finally got the enamel logo off. Part of you questioned if he would recognize it, given that the red was the point but it was better than throwing your mask at him. But just to be sure, you shoved one of your Bites into your bag

You got ready quickly, considering the cold weather, and hustled down to the office. You were shaking the loose snowflakes from your hair as you walked in, finding Karen already waiting. The room was stale and cold, dimly lit by a couple lamps. Any life from Nelson and Murdock had faded away just as the warmer temperatures had. The situation suddenly became very real as your once warm and welcoming office now felt like another world.

“Hey.” She breathed.

“Hey.” You smiled. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. You?”

“Not really but…” You shrugged. “Matt called you?”

“Yeah, said he wanted to talk about something.”

“I’m a little surprised you came, given everything with him last time I saw you guys talk.”

“Same could be said for you.” She gave you a small smile.

“You don’t know what I know.” You returned the small smile. “But that’s probably what this is for.”

“Should I be worried?”

“If how you reacted before is an indication, you’ll probably be pissed.” You nodded and sat on the edge of the desk as Matt walked in.

“Thanks for coming.” He said, pulling a brown bag from under his arm.

“What are we doing here, Matt?” She asked.

Your hand slid into your pocket and pulled out the small enamel design, twirling it between your fingers. You noticed Matt’s head tilt just slightly, likely the sound of the emblem against your pants as you pulled it out drawing his attention but he tried not to show it. He snapped back and focused on answering Karen.

“I, uh. I have something.” He explained as he stepped closer, reaching into the bag.

“No, I don’t want it.” She shook her head and moved to leave.

“Hang on.” You said gently, reaching to pull her back. “Just give him a chance.”

“It’s something I need you two to see.” He continued and you let out a deep breath.

Karen glanced over at you and you nodded. Her brows furrowed but she relaxed and turned to Matt again. You kept your eyes down as you heard him pulling whatever it was out of the bag.

The tension rose drastically and you knew it was what you thought it would be. Karen looked at you again in shock but when you lifted your eyes to meet hers, all you could offer was a silent nod of confirmation. You turned to the window then, rather than face Matt.

You knew it was Matt, had known for a little while. You had been practically taunting him and begging him to call you out for being Exodus ever since, but the idea of confessions made your heart squeeze. The emblem in your hand felt sharp now, like holding onto it - along with your secret - was going to physically pain you until you let go. Until you told the people who deserved to know.

“I’m Daredevil.” Matt admitted.

Silence passed over the group again so you decided to move. You stood, leaving the logo on the desk, and moved to stand in front of Matt. Gently, you took the helmet from his hands and you saw him swallow hard when your fingers brushed his. In any other circumstance, it would’ve made you smile.

You ran your fingers over the hard material, tracing the ghost of a line you remembered seeing after Frank shot him. You looked back up to him and found how terrified he was. He was surrounded by a yellow haze, but there was also pink mixed in. He was scared because of how he cared for you two.

You took a step back to stand beside Karen. She put a hand on your arm in comfort and when you looked to her, she offered a small smile. You could tell she wanted to look down, to acknowledge the helmet in your hands but she refused. Instead, you reached over and put it in hers.

She took it, only for a second, before shoving it back into your hands and practically running out the door. You watched her go as the door slammed behind her, making a face of surprise to yourself. Given how she chewed your head off after you told her, it went far better than you expected.

You took a step forward again to put your hand on his cheek and found he leaned into your touch.

“Say something… Please.” He mumbled.

“Matt…” You said finally and you saw some of the tension leave his face as you said his name. “There’s… There’s something you should know, too.”

His brows furrowed as you pulled your hand away and stepped over to the desk and reached for the small piece of enamel, placing the helmet on the desk in its place. You took one more deep breath and went back to Matt, taking one of his hands and pressing the logo against it.

His brows furrowed while holding the emblem in one hand, his fingers tracing it over and over. Every time his digits followed the shape, you felt the anxious knot in your stomach tighten.

Everything you had been avoiding since you got back to Hell’s Kitchen, revealing yourself to Matt and showing the blood on your hands, it was all happening right before your eyes. The uncertainty made you feel like you were standing at the edge of a cliff, teetering backwards and reaching for safety. Matt was the only one who could pull you back, but the question of if he would was yet to be answered.

“This is…” He trailed off, drawing your focus back to him. “Where did you get this?”

“It’s the trademark for the Red Room… It was part of every Black Widow uniform…” You explained carefully. “It was at the collar of my suit for a while until I changed the top… Then it was hidden and now it’s off.”

“The Red Room… Y/N, what..?”

Did he really not know?

“I… I’m Exodus, and I’m sorry. For everything. For- For the times I’ve hurt you. The times I tried to kill you… Matt, I swear, if I knew sooner that it was you...”

“Oh my god..” He said quietly, nearly a whisper. “No, there’s… Really?”

“I know it’s a lot to take in.” You shrugged, trying to fake calm though your heart was racing. You figured Matt could hear it, one of the few times you let your body give away your thoughts. You turned and moved to your bag, pulling your Bite before coming back. “And if you want to go our separate ways, I understand.”

“No, Y/N.” He stepped closer and reached for your hand. Though instead of letting him take it, you put your weapon in his hand which made him pause, only for a second. “I don’t want you to go anywhere.”

“What about what I’ve done? Matt, your whole stance as Daredevil is to not kill people and I’ve killed too many to count.”

“I don’t care.” He shook his head and stepped to put the emblem and the weapon on the desk. He came back to stand in front of you, hands finding your face. “I don’t. Because it’s you, Y/N… It's you.”

“I told you that I couldn’t be the one to corrupt you.” You said softly, feeling him trace the outline of certain scars as if to convince himself it was true. “I told you that I shouldn’t be the one that you make an exception for.”

“It’s not an exception… I know what you’ve done, sweetheart. But I also know why… And I know you.”

“Matt..”

“I love you, Y/N.” He admitted suddenly, making you take a step back and the back of your legs hit the lip of the desk. “I know who you are and I know what you’ve done but you are still you. You still feel the same, Y/N. You’re the same girl I met in college and the same girl that I.. that I love.”

“You don’t mean that.” You tried, though every ounce of your body was screaming for his God to let it be true. “You don’t.. You can’t. I- I- I’ve lied to you and I’ve screamed at you and I’ve hurt you! I stabbed you, right here-“ You took a step forward and placed your hand on his side where you remember throwing your knife. “-maybe a week ago!”

“I know.” He nodded with a small smile that only added to your bewilderment. “You’ve also saved my life and cleaned me up and been by my side.”

“This is insane..” You mumbled, more to yourself than Matt. “This is- This is crazy! You can’t love me! As much as I want you to, you can’t!“

“You want me to?” He repeated smugly. “Still? Even though I put on that suit and that mask, go out into that city every night, and throw punches in an alley?”

“Yes, because you’re the good guy!” You shouted and began pacing the room, hands pushed into your hair. “You’ve always been the good guy and I’ve been the bad guy. You can’t love the bad guy! I don’t- It doesn’t make sense! Daredevil hated Exodus.”

He reached out for your hand and pulled you to stop. You landed flat against his chest and you let out a small groan due to your still tender ribcage.

He snorted a small laugh. “Sorry.”

“I’ve had worse.” You shrugged and he broke into a grin, earning one from you now that your mind was snapped from its spiral. “Matt, you hated her.”

“I never hated her.” He shook his head, speaking softly as he dropped his forehead against yours. “I didn’t always agree with her but I would pick her by my side over anyone.”

“You already knew, didn’t you?“ Your eyes closed and you sighed to yourself.

“I had a feeling…”

“How long?”

“Since you yelled at me in Russian in the courthouse bathroom, for sure.”

“To be fair, you slammed the door in my face.” You reasoned, leaning back slightly to see him as he grinned again.

“What did you even say?”

“That I’d break both your arms.”

“Ouch.” He frowned.

“Don’t slam doors on people then.” You shrugged, holding your composure for a second before laughing. “I’m serious, Matt. How long?”

“I had a thought since we went to that art gallery and met Vanessa for the first time. I knew there was something bigger but I didn’t think it was this. This became a thought a little before we met Grotto.”

“I always knew you were doing something you weren’t supposed to.” You replied. “But I didn’t think this - or maybe I just didn’t wanna believe it - until that gala… You moved so much like him, I couldn’t ignore it. And..”

“And?” His brows furrowed. “C’mon, Y/N/N. Say it. It’s just you and me…”

“When you kissed me. It was the same. Same feeling, same movements, same taste.”

He opened his mouth to say something before closing it again and pursing his lips slightly.

“I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Don’t you think it’s weird?” You tried calmly as you moved and sat on the desk. “How do we both have these alter egos that worked together but couldn’t stand each other? And then we turn around and work together but also can’t stand each other?”

You picked his helmet up and turned it in your hands as he came and stood in front of you. You leaned your head back to look at him while he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over the desk beside you.

“What do you wanna do from here, Y/N/N?” He asked, gently taking the helmet from your hands and putting it on top of his jacket. He flattened his palms on either side of your legs and leaned down slightly, taking a step back so he was more level with you. “Tell me to go and I will.”

“And if I want you to stay?”

His mouth lifted into a small smile. “Tell me and I will.”

“Can I be honest with you?”

“Yeah.”

“It kinda looks like you wanna be with me right now because I’m Exodus.” You chuckled slightly, trying to joke and break the tension in the air.

There was a heavy lull as his brain mulled over your words before he spoke carefully.

“I started caring about her after Nobu.. That first night she - you - saw me, you were so relieved… You hugged me so tight.”

“I thought you were dead.” You admitted. “I thought… I thought I was too late and I couldn’t save you, that I made that deal for nothing.”

“That was when I realized that you really did care…”

“That was around the time you told me that I had my own light.. Do you still believe that?”

“Y/N, I’ve always believed that, whether you were in that suit or not. You’ve got one of the brightest lights I know.”

“Y’know, early on, I had these really confusing feelings for Daredevil. It felt like he saw me, with the blood on my hands and knees and all. He still wanted me around and I liked that. I felt safe with him. But he kept wanting to change me. It was like he just couldn’t accept who I was. I felt like I wasn’t good enough for him.”

“Y/N, I never-“

“Hang on.. Just, let me finish, okay? I need…” You paused to take a deep, steadying breath and put a hand on his arm. “I need to finally say this.”

He nodded.

“And then Fisk happened and he got in my way. I remember thinking ‘This is it. I’m done with him. I see him again, he’s dead’. Now, maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t kill Fisk when I had the chance. I don’t know. But I do know that I just couldn’t bring myself to try and kill him. I still wanted him around but I couldn’t let myself want him…”

You turned and picked up your gauntlet.

“And then Frank came along and made things more complicated. Frank didn’t need me to change to be by his side. He didn’t challenge my morality, he just… Handed me a gun and considered me a friend.”

“Yeah, maybe… Maybe Frank wasn’t all that bad.” He offered and you smiled.

“He’s really not. Frank actually helped me find balance… He told me that I can’t let everyone else tell me who to be. But Daredevil isn’t bad either if you get to know him.” You teased and he grinned. “Matty, I love you too. But if this is something we want to try, I need to ask you a couple things.”

“I’m all yours.” He said softly, dropping to his knees and folding his arms over your lap to rest his chin on.

“Really?” Your brows raised playfully.

“Ears.” He corrected with a nervous smile. “I’m all ears.”

“If we keep doing the Daredevil/Exodus thing, do I have to play by your rules? No killing?”

“I would prefer.” He said carefully. “But I won’t fault you for it. Not anymore.”

“Why?”

“You know when to stop.” He answered simply, as if it should’ve been obvious. “You know when to pull your punches and when not to. I shouldn’t have been trying to change you this whole time. I should’ve been trying to just work with you, help you find some sort of… balance.”

“Do you really want to do this? Because I know you were in a whole ‘no friends means no distractions means I can focus’ phase.”

“No, I don’t wanna do anything without you by my side.”

“Last one… And it’s a hard one. Would you still be here, on your knees in front of me and telling me you love me, if Elektra was alive?”

He was quiet for a minute as he thought. You were both glad that he didn’t answer immediately and a bit hurt.

“I don’t know. I told you it was complicated with her..”

“Matt, I’ve been second to Elektra for you the entire time she’s been involved. I won't be the one you settle for because you lost her.”

“This isn’t about Elektra.” He shook his head gently. “You and I.. It always ends up being you and I, doesn’t it?”

You wanted to argue that but you realized he was right. Despite your leaving, you made your way back to Hell’s Kitchen, where you stayed for him. You fell in love with Marc and Steven, but you still loved him. Your first love, who showed you kindness and generosity when you were strangers. Who showed you that friendships were more than sparring matches and killing together.

You unfolded his arms gently and slid off the desk to sit beside him on the floor. He said nothing as you moved down and lifted his hand. You looked at the angry red blotches across his knuckles, thinking of your own broken skin and wrapped hands.

Neither of those hands were truly innocent in the eyes of the law. The vigilantes of the Kitchen operated on a spectrum, you decided. Elektra was one farthest end, shoot first and ask questions later. Frank - and you would soon realize yourself - was closer to the middle but not quite neutral, get your answers but still shoot. Matt was supposed to be the other end, never pull the trigger but get answers anyway.

Pairing you and Matt was like mixing chocolate and vanilla ice cream. It would work, but the appearance would always lean towards the chocolate. The vigilante that believed in redemption was the vanilla and the vigilante that believed in consequences was the chocolate. At the end of the day, you both bloodied yourselves for the Kitchen but who was right depended on who you asked.

Corruption was easier than redemption and that scared you.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Matt asked after the silence began to loom over you two like a shadow. “About everything…”

“Would you have forgiven me?” You asked softly, not bothering to keep the sadness away. “Everything that I’ve done, pretty much since I got out of there, was me trying to undo what I had to do there. I was a kid going through it, being weaponized and lied to and manipulated. But I wasn’t clueless. I knew what he was doing to me, to all of us actually. He said he loved us like his own daughters… That we were a family…That he was the only one that would ever love us…”

“It was never your fault, Y/N. Someone who loves you… They wouldn’t do that to you.” Matt offered and you sniffled.

Speaking so openly about your past was enough to make you cry. Being raised without any tenderness, any real compassion or sympathy save for that brief time in Ohio with your ‘Aunt Melina’, you didn’t expect any from Matt. How could you?

But you still wanted it. You wanted so desperately to be loved, for the truth. For everything you were, both good and bad. You needed it so honestly that your hands shook and your heart felt like a stone in your chest, weighing you down and growing heavier every time it tried to pump blood through your veins.

As Exodus, you could speak of the cruelties you faced with venom in your voice. You didn’t have to feel anything towards Dreykov other than pure spite, pure rage. It was easy to hate him and be angry at the universe and blame some higher power for what happened to you. But as Y/N, as just a girl trying to build some sort of normal life for yourself, you couldn’t speak of it without feeling broken. Feeling used.

But you knew Matt wouldn’t see you that way. He never did, not even when Ex spoke about it.

“I tried to erase my past.” You continued, trying to keep her voice level but the slightest of a waver snuck through. “But now I don’t think I would want to change it… Exodus and I, we share the same body and the same face. But we’re not the same… Whatever you felt about Ex, you can’t just translate that to me.”

“I loved you long before Exodus existed.” He insisted but you scoffed lightly in response. “I’ve loved you since we met in college, I swear.”

“You have to understand why I can’t believe that..”

Your head dropped to stare at your lap and you found you were still holding on to his hand, and he hadn’t pulled away either.

“If that’s true, then why did you start dating Karen? Why did you tell Elektra you’d leave with her?”

“Because I didn’t know if you felt the same way…”

“Why didn’t you say anything to find out?”

“Why didn’t you stop me?”

“When have I ever tried to get in the way of your happiness?”

Matt paused and you wondered what he would say. You knew the accusations were a bit unfair. You had never tried to get in the way of Matt’s happiness when you weren’t a factor. And even when he was pushing you away, you hoped he would find happiness. But you’d be lying if you said you didn’t selfishly want him to not be happier with someone else.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He finally answered and the sincerity made you lift your eyes. “I know nothing I can say can change anything that’s happened so far. I don’t expect you to forgive any of how I’ve treated you lately or that I’ve kept this hidden from you for so long… Just know that I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned.. But it’s not like you were the only one with a secret.” You offered honestly. “Can I… Can I see the rest of it? The suit..”

“Yeah.” He breathed, something like relief filling his chest.

He pulled you with him as he stood before you both gathered your belongings. You put away your Bite and emblem and he tucked the mask back into the paper bag before reaching for your arm.

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amugoffandoms · 8 months

Text

i absolutely ADORE this drawing for day six of milgramtober! holt shit it's insane i love it

i know it's like, "well, mug, where's the smoke??" okay well uhh backdraft is the reignition of flames when air combines with unburned fuel, which would cause smoke so yeah that's my justification guys (i swear the writing goes along with "Smoke" I swear)

going insane ANYWAYS HERE'S TODAY'S POST!!

Fuuta watches the clock he requested tick every second.

On some days, he regrets it. He regrets each ticking moment because on those days, when he's in absolute agony from Kotoko's attacks or the voices, each tick is another to his death.

So, he hands it off to different people. Let them find out what time it is until they die. He doesn't want to know.

Today, he doesn't mind the quiet ticking sound. It's peaceful, oddly. He doesn't really expect that. It helps him fall asleep sometimes, just listening to that noise.

Eventually, the constant ticking noise gets a little boring, so Fuuta pushes himself off his bed and looks around.

Nothing to do in his cell today and Yuno is pretty much asleep, since he can't hear her. Muu is probably off doing some random shit with Haruka, so he doesn't have to check on him. They're old enough to handle shit by themselves.

With that, Fuuta opens his cell door and leaves the quietly ticking clock and his boring room.

"What to do..." Fuuta grumbles as he walks through the panopticon, passing Yuno and Haruka's cells.

When he was bored before the verdicts, he used to walk past the other 7 cells, but he doesn't do that anymore.

Not since...

Fuuta shivers.

"Fuck, it's freezing." He knows it's not.

He smells the pungent smell of smoke and knows instantly where to go.

He exits the Panopticon and continues walking through the hallway until he reaches the common room doors.

Pulling them open, Fuuta glances around the room before spotting the two he would have expected to see smoking: Mikoto and Kazui.

"Oh, hello, Fuuta." Kazui gives a polite wave.

Mikoto glances over and waves as well before taking a puff of his e-cigarette.

"It's pretty late to be smoking, isn't it?" Fuuta walks over with an unexpected lack of anger in his voice. Huh.

"Eh... Well, might as well. Mikoto and I have not spoken since..." Kazui trails off.

"It's nice to catch up." Mikoto shrugs.

Fuuta almost laughs at how funny that idea is. They've been in the same prison for months, years even. They wouldn't need to catch up on anything.

But, hey, maybe Kazui or Mikoto remembered some stories they'd forgotten to share before.

"Yeah, I getcha." Fuuta takes a seat near them, placing his head on the table and looking up at them (with his one good eye).

"Oi, aren't you going yell at us?" Mikoto teases.

Fuuta laughs. "Nah, you both already know whatever shit I'll tell you anyway. I'm too tired to care. Plus, even if I did, you'd ignore me anyways. So." He shrugs.

He also just... wasn't in the mood for fighting today.

It's funny. He sort of lost the aggressiveness over time because of everything that happened. Well, he still has it, he'll fucking fight someone if he needs to.

It's just... not the same right now.

"Ah, well, Fuuta. I'll tell you that I understand your complaints, but I'll still smoke." Kazui chuckles and Fuuta gives a small smile back.

Kazui puts the cigarette to his mouth, inhaling, and exhaling as he moves the cigarette away from his mouth.

"Oi, Kazui, where's the other old man, Shidou?" Fuuta asks. He does want to apologize for what happened yesterday when Shidou checked his bandages.

...He honestly didn't mean to get all upset. Shidou just put too much pressure on an area and memories from Kotoko's attacks just hit him.

"Ahh..." Kazui scratches his neck. "I came after Shidou left. I was in my cell when I needed to smoke and I just so happened to see Mikoto in here. I guessed the two of them were smoking together before I got here."

"Oh, I think he went to go check on Mahiru." Mikoto shrugs. "Or he might've gone to go check on Amane. One of the two."

"Eh, I guess that's fair." Fuuta sighs.

Guess he'll have to apologize to him later.

Fuuta shuts his eyes for a moment, half listening to the conversation Mikoto and Kazui are having and half in his thoughts.

He honestly can't tell if the voices have been quieter today. Well, he's not hearing them more, which is a plus, he guesses.

Maybe the clock did help.

(Yuno mentioned to him once before that sometimes, if there's enough noise to focus on, they're quieter. They're harsher on the days when it's silent.

It's funny how he never actually took her advice to have some noise somewhere. He knows whatever voices she hears probably isn't that bad, but it was still good advice.

So, he requested a clock. It helped. Occasionally. It's not a loud enough noise to keep them quiet for long, but it helps.)

"...Fuuta!" Mikoto slams the table.

"Gah–" Fuuta jumps. "What? What??"

"You looked like you were dozing off." Kazui points out.

"Eh?? I wasn't; I had my eyes closed." Fuuta huffs before internally berating himself. He had his eye closed. It's true he technically has his eyelid shut over his eye, but it's... not working, so. "I was thinking."

"Ah, alright." Mikoto nods before taking a puff of his e-cigarette.

The three of them relax in a calming silence, Mikoto and Kazui quietly chatting and smoking while Fuuta thinks.

"Fuuta, I have to ask." Kazui's voice takes Fuuta out of his thoughts.

"Eh? What is it?" Fuuta looks up at Kazui.

"I was wondering... Why did you even come here? You don't smoke, so you don't have any reason to be here, but you are."

Fuuta exhales. Why was he here? He came because he smelt smoke and that was it.

...ah, nevermind, he knows.

"My father used to smoke a lot." Fuuta answers. "It's been a while, but I'm assuming he still does. Weak, pathetic fogey." He shakes his head. "Anyways... it reminds me of home, mostly. I wasn't sure what to do and I came here. Maybe I'm just used to going home to the stench of smoke in the air or something stupid like that, who fucking knows?"

Mikoto and Kazui both nod.

"Ah, I see." Kazui rubs his chin. "If you ever need a smell of home, you're welcome to sit down and relax with us."

"Yeah, somehow, we really don't mind. It's not like we're saying anything particularly private, so..." Mikoto shrugs.

"Eh, well, if none of you mind me being here occasionally just to remind me of home..."

"I'm sure Shidou will be fine with it, too." Mikoto flashes Fuuta a small smile. Kazui nods in agreement.

"Ahhh, alright, alright." Fuuta sits upright.

"I wouldn't mind relaxing while you guys smoke."

#mug writes #milgram #milgramtober2023 #milgram fanfic #milgram fanfiction #fuuta kajiyama #kajiyama fuuta #kazui mukuhara #mukuhara kazui #kayano mikoto #mikoto kayano #this one i actually wasnt sure what to do because it's the word smoke #i thought of fires first but then i was like how do i write smoke into that #then i remembered SMOKER GROUP #bam we got this #i think something i write a lot is the voices coming in silence and not other times #i have provided a reason for it here #ALSO mikoto cameo because it's his birthday!!

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incorrect-mordet-quotes · 1 year

Text

Best SAO Abridged Lines As RP Starters Pt.3

“Sheeptar the Sheep King, your reign is at an end.”

“If that thing hadn’t already killed seven of us, I’d say this was a really stupid boss.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, we can’t just go around sacrificing NPCs! Some of my best friends have been NPCs!”

“That makes way too much sense.”

“Choke on it! Choke on my vengeance! How does it taste?!”

“Yeeeah. You know what? Maybe he has a point. This is super uncomfortable.”

“Sooooo… how’s your day goin’? You’re looking pretty relaxed there, buddy.”

“This grass feels amazing.”

“I suspect that wasn’t a real question–”

“It was great! You should’ve been there! He was climbing the walls, spitting acid…”

“We’re still talking about a sheep, right? Not like a… fluffy Xenomorph?”

“Its a really stupid boss!”

“Apparently not that stupid if it killed seven of you.”

“…twelve now, actually…”

“I mean, you survived, so hey. Silver lining.”

“Okay, what the hell is wrong with you? You’re way too… mellow.”

“Well, I had some time to kill before the raid, so I figured I’d power level my alchemy a bit by eating some weird plants, and now everything’s…. just… great…”

“Look, okay? I get it. You had a really bad day. You’re stressed out, seven people died…”

“TWELVE PEOPLE.”

“Not the point. Look, they’re dead now. And really? Whose fault is that? That’s right. No one’s. So why don’t you lie down, relax, and watch the stars with me?”

“Its two in the afternoon! There are no stars!”

“Only if you’re looking with your eyes.”

“You’d better come down soon so I can kick your teeth in…”

“Huh… those dudebros make an interesting point.”

“I mean… as a man, there’s really only one option here.”

“I drew cat whiskers on you because I thought it would be funny, and it was!”

“Vhew eh pfftff Well… tff I… I dfff I-I mean… jju uu You know…! jj–… You- you could’ve… like… tjj ahu…”

“Yeah, remind me to draw on your face more often. I’ll eat like a king. Or at least a very wealthy janitor.”

“This coming from the guy who ate random plants off the ground?”

“Oh really? Well who’s dumber? Me, or the one who takes a nap next to some crazed drug fiend?”

“Need I remind you that YOU were that crazed drug fiend?”

“I can’t be held responsible for stoned _______. That guy’s an idiot.”

“Oh, looks like we are out of time! We’ll have to continue this next week, but in the meantime, please enjoy these lovely consolation prizes from the ________ Is Always Right Foundation.”

“Oh my god, you’re insufferable.”

“Huh… look. A human pinata.”

“He’s dying!”

“Uh… correction: he’s suffering. Probably hurts like a bitch, but he’s not gonna die.”

“Hey man! When you pop, could you try to send the candy over this way?!”

“I’m gonna go cut him down, you jackass.”

“Hey, anyone got like a thirty foot stick? I wanna take a crack at this thing.”

“So did anyone see where the candy went, or…?”

“For christ’s sake, a man just died!”

“Ah, yesss… but that just raises an even bigger question. Why do you care?!”

“I’m sorry, are you asking me why I care that a man was killed?”

“No, I’m asking why YOU care that a man was killed!”

“Welll… let’s see… most people would - charitably - refer to you as the crown prince of douchebags, long may he reign.”

“Your usual reaction to human suffering is to pull up a chair and crack out the popcorn! What’s your angle?!”

“I am shocked and appalled that that is your opinion of me!”

“Starts with an A---… right, Y. Starts with a Y. I mean its close, they’re basically neighbors, you can understand my mistake.”

“Its uh… Yo… Yo… Yo… Ya… Yoooooga pants?”

“Oh, spare me, Wonder Woman. You’re only doing this to prove I was wrong.”

“Hey! At least I PRETEND to be nice to people!”

“Yeah, whatever, uh—wait, ‘pretend’?”

“Well if its not my least favorite customer.”

“Aw, you just say that because I’m not dumb enough to buy any of your crap.”

“Yeah, well if there’s one upside to being trapped with these idiots, its that they’ll buy pretty much anything.”

“What’s the matter with you?! Why would you bring her here?! I thought we were friends!”

“What is up in dis… hizouse?”

“There’s just so much beauty in the world, you know?!”

“So dat’s da sitch. Think ya can scope da deets on dis gat for us, homey?”

“Um, but I’m da one dat asked you.”

“Why you ignoring me bro? You got cotton in your ears?”

“OH GOD! I-I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Grand Wizard _______ here’s not what you’d call a ‘people person’.”

“Um, excuse me?! Mr. Kettle? Mr. Pot called. He said you’re black!”

“What? Its a turn of phrase. It has nothing to do with race.”

“Okay, now you see dat? DAT was racist.”

“Well CLEARLY, I’m stabbing myself with this sword to see if it kills me– Oh god, what AM I doing?”

“Ah… handing the black man a murder weapon. Tale as old as time.”

“Do you really hate this place that much, or do you just love the sound of your own voice?”

“Its my gift to the world.”

“Hate to break it to you sweetie, but the world wants a gift receipt.”

“No refunds or exchanges. Only store credit.”

“Shhhhh. The grown-ups are talking.”

“Really? Then show me the body.”

“There is no body!”

“You can’t prove that he’s dead. Let me give this poor girl some hope.”

“Oh, don’t even PRETEND that’s what you’re doing!”

“________, why would ________ have wanted to make sweet love to your friend’s chest with the business end of a broadsword?”

“Meh, I’ve killed for less.”

“I knew it! They’re finally coming for me! It was only a matter of time! The walls are closing in!”

“Ever since he got trapped in here, he’s been terrified that his more… 'verbose’ commenters are going to make good on their threats.”

“I used to laugh at their comments! You hear me?! LAUGH! But now?! What if they actually DO chop off my limbs, rip out my intestines, and ride me like some sort of meat toboggan?!”

“You hear that? 'Meat Toboggan’. Try getting THAT image out of your head. Grippin’ his entrails like the reins of Santa’s sleigh. Streaking through the fresh morning snow on a trail of bile and gore, as his eyes beg the same question as the horrified children in his wake. 'Why…?’ ”

“This… may have been a mistake.”

“I disagree. I think you’ve got a real flair for this.”

“Did I say 'reason’? Sorry, I meant the screaming monkeys that live in her brain.”

“I don’t know about you, but I have a duty to my fans to survive this! …I mean, to the ones who AREN’T threatening to use my spine as a pitching wedge.”

“I think we can safely assume a ghost is not the culprit here!”

“Of course not. Obviously it was a Hit by the Mermaid Mafia paid in Leprechaun gold! But who was the puppet master? The Unicorns? No… they’ve had a feud going with the Mermaids for years.”

“Damn it, this is serious!”

“Weeellllll… I’m not a doctor… but I don’t like her chances.”

"Ah! Ah! Ow! Ah! Ugh! Ah.... aaaugh..."

"Really? I figured some random perp would be no match for the world's greatest detective. Oh-ho wait, no... THAT'S BATMAN. And you're not Batman, are you? You will NEVER be Batman."

"That, uh... cut surprisingly deep. Well played."

"I can't believe you just left me with that guy!"

"Really? What part of that was out of character for me?"

"If you say '_______', I'm going to stab you in the eye."

"So anyway, I think we should go over what we know so far."

"Why? I figured the whole thing out hours ago."

"My sandwich! It was innocent...!"

"SHHH! I must grieve."

"What do you want?! Scalps?! I can get you scalps!"

"Oh, I see. You're an orphan blood man! Do you prefer your victims pre-drained, or do you like to get your hands dirty?"

"Oh, so you like them crucified! Well, that'll be a bit trickier, but I'm sure I can work something out!"

"...so, where are we on the whole orphan blood thing? We talking heads or liters?"

"For the love of-- We're not ghosts! We faked our deaths!"

"Seriously, ________? How many people would you have killed if we'd asked you to?"

"Thaaaaat's... not important."

"I DISAGREE."

"And Samson said, 'With an asses jawbone, I have made asses of them. With an asses jawbone, I have killed a thousand men.'"

"No no! You sighed! That's not nothing!"

"Boss... I get what you're going for. Bible quoting serial killer... its a great motif. Classic. But... its a big book. They're not all gonna be gems."

"Okay, bigshot! Name one verse that's scarier than that."

"Oh, I don't know. How about 'no flesh shall be spared'? Mark 13:20?"

"Holy shit! That's in the Bible...?"

"Have... you ever actually READ the Bible?"

"Look, we're getting off-track. I'm the guild leader, and I say my verse was better."

"Don't you think the whole 'Jesus tells me to kill' thing is... holding us back? Plus... you're not even all that good at it."

"How DARE you! The J-man's teachings inform everything I do!"

"That's not even a word! Much less--- ugh. Forget it. Let's just kill these guys and go."

"Stupid horse! That entrance was almost perfect!"

"Don't patronize me, Yoga Pants!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible, officer. The Lord has ordered these sinners dead, in the form of a guy who pays fifty bucks..."

"Fifty bucks? Selling yourselves a bit cheap, don't'cha think? You guys provide an essential, in-demand service, and you're DEFINITELY the leaders in your field. I mean, you GOTTA cash in on that name recognition."

"THAT'S WHAT I KEEP TELLING HIM.”

“The high-paying clients won't touch us. They take ONE LOOK at Reverend Killjoy over here, and think we're a bunch of crazy people!"

"You could reach a much wider demo if you just tone down the religious theme."

"What you guys need is a total rebranding. Ad campaign! PR blast! Get your faces out there! Let people know you're not just about the fire and brimstone! You are multifaceted, three-dimensional killing machines, and you have got a little something for everyone, because contract killing... is a beat we can all dance to."

"As payment, the lives of these sinners are now yours to command."

"Thanks! Jesus told me to say it."

"Huh... so I own you guys now. That's cool."

"Serves one per conspirator, may contain trace amounts of 'caaaaalllled iiiiit'."

"How did you realize I was lying?"

"Ah, well, that part was quite simple. You see: I'm not an idiot."

"Yeah, that'd do it."

"Of course... I do have some evidence. If you're into that sort of thing."

"My first thought was ___________. My second thought was 'Oh shit, window.' And with that, much like that window, the cracks in your facade started to form."

"As if anyone would let that moron in on a conspiracy. A friggin' landmine deals with pressure better than him, and would kill fewer people."

"You seem to have put a lot of thought into this..."

"Well, someone had to."

"BUT. This whole thing still leaves me with one question... WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

"Oh, right. Totally forgot. I should probably mention that he didn't do it."

"What? I just thought you guys might like to know. You seemed pretty interested in the subject."

"Well, I'm sorry. SHOCKINGLY, he wasn't very COOPERATIVE."

"How big is this web?! You're catching school buses in this thing!"

"Hey! We just gift-wrapped your friend's killer for you! You maybe wanna react here?"

"Ah! A valid point! But tell me. Do you think ______ would've trusted a stranger to do the job? Well then, you must think _______ was skilled enough to kill _______ one-on-one. Or perhaps smart enough to catch her unawares?"

"Oh my god, _______'s not the killer."

"Hey, people threatened to kill me for giving Pokemon: V&R a seven out of ten! At this point, I've learned to just assume the position."

"Hold it, I've got something I've been holding in for a while... That hat makes you look like a HIPSTER!"

"What? No! Bullshit! I had to go to a dark place to pull out that masterpiece! It was full of emotions that scare and confuse me. Now come on, get up! We're doing this again! And this time, you're not gonna fold just cause that hat makes you look like John Lennon joined the mafia!"

"See? There's no challenge in it! Verbal abuse, man. Its a lost art."

"You guys were the best slaves a boy could have."

"Fuck it! I tried! You all saw it!"

"We're gonna make sure you get the help you need, buddy. Behind this tree."

"Look, if this is about me being right about everything, I forgive you, okay?"

"Damn it, I'm trying to be nice and have a moment here, which isn't easy with SOME people being so LOUD!"

"Wait-- nononoNONONO---"

#RP Prompt #Meme #RP Meme

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mindrole · 3 months

Note

Question about reposting to Twitter (sorry if it's silly): by reposting you just mean stuff you post here, right? You're not going to change course and only post there and not here?

I wish I could give advice otherwise, but I don't use Twitter (which is why I'm asking this in the first place) also hope you recovered well from being sick!

i've been good and healthy! thanks for the well wishes!

when it comes to this i prefer posting on tumblr massively, so don't worry about me moving and setting up there as a main platform or whatever! its comfy here! i like the base of lurkers i've cultivated.

tbh it is mostly a "i wanna post art on twitter because the fanbase is largely over there" kind of ego thing. at first, i assumed i would be posting in parallel, but.. honestly tweeting should be a spur of the moment thing for me, and i have no sense for maintaining side accounts and accounts for specific subjects in particular (this blog in and of itself is a miracle). also i feel watched if i'm out of my element. i don't think it's possible for me to suddenly switch my main hub of cell series posting unless i somehow gained a group of people to bounce off of on a daily basis. i can't use twitter just to post mindlessly like i do here, i like to be chatty instead. at least on tumblr i entertain myself. idk what the difference is. i can use my own personal account just fine weirdly enough, but side accounts never tend to work out and i forget they exist quickly.

basically all i've been wondering from anyone who may know or may be interested in seeing it... the methodology of crossposting my art to twitter when its been a while.. tbh all i draw these days are doodles and stuff that's only funny to me so the mental block is a little strong. it's like "eh... it's not worth the effort.."

initially i intended on mirroring my longer text posts too, like on fusetter or something, but eh... ehhh.... i'll just keep it on tumblr... it's the same thing isn't it. so i'm only concerned with my art right now

also i feel kinda dumb tagging most of the art whenever i post it. but i also don't have much reach on twitter yet, so posting art without tagging it and having people follow until i build something up feels pointless. but also back to the point feeling dumb, i don't mind being seen at all, but i don't want anyone to scroll and go "what's this guy doing here" and such... idk why but it's probably mental illness. i just don't like to stand out in a way that makes me look like i'm trying too hard. but idk how to appear effortless (<-see i overthink too much, there's probably nothing of the sort going on)

but i want to at least semi-cultivate a habit of crossposting stuff even if it's not all of it!! idk if that makes sense.

ironically i think there is very little audience on tumblr compared to twitter for the corner/niche i've accidentally occupied (i.e. being obsessed with the interlude+com+characters that barely exist for some reason especially since i don't post about the main game that much anymore). also just in general i feel like my way of thinking is too strange. i can't fathom that people keep coming back to check over here. thank yew🥺🩷 (<-he was shot out back for this)

every day i am perplexed why this blog has people keeping watch on it, i feel very humbled and happy about it but i also scratch my head a little bit. it's very fun even if confusing. i like the level of interaction i have. so i'm not gonna switch over...!!! don't worry!!!

at the very least i have every intention continuing to archive my art in the poipiku attached to the twitter account... the twitter account itself however, is at a standstill, i have no idea what to do with it, which is why i'm doing the last ditch "phone-a-follower" effort

#ask #anonymous #sorry i talked your ear off even though you have no advice for me #i do be a blabbermouth #maybe someone will see the specifics and know how to handle this...#tl;dr i like when people see my art ^_^#my art is for sharing after all

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lisatelramor · 2 years

Text

In Another World

So for funsies my brain decided it would be hilarious if Robo!Kaito characters met Neighbors!Saguru/Kaito and then this sort of ... happened. It’s probably not going to make a ton of sense without the context of Not Left To Stand Alone or Be a Better Me, but eh. It literally was just playing, posting because someone else might find it funny too.

“I told you that wouldn’t work,” Ayato said to the idiots who’d been doing dubious experiments in the basement. He grimaced and rubbed soot off his face. “Ugh. It had to be something exploding, didn’t it?”

“Apologies,” Hakuba said in the stiff, formal tone that Ayato hated. “But according to the calculations, it should have worked.”

“Back to the drawing board,” Kaito-bot said, pinching singed hair between his fingers.

Ugh. They’d been trying to work out a better lasting core for the robot since they had learned that it started to wear at about the five-year mark, and glitch in the half year it took to re-work the original design. That said, neither Kaito, nor Hakuba were actually an engineer. Even with Agasa and Haibara helping, it was still only in prototyping.

Ayato sighed and glanced around. A mess. A mess that looked a lot worse than the mess that had already been down here, plus new scorch marks! What great re-decorating! Not.

“I’m going up to check on the doves,” he said, “while you two make sure nothing is on fire. If you broke any of dad’s things, I’m kicking you in the shin, Hakuba.”

“Oh no, whatever shall I do,” Hakuba said, deadpan like the bastard he often was.

Ayato still didn’t get what Kaito saw in him sometimes.

“Not kicking me?” the robot asked.

“Hell no, I’d break my toes.” Ayato flashed Hakuba a middle finger for his resulting eye roll, and hurried up the secret passage.

Ayato stepped out into a room that was both abnormally dusty, and way less cluttered than the one he left earlier. He’d say his mother dropped in to clean, except the dust was a clear sign no one had been cleaning here in who knew how long. Unless… “Did the explosion knock dust from the whole house?” he muttered. Weird.

Doves. He needed to make sure that hadn’t scared them half to death. They were used to small explosions, but that hadn’t exactly been small, and if Ayato hadn’t been wearing noise canceling headphones to listen to podcasts while commentating on the sad attempts to improve the core, he probably would still have his ears ringing.

He rounded the familiar turns of his house toward the stairs to the patio he kept the dovecote on… and ran into himself.

Not his robot-clone, and not another teen. This one looked like a cheap knock off of his dad, and for a half second, he actually thought Kuroba Toichi came back for the dead with less style and a bad haircut. If Ayato could come back from death, why not his dad at this point?

“What the fuck,” Ayato said.

“Language,” the not-Toichi old-Kaito said. Then, “What the hell.”

“How is that any better?”

“Please tell me I don’t have another illegitimate child running around. I can’t have another child running around. It’s statistically improbable at best.”

“But not impossible?” Ayato asked, with horrified fascination. Then the rest of that sentence hit. “Another illegitimate child?”

“How old are you? Not old enough to be from the same time as the twins—”

“TWINS?”

Old-maybe-Kaito made a face. “Don’t shout. I have a headache already. Now who are you and why are you in my house?”

Ayato let out an indignant sound. “Your house? This is my house!”

“It really isn’t.”

“And who are you? Why are you here?”

“Kuroba Kaito,” the old-Kaito said, apparently actually another Kaito. (How was this Ayato’s life? How many times was he going to run into people with his face??) “And I’m here because I own the place and need to feed my birds.”

“Doves. They’re doves.”

They stared each other down. “And you are…?” old-Kaito asked after a moment.

“Kuroba Kaito,” Ayato said, “now Kuroba Ayato. And I’m going to check on the doves.”

There was another awkward silence as neither of them backed down. The older Kaito sighed. “Well. Either one of us is lying—” He said it in a way that clearly meant you are lying. “—Or something very strange is going on. Akako-level strange.”

Ayato shuddered. “Please don’t bring her up. She’s awful.”

Other-Kaito shrugged. “Not the worst person to deal with once you reach an agreement. And I’m almost convinced you really are a version of me.”

“Why not you another version of me?”

“How old are you?”

“…Twenty-three.”

“I’m older, so I have seniority. …Does Kudo Shinichi mean anything to you?”

“If you mean is he annoying but fun to mess with, yeah. If you mean is he a child too, also yeah. Or he was.”

“Couldn’t cure you?”

That confirmed that Shinichi existed here and had been turned into Conan at some point. And that this Kaito was also in the know with all of that.

“Can’t. It’d probably kill me to try.” Since his previous state had been dead it really wasn’t worth experimenting.

Other-Kaito’s face scrunched like he wanted to know more and at the same time had never wanted anything less. “Right. So, I’m guessing some sort of world-hopping accident occurred.”

“You don’t look surprised.”

“Oh, I definitely am, but plenty of weird things have happened in my life.”

“Same,” Ayato said with a sigh. It seemed no matter the world, Kaito would attract some kind of chaos. Honestly, Ayato should be more shocked at all of this. But maybe he just wasn’t processing yet.

“Kaito,” a familiar voice said as someone entered the room behind the older Kaito, “I thought I heard—oh.”

Ayato stared at what appeared to be an older Hakuba. Hakuba stared back.

Ayato had spent over half a decade spending time with Kudo Shinichi and (more reluctantly) Hakuba Saguru at this point. He’d never call himself a detective, but observation skills had become even more a survival tool than when he’d been moonlighting as a thief. So Ayato couldn’t help but catch on details immediately. Like the cane. The gray in Hakuba’s hair and the crow’s feet around his eyes. Casual clothing that the Hakuba Ayato knew would never be caught dead in. And then there was a ring on his finger. Ayato zeroed in on it, somehow surprised even though his own Hakuba had been in a relationship with the robot and Aoko for over a year now. On impulse, he glanced at Kaito’s hand.

The rings matched.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Excuse me?” old-Hakuba said, somewhere between confused and insulted. Then, “That isn’t Takumi-kun.”

“Nope,” old-Kaito said, hands sliding into his pockets. He moved stiffly, not like a magician should, like he just couldn’t move the way he should, and ah, there was a real possibility he couldn’t… How many injuries did Ayato accumulate even before he died?

“Takumi?”

“My son,” Kaito said easily.

He said ‘illegitimate child’ earlier, so yes, he probably had children, but it was still like taking a smack in the face. “Is this the illegitimate one?”

“Oh, no, he’s the only legitimate one.”

“Of course,” Ayato said faintly. He kind of wanted to know how many children this other Kaito had. On the other hand, he really didn’t want to know, because that meant thinking about an alternate him having had sex. Ugh. “What is with other versions of me wanting to marry Hakuba?”

“This has happened before then?” Kaito said as Hakuba’s narrowed gaze flicked between them.

“Oh, no. Just… Look, did you ever get kidnapped by a crazy scientist who made a robot with your face?”

Both Hakuba and Kaito’s eyes narrowed warily. “Yes,” Kaito said. “But I got free and killed it.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m pretty sure I’d remember tricking a robot into blowing its own brains out,” Kaito said, cold and finite like that ended the whole story. Ayato had already kind of figured there was a difference somewhere around there; robots couldn’t father a child, let alone multiple illegitimate ones.

Hakuba’s eyebrows shot up. “When was this?”

“Mm, back before we met,” Kaito said dismissively. “It’s not important.”

The most defining moment of Ayato’s life, and in another world it was unimportant. That stung.

“In another world,” Ayato said, holding the bitterness in, “you never got away. In another world, there were two robots with Kuroba Kaito’s face, and only one of them knew he wasn’t human.”

“Ah.” The single syllable and carefully neutral expression said old-Kaito understood exactly where this was going. Good, he wouldn’t get senile by age thirty-something. “And what happened to you?”

“It turns out cryogenic stasis is possible under very precise circumstances,” Ayato said. “Also death sucks, stay alive if you can.”

“Kaito?” Hakuba said, two and two making four and a whole new equation.

Kaito sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair, ring a flash of gold on his finger. “So, best guess is that this is an alternate version of myself from a different universe. One that sounds like it diverged with the robot mishap.”

Mishap. Ayato felt a weird curl of resentment.

“An alternate universe,” Hakuba said flatly. “Truly.”

“Isn’t that, such and such Holmes quote applicable here?” Kaito said with a wave of his hand.

“There are far more logical explanations than other universes.”

“And yet here we are.” Old-Kaito shrugged. “I believe him. Is this really any stranger than Akako?”

“Yes. With Koizumi-san, there wasn’t a child-shaped version of you.”

“I’d love to know how that happened,” Kaito said in an aside to Ayato. “I thought only Kudo had to deal with that.”

“Reversing stasis has side effects,” Ayato said, not wanting to go into detail. “Lovely as this all is, I think I should go get my companions.”

“Oh, there’s more of you?”

“Yeah… Let’s just…” Ayato turned back to the hidden passage, acutely aware of Kaito and Hakuba at his back. It felt like Hakuba was trying to dissect him with his eyes alone.

“Fair warning,” Ayato called ahead of him, “something has gone really weird and really wrong.”

“We were kind of figuring that out!” the robot called back.

Hakuba and old-Kaito both twitched even though they had to have some idea who he’d been with.

“How are the doves?” his Kaito asked as Ayato returned to the workroom. There was a space cleared on the table now, streaks of dust left on the corner like no one had been using down here for a while.

“Never got that far,” Ayato admitted. “You should know that there’s—” He watched both Kaito and Hakuba’s eyes go huge as they saw behind him, Kaito’s hand instinctively reaching for a card gun. “…Other versions of us,” Ayato finished.

“A bit of warning would have been nice,” the robot said, eying his older double warily. No surprise since the other times he saw someone with the same face, it had been Ayato dead, and a second robot trying to kill him. A glance showed that other-Kaito looked equally wary. Ugh. Only Ayato was allowed to have the trauma of seeing his own face reflected back at him in a stranger.

“I thought you said you were twenty-three,” other-Kaito said, staring down the robot. His Hakuba looked at his double with something between interest and jealousy. Ah, the cane; whatever it had been caused by, clearly it would have happened by Ayato’s (ugh) Hakuba’s age.

“I am.”

“Then this is…?”

“The non-murderous robot.”

The wariness all but doubled, and both parties tensed. For goodness’s sake.

“Oi,” Ayato said. “As the only one who actually died from robot and scientist encounters, I think I claim the robot trauma card, yeah? Kaito’s a life-stealing metal wreck, but he’s not going to kill anyone any more than I assume you or I would.”

“Does he have arm rockets?”

“…No?” Wait, had the other murder bot had arm rockets?? Why was he only learning this now? “He’s practically human. Even bleeds and needs haircuts. Just with metal bones and a bad habit of breaking.”

“I can’t control the breaking,” Kaito said at the same time the younger Hakuba said, “That’s what we’re attempting to fix.”

“…Right.” Other-Kaito eyed his double. Neither looked happy with this situation. No shit. “So how exactly did two Kaitos and a Saguru end up in my basement room?”

“An unfortunate accident,” Young-Hakuba (Ayato needed a better shorthand. Robot, Mechanic, Kaito, Hakuba. Sure.) said. “An experimental core for Kaito exploded.”

“Injuries?” Hakuba—the old one—asked.

“None besides superficial scratches and some abused eardrums.”

“I see.”

The silence was painfully awkward. They didn’t seem to know how to handle facing other versions of themselves. Ayato glanced at robo-Kaito and raised an eyebrow. If any of them knew how to handle other selves, it was the two of them, even if they both never quite got comfortable with it.

“So,” Ayato said. “This older Kaito has several children and married Hakuba.”

“We’re engaged,” old-Hakuba said at the same time old-Kaito rolled his eyes and said, “I don’t have that many children.”

Robo-Kaito’s face twitched. Was it the ‘married to Hakuba’ bit or the ‘has children’? Both things the robot probably wanted in life eventually.

“Where does Aoko fit into this?” the robot asked.

Raised eyebrows on the other side of things now.

“Aoko… currently isn’t in picture much. We’re working on mending our friendship.”

Friendship. Not romance. “You didn’t marry Aoko?” Ayato asked, because weird taste in men aside, he can’t imagine any version of himself not loving Aoko. He was stuck as a child and still in love with her and even the robot would marry her in a heartbeat.

“Er. Well.” Kaito looked to the side, a tic that was very familiar. Like looking for an escape route. “We’re kind of divorced?”

“You divorced Aoko?” Oh god, it was so much worse in this universe. What was wrong with this Kaito?

“The other way round actually.”

“Aoko divorced you? What the hell did you do to piss her off bad enough for that?” Aoko was, in Ayato’s opinion, one of the most forgiving people he knew. She’d forgiven Kaito for being Kid, forgiven the robot for being a robot, forgiven Ayato for dying and then for being a child and loved him through all of it, all forms of him. She was working on becoming a nurse in part because of how the knowledge intersected with Kaito, Ayato, and the technology Hakuba was investing his life in. Ayato couldn’t imagine a world where she wouldn’t forgive them.

Older Kaito grimaced. “Look. I didn’t mean for things to go the way they did, but things happened so fast and then I was married and had a child and was trying to go to school, raise a baby, work, and be Kid at the same time. The moment to bring it up just… never got there.”

“Oh my god, you had a kid and you never told her about the thief thing.”

“To be fair, we wouldn’t have told her if circumstances hadn’t gone the way they did,” the robot said, all reasonable about it, like it was perfectly believable that it’d happen that way.

“I’d like to think I’d have told her before we’d get married, let alone HAD A CHILD.”

“Look—”

“Excuse me,” the robot’s Hakuba cut in. “Rather than argue over life choices, perhaps we can put our minds toward reversing this?”

“Can’t we just re-do what we just did?” Ayato asked.

“We could try that,” Hakuba said like he was actually talking to a child—it was one of those things Ayato hated, when he got all ‘I know more than you’ at him. “But that, if we can successfully replicate world shifting at all, is more likely to land us in yet another iteration of ourselves rather than return us to our proper world. Another universe might be less kind in its residents.”

“I can’t picture a reality I’d be actually violent with intent to kill,” Ayato said.

“Yes, but sadly, I can picture myself in such a world, and I would rather not meet a murderous version of me,” Hakuba said calmly, like that wasn’t a horrifying thought. Hakuba’s brain harnessed for evil. Noooope. Just as bad if there was an evil Kaito out there. The world would implode or something.

“…Fair enough. I’d pay to see you as a thief though.”

Hakuba, rudely, ignored him to turn to their older counterparts. “I don’t suppose either of you would have any ideas on world-hopping?”

“Koizumi Akako,” both of them said with varying amounts of discomfort on their faces. Weirdly, it was Hakuba who looked the most like he’d bitten into something sour.

“In all honesty, there may be someone else,” old-Hakuba said, “but we don’t have connection to them, nor any knowledge. If Koizumi-san can’t help you, she is also the most likely to know someone who could.”

“At what price though,” old-Kaito said, eyes far away.

Well. That was ominous. But fair enough. Ayato had only met Koizumi the once, and he definitely never wanted to meet her again.

Still, he didn’t want to be in this world too long. “Can we go? I finally have an advanced placement test coming up to let me out of kiddie hell.”

Robo-Kaito and his Hakuba were doing that thing where they communicated with their eyes and micro-expressions. Actually, so were the other pair. Eew. That was one romantic couple thing Ayato was glad he didn’t do. Just use words like everyone else.

“We can go,” Robo-Kaito said finally, “but if the price is too high or she tries anything on us, we’re risking another explosion.”

“That’s fine then,” older Kaito said with a half-shrug. “Maybe show me the schematics and I can see what I can get ahold of just in case.” He grimaced. “I really don’t like having to get in touch with Akako, but she keeps the line open for me, so I guess I can.”

“She does?” Ayato said.

“You’ll see,” Kaito said with another uncomfortable shrug.

Ayato really wasn’t liking this world.

It was strange to see a version of himself still so young, Saguru reflected, watching the three men in the back of the car through the rear mirror as Kaito drove them toward Koizumi’s home. The two versions of Kaito squabbled like siblings, arguing over something in the design that they theorized as the part to fail. His younger self watched, amused and loving. He’d recognize himself in love anywhere.

His other self had fallen for Kuroba Kaito’s consciousness in a robot body. The robot—but no, he was more human than not, android—was calmer than he imagined Kaito had been at this age. Twenty-three, or close to seven if Saguru was counting the time he’d existed correctly. At twenty-three, Kaito had to have been contemplating graduate school, if not already in it, raising Takumi, and soon to end up divorced from Aoko… Kaito must have been constantly on the move, always a bit too tired, a bit too ragged as he spent himself up. The android looked healthier.

Perhaps it was because he was not human, or perhaps it was because unlike the Kaito Saguru knew, this younger Kaito had a strong network of support.

Saguru’s younger self looked happy. Saguru had been happy at twenty-three. Mel had been in his life by then and, bad leg aside, he’d been rediscovering things he’d loved in the world that didn’t involve his previous dreams of active detective work.

It sounded like his younger self had all but taken one look at the android Kaito after his true nature was revealed, and made the split-second decision to dedicate his life to him. Saguru was painfully obvious when he found someone he cared for.

His younger self met his eyes in the mirror, a faint smile on his lips that faded as they watched each other. It must be unnerving to strangers to be looked at this way. To be looked at as if eyes could see down to the soul. It was unnerving for Saguru even though he knew there wasn’t a deeper meaning to it beyond shared curiosity.

“Hey,” the youngest version of Kaito, Ayato said, also meeting Saguru’s eyes in the mirror. “If this Hakuba’s an engineer and robotics expert—”

“And chemist, and surgeon and—” Saguru saw the other Hakuba mutter under his breath.

“—What are you?” Ayato finished.

“A teacher.”

Blank looks all around.

Saguru smirked because it truly was funny to be the shocking one. “A chemistry teacher to be precise. I’ve also taught English and supervised a book club.”

“Who are you?” Ayato said. He was a bit like Kaito without a filter and a less positive outlook. Definitely a lot more childish than his double.

“A man that had to give up most of my detective work due to circumstance,” Saguru said wryly with a pointed lift of his cane.

“Oh… Uh. Is it rude to ask what happened? Just in case?”

“I had my knee shot out shortly before university. After, I had to heal for months, and had physical therapy for long after that; by the time I entered university, I’d given up on ever being as mobile as I was. I consulted sometimes, but ended up in teaching after enjoying tutoring. That said, it sounds as if you’ve moved on toward a field well apart from the policework we intended to grow into. You would have run into the trouble I did by now if you were going to.”

“I see,” the younger Saguru said. “I also consult at times, but learning everything needed to keep Kaito functional and in good repair took over quite a bit of my life…”

“It would do that.” Saguru couldn’t really picture himself in the same position. Perhaps learning a bit of medical information, but not diving head first into engineering something he had no previous knowledge of. “And now you’re dating him.”

“Yes, although it’s a bit more complicated than that…”

“It’s a polyamorous relationship with Aoko as the common point with all of us,” the android-Kaito said.

Kaito twitched, just barely failing to jerk the steering wheel as he looked back at them in the mirror. “You’re in a poly relationship with Aoko?”

“Yes?” The android raised an eyebrow in a way that was channeling Saguru through and through.

“Look, he’s an asexual android, Hakuba’s in love with him and fond of Aoko, Aoko loves all of us, and I still love Aoko even if this body,” Ayato said, and ah, Saguru hadn’t realized he was included in this arrangement. “I don’t want the guy with illegitimate kids running around judging us.”

“…How does that even work?” Kaito asked, the edge of fascinated horror in his voice.

“It’s complicated,” the android said drily. “Very complicated. Like blindfolded juggling.”

“That’s not that hard.”

“But everything is potentially on fire.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. We’re making it work as we go.”

“I believe that is our turn,” Saguru said, cutting into Kaito’s thoughts before they missed their destination.

“Oh. Yeah, thanks.”

Koizumi’s home was unnerving. It looked a bit like something from the Addams Family in all honesty, all Gothic architecture and dark colors. The garden out front clashed with that, a riot of colors and blossoms, though Saguru was certain at least some of those flowers were distinctly poisonous. It was Koizumi, after all.

“You know, I’m glad I never visited my Koizumi’s place,” Ayato said in a tight voice. “You sure she doesn’t have vampires hiding in her draperies or what?”

“No vampires so far as I know, but supposedly she had Lucifer on supernatural speed dial, so take that as you will,” Kaito said with forced cheer. “C’mon. Let’s see if she can get you all home.”

“I wish I could believe you were joking, but I know my own tells too well,” Ayato said, unnerved. His android companion looked less unnerved, but Saguru could chalk that up to him being mortal in a different way than fleshy, easily-broken humans. Or perhaps he had fewer negative associations? But no, the android would have been the one interacting with their Koizumi.

The car slid to a stop beside a walkway framed with weeping cherry trees, trimmed into perfect shape. Everything was a bit too neat and precise, but after knowing Koizumi more in the last few years, it wasn’t surprising that it felt a bit unnatural; it likely wasn’t natural at all.

Kaito led the way up the walk, not looking back to see them follow. He looked a bit like he was steeling himself for an unpleasant walk in a downpour or to clean a terrible mess.

The front door—tall, intimidatingly sharp in its carvings—creaked open, seemingly on its own. Ayato took a step behind his counterpart.

“Kuroba,” Koizumi said, materializing out of the shadows of her foyer. “Hakuba.” Her eyes slid to the rest of the group. “Hakuba, Kuroba, Kuroba. What an interesting group.”

“Akako-hime,” Kaito said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “As you can see we have a bit of a dilemma here. I don’t suppose you would know much about pinpointing exact alternate universes or creating paths to them?”

“That isn’t exactly my specialty,” Koizumi said, a bit of humor in the curve of her lips, “but I can give it a try. Congratulations on the engagement.”

“Do I want to know how you know about that?”

“I keep track of your life even when you’re failing to keep up with mine,” she said waving them inside.

The interior was just as gothic and intimidating as the outside. Saguru eyed the various crystals, portraits, and candelabras with a healthy dose of wariness. Knowing magic was real didn’t mean he knew how it worked, and that was more than enough reason to be careful.

“I wouldn’t touch anything,” he said softly as Ayato reached a hand toward a dangling crystal that caught light in a particularly eye-attracting manner.

Ayato snatched his hand back, something between guilt and irritation flashing across his face before it was covered up with Kuroba’s polite-blank mask. “It’s neat,” Ayato said. “I’ve never seen something like it.”

“Spell arrays,” Koizumi said airily. “Mostly harmless, but not all of them are. My daughters made them.”

Ayato tucked his hands surreptitiously into his pockets.

“Are they here today?” Kaito asked. Saguru had yet to properly meet the twins, though he knew a bit about them through proximity to Kaito. From what he did know, they were far more like Koizumi than Kaito, though they had a similar streak of mischief. If a bit more toward the sadistic side than Kaito had.

Saguru distinctly remembered a story about them driving away one of Koizumi’s suitors that they disliked.

“They are both busy with homework at the moment, but perhaps they will have a moment to spare toward the end of your visit. They’re due seeing you.”

“Do they even want to?” Kaito asked, not troubled by the thought that they wouldn’t want to since he was only ever distantly involved with them at best.

“They find you amusing,” Koizumi said, which wasn’t quite an answer, but coming from her was probably a yes.

The younger Saguru’s eyes flicked back and forth between Koizumi and Kaito. Saguru could see the conclusions being drawn on Kuroba and Ayato’s faces. Horror in differing proportions.

“With Akako?!” Ayato screeched, voice reaching octaves only a young Kuroba, voice not yet settled into its post-puberty range could produce.

Kaito winced and rubbed his ear, even as Koizumi smirked like she’d won something valuable—which Saguru supposed she had, technically. “It really isn’t what you think.”

“Then you aren’t the father?”

“I am but—”

“He’s the sperm donor,” Koizumi said, still with her cat-with-cream smile.

“See, not what you think! No sex involved!” Kaito said, hands palm-out in front of his chest.

“I am with Ayato here,” Kuroba said, side-eying his older self. “Why would you even want to?”

“It was a deal,” Koizumi said lightly, “and I believe we have both done quite well from that. And speaking of deals, you three are going to need to make one for me to even hope of getting you back to your proper dimension. It isn’t the sort of thing that can happen without some sort of sacrifice.”

“We got here in one piece,” Ayato complained.

“Yes, but we gave up energy and a prototype,” the younger Saguru said, thoughtful. “There has to be some sort of energy balance to this sort of thing.”

“It’s magic, not physics.”

“Science and magic aren’t nearly so different as you’d like to think,” Koizumi said. She led them into an elaborate sitting room and perched herself in a wing-backed chair. “Take a seat,” she said with a wave at the velvet sofas that made up a loose circle around an intricate rug. It was all very Victorian feeling. Koizumi seemed to be more interested in aesthetics of a room than continuity of a specific era in her decorating.

Saguru sat beside his Kaito, both of them feeling their age and old injuries on the less than comfortable couches; they looked nice, but they weren’t nearly so soft as they looked. The others grouped together on one couch as well, despite how close it made them sit. Saguru was interested to note that Ayato was physically comfortable enough with the android who had replaced his life to practically sit in his lap. He would have thought there would be more discomfort, but he supposed they must have had a few years to get used to each other.

“Well,” Kuroba asked, leaning comfortably against his Saguru, “I’ll ask. What exactly is this going to cost us, and how likely are we going to be to be able to afford what it will cost to get us home? If you can get us home. We’re not paying with our lives.”

“Learning how you got here can pay for my search for a solution. The actual solution…” Koizumi’s eyes narrowed. “Is unlikely to be cheap. I don’t suppose you’d trade away some of your luck?”

“Considering the fact that luck seems to be the only thing keeping us alive,” Kuroba said with a polite smile, “I won’t be paying that, and neither will Ayato.”

“I can speak for myself.”

“Do you disagree?”

“No,” Ayato said with a huff. “But it’s the principle of things.”

“What else could we trade?” the younger Saguru asked. “I assume they must be things of value to us, or something unique.” He seemed to have accepted the possibility of metaphysical trade immediately, though perhaps after ending up in another world entirely, it was easy enough to believe that that sort of thing was possible.

“There are many things you could trade,” Koizumi said. “One of you could trade the chance to return for the sake of the others, or years of your lives. You could trade away special skills or knowledge. I could take your sight or hearing or voice.”

Ayato shifted uncomfortably. “We’re getting a bit ‘Little Mermaid’ here. None of us is staying behind, or sacrificing years of life. What do we specifically have to give?”

Koizumi narrowed her eyes at him. “…Your futures.” She held up a hand as everyone leaned forward to protest. “Not like that. I meant sacrificing the potential for a future. Your Kaito is a thief and magician, Hakuba is a detective and an engineer. You, who were once Kaito, are also a magician, and could one day reclaim the name you once held.”

At Saguru’s side, he felt Kaito tense. Kaito had given up the chance to be a magician once. He knew that it would be painful to watch another version of himself have to grapple with that kind of choice. Saguru set a hand on Kaito’s knee and Kaito snatched it up in a bruising grip.

There was silence for a long moment before Ayato spoke. “I give up my name,” he said. “Specifically, the name ‘Kaito’. We all know by now that I’m not getting a cure for the little problem I have. So.” He shrugged, looking both uncomfortable and determined. Saguru couldn’t imagine giving up his name. Wasn’t entirely sure what the whole ramifications of that would be. Would Ayato be unable to refer to himself as Kaito? Would he be unable to think it, anyone else to think it? The most alarming thing about Koizumi’s magic was that no one would know the full extent, not even Koizumi, until after the deal was made.

“You’re sure?” the android asked.

“You’re not the worst replacement a guy could have,” Ayato said, rolling his eyes. “And I just said I can’t go back anyway. Why hold onto that name?”

Something passed between them, expressed in eyebrows and slight tilts of lips. It must be odd to look yourself in the face and know this was a different person. Well, no, Saguru knew it was weird. His younger self was right there, and very much not him.

“Then the exchange will be made,” Koizumi said before turning her eyes toward the others.

The younger Saguru’s hands tightened on his lap in a nervous tic Saguru could recognize in his own habits before he’d ended up with other outlets to fiddle with. His own hand tightened a bit on the handle of his cane. “I would be willing to give up,” he started only for Kuroba to put a hand over his mouth.

“No.”

“Kait—” Saguru tried to say around the hand.

“No. You were going to give up being a detective.” Kuroba scowled. “You’ve given up enough of yourself for a lifetime. Don’t give up your passion.”

“I already barely consult these days,” younger Saguru said, prying Kuroba’s hand away. “It isn’t as big of a sacrifice as it could be.”

“You enjoy it though,” Kuroba said. “You gave it up as a career because of me already. Don’t give up on what’s left.”

Saguru met eyes with his younger self and could see the thought that if Saguru could handle being a teacher instead of a detective, he could clearly learn to be content in another field. Being an engineer was certainly more intellectually driving on a day-to-day basis.

Still, his younger self took a moment to reflect, lips pursed. “Would I be able to give a skill?” he asked after a moment.

Koizumi hummed. “If it is worth enough, yes.”

“I have been playing violin since I was eight,” Saguru said, “and it is a hobby that I enjoy and am proficient in, but not one that I couldn’t live without. Is fifteen years of developing a skill enough?”

“Saguru,” Kuroba started to protest.

His Saguru gave him a lifted brow in response. Kuroba trailed off, upset. “It needs to hold value,” Saguru said, patient. “This holds value, but is something I will willingly part with.”

Koizumi tilted her head to the side, eyes slightly unfocused like she was feeling something out none of them could observe. “…Fifteen years should be enough, provided the last exchange is of equal worth. A name weighs a bit more than a hobby. A dream would be higher still. Hopefully combined, all three of your sacrifices will balance enough.”

“That leaves me then,” Kuroba said with a wry twist of his mouth. “I’m not quite sure what to offer here. The base of who I am is stolen from someone else, my body is already in constant decline and repair, and there’s always a chance my mind will fail.” It was chilling how calmly he said it, like these were mere facts of life instead of that he was always a step away from death, or at least death as a machine could manage. “I could offer a skill, but much of my skills are linked to what I am. My memory, my speed and control—they’re a bit above human range. If I traded the excess of those abilities, would I break, then, as its cost?”

Koizumi didn’t answer, waiting him out.

Kuroba sighed. “Something of value. Hm. The greatest things I value are my memories because they’re what makes me Kaito. If I gave some of them up, would that be enough?”

“Wait wait wait,” Ayato cut in. “If you give the wrong memories you could change your personality.”

“One specific memory then,” Kuroba said. There was cold determination in his eyes that Saguru had seen in Kaito before. Resolve to see a thing through. “The first trick our father taught us. The memory of him teaching us it.”

“That’s the moment we first loved magic,” Ayato said, somewhere between pained and horrified.

“Yes,” Kuroba said before giving his younger double a brief smile. “It’s one of our most cherished memories, but it isn’t the only one we have of our dad, and it’s not the only moment we loved magic.”

“But it’s the start.”

“It is.”

“What if,” Ayato said, voice trembling the slightest bit. “What if that’s enough to forget?”

“Then it’s a good thing you have the memory,” Kuroba said. “But I don’t think giving it up will fundamentally change me. Maybe it will change my relationship to magic some, and maybe something with Oyaji will shift. But one memory isn’t going to destroy a foundation of hundreds of other memories, no matter how much it’s treasured.”

Ayato frowned, but he didn’t protest again. Saguru glanced at his Kaito and saw the same hesitant, unhappy expression on his face. It truly must be a cherished memory.

“Would we be able to help pay their fee?” Saguru asked.

Unhappy noises came from Ayato and Kuroba, but the other Saguru looked back at him with clear understanding.

Koizumi closed her eyes, silent for a moment before shaking her head slowly. “I think there needs to be a clear distinction between you, and adding anything of this world into the mix would risk drawing you to theirs.

Damn. Well, better to have tried than not.

“I believe,” Koizumi said, looking to Kuroba, “that your memory will cover the cost. It holds a deeper weight than a single memory should. You tie a lot of your identity to your father, don’t you?”

Kuroba’s lips quirked up. “For good or bad, he’s defined most of our goals and values.”

“Hm. It seems like that should be enough to trade with. It will take me a bit to figure out the exact method of getting you back, though. It isn’t as if I’m going to create another explosion to blast you back.”

“What a relief, we won’t be blown up today,” Ayato said sarcastically. “It’s not like that doesn’t almost happen literally all the time.”

“It happens significantly less if you avoid Kudo,” Kaito said, probably thinking of his own experiences with explosions.

“I see him all the time. That’s not changing anytime soon,” Ayato sighed. “Could really do with less corpses. Like, why? Why are there so many murderers in Tokyo? In Beika in particular? Is he a magnet? Does he have some aura that incites people to murderous frenzies? We can’t go to the beach without a body washing up.”

“They’re friends,” the younger Saguru said blandly.

“Who is his friend? We’re rivals, get it right!”

Kaito snorted and bit his lip when Ayato glared at him. “I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that he’s hot.”

Ayato went bright red. “I’m not—He’s—Kudo is straight! And annoying as hell! He’s a death magnet that thinks he can actually act like a child when he sticks out as much as his cowlick does! He’s a know-it-all with no social skills that thinks he’s being subtle when everyone with eyes knows he’s suspicious as hell as a child! He has terrible taste—”

“They’re definitely friends,” Kuroba said.

“Fuck you.”

“Sorry, not into sex.” Kuroba shot back, perfectly deadpan. “Kudo might be though.”

“Augh!”

“Is this what having a sibling is like?” Kaito said to Saguru under his breath.

“How would I know? I’m also an only child,” Saguru replied.

“What now?” the younger Saguru cut in, talking over Kuroba and Ayato. “Is there a…spell… you need to do or perhaps you merely yank the metaphysical prices from us and we end up home?”

“Oh it is certainly more complicated than that,” Koizumi said with an amused smile on the edge of her lips. “What you’re asking for me to do is to punch a hole in our reality to another specific reality that all three of you can pass through without harm. It’s the second part that is actually difficult. Realities dip in and out of each other’s borders constantly, but it is far harder to hit the correct world in a kaleidoscope of endless possibilities.”

“But you can do it though,” Ayato said.

“I can. I will need a bit of each of your blood though. Or,” she said eying Kuroba, “whatever passes for blood.”

“Does it have to be blood?” Ayato asked, going a bit pale. “Maybe take some of my hair or something?”

“Blood is preferable,” Koizumi said. “It’s tradition for a reason, and blood holds life and ties to its body that will be necessary.”

“Oh. Okay. Great.” Ayato sunk in his seat.

“Apologies,” younger Saguru said. “There’s some blood and medical phobias between the two of them.”

“An understandable thing,” Koizumi said, rising to her feet like some kind of graceful, deadly predator. “Thankfully we’ll only be needing a few drops each. A small cut or a pin prick will do.”

“Oh thank goodness,” Ayato said.

Kuroba huffed a laugh. “A needle is actually less damaging you know.”

“Yeah, but it’s the associations. I’ve had less people come at me with a knife and intent than a needle. And shush, you get freaked out by scalpels.”

Kuroba shrugged, and Saguru both did and didn’t want to know the context. All the more so when his double gave a little flinch.

“If you’ll excuse me for a moment,” Koizumi said, “I have a bit of research to do and then I will get everything we should need set up.”

It was interesting, Kaito thought, to see this older Koizumi. The Koizumi Akako he was familiar with was brash, self-absorbed, and had a vicious streak, though she’d occasionally helped him over the years. This Koizumi probably had those negative traits too, but she’d clearly grown up to be a bit less carelessly cruel. He didn’t know from looking at her if she still played with people’s hearts or threatened people, but she was a mother now and maybe that had changed something in her. There was something softer in her than the Koizumi Kaito knew. Either motherhood had settled her in some way, or she was actually fond of his other self in a non-possessive way. As impossible as that felt.

Whatever Koizumi had to do to prepare was taking a while though. They’d been led to a different lounge space by an unsettling butler and had been given refreshments. Kaito didn’t bother trying any of them. His older double might be okay risking it, but Kaito had had one too many love potions slipped into his food over the years to trust anything Koizumi gave him.

He’d have been perfectly comfortable waiting until Koizumi returned. However, a while after they got to the room, they were interrupted by two girls.

Twins, not quite identical though from the way they styled themselves they were trying to appear so. They had Koizumi’s unsettling smile and Kaito’s eyes and cheekbones, though one had more of Koizumi’s bowed lips and the other got Kaito’s thinner ones and a slight dimple on one side of her face. They were objectively pretty, but it was in the way that a cursed china doll looked pretty; a little unnatural and artificial and unsettlingly off.

“Girls,” the older Kaito said, giving them a nod.

The twins looked around the room like they were some fascinating sideshow exhibit. Which kind of fit considering they were iterations of the same people.

“There’s so many of you,” one girl said.

“Someone messed up, huh?” said the other. Then, “That one isn’t another brother, is he?”

“Excuse me?” Ayato yelped. “Heck no!”

“Another alternate,” the older Kaito said. “Has your mother mentioned multiverse theories?”

“No,” the first twin said. “But we’ve seen it in fiction. How did they get here?”

“I hear it involved an explosion.”

“Does that mean there will be another explosion to send them back?” the second twin asked, looking a bit too excited by the thought.

“Akako-hime didn’t mention any explosions, just a bit of blood and a trade.”

“Boring,” the second twin said with a sigh.

“Traditional,” the first said, commiserating.

“Explosions would be more fun.”

“I think we’d rather live to see our own universe again,” Kaito said, drawing two sharp sets of eyes. “But yes, explosions can be fun.”

The twins cocked their heads to the side in eerie synchronization, looking Kaito over in what he thought was true curiosity and not their strange, mirroring act of Koizumi’s unsettling presence. “Something’s different about you,” the first twin said.

“But what?” the other echoed. She darted forward to poke Kaito in the cheek.

Kaito blinked at her. Rude, and surprisingly impulsive. Well, he shouldn’t expect much else from a child with Kaito’s blood and Koizumi’s upbringing.

“It’s not nice to stick your fingers in people’s faces,” the other Kaito said with a sigh.

The one who’d poked him shrugged. “Now I know what someone from another universe feels like.”

Her sister looked like she was considering stepping forward to give poking Kaito a go as well. Thankfully, the older Kaito distracted her.

“Akako-hime said you’re moving on to practical magic?”

The twins turned back to him, though not without another considering look at Kaito’s group like touching all of them would give them some kind of world-explaining knowledge or something. Kaito was half tempted to hold Ayato out like a sacrifice and sneak away with his Saguru while they toyed with their prey. Ayato would probably try to kill him if he did that though.

“We’re past emotional manipulation,” one said, “and have moved on to impacting impulses and thoughts.”

“I’m learning scrying because I’m better at it,” the second said.

There was the first hint of discord between the two as the first sister frowned at her twin. “We’re both learning scrying.”

“And I’m learning it faster. And you’re learning talismans faster.” She shrugged, a practical mirror image of Kaito’s own habitual motion, which was somehow even more unsettling than all the other little ways the girls were trying to be creepy. “There’s no harm in admitting our strengths and weaknesses and covering each other.”

“We don’t have to tell people about them.”

“It’s Kaito-jii.”

Her sister gestures at the group.

A lifted eyebrow and an unimpressed look in response. “Leaving the universe,” she said waving at Kaito, Ayato, and his Saguru. “And soon to be married to Kaito-jii.” A finger pointed rudely at Hakuba who looked resigned rather than offended.

“It’s still the principle of things.” She gave a sniff before turning back to the older Kaito. “Don’t repeat any of that.”

“I won’t breathe a word of it,” he promised.

“Good.” The girls glanced at each other and were back in synch like they hadn’t had a moment of disagreement at all. How unsettling. “Next time you come, bring one of your birds?”

“Why?” older Kaito asked, rightfully uneasy. Kaito had heard his own Koizumi mention sacrifices once or twice.

“Oh, we won’t hurt it,” the other twin said. “We’re looking into familiars and wanted to see if doves qualified. This sort of thing is passed down.”

Against his will, Kaito felt a curl of interest. “What is Koizumi-san’s familiar?”

“Cobras,” the twins said in unison.

Ah. Snakes. How…fitting?

“I’ll bring a dove,” older Kaito said.

They were interrupted by Koizumi at the door. “Girls, I thought I said to wait until later to talk to Kaito.”

The twins turned to her, big, innocent stares on their faces in an instant. Kaito used that face a lot as a child to get candy from unwitting adults. “But when else would we get a chance to see interdimensional travelers?” one said.

“It’s a rare phenomenon,” the other said.

Koizumi rolled her eyes. “You’re both menaces,” she said fondly. “You can observe the spell sending them home so long as you do it from a distance.”

The girls grinned. “Thank you!”

“Shoo,” Koizumi said, waving them out of the room. She huffed exasperatedly as they skipped off. “They get that from you,” she said to older Kaito.

“I don’t know, I think I remember someone literally stalking me at one point, and definitely recall you trying to manipulate situations where we ended up alone.” Older Kaito had a tiny smile on his face, amusement and fondness mingling with remembered stresses.

“Details,” Koizumi said with a dismissive wave.

“Do they really need to see some of my doves or are they trying to get me to lend them a living creature for something sketchy?” he asked.

“It’s sincere. I personally doubt they’ll end up with doves as familiars, but they will probably end up with birds.”

“I’ll bring one next time I visit.”

“You visit so rarely these days,” Koizumi said with a surprisingly sincere pout. “You should have more time in retirement, not less.”

“It’s amazing how much sleep I can catch up on after almost two decades of sleep deprivation.”

“I’ll send you my schedule,” Koizumi said like it was a done deal that Kaito would visit the next time their schedules lined up from Kaito’s eye roll, she was right in that assumption. “Now. The spell. I have it set up, I’ll just need some blood.”

Wow, that sure was a sentence Kaito never wanted to hear again. He shared a grimace with Ayato.

Koizumi pulled out a few small, wickedly-sharp silver knives. “Just a small cut. It doesn’t have to be bigger than a papercut, just enough to bleed a few drops.”

He should be relieved that it wasn’t a scalpel or needle, but Kaito didn’t really want to cut himself on a knife either. At least, he thought as he examined the edge of the one he was handed, it should be fairly painless; something as sharp as this could cut almost before he could feel the pressure.

Just a small cut. That was nothing compared to having his arm vivisected to fix it. It wouldn’t even take as long as Ayato or Saguru’s cuts to heal.

Before he could overthink it anymore, Kaito stuck the tip of the knife into synthetic skin. The feedback was instant pain-pressure awareness. When he pulled the blade back, dark red synthetic blood rose to the surface. Kaito watched it bead, something uncomfortable twisting in his gut.

Koizumi appeared next to him in a flash, a tiny glass vial in her hand. “Just a few drops. Enough to coat the bottom.”

Kaito felt the cut sting and he squeezed around it, forcing the blood to spill over and drip. Four drops to coat the bottom. One more to be sure. He pulled his hand away and the vial was stoppered. Koizumi moved toward Ayato next.

Ayato had made an incision on the heel of his palm. He let blood drip into his vial with a grimace of distaste. Saguru didn’t even hesitate as he nicked the side of his pinkie finger.

“Look at you, avoiding anywhere you’re going to immediately use,” Kaito said.

“One of us has to be sensible, and I would think you both would have been more conscious about preserving your hands.”

“I was saving my fingers,” Ayato said.

“And I have more scars than nerves,” Kaito added. “At least in my hands.”

Saguru winced, poorly hidden guilt on his face even though it wasn’t his fault that Kaito needed repairs so often. Kaito nudged him with his shoulder; he hadn’t meant to make him feel bad. It was a fact that he had less sensation on parts of his hands at this point.

Koizumi held up the vials to the light once they were all stoppered. She examined them like she was looking for impurities or something before giving a satisfied hum. “Wonderful. Now follow me.”

He would think, Kaito mused as Koizumi took them on a meandering route through her mansion, that with how brisk she was being, Koizumi dealt with interdimensional travelers on the regular. Maybe this had happened before for her. Maybe she’d met another version of them, or another of herself, or maybe after summoning Lucifer, the whole alternate reality thing didn’t even raise an eyebrow. Either way, it was surprisingly calming. One of them was at least in control. Yes, it was Koizumi Akako, but Koizumi Akako was knee deep in strange magical bullshit that Kaito did his best to avoid. She really was the only one they could have turned to in this situation.

Kaito couldn’t help thinking that this Koizumi was a lot more cooperative than his own Koizumi would have been. If he’d approached his Koizumi, she’d have tried to place half a dozen spells on him for entering her house let alone asking for favors. Somehow this world’s Kaito had screwed up so badly that he’d alienated Aoko, his closest friend, and become friendly with Koizumi who was about as nice as a viper.

Go figure.

Kaito was so glad for his own reality with Aoko and Saguru at his side and Ayato and Conan running around. Even if he was a robot and not human, he’d lucked out in having so much support and love. From the sound of it, this Kaito had missed out on a lot of that for a long time.

Koizumi led them to a small room with a concrete floor that had been painted with blackboard paint. In the center was a complicated chalk circle full of symbols Kaito only tangentially recognized from alchemic texts while looking for information about stones that granted immortality. Kaito was quite sure this did nothing related to immortality though.

“It’s like a cheap rip off from Fullmetal Alchemist,” he said, knowing it would make her annoyed.

Koizumi frowned. “It’s a far better diagram than anything you’ll find in a manga,” she snapped. “You should feel grateful that I know how to draw this sort of thing. Without my skills you’d probably have to try and blow yourselves up again.”

“We weren’t trying to blow ourselves up,” Ayato muttered.

“Now get in the center,” Koizumi said with an imperious hand wave. “For all we know, the longer you’re here, the greater the chance of destabilizing our universes.”

“Is that likely?” both Sagurus asked at the same time. They looked at each other uncomfortably.

“It’s not exactly a common study,” Koizumi said, “but at least things didn’t implode when you came face to face with other versions of yourself, so that’s one possible catastrophe averted.”

“Yay?” Kaito said.

“Circle,” Koizumi demanded.

They stepped into the circle. Older Kaito and Hakuba watched from the edge of the room. Their bodies were relaxed, but Kaito could see their tells in the edges of their eyes and the way Kaito’s smile was just the slightest bit too stiff to be true. Worry. As touching as it was to be worried about, it didn’t exactly fill him with confidence that this would work.

“Now what?” Ayato asked, crossing his arms and staying carefully away from the lines surrounding them.

“Now,” Koizumi said, bending to place a vial on blood into a little loop in the drawn design, “you say any last words to your alternates before I activate this and send you back.”

“And something will just, what, scoop memories and knowledge from our brains?” Ayato said skeptically.

“It will be like you never had what is missing,” Koizumi said.

“That’s not as reassuring as you meant it to be,” Kaito muttered.

“It will happen the moment the deal is complete,” Kaito’s double said unexpectedly. “It won’t hurt, but you will feel a little like something is missing. That fades. Going forward, you’ll notice changes where the absence of your skill or memory effect little things, but it won’t be jarring for long.”

“Ayato will not be able to use Kaito as his name, nor think of it as his own,” older Hakuba said. “Saguru will have to relearn violin from scratch. Kaito will never access the memory he is giving up again. It doesn’t erase the past. Ayato will remember being Kaito. Saguru will remember learning to play but all the details will likely be gone. Kaito will remember he gave up a memory. At least,” he added, fingers tight around his cane, “that is essentially how things worked for Kaito and myself.”

Good to know that all of them had the poor judgement to make deals with witches. It was a universal constant or something.

“Right,” Kaito said because someone had to. “It was nice meeting you both, but I think there’s a universe missing us.”

“You as well,” Hakuba said with a deep nod. “Best of luck on reaching your goal.”

“Oh. Yeah, did you ever find…?”

“Yes,” his older self said. Both Kaito and Ayato looked at him expectantly. They got an eye roll in return. “You don’t even know if it’s the same stone.”

“It can’t hurt to check.”

Another eye roll before older Kaito pulled out a note pad and started scribbling on it. Dates, numbers, names. “I have no idea what year it is for you, or where this thing is right now, but here’s what I know and which gem it was in my universe. Maybe you’ll get lucky.” He folded it in quick motions before tossing it into the circle.

Kaito caught it and tucked it away into his pocket. “Thank you.”

“Whatever, just don’t die, okay? I came way too close too many times.”

“Anything else?” Koizumi asked, fingernails tapping impatiently on her arm.

“One thing,” older Hakuba said, glancing at his Kaito before looking at them in the circle. “I hope you can have a happy life. It likely doesn’t seem like it now, but you have a future ahead of you, and if you put in the effort to seek it out, you can find joy in the smallest of things.”

“We intend to try for that,” Kaito’s Saguru said with the hint of a smile. He met Kaito’s eyes and Kaito couldn’t wait to be home and drag him and Aoko into a cuddle pile. He was so lucky to have them both.

“I have nothing to say,” Ayato piped up, “except that I want to go home. This universe is weird.”

“Oi, having a brain clone and being turned into a kid is way weirder than growing older.”

“You’re a divorcee with who knows how many children running around,” Ayato snarked. “It’s weird.”

“Anything else?” Koizumi asked again, pointed. “No? Lovely.” Her hands reached out into the air and there was a spark, something red and glowing, and then Kaito didn’t have time for more than a moment of alarm as the array lit up in crimson before his vision went red, then black.

When Ayato opened his eyes, they were still in a creepy mansion room. The only difference was that the lights were off, a thick carpet covered the floor, and everything in the room had storage covers over them. Ayato sat up and groaned, feeling a little like something hit him between the eyes. Ow? Ow. Most disconcertingly, it wasn’t purely a physical sensation.

Beside him, Hakuba was starting to stir and his robo-double was completely still.

Hakuba was clearly still alive, so Ayato crawled over to Kaito. The faint stir of breath came from his lips as his lungs kept working, and when Ayato reached for a pulse, he found it, though it was just the slightest tic off. Hmm. Hopefully that was temporary and not a consequence of dimension travel. Ayato didn’t know if Hakuba would be up for heart surgery.

“Oi.” Ayato poked Kaito’s cheek. “Wakey-wakey Sleeping Beauty.”

Kaito’s nose wrinkled slightly. Okay, he was probably going to be fine too.

Ayato got to his feet, swaying the slightest bit as it felt like the blood rushed from his head. Noted, magic had side effects. They were probably still in Koizumi’s home, just in a part she didn’t use. …Or this place currently belonged to someone else and they’d have to sneak out. Ayato turned and kicked Hakuba lightly in the hip. “Hey. Get up.”

Hakuba groaned. A hand shot up to cover his eyes as his teeth bared in a grimace. “My head is killing me,” Hakuba mumbled.

“Same, Hakuba, same.” Ayato glanced around again. He didn’t like how still everything was. How…deep… the shadows were. “Not to rush you or anything, but I have the feeling we shouldn’t stick around here.”

“Of course.” Hakuba rolled to his knees, hissing in pain. “Well. Now I can say I know how it feels to have a decade’s worth of skill-memory ripped from my head while hopping dimensions. It’s a terrible experience; let’s never do it again.”

“Maybe use a bit more care when working with prototypes?”

“Bugger off.” His blindly-groping hands found Kaito’s ankle and quickly followed it up to his chest and neck. “…His heart is off.”

“Damn, I hoped that was just me.”

“We’re alive. If we’re alive, we can find a way to fix it,” Hakuba said with the heaviness of someone who had had to figure out how to fix a great deal of glitches in the last few years. Hakuba opened his eyes into slits and shook Kaito carefully. “Kaito. We need to leave.”

Kaito’s face twitched, brows drawing together. It looked like he could be having a bad dream. More likely, whatever had happened was affecting his synthetic nerves the same as their nervous systems were in haywire.

Ayato could swear the darkness in the corners of the room was expanding. “Oh for frick’s sake.” He shook Kaito hard by the shoulders, ignoring Hakuba’s reprimand. “Up!” he commanded.

Kaito’s eyes opened and his head lolled to one side before he got control of his body. “Did. Did we get struck by lightning or is that just in my head?”

“I didn’t see any lightning,” Ayato said. “But you need to get up. We’re in the same place as before in our universe—hopefully our universe,” he corrected, because they didn’t really have a way of knowing for sure yet, did they? “We need to leave before something tries to curse us or something and make sure we still have a house standing after an explosion that literally sent us to another universe.”

It was clear that something was still glitching in Kaito because it took a moment for him to process the words when usually he was faster than everyone. “Right.” He tried to stand and failed.

Ayato tried to hold him up, but Kaito was made of fricking metal—not too much heavier than human, but he was heavier than Hakuba and Ayato did not have the body to hold up that kind of weight. “Hakuba. A little help?”

Between the two of them, they managed to get Kaito on his feet and moving. Well, more like a drunkenly shuffle than anything else, but Ayato would take it. Nothing ate them on the way out of the mansion. In fact, the whole place had an unnerving abandoned feeling that reminded Ayato of the setting of a horror movie.

Thankfully, they got out in one piece and no one showed up to murder them from the shadows. From there, Hakuba at least had his phone to call for a ride.

Ayato let himself doze as the car took them back toward their homes in Ekoda. In the back of his mind his brain kept skipping over the bit that was missing. I am [Ayato]. I am [Ayato]. I am not Kaito. I am- I am- I am-

He fell asleep to the sound of old J-rock over the radio and Hakuba’s hushed conversation with Kaito, Kaito’s words less slurred already.

“Do you think they’re okay?” Saguru asked as they stood before the empty circle. The blinding light of it was still seared into his retinas, leaving him blinking spots from his vision.

“They’ll be fine,” Koizumi said. She collapsed on a nearby box with a groan. “That was taxing. I’m never doing a favor for either of you again.”

“Oh, so the next time we have interdimensional travelers show up we just leave it to them to figure their own way back?” Kaito asked. He didn’t seem to be having the same vision problem Saguru was. Perhaps because he’d had the sense to close his eyes moments before the spell triggered.

“There’d better be no next time,” Koizumi grumbled. “I know your threads of fate are fascinating, Kuroba, but this was strange even for you.”

“Maybe it was my alternate reality self’s luck and not mine, this time?” Kaito shrugged. “Seems like he—they—had a lot stranger time than I did.”

“Truly?” Saguru asked, doubtful.

“One is a robot, one died, came back to life, de-aged, and then they both traveled to this dimension. I’m really thinking they were the weird ones here.”

“Meanwhile you have made repeated deals with a witch, changed how probability and healing affects you, survived more than a decade against people trying to kill you, and found a stone of immortality.” Saguru raised an eyebrow. “Honestly, both of you have strange, improbable lives.”

“I still say a robot and defying-death-via-chibification is weirder,” Kaito said, “but fair enough. All versions of me are fated to have strange lives. And apparently we drag you into it whether you want to be there or not.”

“Oh, we wanted to be there.”

“Can you flirt somewhere else?” Koizumi said tiredly. “Perhaps not in my home? I have a migraine starting and you need to leave.”

Kaito gave her a theatrical bow. “Of course, Akako-hime. We’re eternally grateful for the assistance in getting them home.”

Koizumi rolled her eyes. “Stop. Just go.” One hand came up over her eyes. The other waved imperiously toward the door.

Kaito caught Saguru’s hand and tugged. “We’re going then. I’ll make sure to visit sometime in the future with a dove, yeah?”

Koizumi gave them another tired wave and then they were heading back through the dizzying sprawl of hallways that made up Koizumi’s home.

Saguru half expected to find the twins waiting to ambush them again, but they reached the front door without even spying Koizumi’s unsettling servant.

“So,” Kaito said as they headed back toward the car. “Now what?”

“So now we head back to your family home and tend to the doves properly,” Saguru said, “because we rushed things earlier. And then we can relax like we had intended.”

“We’re going to need to pick up groceries for later, you know.”

Saguru sighed. The last thing he wanted was to deal with crowds and the irritating process of getting groceries. “Can that be put off until tomorrow?”

“You tell me. I thought you were the one that wanted ingredients to make that cake for your mother.”

Saguru pursed his lips. “…a quick stop at the store, doves, then home.”

“Doves, store, home? You’re getting perishables, right?”

“Fine, fine.” Maybe feeding the doves would give him a bit more energy back. It was a peaceful enough activity.

“Hey, Saguru?” Kaito said as they got into the car.

“Hm?”

“What do you think they’re doing now?”

Saguru didn’t have to ask who he meant. If Saguru’s alternate self was anything like him—and he was, that was clear—then he’d be exhausted as well. “Going home,” Saguru said after a moment. “We’re all going home and craving a nap.”

Kaito laughed. “Yeah, that sounds fair. For the record, I’m completely happy to take a nap with you when we get home.”

“And actually sleep?” Saguru joked, though at their age if they ended up in a bed together outside of regular sleeping hours—and honestly most times in those regular hours—it was just to catch up on sleep. They both had a lifetime of letting their heads and goals get the better of their sleep schedule and Kaito especially took advantage of having the opportunity to finally rest.

“Hm, maybe,” Kaito said with a grin. “Maybe not.” He caught Saguru’s hand. “You know I think in every world we must meet and affect each other. Maybe sometimes we’re lovers, and maybe sometimes we’re friends or enemies or something in between. I can’t imagine a world where you didn’t affect my life in some way.”

Saguru fought a blush. Kaito could still make him flustered like he was falling for the first time all over again. “The other versions of me are very lucky to have you then,” Saguru managed after a moment. He had the pleasure of seeing Kaito flush slightly as well. “Ready to go?”

Kaito nodded. “Yeah, let’s hurry so we can get home.”

Kaito felt off. That was definitely from the world hopping—technology and magic, it seemed, didn’t coexist perfectly. But the longer they were in this world—hopefully their world, nothing had been off so far—the closer to normal he felt. Ayato drowsed nearby and Saguru had his concentration-face on. Probably already going through things to fix Kaito again. Kaito sighed a little. He always worked too hard and Kaito always had too many glitches.

Kaito leaned his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Saguru’s driver pulled onto Kaito’s road. There was his home, and Aoko’s, and the front looked just how they’d left it, complete with one of Agasa’s prototype toys stuck in a bush out front where Ayato had crashed it.

Something in him settled. Home.

When the car rolled to a stop, the front door opened to a concerned Aoko. Kaito felt his heart skip a beat, like it kept doing since they were back, then, remarkably, stabilize. It was like seeing her clicked everything into place, the slight unreality in him fixed by her mere presence. Kaito felt his lips curving to a smile.

“Saguru,” he said, catching Saguru’s hand in his own, the crisscross of careful scars on his fingers contrasting against Saguru’s whole ones. “We’re home.”

Saguru looked up and saw Aoko as well and he smiled. “Aoko.”

“She’s probably worried,” Kaito said under his breath. He clicked off his seatbelt. Undid Ayato’s as Ayato stirred sleepily.

“We did have an explosion,” Saguru reasoned, undoing his own seatbelt.

“Let’s reassure her we’re okay?”

“Are you?”

“Okay?” Kaito tilted his head. He should feel different with a memory missing, but Kaito felt like Kaito. He loved Saguru and Aoko, cared for Ayato like he was the brother neither of them ever had. He loved his birds, his mother, Agasa and Haibara’s contrasting lab presences and even Kudo’s nipping at his heels. He loved making a crowd smile with a trick or making his loved ones smile with the flick of a wrist to reveal a rose. Kaito nodded with a hum. “I’m okay.”

Aoko tugged the car door open before they could reach for the handle and threw herself on them. “Where have you been?! I’ve been worried sick!”

Kaito wrapped arms around her and felt Saguru and Ayato right there with him. Everything condensed into a feeling of correctness he couldn’t explain if he wanted to, hadn’t realized was missing in the other world.

“Sorry we worried you,” he said, “but we’re back now.”

#magic kaito #robo!kaito #nltsa #fanfiction #my writing #the crossover from out of nowhere #au of an au/ crossover of the aus #sometimes your brain fixates on something it finds funny and then weird stuff happens

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doodlevore · 3 years

Photo

I’m sure you all know the candy I took inspiration from. I’ve never actually tried it, and I don’t really want to try any. BUT I thought it made for a cute vore concept.

The concept sketch I drew in my drawing book wasn’t actually De1mos but whatever I thought he fit more cuz he carries snacks around in his bag.

#soft vore #mawdness combat #does this count as food play #eh whatever #if those gr//unts could move they'd be scared #but they cant cuz they're trapped in candy #the flavors are strawberry watermelon and blueberry #he probably has more in his bag #also i'm sorry for the gr//unt butt but istg whenever anyone draws gr//unts with prominent butts i fucking lose it #its so funny to me #its not even that funny i don't know why it gets me every. freaking. time

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parchmentedpetrichor · 3 years

Text

➳a mastermind ♡

in which fred weasley turns to the resident mastermind, y/n l/n, in hogwarts for advice. the problem? he has a crush on the same girl george does: angelina johnson. the story spans over a couple of months in their second last year at hogwarts.

fred weasley x ravenclaw!fem!reader

word count: ±1.4 k

tw: nothing really??

drop a follow if you wanna see more of this content!!

my masterlist:D

ft. cassius warrington

wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure

a mastermind

after fred and george weasley had given up trying to enter the triwizard tournament, their sights set on a different matter. for george, it had always roamed his head. for fred, it simply popped up at the randomest of a time.

they were in the age of chasing after pretty girls with pretty smiles.

one pretty girl in particular. angelina johnson.

george's crush really wasn't a crush. it was more like a deep love for angie. he knew her really well, they were almost best friends. and angie loved him back.

fred knew both these facts, yet he couldn't possibly grasp why he still had a good old schoolboy crush on her. and he couldn't tell george either. no, george was too considerate and needed a girlfriend. and he had been patiently waiting long enough to deserve something.

sometimes he wished he was george. still funny and prank-loving, but calm and collected at times. but sometimes he liked himself just as he was. spontaneous, dramatic and terribly idiotic.

and hey, george was handsome, so he must be too, right?

one morning after tossing and turning all night, he decided he needed help.

he spotted the girl in the blue uniform and the glasses, she had the brightest yet the wisest eyes. even before he approached her, she swiftly lifted her head from the parchment she had been writing on and saw him. she met eyes with him. she didn't show any emotion she hadn't already been showing, but the simplicity of understanding was written, like all the ravenclaws, in her brain.

"um, hello," fred started.

"good afternoon, what's up?" y/n replied friendlily, parchment now away and now doodling randomly on a scrap piece of it.

"i need some help."

"okay then, go on, i'm listening," her tone was gentle and reassuring.

"i like the same girl as my brother. i don't know what to do, really."

there was silence for a little while. her eyes were focused, her hand absentmindedly drawing across the parchment.

she pushed her glasses up.

"would you consider this 'liking' you say, to be potentially love?"

"no, not at all, it's just a crush, y'know."

"a silly one? i know we all have silly crushes which are full of quite foolish feelings. but they're nice for a while."

"yeah, that's the feeling."

"why do you think you like this girl?"

"um, because-because she's pretty, and she's nice."

"two very valid reasons," y/n chirped, "and why does your brother like this girl?"

"he loves her, because she understands him and she puts up with him and they've been best friends for years. they like the same things and have the same beliefs."

"mhm."

she was still deep in thought.

"does this girl like one of you?"

"that's the problem. she's in love with him and we all know that. i just can't get over her."

"oh, moving on is easier than you think it is. simply put, your brother or the girl?"

your brother or the girl?

everything seemed so much more clearer.

"think about it this way, fred weasley, if your brother is happy, are you? good day, sir!" she saluted jokingly and set off merrily, her steps quick and paced.

she knew it was good to be cheerful around him, because if she was cynical and way too practical, it would break him. he needed to get over angelina, she thought, or it would severely affect his and george's brotherhood.

she didn't tell him that though, that would be mean and sad.

fred was quite astounded. he didn't know how this girl, who was, to him, small in size and in ego, and probably younger by a few months, knew this much.

that's the eagleclaws for you, he thought.

she didn't look intimidating, if anything, she was nice and fun, but she somehow seemed like she could be the end of you.

she knew, she knew, she knew.

she knew who the girl was, who the brother was, she knew more about him than he did himself, and she barely knew him. she about solved his issue.

he found himself being drawn to her. instead of his eyes floating to angie, they were on the chatting, studying, daydreaming girl who wore the ravenclaw blue with much nonchalence.

☆

y/n was freezing. it was the end of the school day and it was snowing. so she made her way to the ravenclaw common room, muttering a haphazard answer to the riddle, told her best friend julia that she was going to take a nap and then bundled up in the heavy sheets.

julia just smirked. she quickly went to grab fred.

"oi, fred!"

he was laughing with george and lee.

they would make cute babies, julia pondered.

"oh, hello," he said.

"come with me."

her tone was ominous and commanding.

"okayyyy."

he followed her to the ravenclaw common room, where she sat down next to a telephone.

"in a few minutes, y/n will call for a blanket because it's cold. just wait."

"and how does this concern me?"

he got a scorching glance in return.

"i have to talk to cassius in a few minutes."

sure enough, the phone rang.

"juliaaa, you're a darling, you know that right??" y/n flattered her.

"yeap." julia's face broke into a smile.

"yeah, so be a darling and could you please possibly send a nice blanket up here?? or two or even three??"

"of course, and a handsome prince with the hair colour of fire too to cuddle," she winked at fred who turned red.

"yEs oF cOurSe, juLiE, aNd prEfEraBlY thAt hE hAs sTaRs iN hIs eyEs aNd gAlAxIeS iN hIs MinD tOo," she joked back.

"okay. right up."

"wha- julia what??!!! thanks."

they both chuckled.

he handed fred a stack of neatly folded blue blankets.

"go. fifth door on the left."

and so he did. it seemed the ravenclaws were too mature to need barriers on their dormitory quarters. the door was open and the room was insanely neat. y/n was lying in a bed, eyes wide open, a small pout on her lips.

she was clearly surprised to see him. when he placed all the blankets nicely on her she smiled.

"thank you, freddie."

"aren't you gonna let me in too?" he asked, smirking.

"oh," her cheeks heated up, "i thought julia was just joking!!!"

"apparently i am indeed a handsome prince with hair of fire, stars in his eyes and galaxies in his mind," fred smirked and y/n huffed.

"it's an expression. and i didn't know she was talking about you!"

"well, scoot over."

y/n just stared at him, before shuffling over.

"i hate you."

fred just scooped her up in his arms.

"you smell good," she blurted out, before immediately turning red.

"mhm, 'pparently my cologne does have that effect on girls."

"pretty sad that only your cologne attracts girls," y/n retorted, "and i was just telling you. it does not have an effect on me."

"'kay, whatever you say."

there was a silence.

"this is boring," y/n frowned.

"wanna make out then?"

y/n glanced at him. was he for real?

she thought not. so she pretended she was asleep, and soon she really was.

fred didn't feel defeated at all.

for he had noticed the faint blush rise on her cheeks.

☆

y/n decided it was probably time she asked fred out or something. if she got rejected, she was great at moving on.

so she asked him to meet her at the corner of the library on a thursday afternoon. he didn't show.

dismayed, she went out of the library, and met george weasley.

"hey george!"

"yello!"

"have you seen fred?"

"check the astronomy tower."

"okay."

there was something mischievous about the way he winked at her as she departed. then again, it was george.

the astronomy tower was well lit and there in all his glory, stood fred. she felt a frown on her face as she approached him. he turned around and smirked at her.

"stop it. i invited you to the library to tell you that-"

her voice was muffled as fred put a hand to her lips.

"you are not going to beat me to this."

"this isn't a game!"

"eh, everything is. i really really really like you, y/n."

he anxiously awaited her answer.

a cheshire cat smile formed on her lips.

"well i was just going to tell you that transfiguration homework is due tomorrow but okay."

"..." he was staring grumpily at her, lips in a pout.

"i like you too."

he smiled, "good."

"isn't this the part you ask me on a date or something?" y/n teased, "or should i? wanna go to hogsmeade with me?"

"you beat me to it."

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a-is-for-abel · 3 years

Text

“It’s a very odd sensation, standing over your own grave.” prompt from @givethispromptatry

Crows barked, throaty and dry, from their perch high in the gnarled branches of the tree at the head of the cemetery. The letters etched into the granite before him shined and the heavy mist settled over his shoulders, oppressive and thick.

He counted the crows in the tree, a rhyme coming to mind as the black winged birds called into the fog. "One for sorrow, two for mirth, three for a funeral… Four-- Four for..."

A funeral… His brow furrowed. The name on the gravestone drew him back in and he eyed the letters. Bells from the steeple of a church coughed in the distance.

"It's a very odd sensation, standing over your own grave." He turned to see a man leaned against a tall gravestone, a lit cigarette in his fingers. "But you seem to be taking it rather well."

The man flicked a lick of hellish embers off the end and took a long drag. Smoke trailed from his lips and curled over his salt-flat empty eyes. "Say, you haven't died before have you? That'd make this a bit awkward-- See, I don't really do the whole doing someone else's do-over. Those contracts tend to get a little messy, if you know what I mean."

Dressed sharply in a suit jacket and trousers to match, the man didn't stand out quite that oddly against the backdrop of a graveyard. However, with no procession, he was out of place without the rest of the mourners to stand shoulder to shoulder with.

It was even harder not to notice the way he stood a little too tall, a little too pale, and a little too thin...

And the eyes--

He couldn't remember having ever seen eyes like that. Though, he also really couldn't remember how he had gotten here either.

The man frowned, cigarette dangled from his lips. "You're not very talkative are you. That's gonna make this a little hard if you don't at least start asking some questions."

"Who are you?" he asked, voice hoarse.

"Ah, there it is-- Everyone always starts with that one. Never a 'where am I, how'd I get here', it's always the who are you?" The man shrugged. "I got a lot of names, kid. Just make one up, it'll probably be better that way."

Paul. It was the first name that came to mind, risen like the valleys of weathered hands and deep-set wrinkles the name brought with it.

"Paul?" The man hissed, eyes scrunching as he flicked the cigarette onto the ground and ground it out with the toe of his dress shoe. "Wow, you're real bad at this. Look, I'll settle for something like, uh-- How's Paal sound? Good? Great."

Even as Paal dismissed it, he tried to latch onto the name Paul and the hands that came with it. Somehow, he knew those hands had shown him how to hold a chisel and carve with the grain and not against it. That they had smoothed down his hair and lain flat against the crown of his skull as the other drew a new line against the door jamb, and he had childishly smiled at the inch gap that had grown between it and the old one below.

"Well, now that we got names out of the way--" Paal reached into his coat and pulled free a scroll. "Let's get down to business."

The parchment unfurled with a dry cough, ink dripped over the page and rearranged itself into letters that shimmered, ruddy and wet.

"So, for starters, my contracts are pretty straightforward. I don't do all that funny business the others do." Paal pointed to the second line. "The overall payment is going to be your eternal soul, of course. The only exception I'll make here is if you can name something of equal value and I also deem said thing of equal value. Now, don't get all excited. Not a lot of things add up to a human soul. Unless you'll be trading someone's else's soul as your payment. Simple math and all of that."

His eternal soul? He looked at the cross atop the gravestone and wine-dipped stained glass and the pulpit of a church flitted to the forefront along with it.

"We on the same page here? You look a little lost?" Paal asked, tilting his head.

"Sorry, I just--" He furrowed his brow. "Am I dead?"

Paal pointed to the grave. "Is that your body in there?"

"I--" He looked at his hands. "I think so."

"I wouldn't say I'm a genius myself, but I think we can both put two and two together here."

He grit his teeth. "Right…"

"Fantastic-- Now, onto the good stuff." Paal pointed further down the parchment. "So, in exchange for said eternal soul, I grant you a few things. First off, you get to get up on your own two feet and walk out of that grave. A pretty good deal, right?"

"Deals go two ways."

"See, now you're catching on--" Paal pointed at him and then tapped the next line on the scroll. "Alright, so it's pretty damn expensive to bring a soul back to life. Maker's got an idea in mind and tampering with that's always gonna cost you a little extra."

"Do you mean money? I don't exactly..." He held his hands out, the empty state of his pockets hopefully obvious.

Paal laughed. "Money? What the hell am I going to do with money? No, no, no-- I need a favor."

"A favor?" He asked, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah! A favor. something pretty simple, actually. But to get that body back and with all your precious little memories intact, you gotta do something to pay for that. More than just signing off your soul, that is."

"And who exactly am I paying back?"

Paal grimaced. "You're asking questions you really don't want the answers to, kid."

"Fine." He rubbed at his jaw. "What's the favor then?"

"Bounty hunting. Or collecting, I guess?" Paal gestured vaguely. "Whatever-- Basically, a few folks deferred on their contracts and I need to collect on their souls a little early."

"How early is early?" he asked, squinting.

"Well, I'd say I'm a pretty generous dealer. I give you about how much worldly time you should've had-- Had things not gone absolutely shit for you." Paal held up a finger. "So, in this case, I'd be collecting these souls well before they croak from becoming all ripe and old like they normally would've."

"So, I get my life back..." He chewed the inside of his cheek and glanced at the cross on the gravestone. "Is that it?"

"Is that it?'" Paal mocked and then grinned. "Look at you, already driving a hard bargain."

"You wouldn't have come to me if my soul wasn't worth something."

"Did you come to that astonishing conclusion all by yourself?" Paal said flatly.

He glanced over the demon.

Or devil... Or whatever hellish equivalent he was supposed to be. The lack of the classic horns or even a tail made it hard to pin any kind of fiendish charm to him. Besides the eyes and the pallor of someone who's never seen the light of day, he looked rather ordinary...

And his memories, few and far between-- muddled even-- like he was reliving them from underwater-- As unreliable as those memories were, he still remembered sitting upon a pew in a sun-washed room, a pastor at the head of the church, attesting how the devil would always wager in ways that would seem fair and just, but never were.

"What else do I get?"

"Greedy, aren't you? Fine." Paal rolled up the scroll part way and pointed at a line halfway down. "You can't die. At least while you're contracted under me to collect souls. If you call on me and I deem the request reasonable enough I can and will help you. Think of it like, uh-- Praying to a guardian angel. Except I'm absolutely nothing like that and I'll actually show up."

"And collecting on these contracts? What does that entail?"

"Killing them, for starters." Paal said simply. "I can't exactly grab their souls when they're still kicking around like that. And a lot of them have found ways to sort of, eh-- protect themselves from me. But you're just a bag of bones, maybe a little bit juiced up when I'm done with you, but you'll be human enough."

He didn't feel like picking that last aside apart too much. "So, you want me to kill for you?"

"Yes."

"How exactly?"

Paal flicked his hand and the scroll snapped out of sight with a thwick. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled free a revolver. Six-shot, shined, scarred with engravings up and down the muzzle and wrapped around the barrel. Handle a bone-white ivory, pale and unblemished.

Paal held it out to him. "With this."

Dropped into his palms with little fanfare, he cradled it, as if a newborn lamb. He glanced up from the gunmetal shine after a beat. "I can't shoot."

"Oh, you won't have to. You just have to aim." Paal formed his fingers into a mock-gun and pointed it at his forehead before mouthing ‘pow'. "It does all the hard work for you. Unless you're into that kind of thing, then by all means I'll take the training wheels off of it and let you do the trigger pulling."

"No…" he swallowed, careful to keep the muzzle pointed away from himself. "Training wheels is fine."

"Fantastic. Do we have a deal then? All of this--" Paal gestured to the whole of him. "--for the meager, one time price of doing a simple chore for me."

He stared flatly.

"And your eternal soul after you've lived a long and happy life, but that's just semantics," Paal laughed, waving him off.

He tilted the gun in his palms and glanced down at his pockets. It wouldn't exactly fit very well… "Is there a holster?"

"Oh, right--" Paal patted his chest and fished around in his suit jacket before drawing out a belt. "Here. It's a bit used, but at least it's already worn in, right?"

Mottled stains scattered the edges of the leather belt and where intricate markings had been stamped and tooled into the holster itself.

"Thanks…" he said, pinching it between two fingers while trying to find a good way to hold the pistol with his other hand.

"Woah, don't sound too grateful there, champ," Paal said. "You'd think I wasn't about to do you the biggest favor of your life."

He paused in his inspection of the holster and gave Paal the flattest look he could muster.

"Get it?" Paal's grin dropped. "Not a funny guy then… Noted."

Finally, managing to holster the gun he slipped the belt around his waist and fumbled with the buckle before fastening it. "How exactly do we seal the deal?"

"Eager, are we?" Paal held out his hand. "Just shake my hand and that's it. None of that writ in blood nonsense."

He wrinkled his nose.

Paal flexed his fingers and held his hand out further. "Look, if you really need me to draw up a traditional contract and give you a copy, I can do that too, but it's dreadfully boring and I do enough paperwork as it is. I mean, what do you have to lose, honestly? You're already dead. I'm just offering you a second chance… and a little bit of revenge."

"Revenge?"

"No one ends up dead in a ditch with a pack of dogs eating their face without being fucked over somewhere along the road."

"I don't…" He knitted his brow. "It's hard to remember."

"Oh, it'll be like that for a bit. It gets better once we get everything settled. Trust me though, you've got quite the bone to pick with someone back up there. And I for one would love to see how it all pans out."

"This is a form of entertainment for you," he said flatly, eyeing the still outstretched hand.

"What's the harm in mixing business and pleasure?" Paal smirked. "Plus it'll be fun to see what you do."

"Can you not bring back the memories now?"

Paal tutted. "That's quite expensive, and we haven't made a deal yet."

"How do I know I even want to go back then?"

"Does it even matter who you were before if you get a re-do?"

He looked at the name on the gravestone. "Won't they recognize me?"

"Oh, no-- Uh, see, you're not going back into your original body." Paal grimaced. "I can only repair so much and those dogs really did a number on you."

"Great…"

"Don't worry though, I got a good one picked out for you. Close enough to be uncanny even. Just some little differences, barely noticeable."

He grimaced.

"Don't you humans love taking leaps of faith? What's with all the hemming and hawing? What happened to all that stupid recklessness?"

"Not all of us are stupid."

Paal groaned. "I would get stuck with the biggest coward this side of the Mississippi."

'Look, it's lil' yellow-bellied Bern!'

'Just take it from him. He's not gonna do shit-- He'd flinch at a fly if it looked at him wrong.'

'Pa said he's soft. That his own daddy made him like that.'

He blinked, flinching and scrunching up his eyes at the sudden, sharp jab that needled at his skull. "I'm not a coward."

"Then take my hand."

His head pounded, and if he really was dead he wondered why he could still feel that out of everything. If the sweat pricked along the back of his neck was more memory than actual sensation, or if the way his tongue had grown heavy in his jaw was all made up too. He eyed Paal's hand and the discolored fingernails, the sheet white skin, the odd scarring along the knuckles and on the palms.

'Leave and don't you ever come back here. And if I ever see you again, you'll be begging the devil to take your soul from me first.'

He grit his teeth, fingers curling into fists.

The voice bit across his cheek like knuckles, like blood on his tongue and smattered across his hands. It curled like snake oil and melted wax, like the dust settled over the rafters of an ever empty church and like floorboards stained with drying flecks of rust.

He reached for Paal's hand and Paal grabbed his wrist instead, wrapped his fingers around him and squeezed, hard enough he twisted with the motion. Paal didn't budge, no matter how he pried at him, and the hand burned-- Burned the way laying your palm across a sheet of ice stung and wormed its way deeper and deeper the longer you left it there.

He stumbled as Paal released him, clutching at his wrist and hissing. "What the hell?"

"Part of the contract. It'll fade in a second."

The burning stopped and when he let go of his wrist, a coiling band of white took its place. Sat snugly, flat and lined with black, was an ivory snake wrapped three times about his wrist. The head of the serpent rested along the heel of his thumb, eyes a nearly translucent blue. It faded, still standing out against his skin, more like an impossibly pale tattoo and less like the actual snake it was a moment ago. His arm ached dully with it, like he had come in from a long frigid day, and his fingers cramped as the feeling returned to the very tips of him.

"Oh, right-- You'll be needing bullets." Paal grabbed his hand and dropped a freezing piece of metal into it.

More followed as Paal fished around in his suit jacket for them. At the fourth one Paal paused. "What was that little rhyme you were doing before I arrived? I rather enjoy that one. The ending is always my favorite."

He watched where the bullets settled in his palm. The casings a blood-red ebony and the bullet itself the shade of bone.

"And four for birth…" Paal dropped another bullet. "Five for heaven..." Another. "And six for hell," Paal said with a smirk, manually curling his hand around the bullets and patting it. "Now keep track of those, they're not exactly easy to make."

He didn't tell Paal that he didn't finish the poem, that there was still one more line that needed to be said to complete it. Instead, he pocketed the bullets.

"Walk with me a sec--" Paal grabbed his shoulder and nudged him forward.

They meandered along the lines of graves, passing headstones that varied in shape and size, some cared for, with flowers and candles and even worn sepia photos left at their feet. Others were less fortunate. Grown over, dulled, and abandoned.

They stopped before one with a less modest headstone. A large stone cross jutted up from the top and an angel carved above the name of the soul that was laid to rest below their feet.

"You know, I really do think this is the start of a great partnership..."

He raised a brow.

"Marcus J. Bern--" He flinched at the name, not expecting it to fall from Paal's mouth so casually. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

He hesitated, shoulders drawing up, hand coming to rest on the gun at his hip. "Uh, you too…?"

Paal smiled, like he found that amusing. And he hadn't noticed how sharp his teeth looked until he was staring the oversized canines dead in the face.

"Now--" Paal said, placing his hands on his shoulders, dusting them off before squeezing lightly. "This might hurt a bit."

"What--"

Paal shoved him.

He fell and fell and the earth swallowed him whole.

Dirt and silt and death surrounded him. Impossibly endless and vast, the grave didn't catch him as it should have. And the chill that bit at his limbs gnawed feverishly, right down to the core of him until he felt a yell clog up with the hallowed ground packed against his tongue. Further and further he descended, gut flipping and twisting with him, until he thought this would be his new forever. That Paal had lied to him, and he would simply be doomed to free fall for the rest of eternity, until all returned to dust as it had once emerged and longer still.

Light broke up the darkness overhead and he reached for it, arm outstretched. The white snake coiled around his wrist writhed and burned at the first touch of it and dripping with pale ichor, his veins stood out a ghastly silver against him. A venom coursed through him as it wound further and further down, closer and closer to where his heart had thrummed to life and kicked against his ribs in a fevered fit. He clutched at his chest as the ground-- as something-- hurtled towards him.

Breath slammed into him with a rattling gasp and his eyes shot open.

Blinded, he blinked and squinted against the grace of a new day, trembling and shaking where he had woken upon the dirt. The cross of the gravestone cast a merciful shadow over him and he could see the tangled fingers of the tree beyond it.

Raucous caws chorused above him. A murder of crows dotted the grey sky overhead, having flighted from their perches high in the dead limbed oak.

One, two, three, four, five, six--

"And seven for the devil, his own self..." he muttered, hand falling to his hip and the gun now holstered there.

#writeblr #creative writing #writing #prose #prompt fill #original work #my writing #fiction #demons #gothic vibes #this is technically me testing out these two for a longer novel idea #the prompt just happened to fit really well #its a bit long but it got away from me #hell's comin' with me #making that the official tag for this i guess in case i ever expand on the two of them and the world etc #thank you for the prompt!!

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bonny-kookoo · 4 years

Text

Hold it (JJK x Reader) 👽💜☁️🔞

💚 Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader

💚 Genre: Alien AU!, friends to lovers, fluff, angst (!), smut

💚 Warnings: (oh boy) soft boi kook, sex talk, angst, miscommunication, small argument, mentions of an animal attack, mentions of blood and a bite wound, aggressive Kookie, you all finally get your nasty time, soft sex, soft!dom Kookster, size kink, strength kink, marking, biting, bruising, manhandling, mentions of attempted masturbation, big dick kook, kook basically has an alien dick what y’all want from me, you wanted this don’t ever forget that, knotting(in a sense, like his dick inflates when he cums lol), lots of cum, transluscent tentacle action, squirting, soft confession, unprotected sex because they can’t reproduce, this is an alien Au pls use condoms in real life thank you, mildly possessive kook, aftercare, messy sex

💚 Summary: The world is literally ending. In a last effort to save earth, the race of Alcor demands humanities planet to be given into their care, as humans have been slowly killing the planet for way too long. But it’s humanity we’re talking about; they never give up without a fight. Even if they should.

Part of the Alien!JK series!

Catch it | Hold it | Keep it | Save it | ???

Jungkook's and your relationship slowly became.. more and more intimate you could say.

He'd openly talked about his romantic interest in you several times before, and you've grown quite fond of him as well over the course of time. You've learned that Alcorians had no understanding of sarcasm whatsoever, and typically spoke quite bluntly and openly about what they thought. It was seen as charming if you were able to speak without holding back anything, and it was something your shy self had to get used to first. Jungkook however had studied quite a lot about humans however, so by now, he was a self-proclaimed expert in human behavior. You had to admit though, he did do his homework.

Whenever Namjoon was over to check up on you, (something he had to, since it was a rule made by the alcorian government to check up on humans every month to make sure they're treated well) Jungkook proudly explained to him what he'd learned about your kind, almost like a kid showing a new drawing. He even went out to find cookbooks that described human desserts and treats just to learn how to make some of your favorite thing. It was endearing, really.

You also found out more layers of his personality.

He was incredibly sensitive to smells and fabrics, all of his blankets having a specific soft but not too soft feeling to them. He liked sweet and gentle smells, and always told you that your 'main smell' as he called it, was absolutely his favorite. Alcorians had heightened senses Namjoon had explained to you, which was why Jungkook easily picked up on things that you stayed oblivious to.

He loved if you wore his jackets or sweaters, and he most recently bought you a delicate locket bracelet with his information on it. It was beautifully made and looked great- but you still wore the collar he'd give you most of the time. When he'd asked you once you had explained to him that it was a comfort thing for you- other alcorians could easily spot that you were claimed, and wouldn't look at you funny. He'd smiled at that, and had also made sure to hug you a lot that night.

It took him a while to grow confident enough in his own ability to restrain himself during the night to let you sleep in the same bed as him. He'd been absolutely scared shitless that he'd roll you over in his sleep, but you'd assured him that he didn't move that much, so it would be fine. What he was still completely terrified of, it seemed like, was intimacy.

Now, you both had been getting as far as kissing. He loved the gesture, and loved to kiss you randomly during the day- that wasn't the issue. But whenever you tried to get him to do something more- he found some reason to simply book it before he could let himself be swept away.

And you were growing frustrated.

It wasn't that you couldn't wait for it, or that you were desperate- you could definitely give him time, if he'd finally tell you clearly if he even wanted that with you. If you thought about it, you didn't even know if Alcorians had sex like humans. Maybe they didn't do it like that, maybe they had some odd form of ritual or whatever- you had no idea, and you refused to talk to namjoon about it of all people. You knew that he would probably explain it to you, in quite detail since alcorians were like that, but you somehow wanted Jungkook to explain it to you instead. Yeah, maybe you should ask him about it- or maybe you could be difficult.

So as you laid on the bed that was way too big for you, you simply let your mind wander, having a bit of time for yourself. And as any sex-deprived human being, you decided to let your fantasies take over your mind, uncaring about Jungkook- since he'd been out for a bit, meeting up with a friend he'd said.

You wondered what he'd look like. In a lot of ways, alcorians were very similar to humans- but you somehow had a feeling that there had to be something different about their anatomy if you couldn't reproduce like Namjoon had once mentioned. Judging from his accidental boner a few days ago, you had quite the suspicion that he was.. well packaged, to say the least. He'd been a bit embarrassed about it when you'd shyly pointed it out, and ever since then, he'd made sure to get up earlier than you to avoid you seeing his morning wood, something that you'd told him was completely normal, and not at all something to be ashamed of. He seemed a bit nervous every time you brought that topic up, however, which did make you wonder.

Maybe he just wasn't into you like that? Or maybe he was a rough person in bed. The thought of that made your spine shudder, a spark igniting inside you as your mind came up with images of his hands holding your wrists above your head, those sweet lips of his tracing your skin and leaving prints of invisible fire behind. Your hand slowly wandered lower, fingers pushing against your clothed core as you practically heard him purr into your ear how good you were being for him. Was he possessive? Was he dominant? Or was he gentle and sweet? You couldn't know.

"Y/N I-" He suddenly stood in the door, making you yelp as you quickly pulled the covers over you. A useless action really, since you didn't even get to undress yourself- thankfully. If he would've arrived any later, it would've been so much more awkward. "Are you okay?" He asked, genuine and almost innocent concern in his voice as he looked at you.

This was so fucking awkward.

You could practically feel your cheeks heat up as the embarrassment hit you, realization that you almost masturbated in his bed of all places taking over your mind as you tried to come up with something to talk yourself out of it. "Yeah, yeah! Nothing wrong just eh.. tired." You said, not meeting his gaze as his brows furrowed, now fully taking you in.

You were shy about something, that much he knew. He'd studied your body language by now to a point were he knew that you were okay, but uncomfortable. Your cheeks were tinted a flushed pink, eyes not meeting his as you squeezed the sheets in your hands, legs underneath the covers moving restlessly. His eyes widened as he finally took in every aspect of the situation. Your breath was still a bit quicker than usual, the shyness, and the smell that hung in the air.

"Were you.. pleasuring yourself?" He asked, pupils dilated now that he had connected the dots. You'd been touching yourself in his bedroom, on his bed, while he hadn't been there. Why would you do that? Did you not want him like that? Did he make you uncomfortable?

"I uh.. Oh god this is so awkward." You said, dropping your face into your hands as Jungkook stepped closer, before sitting on the bed, across from you.

"Namjoon had explained to me that humans do that to feel good." He said, gaze never wavering from you as he continued. "But he also said that you only do that when you don't have a partner." He continued, now leaning forwards a bit, voice a bit whiny as he seemed confused. "You have me though? Why would you do that alone if you have me?" He asked, and you just wanted to disappear as you bit your lip, trying to explain it to him without making it sound awkward.

"Jungkook we.. we do that to mainly feel close to, you know, romantic partners." You explained, making his brows furrow even further. "Humans don't, you know, always need to go the full way." You said, as he intently listened. "Touching each other is also a way to feel close." You said, and he suddenly seemed hurt.

"So you don't see me as a romantic partner, is that it?" He said, and you could've sworn, if he had dog ears they would hang low right now with the look he has on his face. "You don't like me enough." He finalized, as you shook your head frantically.

"No Jungkook, I do like you, more than anybody just-" You tried, as his eyes got a bit more hopeful. "Its just hard to explain-" You started, as he cut you off.

"Teach me then. Show me." He said. "I want to know the human way." He almost pleaded, as you sighed.

"Jungkook, its not like I don't want to teach you.." You started, as you looked down. "We humans get uhm.. attached really quickly if we do that with a person. It's like giving away a part of yourself, you know?" You said, and he suddenly grew gentle, now fully realizing what you were on about.

"I-" He began, as he suddenly almost looked shy. "We couldn't do that anyways." He confessed, as you looked at him in question. "I'd hurt you. Thats why I want to, you know, touch you." He explained to you, a finger hesitantly running over the skin on the back of your hand. "I want to be as close to you as I can without having to worry about hurting you.." He murmured, as you took his hand in yours.

"You'd never hurt me Jungkook. I trust you-" You began, but he suddenly shook his head, serious expression on his face as he avoided your gaze.

"No." He said, slowly getting up. "Let's forget this conversation happened, okay?" He said, and you watched helplessly as he left the room. "I'll uhm.. go start dinner." He threw your way before leaving you alone with your thoughts.

Things were tense between you and jungkook these days.

So tense in fact, that Namjoon noticed it.

"So, I'd say you're quite healthy. Jungkook takes really good care of you I see." He said with a gentle smile, making you reciprocate it in good manner. "However, I kind of have to address the elephant in the room here, as humans would say." He said, and Jungkook furrowed his brows.

"Who or what is an elephant?" He asked, and you giggled at that.

"Doesn't matter. What does however is, that I sense something wrong between you two." Namjoon said, as Jungkook suddenly got very defensive. In all honesty, it shocked you a bit, since you've never seen him like that before.

"That doesn't concern you at all Namjoon." He said, as the elder one suddenly shook his head.

"It does if it affects Y/N's mental health, which it could, in the long run." He stated, making Jungkooks eyes widen.

"Namjoon- I'm fine-" You tried, a hand reaching out for his shoulder as Jungkook dashed forwards, prohibiting you from touching him as he held your hand, a bit too tightly as you whinced, making him snap out of whatever daze he seemed to be in. He however, seemed surprised as well at his outburst.

"That's what I mean." Namjoon said, putting his equipment away. "Have you two had intercourse yet?" He bluntly asked, and you looked at him scandalized, as if he'd just told you your mom was fat. Jungkooks pupils contracted again at that, ready to bark back an angry comment, as Namjoon pushed against the youngers chest. "I assume you didn't, judging by that reaction." He commented, making you want to hide. Why were alcorians so.. blunt. "Jungkook, you either have to find yourself a partner, or I'll have to take her out of your care soon." He stated, and you almost gasped as Jungkook suddenly grew tense as well.

"W-why, you just said I take good care of her-!" He argued, making Namjoon nod.

"You do, but at the same time-" He said, gaze pointing at your now red wrist hidden with your other hand. "-but you're also a danger to her as long as you are as frustrated as you are now." He explained, making jungkook grow serious. "I can't help you with that decision. However, please keep in mind that you're not the only ones that have this form of romantic involvement. What keeps you from involving yourself Jungkook?" He asked the younger, who didn't dare look at you in that moment.

"I'll hurt her Namjoon-" He said, frustrated. "And I honestly really don't want to talk about my sexual involvement with her, thank you very much." He grumbled out between gritted teeth, eyes holding an almost aggressive stare as he looked at the elder one.

"You mean your lack thereof." Namjoon dared to say with a raised eyebrow, as Jungkook suddenly jumped up, grabbing the older one's bag and walking towards the door as he opened it with force, face clearly showing that he'd just crossed a line for him.

"I mean that it's time for you to go, Namjoon." He pressed out, as Namjoon sighed, getting up to walk out, getting no time to say goodbye.

It was probably better that way anyways.

Things did not get better after this.

Just like Namjoon had worried about, Jungkook slowly became more and more jumpy around you, leaving you alone more and more, as if he needed to distance himself from you. Did he finally grow tired of you? Did he really suffer? Maybe you should just leave him alone for a bit you decided, walking out of the apartment and down the busy streets of the town, aimlessly walking around as you watched other alcorians go after their day. You saw couples, alcorian and mixed, walking hand in hand or simply side by side, an elderly pair watching some young kids running around with a balloon like toy, and a group of friends it seemed, happily chatting away. You spotted some streetfood, sighing internally at forgetting your tiny wallet Jungkook had given you, always containing a bit of money so you could buy yourself a snack whenever you went out. You watched as some uniformed teenagers ran towards the train station- or something that looked quite similar. It worked a bit differently, but Jungkook had once explained that alcorians had been monitoring human inventions for centuries now, taking a lot of inspiration from them.

It all felt a bit sad to you now.

Maybe you were finally growing homesick after your months of living here, or maybe it was the added fuel of Jungkooks slow but steady detachment from you that simply hurt you. But it made you feel almost hollow, and you decided you hated that feeling.

All of this felt so surreal to you.

First you loose your home, then your entire planet, and now you were close to being alone again. Why did that make you so upset though? You'd been living on your own for years now, only having fleeting friendships and a single puppy love back in school. You had no intentions of growing attached to someone, you'd sworn yourself to be independent when your mom had thrown you out years ago- but here you were, almost crying over an alien boy who'd took you in simply because he'd taken pity on you. It all felt like a sick joke.

Something in your pocked buzzed, making you snap out of your thoughts as you fished for the device, Jungkooks face smiling at you as it showed him calling. You wanted to accept the call as if out of habit, but you resisted. Maybe it was better not to.

You put it away again, getting up from the bench you'd been sitting on as you continued walking towards nowhere, suns slowly dipping low as the skies became purple and fiery red, signaling the return of night. You should turn around by now, you knew this. Alcorian nights were not only chilly but downright icy- way too cold for your fragile body, as Jungkook always said before wrapping one of his scarfs around you.

The steady buzz in your pocket was getting annoying, as you took it out, only to see that he didn't call. In fact, he'd been writing messages? Jungkook never texted.

'Where are you little one?'

'Are you mad at me?'

'Did I do something wrong? I swear I didn't mean to!'

'Please, its getting dark, where are you? Are you wearing your coat at least?'

'I'm sorry, whatever I did, please. I'm worried little one!'

You looked at the messaged with increasing guilt as another one rolled in.

'Please come home.'

You sighed, dialing his number as you wrapped your unoccupied arm around yourself, the chill now seeping into your bones slowly. Jungkook almost immediately picked up, voice breathless as if he'd run a marathon. You could faintly hear people talking in the background, and his boots on the ground as he.. ran?

"Finally! Please, where are you, I'm so worried-" He said, and you slowly felt your teeth clatter against each other as you shivered.

"I uh.. I don't know, honestly." You admitted, and Jungkook seemed to stop in his tracks.

"What do you see around you?" He asked, voice serious as you looked around.

"I- a small store, but it seems closed. There's like, a road and uhm.. a lot of plants. Looks like a forest?" You said, before something caught your eye. "There's uhm.. Something looking at me?" You said, and Jungkooks inner alarm bells were immediately ringing.

"Is there a sign that says 'Malvor' on it?" He asked, and you confirmed with a worried voice.

"Yeah uhm and- there's a dog-like thing now walking towards me?" You said, and Jungkook answered instantly.

"Dog..? Dog-! Y/N, get away from it, but dont run." He said seriously, making you swallow as you watched the creature with huge ears stalk towards you, visibly interested. It didn't seem all that harmful. "Little one, answer me. Did you get what I said?" He asked, and you answered.

"Yeah yeah I got it eh.. I'm.." You started, as suddenly, the.. dog? Whatever it was, jumped forwards, making you drop your phone as its teeth latched onto your shirt, quickly loosing interest in the fabric as it decided to take your arm instead- spiky teeth immediately breaking skin as you yelped out, trying to open its mouth with your unoccupied hand. The commotion was loud enough to lure out an alcorian man nearby, who gruffly threw stray pebbles at the animal, scaring it off after a moment.

"Fuck- are you okay?" The stranger asked, bright cateyes looking down at you as he turned around. "Joon! Come down!" He yelled, as you looked into the direction with teary eyes, spotting- Namjoon?

"Oh Y/N- what happened?" He asked, suddenly visibly worried as he looked at you, immediately helping you up and leading you inside the house nearby that seemed to be his apartment. He looked different, now that he didn't wear his work attire. He almost looked domestic. "Set her down there, I'll go get a first aid kit." He said, before you were led to sit on a couch, the person that threw pebbles before sitting down next to you.

"I'm Jin. We'll fix you right up, okay?" He softly said, voice gentle and reminding you of the store owner down on earth who always let you roam around inside the store during winter. "Don't cry, it's gonna be okay. Encounters with Velvens can be scary yeah?" He consoled you, hands holding your arm gently as he waited for Namjoon to get everything he needed. You sniffled, trying not to cry, but it got harder the more you tried not to look down. As soon as you did, you began to feel nauseous as Jin pulled at your chin. "No no no don't look sweetheart." He said, before Namjoon came downstairs.

"These things are getting progressively more daring these days." He mumbled as he took out scissors to cut the sleeve of your shirt. "I tell you, it's because that damn lady feeding those goddamn things!" He complained, as Jin sighed. You looked at him for a second, taking in his appearance. He had broad shoulders, and an absolutely charming face- his bright eyes contrasting his dark hair as he held a gentle smile on his plush lips, trying to calm you down it seemed. "I'll give you a tiny injection okay? Its to numb your arm, or otherwise it'll hurt too bad." Namjoon explained, and you nodded, even though you were internally terrified. "one two- there we go!" He hummed out, Jin steadily running his hand over your back as he watched you.

"You're so brave young lady." He complimented, velvet voice helping a bit to ease your worry. It wasn't just your encounter with whatever that thing was, but also the fact that for the first time, you were somewhere without Jungkook- and it made you extremely anxious to say the least. Thats when you remembered your phone.

"My phone-" You began, before someone knocked at the door- or more like, tried to kick it in, it seemed. The voice that rang through the room through the door however, was familiar to your ears.

"Y/N! Namjoon, Jin, have you seen her?! There's- oh god there's blood out here-" He said worried, as Jin slowly stood up, opening the door as he simply pointed towards your form, sitting on the couch as Namjoon cleaned the bite wound. At the sight of him, all worried and out of breath, the guilt suddenly flooded your mind as you teared up, finally cracking up as the tears ran down your cheek, a sob escaping you as you began to cry. "Oh little one-" He immediately said, running towards you.

Jin looked from you to Jungkook worried. "Why is she crying now? Is she scared?" He asked confused, as the second oldest in the room shook his head.

"Probably the shock. It's normal for humans, they're a bit more sensitive to these things, remember?" He said softly, as Jin nodded.

Jungkook didn't seem to care about what was said as he squatted down next to Namjoon, hand running over your head before it cupped your cheek, his eyes blown wide open as he looked at you, then at the wound. "She's gonna be okay right?" He asked, and Namjoon nodded.

"It pulled a bit on her arm, which did a good amount of damage, but its only a surface wound, surprisingly." He explained. "I'll stitch the biggest spots, and bandage it." He said, and Jungkook nodded. "You'll be able to do it afterwards if you watch me do it, right?" He asked, and Jungkook nodded, serious, as he held your other hand. He sat down, close to you, as he now took over Jins earlier part of rubbing your back. "And there we go." Namjoon said, as he finished it. "I'd give you pain medicine but I don't have anything for humans. I'll give you some kids medication instead. That should be fine." He explained, as he gave Jungkook a small package. "Please keep an eye on her from now on. She's gotten away this time, and I wont ask why she was so far away from you in the first place. But the next time this happens, I will have to report it Jungkook." He said, making Jungkook lower his head as he nodded.

He took off his jacket as he threw it over your shoulders, picking you up as he said his goodbyes to Jin and Namjoon, walking out with you in his arms.

"Jungkook?" You carefully asked one night, making him humm as he confirmed that he was listening. "I.. want to know." You said, and it took him a moment until he turned on the light beside the bed, leaning on his arm as he looked at you questioningly. "You said, you're sure you'd hurt me. I wanna know why." You said, and he sighed, before he sat up.

"I uhm.." He started, as he scratched the back of his neck. "I'ts just, not gonna fit." He explained, as you tried to push your shyness to the side.

"But you know.. we haven't tried yet-" You began, as he shook his head.

"I said no." He sternly said, making you visibly deflate as he sighed again.

"I.. we could still, you know.." He began, and you looked at him, as he seemed to struggle a bit with his words. "I know you want to be close to me, and I want that too." He said, and you sat up now as well, looking at him.

"It's okay if you want to be with someone else-" You began, but he groaned, as if he was frustrated.

"No! Now I get why you left that day.." He held your head in his hands as he looked at you with gentle eyes. "I don't want anyone else that's not you little one." He confessed, and you just stared, as he leaned in, connecting his lips with yours.

Usually, his kisses were more like little pecks, small gestures of affection, never to lead to anything else. But this time, he asked for it. It was as if he'd let himself loose, kissing you fully for the first time, not backing away like typically when you leaned in with need. He parted your lips with his tongue, hands lowering themselves as they moved over your arms, resting on your thighs as he closed his eyes, loosing himself in the feeling of you. He finally moved around a bit, laying you down on your back as he towered over you, body shielding you away from the world as his hands finally explored your bare skin underneath the small layer of clothing you wore, chuckling as you whined when his hand softly squeezed one of your breasts, loving the soft feeling of it. "You're so cute." He whispered, making you squirm underneath him as his breathing quickened, holding himself back from absolutely ruining you.

He suddenly took off his shirt, helping you out of yours as he growled at the fact that you didn't wear a bra at all to sleep. It didn't really bug him usually, but now, he wondered how he managed to contain himself next to you for all these nights next to you, the only thing between his and your skin a mere piece of fabric. Your skin was pure sin underneath his fingertips as he felt himself twitch inside his sweats. He needed to get out of them.

He helped you out of your shorts, taking your underwear with them as his gaze got stuck on the small strand of glistening wetness clinging to the fabric of your panties. It was a clear sign how aroused you were, and it was an absolute compliment towards him in his own eyes- the fact that he could rile you up like this so quickly made him feel proud in a way. He growled almost at the sight, hand immediately finding its way downwards as his fingers teasingly running over your folds, his face showing how mesmerized he was by your body's reaction to him.

There was a reason alcorian woman were envious of human ones- and Jungkook finally found some reasoning behind the 'human-kink' going on with the arrival of your race on his homeplanet. Your body just screamed fertility at him, and it made him desperate as he finally got rid of the last pieces of clothing.

You didn't quite know what you were expecting, but your mind was empty as you made eye contact with his painfully erect length.

He was practically oozing precum at this stage, standing proudly as you somehow understood now where his worries came from. To be quite blunt about it, he looked quite normal, a little bigger even for his own body height, apart from the soft looking growth on the base of himself. "It looks odd to you, doesn't it?" He saig as he chuckled a bit hesitantly, having watched your reaction to him. You shook your head however, smiling as you reached for his shoulders, pulling him down again as you kissed his lips. He smiled into it, hands never leaving your skin as you felt him against your inner thigh, growing uneasy that he was so close- but still too far away.

"Hm I told you no little one.." He hummed against your neck as he left open mouthed kisses there, teasingly biting the skin there from time to time as you whined. "But there's other things we can do, don't worry.." He whispered, as he suddenly moved you a bit, careful not to be too rough as he lined your wet center up, the back of your thighs leaning on top of his as he sat on his knees, his cock resting between your lower lips. He almost let out a whine at the feeling of your warmth just underneath him as he simply let his length move over your core as you mewled at the feeling of him rubbing over your clit. He squeezed his eyes shut, summoning all his self control as he dropped down, hands gripping your thighs, yet gentle enough not to seriously hurt you.

He suddenly shifted again, leaning down with his chest first onto the mattress first as he threw your legs over his shoulders, leaking core exposed to him as he licked a stripe up your folds, teasing you as you tried to keep your legs apart. He hummed against you, making you whine out pleadingly as he entered a finger of his, groaning at the feeling of you already clenching around him. "You're so soft little one.." He praised, adding another finger as he began to stretch you out, making you grasp the sheets below you in desperate fists. Digit after digit he tested the waters, stretching you out more and more as you became restless, suddenly tensing up as you felt yourself close. "My little human gonna cum?" He questioned, leaning his head on the inside of your upper thigh as he began to stimulate your most sensitive bundle of nerves, watching in absolute adoration as you suddenly mewled out, core clenching around nothing as he slowed down his movements, letting you ride it out. He smiled down at you as he gently placed your legs back down, giving you a moment to breathe as you looked at him, or his still very uncomfortable looking errection between his legs.

"Please koo.. lets just try-" You began, as he furrowed his brows, gasping as your fingers reached down, barely reaching the sensitive head of his member as he tried to deny your request.

He couldn't.

"I'll.. You have to tell me when its too much, please-" He pleaded, and you nodded frantically, happy to finally have him give you everything you wanted. "Okay, okay.." He chanted, as if to calm himself down, his tensed up thighs a clear sign of his own frustration. He slowly aligned himself with your core, gently pressing his head into your patiently waiting hole, as you closed your eyes, trying to not concentrate on the sting. "Shh.. please relax little one-" He chanted as he took it as slow as possible. "Please relax, I won't get it in if you're too tense baby.." He said, the petname making you melt under his gaze as you took a deep breath, slowly loosening up for him as he was slowly able to push himself inside more and more, watching as he could see himself slightly move inside you just underneath your lower belly.

He didn't know why exactly, but he loved the sight of it.

You looked to absolutely adorable in a way, speared on his length as he rubbed his thumbs over your hipbones, careful as ever not to make it too painful for you. "You're taking me so well, you're so perfect for me.." He hummed out, as you suddenly twitched underneath him when his weird small growth touched your sensitive clit, making him chuckle. "You know.." He suddenly said, voice deep and dark as you felt yourself shiver. "They say human females can cum multiple times.." He explained, making you open your eyes a bit in question. "I wonder if that's just a rumor?" He mused, watching you as you looked a bit confused. "Alcorian girls rarely ever cum.." He explained, as you slowly connected the pieces, somehow understanding what he was saying. You'd heard that before as well, that Alcorians had a hard time really getting pregnant and since woman rarely ever orgasmed, men had to step up their game evolution wise Namjoon had said, but you hadn't really asked what he meant by that. But now that you've noticed it, it did make sense; the weird stimulating.. whatever that was, the amount of precum that seemed almost ridiculous for human standards- it made you wonder what else he was hiding.

"There we go.." He finally said, not fully inside, but knowing that this was as far as he could go with you. There was no way he could fit himself inside you fully, and he knew that. He simply let yourself adjust for a moment, before he moves, a moan leaving him as he bit his lip, trying to keep his pace slow and steady for you as you arched your back enticingly, making him grab at your chest. "You're so- enchanting-" He gasped out between breaths, an almost sobbing sound escaping him without tears as he finally realized how close he was with you. He was connected in the most intimate of ways, and he could finally see why humans found pleasure in an act as basic as this.

You felt like home, warm and comforting.

You became a bit jumpy as something foreign seemed to touch you- warm and gentle, but you couldn't quite make out it's shape or form. It was blurred, as if summer heat was distorting the scene for you, and you wondered immediately if this was just your imagination. But Jungkook noticed your confusion immediately it seemed, smiling a bit shyly at you. "They're uhm.." He tried to think of a good way to explain it while having foggy thoughts, still buried so deep inside you. "we call them ferons.." He hummed, and you reached out, fingers immediately retracting at the weird feeling of them. "They're usually.. not visible-" He gasped out, chuckling at the way you seemed so interested in them. "They're ah-.. they're a remnant of when we uh.. had to survive on our own." He explained, as one of them gently moved over your ribs, a touch similar to warm water- just without the wet feeling. It was more like a red warming lamp shining on your skin. "They must be weird to you, hm?" He asked, head dipping down as you smiled, hand finding its way into his hair as you closed your eyes again, letting yourself go into his care without worry.

"Nothing about you is weird to me, Jungkook." You hummed out, and he kissed your skin in exchange.

As if to thank you silently for accepting him.

His lips parted, face dipped down to mouth at your neck, as he breathlessly pleaded. "Can I mark you?" He chanted, as if he was in a trance. "Please let me mark you.. please little one, let me make you mine.." He said, and you nodded, unknowing to what exactly you'd just agreed to.

You found out quite quickly, as he suddenly took a small bit of skin between his teeth, now biting with much more force until he tasted a slight taste of iron on his tongue, leaving marks all along your neck and collarbone, bruises already blooming to blossom into beautiful shades of purples and greens, his mark staying behind for a long time. He smiled as if he was high, loosing himself in the feeling of your body underneath him as you suddenly quivered, whining out as you pushed your head into the mattress below you, making your back arch as he continued at his pace, going a bit faster as something moved over your clit, something holding your hips in place as you suddenly snapped, orgasm rushing through you as you finally flew over the edge, your thighs trembling as you felt wetness escape you, making him release a sound that sounded awfully like a growl.

Suddenly he came- and you felt like you were splitting into two.

Something was happening inside you, growing in size, as he was suddenly locked in place it seemed, hands carefully running over your head as he started to frantically console you. "It's okay, its okay.." He repeated in a soothing way as you felt him spill inside you to no end it seemed, feeling how he stretched you even more inside. You felt like you'd burst any second. "Ngh.. you're taking it so well, so good, so perfect.." He exhaled, letting his forehead fall against your shoulder as he breathed heavily. "You're okay, you're fine.." He hummed as he slowly felt you calm down as he stayed still, waiting for his cock to soften up again and deflate, as he kissed your cheeks, your nose, your lips in absolute adoration, warm ferons warming up your still shivering legs. "My god you're so sweet-" He murmured. "So absolutely perfect-" He continued. "And mine.. only mine.. my little human.." He sang almost as he kissed the marks he'd left behind.

It felt odd as he finally softened up, cum instantly seeping out of you as he was able to comfortably slip out of you. You whined at the empty feeling and he cooed at you. "I'm so sorry- I originally was planning on pulling out before that happened, but then you... did that and-" He chuckled, as he kissed your nose again, making you giggle. "I love you." He confessed, and you opened your eyes, gaze locking with his.

"I love you too."

"You could've warned me of your.. weird invisible tentacles and all that-" You started randomly as he threw his head back, cheeks dursted pink as he held his hands over his face in embarrassment.

"Stop-!" He whined, as you laughed your heart out.

"I thought you alcorians didn't feel shame all that much about this stuff?" You teased, as he looked at you, playfully angry stare sent your way, before he got up from his spot, throwing you over his shoulder.

"Oh I'm gonna show you how unashamed we are."

#bts imagine #bts #bts fanfic #bts fic #bts smut #jungkook imagine #bts jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook #bts reactions #Alcoria AU

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