based on this comic b/c if you wont let me smack his bald head i will do it my gad damn self

he's so fucking mad he's chasing you on foot n not using his hook wire thing. you are doomed. but it was so worth it.

Could Have Been More Part 5 (Final)

Fandom: Chicago PD / One Chicago

Series: Could Have Been More

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 (Final)

Characters: Hank Voight x Reader,

Warning/s: kidnapping/assault

Word Count: 3,298

Summary: So you’ve had your heart broken, accidentally derailed a police investigation, allowed a mass murderer to escape and now? Now you were bound and gagged and tossed in the back of a van, but Voight would get to you in time, right?

This was, without a doubt, the worst place you’d ever woken up, and you’d had a pretty interesting college experience. Your head felt like it was weighed down with cement as you tried to sit up, your wrists and ankles chafing and straining against rope ties. You weren’t tied down to anything specifically, but once your eyes focused more you realised that that wasn’t necessary, the man with the gun sat on a crate in the corner provided plenty of incentive for you not to try anything. 

“Nice and slow,” he warned like you could actually do anything but that as you struggled to get into a sitting position, resting your back on the van wall as your head pounded in time to the bumps of the tires below, vibrating the whole van as you drove along. 

There was another figure in the van too, you realised, a woman tied up opposite you, masses of red curls and an old punk rock tee... Jenny.

You tried to call out to her, only to find your mouth taped shut, so it came out as a desperate throaty cry, unable to do much else as she lay unmoving. Trying to steady your thundering heart you focused on her chest, letting out a small sigh of relief as you watched it rise and fall, albeit at a much slower rate than it should. They must have done a number on her, you thought, remembering the phone call with a shudder.

But Strauss couldn’t have grabbed you and her at the exact same time... You looked back to the man with the gun, your mind still foggy, but clear enough for you to realise that duh, this van needed a driver too. Strauss wasn’t working alone - did Intelligence know that?

This man was most definitely Strauss, you recognised the salt and pepper beard and bald head from his photo. So who was driving? Not that knowing right now would have done you any good, you kind of had bigger and more immediate things to worry about. You prayed to God or whoever was out there that this van was the vehicle Hank had been on the phone to Trudy about, because if it wasn’t... 

“If I take that ducktape off, will you scream?” Strauss asked, making his way over to you slowly as the van drove along, gun still very much pointed at your head. You didn’t reply. “Screaming won’t help you right now, trust me,” the way he said it was very much a threat, so you slowly nodded, terrified. He smiled sinisterly and removed the tape slowly.

You took a deep breath out your mouth but refrained from screaming, instead, you kicked into autopilot, so overwhelmed with fear and not knowing what to do that you focused on what you could. “I’m a paramedic,” you told him straight away, “I won’t try and fight you or anything, but if you could untie my hands I could check my friend, make sure she’s okay,” you told him, your tone less shaky and more professional than you’d anticipated. 

Strauss blinked, clearly not expecting that reaction, and glanced back to where Jenny lay, barely stirring by his feet. He gave her a harsh nudge with his foot that had your blood boiling but you held back, you were not good to Jenny dead or incapacitated yourself. Jenny stirred slightly and Strauss shrugged. “Seems fine to me,” he commented coldly.

“Is that your professional medical opinion?” You snapped, regreting it instantly as he regarded you like a predator did its prey. 

“Why do you think I care if she makes it out of this alive?” He asked and you swallowed, the images of the his victims flashing through your mind. 

“Well you didn’t kill her straight away, or me, seems like you need us alive,” you replied, remembering how quickly he’d apparently dispatched of his other loose ends - why had he spared you both?

Strauss laughed as you turned a corner, leaning his hand on the side for balance as the roads got a bit rougher; you must be off the main road now, you thought - where was he taking you?

“Well aren’t you a clever one?” He smirked, “and you’re right, I do need you alive, but only one of you, and if I’m honest, if I had to choose between the Sergeant’s girl or the nosy waitress...” he gestured with his gun between the two of you and you grimaced, this guy was pure evil. 

He let you figure out the rest of that sentence as he moved to sit back on the crate he had been perched previously, the logo of the restaurant clear on the side - this must have been one of their delivery vans, not a particularly smart move if you’re trying to avoid the police. 

“What do you want?” You demanded, struggling against the ropes around your wrists as you glared at him. He knew about you and Voight, which was not good, so you’d already figured that you were leverage, but to what end?

The van started to slow before Strauss could reply, a slow smile spreading across his face as the drivers door could be heard opening. You could hear birds and... water maybe just before the door shut again, but when the back opened and another man came in, you were sure you were by the docks. 

This man was... younger definitely, but the resemblance to Strauss was uncanny. You’d remembered from Voight’s file that he’d had a son, Dan? Dom? You couldn’t quite remember his name, but he’d previously dated the dead waitress before she’d started dating the first victim.

This wasn’t good.

“Do we call him now?” Asked... Dan, you were sure it was Dan. Dan looked to his father, gun in the waste band of his low jeans clear. You pulled at your ropes again, feeling them loosening a little as you looked on at the two men. Were they talking about Voight? You had a sinking feeling that they were. 

“Call him here, yes, but we move on straight away, before they can track our location,” Strauss told his son, who passed his father an old flip phone, a burner. 

“Why bother? You could have been out the state by now,” you dared, confused as to why they would dare incur the wrath of Intelligence rather than make a break for it while they still could. You kind of got the previous murders, in the sick sense that they were they only ones who could testify against him, but taking you and Jenny was a big risk. 

“Yeah if your boyfriend hadn’t flagged our passports and put our faces out at every border-” Dan complained but his father cut him off quickly, scolding him like a child, you actually winced when Strauss’ hand came into contact with his sons face, silencing him quickly. 

“Shut up,” he hissed and Dan cowered back, kid had probably faced that his entire life, you actually felt a little bad for him.

Strauss rubbed his temple before flipping open the phone and dialing a number, your heart quickening when Voight answered.

“Hello Sergeant,” Strauss greeted him way to cheerily as you heard Hank growl on the other end of the line. 

“Where is she?” He demanded, word clearly reaching him about you and his officers, you didn’t even know if they were still alive you realised. 

“Right here with me,” Strauss replied, kneeling down to head height and grabbing a bunch of your hair in his hand roughly so that you faced him. “Say hi Y/N,”

You met his eyes and kept your lips firmly closed, you could barely even hear Hank breathing on the other end of the line as he waited for you to answer. Strauss got impatient and pulled your hair back violently, letting go so your head smacked against the side of the van, hard. You cried out at the impact and Hank swore over the phone as Strauss stood back up, satisfied as you held back tears.

“See, she’s here, and alive,” he said, “if you want her to stay that way you’ll do exactly as I say.” You swallowed hard as he paused for dramatic effect, God this guy was pure evil.

“What do you want?” Voight demanded, violent anger coating every word. If you were being entirely honest, you okay with how Voight did his job sometimes, but he could do what ever he wanted to this son of a bitch, he deserved it.

“I want a chopper, I have a license so I don’t need a pilot, but I want to get out of the city, and I don’t want to be followed,” he replied and you couldn’t quite believe your ears, he couldn’t be serious could he? That would never work, he must have been desperate. 

“Done, should I call this number when I have it?” Hank told him quickly and you bit your tongue, nothing you could say would sway Voight’s decisions, he’d go to the ends of the Earth for people he cared about. Your restraints were getting a little bit looser as he kept talking, but you did your best to school your expression, not wanting to give anything away. 

“Excellent, but no, I’m not that stupid, I’ll call you in 20 minutes,” he told Hank, actually believing a chopper could be brought to him in 20 minutes. You heard Hank sigh on the other end, thinking the same as you.

“I’ll do my best but I’ll need more time than that-” Hank tried but Strauss hung up, checking his watch as he did and you realised he’d been timing the call, not wanting to be traced. 

“Destroy it and then get going to the next location” Strauss ordered his son, the rope around your wrists slacking enough so that you could slip your hands free. Strauss seemed to arrogant to not have tied them properly, Dan must have done them, you realised. 

Dan nodeed as Strauss tossed the phone, barely catching it as he took out the sim and broke it all, opening the back to get back to the drivers side as you saw your window of opportunity. 

As soon as the door opened and Strauss turned his back to take his seat again, you lunged for the door, arms out as you threw yourself at Dan. He lost his balance and you toppled sideways, but not out the door, crashing into the cold metal as he frantically pushed you away from him.

Strauss was on you in seconds, dragging you back with force and flipping you onto your stomach, roughly pulling your hands behind your back as you struggled in his grasp. He was able to retie your rope and snapped at Dan to keep going, an order which he shakily obeyed as he jumped out, slamming the door tight.

“You stupid bitch, did you think any of that through?” He snarled as he haulled you up, slamming you back and punching you in the gut before throwing you to the ground where you had previously been sat. 

You only glared in reply as he muttered more sexist insults, the van driving off a few seconds later. 

Taking a breath you looked to Jenny, watching her chest slowly rising and falling, her face paler than before. Let him think you had been stupid, a last ditch effort to escape, better that than know the truth. You’d never leave Jenny like this, or anyone, and you knew you wouldn’t have got far if you’d have gotten out, but that hadn’t been your plan. Resisting the urge to metaphorically pat yourself on the back you were conscious of the weight that was no longer around your neck. 

You’d thrown your necklace outside the van. The necklace that Hank had bought you for your birthday.

They wouldn’t have had a specific location for that call, and you’d seen multiple vans parked outside at this spot of the docks, but they’d definitely be coming to this area, and hopefully your necklace would put them on the right track, at least in terms of checking surveillance.

Or at least, that was your hope, but you didn’t have anything else, Jenny certainly didn’t. 

The noises around you changed as you drove, Strauss keeping his gun permanently trained on you now as the bird tweets turned to dog barks and the van took more turns. Based on Strauss’ history, you could probably guess the general area you were heading now, his old neighbourhoods. 

You didn’t quite get how a well of white man had ended up running drugs on this side of town, but you figured that that was the point, he’d been able build himself up because no one was looking for him, but everyone was looking now.

He was out of moves, and he was desperate. Hank would never give him a chopper, you knew that, you just hoped he had another play. It was Hank, when did he not, you told yourself as you turned yet again, sharper this time as Strauss rolled his eyes at his son’s driving.

Soon, 20 minutes was up, and you held your breath as the car turned one last time and slowed to a stop. There was a look on Strauss’ face now that scared you more than the others, what was his real plan here?

He pulled out a second burner and called Voight: “Times up Sergeant, for you and your girl if you don’t give me what I want,” he informed Hank as you swallowed. 

“I’m not the one whose time’s up,” was Voight’s only reply. Strauss’ face was one of confusion until your heard it, the blessed sound of police sirens, Hank was coming for you.

Strauss dropped the phone in shock as you heard the drivers side door open, and the clear sound of police arresting Dan. Strauss panicked, glancing at you as he pulled out a knife. 

Your heart was hammering, thinking he was going to kill you, but instead he cut the ropes around your ankles, throwing his knife away and pulling out his gun, dragging you to your feet as you heard boots surround the van.

“Albert Strauss, we have you surrounded, come out with your hands up and surrender. It’s over,” you heard Hank radio from outside as Strauss put a gun to your head. 

“It’s not over yet,” you heard him mutter as he forced you to go forward, Jenny stirring finally at your side as he ignores her. At least she’d make it, you thought as he opened the back doors. 

Swat was stood at the ready outside, but Hank made them hold their positions when he saw you.

“Let her go,” he instructed Strauss, not a question or suggest, he was going to let you go. You saw Hank’s gun at his side, finger iching against the trigger as he levelled his gaze at Strauss, his gun firmly planted next to your temple. 

You saw the rest of Intelligence too, guns at the ready as Atwater led Dan to a squad car, cuffs on, but Strauss didn’t seem to care.

“Hank-” you tried, voice filled with fear as Hank’s eyes landed on you, face softening and filled with worry.

“Shut up,” Strauss spat, tightening his grip on you before directing his attention to Hank, “I’ll kill her,” he informed him, no hint of remorse in his voice.

In the distance where Atwater was taking Dan, you could see ambo 61 pulling up, Sylvie jumping out before it had even fully stopped as she watched the scene unfold. 

“You kill her, you die,” Hank told him plainly, “the only way for you to get out of this is to come quietly, hand her over.” Hank knew it, you knew it, Strauss knew it, there was no way out now, it would all be decided now. 

You kept looking at Hank, thinking about eveything you never got to do, the rest of your life that you wanted to lead, you didn’t want it to end here. 

Voight’s knuckles were white gripping his gun as Strauss pondered what had been said. “I’ll never see daylight again,” he told Hank, “my life’s already over, you made sure of that, but at least this way I get to ruin yours now too.”

He was going to kill you, you realised quickly as your eyes went wide. Then, the sound of a gun shot. 

It all happened so fast you didn’t know what had happened, but you knew enough to know that if you were still thinking right now, you weren’t the one who’d been shot as you fell forward, hands catching you at the last second as you tripped out the back of the van.

Strong arms lowered you to your feet slowly as you shook, the side of your face wet with... blood, but it wasn’t yours, you realised. Someone was holding you, asking you if you were okay you realised through the ringing of your ears. It was Hank. Hank was here, he had you.

Looking back a little you saw Strauss on his back in the van, a bullet from Hank’s gun embedded in his head. 

Everyone around you was moving, securing the scene and letting the paramedics through.

“Hank...” you mumbled, trying to make sense of what had just happened. 

“It’s okay Y/N, you’re okay now,” he whispered, one hand on your shoulder, the other on your cheek, looking you over for signs of damage as you tried to breath.

Sylvie reached you quickly, face full of relief as Ruzek helped her into the van, Jenny was getting the help she needed. Good, you thought, still a little disoriented. 

“Y/N,” Hank repeated, bringing you back to reality.

“How did you find me?” You asked him as he reached into his pocket, pulling out your necklace, your plan had worked.

“You’re incredible, you know that?” He smiled with relief.

“I thought-” you choked and he shook his head, pulling you into a hug as tears slipped down your cheeks as you realised just how close you came to dying.

“I know, but you’re alive,” he reassured you as Jenny was brought out on a backboard

“Is she?...” You asked quickly, breaking away from Hank. Sylvie smiled.

“She’ll be okay,” she informed you, squeezing your hand, “I’m just so glad you are too,” she said, her voice cracking.

“What, did you think I was going to leave you with Chout?” You tried to smile, actually laughing when Chout said ‘hey!’ Despite everything, if felt like your chest was cracking to do so. With one last look, Sylvie reluctantly headed back to the ambo, promising to check up with you as soon as she could. 

Hank hadn’t left your side yet, and you realised that he was holding your hand, in public. You looked down at your hands and then back at him, so relieved that he’d come for you, not that you’d ever doubted it.

“Hank-” you started, not sure what you were actually going to say, but needing to say something.

And then he kissed you, in full view of everybody. You could tell it got a bit quieter around you as he pulled away, as surprised by what he did as you were. “I nearly lost you today, I don’t ever want to lose you again,” he told you honestly, raw emotion for the first time as he held you in his arms, “I love you.”

You swallowed and took a shaky breath, still processing everything else that had happened today, but one thing was very clear, no matter what came next, you didn’t want to lose him either.

“I love you too,” you said.

Agape and Pragma: Chapter 10

Pairings: OT7 (BTS) x Reader

Word Count: 2.2 k

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Angst, Sci-Fi, Crack, Smut

Chapter Specific Notes: Fluff, Angst, Crack?

Summary: Your entire world had be torn asunder by just one lab test. Time heals all wounds, but does it really? What will it take to feel whole again?

Hybrid Types: Peacock Jin, Serval Yoongi, Golden Retriever Hoseok, Gray Wolf Namjoon, Scottish Fold House Cat Jimin, Great Dane Taehyung, and French Lop Eared Rabbit Jungkook

a/n: Hi y’all! Long time no see! I hope you all enjoy this one!

<— Previous (Chapter 9)

The next morning you found yourself buried amongst hot, sweaty flesh; encapsulated in a divine prison of arms and heavy, muscular legs. Namjoon, still spooned behind you and his tail patting gently in his sleep, snored gently in your ear while Jimin purred against your chest. As hot and as sweaty as this was, there was no other way you’d rather wake up. 

God, were they beautiful.  Smiling, you reached out and stroked Jimin’s orange and cream striped hair away from his face. He purred even louder, nuzzling your chest. From behind, Namjoon went quiet and squeezed you in his arms. His voice was a little husky from sleep as he asked, “What about my pets?”

You giggled as he started kissing your neck. Into your chest, Jimin groaned, “Back off, I’m getting my reward for last night.”

“Oh are you now?”

There was teasing tone in Namjoon’s voice, but underneath it there was a harsh promise behind it, one of which made Jimin look up at him from your chest, trying to decide if further defiance was worth it. Apparently, it wasn’t worth it as he moved away enough for you to turn around, but not before leaning up and kissing you. It was a sweet kiss, but deep, as if he was trying to create a permanent connection between the two of you. You couldn’t help but moan into the kiss, which earned you a low growl from behind you.

Namjoon carded his hand through your hair and gently grabbed it, pulling you from Jimin’s lips as Jimin whined. Your eyes were glazed over as Namjoon captured your lips. His kiss was far more hungry, igniting a fire in your core. When you let out the smallest of moans, his tail lightly thumped on the bed sheets. Jimin giggled, making Namjoon pull away from you to shoot him a small glare, but that tail never stopped thumping.

You reached towards him, rubbing the base of Namjoon’s ear, earning you a light, but happy groan. You smiled and whispered, “Sometimes, you really are like a puppy. All cute and sweet.”

At this, Namjoon buried his flushed face in the crook of your neck, making both you and Jimin giggle. Your little bubble of happiness popped at the soft, almost hesitant knock on the door. Your voices fall quiet as Jungkook gently called out, “Umm, breakfast is ready.”

Namjoon replied, “Thanks, we’ll be right down.”

Oh, god. Now, you remembered. You really did just sleep with two of your roommates, what’s worse is that you confessed that you wanted all of them. You buried your face in your pillow, groaning in frustration. Jimin nuzzled your neck, purring as Namjoon stroked your hair.

Gently, Namjoon said, “Hey… it’s ok. Everything will be ok. You’ll see.”

You lifted your head just enough to say, “But how can you be so sure, Namjoon? I just slept with the two of you. And there is no way the others didn’t hear us.”

This time, Jimin spoke. “Hey, you’d be surprised at how accepting we all are of this. Every single one of us wants this. You’ll see.”

You looked over at Jimin, searching his face. And in his eyes, you found no lies, only love and acceptance. You smiled gently at him. “Ok. I trust you. All of you.”

Jimin smiled and gave you a quick peck on the lips before leaping up and pulling on his underwear. Namjoon in the mean time rolled you over towards him and kissed your cheek, holding you for a moment. “It really will be ok. You worry far too much.”

You smiled at him. “Then it’s up to you to alleviate all my worries.”

Namjoon gave you a peck as well before playfully smacking the meat of your thigh. “Well, we can’t keep them waiting. We’re going to have to eat and have this talk sooner or later. Preferably sooner.”

He got out of bed before helping up as well. Immediately, you hissed, tender between your legs as cum began to trickle down your thighs. You blushed heavily. God, you hadn’t noticed it before but you were covered in sweat, cum, and hickies. Definitely a sight you didn’t want the others to see. Jimin and Namjoon giggled a little, making you pout. “Oh, stop it, you two! How come I’m the one with cum and bruises all over them while you two still look like some sort of… fluffy gods!”

This just made the two of them laugh even harder, which made you go redder in the face. Jimin replied, “Oh no, princess. You left quite a lot of marks yourself. We’ve got bruises; Namjoon’s arms are all scratched up and I wouldn’t be surprised if I have bald spot on my head form the way you were tugging on it last night.”

His tail waved about mischievously as he smirked at you, making you blush for a whole other reason. Namjoon wrapped his arms around you. “Now, now, you two. We’ll be teased quite a bit when we get downstairs, so let’s not start early. So, for now, let’s take a quick shower, clean little one up, then head down to breakfast. Deal?”

You nodded. “Deal.”

^~^~^~^~^ 

Twenty minutes later, the three of you were clean and dressed. And now it was time to face the music. Namjoon and Jimin helped you downstairs, you were still tender after the previous night’s activities and stairs were not the most fun thing in the world.

Hesitantly, you entered the dining area, not sure of what you’d find. Once in there, you found the other five at the table, which surprised you beyond belief. Yoongi and Hoseok were leaning against each other, half awake. But the rest were wide awake. Jin swallowed as he stared at you three. “G-Good morning.” 

This startled Hoseok and Yoongi fully awake. Jin continued, “I hope you three have an appetite. I made pancakes, bacon, eggs, the whole nine yards.”

You smiled shyly at him. “Thanks, Jin.”

Namjoon led you over to your seat, pulling it out for you. The rest stared at you. You felt like a specimen under a microscope. Just as you settled in, Jin set a plate in front of you, with all your favorites. You looked up at him. “Thanks.”

He smiled back at you and hesitantly kissed the top of your head. You hummed encouragingly. This earned you a small cough from him and as he walked away, you noticed his ears flushing red. Once everyone had settled in with their food, you all ate in this weird, tense silence. God, how do you break this?

Well you didn’t have to wait long, because as per usual, Yoongi was blunt as ever. “Sounded like you three had fun last night. So are you guys all dating now? Just fuck buddies?”

You choked on your coffee at the mention of ‘fuck buddies.’ Jungkook patted you on the back as you sputtered. Namjoon replied, “Yoongi. Manners. And no we’re not fuck buddies. We’re hoping for a relationship. For all of us.”

The table went silent. You waited with bated breath. Jungkook broke the silence. “When you say all of us, do you mean all of us? All eight of us? In one relationship?”

Immediately, Namjoon responded, “Yes.”

It was a lot to swallow, that was for sure. You heard Hoseok call your name. “Is this what you want? Do you love all of us? Or are you just doing this to make us happy?”

“How could you say that? I love you! I love all of you! I just— it was hard for me to accept the idea that you, any of you, would want someone broken like me, let alone all of you. So, I kept my feelings in check. But now, now I have let myself free— I’ve let myself accept my feelings. I let myself love you, all of you. And I hope you… you all can accept my love in return. And to love each other, just as I love you.”

It was quiet again, all that could be heard was light breathing. You waited and hoped. You hoped Namjoon and Jimin were right. Taehyung broke the silence. “I’ve… I’ve probably loved you the longest, I’ve probably wanted you from the first time I met you. But, I’ve loved the other as well, just as strongly, but maybe in different ways. I have so much to give and I want to give each of you that love and I hope I can receive that love in return. I want to make this relationship work. So, I’m up for it.”

You smiled, reaching out to grab his hand, which he squeezed in response. It was times like these that Taehyung surprised you with his maturity. Yoongi was the next to speak. “What the hell? I think we were strangely destined for this weird love life from the beginning. I… I love you. All of you.”

Jin laughed as the faintest of blushes bloomed on Yoongi’s cheeks. “Hold on, I need to get a camera! I need to record him saying that!”

Yoongi yelled at him, blushing even further as he threw a bacon strip at Jin, making the rest of you laugh. Jin finally shook him out of his laughing fit, answering, “All that besides, you all know how much I love you all, even if you annoy me a lot. I want this, too.”

You smiled at him, then turned your attention to Hoseok and Jungkook. Hoseok answered, “Do you think I’m going to say no? Especially to you? Hell, I’ve been debating about asking Yoongi, you, or Jungkook here out for a while. It’s been too stressful trying to come to terms with my own feelings. I want you all as well.”

Yoongi and Jungkook both blushed at Hoseok’s confession. Honestly, how could he act so casual and confident as he confessed something like that? It was like he was just talking about the weather. You turned your attention on Jungkook. “Kookie?”

“Yes.”

You tilted your head, worrying that he was only telling you what you wanted to hear. “Kookie? We won’t force you into this.”

He sighed, “It’s just… it’s been a long time since someone returned my affection and to find out that not only you, but Hoseok as well—“

Namjoon coughed, turning bright red. You had to bite your cheek to keep from laughing. Jungkook sputtered for a moment, “And Namjoon, are apparently attracted to me in return, it’s too much to process all at once. But I am certain of one thing. I want this, I love all of you. And I want your love in return.”

At this Hoseok kissed his cheek, making his blush profusely, which earned some giggles from the rest of you. You glanced over at Jimin. He smiled at you with his signature crescent eyed smile. “You know me. I’ve got more love than I can handle. And like I said before: this will work, because each of us loves each other and wants this.”

You felt tears start to well up in your eyes. Jungkook gently wiped them away as sniffled. You looked over at him. God, he looked adorable with bedhead and his floppy ears also having little cowlicks. Once you had calmed down, you looked over at Namjoon, who looked off in the distance, deep in thought.

“What says you, Namjoon?”

He jumped a little as you called his name. He looked around the table at the others who all stared at him. Almost hesitantly he replied, “Yes. This is what I want. You all are my pack and I love you all.”

While his words seemed certain, his eyes told a different story. They looked almost… scared. Before you could ask, Namjoon’s phone went off and he sputtered out a curse. “Sorry, I forgot. I have an interview with a scientist in an hour. I’ll see you guys later and… we’ll finish this talk up later.”

He got up, taking his plate with him. He paused at the doorway, about to put his plate in the sink. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but at the last moment he decided against it, leaving you all at the table.

With your brow furrowed, you looked over at Jin. “Why… why didn’t he seem as happy about the relationship as the rest of you?”

With his face stuffed with pancakes, Jungkook replied, “Wolves are one of the few Hybrid types that are monogamous.”

Jin continued, “It’s even harder for him to accept because he’s the Alpha of his pack. Most of the time, only Alpha’s are the ones who mate for wolves. So he’s just feeling conflicted about being a polyamorous relationship, when his instincts are telling him that you’re only his. Just give him some time.”

You hummed your understanding. But even with their reassurance, you weren’t as convinced that time was all that was needed. You couldn’t help but worry that this would do more damage to Namjoon than good. What were you going to do?

As always, reviews, comments, asks, and tags are always loved! ~Peony

Also, please note that I do NOT do tagging lists. Please see my FAQ for why.

Next (Chapter 11) —>

Agape and Pragma Masterlist

Masterlist

All rights reserved. © Copyrighted 2019.

Moral Arguments

Summary:

Crowley doesn't exactly take assignments anymore, but sometimes he does things for fun - like answering the call of a broken-hearted woman summoning a demon on St. Valentine's Day. But what Crowley thinks is going to be a simple hex-and-go turns into more emotionally charged than he bargained for.

Notes:

Inspired in part by this post.

(AO3)

“Creatures of the Underworld …”

“Yup. That’s me.”

“… on Earth and below …”

“Gotcha.”

“… I summon thee!”

Crowley throws up his hands in frustration. Ten more minutes of this, and he’s going to start pulling his hair out.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m summoned! I’m summoned! Let’s get a move on, will ya? I’m late for a date!”

“Demons of vengeance! Hear my plea! Do my bidding!”

“Let’s have at it then, girlie!”

“Lords of the Dark!”

“Oh, bollocks! Here we go again!”

“I, Samantha Westin of West Berkshire, call you to my aid!”

“Ugh!”

Crowley, hidden between a dresser and a closet, in a shadow created by several taper candles throwing light, slides down the bedroom wall and sits. He’d been summoned here, but not really. Only very specific spells can truly summon him. It’s not a simple matter of yelling out, “Oi! Demon! Get your bum over here! I need you to do something for me!”

If that were the case, he’d never get a moment’s peace.

But this was different – an amateur incantation but on a day of the year when demons get the greatest (and easiest) opportunity to make mischief – and Crowley appreciates easy; when people from all walks of life will call for a demon like they’re ordering take away and invite them into their homes with little to no thought of the consequences.

St. Valentine’s Day.

Crowley doesn’t do much in the way of official assignments for the big bosses anymore, but old habits die hard, and this one’s too tempting to resist. He’s running late for dinner with his angel, but this was going to be fun. He could risk being a few minutes late.

That’s what he’d originally thought.

He’s closing in on over half-an-hour.

Samantha leans over a book on the floor in front of her. She reads a bit, then jumps nervously. She grabs a container of salt by her knee and spills it out in a circle around her.

A protective ring –a boundary between her and any potential evil.

“Aw!” Crowley coos sarcastically to himself. “She fancies herself a white witch! How adorable!”

He has to give her some credit. Whatever book she bought, it’s from someone who knows an inkling of their stuff. Salt is effective against evil creatures, but only minor ones, like the insects of the demon world. Still, considering no one would want their house invaded by a horde of demonic termites or zombie ants, it’s nothing to sneeze at.

“Find a photograph of the offending and fix your eyes upon it.”

“Okay, okay.” Crowley sits up, wondering if he should miracle himself up a bag of crisps. “Finally! Things are gettin’ good.”

“Tear up the photograph,” she reads, “and proclaim his sins into the dark.” She takes a deep breath, then lets it out. “Okay. Here goes.”

She begins to tear the picture in half, then fourths, and Crowley rubs his hands excitedly together.

“So let’s see. What did this crank handle do, huh, Sammy? Stepped out with another bird, I’ll wager.”

Samantha carefully places the torn pieces of the photograph into a small wooden bowl, part of her arsenal of witchcraft paraphernalia, and sighs. “He left me for my twin sister.”

“Ding, ding, ding! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!” Crowley licks his finger and marks a single, sparking tally into the air. “Well, you should take that as a compliment, love, really. He left for someone who looks exactly like you.”

“He stole my car …”

“Oh, we’re not done.”

“… broke into my house …” She takes a long breath, shuddered by the onset of tears. “He killed my dog …”

The grin that had been spreading on Crowley’s face falls into an immediate frown. “For Satan’s sake! This prick should be working for us.”

The woman stops, bites her lower lip as the tears gathering around her heart begin to fall.

“He hit me. Not just once. Not just twice. And he … he …” Her voice fails her, but she mouths the words, and Crowley rises to his knees, subconsciously gearing up for a fight. This is a new instinct for him, being protective of anyone, specially a mortal. He’s known right and wrong from day one. He’s felt anger over the injustices he’s witnessed, even remorse over the ones he’s helped cause. But, for the most part, he’s been fine sitting on the sidelines, inconveniencing people when he could for the greater good.

It’s a grey area – thwarting a crime. In the end, someone gets hurt or killed. When you’re in the business of harvesting souls, the who doesn’t necessarily matter.

Crowley simply finds a way to harvest a bit more selectively than other demons.

“Holy fuck!” he groans, tossing his head back and staring up at the ceiling. “Why? Why me? This was supposed to be a simple little fun hex-and-go. What am I supposed to do now?”

The real question, he discovers with very little wracking of his brain, is what would Aziraphale do?

“Sprinkle rose water on the pieces of the photograph and set them on fire.”

A conflicted Crowley watches the young lady search for her flask of rose water. He’d seen it beside her a moment ago – a simple vessel of water with roses floating in it that she probably prepared herself. She suddenly seems to remember where she put it because she spins around quickly with an anxious look on her face, mumbling, “No, no, no! Crap!” before she finds it tipped over onto its side. “Dammit!” She examines the empty flask, wet rose petals plastered to the sides, the water that had been inside soaking into her rug. She shakes her head and sets the flask down. “Of course! Of course! Just my luck! Now what am I going to do?” She gets on her hands and knees and goes searching for something to replace the water with. She finds another bottle within reach of her salt circle and grabs it. She reads the label, then gives it a sniff. She consults her book, and shrugs.

“Smells like roses. This should do.”

Crowley squints from the darkness to catch a glimpse of the label. This bottle isn’t rose water. It’s perfume. Not expensive perfume. The kind one buys at a corner market along with their milk and eggs on the way home. Perfume of that caliber is usually teeming with alcohol.

Flammable alcohol.

He watches as she gives the bowl a few spritzes, a subtle floral aroma filling the air. Then she goes for broke, untwists the top, and empties the contents into the bowl. The scent of roses smacks him in the face like a freight train along with an undercurrent of sharp and chemical. She grabs a book of matches, tearing four from the inseam, and strikes them.

“Jesus Christmas! She’s going to light herself on fire!” Flashbacks fill his brain of a heat seared inside his memory like a wound that refuses, even with time and treatment, to heal. Crowley leaps to his feet and materializes from the shadows, rushing at her, waving his hands to get her attention. “Stop! Stop! For Satan’s sake, stop!”

Samantha’s head snaps up. She drops her matchbook and scuttles backward, stopping when her hands hit the salt. With a snap of his fingers, Crowley extinguishes the flame before it has a chance to ignite the bowl.

“What the ---? What the fuck?” Samantha screams. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m a demon!” Crowley pats his chest dramatically as if she might mistake something else for the demon and him for a coat rack. “You know, the one you’ve been summoning?”

“I---I don’t believe in demons!” she yells and for a moment, all of Crowley’s worries about this woman setting herself, her house, and her neighbors ablaze dies with the absurdity of that remark.

“I … huh … what!? If you don’t believe in demons, why the bloody heck are you trying to summon one then? That’s literally the stupidest … you don’t dabble in magicks, young lady! That’s even worse than knowing what you’re doing!”

“It ---it wasn’t supposed to be serious! It was a coping mechanism!”

“Don’t talk to me about coping mechanisms! My entire existence is about coping mechanisms! Don’t do that!” Crowley snaps, catching her with his magic before she can jump to her feet and dive onto her bed for her cell phone. The bed is halfway across the room. Making a break for it would have taken her out of her circle. “Don’t break the ring of salt! Even terrible spells need to be ended correctly!”

“What happens if they aren’t?” she asks, relaxing when he releases his hold over her.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“Yes, I want to know! I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know!”

“Cheeky little …” he mutters, fishing his phone out of his pocket, realizing how much this young lady and his angel would get along. “Let’s just say if you don’t want to know what it feels like to have your brains liquefied inside your skull and then drunk by demon maggots, you’ll end this spell. Meanwhile, I’m gonna call in some reinforcements.”

“Reinforcements?” Samantha swallows hard. “L---like … more demons?”

“Luckily for you, no. I run with a different crowd.”

“How do I end the spell?”

“Jump to the bottom of the page,” he says, phone to his ear. “It’ll tell you---Aziraphale?”

This isn’t the way Crowley saw this going. Back in the old days, he’d hex the guy and be done with it – make him go bald with his head hair growing out his nose, give him a festering boil on his face that would never heal, make him severely and flatulently allergic to his favorite foods. Only thing was, unbeknownst to the young lady who summoned him, she would be damned, too. That wasn’t even a demonic rule. That one came from the good book itself. It was the kind of two-for-one demons delighted in.

One that came with a divine loophole.

But not anymore.

For some bizarre reason, he’s taking this personally.

“Crowley?” Aziraphale’s voice barks over the line. “What the heaven has happened to you? You’re nearly an hour late!”

“I know, angel, I know. I got caught up with work.”

“You’re working? Tonight!?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll explain when I get there.” Crowley glances down at Samantha, reading through the spell, sniffling as the words take her back to why she was doing what she was doing a moment before. “I’ll be bringing work home with me. I need a little help.”

***

“There, there, dear,” Aziraphale says, handing Samantha a cup of tea. “Let’s talk this out, hmm? Tell us everything, and then we can come up with a solution.”

It took Aziraphale close to an hour over the phone to convince Samantha to get into Crowley’s Bentley and accompany him to his bookshop. When he did, he made Crowley swear he’d obey the posted speed limits.

When they arrived in under fifteen minutes, Aziraphale knew he hadn’t.

Remarkable seeing as they stopped along the way to pick up a friend.

“The solution is we should call the police!” Anathema says, bringing over a plate of cookies.

“I … I tried.” Samantha takes the plate with a small but grateful smile. “Everything he’s done, even with the evidence I have against him, and it’s still a his word against mine sort of situation. It’s almost like the police don’t want to listen. Like they think it’s not worth their time.”

“Sounds about right,” Anathema reluctantly admits, dropping onto a nearby sofa and accepting a glass of whiskey from an angrily hissing Crowley as he paces the floor.

Aziraphale watches on with sympathetic eyes. He’d asked Crowley in private why? Why did this mean so much to him? With everything he’d done in the past, why did this one woman’s plight trigger such a strong response? Crowley had confessed that he didn’t know, but mumbled something about those abusing the vulnerable beginning to get under his skin.

“So, what do you suggest, angel?” Crowley asks, peeking up when he feels his husband’s eyes on him. “What does it say in the rule book about dealing with a situation like this when the supposed good guys sit around with their thumbs up their arses?”

“Normally, I would recommend gentle persuasion, and if that doesn’t work, then a little forceful persuasion,” Aziraphale says. “But as I don’t feel the man in question would be receptive to that, and the authorities aren’t in the mood to help, maybe we should skip the usual steps and jump to the end.”

“And what’s the end?” Samantha looks nervously from Aziraphale to Anathema, then to Crowley staring at the man in white with a disbelief that erases the color from his face. All three have gone quiet, but they’ve seem to come to the same conclusion, and it stuns at least two of them.

Samantha is obviously missing something big.

“Well, you did summon a demon, my dear,” Aziraphale says kindly, but with a grave nod to his husband. “I’d say it’s about time that demon got to work.”

“Are you serious?” Anathema yelps, but not in a way that indicates she disagrees. In fact, she looks fully on board with this plan – whatever it is.

“What about the whole damnation clause thing?” Crowley asks in a lower than low whisper.

“Find a loophole, my dear. That’s what you do.”

Crowley grins, impressed at the ability of his innocent Aziraphale to straddle the grey line as well as he. During a discussion about guns, his angel had once said that they lend weight to a moral argument when wielded by the right people. He wonders if this falls under the same category. “Right. And what about dinner?”

Aziraphale escorts his demon to the door, kissing him softly on the lips before showing him out. “It’ll keep.”

Chapter 13: I'm sad because I'm depressed and I'm depressed because I'm sad.

In which Sans remembers why he doesn’t talk about his feelings anymore.

*Sans's POV*

"Do you, by any instance, have suicidal thoughts?"

"i... not that often"

"But you have?"

"i would be lying if i say no"

Papyrus asked (Y/N) yesterday God-knows-what and he ended up knowing what a psychiatrist and a psychologist are, and here I am, talking with a psychiatrist. My brother said that it would be better if I had a new treatment started by a professional on the topic and not by a random monster that calls itself a doctor. Considering that in the Underground we only had general doctors, it was difficult to talk about these matters and get the help needed. Therefore, this seemed like a better option.

Papy spent the night (and this morning) looking for the best option to me, considering that discrimination it's still present. And so he went, asking multiple people if they were open to listen a depressing skeleton being depressed (he obviously didn't say it that way... I think). And so he finally found someone willing to help me, and we head off as soon as possible (hell, we didn't even eat... should I say I'm hungry?)

"Do you have a specific plan to commit suicide, Sans?"

"uh... no?"

"YOU DON'T SOUND SO SURE, BROTHER"

"it's just... i haven't thought about it that deeply. i just sometimes think that i want to disappear and that's it. no idea how, no idea when. just disappear.

"I see..."

The old man went over his little notebook and wrote something down. He was bald and had a white beard almost as pale as my skull, and had a sternum and serious look behind his rectangular glasses. He would be intimidating... if he wasn't a psychiatrist willing to help a monster. How bad could this man possibly be?

"Sans, do you sleep well? And I mean at nights"

"no, sir. i haven't been sleeping well since last year. i mean, i can easily fall asleep, but it's difficult to me to stay that way."

"I see, do you nap at day?"

"heh, a lot if you ask my brother"

"Ok..."

I freaked out for a moment, returning to an odd silence only filled by the sound of his pen writing down my weirdness. I became nervous, not knowing what he was going to ask next. But, honestly, I've been kind of unused to these unpredictable events the Surface has to bring. I was used to hearing the same dialogues and to say the same jokes, but know... everything it's fresh and new. It's scary, but quite a reliever.

"Ok Sans, do you by any chance have any specific dreams or nightmares?"

I froze and cough out the water I was drinking in shock. A quick flashback of the "Genocide Run" went all over my mind, the part of my brother dying repeating itself horribly. The empty look of that kid, the Judgement Hall being my new space... the kid giving up and resetting in front of my eyes, not before giving me a vengeful look.

"Sans? It's okay if you don't want to talk about it yet, but I need to know..."

I sighed, knowing that it was for the best. If I want to enjoy the future, I have to get rid of this fucking trauma.

"i... i do have specific dreams, sir. nightmares, actually. i... i don't want to mention them right now"

Papyrus let out a sigh in disappointment and I gave him a weak smile. I know he always wanted to know what's on my mind... but I just couldn't tell him at that moment. He smiled back to me, making me feel less pressured.

"Don't worry, Sans. We'll go step by step, no need to run all over the details. Still, the fact that you've been having constant nightmares of the same topic it's quite alarming, that's why I needed to know"

He then picked a piece of paper and scribbled some things down.

"This is for the drug store..."

He picked another one, not before drawing a small asterisk on the top.

"And this one is for you"

He then gave me the two pieces of paper and I glanced over them with Papyrus, curious about the medicines.

"In order to deal with your depression, Sans, you'll take a pill of Prozac (or fluoxetine) every morning, okay? I'll determine later for how much time"

We nodded, then glanced again at the paper, reading the next medicament.

"For your insomnia, Sans, you'll take a pill Restoril (or temazepam) every night before going to sleep. This is one of the best pills to not only falling asleep but also keeping you that way"

Before I could even nod, I noticed an uneasy look in the doc's face. I raised an... eyebrow, startling him for a second.

"I'm sorry" he stated, then sighed.

"IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG, DOCTOR?"

"Nothing it's just... the fact that Sans is having constant nightmares worries me. Do you also have constant flashbacks of said events?"

I slowly nodded, and his face got worst.

"DOCTOR? IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?"

"No, it's just... it breaks my heart to know that the Underground may not have been a better place than the Surface"

A better place?

"what do you mean, sir?"

"..."

He just sighed and gave me an apologetic smile, trying his best not to break down. I noticed he was on the edge of tears, and I felt panic running all over my body.

"Sans, there's a high chance you have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or for short, PTSD"

"PTSD?"

"Yes, it's kind of a serious condition to deal with. It shows that Sans had a really traumatic event in his life, and it may seem impossible for him to have a normal life with all the fear he gained from that moment. Or am I wrong, Sans?"

I shook my head, and he gave me a sad smile. Just as he said, just as it is. I never thought it would be that serious, though.

"You'll take Zoloft (or sertraline) for that, Sans... but I also recommend you to go to a psychologist. I can directly put you an appointment with a friend of mine if that's what you want. What do you say? He'll be more than open to hearing your case"

Papyrus nodded excitedly, while I was not too sure. I felt like my normal balance would break down if I started to go to therapy... but then I looked to Papyrus again. I don't want him all worried about me, I want him to have a normal life. And for that, I also need to form a normal life myself.

"sure, may we have the address?"

"Sure, I'll give you an e-mail with it"

We gave the doctor a quick goodbye and a thank you, then head off to our home. I insisted to Papyrus that we could eat something first and relax, then go to the drug store. He groaned slightly and muttered a "lazybones" but took my offer.

When we arrived, though...

"Hello, my children! Where were you?"

Oh fuck.

I glanced over the living room and saw our small group of friends gathered cozily, including an almost smashed (Y/N), an annoying flower screaming, a suspiciously staring father, and more!

...I gulped, knowing I could never say the truth. (Y/N) is a new person in my life, the flower is a bitch, my father is another bitch, Undyne doesn't take anything seriously, Alphys takes everything seriously, Frisk is a dirty betrayer, Toriel worries too much, Asgore would go and make everyone check themselves with the therapist, Mettaton would go and check himself with a therapist, Napstablook would feel all sorry, and Arial would be highly disappointed.

...

Saying the truth sounds pretty awful at this point.

"OH, WE WERE AT THE DOCTOR, MOTHER!"

Oh crap

Papyrus seemed to notice my signal of begging help and came to the rescue immediately, never mentioning anything about a psychiatrist.

"SANS, BEING ALL STUPID, GOT SOMETHING STUCK IN HIS CHEST AGAIN!"

Ouch.

"yep. guess i need some spare ribs at this point, huh?"

Everyone groaned and so I successfully got away from the problem. I tried my best to keep my cool, but I easily spaced out a couple of times and ended up startling myself. They were doing rounds in Super Mario Bros., and (Y/N) seemed to be an expert on it, considering she was on World 6.

"Oh c' mon, when are you going to die?!" Flowey annoyingly exclaimed, foreshadowing a bit. I almost smacked him over before I saw Toriel's face, then I lost myself again on the videogame.

(Y/N) continued playing until arriving at the final castle. Surprising, to say the least. Everyone else was getting enthusiastic about her defeat, but it never happened. Instead, (Y/N) went to play all over again, making everyone groan.

"Oh my God, let us play as well!" Undyne roared, giving a death glare to the older human.

"You said you wanted me to prove how good I am..." She innocently answered, putting the controller aside.

"Ok, you've already proven yourself. Now, please, give us a chance this time" Frisk sighed in defeat, feeling vulnerable and probably fooled.

"Ok!" (Y/N) cheerily got up from the couch, then waved at Papyrus and me "Hi guys! Anything serious happened?"

Shit.

"IT'S NOTHING THAT CAN'T BE HANDLED, HUMAN!"

"I'm glad, how do you feel Sans?" She looked at me worried and made me feel like the worst person on Earth.

A huge part of me wanted to say the truth and confess my problems at that moment, but that was me feeling horrible. I always hated lying, but that's what my life has come to. At this point, I can barely feel sorry for lying...

Except on this topic.

I've always been sensitive with this stuff, and that's how Papyrus ended up knowing. It has become something really messed up that I want to let all the people I care about that I'm not okay. I want them to help me feel complete again. To feel safe. To have hope.

"Sans?"

"HUMAN... SANS... IS IT OKAY FOR YOU IF I TELL HER WHAT'S GOING ON? I TOLD HER SOME THINGS YESTERDAY AND SHE WAS REALLY COMPREHENSIBLE. BESIDES, MAYBE SHE CAN HELP US MORE WITH THE SUBJECT!"

I glanced over her, and she gave me a small and recomforting smile. Out of all the people, I never knew she would be one of those who know what's going on.

"If you don't want me to, Sans, I understand. Just know I'm here to support all of you, ok? And don't take that as an associate... but as a friend. I'm more than willing to help you out in any way I can... but that depends on you"

A deep pain went all over my soul, but then I nodded. If she was so understanding as Papyrus said she was when she heard what problem I have... maybe telling her a bit of detail won't hurt.

"we'll tell ya later, ok? now it's a little bit crowded"

"I understand, thanks for trusting me"

"thanks to you, kiddo"

Thanks to you...

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

*Your POV*

It was a while after the small gathering ended, everyone having to go earlier than expected. I already attended my work-hunting business and find a convincing and small company. I sent them an e-mail, and so I'm waiting for them to text me back. But for now, more important things were on my head.

I feel really sorry about Sans's case, and how desperate Papyrus seemed yesterday when he told all about it. I suffer from some things as well, and I know it isn't easy. It's never easy to deal with yourself...

"HUMAN, SANS, SHALL WE DISCUSS NOW OUR LITTLE SECRET?"

Sans chuckled a bit and I nodded, preparing myself from what I was about to hear.

"OK, SO... YOU REMEMBER THE TALK WE HAD YESTERDAY, RIGHT HUMAN?!"

I nodded again, and he smiled and reassured his brother that he was in good hands. I giggled softly, and the short skeleton just scratched the back of his head out in embarrassment.

"I FOLLOWED YOUR ADVICE, AND I TOOK SANS TO THE MOST ACCESSIBLE PSYCHIATRIST I COULD!"

I smiled, glad that Sans accepted any help.

"What did the doctor diagnosed you, Sans?" I asked, hoping he would be the one answering me this time. After all, this is Sans's main problem, not Papyrus's. He tensed up a little but quickly relaxed as he remembered the presence of his brother there. He took enough courage silently, then spoke with that characteristic deep voice of his.

"depression, insomnia, and... well, something called ptsd, which is-"

"PTSD?!" I interrupted abruptly, not believing what my ears just heard. Sans having depression is hard to admit, but PTSD? Oh lord, what has this poor guy endured in his young life?

"uh... yeah, i... eh..."

Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap.

"Nonono, don't think that way, Sans. It's just... a bit surprising, coming for you. I never expected you to have such a problem, but I guess appearance is quite a bi... beach."

"BEACH?"

"Uh, yeah..." Please come with a good excuse, (Y/N) "You know, beaches may be all pretty on the photos, but the dangerous creatures and natural phenomenons they bring show that they are not that perfect. I guess that's the same for Sans. He easily can go on and hide perfectly with jokes and laughs, but that doesn't mean he's that careless nor happy on the inside... sorry for putting you that way, Sans"

"it's okay kid, i think i get it" he jokingly winked at me, noticing what I was going to say at first. I sighed, feeling pretty stupid at this point.

"Anyways... what has the doctor prescribed you, Sans?"

"this thing called 'prozac', another one called 'restoril' and the last one being 'zoloft'..."

Huh, I have all of those at home.

Maybe I can give him some, considering I have a ton of them...

"HUMAN! SANS MAY BE ON TREATMENT AND ALL, BUT I DON'T WANT YOU TO THINK LESS OF HIM! HE'S AN EXCELLENT MONSTER, EVEN IF HE'S WAY TOO LAZY, BUT HE'S A GOOD BROTHER!"

I saw a slight hint of blue hue spread all over Sans's cheekbones, and I assumed it was blush. I smiled softly, knowing that would be the kind of brothership I would want. Instead, I had the goddamn curse to have no brothers or sisters, and here I am. Alone.

"I would never think less of anyone by this reason, Papyrus" Then I came up with a wild idea, but that mind instantly approved. My smile grew bigger, and I continued "Actually, now that you're confessing me something quite touchy... I guess I should do the same. It may help you to feel a bit more comfortable, Sans"

He raised an eyebrow and I returned to my soft and small smile, preparing myself...

Now that I was thinking about it, it was a bad idea. It was a bad idea to show my weak points, to show my problems, and to show how vulnerable I actually am. But that didn't stop me. And it will never do.

"I... besides from dealing with, well, anxiety, I also suffer from depression..." His eyes widened and tensed up, staring at me with the same shock I felt when he mentioned PTSD. I continued "I have insomnia as well, and... a psychiatrist said I probably had PTSD, considering some constant dreams I have..."

"i... how?"

What?

"i mean, how can you have all those things and still want to help others instead of yourself?"

I stared at him, dumbfounded. Then I sighed with a smile on my face, trying to feel as confident as I could.

"Making others happy is what makes me happy, Sans. And that's what I need the most..."

"To be happy"

Fabian Cortez vs The Serpent Society

[Context: During the early 90s, Fabian was not only leader of the Acolytes, but a member of the Upstarts as well. Long story short, the Upstarts were a sort of supervillain competition between rich young bored mutants, refereed by the telepathic “Gamesmaster” who put forth the tasks and awarded the points.] “You see, Gamesmaster?” Fabian proclaimed with dramatic pride as he held up the glittering cube, “I, the Supreme Mutant, have succeeded where all the other Upstarts have failed! I have conquered all obstacles in my path with grand ease! I have obtained the---wait, what was it called again?” “The MacGuffin”, explained the telepathic projection of the Gamesmaster, a bald omnipath who shockingly was NOT Charles Xavier despite their similiar powers and hairless heads. “But you need do more than that, Fabian Cortez. To win this challenge, you need not only obtain it...but hold on to it for the next 24 hours.” “Pfft”, scoffed the Supreme Mutant with utmost confidence, “That is no challenge at all!” “Let us see how you feel 24 hours from now” said the Gamesmaster, as the psychic vision faded away from Fabian’s eyes. Fabian, however, was undaunted, “24 hours from now---I will have my reward!” *** Though twenty four hours had not yet passed even halfway yet, Fabian had decided to gloat and celebrate in advance. He took out the Cava---only Americans though champagne was classy---cranked up the hot tub, and, MacGuffin beside him within his reach, turned on the hologram projector above the bubble where he watched. Ah, it was like a vision of things to come---including him---once he was finally given his due.  He had just started to really relax when security klaxon sounded, accompanied by the sound of a woman cursing. No, several women! “Mamba, I thought you got them all!” “Asp’s sting blasts are what were supposed to disable them!” “Will you two bimbos stop yer bickering?! He’s gonna hear us!” “Something tells me he’s already aware we are here, Anaconda.” To Fabian Cortez, brilliant schemer and strategist that he was, it was obvious what was happening.  And he was ready for it. *** “Keep your guard up, ladies”, warned Asp as she and her two comrades slunk through the building, “The alarm is off. He knows we’re here. Yet nothing has yet happened. That in itself is suspc---” She was cut off by a booming, bombastic voice. “LADIES!”

On the platform above, a spotlight suddenly shown down. Standing upon the former and under the latter was a tall muscular redheaded man,wering naught a tiny towel around his waist, and a cape around his shoulders. Said cape was blowing backwards despite lack of wind, as was his lustrously conditioned ponytail. “Get him, Ana!” yelled Black Mamba. “I ain’t touchin that guy,” protested Anaconda, the muscle of their outfit, “He’s naked!” “I know what you have come for,” Fabian continued at the trio, flipping his hair dramatically, his gaze smoldering. “Then hand it over, pretty boy!” snarled Anaconda. Fabian smirked, “Gladly.” And he removed towel. Asp screamed, firing a venom blast in shock. Sadly, her distress caused her to miss her target, and she only singed the wall behind him. “What are you doing?!” Black Mamba demanded “He’s---he’s---” Asp was covering her eyes. “Not you---YOU!” Black Mamba pointed at Fabian while shielding her own gaze as well with her other hand. “Put your towel back on, are you crazy?!” It wasn’t that the women had never seen a dick before. Hell, Mamba was once a professional escort, Asp was an exotic dancer at a strip club, and Anaconda, despite frequently being stereotyped as playing for the other team, had been caught more than once making out with Puff Adder. So they were none of them blushing virgins. But dammit, there was a time and a place for dicks!  “This is what you have come for is it not?” Fabian smirked at his own display,   “Or...will come for.” “Ana please!” Asp pleaded, “We’ll give you 45% instead of 33%, just kill him now!” “Fine, ya pansies, I’ll do it,” Anaconda’s muscular arms extended an impossible length towards where Fabian stood far above them,  “Guess I can just wash my hands after!” But speaking of washing, Fabian was still wet from the jacuzzi, causing him to slip out from Anaconda’s death grip like a particularly gross bar of soap. He leaped on to one of her massive arms and used it as a sort of bridge to slide down to where the trio where, jumping dramatically before them. “Not you!” he pointed at the baffled Anaconda, “You freakish barely-female monstrosity, you are nowhere near adequetly comely for the harem of Lord Cortez!” While Asp and Black Mamba were a pair of very conventionally attractive beauties, Anaconda was...well, she was not. Even before she had undergone the procedure that had given her scales on her skin and gills on her face along with her powers, she’d been an extremely tall woman who was, to put it frankly, built like a brick shithouse. And she hadn’t been given much of a pretty mug to make up for it either. She’d learned to take pride in other things, but she still didn’t appreciate this kind of smack talk coming from a bozo like this Cortez scrub! “I’ll give you twos BACK that extra percent if you shut him up!” she shouted, as she knocked Fabian over with the biggest backhand in the world to his entire side. “No problem, said Mamba, conjuring Darkforce energy, “Much as I hate to give this creep what he wants...” The Darkforce granted slightly different powers to everyone who could tap into it. In the case of Black Mamba, it would take on the form of the person that the target loved or sexually desired most...and make love to them as it drained their very life. “Remember, our orders are NOT to kill him!” Asp reminded her, despite having ordered her other teammate to do exactly that just moments ago, “Just to get the MacGuffin and get out---but we must leave him alive! As we were instructed!” “Pity,” scoffed Black Mamba as the Darkfoce energy swarmed the fallen Fabian like smoky Jell-O, “You could have died in ecstasy. Something tells me your eventual end at other hands won’t be half as nice as my love phantoms here could make it.” Phantoms, plural. Usually it was just one per customer, but it looked like this guy had a whole harem’s worth for the Darkforce to drawn on. Most were impossibly gorgeous women like herself, but some of them were duplicates of HIMSELF! Despite having only known him for a few minutes, this didn’t surprise Black Mamba much at all. Leaving the man writhing and moaning on the floor with the shadowy “skins” she had created, as she liked to call them, she and her fellow Serpent Society mercenaries ran off to locate the MacGuffin. *** ”Alright, lover boy, time to snap out of it.” The MacGuffin had been found, but as Asp had stated, the orders from their contractor was that Fabian Cortez had to survive its acquisition. Thus, Black Mamba had returned to release him from his sweet release while the other Serpents waited in the getaway chopper. There were so many Darkforce phantom women and Cortez-clones covering the guy that she actually couldn’t SEE him until she willed them to dissipate away...and given how he looked at this point, she really wished she didn’t HAVE to see him. ”Oh good, you’re alive,” she said, though her tone did not match her words. ”Wha...que...” he looked around dumbly from the floor, barely able to lift his disheveled head up. In typical comic book character fashion, Black Mamba explained to him exactly what had happened, and how her powers worked. ”Well, obviously your abilities were malfunctioning!” he snapped at her. Looked like he was gaining some energy back. That was fast. ”Oh?” she raised an eyebrow. This was not an uncommon accusation; people tended to be ashamed at what her powers revealed about their real selves, their real wants, their real fantasies. ”How so?” ”There was Quicksilver in there!” Fabian shouted, his wind really coming back now, “Why was HE mixed in with my well-deserved harem of WOMEN?! Is this some perverse prank?! Some secret kink of yours?!” “Sounds like it might be a kink of YOURS, buddy,” Black Mamba drolled. The guy was made that this one other dude was in there...and not that there had been about five duplicates of himself? Hmm, did it count as bisexuality if you were only attracted to your clones and not anyone else of the same sex? Except this Quicksilver guy too, apparently... “Anyway, I’ll just be going now,” she turned and started to prance away, ”Thanks for th--” “Oh no you don’t.” To Mamba’s shocked, she felt a strong hand wrap around her delicate wrist, and gasped despite herself. How had he gotten to his feet so fast?! She turned, and found his horribly leering face staring down into hers.  “You were a naughty girl, Miss...Mamba, was it? You need to make that up to m---” And that was when a real live woman, not a hologram or a Darkforce illusion, touched Fabian’s genitals that day. Specifically, she grabbed and squeezed and TWISTED. As the HOWL of the “Supreme Mutant” echoed throughout his headquarters, Black Mamba dashed out to the waiting helicopter. “I better get a BONUS for that!” she said as she climbed in. “What?” Anaconda asked. “....you don’t wanna know,” Black Mamba decided she didn’t want to explained. As they took off, she looked at the secured MacGuffin cube. “What did the Gamesmaster guy say was so valuable about this thing again?” “He said it gets the plot going,” Asp shrugged, “Whatever that means.” END

Hiii! I'm the anon you gave the name Aika~ and i really love your writing style!! Thank you so much!! If it's not a bother, and if you have time.. I was thinking if maybe you could do a scenario where it's Suga's birthday and Aika gathered the courage to introduce herself to his teammates/friends (who didnt even know suga had a gf already) so they could help with his surprise?

I would have been perfect if I had done this request in Suga’s birthday, but well, I lost my chance. Good to have you back!!! I hope this is what you expected! 

——

Sugawara Koushi and her hadn’t been dating for long. They had beentogether for only a couple months, but God, didn’t they really love each other?

Since the day Sugawara had caught her singing in an empty classroom hehad been nothing but a dream come true for her. He always insisted that it was fait. Hesaid that he had followed her voice like a trail, and it led him to the girl hewould fall in love with.

“I heard yourvoice, and I had to follow it. I can’t explain why, I just felt like doing it.You hypnotized me.”

Every time he told her that, Aika thought of those ancient tales wherethe mermaids sang to attract foolish sailors to their deathly claws. She obviously wasn’tgoing to hurt him, but it was kind of magical that their own story hadsimilarities with an old tail.

And so, she wanted to do something for him. Something special. Shewanted to make him as happy as he made her. So when she realized his birthdaywas only in a couple of weeks, she knew what she wanted to do. She would throwhim a surprise birthday party. She would make sure to get his favorite food,and to get a cake decorated specifically for him. She made the list ofeverything she needed, and presented it to her mother.

That was the easy part. The difficult one was to get his friends to go. Notbecause they were incredibly mean people, but because Koushi still hadn’tintroduced her to them. They were training almost all the time, and they hadtheir own school, and family life to attend. And the little free time Koushihad, he spent it with her. There hadn’t been a right time for him to introduceher to his team.

But thanks to her plan, she would have to introduce herself, whichwasn’t an easy task.

She knew their faces because she knew who was the Karasuno volleyballteam, and she knew their names because Koushi had mentioned them a gazilliontimes. The only problem was that she didn’t know which name belonged to whom. 

Then, she needed to find a right time to talk to them. At school, Sugawarawas almost all the time with them. She couldn’t approach any of them if he wasthere because she wouldn’t be able to tell them about the surprise party. Therewas problem number two.

And problem number three, she was terribly awkward with new people. Shewas the worst when it came to people. 

She wasted a whole week hunting her boyfriend’s friend all over school.Every time she spotted one of them, they would meet immediately with Sugawara,or she would simple lose all courage in her to walk up to them.

She grew anxious the next Monday. Sugawara’s birthday was that weekend,and she still had a party with no guests. So she putted another plan together.She only needed her boyfriend to be away from the gym for a couple of minutes.Then she would have them all together in one place for her to invite them.

And that was how she had ended up hidden outside the gym where she knewher boyfriend trained every evening. A parade of boyish voices laughing,talking, joking with each other made their way into the installation. Needlessto say, her heart was beating out of her chest, and her stomach hurt. She wasthere. She needed to do it.

She waited a good half an hour to send the message that would throwSugawara out of the gym as if he was a rocket ship launching into space. Or soshe hoped. If he didn’t, well, it would be kind of heart wrecking.

She hit send, and waited. She stared at her phone waiting for the littlecheckmarks to turn blue. Almost ten minutes later, they did. And short afterthat, she heard Sugawara’s voice.

“I’ll be gone for a couple minutes. It won’t be long.” Hurried stepssounded against the wooden floor, and then the door of the gym opened with aloud smack, and hurried steps sounded again. She waited for a minute, and withher own heart in her throat she stepped out of her hideaway. She was nervouslike she had never been, but at least she now knew her boyfriend truly caredabout her.

She knew she didn’t have much time. She went into the gym with no sound.The first to notice her were the only two girls there. They looked to each otherbefore the tallest made her way to Aika. 

“Can we help you?” she asked. Aika swallowed hard, and stiffly nodded.“You can tell me, what is it?” 

A couple of heads turned her way before she could answer.

“Oh, look, another girl!” one voice said. Now everyone was gazing at her.

“She looks familiar,” another voice added.

Suddenly the whole team was heading her way. She took one step backwardsfeeling overwhelmed. A bunch of sweating guys was glaring at her, waiting forher to talk.

“You’re scaring her,” added one of them. “Take a step back. Give herspace.” Every single one of them obeyed with no complain. Almost all of themwere smiling unbothered by her presence. “Are you a third year?” the same guyasked.

She only nodded.

“That’s why you look so familiar to me. I’m Sawamura Daichi. Nice tomeet you.”

“I’m Aika,” she managed to say. So he was the captain of the team, andwho would practically be Sugawara’s best friend. Good to know. “Nice to meetyou, too.”

“Tell us, Aika-san, what brings you here?” Daichi asked. 

She stood quiet trying to find her words. They probably didn’t even knowSugawara already had a girlfriend. She had never asked him about that smalldetail. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Without answering Daichi, she pickedout her phone. A message from Sugawara shone bright. 

‘Where are you?I’m looking for you like crazy!!’

She panicked, and quickly answered. All eyes still on her, all of themstill confused. 

‘I moved to thelibrary five minutes ago. I can’t find it.’ That would give her more time, butnot much. And she couldn’t keep worrying him like that. 

“I’m… well, I don’t know if you know but, I am…” she stopped andsighted. She had to hurry. She only had to say it, and that was the end of it.“I am Sugawara’s girlfriend, and I—

A sea of screams and questions stopped her mid sentence. If everyone wasalready glaring at her, now they were watching her with eyes wide open, andwith their jaws on the floor.

“Suga-senpai has a girlfriend!?” one practically shouted. “No oneknew!?”

“NO!” another two shouted as well. 

She looked at her phone. 

‘I’m going to thelibrary. Don’t move. We’ll find it.’

She panicked even more.

“Please, hear me out. Please,” she asked, anguish all over her face. Noone listened to her, though. They were all still in shock being as loud as theylungs let them, throwing questions into the air. Her voice was practically afade echo, background noise.

Shimizu picked this up immediately, and softly gasped. She clapped acoupe of times trying to attract everyone’s attention. And for Aika’s surprise,it worked. Those delicate claps had been enough to shut the noisiest guys shehad ever met.

“Aika-san still has something to say,” Shimizu said, and as if they hadpractice it tirelessly, they all turned to her at the same time.

Her phone started to vibrate. He was calling her. ‘Fast, make it fast,’ she thought.

“This weekend is Sugawara’s birthday, and I want to throw him a surpriseparty, okay? But I need everyone’s help. He’s coming back to the gym in no timeso I can’t stay.”

“How do you know where he is?” the bald guy asked.

“I send him a message telling him someone stole my school bag, and he’slooking for it, and looking for me,”Aika admitted as she shook her phone in the air. The bald guy gasped amused.

Her phone was ripped off of her hands. “You don’t have password? Cool,”said Daichi as he pressed the keys of her phone. In no time he returned it.“You already have my phone. Text me, we’ll get that party going. You can counton us.” He finished with a smile. 

“We’ll be there!” a guy with a small blonde highlight confidently toldher. She smiled.

“Thank you so much. It was nice to meet all of you.”

“Thank you for coming, we hadno freaking idea Sugawara had a girlfriend!” the bald guy said. 

“Please don’t tell him I was here. You still don’t know me, okay?”

“OKAY!” all screamed again. She made a little head bow, and got out ofthe gym before they could leave her deaf. 

She kept smiling to herself. That had been somehow easy. She hadexpected a mixture of personalities, and probably they were completelydifferent from one another, but at least they were all nice guys. She had beenscared of meeting them, and it had been a piece of cake.

She only hoped they like her back. It was too soon to tell since theyhad met briefly, but she guessed she would discover if they got along until theweekend. She had a hunch they would.

She returned to her hiding spot, and started to move the bushes whereshe had buried her school bag. One the straps had got stuck with a twistedbranch, and she was doing the worst job possible in getting it out of there.

“Aika! Finally!” She turned around mouth agape dropping her bag. Shethought she had a little more time. Sugawara was strolling towards her. “I toldyou to wait for me in the library,” he said when he was with her. He wasn’tmad, but she could tell he was slightly annoyed.

“I freaked out. Sorry,” she answered trying to think about any goodexcuse. She needed the perfect lie to justify what was she doing outside thevolleyball gym.

“What are you doing here scraping the bushes?”

“Ahm well,” she looked to the bushes, and back to him dumbfounded.

“Is your bag there?” 

The switch in her head snapped, and her brain was on again. She couldfeel the bulb inside shinning. “Yes!” she blurted. “I left the library in ahurry because someone told me they saw a couple of guys throwing a bag to thebushes, so I came.”

“What?” He frowned again. “What kind of douche were those guys.” 

Aika shrugged. “I don’t know, but at least I found it.”

“Let me help you.”

Sugawara walked passed her, and got his arm deep into the bushes. Aikacould see how some branches scratched his arm leaving delicate red lines alonghis white skin. He was unfazed by it. In a second he had her bag with him. 

“We should find out who were the assholes who did this.” Now he wasgenuinely pissed off. Aika shook her head quickly.

“No. No. Forget it. I don’t want to. I’m glad I have my bag with meagain. I only want to leave this incident behind.”

“Are you sure? What if they do it again?” 

“I think it was a random prank. For all we know they might have mistakenmy bag with someone else’s.” She had talked fast. She wanted the lie to beover. She hated to lie to him.

“If you say so,” he finally concluded. “I have to go back to practice. Sendme a message when you get home, please.”

“Of course.”

Sugawara looked around, and once he was sure they were alone, he cuppedher face and gave her a small peck on the lips. He smiled at her, and joggedback to the gym.

Aika almost dropped to the floor. 

That had been so close.

—

EXTRA:

Her house was full with the volleyball team. The same parade of loudlaughs, and loud voices had moved to her living room. Even the same two girlswho had approached her in the gym were there. Now she knew which name belongedto whom. 

They all had done as she had asked. They arrived in time, and the oneswho arrived a little earlier helped her with the decorations as they got toknow each other better. By the time Sugawara arrived to her house to have theirusual movie-night date, all of them received him with a big ‘Surprise.’ 

His face had lightened up, and he was left momentarily speechless. Aikawas bubbling with happiness. She had got what she wanted. Sugawara’s smile wentfrom corner to corner adorning his whole face with genuine joy. She had neverseen a smile so wide, and complete like that one.

She was taking out more beverages from the kitchen when Sugawaraappeared. Just as she had thought, they all drank and ate like an army.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asked him leaving the sodas unattended for asecond. 

“No one really stole your bag, right?”

It took Aika a second to process what he was talking about. She shook her head. “No. I needed you out of thegym for a couple of minutes.”

“I figured.” Sugawara walked up to her, and kissed her forehead. “Thank you.”  

——

Thank you for the request! I hope you liked it!