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dreamescapeswriting · 3 years

Text

The Game ~ LF [M] [Request]

WORD COUNT: 8.3K

PAIRING: Felix x FemReader

GENRE: Angst, AU, post-apocalyptic world, a giant game of truth or dare, kill or be killed world, a little fluff, Smut, slow burn, ANGST

WARNING: Themes of death, blood, jumping from high heights, guns, knives, murder, hurting yourself, falling from heights

There were only two things in the world that you feared, and that was whatever was controlling the pagers and the dares that came through them. Everything you knew and loved was gone, leaving behind a scary post-apocalyptic world but the scariest part was no one knew how it came to be. One night everything had been as it was and the next...Nothing but vast nothingness, crumbled buildings and small pagers that helped you survive.

"I think I saw someone go this way," You gasps pressing your back against the wall and holding your breath. Voices were never a good sign when you were in an abandoned building looking for supplies. It could have been where someone had set up their life and you were stealing or they could have been dared to find you.

In this world it was, kill or be killed. Thanks to the machines that were permanently attached to your hips. No one knew what was controlling them and they said what because there was no way whatever it was was human. The dares ranged from something easy to something almost impossible but the incentives were always the selling point. It could be as something simple as a night in a real bed or real food to wake up to in the morning. You weren't sure how it all got to the people that won the dares or if it was safe but it was the first real food anyone had had in a long time.

Though all of that was rumoured nothing was ever shown to be true to you, all you ever got were small dares in order to find a blanket to keep you warm or some extra clothes.

Edging yourself towards the window of the crumbling museum you debated jumping from the height you were at, it was nothing too large. Just two floors you would be fine but there was a group of guys right beside the entrance, if they saw or heard you there would be no doubt you would be caught.

"I don't see anyone Soobin." A voice cried out as you kept your back pressed against the outer wall of the building, praying that you wouldn't slip or-

BeepBeepBeepBeep

The loud and irritating pager began to ring on your hip and someone's head snapped out of the window you had crawled from.

"GOTTCHA!" Screaming at the sudden voice you slipped on the cracked lege slipping down onto the ground and grunting when you felt something stab you in the side. Holding your hand on your right side you saw a small patch of red begin to leak through your shirt,

"Just got this," You mumbled getting yourself up from the floor, ignoring the group of boys that were starting to rush towards you calling out for you to stop. There was nothing on this planet, not even a dare, that would make you stop and speak to them.

"Leave me alone!" You coughed out as they continued to follow you down the abandoned street you had set yourself up in. A small abandoned store which no one else seemed to be interested in. You'd found it a few weeks ago and set up shop there, a makeshift bed made out of old books you'd found. It wasn't exactly the comfiest thing in the world but it was somewhere to lay your head, somewhere safe.

"We just wanna talk." The one who had caused you to slip cried out but you continued to walk, keeping your hand on the wound you'd gotten so you wouldn't bleed out too much. There was a small first aid kit stashed in one of the drawers of the store you stayed in, it didn't have many supplies left since the last dare you got was to get a pillow for a night.

"Just leave me alone." You hissed through gritted teeth wanting nothing more than forever it was to leave you alone but a hand grabbed onto your wrist. Before you even had a chance to turn around and smack the culprit they were already on the floor with a bloody nose.

"She said to leave her alone," A deep voice ordered, towering over the boy who had scared you was a boy. Well, a man. Dressed in all black clothing that looked new, guns in small holsters as he stood looking at the other men that had been bothering you. Had it not been for the guns you didn't think he would have intimidated them that much, he wasn't much taller than you and he seemed rather sweet in the face.

"Thanks," You uttered as he helped you up from the ground, noticing the wound on your side when a whistling sound sounded in the air.

"Someone's getting a package," You laughed softly as you looked up in the sky for wherever the package would be coming from but it dropped right into the boy's hands.

"I was dared to save a stranger." He chuckled as he opened the mental container revealing two chocolate bars.

"Here," He offered you one and you stared at him, there was no way he could have been serious.

"You don't know me...Why would you offer me something you worked for?" Leaning back against a rock you tried to steady yourself from fainting. The bleeding was starting to worsen and you knew you were going to end up losing consciousness soon.

"Because that's what decent people do...You should clean yourself up before you get infected..." Spot the obvious sherlock you looked at him before down at your shirt that was starting to turn pink from the blood.

"I'm out of first aid stuff, I think all I have is gauze." You hissed out lifting your shirt up to reveal the small gash on your side. You must have landed on a sharp brick or a twig when you slipped from the museum building. It was a high chance it would become infected if you didn't get something fast.

"Do you have a dare? Maybe you could do something," Staring down at your pager you remembered it had gone off. The whole reason you had gotten into this mess, they should have come with a vibrating setting.

"Kiss a stranger and win a first aid box." You laughed looking at it, the words flashing over and over again as you thought about it.

"It's like whoever controls them knows what's going to happen to us before we do." You spoke looking back up, the boy knelt down in front of you rooting through his bag for something he could use to help you when you grabbed him by the face.

"Sorry." You mumbled before pushing your lips against his.

In that moment the kiss was something that felt as close to home as you had been in the longest time. The boy was shocked but pulled you closer to him, moving his lips in time with yours as he wrapped his arms protectively around you. The kiss was warm and inviting, something you hadn't felt in the longest time and you weren't sure you ever wanted it to end.

Neither of you pulled apart until the whistling sound happened and a box landed beside you but it was far too small for a first aid kit.

"What did they give you?" He frowned as he looked at the box. Unlocking it you popped it open to find a hotel key. The whole time you had been doing these dares you'd never once been given a hotel room, you'd only ever heard stories about it and to be honest. You thought it was all rumours.

"Why would they give me a hotel key when I was promised a first aid kit?" The persistent pain in your side was starting to worsen when another beep signalled from your pager. It wasn't a dare but directions to a building with the words,

"Take Felix with you." You glanced up at the boy you had just made out with and he seemed to be blushing deeply. It must have been him you were going to take with you to a random location.

"Felix?" He nodded his head as he held out his hand for you to shake which seemed pointless after the make-out session you had both had.

"Y/n." You smiled before shaking his hand and getting up from the rock you were leaning against.

"Let's go and find a hotel..." Felix wrapped your arm around his shoulder wanting to help you walk without hurting yourself.

"I'm sure everything will be explained when we get there." He told you as he began to follow the directions that were now flashing on his pager.

"Have you ever gotten a hotel for a dare?" You asked, truly interested to hear anything about the boy you had been kissing.

"No. I thought people were lying when they told me they stayed in one." You agreed with him. The stories you heard seemed too good to be true. One hotel building left standing, nothing wrong with it and it worked perfectly. Why would that be the only building left standing?

"I heard they have running water and electricity." He whispered as you continued to walk together but the same question was left. Why? Why would it be there and no one allowed to enter?

The question was answered quickly when you reached the hotel. The entire place was surrounded by large electrical fences as well as men as large as the fences guarding it.

"They have to be...What? Eight-foot?" You whimpered as you looked up at Felix. The men all had the same faces and as you got close you realised they had no eyes. Just black holes where their eyes should have been and a creepy smile on their face.

"Just a little creepy," You whispered as you moved towards the gate, one of the men bent down and opened it. Slamming and locking it shut once you were inside the safety of the fences.

"They remind me of Hachishakusama...The old urban legend only male." Felix muttered in your ear as you walked through the doors of the hotel. Suddenly it felt as though you were back in time.

The whole place was crowded with people, dressed in clothing that wasn't ruined or covered in blood. Laughing and joking with one another as they walked around the hotel lobby together.

"AH! Welcome! You must be Y/n and Felix, yes...Yes, we've been waiting for you." A small man said as he came out from behind the counter. Dressed in a fresh suit and he smelt like roses,

"Do you have the key?" Fishing the small key from your pocket you handed it to him and he smiled up at you.

"I'll have Xavier take your bags," The small man clapped his hands together and you jumped when you saw one of the things from outside coming up to you. It said nothing as it held out its hands to take your bags.

"You'll be given fresh clothing and don't worry Y/n we have some items in the room for you to clean your cut with. Nasty little gash," You stared back at the small man, how had he seen it when you were still dressed.

"How did-"

"No time for questions dear, let's go to the elevators." Following behind the man you stared around the hotel. Red carpets, huge chandeliers and working lights, it was all too good to be true. You must have died when you slipped from the ledge there was no way this was real.

"There's always a catch." You laughed when you walked into the hotel room to find one double bed there. The small man, who you eventually learned the name was Wooyoung, gave you a key to the room and left you alone. Your bags were taken away and never seen again and now you knew why. Fresh clothes were hanging on the back of the door with a wardrobe filled with other clothes.

"I think this is for you," Holding up a small tube Felix smiling at you.

"Healing ointment?" Your heart raced, you'd received it once before for a large gash on your leg. One layer applied to your body and it would fix whatever was wrong, no matter what kind of gash it was.

"I'll use a little and keep the rest." You stated lifting your shirt up to apply the cream but Felix came closer.

"Let me." He whispered as he took the cream from you, applying a small layer to three of his fingers and adding it to your injury. You cried out clutching onto his hand tightly trying not to cry. You forgot how painful it was to have the ointment applied to an open wound but you knew it would soon feel good.

"Did the guys who were chasing do this?" He questioned when you lowered your shirt back down.

"No. I fell off the museum ledge and I must have hit myself on a brick." You wanted to laugh at how clumsy you must have been but you were too busy looking around the room.

"We have running water...Do you want to shower first?" You shook your head, offering him the shower while you could stalk around the room for any sign that this was a dream.

Laying on your back in the bed you stared at the ceiling, your mind was racing too much to comprehend what was happening. You were dressed in brand new clothes instead of something that was covered in wholes, rips and smelt like a sewer. The silk sheets around you felt as though they were something crafted in the heavens and you were laid beside someone you barely knew.

"Have you been alone this whole time?" You questioned randomly knowing that neither of you could sleep. The bed was far too comfy and the room was too quiet, both of you were used to having screams or loud noises happening around you. It felt too peaceful for either of you to find sleep anytime soon.

"No. I was with a group of friends but we got separated." He mumbled thinking back on seven of his friends he hadn't seen in lord knows how long. It was impossible to tell how many days it had been since this whole thing started.

"What about you?" He turned his head to look at you and you shook your head. There'd been no one for you to attach yourself to, your family was gone and you knew no one in the world you could turn to for help so you went it alone.

"I've been alone the whole time..." Your voice sounded strained, it was the first time admitting it to someone other than yourself. Mostly because you never let anyone get close enough to you to speak. You'd run before they could kill you or take your supplies but with Felix it was different. It felt normal to be around him and it felt safe.

"Family?" You shook your head, everyone you had ever met was someone your age or only a few years older or younger. There was no one older than 30 anywhere to be seen.

"Do you remember what you were doing before all of this?" You shook your head once again, you remembered nothing besides your family and your name.

"I remember going to sleep and waking up to my house falling down around me. You?" He nodded his head, it was almost everything he had remembered from the time before his life here.

"The same. I was asleep in my room with my roommates, then nothing...We were in a crumbling building." Looking at him you could tell the memory of his friends upset him. There was no reason for you to pry besides an interest in getting to know him.

"When did you get separated?" His head turned to look back up at the ceiling. It had been a while since he thought back on what had happened between them.

"Sixteen days ago...We were doing some kind of dare in an abandoned factory and that was it. Never saw them again..." Your heart sank as you realised how scared he must have been after being with them since the start. From having the safety of other people around him to having nothing and no one.

"I waited outside the factory for ten days but then supplies got low and I had to move." He looked down at his hands, it was something he had always regretted. Had they come back while he was gone? Something he constantly thought about. There was only one way in and out of the factory there was nowhere else they could have gone.

"Felix I'm so sorry." You whispered reaching out to place your hand on top of his as you. Felix stared back at you to see your eyes were filled with sympathy for him,

"No...It's not your fault." He looked at you and smiled, a genuine smile something you hadn't seen in a long time. Your eyes flicked down to his lips and all you could think about was inching closer to kiss him again so you did.

Gently pressing your lips against his you sighed as you felt the feeling of home flooding back into you. Felix felt it too and all he wanted to do was never let go of you, to feel it all day every day.

It was hard to describe it any other way than that. Kissing him felt as though it grounded you and took you out of the crummy world you had.

"Goodnight Felix," You breathed as you rolled over onto your side, closing your eyes to finally get some rest.

Felix woke up long before you did and found a note on his pager, he hadn't even heard it in the night.

Stick with her and good things will come.

No dare. Just some cryptic message that good things would come if he stayed by your side. There was no way he was going to fight something he couldn't see so he stayed, laying beside you reading through a book that was left on the bedside cabinet.

"How long have you been awake?" You whined as you rolled over to see him sitting up in the bed,

"I'm not sure. You looked peaceful so I figured I should let you sleep for a while." He explained as he shut the book he was reading, he was about to mention the pager message when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in?" You called out to the door, it opened and Xavier walked into the room pushing a small trolley. There was still the empty eyes and creepy smile plastered across its face. Grunting before leaving you alone with the tray of food you exchanged a look with Felix.

"Creepy even in the morning." He mumbled as he watched you crawling to the end of the bed. The trolley was covered in food, breakfast desserts and a small envelope with your name on the front of it.

"What does it say?" Felix asked as his mouth watered at the sight of all the food. Something he hadn't seen in however long it had been, frits, baked goods and actual food that wasn't some kind of animal they had to kill in order to eat it.

"Y/n, meet your new teammate. Follow the rules, the dares and you will be greatly rewarded. Enjoy the food and the hotel for as long as we see fit." You stared from the piece of paper and back to Felix who looked almost as confused as you did.

"Teammate? What is this? Some sort of game?" You scoffed throwing the paper into the bin before grabbing food and handing some to Felix.

"Greatly rewarded? What could they give us?" Felix questioned as he thought back to the message he had gotten that morning.

"I had a message on my pager. It told me to stay with you and good things would come." The two of you stared back at one another confused as to what everything could mean and why you had to stay together. Was it the same condition everyone was sticking to in the hotel?

"So we stick together, what does that mean exactly?" He questioned you as he bit down into the croissant he was holding. You wish you had answers but the messages were so vague you didn't have a hint, at least if you were on your own you didn't have to worry about someone else all of the time.

"We do our dares together? What happened when you were with your friends?" Felix thought back on everything. The first few dares they'd gotten were to receive items they needed by themselves but the rest were together.

"Chan and I were dared to climb across a rope suspended over 15 floors...We did it to get food for all of us," You nodded trying to think back on some of the things you had to do, most of them not dangerous at all.

"I had to give myself a tattoo in order to get some blankets." You pulled up the sleeve of your nightshirt to reveal the small circle you had done.

"It was supposed to be a heart...But it hurt and I just did a circle instead." Felix smiled as he saw the small ink splodge just below the pit of your elbow.

"Have you gotten anything dangerous before?" You shook your head in the answer to his question. Whoever was giving you dares had been going fairly easy on you which was beginning to worry you know that you heard Felix had hard ones.

"I just wish we knew who or what was doing it to us." You admitted as you looked over at your pager. There had to be someone controlling them, governments, parents, some other world that had taken over?

"My friend Jisung had a theory," Felix laughed thinking back on Jisung. He was the one that always made the group laugh, no matter what was going on around him he had to make people laugh.

"Aliens." That was all Felix said as you shook your head,

"Explain more! How could it just be aliens," You shook your head laughing at the concept though you guessed anything could be possible by the state of the world.

"Well, he thought that they came one night and decided they wanted to test us...See how far we would go to survive." You shrugged, it wasn't completely impossible. The entire universe was huge no one knew what was out there and if that thing like Xiaver was around who knew what else could be out there.

"I wonder when the next dare will be?" You hated the fact that you were being fed food just for kissing a stranger. There had to be more to it than that, there was always a catch.

But there wasn't. From what you could tell it had been two months since you and Felix moved into the hotel, there were no more dares for you to follow. Just notes every morning with breakfast complimenting how well you and Felix seemed to be getting on well with one another.

"It's starting to freak me out." You told Felix as you sat by the indoor pool one morning, another Xiaver was guarding the room to make sure nothing happened. Since staying in the hotel you learnt that all of the 8-foot-tall beings were called Xiaver, they had no personality and no ability to talk.

"What is?" Felix asked as he swam over to the side of the pool you were sitting at, you looked at him and then around the room. Nothing felt as though it was relaxing to you, couples around the hotel seemed on edge all of the time. No one looked as happy as they did on your first day there.

"This whole place...You don't find it off that there's nothing here, no dares? Just someone telling us how well we get along." The two of you had developed a friendship and budding relationship since being trapped together. Sharing a bed with the same person every night was bound to form some kind of connection. You would spend all day every day together because you were the only ones who know one another.

"I find it nice, I would like if you stop trying to poke holes into my relaxation," He muttered pulling you into the water with him and wrapping your legs around his waist.

"But why would they want us to relax? After all of this time why now?" You pouted as Felix held you in his arms staring into your eyes.

"Maybe whoever it is thought we had enough...That we should enjoy our time together." Even that seemed far fetched to you but you nodded at him.

"I still don't-" He cut you off by kissing you softly on the lips, smiling as he felt you relax against him.

"If I rant again will you kiss me?" He shook his head, running his hand over your face and smiling weakly.

"I don't need you to rant for me to kiss you." He leant down and connected your lips together once again making you sigh happily against his lips.

The two of you would do this a lot too, it was the first real human connection you'd had in a while and you never wanted to lose the feeling.

"Can I tell you something?" Your voice was hoarse as you pressed your forehead against Felix's.

"Sure, We're friends right...You can tell me anything," You smiled weakly as you shook your head,

"That's the problem...I think I'm falling in love with you."

"Good. Because I think I'm falling in love with you too." You smiled softly smashing your lips together, all of a sudden the kisses were heated and filled with passion.

From the pool to your room the two of you made out every chance you got, passion building between you whenever you had the chance.

"We don't have to do anything you're not ready for." Felix panted as he pressed you down against the bed, kissing up and down your neck as you shook your head.

"I'm fine. I-I want you, Felix," You whispered as he began to press his mouth onto yours, pulling off your bikini you had been wearing in the pool and throwing it elsewhere in the room.

Slowly moving your hands down his body you gripped him in your hand softly pumping him as he let out a choked moan. Thrusting his hips into your hand as he rolled his eyes back. It had been the first time in forever since he'd even thought about touching himself let alone having someone else do it for him.

"Oh fuck that feels good," He moaned out as his head rolled back, thrust in and out of your hand while you used your thumb to rub the tip.

"Y/n." He whispered as he ran his hands down to your core rubbing your bundle of nerves causing you to whine out his name. Bucking your hips so much that the tip of his cock hit your entrance and you clenched around nothing.

"Felix please," You whispered as you arched your back of the bed, desperate to have him buried inside of you.

Wrapping your ankles around his waist he pulled you to the edge of the bed running his cock through your folds.

"Lix," You sighed rolling your head back against the mattress as you waited for him.

"You beg so sweetly," He chuckled before running his cock through your folds and up to your clit making you cry out louder.

Slowly easing into your he moaned out as he felt you clenching around him tightly. Nails digging into his arms you adjusted to the size inside of you,

"Holy fuck," You moaned out as you could feel your pussy throbbing and clenching just from the first thrust,

"You're so fucking tight," He grunted out as he felt you clench around him once more.

"M-Move Lix, please." You begged him bucking your hips around him as he slowly began to pull out and bottom back into you. Screaming out his name you rolled your head back against the bed, enjoying the feeling of his full length in you.

"Faster," You panted as you looked up at him, pulling him down into a deep kiss as your pushed your hands into his hair.

"Faster? You're sure?" He panted as he looked at you,

"Make me scream." You smirked as he looked back at you, a smirk covering his face as he began to thrust in and out of you at a fast pace. Pounding in and out of you at a steady rhythm as he grunted loudly.

"Fuck you feel so good!" He moaned out as he continued to thrust faster into you. Your moans of his name encouraging him as you gripped onto his arms.

"S-Shit Lix, don't stop." You begged as you could feel your orgasm fast approaching. The feeling felt so foreign to you but so good, your mind was starting to go blank as you cried out nothing but his name. Hips thrusting harder and harder as he began to rub your clit making you scream out his name, by now everyone on your floor knew what you were going to be doing.

"I'm-I'm gonna cum," You warned him as your eye screwed shut, gripping onto the sheets as your back arched away from the bed.

"Holy fuck! Right there," You begged him as his hips continued to hit you right where you needed it until you came around him. Exploding as you clenched around him, it felt as though your whole body was suddenly on fire as your pussy clenched over and over again.

Felix's thrusts slowed to a stop as his breathing became ragged and hard.

"Shit." He panted as he kissed your neck, feeling himself twitching inside of you as he came.

Falling down beside you he pulled you into his arms, kissing up and down your shoulder softly.

"Well, that confirmed it," He panted as he placed a kiss on your shoulder, making you giggle at him.

"Confirmed what?"

"That I am in fact, 100% totally in love with you." He breathed out before leaving a soft and gentle kiss on your lips.

A loud tannoy began to play in your room startling you and Lix awake as you looked around to see what was going on.

"Good morning our lovely couple. I'll expect to see you in the lobby in ten minutes!" You frowned hearing Wooyoung's voice coming through the speaker system in your room. In the whole time, you had been staying it had never happened, not once.

"I wonder what that's about," Felix whispered as he sat up in the bed, looking over at the wardrobe to decide what he was going to wear that day.

"Probably in trouble for how loud we were." You whined remembering the night before as you pushed yourself off the bed. Not that you were complaining, if that kept happening between you and Felix you were never going to complain about a single thing in the world ever again.

"New pagers?" You frowned as Wooyoung placed a white pager in your hands, smiling up at you as he nodded.

"You've been chosen. Congratulations." The congratulations didn't make you feel comforted in fact it made you uneasy as you stared at the new pager in your hands. A notification coming through almost right away.

"To stay one more night we dare you to...Get a new tattoo..." You frowned looking at the words on the screen, Felix frowned as his pager didn't go off yet.

"Well. That dare seems simple, we have someone on hand if you want to come through." Wooyoung seemed overly chipper as he leads you and Felix over to a set of doors. Pushing them open he smiled when he saw one of the chairs were free, all of the seven others were taken by other people completing the same dare.

"We have another!" Wooyoung cried out as he handed you a small folder of designs to look through. All of them had the words, "The Game," written somewhere into the design and you stared anxiously at Felix. It wasn't the fear of getting a tattoo but the fear that this was a game to some people, then there was the uneasy feeling that there were only couples in the hotel. Had whoever been creating the dares been waiting for you and Felix to come together?

"What design would you like us to give to her?" The question was directed at Felix who looked at you shocked,

"I have to decide? But it was her dare..." You looked at the man who shook his head,

"Her's was to get a tattoo yours should be-" Before he could say coming through now his Felix's pager lit up and the words came across the screen.

"Two extra nights, you decide what she's branded with," A shiver ran through you. Branded? This had to be some kind of sick game but you never wanted out of the hotel. It had become too good to leave, going back into the world meant sleeping on the floor and not knowing when your next meal was going to come.

"I trust you," You whispered as you kissed Felix softly, sitting down in the chair and waited for whatever he gave you.

The tattoo he'd given you was no larger than a usually sized post-it note, it was a floral design and besides the words it was perfect.

"At least we have two more nights," He whispered as you got into the elevator again to up to your floor. Another couple joining you as they looked at you, the male had a black eye and his girlfriend had a large cut on her stomach. As soon as they caught you looking at them they stared back at the doors making you stare up at Felix in a panic. The couple looked as though they'd been in a wrestling fight with a bear and lost but Felix just wrapped his arm around your waist protectively and kissed your shoulder.

Days and weeks began to go by and the dares began to get more and more out of control. It had started with something small as running naked through the halls, jumping into the pool naked or just having a verbal fight with someone. Now it was out of hand. Just last week you had been dared to punch someone in the face while they had been dared to fight someone leaving you bruised eyes and a busted up lip.

"There's no way." You whimpered as you sat beside Felix in the pool room. The Xavier's were loading the pool up with buckets of fish, you couldn't even tell what they were from this far away.

"Swim with Pirana's for another night's stay. Good things are coming." Felix read the pager to you and you gripped onto his hand, there was no way on the planet that you were even going to allow him of jumping into that pool.

"You can't...They'll eat you," You panicked as you looked at him, begging him not to do it but he didn't have a choice.

"Wooyoung said this is the easiest one. All I have to do is not move while I'm in there." You shook your head as he began walking to the edge of the pool, looking over at the fish that were calmly swimming around in the new water.

"Felix we can go outside, we don't have to keep putting ourselves through this." You begged but he knew neither of you wanted to go outside into the world now so he did it. Climbing down the ladder into the water so he was in the shallow end of the pool, you sat right by the edge ready to yank him out if anything happened.

"This is too easy Lix." You hissed at him as he just stood there, looking at you as he shook his head.

"Not everything is going to be as bad as you think." His face dropped and the colour drained as he saw one of the Xiavers coming into the room with another bucket.

"For an additional month-long stay, stay inside with the Pirarna's for an extra two minutes." You frowned reading the pager out to him not understanding until you saw the look of terror on Felix's face. Xavier had begun to pour fish guts and bones into the water surrounded Felix.

"Get out." You ordered him as you stared back at Felix,

"Please just get out. It's not worth it." You panicked feeling your heart begin to pound against your chest but he didn't move. He stayed still as a rock as he looked at you, smiling weakly trying not to show how truly terrified he was.

"Lix." Tears began to pour down your face, one bite was as sharp as a razor and there had to be around 400 Pirana's swimming around him at all times, eating parts of the fish that had been thrown in for them.

A buzzer sounded and Felix practically jumped out of the water, grabbing you and cradling you in his arms as you sobbed against his chest.

"Never again!" You yelled at home as you rocked back and forth a little.

"You can't leave me...I won't lose you." You whimpered over and over again as he kissed the top of your year. Neither of you noticing the cameras capturing every moment you had together in the pool.

The final month had been and gone so quickly, you spent most of your time locked up in the room together trying to convince Felix that you could both make it out there but he dropped a bomb on you. The pagers you originally had were never going to come back and the white ones would only work in the hotel,

"Once we're out there we're alone. No supplies unless we start stealing." He told you as he tried to convince you everything was going to be okay. That he would take anything too dangerous out of your hands while you told him not to be stupid.

"Dare time. For one glorious night, stab yourself in the thigh." You read out right before a knock on the door sounded, you sniffled looking at Felix who got up to answer the door.

"I bring you whatever you want to stab yourself with, we heard they wanted a show from you both. You're the hit of the hotel, everyone keeps talking about the two of you." Staring at the tray he had bought into the room you saw a selection of knifes all waiting for you to take.

"I can take her dare, right?" Felix questioned but it was too late. You'd already taken one of the steak knives and lodged it into your thigh, holding back a shriek as you felt blood begin to trickle down your leg.

"A girl that wastes no time, we love it," Wooyoung smirked yanking the knife out and leaving you there to bleed,

"F-Felix." You whispered pointing over at the wardrobe where your things were kept.

"The ointment is in there," You'd get up yourself but you were busy clutching your thigh to stop the bleeding.

"I would have done it for you,"

"I am capable you know." You laughed as he began to apply the cream to your leg, looking at you and shaking his head as he thought about how bad things were going to get from there.

"Maybe there will be one big dare we can do...So that we never have to do a dare again?" You hummed, it seemed too good to be true but you had hope that one day it would all end. That the two of you would have done enough dares between you to let you go.

Final dare. Freedom for you. Kill Him. Staring at your pager you frowned. Freedom for you? You glanced over at Felix who was in the middle of an arm wrestle with someone else on your floor. It wasn't a dare just something to do while you waited for the days to pass by faster. You wondered if Felix had gotten the same page but he never flinched or moved to signal that his pager had gone off.

Final dare. Freedom for you. Kill Her. You were in the shower when Felix got his page and panic flooded through him. Kill you? When did this become a game of murder? The water shut off and you came out wrapped in a towel and stared at him.

"You got it too?" You whispered when you noticed the look on his face, you'd known him so long it was like reading the pages of a magazine with him.

"You got the same?" He questioned as he sat down on the bed. You were laying there trying to make it look as though you weren't whispering to him. If there were people watching you at all hours of the day to make sure dares were completed there had to be a camera in your room.

"Why would they want us to kill each other?" You whispered as you looked through the book in front of you, Felix frowned as he thought about it more. The two of you sat there together as you read through the book in your hand, exchanging a couple of looks with him every now and again.

"Alien theory still stands. Want to see how far they can push us." You scoffed getting up from the bed and changing into some clothes. Sitting there and doing nothing about the dare was getting you nowhere. You had one more night thanks to a dare you'd completed the other day, a game of Russian roulette which you had clearly won.

"Well, then I'm going back into the real world...I'm not going to kill you." Felix watched you as you began to pack different items into an overnight bag as if any of it was going to help you in the outside world. None of that was going to help you out there, not anymore.

"I can't go back out there," He told you plainly making you stare over at him waiting for him to tell you that he was joking but he stared at you with a serious look, not once giving you any indication that it was a joke.

"Lix...I won't kill you," You frowned as you shook your head at him, there was no way you were going to be able to bring yourself to kill someone you loved that deeply.

"Then I guess I'll have to kill you." The breath felt as though it was knocked from your lungs as Felix got up from the bed just staring at you. Slowly beginning to walk towards you with a blank expression on his face as your heart hammered against your chest.

"You can't! I-I love you, you wouldn't-" You stopped speaking when a knife flew past your head and lodged into the door behind you, staring at the handle you looked back at him.

"I won't go back out there. I can't." Your heart dropped to the pit of your stomach as you began to realise he was willing to kill you in order to stay there forever.

The tannoy speakers began to crackle before a song played through them loudly,

"Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run." As soon as the lyrics played your eyes wandered to Felix who pulled out one of his guns from the wardrobe.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Goes the farmer's gun." Throwing the door open you slammed it behind you making a sprint for the elevators but two Xiaver's were guarding the doors and shaking their heads. Hands simply pointing in the direction of the stairs and the song continued to play louder and louder, faster and faster with each second.

"HELP ME!" You screamed as you banged on different doors hoping that someone would hear your calls and come out to help you but nothing happened.

"Y/n! Don't run, it spoils my fun!" Felix sang out in a singing voice watching as you walked into the stairwell, down was where Wooyoung would be waiting for you so you rushed up.

"I thought you loved me..." Your voice came out broken as you stood on the roof of the hotel looking at Felix who had followed you up to the top floor.

"I do! I need to do this, if you want to go out there you might as well be dead!" You stepped closer to the edge of the roof as you stared at him, shaking your head over and over again.

"If you truly loved me you wouldn't do this," You panted as he stared at you,

"Y/n. Get down before you hurt yourself." Wooyoung cried out as he watched you so close to the edge, your eyes darted over to him. Felix watched you as you looked at Wooyoung,

"If I jump what happens?" You looked over your shoulder, it had to be around a 12 story drop and you looked back at Wooyong.

"The dare would be cancelled, he would have to do something else..." Eyes darting back at Felix you nodded slowly watching as he shot a bullet at Wooyoung hitting the floor beside him and rushing over to you.

"Then I choose Y/n. I don't want to kill her. I don't want to go out there." His arms wrapped around your waist as you smiled at him, you'd hope this would call someone's bluff, whoever was watching or maybe even Wooyoung but he stared at you both.

"You think we don't get this all the time? People decided to call out bluff. Do it." He answered coldly as he folded his arms over his chest.

"I love you," You breathed out to Felix as he held your face in his hands,

"I love you more." He whispered kissing you softly as you both stepped over the edge.

A gust of wind hit you and then nothing. Just darkness. Your breathing was jagged as you moved around, complete darkness surrounded you until you felt something moving around you.

"Here," Something was removed from your eyes and you saw Felix standing there perfectly fine as he stared back at you.

"What- Where-"

"Look," He held up a headset that covered your eyes and you frowned even more.

"It's all fake...Everything was fake." He whispered as he helped you stand up. Nothing he said was making sense until you looked around you, you were sat in a hospital room with a headset on over your eyes.

"They've been researching us...Look." He pulled up a chart from the end of your bed to show you. Your name was printed on the front along with everything that had been happening in the world you thought was real.

"We didn't- We're not dead?" You couldn't find the words to speak and it was a wonder Felix was even able to put all of this together as he moved around the room.

"The two best players." A voice you knew cried out as the door opened, standing there was Wooyoung but he looked different somehow.

"I know, you're thinking about how devilishly handsome I am in this world compared to the alternate one." You blinked at him as he rolled his eyes and came further into the room.

"Congratulations on getting through the game, you have won a quarter of a million dollars." There was no excitement in his voice and you wondered if this was still part of "the game".

"You won when you decided your love with too strong, blah, blah, blah." He grumbled as he looked at you both.

"You'll get a full health check from a nurse but then you're free to go. Felix, your team are all waiting for you." All of this was beginning to hurt your head but Felix sat down beside you, holding your hand tightly in his.

"So none of it was real?" You questioned Chan who was sitting in front of you in the dorms. You'd been able to picture them perfectly from all of the stories Felix had told you,

"Nothing. The pain was all simulated through pads attached to your body and we were all knocked out on so many meds that none of us knew what was real or not real." You blinked once again, all of it had been explained by the nurses. That it was all some competition to win some money during a video game, you couldn't remember anything from before but they said it was normal. It didn't feel right to you, waking up a completely different person because of some video game/alternate universe Wooyoung and a team of scientists had made.

"How do we know this is real?" You whispered to Felix who gave your hand a squeeze,

"Because we know this world...We remembered it," You nodded at him laying your head on his shoulder.

"You'll get taken for tests every other week...To make sure you're adjusting back in properly." Hyunjin said as he handed you another plate of food.

"But this is all real? We're home?" You questioned wanting to make sure that everything was as they said it was.

"Well...We're home, your home is wherever you came from." Chan explained as he looked over at your phone, you had over 500 missed calls and texts from your family and friends wondering where you had been.

"I'll call them," You whispered to Felix before getting up from the chair and kissing his forehead. Although everything that had happened in the fake world was fake, your feelings with Felix had been the most real thing you had felt and you were never going to let that go.

Tagline: @minholuvs @taestannie @sw33tnight @acciocriativity @justbangtanthingz @taeechwitaa @stillwithlix

#skz #skz x reader #skz smut #skz imagine #skz imagines #stray kids #stray kids x reader #strya kids imagine #stray kids imagines #stray kids smut #lee felix #lee felix x reader #lee felix imagine #lee felix imagines #lee felix smut #felix x reader #felix imagine #felix imagines #felix smut

283 notes · View notes

holykillercake · 3 years

Text

FRIED EGGS

KOBY x Pirate!Reader

word count: 2k

summary: Being infiltrated as a Marine and keeping your feelings under control was easy until you were assigned to work with Marine Captain Koby. How you wished he was a jerk.

highlight: ¨I am kissing you... but I am angry, Y/N-san...¨

warnings: read under the risk of developing diabetes.

notes: Hey, guys! This was a lovely request from @pure-kirarin! <3 I had to stop other projects to make this one because Koby threw me out of my comfort zone hahaha I really hope you like!! ALSO 1) Happy Birthday Sabo-kun! ALSO 2) In order to add more dept to the story, the main character is part of a Yonkos´crew, but I wrote in a way that all fit, so choose your favorite! ALSO 3) ART ALERT!

Leave comments, hearts and love!

¨You have been doing a remarkable job in such little time, Commander L/N. We all have great expectations regarding your transference to our Marine Headquarters.¨

The words of the Rear Admiral barely scratched your mind as you discreetly observed the pink-haired boy´s reflection on the crystal clear window.

He maintained a similar posture to yours: chin up, chest out, shoulders back, and stomach in. However, while your fingers remained paralleled to your trousers, you took a glimpse of his clenched fist, thumb fidgeting the side of his index finger.

¨Vice Admiral Tsuru was reluctant to sign your transfer. She said you remind her of herself in the past, which is always an excellent compliment to hear.¨ you nodded, acknowledging his words ¨We´re glad we convinced her.¨

Your heart warmed with his words, and you almost felt bad because you knew the disappointing outcome O-Tsuru-san would have at the end of this. She trained you with the iron face of a merciless soldier, and the elegance that resembled the animal of her name.

It has been three years since you received the green card from your captain to part ways in a long-term solo mission. A journey to excavate the putrid secrets of the so-called defenders of the law. You learned after a short time that justice is not so black and white.

Not that you planned to reveal the dirt, no. That intel your captain could sell to the Revolutionary Army and keep the capital running. You were interested in the arms race, the corrupt diplomacy, and more importantly, the dark pipes where traitors flowed.

Someone from inside the Yonkos was feeding the Marines with crucial information about the Emperors´ activities. And in such a close fight, you could not take those risks.

All other Emperors must have their own undercover agents within the Marines, but even that was a dispute. You could point some names to your boss, who confirmed what was suspected. Those would usually be the best of the best, extravagant and loud.

But not you. You didn't have to make that much noise. You slid between the floors of New Marineford like a snake swimming with the current. Earning the respect of your superiors and being promoted without ringing any bells. You accepted each medal with a firm salutation and relentless performance.

¨The trip must have been displeasing. Submerging ten thousand meters underwater and rising to these fiendish waters require a good rest. Our Marine Captain Koby will escort you to your quarters, Commander Y/N. The remaining instructions shall be presented tomorrow.¨

You saluted the Rear Admiral in front of you and turned to the exit, passing by Koby, who waited for you to leave first. When your paths crossed, the pace of your heartbeats quickened, pumping more blood through your body and leaving a burning sensation on your cheeks.

The involuntary response was instantly interpreted as alertness to danger, which needed to be handled with caution.

Can´t let my guard down around this one, you thought.

In fact, you planned to keep as much distance as you could from him. An officer let slip that he has been gaining incredible control over his Observation Haki since the Paramount War.

But the wind seemed to change direction, and you began to swim against the current. When the morning came, you were assigned to be his partner for an undetermined time, and he would act as your superior. The idea of being bossed around by a younger marine got your temper sparked.

Only he was not like the others, treating you in a patronizing and condescending way. He spoke to you with the same cordiality and politeness he addressed everybody else.

Slowly, your concrete cold expression began to soothe. You would still remind yourself how annoying his good manners were, though. So annoying, seriously!

¨Good morning, Y/N-san!¨ he greeted as you joined him for breakfast.

¨Good morning, Koby.¨

¨Our Border Force correspondent sent his report early in the morning with information about possible Yonkos´ alliances in the Wano Country. We are arranging a meeting as soon as possible.¨

You didn´t like to handle work so early, but this subject, in particular, raised your spirits. ¨Good. It was about time.¨

You noticed that he wore a different headband. ¨What happened?¨

¨Hm?¨ he brought the soup bowl close to his mouth.

¨The bandana. Green, with the fried eggs.¨ he choked on the miso soup, coughing like he had swallowed poison.

You reached for a paper tissue and handed it to him. ¨K-Koby, are you ok?¨

¨Y-Y/N... Y/N-san...¨ he coughed some more ¨They´re not... fried eggs...¨

¨Oh...¨ your brows raised slightly ¨What are they?¨

A depressive aura grew around him ¨They are flowers, YN-san...¨

The edge of your lips contorted as you tried to hide a smile. You haven´t felt like smiling genuinely for years. Annoying boy!

From that moment on, ignoring him became more difficult. He started to ask you to train with him or invite you to spend some time with him and Helmeppo whenever you had free time. Eventually, he began to ask you how he looked before an important meeting.

Most of the time, you would reply something like ¨ok¨. But sometimes, the mouth was quicker than the brain, and you would let an ¨impeccable¨ slip out, followed by an awkward throat clearing and blushed cheeks.

From both sides.

•

¨Oh my-¨ you stopped yourself from finishing the sentence.

You were chosen to complete this mission due to your excellent skills in hiding emotions and acting calm under stressful situations. No one could break you.

Within the Marines, no joke could make you crack a smile, and no torture could make you spill secrets.

Why did you want to ask if he was ok?

Koby had entered his office with bumps and bloody bruises over his face. His always neat uniform was blotchy, and he carried a first aid kit.

¨Garp-san paid a visit.¨ He sat on the couch and opened the white box, throwing everything on the coffee table. ¨I bet it wasn't like this with Tsuru-san.¨ he chuckled.

¨No. She would beat me up, wash me and hang me up to dry.¨

You shot from the chair, moving towards the clumsy pinkette, who struggled to attend to his injuries. He tried to hold the mirror with one hand and suture his gash with the other.

¨Thank yo-¨

¨Shh. Don´t move.¨

You leaned closer to have a better look, giving Koby the same chance. Your delicate perfume smelled like it was tailor-made for you. Your breathing was slightly irregular, and your lip twitched with every given stitch. Your fingers felt like feathers on his skin, so much that he didn´t even feel a sting.

The job was fast and efficient, making Koby wish Garp had put more effort into his Love Fist. Grabbing a piece of wet cotton, you cleaned the dried blood.

¨Alright...¨ you whispered.

¨Alright...¨ he whispered back.

You were inches apart from his face, your eyes traveling across the scar on his forehead, the pink locks, and kind features. Your mind traced back all the way to the Paramount War. You had very little knowledge about him, but the words he spoke that day have always made your heart pound like cannonballs.

You will make an excellent Admiral one day, Koby.

I hope you don´t hate me.

¨Y-Y/N-san...¨

¨Hm?¨

¨Your smile is beautiful.¨

¨What?¨ The stupid scene of yours was interrupted like a DJ stopping the record player.

With cheeks getting pinker than his hair, you shot up and marched back to the chair and your newspaper. ¨You clean this up.¨

He left a low chuckle out and began gathering the mess.

Oh, no, Y/N. You have got to be kidding me.

He is a freaking marine. Breathe.

There were a vast number of reasons why you couldn´t like him: from him being a Marine Captain and you being a pirate to the fact that your mission was coming to a conclusion.

Meaning that your journey as his partner would be very soon reaching its end. The meeting with this mysterious correspondent regarding the Yonkos´ operations in the New World would be the last move in this chess game. You would be going home. Mission completed. Everything perfect, right?

Right, perfect. Impeccable! Ugh!

•

¨... confirm secure line.¨

¨This is Border Officer code 404890. Secure line confirmed.¨ you spoke with a low but clear voice through the nail transponder.

¨What´s the status on our birdie?¨

¨Positive. The birdie is located at 03:24:01.¨ you gave your boss a coordinate to the name of the Marine informant. The answer you took three years to find out remained on file number one, third page, suspect number twenty-four.

An amused laugh echoed on your end, and you buried the speaker on your jacket to muffled the sound.

¨At least he is not one of ours.¨ a chuckle ¨Great job, Y/N.¨

¨Thank you, boss.¨

¨I know this mustn't have been easy, but you were impeccable as always.¨

Yeah, impeccable.

¨You know the protocol now. We´ll see each other in a few days. You´ll have a party waiting for you, kid.¨

¨Aye, aye, boss. But I want the good booze.¨ Both of you laughed.

You finished the call, and the smile on your lips died as the image of a pink-haired boy invaded your mind. You wished he was a jerk like everybody else.

It would have been so easy.

¨Who were you talking to?¨ your chest contracted, pushing the air out of your lungs and sending extra blood supply to your muscles.

You hid the transponder into your jacket and turned, facing your Marine Captain.

¨Eavesdropping, Koby?¨

What should I do?

¨Y/N-san, who were you talking to?¨ he repeated himself, offering the benefit of the doubt. You sighed.

¨My captain.¨

Why the need to be honest with him?

¨Y/N-san, please don´t tell me-¨

¨I´m sorry, Koby. I wish I didn´t have to do this.¨ you couldn´t bring yourself to face him.

¨A-Are you a pirate? Why?¨

You chuckled ¨Why am I a pirate?¨

¨Why did you do this?¨ his face was pale, making your guts twitch in guilt.

¨I´m on a mission. But I´ll leave soon.¨

¨You are like... Vergo-san.¨ he sounded disappointed.

¨I am nothing like Vergo. You know this.¨ or at least you hoped he did.

He closed the door slowly, eyes fixed on your figure. The bright light from the window made him look like an ethereal painting.

While you tried to predict his next move, whether he was going to interrogate you or kick your ass, Koby acted calm and collected, not hesitating. He trusted his Observation Haki to guide his next move. Or maybe his heart.

You saw a pink blur closing distance like a missile, and before you could dodge, his hands pulled you by the waist, connecting your bodies and lips.

He forced your back to meet the thick window with a gasp that was muffled by the kiss. His touch was rough upon the fabric of your uniform, but his mouth felt soft against yours.

Your hands moved to his hair, removing the round pair of glasses and the green bandana so you could get lost in his locks. His grip was harsh under the fabric of your uniform, but his hair felt soft on your fingertips.

A moan escaped your lips when he parted the kiss with a loud snap and struck the glass with both hands, keeping you trapped in the middle. You let go of his hair and grabbed him by the collar, not letting him go away.

¨I am kissing you... but I am angry, Y/N-san...¨ his breath was heavy and carried with a myriad of emotions.

¨I know... I am sorry.¨

¨Why?¨

¨Because I like you, Koby. A lot.¨ he paused for a second, fighting the urge to admit the same.

¨What was your mission?¨

This is the last lie, I promise, Koby. ¨The Marines possessed vital information about something my boss wants. I needed to get it.¨

¨Now that I know that you´re a pirate and that you stole Marine´s assets, I´m gonna have to hunt you down.¨

¨I´ll be waiting for you.¨

You stared him in the eyes, and he kissed you to stop himself from saying what he really wanted.

I love you, Y/N-san.

Diary of Koby-Meppo: The Fried Egg Life Crisis.

💕 @vemuabhi

338 notes · View notes

20moonchild21 · 3 years

Text

𝗦𝗲𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵𝘁 [𝗯𝘁𝘀]

⇉ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 14

[pairings]

JK x female!oc, Bunny!JK x human!female!oc, Jin x female!oc, Leopard!Jin x human!female!oc, Jimin x female!oc, white Tiger!Jimin x human!female!oc, Taehyung x female!oc, black Tiger!Taehyung x human!female!oc, Hobi x female!oc, Fox!Hobi x human!female!oc, JK x Jin x Jimin x Taehyung x Hobi x female!oc

[warnings]

Mentions of former abuse, injuries, traumatizing past

[words]

3.4K

[author]

Hmmmm, I am not 100% satisfied with this chapter, but I hope you like it anyway.

My friend @starlightauroras-writes uploaded a new chapter of her story Inferiority Complex recently. Please, check it out an leave a lot of likes and comments, because she deserves it so much!

Enjoy the rest of your week. Stay healthy and safe!

Mꨄ

[chapter 13 ||| chapter 15]

„Wow.” The boy – Hoseok – wiggled his now sock-covered feet in front of him, before he happily looked up at the girl, who just came back with a cup of tea. “Thank you, Miss Hope. I have never had socks on, but I love them. They are so soft and warm.”

Hope smiled at him and placed the cup in front of him at the small couch table. All the other boys were standing around the sofa in the living room, looking at the scene in front of them. Jimin was holding his brother’s hands tightly, looking worriedly at the fox Hybrid. Taehyung on the other hand was rathe looking amused at the bubbly boy, who was talking as if they had known each other for years.

Jungkook was sitting next towards Hoseok, looking at him wide eyed as he was sipping on his tea cup. Jin had told the bunny, that they had actually met Hoseok once at a fight club, and it seemed like Jungkook indeed had remembered him, because he immediately offered to get the shaking boy some of his clothes and sat down next to his willingly.

“You don’t have to call me ‘Miss’, Hoseok.” Hope sat down on the other side of him, giving attention that she didn’t sit too close. “Just call me Hope.”

“Okay, Hope.” He sat the mug back at the table and smile brightly at the girl. “But then you have to call me Hobi. It fits better.”

Hope didn’t know what was going on right now. Someone had clearly hurt him, but he was acting bubbly and happily as if nothing happened. His personality made her smile unwillingly, but also brought more and more questions into her head. Looking at her boys, she could tell that they clearly had the same kind of questions.

“This is the strangest circus construction I have ever seen.” Hobi suddenly said, as he laid his ears back and cocked his left eyebrow up. “Two tigers, a leopard and a bunny. What kinds of tricks can a bunny do?”

It took Hope a while to finally understand what he was referring to. Jin had told them earlier that Hobi came from a circus a little bit outside of the city. If he had been there his whole life, he doesn’t knew how the world worked outside. Jungkook meanwhile seemed to suddenly realize what the fox had just said. He blinked a few times, before shaking his head wildly.

“Tricks?!” He asked confused, as he puffed his chest up and crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t do tricks! What makes you think that I would do any tricks like I am – “

“Jungkook.” The girl just laughed at the bunny. She walked up towards him and carefully drove her hand over his fluffy hair, hoping to calm him down a little bit. “He didn’t mean it in a bad way. We are no circus, Hose – Hobi. We just live together, you know? Like friends or roommates.”

While talking towards the fox Hybrid, she let her hand carefully slide over Jungkook’s face who was pushing his head further into her soft skin. He whined a little bit when she moved her hands away to grab the first aid kit that was already laying on the table.

“What did happen to you?” Jin suddenly asked from behind the sofa. “How did you escape from the circus?”

Hobi’s bright smile dropped a little bit and he sunk his ears down a little bit. He looked up towards Jin, before he sighed slightly and looked back at the girl who was just about to put a small amount of gel onto a small cotton pad.

“It was a few days ago when I wanted to go to bed.” He began talking, holding his cheek out for the girl to put the gel on it. “There were suddenly some loud noises, so I went looking what was going on. I saw some police officers talking to the director about how the circus would be illegal and that they would confess all the Hybrids and sell them to some other people. I was so scared, because I heard stories how bad human treat us, so I run away at when they came to get us out of our cages. I hide, but when I became hungry I went to look for something to eat. I found that nice supermarket that had some trash cans where they threw away their food. I thought that they would not need it anymore, so I climbed in a took one of the food, but it seemed like they didn’t like it, because a man found me and tried to scare me away. I hit my head while tried to run away.”

His voice had become quieter and quieter as he kept talking, and the girl could hear the sadness in his tone. Her gaze fell onto Jin and Jungkook, who were looking at the with sad eyes at the thin fox on the sofa.

“Don’t worry, Hobi.” She tried to encourage him a little bit, as she threw the cotton pad away. “You are safe here. I think the boys wouldn’t mind you staying a little longer.”

She locked eyes with every single one of the boys, getting a confirming nod from them, even from the black tiger. Immediately, the smile on Hobi’s lips was back. He bowed his head politely and said ‘thank you’ all over again.

When she was done cleaning everything up, she asked Jin to show Hobi the last empty bedroom where he could rest a little bit. She also asked him to get some fresh towels and offer the fox to take a proper shower. Both older boys made their way over to the bedroom, while a whining Jungkook made his way up to the girl.

“Why are you always bringing some Hybrids home?” He chuckled, as he threw his arms around the smaller girl and nuzzled his face into her neck, causing a wave of goosebumps over her body. “it was a long time ago that just the two of us spent some time together.”

“I promise you that we will spend some time alone soon, Kookie.” She whispered into his ear, as she drove her hands once again over his soft hair. “But how about you choose some fresh clothes for Hobi to use until we have brought him his own? I bet he needs some after his shower.”

Jungkook nodded slightly and pulled his head away from her neck, before he leant forward and nuzzled his nose against hers, making their lips brush against each other as well. Too quick for her feels, the bunny pulled away and made his way over into his room, leaving just the two tigers and the girl back in the living room.

“What?” She asked amused when Taehyung shook his head smilingly, arms now crossed over his chest. “Jealous?”

“No. He is just so whipped for you. It would be cute, if it wasn’t making me throw up hearts and unicorns.” He stated, making Hope roll her eyes. Of course, she knew that he was only messing around with her.

Her eyes fell onto the smaller tiger, who was looking with big eyes at the girl, fingers fiddling with the hem of his shirt. He was looking like he was dying to say something, but was trying to hold back really hard. When her eyes met his, he quickly looked away.

“Are you okay, Jimin?” She carefully took a step closer towards him. “You can ask me anything, you know? I won’t be mad.”

Jimin just nodded, before he lifted his hand to scratch his neck, eyes were meeting here now.

“I – ehm – “ He caught, looking at his brother and then back at the girl. “I wanted to ask if – ehm – if you could alsogivemeahug.”

The last part he only mumbled towards himself, but Hope had understood every word what he was saying. Though they hadn’t known for long, Jimin was a really sweet guy who was looking for affection from the people surrounding him.

„Of course, Jimin.“ She smiled and opened her arms for him.

Quicker than she had thought, Jimin was taking a few steps forward and wrapped his arms around her body, laying his head sideways onto her shoulder. Hope wrapped her arms carefully around the taller boy and leant her chin onto his shoulder, her mouth right next to his ear.

“Are you uncomfortable with Hobi around here?” She asked quietly, hoping that she had not taken it too far.

Jimin quickly shook his head, pressing her even closer towards his chest.

“I think I like him, he seems funny.” He whispered back. “But – but you won’t sell us, will you?”

Her stopped in her chest when she heard the fear in his voice. Hobi’s experiences had clearly scared him that the same destiny could come after him and his brother. Hope knew that it would need some more time that they actually trust her fully, but she would show them with every action that she meant what she promised.

“I would never let anyone take you away, Jimin. Never.”

“I think it is fully health, Tae.” She said as she tossed the bandage onto the small table.

Taehyung cocked his eyebrow up when she called him by his nickname. It was the first time he had heard her call him something else than by his real name, but he didn’t mind though.

“Tae?” He teased, as he smirked at her. “Did I already allow you to call me that?”

The girl sitting next to him just rolled her eyes, as she stood up and walked into the kitchen to throw away all the used supplies. The black tiger chuckled at that gesture. She would often roll her eyes when he teased her about something, and something inside him was enjoying that.

He watched her small form walking back towards the sofa and sitting down on it. He had caught himself a few times, that he like the elegant way she was walking around, or how she would move her hair out of her face in one powerful movement.

“Where are the others actually?” She asked when she was leaning herself back into the soft cushions of the sofa.

“Jimin and Jungkook are in his room, because they wanted to play the guitar.” He replied. “Jin and Hobi are still in the bathroom showering.”

Without thinking he let his instincts come over him, and he suddenly let himself fall to the left side where the girl was sitting, placing his head in her lap and smiling up at her. Hope was taken by surprise when he did so, letting out a small yelp and lifting her hands up.

“Where did that come from?” She laughed a little bit awkwardly, before she sunk her hands back down, resting them onto his hair. “And what did you say? They are showering together?”

Taehyung didn’t miss the small shade of red that was spreading over her plumb cheeks, as her gaze over to the bathroom door, where the light from inside was shining through the keyhole. He did never mean to embarrass her in any way, but it was fun to mess around with her.

“Mhh.” He just hummed and closed his eyes, enjoying her fingers that were messaging his skull. “Do you have a problem with that? Me and Jimin are showering together, too.”

Her fingers stopped for a second, and Taehyung could sense her heartbeat stronger and faster now. He smiled inside in.

“N – no.” She stuttered, trying to steady her voice. “It is just – strange? I mean, they met literally 3 hours ago, you know?”

“I know.” Taehyung opened his eyes again, just to meet her dark eyes. “But Hybrids are different from you humans. We can tell from each other’s scents whether we can trust someone or not. We don’t make a scene out of like you do.”

The black tiger laughed again, an even louder this time, when Hope rolled her eyes again. Human could really be uptight in some points like being nude with one another. Maybe it was because they could not smell the other one’s scent, but maybe they were just lame, he couldn’t tell.

“And are you trusting the others?” She suddenly asked with a quitter voice, as if she was afraid to hear the answer.

Taehyung was still looking into her eyes from laying in her lap. The truth was that he had known from the first time they met that they were good people. Of course, one could never know, but never had a doubt that they were keeping their promises. It had more been his pride and his fear that had held him from trusting them.

“Yes, I do.” He simply said back.

“Are you trusting me?” She asked even quieter.

Human were another thing. While other Hybrids had their ears and tail that could give away a lot of information about someone’s intentions, human could act really good. They were acting all nice and safe in the beginning but would show their real personalities when you were less expecting it. That was why he had been so sceptical about the human girl.

“Maybe I do.” He smirked, teasing her once again. “Maybe I do not. Who knows.”

“You know, Tae.” She emphasised his nickname on purpose. “You don’t have to act like the cool guy all the time. There is nothing wrong with showing one’s emotions. You can show us when you are happy, because it makes us happy too. But if you are sad and scared you can show us as well, because then, we can help you.”

Taehyung purred when her fingers came close to the roots of his ear, but they were not touching them. He knew himself and his behaviours. He knew that he was sometimes overreacting, and that it took him a lot to admit his emotions in front of someone else, but he never meant to hurt someone in a bad way. It had always been to keep him and his brother safe.

He had always thought that emotions are some kind of a weakness. He had thought that showing off his emotions would make him transparent and vulnerable, but since he had been living here – with his brother and the girl – he had never felt vulnerable anymore. He had seen the way Jimin’s eyes would sparkle every time he was laughing and how the people would react on his emotions. He wanted to feel that free too.

“I – I am happy.” He almost whispered with his deep voice.

He said it. For the very first time in his life he could truly and open say that he was feeling happy. Hope didn’t say anything else. She just smiled down at him and kept driving her hands through his thick hair. As she smiled, Taehyung once again got lost in her eyes.

From the first moment he had seen her, those incredible dark orbs had caught his attention. It had never been like he was looking into his brother’s eyes, who had also dark eyes, it was more like he would look into a set of emotions that locked his heart and made it swell with nothing but love.

It was him who was turning red while thinking about that. He had no plan what was going on with his body, but he knew that he liked it and this time, he would not be the one to stop those emotions.

Hobi laid on the soft bed this evening, his arms and legs were sprawled out to either direction while he was thinking about what had happened.

Not only had he found Jin when he had been strolling around the streets of New York, he had found him with that small human girl. He had been surprised when Jin had told him that Hope had adopted him and his younger brother Jungkook.

He had never met a human as nice as that small girl who had offered him some new clothes and a bed to sleep in. Back in the circus, he had had his cage with his blanket that he had thought which was comfortable, but it was nothing to compare to this blanket.

His chest squeezed a little bit tighter when he thought about his blue blanket. No one could probably understand why he missed that worn out and dirty blanket, but for him it was his home. He had always loved to cuddle into hid blanked after an exhausting day, shutting everything out beside the warmth that he felt under the blue piece of fabric. Unfortunately, he hadn’t had the chance to take it with him when he suddenly had to leave the circus.

In that moment, he suddenly felt nothing but lonely, even though he had felt over the top just a few minutes ago. Everything was now hitting him all at once. Within just a few minutes, he had lost everything he had ever know, before he was thrown into the cruel world of New York. Of course, the circus life had also been hard sometimes, but after all, they had always provided him with a small amount of food and a place to sleep.

In New York, people had scared him away in the most humiliating ways, even though he had been hungry and cold. They had never cared.

That was why he had been more than happy when he had suddenly smelled a familiar scent. Hobi had remembered Jin immediately when he had passed the small alley he had been hiding him. He had almost not recognized the boy he had sometimes talked to at some fights, because he had hide his ears and tail.

For a moment, he really had doubted his senses, but he had clearly remembered the older boy’s scent even after that long time. To his surprise, the girl that had been standing next to him, had not looked shocked or scared at all when she had spotted his tail and ears. She had patiently waited for both boys to finish their conversation, and she even when Jin had turned around to ask if Hobi could spend the night with them, she had not hesitated a single second to agree.

“Hobi?” The fox’s ears shot up when he heard Jin’s voice coming through the door. Carefully, the leopard pushed the door open and peaked his head inside the room. “We want to eat now. You are welcome to join us.”

Hoseok just nodded his head, before he carefully stood up from the bed and walked towards the door. He poked his head around the door frame. Jin had already sat down on the table next towards his the younger white tiger, while the bunny and the girl were carrying some pans and pots into the dining area.

He hesitate for a second to leave his room. Though Jin had told him that he was invited to join them, he wasn’t sure if it was appreciated. After all, she had already given him a bed to sleep in for the night.

“I know what you are thinking about.” A deep voice from behind made jump. He quickly turned around, just to see the black tiger, Taehyung, standing behind him with his hands int his pockets. “Just a few days ago, I was looking at them in the same way, I was thinking the same things. But believe me, you will regret not joining them at some point.”

The fox Hybrid was looking at the younger boy with wide eyes. The poor boy must have gone through some bad times, judging from the way he was talking. Hobi wanted to ask him about that, but he decided that this might could be the wrong situation, so he just nodded his head and walked fully out of the room.

“Hey, you two. Come and sit down.” Hope flashed them a wide smile, before she pulled herself chair back and sat down at the table.

Hobi was amazed by her kindness and her smile. Never in his life before, a simple smile had made him feel so welcome and…safe. It was not just her smile that made him feel that way. He had also seen the way she had been talking to the other boys and more important, he had seen the way how the boys had been talking to her.

They had never shown any hint of fear or hesitation, which he was glad about, because he had heard stories from other Hybrids that had caused a heavy fear in his bones. For the first time in his life, the feeling of completion was developing deep down inside him.

[taglist]

@blank-et-noir I really couldn’t find you. I am so sorry🥺

[inspirations ||| recommendations]

@starlightauroras-writes

@wishesunderthestars

@agustdakasuga

@ditttiii

@angelicyoongie

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thirstyforcharacters · 3 years

Text

When the Universe Collides (Sam Wilson x Reader)

Summary: Every person has a soulmate. When your soulmate experiences pain, so do you, and any bruises, scars, or other markings that they get appear on your skin. Or, the story of how smacking yourself in the face with a cabinet was the best thing to ever happen to you.

Notes: Hi! Since the first episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes out today, I wanted to write something for Sam! He’s super underrated and deserves more love! Also, this soulmate AU is extremely self-indulgent and has absolutely nothing to do with the TV show, but tbh I don’t care. Hope you all enjoy it too! (no y/n, no pronouns) (PS: any italicized text is Sam texting and the italicized and bold text is the reader texting!)

Warnings: mentions of a stab wound (nothing explicit), cursing I guess

WC: 2.2 k

Your soulmate must have one hell of a job.

Almost every day, you woke up with dark bruises covering your body. It seemed that whenever one faded, another took its place. At completely random times, you would double over in aches that you certainly didn’t inflict upon yourself. One time, in the middle of the night, you woke up with pain in your stomach so intense, it felt like someone had stabbed you! It turned out that it was a stab wound, but given that no one had stabbed you lately (or ever), you figured it was from your soulmate. You definitely didn’t appreciate that hospital bill.

But you still desperately wanted to meet them. Meet that person that completed you: your other half. As a teenager, you made your parents tell you the story of the day they finally met so many times, you knew it by memory. They were both in the library at college, and your mom dropped a psychology textbook on her foot! Her howl of pain was only matched by the “SON OF A BITCH” that came from your dad on the opposite side of the library. When the two of them made eye contact, they instantly knew they were the ones for each other (they were also immediately kicked out for making such a ruckus). You wanted to have that moment so badly; meeting your soulmate was a huge milestone in every person’s life, and you needed it.

Your best friend and roommate, Brianna, had met hers just two months ago. They had met at the beach, when out of nowhere, Bri had shrieked in shock and pain.

“A crab just pinched me!”

When you had looked at her foot and told her nothing was there, she was totally confused, until you saw a handsome guy with a crab hanging from his foot! He had introduced himself as Julian, and the two had been inseparable since. He was living with you now, and you had honestly never felt more lonely in your life. Sure, you had your dream career; you ran a music shop in New York City, selling instruments, making repairs, and meeting all sorts of interesting people. You had a decent apartment, a chill best friend, and the cutest Yorkie, named Muffin, on the planet. By all accounts, you had it pretty good. You were just missing your other half.

It was a rainy day in NYC. The chill of winter was still clinging onto the March air, and you shivered as you trudged from your apartment to your shop. Even though you had an umbrella to protect you from the rain, the wind blew right through the too-thin jacket you yanked off of the coatrack in a rush. Still holding your half-eaten toaster strudel in your hand, you pushed open the doors to Major Instruments and Minor Repairs, your pride and joy.

It was two floors: the first was where you sold instruments, and the repair shop was above. Acoustic panels were attached to the burnt red walls to help quiet down the place, since the hardwood floors didn’t do much to help with that. The checkout desk was directly in the center in the room. Surrounding it were reeds, bottles of valve oil, and guitar strings. Picks were placed in two clear, plastic bowls on the desk itself. In the front left corner of the room was a grand piano, situated right in the window so passersby could see whenever someone plucked its keys. The entire back wall was covered in guitars and basses. To the right of the desk was a large drumset, accompanied by a pair of drumsticks and brushes. On the right wall were string instruments; string basses and cellos were leaned against the wall, while the violins, violas, and bows were displayed on it. Woodwind and brass instruments were scattered across the room in various display cases. Instrument stands, bow rosin, and miscellaneous instrument parts were on shelves throughout the room as well. The spiral staircase leading up to the repair shop was in the back left corner of the room. Behind the staircase was the door to the back store room, where you kept your extra supplies and also where you took your breaks.

“Good morning!” called Andrew, one of your closest friends from college, from behind the desk.

You waved in reply, wandering to the back store room. You were lucky you had Andrew; you could rely on him to run the front desk while you and Brianna assisted customers on the floor. Unfortunately, Bri had the flu today, so it would just be you on the floor, which would make things a little more hectic. You hurriedly finished your strudel, took off your jacket, which left you in a black and white flannel, a matching black tank top reading “Music is Life,” black leggings, and black combat boots (you had an aesthetic to uphold), and strode back out to the main area.

“You seem in a bit of a rush. Everything okay?” asked Andrew, who was currently restocking bell covers.

You sighed, “Just a whirlwind of a morning. Bri has the flu, Muffin nearly choked on a chicken bone, I almost burned my toaster strudel, and I smacked myself in the face with my cabinet door by accident.”

“Oh, that’s where the new bruise on your eye is from,” he mused.

You snorted, “Yeah, for once it’s not from my soulmate.”

“Maybe he’s a spy. Or a superhero!”

“Yeah, or a criminal,” you joined in on the restocking, grabbing some trumpet mutes since the place opened in just half an hour, “thanks for opening up, by the way.”

“It’s no problem,” he replied, “you know I don’t mind.”

The doorbell jingled and two of your instrument repair people, Sarah (for strings), and Natalie (for brass), entered. Natalie was lugging what was unmistakably a tuba case, while Sarah carried both of their instrument repair kits.

“Morning, ladies!” called Andrew.

“Good morning,” Sarah replied pleasantly.

Natalie huffed out a “morning” and dragged the tuba up the stairs.

“Her tuba’s broken. The tubing that holds up her mouthpiece completely snapped off. She’s going to try and repair it before her appointments today,” explained Sarah.

You winced, “That’s rough.”

Sarah dropped off both of their jackets and followed Natalie up the stairs leaving you alone with Andrew again. Soon after, Erik, your percussion guy, and John, the woodwind repairman, arrived, and it was time for the shop to open. For a while, it was just another mundane Thursday. Customers came and went. People tested the piano and drumsets, someone bought $100 worth of jazz scores, and a teenaged boy came in who somehow got a ping pong ball stuck in their trombone (you learned to never ask). But at exactly 1:47 pm, a time you would never forget, two very unexpected customers walked through the threshold of your store. You were up on a ladder, carrying a large, rather heavy, box of violin bows to situate on the wall, when you heard their voices.

“I’m telling you, Buck, I’m a wizard at the saxophone.”

“Sure, Sam. I’ll believe it when I hear it.”

“I’m serious, dude! I played all the time before I joined the military, and I picked it back up a little bit again after the whole Avengers thing. I just need to get a new one.”

“Hmm, okay. We’ll see.”

“Bastard.”

You whipped your head around and saw the Falcon and the Winter Soldier themselves in your shop. Having superheros in your place was a first. And who knew Sam Wilson played the saxophone?

Andrew offered them a cheerful greeting and directed them toward the saxophones, which happened to be near the ladder you were teetering on. Every time you leaned up to put a bow on display, it wobbled so badly you thought you were going to fall. You really needed to allocate some funds toward a new one.

As you continued to place bows on display, you heard the conversation of the two gentlemen browsing the saxophones. Apparently, Sam much preferred the tenor sax (which you happened to play, quite well you might add). Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him pick up a Selmer Paris model and inspect it. Those didn’t come cheap, but you were sure that saving the world gave a man a pretty decent paycheck.

“You think I can test it out?”

“I don’t know, dude. You should probably ask.”

You saw him nod, “Yeah, I guess so. And there’s not a reed in here, anyway. Excuse me!”

You realized he was calling you, so you craned your head to look at him. Both men were looking up at you, both with kind smiles on their faces.

“Is there any way I can get a cheap reed to test this out with,” Sam asked, “and are we even allowed to test them in store?”

You smiled back, “Yes, you can. We have test reeds at the front desk, just ask Andrew and he’ll give you one. That’s the only one you’ll get though.”

“Cool, thanks,” he replied while looking around, “nice place you’ve got here.”

Your smile grew a little wider, “Thank you! It took a little while to get it off of the ground, but I’m really proud of how it turned out.”

It was almost as if the universe wanted you to suffer. You stretched up to display yet another bow, and the ladder toppled to the ground, taking you with it! You shrieked in surprise and braced yourself for the impact with the floor.

But it never came.

Instead, you were caught in a pair of (ridiculously) muscular arms. When you looked into the arms of your hero, of course it was Sam himself. He was too handsome for his own good. The thing that stood out most to you were his deep brown eyes. And how, on the left one, was a bruise that exactly matched the one that you gave yourself this morning.

“Are you alright? That ladder must have it out for you,” joked Sam, though you could tell that he was concerned for you.

“I’m okay,” you squeaked, “thank you.”

“It’s no problem. All a part of the job.”

You nodded distractedly, still fixated on the bruise adorning his eye. He couldn’t be your soulmate, could he?

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he questioned.

“I-yes. I just got a bit, well, distracted.”

“By what?”

Well, it was now or never. You might as well just go for it.

“When did you get that bruise?”

He looked a bit surprised by the question, “The one on my eye?”

You nodded.

“This morning. It just popped up. Hurt a little bit, like something hit me in the face. Can’t be worse than what I’ve given my soulmate, though. I got stabbed in the stomach once and all I could think about was how confused and hurt they must’ve been,” came his reply.

It was him. It had to be! All of your random, serious injuries made so much more sense now.

“It did hurt,” you murmured back, “but not as much as the hospital bill.”

His face went from apologetic to elated faster than you had ever seen, “Wait, that means it’s you?”

“I think so,” you said, “I hit myself in the eye with a cabinet door this morning, and that-” you gestured to his face, “matches mine.”

“Oh, it does!” he exclaimed.

“Are you two done over there?” complained Bucky.

Thankfully, the Winter Solider had successfully rescued your box of bows.

Sam stood you up, and you could feel the embarrassment slowly creeping over you, “Yeah. Sorry about that, guys. Promise I’m not usually that clumsy.”

“Seems like you need a new ladder,” Bucky told you.

“You don’t say,” you sassed back, prompting a laugh from Sam.

Bucky then strode off to return the fallen box to Andrew. He gave Sam a knowing look as he passed by. He wasn’t very slick, though, you totally saw him.

“Listen, since apparently we’re soulmates and all, I’d love it if I got your number. I’ll take you somewhere nice to make up for all of the times I’ve gotten you hurt,” explained Sam.

You smiled bashfully, “That sounds nice.”

He handed you his phone and you input your digits. As Sam and Bucky were in the checkout line, your phone buzzed.

Hey, gorgeous. It’s your new man.

You giggled softly and looked up at him. He gave you an exaggerated wink and launched finger guns at you, making you laugh a bit harder. You entered his number into your phone and decided to send a text back.

Looking forward to you making up for all of those broken bones.

Me too.

You knew you’d be happy with him. Whenever the universe collided in this way, it always turned out for the best. If your parents and your roommate weren’t enough proof, soon you would discover it for yourself. You couldn’t wait for all of the memories you’d make together.

#sam wilson #falcon #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson x you #sam wilson x y/n #sam wilson fanfiction #sam wilson fic #sam wilson fluff #soulmate au #x reader #x reader fanfiction #x reader fluff #x reader fic #marvel #MCU

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skellebonez · 3 years

Text

Happy Birthday Kit!!!

It’s your birthday @kitkat1003 heck yeah! And for your birthday Spirit is going to have a good day because I and many other people love them a lot! I hope you like this fic as much as I loved writing it!

It was possibly the oddest favor Spirit had done for anyone, ever. But, if they were being at least a tiny bit honest with themselves, it sounded like it could have been one of the more enjoyable ones. Well… technically Pigsy said it was “not a favor I’m just asking you to do this”. So. Potato potahtoe.

Specifically he asked if Spirit would “spend the day with him.” That was it. Simple, easy, long to be sure but not as long as many of the other favors that required a fetch quest at the very least. That was the original bare bones request, vague as it was. Just spend the entire with with Pigsy, 9 AM to 9 PM, and they would be right as rain.

And it wasn’t even like that would be hard! They already had work scheduled for the day, helping Pigsy open the shop and working the register. Why, they could even finish up the task while at work, two bird one stone and all that!

At least, that was what Spirit thought. Before Pigsy met them at the shop entrance and announced in a tired voice after chugging some very very clearly fresh and not sweetened coffee-

“Store’s closed for the day. We’re going shopping.”

Store closed.

For the day.

And going shopping.

Going.

Shopping.

Spirit pushed down their immediate shudder of “oh, that’s not what we had planned today and now today is different oh no I was not prepared for this oh dear oh jeepers” that ran up their spine.

“Uh- o-ok… where are we headed?”

“Food market, mostly,” Pigsy said with a shrug as he adjusted a few reusable baskets in his hands. He must have had a lot on the list for the day or he was buying a lot in advance. “Thinkin of hitting up another place or two in the area if we got time, but nothing too strenuous.”

A bit of Spirit’s tension eased from their shoulders and spine at this. They’d been to the market plenty of times before, so even though it was out of the blue it wasn’t exactly that unusual for them. The last time they went had been with Pigsy and Tang, and while their fighting over which carrots looked “good enough” wasn’t the most… fun conversation to be present for, it was nice.

Pigsy had even bought them a snack, insisting there were no strings attached. No favors. Just a snack from a friend to a friend. And that memory was nice… nice enough to help elevate any extra anxiety still lingering in the demon’s spine (that came from the news anyway, the regular anxiety was as there as always).

“Well, best to head as quickly as possible?” They offered, following Pigsy as he lead the way. “Want to get there fast to get the pick of the best vegetables, right?”

“You’re speakin my language!”

The market was surprisingly calm and quiet. Maybe it was because it wasn’t one of the usual busy days, or maybe it was because of how early they were in the day, but instead of the loud bustle and clutter and yells of vendors there was just a set of clearly dedicated loyal customers and relaxed vendors making small talk.

“Oh, I forgot to mention,” Pigsy said suddenly as they made their way down to where he would usually buy root vegetables. “They do this sort of thing a couple times a month where the market isn’t open to the public for a couple hours. It’s a little somethin to help out the local restaurants and other businesses who come here for their supplies.”

“Is that why that guy at the entrance looked at me like I was about to steal a child’s lunch money?”

That hadn’t been fun at all. Until Pigsy had stepped up beside him Spirit thought they were genuinely in some sort of trouble they didn’t know about.

Then again. That happened a lot. Thinking they were in trouble they didn’t know about. Pigsy was trying to make sure that didn’t happen as much. “If I could tell their brain to stop it wouldn’t happen at all” was what he said when Spirit overheard him talking to Tang about them.

It wasn’t good to snoop, Spirit knew that, but… it was. Nice. Oddly nice. He wasn’t going to be able to just tell Spirit’s brain to stop telling them things, and before Spirit would be confused and maybe a little horrified at the idea, but after spending so much time with the pig demon it felt. Nice.

Their conversation continued on for a moment, Pigsy explaining what the market on these special days was like and how the deals here were so helpful and every stall they stopped at Pigsy made it a point to keep the conversation going with the vendor himself. Just open enough for Spirit to insert themselves if they wanted, though they didn’t except at the vendor selling oddly colored flowers (which led into a short explanation about how they were made) and an explanation of how many of the dried ones on sale were imported from other countries and difficult to find outside their stall.

They didn’t know why Pigsy was buying flowers, though. At least, not the specific reason. Dried, fresh, some with stems and some with only the heads. Some bulbs as well. Maybe he was going to try some more floral broths or flower infused noodles? He’d done that in the past apparently! And Spirit had watched him made odder things, experimental dishes that didn’t really change much with the old recipes so much as they simply added more depth to them.

Spirit did notice, however, most of the flowers he had purchased were… purple. Or, in the case of one, blue. An odd one out to be sure.

“Alright, we’re done!” Pigsy announced, smiling widely at his haul. Which, all things considered… wasn’t actually as much as Spirit expected. Still, a good haul. “We’re going to put this all away at the shop, I have an appointment with Sandy later but we’re not expected at any specific time so there isn’t really a need to rush.”

“AH, hold on just one moment!” The flower stall vendor said as he came out from behind his stall. “Pigsy, I want you both to have these. For being a wonderful return customer and for the nice conversation.”

Spirit watched as he tucked a purple flower behind Pigsy’s ear, a daisy if Spirit was correct. And then he did the same to them, making them tense in surprise. If they said anything after that Spirit didn’t realize due to their shock, but the next thing they registered was Pigsy gently guiding them out of the entrance.

Sandy was more than ready for them when they arrived, urging Spirit inside and to his couch while Pigsy and he talked about… something.

Spirit wasn’t paying as much attention as they normally would when they were immediately swarmed with cats.

Cats on their lap, cats on their arms, cats on their shoulders. Cats. Cats everywhere. So many cats.

“Uh… S-Sandy…” Spirit started, an uncertain chuckle bubbling up as another cat plopped down on their head. “Do your cats… smell fear? Or do I smell delicious? They’re vibrating very violently. And… rubbing against me. A lot. I mean, I know they’re purring but this is weird.”

Sandy turned toward Spirit, covering his mouth to keep himself from laughing at the sight.

“No, no they don’t and you do not,” he said with a shake of his head, and he gave a look toward Pigsy. “You probably got some catnip on you somehow at the market. You’re just their favorite person right now.”

“… oh,” Spirit breathed out, reaching up to pat one of the cats on his lap carefully. The cat let out a trill, rolling onto their back as they pressed harder into Spirit’s side. Spirit couldn’t help it. They gave in to the temptation to quote a video Mei showed him long ago. “… I have been chosen.”

They didn’t even pay attention to Sandy and Pigsy until something on a trey was placed on the table between all of them, the clinking jolting some of the cats and making them roll off Spirit (who was grateful for the use of their arms back).

“So… I was hoping you might want to taste test something I wanted to add to the menu for special occasions that Sandy is teaching me to make,” Pigsy said with a smile, gesturing to the trey. “He actually made these in advance, they take a long while to dry properly, but they’re supposed to be worth it. But I, uh, can’t guarantee anything.”

It was very… purple and blue. A clear cup filled with what Spirit assumed was blue tea and a purple… stick of some kind that seemed to be flowers dipped in sugar? The only thing that seemed to stand out was the tiny cup of what smelled like lemon juice between them.

“The stick is candied lavender!” Sandy explained, gesturing to the hardened blossom. “You can use it to stir the tea and add sweetness or just eat it as is! But before you choose, pour that little cup into the tea.”

Spirit raised an eyebrow, almost wondering if this was some kind of prank. It didn’t feel like Pigsy and Sandy would pull a prank like this but. Well. Who knows… but they wanted to trust that they weren’t so they did as asked, slowly pouring the lemon juice into… the…

“It’s turning purple,” Spirit whisper shouted, eyes wide and awed as the blue tea slowly turned from the brilliant blue to a more brilliant purple from the bottom of the cup up. “What. Purple? It’s purple! The tea changes colors!”

Pigsy chuckled, nodding his head with a wide smile. “Yup.”

“It’s called Butterfly Pea Flower tea,’ Sandy explained, smile just as wide. "Lemon and lime juice made it do that! It’s not really a rare tea, but we added some extra stuff to the lavender that should make it taste even better when you mix it all in. Go on, give it a try!”

Spirit looked between the two of them and picked up the lavender stick and tea cup, mixing them together as they sat back and took a sip.

It was… amazing. Earthy and slightly bitter from the lemon juice. There must have been honey as well as sugar in the lavender stick, bringing a bright sweetness to the drink. There was a bit of spice to it, maybe cinnamon, as well. It was nothing like anything Spirit had ever drank before. It was warm without being too hot, and combined with the purring of the cats surrounding them…

They realized they felt. Good. Not perfect, not completely relaxed. They didn’t know if that was possible. But they felt good. Happy.

“I think… I think people will love this.”

#fun fact: purple daisies can mean thoughtfulness #monkie kid #lego monkie kid #fanfic #gift #oc: yin spirit #pigsy #sandy

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thisisawonderfulusername · 4 years

Text

let's save the world

season one, episode four

five hargreeves x reader

summary: after the break in, five comes back with information, and you two go to check it out.

trigger warning: cursing, drinking, a fluffy moment 👉 👈

word count: 2.5k

a/n: damn, already part four O-O. i don’t really have much to say, so, enjoy!

after getting attacked by the commission assassins, you had gone up to five’s room and passed out on the bed, not even taking the time to clean or patch it up. you told yourself that it would be fine for the night, though there was a nagging voice in the back of your head, warning of the possible infection, but you inevitably pushed it away.

your morning wasn’t too great. you were shaken violently to be woken up, and you sat up quickly, hissing and grabbing onto your leg when you felt the pain the coursed through it. looking up at five, you glare at him. “what the fuck?”

“i take it you didn’t find any clues?” he questions, the smallest hint of a smirk on his face as you groan softly. of course he would do this. you knew it meant sitting in that van all day, he actually found something, and he was ready to rub it in.

leaning on your arm to reach for the med kit, you don’t meet his eyes. “no, i didn’t.” you mutter, opening the box and pulling out the supplies to finally patch up your leg. “i assume that you did?”

glancing at him as you doused a clean rag in rubbing alcohol, you raise an eyebrow. “yup.” he grins, and you roll your eyes, pulling your skirt up a bit to pull the make shift tourniquet off and reveal the wound from the glass that so rudely decided to cut through your flesh.

“how did that happen?” five questions, cringing slightly at the sight of the injury that you quickly placed the soaked rag over, biting your lip harshly to hold back the cries of pain from the stinging pain.

once the pain settled, you took a deep breath and looked to him. “long story. people, from the commission, i’m sure of it.” you threw the rag to the side, grabbing the needle and stitching thread, quickly putting it through and getting to suturing the puncture.

he watched as you stitched the wound, staying quiet for a moment, before he decided to speak again. “remember the guy we talked to? at meritech?” he asks, and you nod simply, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, “well, he’s definitely doing something sketchy. so we need to figure out what.”

you finish the stitches before throwing the needle to the side, looking back to him. “seriously? if this leads to another dead end, i’m going to kill you.” you grab some gauze and quickly wrap it around your leg, sighing softly as you toss everything back into the medical kit.

“i’ll deserve it if i am. but i’m sure of this.” he tells you, standing from the bed beside you and holding out his hand to help you up. it hurt a bit to stand on your leg from the pain, but you had endured worse, so you could suck it up.

waiting on the street, you leaned against a building, following five’s gaze and staring at one of the cars that lined the street. “how do you know he’s here?” you question, crossing your arms over your chest.

“i followed him, and when he went into the vet, i figured i had time to get you.” he responds, neither of you risking a glance away from the vehicle. “there he is.” he mutters as the man walks to his car, putting his dog in the backseat and getting in himself. five grabs your hand and the next moment you’re in the car, sitting by the dog.

smiling slightly as you give him a pat, your attention is brought back to the situation when the man turned and jumped at the sight of five right next to him. within a millisecond, a knife is held to his throat. “one chance.” he snaps at him, and you purse your lips, leaning forward in your seat. “you’ve got one chance to tell me what is going on in that lab.”

obviously terrified, since he was held at knife point, the man quickly speaks. “i manufacture prosthetics for fake patients.” his eyes are wide, staring straight into five’s, “i bill the insurance companies then sell them on the black market.”

resting an arm on the head rest of his seat, you lean towards him. “including eyeballs?” you press, and his gaze flickers towards you before back to five.

“yeah-” he stutters out, his head shaking slightly, “they’re my biggest seller. i’ve got a list- a wait list- probably twenty buyers!”

five nods, “so the serial number i told you?” he raises an eyebrow.

“yes, it- it could’ve already been bought.” he tells him, his breathing shaky.

as five stared into the guy’s eyes, you swore he could see into his soul, and though you had seen it multiple times, it still unsettled you. “i need that list, lance.” the knife pushes against his skin slightly, and he visibly flinches, “names and numbers, i need it now!”

“i don’t have it,” you can see his eye’s glossing, and you don’t blame him for being close to tears. “the only copy’s in my safe at the labs.” he quickly adds on, probably praying to himself that he wouldn’t die today.

smirking, you slap a hand on his arm, and he jumps at the sudden touch. “alright then, start the car, bud.” you lean back against the seats, petting the dog again. “we’re going on a trip.”

stopping the car just a street away from the building, all of you get out, you and five both holding onto lance’s arms to make sure he wouldn’t make a run for it. he could probably easily push you guys away, as you were practically thirteen years old, probably no muscle at all, but you assumed he was too afraid to even think about running.

as you rounded the corner, the building up ahead, your eyes widen. flames engulfed the lab, smoke pouring out of the windows. your heart practically stops. your only clue to go off of, was totally destroyed.

you could only stand in shock as lance slipped out of your grip after five ran forward, both of them looking up at the burning building. as five stood in front of the entrance, there was a sudden explosion, sending him flying back into the road.

that got you moving, quickly running to his side and crouching down next to him, ignoring the burn in your thigh. “holy shit, are you okay?” you question, slightly panicked, as it definitely wasn’t a simple fall to the ground. first of all, it was the middle of the road, concrete, and he had been knocked back pretty hard.

pushing himself up as he nods, five looks at the building. “there goes the only evidence we had.” he mutters, and you sigh softly.

standing up, you hold a hand out to him to help him up, which he gladly takes. “guess we better get to searching for another lead, then.” you glanced to the lab, pursing your lips at all the rubble that surrounded the entrance where it had exploded.

“i guess so.”

you sat on the floor of the library, the glass looking down at the lower floors behind your back. books surrounded the two of you, scattered around as you tried to search for any clues inside of them.

bottles of alcohol also surrounded you, which you guys weren’t holding back on. with your only piece of evidence gone, you were ready to give up and just let the world turn back to the rubble it had been when you first got stuck, as long as you didn’t have to be in it again. you didn’t know if you could handle that like you did the last time.

“you know, i thought we’d be able to figure this out faster.” five mumbles, breaking the silence between the two of you. his words were slightly slurred, from the alcohol. he sighs softly, flipping the page he had been reading to move on to the next.

taking a sip from the bottle you held, you lean your to the side to rest your head on his shoulder. “so did i.” your words are just as jumbled, maybe even worse. “but i guess the world is just... against us.” you close your eyes, feeling tired. you weren’t sure if it was from trying so hard and failing miserably, the alcohol, or actually being tired. you didn’t care.

five stayed quiet for a moment, his gaze still trapped on the book, until he glanced to you. “remember the first night? at griddy’s?” he questions softly, tracing the lip of the bottle with his finger as you nod. “you were saying something about how you felt when we were both separated in the apocalypse.”

you remembered that moment very clearly. even with a hazy mind. you had been preparing to tell him about the feelings you had had for him, before those guys crashed the party. you weren’t sure why you didn’t tell him after. probably slipped your mind after the big fight. “oh.” you sigh softly, eyes still closed as you thought, “yeah, i was just going to tell you that i used to like you. in more than a friend way.” you chuckle, sitting up and shaking your head.

“it’s so stupid.” you look at him, your head tilted to the side, “when we got stuck and i couldn’t find you, i felt like i lost the whole world- well, i guess i did, but not in the literal way.”

his eyebrow’s were furrowed at the information you gave him, probably processing it all. “you liked me?” he questions, a hint of confusion in his tone.

“well, yeah.” you take another drink from the bottle, frowning when there was only a tiny bit left. “i guess i stopped once i found out you went crazy and fell in love with a mannequin.” you laugh, motioning to the mannequin that he had brought along and sat between you two, looking up at the lights on the ceiling.

pursing his lips, five nods, humming in acknowledgment at what you said. “find anything that might help us?” he asks, and you groan, looking back to him.

“i don’t know if we ever will.” you felt like this whole mission was hopeless. you had been ready when the two of you first made it back, prepared to do whatever it took to keep the world safe, but now, all of that confidence and hope was gone. you were close to just giving up.

setting his now empty bottle down, five leans back against the glass. “maybe.” he mumbles softly, and another silence falls.

you don’t even realize when you fall asleep, slumped against his side.

when you wake up, it takes you a bit to feel the arms holding you up, your body bouncing slightly with each step they took. your eyes shot open, and you sigh in relief when you see that it’s just diego.

“it’s not secure.” you hear luther’s voice behind him, turning your head to see him walking behind with five in his arms. “those psychopaths could come back at any moment.”

“hey.” you mumble as your eyes fall closed again, and you groan as you feel your stomach churn. it probably wasn’t the best idea to drink that whole bottle, but your mind would clear up once it’s effect wore off a bit, and it would leave you with a killer headache. that was something to worry about later.

you hear five speak, but you can’t focus on his voice, only hearing fragments of what he says. something about puberty. and the end of the world. when he asks what they had been talking about, luther sighs. “two masked intruders attacked the academy last night.”

“they came looking for you!” diego says, the accusation clear.

sighing softly, you let your head hang, “hazel and cha-cha.” you inform him, words jumbled together, “assholes from the commission.”

“best of the best.” five adds on, chuckling, “other than us, of course.” you grin, nodding slightly.

both of the men seemed to be annoyed by your lack of genuine answers, but it’s what they get for thinking that questioning to drunks was a good idea. “the best of what?” luther urges, glaring at five.

“you know, delores always said she hates it when i drink.” five ignores the question, patting the plastic woman on the head as you groan loudly.

you grab onto diego’s arm slightly, “fucking delores. stop talking about her!” you pull yourself up a bit, looking at diego, “he’s in love with a fucking mannequin? can you believe it?” you grin, shaking your head and letting yourself fall back again.

“hey!” you jump as diego suddenly yelled, apparently down to his last straw of patience. “i need you guys to focus.” he stops in his tracks and turns so he could see five as well. “what do they want? this hazel and cha-cha.” his tone is firm, and you’re surprised he’s still expecting actual answers.

you see five’s amused grin and you laugh, but the two men don’t seem nearly as entertained. “we just want to protect you.” he adds on, tone a bit softer but still demanding.

five lets out a mocking laugh, and your grin is obvious. “protect us?” he derides, leaning forward in luther’s arms. “we don’t need your protection, diego. do you know how many people we’ve killed?”

“we’re the four fucking horsemen!” you laugh, throwing your arms up slightly, “the world is ending, and the apocalypse is coming. there’s nothing you can do to help.” you glare at him.

you hear five heave and throw up, and your nose scrunches up. “that’s fucking disgusting-” you can’t stop yourself from doing the same. both the men look at each other in irritation.

taglists

main: @horrorklaus

tua: none at the moment

five: @anapocalypseinmymind @five-hargreeves-official @insatiable-ivy @coffee-e-addict

let's save the world @aspiringwriter1 @thetrashypanda423 @lilacs-lavender @academy-umbrella

if you’d like to be added to any taglists, just ask!

#tua x reader #tua #umbrella academy x reader #umbrella academy #five hargreeves #five #five hargreeves x reader #five x reader #fanfiction series #fanfic #fanfiction #oneshots #fandom #reader insert #lstw #let's save the world

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fantasticstoryteller · 3 years

Text

New Amsterdam Chapter 17

“Peter, Jamison wants you in his office.”

Peter winced and clutched the handle of his bag defensively. “I’m not late!” he said desperately.

Beth rolled her eyes at him, purple eye shadow glinting in the office lights. “It doesn’t matter,” she said firmly. “He wants you in his office now.”

Peter knew better than to argue. The whole staff of the Daily Bugle knew better than to argue. He quickly made his way through the crowded halls of the Bugle to Jamison’s office and timidly knocked to introduce himself before going in. Standing at Jamison’s desk was another man, a guy with short, pitch black hair, who looked about as happy as Jamison—i.e. not at all. “I’m here, Mr. Jamison,” said Peter nervously.

“Peter, meet Eddie. Eddie, this is Peter. What have you got for me today, Peter?” demanded Jamison’s harshly. Peter could hear the crunching noise as he savagely chewed through the candy he’d taken to eating when he’d stopped smoking.

Peter quickly reached into his bag and pulled out the pictures he’d taken before handing them to his boss. “He—hello,” he stammered towards Eddie. The man just glared at him and Peter tried to retreat further into himself.

He found himself wishing, as Jamison went through the photos, that Wade was with him. He had no doubt that Wade’s presence might just antagonize his coworkers at the Bugle more—but Peter found his presence reassuring. He felt warm and safe with Wade and none of that had anything to do with how Wade was determined to not only respect Spiderman’s identity, but defend him against what anyone else had to say about the subject. Nope. Not at all.

Jamison slammed one of the photos onto the desk and Peter jumped—and then stared, confused. It wasn’t one of his best works; the lines were blurred and it was difficult to see what was going on. Why would Jamison draw attention to t his one?

“See that, Eddie?” growled Jamison. “This is the worst of Parker’s photos. And this,” he added as he slammed down another one—showing Iron Man and Black Widow in battle with a faceless (literally) man, “This is the quality he usually brings me. You want his job? Do it better.”

Peter first glowed at the rare (exceptionally rare) praise until he realized the other man wanted his job. Why? The Bugle didn’t even pay that much, and Peter knew for a fact that they negotiated to sell the photos to other newspapers and sites. He cringed away from the sudden death glare he was getting from the other man.

“Parker, the printer’s acting up again,” growled Jamison.

Peter didn’t have to be told twice. “Yes, Sir,” he said quickly retreating from the office. Beth looked up and smirked at him. “You knew,” he whispered, feeling betrayed.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I knew. Just as I know that he’ll be hired anyway, because Jamison loves his turn of invective phrase. And when you’re done with the printer I need help with the website.”

Peter nodded jerkily and went to get a set of the company over-alls that they used for the printing press in the basement. The thing was old, and was always jamming. It was easy enough to fix—and messy enough that only people at the bottom of the hierarchy (Peter) were sent to do it. He cleared the old blockage and closed the lid before jumping back at the sight of Eddie staring at him.

Eddie regarded him through narrowed eyes. “How do you do it?” he demanded suspiciously.

“I—uh, I take out the old paper to clear the blockage before refilling with new paper,” said Peter warily as he moved, cautiously, towards the door. He didn’t understand why he was suddenly sharing a room with Eddie—the man looked at him like he was scum and his senses were giving a low-level, irritating buzz.

“Not that,” said Eddie. His tone was casual. His body language was anything but. “I mean the pictures.”

Peter was even more confused. “The pictures? Well, the programming does most of the work—”

“The pictures you take,” growled Eddie through clenched teeth. “How do you know the best places to be?”

Oh. Oh. Peter nervously fidgeted with the safety goggles he was wearing. “I work at Stark Industries,” he said, “and they’re pretty good about assistants taking odd breaks as long as all the work gets done.”

“What does that—oh.” Eddie regarded Peter with a little bit more respect. “So you use the information you get at work to know when and where to go.”

“It’s not secret information,” Peter said quickly. He didn’t want anyone to think he was stealing secrets from Mr. Stark. “They announce it over the intercom. The only times I can’t go is when they’re expecting something to attack the Tower and lock it down with everyone inside.” The buzz wasn’t diminishing, and Peter swallowed. “I’ve got to—I’ve got to go,” he said quickly before fleeing.

He carefully hung the ink stained over-alls back up, grabbed his bag, and clocked out before leaving. He fled the building and then sighed as he trudged back home. He had some money from Jamison—but he was going to have to use it for the rest of his rent, some food, and some more medical supplies. His first aid kit was dangerously low, and he didn’t have anything to eat at home. The food he’d gotten at Oscorp was already wearing thin. Not for the first time, he cursed his quick metabolism.

“Petey-Pie!” called a familiar voice.

Peter whirled to see the familiar red and black figure coming towards him. “Wade!” he said happily right before he was squeezed in a hug.

“Oh, Petey-Pie! It’s been forever since I hugged you!”

Peter reached around the mercenary to hug him back and felt tense muscles relaxing. “You liar,” he said fondly. “It was just four o’clock this afternoon.”

“Do you know how many chapters that was Petey?” whined Wade. “I need my Peter fix!” He rubbed his masked cheek against Peter’s bare one and the stitches rasped against his face.

“Chapters?” he asked in confusion. “Are you reading a book?”

“I’d tell ya, Pete,” said Wade as he held the smaller man, “but you’d think I was crazy.”

Peter chuckled and gently squeezed in a return hug. “You are crazy,” he said fondly.

Crazy enough to believe he could change.

Crazy enough to believe Spiderman had a good reason for keeping his identity secret.

Crazy enough to get close to Peter Parker.

“You say that like it’s a good thing,” Wade said.

Peter leaned back enough to where he could look into the whites of Wade’s mask. “Who says it’s a bad thing?” he challenged. “I—”

“So this is how you get your information,” said voice, dripping with disgust. Peter broke way enough to see Eddie behind them. The raw disgust on his face was enough to make him take a step back, and the mere sight brought back that low-level warning buzz. “Fucking the freaks.”

“Hmm. Peter, who is this?” asked Deadpool as he tucked himself around Peter again.

“This is Eddie. I think he’s my coworker?” Jamison had mentioned something about Eddie wanting his job—but why? It just didn’t pay that much, and no one like to wrangle the printer.

“Oh? Hello Eddie. I’d offer to shake your hand, but I’m hugging my baby boy right now.” The arm around Peter’s waist tightened slightly, and the other crossed Peter’s torso. Peter would have relaxed into the embrace—if he hadn’t been all too aware of the fact that Deadpool had just moved his hand closer to his sword.

Eddie put both his hands in his pockets—and Peter winced. Deadpool had once sliced the arms off of a crook who did that (I swear he was reaching for a gun, and you’re not bullet-proof Spidey!) and Peter waited anxiously to see what would happen. Eddie simply left his hands there, and chuckled.

The sound was disturbingly similar to what Norman had uttered as Harry was recovering from nearly dying in the office.

“I just want to get an edge, that’s all,” Eddie said with a sly grin. Without looking at Peter he asked, “Peter, do you believe in the concept of fair play?”

“Um—yes?”

“Do you believe that in a competition to see who is truly the best, both people should be on equal footing?

“…yes?”

The grin widened. “Excellent. Hey, Deadpool. How about you give me a heads up, next time shit’s going down?”

Deadpool tucked his chin into the crook of Peter’s neck and there was a slight change—an almost relaxation that left him somewhere between Deadpool and Wade. “Hmm. That does sound fair.” Eddie smirked. “But, I won’t do it. You upset my little Petey-Pie, and the only reason you’re still breathing is because Spidey Senpai would be mad at me.” He rubbed his cheek against Peter’s again. “And just as Baby Boy believes in fair play, he also believes in honesty. Don’t you Baby Boy?”

“We—well, it’s always important to try to be truthful,” Peter said. He couldn't tell anyone he was Spiderman—but he didn’t deny it either. Actually, he was more careful that it didn’t come up. He wasn’t sure if that counted as lying or not.

Deadpool heaved an exaggerated sigh. “There you go. If Spidey asked Petey-Pie if I killed someone, Petey would tell the truth. So you live. Now live somewhere I’m not tempted.” He took his gloved hand away from Peter’s shoulder and made shooing motion with it. Eddie growled—but left. Peter let out a low, slow breath and relaxed as Wade cuddled him close again. “I don’t know how to say this, but you need a bodyguard.”

Peter really wouldn't put it past Eddie to ambush him in an alley on the way home. While he could fight off the other reporter—he couldn't do it without telling people he was Spiderman. “True,” he said. He looked up at Wade’s chin. “Want to come shopping with me? I got paid today.”

#Spider-Man #Deadpool #Spideypool

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peepeepoposblog-socool · 2 years

Text

Me when people come into a chain craft store with the most bare bones beginner supplies for every catagory in the god forsaken store and ask me how to do professional projects when none of us have been trained in the actual art of crafting itself because we were all hired on as cashier's meant to simply help you at check out and even though I can probably give you some sort of answer because I personally have done research on/ been a hobbyist with a lot of the merchandise we sell, you're still probably better off just doing your own research because I am not a fucking expert you fucking cunt ass bitch.

#you are asking me right now if we sell the supplies or a kit even to replicate this person using thick acrylic paint and a henna piping #tube to make henna like designs on canvas..#ok so get a henna piping tube WHICH WE DO NOT SELL and some acrylic paint which we do sell fortunately #and then do it on your design #no we dont #we dont have kits for it #no #oh it was a class #she offers classes but its a two month wait time #maybe its because THIS FORM OF ART HAS SOME SORT OF CULTHRAL RELEVANCE AND A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO PAY FOR HER SERVICE SO THEY CAN LEARN #but you think you can buy this at this craft fucking store with over priced beginner supplies in an entire kit #nothing irritates me more than the white women that walk into my store fr

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sylvanfreckles · 3 years

Text

Poisoned (FebuWhump 07)

Fandom: Detroit: Become Human Summary: Connor, already suffering from an injury occurred in the line of duty, is put in further danger when he’s unknowingly given tainted thirium. Warning: non-graphic vomiting

(This story takes place in the same series as my first DBH fic, Critical Components. You can read that and this fic on AO3)

* * *

Connor settled into the chair at his desk, still cradling his damaged arm carefully. “I'm fine, Hank.”

Hank was already shaking his head and tugging the android first-aid kit out from under his desk. “Kid, you had nearly half a ton of dead weight hanging from that arm half an hour ago. It's not okay.”

“My internal structure is rated to withstand pressure of up to-”

“You heard what the tech said,” Hank interrupted. “All that weight on your...your servos or joints or whatever.”

With a frown, Connor glanced down at his arm. His internal structure would have taken the weight of the falling cargo container easily, had the floor not given way at that moment. So the container caught him on the shoulder, and before he could push himself free some of the trailing cables had twisted around his arm. There had been a horrible, grinding jerk when he'd stopped, just for a moment, essentially holding the ancient shipping container in place with one arm...then the cables had sheared away his exo-plating and broken two of his fingers as the container plunged into the depths of Lake Michigan.

The DPD tech that had responded to their call was supposed to bring replacement plating to patch over what had been torn away, and Connor's healing program would handle the rest. Except replacing the lost thirium, of course.”

“Damn it,” Hank shoved the first aid box away with a grunt. “Must've used it already.”

“There's some in the break room,” Connor offered and started to stand, but his partner held a hand up and nearly pushed him back into his seat.

“I've got it. You just...sit there.”

Connor complied, a bit gratefully, truth be told. He hadn't told Hank or the tech, but the jarring weight of the cargo container's fall had caused microfractures throughout much of his internal structure. Nothing that wouldn't be healed in a few hours...but it still hurt.

“Here we go!” Hank announced. He twisted the lid off the bottle of thirium and handed it to Connor with a flourish. “Tech said you need at least two, but there's a whole case in there if you need more.”

“Thanks, Hank,” Connor said with a sigh. He took a long swallow of the thirium and grimaced a little at the texture. It was too thick, and almost sweet. He pulled the bottle away and stared at the label—there were companies other than Cyberlife trying to provide android necessities these days, and this was a brand he hadn't tried before. Maybe they didn't let an actual android test their product before shipping it. Thirium wasn't something he'd ever enjoyed the taste of before, but this was downright disgusting.

Hank was watching him, eyebrows drawn together in concern. Connor tried to give his partner a reassuring glance and downed the rest of the bottle, not quite able to hide the shudder as the last of the thick, cloying liquid passed his lips. The thirium sat heavily in his internal resevoir, like it was too dense to circulate.

“You want the next one?” Hank asked as he reached for the bottle.

“Not yet,” Connor protested, blocking his partner's hand. “I think...I think this brand is too concentrated.”

“Yeah?” Hank picked the bottle of thirium up and squinted at the information on the label. “Hell, I can't tell what any of this says. We need to thin it out or something?”

Connor's stomach churned, warnings flickering at the edges of his vision. “Not that...simple...” he groaned. Error messages flashed before his eyes, and he wrapped his arms around his stomach and doubled over as his entire body seized up.

“Connor? Hey, kid!” Hank was crouching in front of him now, hands on Connor's shoulders, trying to see into his face. “What is it? What's wrong?”

“Con...tam-taminated,” Connor managed to rasp out.

“Contaminated?” Hank's voice rose even as Connor tried to curl away from him. “What the hell?”

Everything lurched, then twisted, and before Connor could reach his trashcan he was vomiting blue blood down the front of his shirt.

Hank swore again and shoved the trashcan between Connor's bent knees. “We need a tech in here!” he hollered over his shoulder.

There was blood in his mouth, lingering on his tongue as he heaved up another mouthful. With mental effort Connor turned on his analysis software and the thirium's composition flooded across his vision.

Ethylene, propylene, butylene, hexylene...it was antifreeze. The thirium had been spiked with antifreeze, though from the taste and consistency it was more accurate to say a bottle of antifreeze had been contaminated with thirium.

“Thirium,” he gasped, voice cracking on another retch and he bent over to spit a mouthful of blue blood into the trashcan. “It's...”

“We've got it, kid,” Hank said. One of the man's big hands was resting on Connor's shoulders, gently sweeping back and forth. It was oddly comforting, though he couldn't quite explain why. “They're hauling the whole damn case down to the lab. Fuck, this is bad.”

“I told you to take it easy, Connor.” The new voice was from a short, stocky man in the all-too-familiar uniform of the DPD android technicians.

“Thirium's bad, Frank,” Hank replied. “Someone put antifreeze in, ruined the whole batch.”

Francisco Jimenez—Frank to his friends—sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Connor, I need to check your thirium levels, is that all right?”

Connor let out a weary nod and leaned back enough for the tech to push his shirt aside and deactivate the panel over his chest compartment. Frank pulled a handheld monitor off of his belt and attached the delicate cable to a nearly invisible port on the housing for Connor's thirium pump.

The android groaned and Hank let out a weary chuckle. “Careful, Frank. He might blow on you.”

“Eh, I've had worse than some bad thirium on me before,” Frank retorted, winking at Connor. He frowned at the screen from the monitor when it finally beeped and gently pulled the wire free, replacing Connor's chest panel. “Sorry, kid. Thirium levels are down to about seventy percent, which is an easy fix...but it looks like contamination's spread through the rest of your supply.”

“What does that mean?” Hank cut in.

Frank had already stowed the handheld monitor and pulled his phone out instead. “Afraid he needs his entire supply flushed and replaced, and I'm detecting some impaired thirium flow so some of the smaller pumps might be damaged. Might need some lines replaced too, and that's just a little above what we can handle here.”

“Come on, you just need to replace it,” Hank protested. “Just pump the bad stuff out and put good stuff in, right?”

“It's not that simple,” the tech explained with a sigh. “Look, Hank...you ever see what antifreeze does if you put it in your gas tank? That stuff's a lot heavier than thirium. As soon as it entered his circulatory system it started gumming everything up. Connor needs his entire thirium supply replaced, and we just can't do that here—not if we don't know how much of our stock is contaminated. And he needs his lines flushed and cleaned to get that crap out of him; antifreeze doesn't just evaporate like thirium does. I'm sorry, he just needs more repairs than we can handle.”

Connor hadn't realized he'd grabbed Hank's arm until the older man flinched from the sudden pressure. “Not the facility?” he whispered, desperately. “Please?”

He could still remember the feeling from his last repair. Being shut down but conscious, strapped to a table while harsh, unfeeling hands touched his biocomponents. Voices overhead, discussing how expensive he was, how much money they could make off of his blueprints, how much Hank would sell him for. William Adair, the chief technician, boasting about the offer he was going to make Hank, as no mere detective could understand how important this piece of technology was.

Hank had shifted a hand to his shoulder and squeezed gently. “Jericho?” he suggested.

Frank was already shaking his head. “Sorry, kiddo. I get the newsletter, Josh is doing some impressive things over there, but they're not ready for this kind of work. I'll talk to him at the next meeting, maybe we can figure something out for next time.”

“There won't be a next time,” Hank growled. “Whoever did this is gonna wish they'd never been born when I get through with 'em.”

“Yeah, well, save some for the rest of us,” Frank retorted. “Ambulance is on its way, and I've gotta see about recalling two dozen android officers to make sure their emergency supplies aren't tainted. Someone could have done a lot of damage with this stunt.”

Hank snorted. His hand hadn't left Connor's shoulders, gently rubbing back and forth even as Connor hunched over the trashcan again. “Yeah, they already did.”

* * *

I kind of went for a cross between antifreeze poisoning in the human body and what happens if you put antifreeze in your gas tank. I hope it turned out okay.

I don't know, I could go on with a part two with all the body horror of having your veins irrigated at the horrible android hospital while the horrible little man with his hands in your chest cavity keeps talking about how much he'd like to take your organs out, just for a little while, to see if he can learn anything. Let me know if you’d like that.

#febuwhump #febuwhumpday7 #poisoning #detroit become human #dbh #fic #fanfic #connor #hank anderson #connor whump #antifreeze poisoning #android headcanon #connor gets poisoned #nongraphic vomiting #hurt no comfort

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snowdice · 4 years

Text

Rats, Pizza, and Supply Closets (Part of the Cuffed Universe Series)

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Logan/Remus/Virgil (a bit more Logan/Remus focus)

Characters: Logan, Virgil, Remus

Summary: Logan is very surprised by the fact that Remus did not come to this pizzeria with the goal to capture him, and now that they’re both here, it turns out their objectives align far more than expected.

AKA: The First Truce

This is a Cuffed Universe fic.

Previous fics in this series:

Tea, Cookies, and Handcuffs

Matboards and Subway Sandwiches

Espionage and Iced Coffee

Popcorn and Podcasts

Extras:

Moving Day

Notes: Non-consensual drug use mentioned, morally grey Logan, cop Remus, being restrained, one theoretical mention of eye injuries, human trafficking mentioned

Look at the boys! They’re getting along! Well.... Remus and Logan are getting along.

One would think, that is, one would think if one had even a single iota of sense in one’s monkey brain, that it would be difficult for a new hire to so quickly gain access to the location that one’s underground drug dealing operation ran out of. Particularly, one would think one would be cautious after having recently refused to pay for services from a cybercriminal.

Luckily for Logan, it seemed Haynes had a few disconnected synapses in his brain, and all it had taken was a fake ID and some forged paperwork to get hired on as a handyman for the business he used for money laundering. In addition to his work dolling out controlled substances, Haynes also owned a local rip off of a Chuck E Cheese called Cheeezeee the Cheese Rat. It was a dirty establishment with questionable food offerings and even more questionable decor.

Many times this week, Logan had found himself distracted by the large mural of a rat made out of cheese who was holding a smaller hunk of cheese as though he planned to eat it. Logan couldn’t help but stare at the image in horror, his mind desperately searching for some meaning in the piece. Was it meant to be a visual representation of pantheism wherein all things no matter the way humanity views them are ultimately the same and are god? That god is the creator, consumer, and consumed and god is reality itself. Was is a commentary on thoughtless, damaging consumption whereupon in one’s hunger and lust one eventually consumes themselves thereby destroying the vessel which one seeks to feed? Was the commissioner just deranged?

“Dude, for the 50th time, it is just a mural of a dumb character for kids,” the woman standing at the counter in the middle of the kitchen said as she sprinkled what could maybe pass for cheese on slabs of glorified cardboard the establishment called pizza crust. “I don’t know what to tell you. Just stop thinking about it and fix the sink.”

Logan tore his eyes away from the monstrosity he’d been staring at through the kitchen food window for the past minute and turned his attention back to the tool kit he’d been provided. He selected the correct tool and climbed back under the sink. He listened to the sounds of the woman continuing to make the “pizza.” Honestly, even if Logan did not know they were selling drugs out of the back, he still may have reported them to the authorities based solely on their food handling practices. In fact, perhaps the food was a worse offence considering that those buying their drugs knew they were purchasing and consuming harmful substances.

The underside of the sink he was under was disgusting, but the work wasn’t difficult. He’d learned enough about being generally handy from his father when he was young, and he had brushed up on those skills in the first apartment he’d shared with Virgil as that landlord did not care enough to fix things in a timely manner.

He still had his head under the sink when he heard footsteps enter the kitchen. He recognized Haynes’ voice as soon as the man spoke. He was explaining a few things about how his operation ran to whoever else was there. He used vague terms, but it was still a rather risky move with Logan and the “chef” in the same room, though it was quite possible she was in on the drug selling as well.

Logan finished fixing the sink without paying the conversation much mind; he already knew why he was here, and it was not to glean information. Logan intended to swipe what the man owed him as well as a steep amount of interest for his trouble. Then, he planned to send all of the information he had acquired about the business to the local law enforcement and let them deal with the rest.

He slid out from under the sink and glanced up. Immediately, he met the eyes of one of the room’s occupants and froze. He and Officer Remus Royal stared at each other for a few long moments before Remus tore his gaze away and looked back at Haynes. Logan breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t stupid enough to attempt to confront Logan in front of the drug dealer. That would have very likely ended badly for them both.

No longer being directly watched, though he imagined Remus was still tracking his movement from the corner of his eyes, Logan cleaned up his tools slowly and stood. His next task was to change a few lightbulbs behind the stage of the animatronic show, and while things had inevitably just changed, he still planned to at least keep up appearances until he could come up with an escape plan. He left the kitchen and moved towards the supply closet. He stored the toolbox there and his hand hovered over one of the screwdrivers for a moment, but he ultimately decided to leave it be. Remus was an inconvenience, but he couldn’t see himself stabbing the man through the eye socket with a screwdriver. He turned to the box of lightbulbs, wondering if he should take them with him or just completely throw out any pretenses of still intending to complete his handyman duties. That decision was made for him when the closet door suddenly opened.

Logan tensed for a fight, mind analyzing the situation. He didn’t have the element of surprise and Remus was bigger, but it was a smaller space that was more familiar to Logan. For most opponents, he’d want to try to angle them away from anything that could prove a fatal or extremely harmful improvised weapon, but in all the times Remus and he had fought in the past, the man always gentled his touch before it could do any true harm and never applied excessive force. Logan had found himself extending the same courtesy. So, in this case, the strategy would be to try to push him towards more deadly weapons which he would be unwilling to utilize. Of course, Remus still had the advantage as he was nearer to the door and Logan was more pinned into the back of the closet, but there was also a light switch right next to Logan and if he could turn it off…

“What are you doing here?” Remus asked the second the door closed behind him.

Logan hesitated. “You seem surprised. Are you not tracking me?”

His body language seemed to communicate that he didn’t intend to jump at Logan in the immediate future, but Logan still eyed him suspiciously. “Believe it or not,” Remus said. “I do have other jobs to do besides chasing you. I honestly did not expect to find you fixing a sink in a crappy pizzeria.”

“You’re truly not here for me?”

“You sound hurt,” Remus teased. “Apologies, I thought you knew this was an open relationship. I see other criminals all the time. Don’t you see other cops?”

“You’re the only one who’s ever been able to even partially keep up with me.”

“Well, I’ve been told I have quite the stamina,” he said, eyes sparkling.

Logan shifted slightly to the side but stilled again when Remus’s eyes immediately tracked the movement. “Stamina doesn’t provide much advantage when stuck in a closet with your opponent,” Logan said idly.

“Oh, I’d beg to differ,” he said lowly.

“So why are you here?” he asked instead of engaging.

“I’m undercover to help bring down Haynes,” Remus said. “He’s into some even skeevier stuff than his rat-infested restaurant”

“I’m aware,” Logan said. “I was actually planning to send an anonymous tip to local law enforcement when I was finished here, though it seems that will be unnecessary now.”

“You were?” Remus asked. “Why?”

“He owes me money, and besides that, he’s an asshole.”

“Asshole might be an understatement for a human trafficker.”

“A what?” Logan asked.

Remus raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you know?” he asked, and suddenly the rat themed restaurant for kids took on an even more dark nauseating tone.

“I wouldn’t have done any work for him at all if I’d had even an inkling that he partook in that business as well,” Logan spat. “I’m taking him down even harder now.”

There was a moment of silence where Remus considered him, eyes unreadable and head slightly tilted. “So, we’re both here for the same reason,” he said.

“I guess we are.”

“Huh.”

“If you attempted to arrest me, it would blow your cover,” Logan pointed out and tilted his head, “and it would make my objective more difficult as well. Considering the severity of his crimes, would you be willing to make a temporary alliance just to make sure Haynes gets what he deserves?”

“Are you going to drug me at the end of it?” Remus asked.

“We’ll institute a 20-minute grace period after we’re finished. You don’t attempt to arrest me, and I don’t attempt to incapacitate you after we complete our objective.”

Remus took a moment to think through the offer, and then shoved his hands in his pocket. “Deal.”

“Very well,” Logan said. “So…”

The closet door was opened suddenly by a figure in one of the restaurant’s uniforms. “Wha-?” he started, but Remus reacted quickly, grabbing the person and slamming his hand over his mouth. Logan leaned forward and shut the door once Remus has wrestled him inside.

“Virgil?” Logan asked.

“Oh! Hey Virge,” Remus said in surprise. “You’re working at a pizzeria now?” Virgil tried to respond, but whatever he said was muffled by Remus’s hand. “Oh, right,” Remus said. “I’m going to uncover your mouth, but you have to promise not to scream.”

Virgil nodded vehemently.

“Wait,” Logan said, his eyes narrowed on Virgil. “He’s lying. He’s going to scream.”

Virgil shook his head in denial.

“I know you Virgil,” Logan said. “I can tell when you’re lying.” There was always a crinkle between his eyes because he overcorrected on trying to look earnest.

Virgil made a muffled whining sound in the back of his throat.

“Look,” Remus sighed. “I’ll take my hand off your mouth. Don’t scream, and we’ll talk it out, okay Virgil?”

Virgil nodded again, crinkle still prevalent between his eyes, and Logan pressed his lips together to watch.

Remus slowly removed his hand from Virgil’s mouth. There was a short moment of silence. Then… “AAAAmphpmphmpmphpm.” Logan slapped his own hand over the man’s mouth when he started to yell.

“I told you he was going to scream,” Logan commented idly.

“Mphfmkr,” was the angry reply as he tried to fight against Remus’s hold.

Remus sighed. “I was trying to be nice to you, Virge. Now we have to gag you.”

Virgil’s struggling increased, but Remus was easily able to hold him. Logan and Remus awkwardly managed to exchange their hands, so Logan was able to turn around and search the shelves for something to gag him with.

“Here,” Logan said. “This rope is still packaged so it should be clean.”

Virgil whined it protest.

“Well it’s that or duct tape, Virgil and I don’t relish in the pain that would doubtlessly result from the process of removing it.”

“Fmf. Ff.”

It was a struggle to get the rope between his teeth, but they managed it after a bit of wrestling. “Can I borrow your handcuffs?” Logan asked Remus.

“This time he asks,” Remus snarked, but handed them over.

Virgil made muffled irate noises behind the rope as he was cuffed to the metal shelving unit; Logan imagined whatever the man was trying to say was quite inspired.

“Sorry Virge,” Remus said, patting him on the head. “See you later.”

They shut the closet door behind them, and Logan locked the door with the keys he’d been provided. He handed the keys to Remus. “You’ll let him out after?” he asked.

“Of course,” Remus said. “I’ve got the emo.”

Logan nodded and turned from the closet. “Let’s go get a rat,” he said darkly.

Want to read more? The next installment is:

Kisses and Thai Noodle Leftovers

#sanders sides #logan sanders #remus sanders #intrulogical #virgil sanders #intruanalogical #adriana writes #cuffed universe #cop remus #morally grey logan #non-consensual drug use #drugs mentioned #being restrained #eye injury mentioned #human trafficking mentioned

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malumsmermaid · 4 years

Text

Sweet Dream or a Beautiful Nightmare?

Happy Halloween everyone! This is the halloween event fic for the collab discord!

I chose the prompt of “Person A sells their soul to Person B, a crossroads demon,” for Mashton.

Word Count: 4.6k

Pairing: Demon Michael x Ashton

Description: So I made this an alternate timeline. 5SOS is still 5SOS, but, they don’t really take off until after Ashton is already 18, and Ashton joins the band much earlier than Michael does, for the sake of the prompt and my plans.

Warnings: Demons, mentions of death

Event Masterlist My Masterlist Buy Me a Ko-Fi

Ashton took a deep breath, giving the book and bag of supplies sitting in his passenger seat an anxious glance. He’d bought the spell book from a local used bookstore months ago, assuring his two friends that it was just as a joke. This week however, curiosity and desperation took over, leading him to dig through his closet until he found the note-laden spell book, still in the bag it was placed in the day it was purchased.

He steeled himself, grabbing the book and bag and turning off his car, climbing out and taking sure steps towards the intersection of the streets. He grabbed chalk from the plastic bag, trying not to look too long at the other ingredients for the summoning. He set the book next to him on the ground, shivering as it fell open to the exact page he needed. “Okay Ash,” he breathed, “get yourself together and let’s do it, for the boys. Six guitarists in six months is fucking ridiculous.”

He dug in the cloth bag for the box of chalk, taking a piece out and walking to the center of the intersection. He kneeled on the pavement, focusing on the crossroads he was at mentally as he drew out the symbol illustrated in the spell book. He knew that Luke, Calum and himself had a great fit for their band, the only thing they were lacking in their balance was the right guitarist. He had a feeling that if they didn’t find another guitarist soon, and if this seventh guitarist wasn’t the missing piece they’d been searching for, the two younger boys may lose hope and give up. He maintained focus on his goal as he meticulously followed the instructions laid out in the book.

Everything completed he took a step back, eyes closed as he focused on what he needed. When he opened his eyes again, there was a cloaked figure in front of him, orange glowing eyes showing from beneath a hood. Ashton stood his ground, even with the lit candles flickering out, staring the orange eyes down as he waited for the crossroads demon to speak. Ashton thought he could make out a smirk on the demon’s lips as he sized up the eighteen year old in front of him.

“Was this just some dare from your friends or do you actually need me for something, kid?” The demon’s voice was low, almost bored.

Ashton squared his shoulders, standing up straighter and sticking his chin out, pushing down even the slightest bit of fear. “I truly believe my band has a good chance of making it in our field, we just are failing desperately at finding the right guitarist.”

The demon blinked, “You’re willing to sell your soul to a demon...for a guitarist. Not the success of the band, just the guitarist.”

Ashton nodded, sighing, “We’ve been through six guitarists in as many months. I’m here for the perfect guitarist for our band. The success will follow from that.”

“Are you sure about that?” the demon asked, fingers fiddling with the large sleeves of the cloak. “This is really what you want to sell your soul for, no little extra guarantee that it will actually work out on top of this guitarist?”

Ashton looked at the ground, silent for a moment, before looking up into the glowing eyes through his fringe, “It really is. I think my bandmates may give up if this next guitarist doesn’t work out, and I don’t want that to happen. Besides, if it had been one of their ideas, I would’ve made sure I was the one to do it. They don’t deserve that.”

“And you do?” The demon retorted, though his voice took on a concerned note.

Ashton paused, eyebrows pulling together before shaking his head. He reached his hand across the sigil he’d drawn in the road, “Do we have a deal?”

The demon took in Ashton’s unwavering position, his refusal to back down, convinced that this was the measure he had to take for his friends. “Deal.” The demon responded, grasping Ashton’s hand in his own. “Guitarist lucky number seven will be at your next rehearsal,” he stated before turning around and getting ready to disappear back into the darkness, “Can’t wait to see how this one turns out.” He muttered to himself.

Ashton gathered what remained of his ingredients, taking them to the car and grabbing his thermos full of water, rinsing the chalk off of the roadway before finally getting back in his car and going home.

~~~~~

Two days later Ashton was setting up his drum kit in Luke’s house. He was anxiously tightening a wing nut to a cymbal when the doorbell rang. Luke frowned, putting his guitar down and going to answer the door. Ashton could hear Luke talking to someone and hummed, continuing his set up. Soon Luke returned, another boy following behind him. “This is Michael,” the blonde started, getting both Ashton and Calum’s attention. “He told me that he heard from a friend that we were looking for another guitarist?”

Luke’s blue eyes were questioning, wondering if his other two bandmates had spoken to anyone about the recent opening. Calum looked just as confused as Luke and Ashton whirred through some excuse he could make up. “I uh, may have mentioned it to one of the people at the barbecue I went to after practice the other night. Didn’t think they’d actually know someone looking for a band though, guess I was wrong.”

Luke simply shrugged and nodded, turning back to Michael, still hanging behind him. Ashton caught the guitarist’s eye and...did he just wink at him? No, he had to have imagined it. Michael’s brown hair fell in his face and he crouched on the floor, pulling his guitar out of the case and tuning it, knowing that the band would need to hear him play before anything was decided.

Ashton finished setting up his kit and took a seat in front of the Hemmings’ Christmas tree. Calum was on one side of him, fidgeting with the shoulders of his tank top, Luke on the other looking at Michael. He’d pulled his guitar strap over his shoulder, guitar hanging on his back as he fidgeted with the strands of his hair before stepping up to Calum’s keyboard. He took a deep breath, calming his nerves before he started playing the opening notes to Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold. He swung his guitar around and began to play. He leaned into the microphone and began singing the lyrics as well and Ashton thought he caught another furtive glance and a smirk from him.

Luke got to his feet halfway through the song, stopping Michael. “Dude, if you can get along with the three of us as well as you can play guitar, I’d say you’re in. What do you guys think?”

Calum spoke up from his spot, “Yeah, hang out with us some after practice today and same at the next and if we’re all getting along, I’d say it’s going to work out.”

Ashton simply nodded his agreement with the other two boys and got to his feet, going to settle behind his drum set, ready to start practice. Michael was beaming as he moved to the other side of the living room stage, looking at the tabs Luke was showing him for one of the original songs that he wanted to work on today.

~~~~~~~

Michael blended into the group with ease, Ashton and Calum welcoming him in before the first rehearsal with the new guitarist was even over. Ashton brushed off his apprehension about the looks that Michael had been giving him, he was a nice guy and there was no way he could know about the deal the drummer had made. By his third rehearsal, Michael had come up with a name for the group, the other three boys having been struggling with that for a long time, especially with the more pressing issue of keeping a guitarist on the forefront of their minds.

Soon, 5 Seconds of Summer were posting more videos to Luke’s youtube channel and playing more local shows. With Michael fitting in so well with the group they were now working harder than ever before. After a few months, they finally got a call from a label. They worked out the details with their parents and began touring around the country, and then across the world.

The years went on and the band’s success continued to grow, multiple albums debuting at number 1 and playing larger and larger venues. During one tour Ashton dyed his hair black, posting a picture in front of a window, captioning it “feeling like a demon again.” Michael was in another room, and he let out a low chuckle when he read the caption, double tapping the photo and carrying on.

It was coming up on ten years since Michael joined the band, ten years since Ashton made a deal with the crossroads demon. He wasn’t really in the mood to celebrate his 28th birthday when it came along, knowing in five months, he would no longer be himself, if he was even still here. They finished recording their sixth album and Ashton went back to Australia for a month, spending time with his family. When he got back to LA in mid-September he began pulling away from his friends, only responding to band related texts immediately, sometimes taking three days to reply to even Calum when he tried to check in. He tried to say that he was working on a second solo album during the lull before they had to start promoting the new record, but he knew that would only hold them off for so long.

By October Ashton’s nightmares of the orange-eyed demon he’d been having from time to time since they met were now nightly. The first week of November he just gave up on sleeping entirely, throat raw from waking up screaming as the cloaked demon dragged him out of bed and down through his bedroom floor into darkness.

At the end of the week without sleep, Ashton once again found himself spending the whole day sitting on his couch, staring intently at a blank page of his journal. The room grew dark around him as the sun sank in the sky. The last few golden rays travelled through the windows when he recognized the sound of Michael knocking on his door. Before he could get up or even respond to the sound, the door opened, Michael walking straight in. Ashton wearily raised his head, looking at his friend standing in the doorway to the living room. “You look soulless.” Michael said, “Trust me, I would know.”

Ashton shook his head, placing his elbows on his knees and leaning his head on his hands. “What do you need Mike?”

“I know why you’ve been avoiding us, pushing everyone away.”

Ashton let out a dark chuckle. “Sure. Take a guess.” He muttered, keeping his head down.

Michael stepped further into the room, boot stomping on the hardwood. “Ashton. Look at me.”

There was something different to Michael’s voice, and Ashton found himself unable to disobey. He sat up, turning to look at the blonde and gasped. The same glowing orange eyes that had been haunting his nightmares were staring straight at him, coming from Michael’s face. Ashton scrambled backwards until his back was against the far arm of the sofa, the guitar that had been next to him dropping to the floor. Michael frowned, stepping forward, picking up the instrument from the ground, checking it and carefully beginning to tune it again while Ashton searched for words.

“Y-you!” He choked out, “Get out of Michael!”

The demon sighed, eyes fading back to green as he fiddled with the guitar. He snapped his fingers, turning on some lamps. “Ashton,” he said, voice soft, “I’ve been Michael the whole time, from before you came forth to make the deal to now.”

Ashton shook his head, “So I wasn’t being paranoid about the looks you were giving me when you tried out for the band.”

Michael chuckled, nodding. “I was sort of hoping you’d notice much sooner. I was just drawn in by your confidence that all you needed was a guitarist. And you were right.”

Ashton was still pressed against the arm of the sofa, so Michael stayed where he was, tenderly cradling Ashton’s guitar, letting him set his boundaries, letting him figure out how he felt. Finally, Ashton shifted, actually looking at Michael, no longer pinning himself to the end of the couch. When he spoke, his voice was raw, “It’s just...god, Michael. I’ve trusted you with things I wouldn’t tell anyone else. I’ve been vulnerable with you...I--I’m in fucking love with you.” Ashton’s scoff turned into a disbelieving laugh. “I would fall in love with a demon, makes so much more sense now.”

“Hey now,” Michael said, voice soft as he moved to sit next to Ashton, hand resting on the drummer’s thigh. Ashton didn’t pull away and Michael carried on, “I gave up my original job out of curiosity after we met. The past ten years I’ve spent with you...and the band...I’ve been closer to my old mortal life, old feelings, than I have been in centuries.”

“What do you mean?” Ashton asked, hazel eyes meeting green.

“I mean, I wasn’t always a crossroads demon, if that’s what you’re asking. In my old life I was a travelling minstrel, and one day, I performed the same ceremony you did, summoned the demon who would be my master in order to make a deal.”

Ashton tilted his head, understanding crashing over him and he nodded, curls bouncing. “Did you make the deal you expected me to make? Asking for success and fame?”

Michael chuckled, “No, Ashton, I assumed that’s where you were going because I’ve been a crossroads demon for four hundred years. The number of times I’ve heard that request in the past fifty years alone...it’s not a hard assumption to make.”

Ashton nodded, quietly waiting to hear Michael’s story. Michael hummed, leaning back into the couch as he began. “It was a festival, celebrating the arrival of spring. We were playing in the market square and a boy caught my eye. I later learned he was the son of the lord and lady of that region and doubted I had much chance. But I had to have him. So, that night, I made a deal and within the next fortnight, I was a regular in his bed.

His parents knew nothing of the matter and within two years he was married to the daughter of some duchess, but we had an understanding with her. She had little interest in lying with her husband anyway, her heart laid with one of the maids who helped her dress.

Much too soon my time came and I became a demon. I stopped aging, learned my trade, and began my work. I still spent nights with my beloved, but he continued aging, and soon, at least to me, it became clear that he couldn’t keep up with me anymore. I held his hand as he crossed over. He and his wife never had children, even for the sake of appearances, and so their line ended with their deaths. He chose to be reborn, I check in on him once every century, but I always miss when he would be my apparent age. The two times that I caught him in his later years, his soul recognized me for who I was and we had long talks when I came by, but nothing more.”

Ashton stared, nodding as he listened to Michael’s century’s old tale, of who he had been before Ashton was even a thought. “H-have you found him in this century?” He voiced.

Michael chuckled, “Yes, I have. As much as you remind me of him, you aren’t him. No, he’s the man you’ve known as my dad the past few years. Hate that I had to put that sort of spell on him, but I needed a cover. But, like I said, my timing has been off, probably the curse of being a demon, can’t keep up with the man I loved.”

Ashton nodded slowly. “But you know why I can’t tell anyone why I’ve been pulling away. Luke and Calum wouldn’t understand. I...I don’t want to hurt them.”

Michael hummed, pulling Ashton to rest on his chest. “I know, but I have a plan. I’ll get us both out of this. But first you need to get some sleep.”

Ashton wanted to protest, to explain his nightmares, but the warmth of Michael’s body and the song beginning to fill his ears were making his limbs heavy, eyelids drooping.

~~~~~~

Ashton awoke in his dark room, feeling more rested than he had in months. He was dimly aware of the other body in his bed, but opted to continue to lay still, see if sleep would claim him again, unsure how long he had been out. “Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Michael murmured, shifting to face Ashton.

Ashton didn’t jump, he wasn’t as foggy as he would normally expect upon waking up. He still remembered his conversation with Michael before he’d fallen asleep, and he still felt comforted by Michael’s presence, despite now knowing the truth. “How long was I out?” He hummed, turning to look at Michael’s silhouette.

Michael shifted, picking up his phone to check the time. “So it was like almost 7pm when you fell asleep the other night, then all of yesterday, I cleaned up the house by the way, and now it’s 5am the next day. Thought you were gonna wake up a few times during the day, but you just rolled over after mumbling something.”

Ashton blinked as he tried to take that in. He didn’t think that he’d ever slept that long, even at his most jet-lagged or exhausted following a long tour. “Makes sense, it’s been so long since I’ve gotten any sleep, since I’ve slept without any nightmares.”

Michael nodded, tentatively reaching out. Ashton moved closer, letting Michael place a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Looked up tickets, got us a flight home tomorrow afternoon, figured you’d be awake by then. Do you wanna get Luke and Calum together for lunch or dinner today and just have a boy’s night, have a heart to heart?”

“But we can’t really tell them all of it, can we?”

“Up to you, I don’t mind them knowing, my plan includes shrugging off my old job, getting rid of these guys.”

Even knowing the truth, the sight of Michael’s glowing orange eyes still made Ashton flinch. “Let’s just plan getting together today, and decide what we’re going to tell them when we get there. I’m going to go do some yoga, stretch out after being in bed so long.” Ashton got out of bed after Michael nodded, stretching out his back as he walked around the bed. “How about dinner? Then we can come back here and talk more.”

Michael agreed, “I’ll send them a text later to get everything planned, doubt they’d appreciate a 5am text.”

~~~~~~

Ashton ended up deciding against telling Luke and Calum the full story, since it sounded like Michael was planning on no longer being a demon by the end of the week, and he still wasn’t sure he wanted to explain how Michael had really become part of the band, by Ashton making a deal with the demon. They’d been nothing but supportive, reminding him that they’re always there if he needs to talk. Michael was sitting next to him, occasionally giving him gentle touches and reassuring looks as he explained some of what he’d been going through.

Ashton slept the whole flight back to Australia the next day, only waking during a spot of turbulence to find Michael had rested his head on Ashton’s shoulder, also asleep. Once they’d landed, Michael rented a car and they went to get dinner before checking into the hotel. “Let’s get some rest,” Michael said after he set his bag down, taking a seat on the bed. “Then tomorrow night we’ll go back to where we first met and get this reversed, neither of us will have anything to worry about anymore.”

Ashton nodded, and both men took turns getting ready for bed. There were two beds in the room, but Ashton looked over at Michael anxiously. “Can I sleep next to you? I...I don’t want to be alone in a bed again.”

Michael nodded and Ashton flipped off the lamp by the bed he’d originally claimed, crawling in next to Michael. He moved close to him, scared to be touching him, still not entirely sure where they stood. Michael however, closed the distance after he turned off the lamp, pressing his body closer and throwing an arm over Ashton’s shoulder.

The pair slept soundly through the night, spending the day laying low, having lunch and dinner out at quieter local cafes. As the last rays of sunlight disappeared below the horizon, full moon rising higher in the sky, Michael drove out to the crossroads where Ashton had summoned him just a month shy of ten years ago. He pulled over, reaching into the backseat for the bag he’d brought with him. Ashton followed him to the center of the intersection, watching as Michael began the summoning ceremony Ashton had followed, but in reverse order. The asphalt swallowed up the ingredients as Michael threw them down, the demon chanting in an ancient language as he circled the ground. He traced glowing orange runes into the road.

Once there was a glowing circle surrounding the runes, Michael stepped back, arms open wide as he continued chanting, Ashton hesitantly stepping forward to stand at his side. Michael fell silent as before them appeared a figure far more terrifying than anything Ashton’s nightmares had conjured. Ashton was petrified, rooted to the spot. Michael gave him a glance before looking back at the entity before them. “Hey Cain, been a minute. Could you do human form, for the sake of my best friend here?”

The figure began to shrink, swirling shadows of dark fog turning to flesh and animal skin clothing, terrifying features morphing to human. “Cain?” Ashton squeaked, “Like Cain and Abel, Cain? Like…”

Michael simply nodded, “Told him about 150 years ago that he owed me a massive favor, now I’m cashing in.”

Cain snorted, now fully human, leaning on a wooden club. “I have existed for millenia, young minstrel, that may as well have been yesterday.”

Michael simply rolled his eyes, carrying on. “Look, you owe me big time and that’s what matters. Ash owes me his soul and his day is coming up, but I don’t want it anymore. I’ve spent the last ten years with Ashton and our bandmates and I’ve been more in touch with my mortal side than I’ve been since my beloved died the first time. After watching him die that first time, and then several times after that, I’m done. I have a new love and I can’t go through that again, watch him age and die. And none of that redemption myth stuff that goes around. I want to be mortal, I want to grow old for the first time in my entire existence, and I want to do that with Ashton.”

Ashton blinked, staring at Michael before he turned to look at Cain, who was deep in thought over Michael’s request. “That definitely is well within your right to request, and fills my debt to you without leaving you in debt to me...well thought out, minstrel.”

Michael’s face remained neutral and Cain held his hands out on either side of him. In his right hand, a scroll with what Ashton recognized as his signature at the bottom, in his left, a glowing ball of light. Cain released the ball of light, which began to float toward Michael as the scroll tore in two and burst into flame. “The deal is complete.” Cain stated, disappearing into shadow as the ball of light reached Michael, floating into his chest.

As soon as the light touched Michael’s chest, he collapsed onto the pavement, Ashton gasping and rushing to his side. Shadows poured from Michael’s eyes, nose, mouth and ears, sinking into the ground. Ashton crouched on the road, holding Michael’s head in his lap as the last of the shadows trickled out and faded away. The blonde’s eyelids slowly fluttered, finally blinking open fully. Ashton stared down at him, an extra glimmer of life showing in Michael’s green eyes that Ashton didn’t think he’d ever seen before. “Ash,” Michael croaked, trying to push himself up, but Ashton firmly pushed his shoulders back down.

“You just got blasted back by that bright thing, you need to chill for a moment.” He stated, hands staying on Michael’s shoulders.

Michael remained still, smiling up at Ashton. “It was my soul, my original soul, the one I signed over,” Michael whispered, “I can feel it.” He paused, then his eyes widened, “Do I look fucking ancient now?” He gasped.

Ashton chuckled, shaking his head, “No, you look like Michael, the same Michael I’ve known for the past ten years, just a little more soul behind your eyes.”

Michael rolled his eyes at the joke before looking up at the stars. “I meant it, when I said I wanted to grow old with you.”

“I know. I do too, I’m glad we have that option now.”

Michael smiled and they sat there quietly until Ashton felt that Michael had recovered, finally getting to their feet and driving back to the hotel. They spent the rest of the week in Australia, Cain’s deal hadn’t undone Michael’s spell on his parents, and both he and Ashton were glad of that, visiting with both their families while they were there.

Once they were back in LA, Michael began moving his things into Ashton’s house. They had dinner with Luke and Calum, and the other two men could tell that something had changed between their friends, but didn’t push it. They knew that they’d be told when Michael and Ashton were ready.

Months later, Michael and Ashton were in their garden, sitting around the fire pit. They’d told Calum and Luke about their relationship at New Years, to which Luke yelled “Finally!” They’d all laughed and hugged before staring into the sky as fireworks exploded across the city, well ahead of midnight.

Tonight was the last night of peace before they were set to go back into the studio. Ashton cuddled closer to Michael on the bench, lazily poking at the burning logs with the hook. “Y’know,” he whispered, “I feel like, if we were both human the whole time we’ve known each other, I’d still offer you my soul.”

Michael glanced at him, green eyes wide and eyebrows raised. Ashton giggled, dropping the metal rod to the grass and leaning up and giving Michael a kiss.

“Like in the I’m totally in love with you way, you worry wart.” He said. “I trust you with my heart and every bit of my being. I know that you won’t hurt me.”

Michael hummed, smiling at Ashton, watching the flames dance in his hazel eyes. “You know what?” He said after a couple of minutes, “I’d give you my soul too.” Michael tore his gaze from Ashton for a moment, sticking his skewer into the flames, watching the marshmallow goo that was still stuck to the metal blacken and drip into the fire. “Feels a lot better this way.” He observed, “With my first love I signed over my soul to get it, but to you, I’d give it freely.”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be.” Ashton whispered.

Michael nodded, dipping his head for another kiss. “I love you Ashton Irwin.”

“And I you, Michael Clifford.”

Tag List: @irwinkitten @calpops @goth5sos @wildflowergrae @talkfastromance4 @maluminspace @notinthesameguey @superbloomirwin @sexgodashton @castaway-cashton @treatallwithkindness @theyorthemrecords @another-lonely-heart @ghostofmashton @opheliaaurora23 @loxerofmine @youngblood199456 @megz1985 @strawberriesonsummer

Slash Tag List: @tigerteeff

Want to be added?

#michael clifford #ashton irwin #mashton #michael clifford angst #ashton irwin angst #demon!michael #mashton angst #michael clifford 5 seconds of summer #michael clifford 5sos #ashton irwin 5 seconds of summer #ashton irwin 5sos #michael 5 seconds of summer #ashton 5 seconds of summer #michael 5sos #ashton 5sos #michael clifford fluff #ashton irwin fluff #mashton fluff

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deckof-dragons · 3 years

Note

bugsnax idea: while buddy, filbo, and egg are climbing the mountain after the point of no return, beff and cromdo are grudgingly cooperating on a salvaging run to some wrecks that got shifted by the earthquake. theyre looking for parts to fix buddys airship. they also bring back some other supplies. buddy is very happy about this (it doesn't matter that it was in a sunken ship for a year, freeze dried scrambled eggs is WAY more of a meal than sauce - plus the medical supplies are useful)

I'm not 100% sure this ask was intended as a request but I treated it as such anyway because I wanted to. I mostly wanted to try writing from Beffica's POV because I love her but also hate her for being mean to Filbo. And this was a good way to do that, especially since I like her Cromdo's dislike for one another. Also, I suppose this is also a good way to establish that I'm open to requests. I do wish you had sent it to my Bugnsax blog (@poliel) though but it did come in like right after I made the blog so it's possible you didn't know about it.

“You only volunteered to do this because you’re hoping to steal some treasure,” Beffica said as they left Snaxburg together.

“Nah, that ain’t the only reason,” Cromdo replied. “Somebody’s got to do it, might as well be me, right? And if I happen upon some treasure whilst searching through the wreckage, there ain’t no harm in taking it. ‘Sides, you only volunteered to keep an eye on me. So you ain’t got a leg to stand on here.”

Beffica couldn’t exactly argue with that since it was true. But somebody needed to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t try anything sleezy. In the interest of this being a rather urgent matter though, she didn’t bother saying so or anything else for now. Once they fixed the air ship and were safely sailing away, they could all go back to fighting and hating each other. Until then though it was best to get along and work together.

So instead, she started jogging, trying not to think about the occasional earth rumbling or the mounds of what looked like food coming out of the ground. As expected, Cromdo picked up his pace too, almost immediately starting to breath heavier.

By the time they reached the beach proper, Beffica was starting to breath harder too. Gosh how had long had it been since she’d last gone for a proper jog? Too long for sure. For Cromdo however it had clearly been longer with the way he was huffing and puffing. She wasn’t going to slow down for him though, they were in too much of a hurry and it made any further conversation impossible. So onward they continued towards Boiling Bay.

By the time they got there Beffica knew to expect it to be different than it had before the quake based off the changes Shimmering Springs had clearly gone through. The lava flow that had once crossed across the sand into the ocean had slowed to a trickle, the cave it came out of blocked up with rocks. The biggest change though and what was surprising enough to cause them both to slow to a halt was how much the shoreline had been altered. It hardly looked like the same place anymore. But as Snorpy had suggested, the quake had shook up and revealed more wreckage. Including two halves of a whole ship sticking up out of the water a bit further out. Which was the first real turn of lucked they’d had since arriving on this dang island especially since it looked remarkably intact other than the whole being split in half thing. In fact it looked like it hadn’t been there for very long … Wait a minute…

“I think that’s the ship we arrived here on,” Cromdo said before she could even complete the thought. “I guess Liz and Egg didn’t run off with it after all.”

“Huh? But how’d it get… You know what? Never mind. We don’t have to time to waste. Let’s go get what we need and gather anything else that might be useful and get back to Snaxburg.” Hopefully before another big quake hit or lava destroyed the town or the Queen of Bugsnax showed up to eat everyone or the Grumpinati came to finish them off or whatever other bad thing could supposedly end them before they could got off this island.

With the ship being split in two and there being two of them the most logical course of action was to split up and each search one half. Which made keeping an eye on Cromdo more difficult but the matter was a bit too urgent for Beffica to really worry about. It also unfortunately this meant getting very wet since the ship was still more submerged than not. But on the bright side, the bugsnax meant she currently didn’t have fur anymore and thus she didn’t have to deal that because wet fur was the worst.

It was Cromdo’s idea to carry everything they could salvage back in. Beffica was the one who found the ship’s massive ice chest though. It was more than big enough for their needs and already had some random foodstuffs in it, a good start. There somehow wasn’t even much water in it.

Their number one priority was finding what could even maybe be used to fix Buddy’s air ship and get it up and running again. Lucky for them Snorpy somehow seemed to know exactly what they would need for that and quickly laid it out for them. Hopefully they could find everything he needed.

Once they had what seemed and would hopefully be enough to fix the airship bundled into the ice chest on top of what was already in there, they both went back to their ship halves to have one more look around for anything that might be useful and would fit in the space left in the chest. Beffica unfortunately didn’t find much, everything else that might’ve once been helpful was too waterlogged to be of any real use now. But upon reuniting with Cromdo by the ice chest she was pleased to see he’d found something.

“What’s that?” she asked she approached.

“First aid kits. I don’t know how well anything inside them held up with the whole being underwater thing for however grumping long but it don’t hurt to bring them along regardless. But anyway, you find any treasure? Or anything that might be worth selling?” His hopeful tone indicated he’d found no such thing himself.

“Nope.” Not that she’d had brought it along if she had. “I unfortunately didn’t find anything actually useful either.”

With a sigh, Cromdo snapped the ice chest’s lid shut.

“Let’s just get this back to Snaxburg,” she continued before he could say anything. “Buddy and company should be nearing Frost Peak by now. We need to have the airship ready to go preferably before they get back.” Hopefully Lizbert would be with them. If not then… they’d have to write her off for good.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Let’s just get the grump out of here already. You take the back end, I’ll take the front. And lift with your legs, not your back ‘cause trust me, just ‘cause you’re young don’t mean you can’t throw your back out. And you don’t want to do that.”

“Yeah, grandpa, I know.” Beffica went around to grab her side.

“Hey, I ain’t that old.”

Beffica scoffed but otherwise chose to ignore him. “Lift in three… two… one.” They lifted it with a grunt and wasted no time starting back for Snaxburg.

One escape sequence later

Filbo seemed have steering the ship well in hand so Buddy gratefully plopped down to sit on their bed after making sure everyone was okay. It was rather crowded on board but it was still their ship so everyone had kindly left the bed to them. They were a bit tempted to lie out on it and take a nap but… they were still a bit too high strung to fully relax yet. Besides, there was a large ice chest on board now, pushed up against the back wall to keep it out of the way. Someone must’ve loaded it up with stuff from the town and brought it onboard before the bugsnax really began their assault. What exactly was inside was a mystery though, but one that shouldn’t be horrible and terrifying and therefore a safe thing to investigate. It’d also just be good to know in general in case anyone needed anything that it might contain. So Buddy reached over and pulled it closer and perpendicular to the bed so they could pop the latches and open it.

Inside was mostly empty but there was a rolled-up bit of sail cloth and a few loose planks of wood. … Ah, probably the leftovers of the stuff the others had used to repair the ship. What little was left probably wouldn’t be useful but it was best to keep it around anyway, just in case it was. Underneath that was… first aid kits, three of them. They were all leaking water, probably seawater judging based off the smell of it. Anything that was waterproof inside was still good to have on hand though. And at the bottom were packets of…

“Freeze dried scrambled eggs?” Buddy read the label aloud as they lifted it. That was certainly not what they’d expected and a quick look revealed the other packets had other freeze-dried foods as well. With a shrug, the dried it off before tearing it open with their teeth. They then sniffed the opening. … Hmm… it didn’t smell like the sea water had gotten in so… the poured some into their mouth.

It did not at all taste like any scrambled eggs Buddy had ever had. It didn’t have much of a flavor at all really. But what little was there was far better than ketchup or any other sauce. It was the first solid food Buddy had eaten in months. With that in mind they were tempted to down the whole thing right this instant followed by everything else in the ice chest. Before they did that though…

“Hey Gramble.” With how morosely quiet everyone was being they didn’t even need to raise their voice a whole lot for Gramble to hear them over by the bow of the ship. “I found some real food if you want some.” He’d gone even longer without eating solid food than Buddy had so he deserved some too.

His response was barely audible but sounded and awful lot like a “No, thanks.” Before Buddy could ask him if he was sure though, he perked up, raising his voice. “Wait, by ‘real food’ do you mean not bugsnax and not sauce?”

“Yep, exactly!”

“Oh, okay then!” And he was on his way over with Wiggle following.

Next Buddy turned to look at Shelda who’d been sitting in the corner on the other side of the cabin. She’d gotten up though and approached. She took a breath, clearly intending to ask for them to share. Buddy spoke up before she could though. “You can have some too.” She may have occasionally lost the battle of willpower and partaken in eating bugsnax but she’d still mostly eaten sauce for however long she’d been on the island.

“I… thanks,” she said before settling down on the floor by the ice chest.

“Ooh, let’s see,” Wiggle said as she and Gramble arrived. “Freeze-dried scrambled eggs that’s… not all appetizing.”

“It’s a whole lot better than sauce,” Gramble said, mirroring Buddy’s feelings exactly.

Speaking of that, Buddy was done offering to share with anyone else. No one else needed any or would probably even want any regardless. And there was already barely enough for just the three of them. When they got home, Buddy would eat all the real food they desired. For now though, this would more than do.

#my writing #bugsnax #beffica winklesnoot #cromdo face #the journalist #request

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totally-not-deacon · 3 years

Text

Fallout OCs as a Companion

Saw that @megatontiddies had filled this ask meme out in full, then remembered that I did as well! Hell, I’m still adding to it and honestly, it makes me really wanna turn Asher into a proper companion mod some day.

Under the cut-off, cause it’s loooong.

what perk would they give the player?

Anatomy Lessons: Through years of medical practice, Asher has learned the weakest points of the human body and knows both how to treat them as well as how to cause maximum damage, granting you 30% extra limb damage to enemies.

how do you recruit them? are there multiple methods?

Asher is in desperate need for medical supplies to keep up with demand in Goodneighbor. Donating either 10 stimpaks, 5 Rad-X, 5 Rad-Away, or 3 Addictol will allow you to ask them to come with you. Initially they will refuse, saying people need them there, but an easy speech check will convince them that they’ve taught enough people the basics to handle themselves for a while. It doesn’t hurt that they’ve been itching for the open road for months now. Goodneighbor doesn’t get much in the way of fresh air.

what raises and lowers their affinity?

Raises: Generous and peaceful dialogue options, boarding a vertibird, helping the Railroad, hacking

Lowers: Mean and violent dialogue options, addiction, theft, asking for more caps, joining/helping the Brotherhood or the Institute

how do they react to certain things? what do they say?

Entering combat:

(resigned) “Here we go again.”

“So no talking about our problems? So much for Therapy Thursdays.”

(sarcastic) “Violence, just what the doctor ordered.”

Lockpicking:

"Huh, you've got some steady hands."

"I'd ask for a try, but I'd probably just jam the lock."

Stepping on a landmine:

“Ah jeez! How are you still standing?”

“Usually we try to avoid those. Hold still, let me get my kit.”

Jumping from a high place:

"If you thought that was a good idea, you need more than just a physical exam."

Taking radiation damage:

“Uh, I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t be able to taste static. Let’s get indoors.”

“Your complexion’s absolutely glowing! And not in a good way.”

“I like my hair attached to my head, thank you very much. It’s time to go.”

Seeing the Prydwen arrive:

“You know, I thought coming here meant I wouldn’t have to deal with those assholes. Just my luck, I guess.”

Boarding a vertibird:

“I’ve always wanted to ride one of these!”

“Man, this would have made my trip so much faster.”

“Don’t look down!”

Cannibalism:

“Oh. Oh no. That is… yikes.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve got some Cram in my pack…”

“So there’s this interesting disease I read about once called Kuru. Let me know if you start shaking.”

Junk:

"Just so you know, I'm a doctor, not a chiropractor."

"Are you up to date on your tetanus vaccinations?"

"Where I come from, they call that prospecting. Me? I call it hoarding."

Killing/Murder an innocent:

"Who the hell do you think you are? What makes you think you have the right to do something like that? No, you know what? I'm out of here. I'm not going to be a part of this." - this makes them immediately leave.

do they periodically give the player items? what kind of items?

Occasional Rad-X and Rad-Away. Don't need you getting sick on them and making their job harder.

would they be able to do specialized task? (eg. repairs, hacking)

Hacking both owned and unowned terminals up to Expert level

would they be romancable?

Yes, provided their personal quest has been completed.

Lover’s embrace quotes:

“Well, that’s one way to get our daily exercise.”

“But the bed is so warm…”

“(yawn) I’ll get the coffee going.”

“Mornin’ sleepyhead.”

do they have a unique outfit or weapon?

A Followers Lab Coat – unique to the Commonwealth

what would be their personal quest, if they have one?

Attachment Theory: Asher’s brother Dusty died at the hands of the Legion in 2281, on Asher’s operating table no less. They’ve never gotten over the loss, and it’s also left them with utter contempt for slavers or any group that acts in a similar manner. Recently, Asher has heard rumors of a group abducting and selling synths into slavery, and wants your help investigating what’s happening. The two of you hunt for clues, and eventually discover it’s the Gunners that are responsible. You find that they’re holding the synths in the Gunner’s Plaza for transport. Getting in, destroying the Gunners inside, rescuing the synths, and getting back out alive won’t be easy. In the end, Asher is happy with the good the two of you have done. It won’t bring their brother back, but they know they can make a difference to others in need.

what are their opinions on certain factions? (eg. brotherhood, NCR)

Railroad: Very high, is actually a member, but will only reveal this if the player is as well.

Brotherhood: Heavily disliked for how they treat non-humans as well as anyone they deem beneath them

Minutemen: Liked, thinks their goal is noble and likes seeing settlements helped

Institute: Hated, for their use of synths as slaves to the way the Commonwealth has been terrorized by them. Laments such poor uses for such high tech that could save lives.

NCR: Not a fan, due to how they force communities to join them against their will, how they treated the Followers, and that they somewhat blame them for their brother’s death.

Legion: Deep seated hatred. From slavery, conquest, treatment of women, there’s absolutely nothing they see redeemable about them. Also the ones to murder their brother, so it’s also personal.

general voice lines? (in reaction to companion wheel selections)

Your thoughts?

“I don’t know how you people do it. The cold, the mud. Snow! Who’s idea was it to settle in a place like this?”

“All this walking. Damn, my feet hurt, and for me to say that? Let’s just say I’ve logged my cardio for the day.”

“Next time you see Deacon, please tell him to stop calling me Doc-In-The-Box. I don’t even know what that means!”

“What I wouldn’t do for a Sunset Sarsaparilla right now. Ah, I’m making myself homesick.”

“I’d take a Mojave sunburn over all this rain. I feel like I’m going to mildew.”

“Is it just me or are there a lot fewer books here in the Commonwealth than out west?”

where would you find them in the world?

Goodneighbor, the bottom floor of the State House where one room has been converted into a small clinic.

which game would they be from?

Fallout 4, though they were born in The Hub and were in the Mojave during Fallout New Vegas

miscellaneous facts?

They have terrible eyesight and always have spare eyeglasses in their inventory

Railroad code name is Fixer, unless the player has picked that. Then they’ll be referred to as Wanderer

Their plasma rifle was a going away gift from a certain blond doctor back at the Old Mormon Fort

ABSOLUTELY had a one sided crush on said doctor as well.

#fallout 4 #fallout 4 ocs #fallout oc as a companion #dr. asher williams

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dragonrajafanfiction · 3 years

Note

“I can’t imagine this place being used for anything good, not with all that blood all over the walls.”

“To err is human, to dream divine."

W anyone ya want to really^^

You’re standing in the pouring rain. It’s raining so hard you can barely keep your eyes open. The heavy, relentless drops are beating on you, dozens of times per second, and despite your attempt at preparation - a bright yellow poncho that you snagged at the last dingy rest stop on the way to this godforsaken piece of no-mans-land - you’re soaked through anywhere that peeked out. Your hands, are wet and icy cold. So is your face and you’re starting to get soaked through your collar.

The dark sky turned white with a few flashes of lightning. Shadows of the surrounding dense forests reached into the heavens behind the two story antebellum mansion. It loomed over the flat land with a menacing presence. Its formal gleaming whitewashed façade was darkened by climbing ivy. Its painted columns were running with cracks. The wood was split underneath like shattered old bones.

You shiver with more than just cold.

Your professors looked at you in confused sympathy when you entered Cassell College. You barely passed the 3E exam as a base C-Rank. Professor Schneider passed your name on the list of potential commissioners and you were happy to spend your days examining your love of ancient Aztec art in the hopes of specializing in MesoAmerican Archeaology.

Of course, you passed all the classics on dragon genetics and weapons engineering but with the most useless Soul Skill on all of Campus, you figured you’d hardly matter when it came to dragon slaying.

Norma told you in a forced optimistic voice that only two other hybrids had been documented with the Soul-Skill Devour. It meant that the user could make themselves immune to all toxins and could digest anything they swallowed. It may sound neat on the surface, however, it didn’t change the fact that a person might not want to eat odd things or that it would taste and feel terrible going down.

Because it is such a weak Soul Skill and it was documented, your Soul Skill ended up on public record. You spent the rest of your college days being known as the student who could ‘eat shit and NOT die’ and fielding dares to swallow everything from the most toxic substances to the most disgusting, and fielding invitations to the Gear Department for what was presumably lunch as well as testing.

So when you got the summons to report to the Executive Department, you thought it was a joke and didn’t bother replying until you got a second email explaining that if you didn’t show up you would be expelled.

“All Cassell College Alumni must have an internship and participate in missions for graduation.” Norma patiently explained to you as you received the mission. “Even though your major is in archeology, you are expected to complete a mission for the college.”

Sure. Whatever. You got onto the big black helicopter and left the college, expecting a normal mission where you hopefully ‘stood watch’ or something easy, just to check a box on your resume at graduation. What you didn’t expect was to be met by Caesar Gattuso, the President of the Student Union, once you got off the aircraft.

Even as he reclined in the front seat of a camouflage colored military jeep, he looked every bit the veteran. He was staring at the tablet with his intense blue gaze. A hint of stubble lit his chin in a faint blond halo. The door of the Jeep was open and you could see that he was dressed in Camo pants under the white tank-tee that was already getting sticky with sweat in the humid air of the southern United States.

He didn’t bother looking up at you or explaining anything. He closed the application with a deft swipe of his long fingers and looked at you. No doubt he stamped you with the same label of “Useless baggage” as everyone else did. Silently, those eyes scanned down and then back up again. And then his eyebrows rose -- you imagined a little ‘ding’ sound as his calculations spit out a result.

Much to your surprise, he grinned.

Caesar was used to much higher level people groveling at his feet for his favor, trying their best to get a word in, trying their best to get a little bit of approval from him. Here he was completely alone, save a single person -- you -- who simply had no hope of rising to anything but the podium to reach out, take your diploma and disappear into obscurity.

So sure. Laugh it up, golden boy. You return his smile with none of the brightness and shrug.

You have one duffle bag of supplies but it was basic. A pistol of Frigg and live ammunition, a change of clothes, a first aid kit, a two way radio and flares. You tossed it in the back of the Jeep and got into the passenger seat.

“We have a report of what may be a backwoods cult that has forbidden dragon artifacts. The Cultists I’ll have no issue with. So don’t worry about it.”

“I wasn’t planning to. You’re the expert, not me. I just need this to graduate.”

He shifted the jeep into gear. The tires crunched against gravel before pulling out on to smooth surface. “You remind me of someone else. Don’t you aspire to more?”

“It’s not really possible.”

Caesar huffed, his eyes narrowing. “That’s only because of how you view things.”

You refrain from rolling your eyes. That was so easy for him to say. He was A-ranked, rich, famous. You were none of those things. Under your yearbook photo they should put the caption ‘just happy to be here’.

The road disappeared under a glowing emerald canopy of white oak, sumac and locust trees. The greenery crowded onto the road, and the car was kept corraled by a single rusty guardrail as the surrounding plants scraped at it. But Caesar pumped the accelerator and hugged the curves, weaving this way and that as the tension rose up your entire body. You found yourself gripping the seat and praying that no one would come swinging round the blind curves in the opposite direction and hit you head on.

Still, you didn’t feel you could ask him to slow down.

As the sunse, and you climbed the tall mountain toward your destination, the temperature noticeably cooled and you felt a chill. At the rest stop, you bought the poncho and felt the first drop of rain on your way back in to the jeep.

“So it’s true you don’t get nauseous?” Caesar asked you. He didn’t look at you, but he was looking at a map. A red dot marked a spot, likely where they were supposed to go.

“It’s not that I don’t get nauseous, it’s that I can’t get poisoned and I can digest anything so long as I can get it down.”

“Hmmm...” Caesar rubbed his chin.

“Are you trying to think of something useful for me to do?”

Before you could think of anything else to say, you stared down the barrel of the Desert Eagle. You leap to get away, adrenaline rushing and tell you to escape, but before you could reach for the door handle, the barrel flashed and the car filled with gun residue. You grunt as the Frigg bullet shattered and sent its medication rushing through your blood stream. Your eyes burn golden and you double over, fighting the sudden dizziness and fatigue. “You... you asshole...” “That’s what I thought. You’re not affected by Frigg bullets.”

Frigg bullets contained an extremely powerful sedative and you could barely see. Not affected is a misnomer! You’re still affected you just get over it! You didn’t remember Caesar pulling out of the gas station until you were well on your way to the top of the mountains and it had started to rain.

“You still with me?”

“Yeah...” You rasp, cursing him a million times in your heart. You reached for a bottle of water that you had stashed.

“Not being effected by Frigga Bullets is a big deal. You shouldn’t sell yourself short.”

You stared at him in disbelief. He was smug, happy with his little experiment, even though you can throw that up on the pile of countless other experiments your fellow students had performed on you. “God,... I just wanna graduate.” You whisper.

Now, standing at the entrance of a massive mansion you realize you have no idea how to fight. Just because you could withstand frigg bullets didn’t mean you could withstand regular ones.

Caesar’s eyes burned golden and ghostly figures, like grim reapers, flew from his body. He stood, unbothered by the rain, listening. You hold your breath, not wanting to interfere.

“Looks like the place is empty. Let’s go.”

The steps were rotting and soft, bowing dangerously under your feet. On the porch, a rusty metal swing creaked in a gusty wind. Caesar lifted one leg and kicked the door right in. It swung back on the hinges and Caesar entered, eyes behind his gun despite the lack of life signs.

The first thing you smell is rust or copper. You can taste it on your tongue, like licking a battery. As you step inside onto the linoleum floor, your shoes lightly adhere to it. Each step made a sound like someone peeling wallpaper. A double staircase arched gracefully in front of you and framed a painting of a man in a suit, a woman in a traditional southern dress and a small dog, like a Doberman, sitting between them.

Looking left, the walls were streaked black and looking down, you realize the black continued on the floor where you were stepping. The lightning flashed and revealed the dark brown all over the floor.

“I can’t imagine this place being used for anything good, not with all that blood all over the walls.” Caesar said.

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