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greenorangevioletgrass · 2 years

Text

wildest dreams (t.h.)

“nothing lasts forever, but this is gonna take me down.”

masterlist | kofi

pairing: tom holland x domme!reader

summary: tom sets out to blow off some steam at a bdsm club during the far from home press tour in bali... and gets so much more.

word count: 8,275

warnings: language, drinking, shenanigans, harry and sam make a cameo, d/s dynamics, dominatrix!reader, a lot of yearning, a lot more smut! (specific warnings under the cut!)

notes: here we are, folks! it started with a gossip blind item and now we’re here. this wouldn’t have come to fruition if it weren’t for @shipping-not-sailing and @tommysparker ily guys <3 enjoy!

smut warnings: [degradation, punishment, pet names, slight pet play?, spanking, use of riding crop, light bondage, dirty talk, edging (both sexually and emotionally lmao), oral (f), unprotected sex, very brief anal fingering]

***

Amazing. Brilliant. Show-stopping. Next level. Just the best.

Spread over four cities and about a million interviews for this one movie, Tom has heard all the possible compliments known to man. And it’s not like he doesn’t appreciate them —too much ego-stroking just makes him feel uneasy. He’s not really saving the world from super-villains and global catastrophes. Hell, he’s not even the real hero of the job; he just runs around playing pretend in tight spandex, while the stunt team and VFX do a lot of the weightlifting. It makes him feel undeserving of the praise.

Of course, being Tom Holland, he’d sooner be caught dead than coming off as less than enthusiastic (or worse, downright rude) during his press junkets. Sometimes professionalism is about taking it in stride. So he smiles through the interview, once again joking about how much Marvel keeps him out of the loop when asked about a spoiler for the next Spider-Man movie. If there will be any more of it.

“I mean, I would love to do more. I’d play Spider-Man for as long as I can, if I’m honest. But, uh, let’s hope Marvel and Sony feel the same, too,” he replies diplomatically.

Meanwhile, his mind wanders to what he should do to unwind when the day is over. He could go swimming —the villa he’s staying in has a private infinity pool overlooking the sea. Or he could grab a few drinks and check out a club; he is in Bali, after all.

“Congratulations on a job well done. It’s really the best Spider-Man movie so far and you’re the best Peter Parker ever, and once again. Thank you very much, Tom.”

The praises hit him like bricks, and it takes him everything to not wince as he shakes the interviewer’s hand. “Cheers, mate. Nice meeting you.”

Tom knows just what to do to unwind. Truth be told, he’s been thinking about it since the world premiere in LA, but surrounded by all his friends, there’s no way he’d have the time or space for this. Besides, he figured he could save this for a rainy day.

And if that rainy day happens to just… happen in the vacation/party capital of the world, he sure isn’t complaining.

The room goes into a lull in between interviews, and Tom uses this to send Harry a link captioned,

Tom: can u sus out this place for me mate? thanks

He sees Harry reach into his pocket on the corner of the room. The redhead leans against the wall and pauses, probably opening the website and skimming through the content. His eyes widen for about two seconds until he looks around, making sure nobody’s watching or peeking at his screen and composing himself.

The website’s shows ‘The Edge of Uluwatu’ on the header in a clean white font against the sleek black background. But the layout is about the only thing that is simple about this. The homepage boasts a slideshow of artsy, provocative pictures of a riding crop bitten between a woman’s red-stained lips, teeth bared like a vixen. Another woman with her stiletto heels against a man’s face, a la Margot Robbie in The Wolf of Wall Street, except the man is half naked and wearing a leather collar around his neck, the very rope tugged by the same woman herself. Another picture of arms bound behind their back in an intricate shibari tie, gentle hands fastening it.

Harry manages to keep a straight face as he types up a reply.

Harry: what the fuck????

Tom: just ask ade man, cmon pls 🙏

Harry glares at him, but Tom merely glances at the person in question. Ade, Tom’s liaison officer in Bali, is a young woman not much older than the lot of them. She has a warm smile, but something about her also screams a solid ‘Do not fuck with me’ vibe. In summary, Harry has no idea whether she would laugh in his face or tell him to piss off.

Harry scowls, but comes up to Ade at the craft service table anyway. He picks up a bottle of water as he gathers the word (and what’s left of his pride) in his head.

“Hey, Ade. Listen,” Harry clears his throat, his voice feels scratchy. His heart all but drops to his knee when she turns to him, “We don’t have anything scheduled for Tom tonight, right?”

“No. Unless you want me to set something up for you…?” Ade offers, already taking out her phone out of her back pocket. Ever so efficient, she might just be better than Harry at this job.

“Um, I was thinking of checking out a club…”

“Sure! What vibe are we looking for? Signature cocktails? Great live music? Private beach area—”

“Have you ever heard of The Edge in Uluwatu?”

It takes Ade less than two seconds to catch on, but God, if it isn’t the longest pause Harry has ever felt. “Uh… yeah. It’s not so much a ‘drinking and dancing’ kind of nightclub as it is a, how do you say it… a gentleman’s club,” she smiles politely, meaningfully to make sure he understands.

Harry makes a mental note about how he’ll kick Tom’s ass for what he’s about to ask Ade. He squares up and says,

“I know. I was wondering if it’s legit, as in proper and — um,” he looks around the room to make sure nobody’s listening in, “kink-friendly.”

Ade raises an eyebrow as it finally dawns on her what exactly this Linguine-looking dude is looking for. She must’ve thought he’s one hell of a kinky boy. But she nods in all seriousness. “Oh, it is. Yeah. We get a lot of VIP guests going through there —actors, musicians, businessmen… they’re very discreet. Real class.”

That went down easier than I hope, Harry muses. “Cool! Um.” he shifts on his heels. Already bracing for the worst, he’s not sure what to do with himself now. Should he explain himself? Does he need to arrange something? How the hell do you make an appointment at a club like that?!

“I’ll arrange a car for… 10.30 tonight, is that okay?” Ade gratefully, kindly puts him out of his misery and pats the poor boy on the back as she goes to greet the next interviewer.

“Well?” Tom looks up expectantly as Harry walks past him.

“How do I say this…” he stuffs his hands in his hoodie pocket, “I want a big fat raise and a new camera.”

Tom simply laughs. A small price to pay for a naughty good time, really.

***

The Edge seems like any other luxury resort on the island. Tucked behind winding roads and lush greens on each side, the handsome minimalist villa sits on top of a cliff, with waves crashing against the rocks down below. A spacious foyer, tastefully decorated with local sculptures and warm lighting, greets incoming guests, where they’d be escorted into one of the rooms on either wing of the building.

But of course, the rooms aren’t ordinary hotel rooms. Behind each door is a suite professionally decorated into a theme, from sensual French boudoirs to classic sex dungeons and medical suites to cater for clientele with every kind of taste.

Currently, Y/N is sitting in the Moulin Rouge-inspired room-- lush purple walls and rich red sheets and Bohemian decor- fixing up her sheer dressing gown in front of the vanity mirror, making sure her wine-colored lipstick and batwing eyeliner are flawless.

She receives a text message from the front desk. ‘Your client is here. On the way to you now.’

And from there, it’s just a waiting game.

Y/N would drape herself on the daybed sometimes, or sit by the massive four-poster bed, or hang back at the break room to make them wait an extra minute or two. Play up the dramatics of this gig.

But tonight… It feels like a low-key night. She’d read the dossier of her incoming client —someone new. Nothing too extreme, as far as kinks go. It should be an easy enough session to cap off her shift. So she stays seated on the plush bench and plays with her hair while she waits.

The door makes a soft beep as it reads a key card from the other side, and Y/N sees her client’s face before he does. He spots her on the other end of the room and scrambles to close the door behind him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were already here, I—”

Y/N raises a hand, promptly stopping this boy’s rambling. She doesn’t speak right away, and the tension is thick in the air. One might think she does it to tease him-- when in reality, she does it for her own benefit.

She only fell asleep watching Spider-Man on Netflix last night, after all.

“It’s alright. I just thought I’d… freshen up.” she finally turns around and stands to her full height, heels and all. She approaches her new client and offers her hand. “Tom, right?”

“Yes.” He takes her hand and kisses the back of it.

She stays cool and unfazed as she takes a better look at his face, now certain this is the same face she saw in the movie last night.

“Charming,” she remarks with a half-smile. “I’m Mistress Ivy.”

“Nice to meet you, Mistress Ivy.” he nearly bows before her, and she thinks it’s the cutest thing she’s ever seen in a while.

“Please, make yourself at home.” She motions over the entire room, choosing the daybed by the window to sit, fully knowing it makes her look like a painting of Venus.

Tom visibly gulps, glancing at the chaise and then back to her as he waits for her permission.

She gestures at the empty spot next to her and watches him sit down, keeping an appropriate distance between them. Like a good sub, Y/N notes.

“So what brings you here, Tom?” she crosses her legs and notices him looking.

“I, uh… I want to be punished.”

“Mm. And how do you like to be punished?”

“I… like to be spanked. And tied up. And degraded and called names.”

Y/N nods and smiles knowingly, noticing his clear and concise answer. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Always good to know what you want,” she reassures him.

The two of them talk some more about the technicality of their session, and Y/N finds herself studying Tom a little further as he relaxes into the conversation. Flustered, but bold. Eager, but respectful. She briefly thought he was a sweet kid in the movie (she’d probably have a crush on him as a high schooler, she mused), but that’s about it. But now that he’s in front of her, she begins to see much more.

Tom is more on the petite side, but all lean and taut muscles, if his forearm and the lining of his fitted shirt and dress pants were anything to go by. He carries himself with such ease in his own skin— grounded and grown up, but not enough to get rid of the earnest air about him. His big doe eyes and the slight bump in his nose makes him all the more endearing.

She’s starting to think maybe she’d have a crush on him now, too.

“I gotta say… you look like a sweet boy,” Y/N muses as she makes her way towards the chest of drawers across the bed. “I wonder what you did that warrants a punishment, darling?”

His eyes darken and his cheeks redden at the pet name. “I… fuck. I’ve been an insufferable little shit all day,” he confesses.

“And a foul-mouthed one at that, too,” she notes, “Watch your language.”

“Right. Sorry.”

She looks at him pointedly. “‘Right sorry’ what?”

“Right, sorry, Mistress.” Tom looks down, though he can’t help stealing a glance at his alluring domme across the way.

“I thought you’ve done this before. Or should we start easy for a cocky pissbaby like you?” she coos mockingly, her head tilted to the side, still calm as can be.

Tom promptly straightens up. They’re not fucking around anymore now. “No, Mistress. I can take it. I promise.”

She takes one more appraising look at him. “We’ll see. Why don’t you strip down to your underwear while I choose the toy I’m gonna use to play with you, hmm? Can you do that, sweetheart?”

He normally likes the more brutal names, but the way she says ‘sweetheart’ feels like poison, and he can’t get enough of it. “Yes, Mistress.”

“Go on, then.” she turns away, as much as she’d like to watch him peel all those layers off of him. It’s so easy to forget how much this dom/sub dynamics is a test to her patience, too.

Tom slips out of his clothes in about 3.6 seconds, and he’s never been more thankful for his military training for an upcoming project. He stands up straight in front of the sofa, hands crossed in front of his lap to conceal his semi-erection.

“Are you wound up already?” Y/N glances down at his clasped hands.

“No…” He doesn't know how to answer that.

“You’re only gonna get in more trouble if you lie to me, baby…”

His head couldn’t decide fast enough if he wants to get in her good graces or get the punishment he’s been craving, and he ends up stammering around like an idiot.

She rolls her eyes impatiently. “For God’s sake. Are you or are you not hard right now?”

His first instinct is to try and will his boner away, but the more he does it, the more he imagines the punishment that awaits him.

And the harder he gets at the thought of that.

And stupidly, mindlessly, he still looks at her for an answer with, “No…?”

“Hands to the side, then. Let’s see it.”

Fuck. He slowly unclasps his hands, hoping for one last miracle that his erection would magically go away somehow. But of course, there he is, pitching a tent underneath his boxer briefs before even doing anything.

“Oh, you’re just looking for trouble, aren’t you?” she chuckles darkly. “I was gonna put you over my knees, but now I’m not sure I want your hard, leaking cock pressed against me.”

“No. Please, Mistress, I—” he drops to his knees, ready to crawl his way to forgiveness.

But she raises her hand, and he immediately halts. It’s amazing how her presence arrests his attention immediately; no raised voices, not even a curse word out of her. And yet he feels more deliciously tortured than he ever imagined he’d be tonight.

She doesn’t say anything for the longest time either. Just… studies him. His brown curls, even browner eyes, and his chiseled chest —rising and falling with each bated breath.

“Look so pretty on your knees, like a puppy,” she sighs. “Well, come over here, then. On all fours. Off you go.”

He makes his way across the room, and Y/N indulges in the workings of his back muscles as he crawls to her feet. Tom stops just inches away from your legs, remembering his place for once.

She makes the first move to run her fingers through his hair, and shivers at the touch just as he does. “Got anything to say to me?”

He looks up at her, “I’m sorry, Mistress.”

Y/N is mustering up all of her willpower to not give in to those big brown eyes. “Sorry for what, puppy?”

“I’m sorry for, for…”

“For being a pathetic little whore?”

Tom moans and hums.

She tightens her grip on his hair, tugs it back so he looks her in the eye. “Say it.”

His eyes shut and he takes a deep breath to brace himself. “I’m sorry, Mistress, for being a… pathetic little— whore who… couldn’t keep his own cock in check in front of his Mistress.”

Y/N’s eyebrows shoot up; she wasn’t expecting the second half of that sentence. But needless to say, she was pleasantly surprised. “That’s much better, isn’t it? My sweet, pathetic little whore.”

Tom nuzzles her leg, the side of his face rubbing against the sheer fabric of her dressing gown as she softly scratches his scalp.

“Ready for your punishment, whore? Mm? Are you?”

The looming threat underneath her soft, dulcet voice is driving him mad, and he can only nod and murmur ‘yes Mistress’ and ‘thank you Mistress’ as she orders him to bend over by the foot of the bed.

“Tell me,” she starts, “In a perfect scenario, what would your toy of choice be for your punishment?”

He grips the sheets hard. The only thing worse (or better, arguably) than the punishment itself is the anticipation. The sizzling moments of silence in between. There’s nothing he wants more than to look over his shoulder and see what his Mistress is up to. But something tells him she’ll deny him even further if he does.

So he swallows and says, “Your open hand,” his knuckles white at the thought of her sweet, soft hands on his body.

“Is that right?” there’s a hint of a smile in her voice.

“More than anything, Mistress.”

“Well. As much fun as that sounds, it’s not a punishment if you get what you want, right?”

He’s in deep fucking shit.

“But it’s not my punishment, so I can get what I want…” she croons. “And I want to use this on you.”

Tom gasps as soon as he feels it touch the back of his neck. It’s small and barely textured, the edges ever so subtly scratching his skin as she runs it down his spine.

“You’re gonna take it, aren’t you? You’re gonna take it anyway like the pathetic little whore you are,” she whispers in his ear.

He shivers and whimpers out a ‘yes Mistress’ more desperate than the last.

And then comes the swift swoosh of the riding crop, and then a snap.

Sharp and stinging against his backside.

He bites back a moan, unsure whether he’s allowed to make any sound.

“How do you feel?”

‘So good, Mistress, oh my God…”

Another strike lands on his right cheek, harder this time.

“Where the hell are your manners, huh?” she whips him on the other cheek.

“I’m sorry. Thank you so much, Mistress…”

“That’s more like it. Enjoying yourself, pup?” Y/N swipes the crop down the dip of his lower back and she swears he nearly buckles down.

He feels another lash on each of his inner thighs, where his boxer briefs meet his skin, “I am, Mistress, thank you,” and he finds himself arching his ass higher for her.

And for her only.

And this woman, with all her power and her pride, only scoffs at his response. “Well, you shouldn’t be. This is a punishment, remember?” Her smooth, honey-sweet voice is a stark contrast to the nasty cracks of leather against Tom’s skin.

She strikes him one, two, God knows how many more times. And for him, it’s both overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. It sends him singing to the high heavens, yet it’s not enough to keep him floating in the air.

And like Orpheus and his star-crossed lover Eurydice, he eventually succumbs to his temptation. He catches a glimpse of Mistress Ivy, with her wine-colored lips between her teeth, the bell sleeves of her black dressing robe flowing over the motion of her arm. She looks…

Magical.

And as quickly as she sends him up to the clouds, she yanks him back to the ground with one sharp glare.

“No, no, no.” She turns his face away with her riding crop, letting it sit under his chin. “You don’t get to look, baby. You just get to take what I give you, okay?”

He faces forward and fixes his posture again, though not without a whine.

But once he’s had a taste, he can’t go back. With every lash, he moans his thanks. His pleas— for what, he’s not entirely sure himself.

“Please, please, please. Mistress, I…”

“What do you want, pup?” Y/N ceases her strikes and slides her riding crop right between his legs, right against his stubborn cock. Fluttery, feather-lightly. Fucking threatening.

Tom bites his lower lip to contain his needy whines. “More…”

“More what?”

“Just— more.”

He’s starting to lose balance on his feet and focus in his eyes, teetering on the edge of subspace, and Y/N motions towards the bed.

“Take off your pants and lie on your back in the middle of the bed.” she sends him off with a soft pat on his rump, and returns to the chest of drawers.

There’s a lull, but Tom likes it. He savors the precious moment of relief, to breathe and rest his shaking knees and sore ass —and oh how it tingles when his bare skin meets the silk sheets.

But most importantly, he gets to watch his Mistress take out a couple of silk ropes and walk over to the headboard, with the robe floating behind her. She sits by his side, palm open for him to surrender his wrist to, and he nearly swoons at how gentle her touch really is. His soft binds might as well be sandpaper compared to how deft and delicate she works them around his hands.

“You’re very pretty,” he pipes up quietly.

She smiles a little, “Thank you,” as she fastens the dark red rope on his other wrist, one against each side of the bedpost, and he swears it’s almost… tender.

Almost.

“Don’t think you’re getting away easy just by a little flattery, though,” she deadpans, and stands up on the side of the bed.

Y/N has to remind herself to slow down. Enjoy the moment. The view of this pretty boy, arms spread and restrained, carved up by the gods, entirely in her mercy. Fuck, she loves her job sometimes.

She tugs the string around her waist and lets her dressing robe slip off of her shoulders. The heat is starting to get to her— whether it’s from the exertion or simply from the tension, she’s not sure. But she loves putting on a show, and she loves seeing the wind knocked out of him even more.

Tom’s cock flexes at the sight of her and she thinks, gotcha.

“You’re enjoying this little punishment way too much, aren’t you.'' She lands an experimental whip on his pec, eliciting a strained groan out of him.

“No, Mistress…” he shuts his eyes hard, brows furrowed, like he’s trying to convince himself.

Crack! Another lash on his inner thigh. “Then what’s this, huh?” she whips higher one time, and then another, inching closer towards his erection.

He’s shameless squirming from the impact now. “I can’t help it, Mistress, please!”

“Please what?” The whip slides under his strong jawline.

A whimper, and then… “Punish my cock. Please.”

“Oh, this?” her riding crop moves swiftly along his curving member. “This desperate, pathetic cock of yours? In your dreams, slut.”

She slaps him across the face, and it is a miracle that he doesn’t cum right then and there— and quite frankly, it’s quite remarkable that she’s still able to stay calm and focused. His torso is her canvas, and with every strike, she paints it a little more red, a little bit every time. His tip leaks pearly tears as it envies other parts of his body that she deems worthy of her attention.

Little does he know, the rest of her world long faded away until it’s just him.

Sweat beads on her forehead, and the handle of her whip practically melds into her palm, now an extension of her limb. The way he squirms at every touch sends shivers down her spine. Oh, how badly she wants to feel his skin burning on her naked palm.

And by the way he strains against his binds and arches after every lash while chanting Mistress, he seems just as desperate for her, too.

“What is it, my little slut? Have you learned your lesson?” Y/N asks in a saccharine-sweet tone.

He tugs his wrists up. “I’ll be a good boy, Mistress, I swear.”

“That’s more like it, pup…” she smiles in satisfaction, reining in her punishment for the finale. “How about we do 5 more lashes, and then we’ll get you out of these ropes, hmm?”

But he turns away, his jaw flexing as he processes your words. “You haven’t… you haven’t punished my cock once— please?”

Y/N’s ice cold facade has melted for the most part, and it takes her everything to not give him… well, everything.

“Such a good little whore, asking for his punishment…” she coos condescendingly. “But you can’t cum, alright? Not during, not after. Can you keep your cock in check for me, puppy?”

“Anything for you, Mistress,” he sighs, resting his head back on the soft pillow.

It’s not like she didn’t want him to cum. If she had it her way, she would’ve straddled his lap and jumped his bone in a heartbeat. But the club applies a strict no-sex policy, and it weighs her down in the back of her mind like a distant, persistent alarm.

The last five lashes are the most torturous of all— not just for him, but for her. His cock presses stubbornly against his toned abs, the wide patch of skin now glossy from precum, and the two of them put all their mind to counting down the final moments of the punishment, distracting them from the one true temptation.

For Tom, it’s coming undone from her ministrations. For Y/N, it’s letting him do so.

Five. Four. Three.

Two.

One.

For a split second, Tom is actually convinced he’s gonna lose his mind as the orgasm teeters on his every nerve ending. And then…

Nothing.

It dissipates until it’s nothing but a dull ache, and by then, he feels a gentle tug on his wrist. One and then another. And then he’s free, though he makes no effort to test it.

“Tom?” The same sweet voice from earlier calls out. Quietly. Carefully. “You still with me?”

The bed dips next to him, and he finds himself reaching out. “Mistress?”

“Hey…” there’s no malice in her voice anymore— no mischief. “You did so good for me, baby.”

He feels her hand on his wrist, rubbing gentle circles with her thumb, and he feels like he just won the lottery. “Thank you,” he breathes out.

Her soft fingertips travel up to his shoulder, soothing his tender skin with her palm. On his chest, his flushed cheeks, on his pronounced hip bones, and taut inner thighs. Falling asleep has never felt so easy, but he fights the urge to meet her eyes.

Her kind, curious eyes looking down at him — studying him, much more earnestly this time.

“Are you alright? Do you need anything?”

“Would you…” he swallows, just realizing how spent his throat is from the whispering and the whining and the begging, “Would you lie here with me, just for a sec?”

And Y/N wants to cry in relief. “Of course.”

She climbs into bed next to him, too close to give him space, but too far to alleviate the yearning between them. His hand is on his chest and she rests her palm on top of it, and if their legs get tangled on the sheets, neither of them say a word.

***

Two showers, eighteen hours and countless interviews.

That’s how long it’s been since Tom’s little recreational activity last night, and he’s still not able to get it off of his head. He’s running on autopilot, answering the same questions over and over again, all the while terrified he might blurt out something he’s not supposed to.

He doesn’t even realize he’s shaking hands with the last interviewer of this press tour leg until the person had left the room. Barely remembers getting into a car. Stepping out at a beach club and having a drink with Sam, Harry, and Ade.

“You alright, mate?” Sam frowns, snapping him out of his reverie.

“What? Yeah, sure.” Tom expertly waves him off. “It’s just been a long day, is all.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to go scuba diving tomorrow!” Harry groans, but then turns to Ade. “I mean, ‘surfing’, for the record. We are going surfing tomorrow.”

Ade laughs. “You know I was assigned to be buddies with you guys to make sure you don’t get into anything stupid, right? Marvel’s not letting you off the hook that easily.”

“Exactly, we’ll take what we can get,” Sam retorts without missing a beat. “And hey, you also get to break the rules with us a bit.”

The twins exchange mindless banter with their chaperone, but Tom simply laughs along. His mind is elsewhere.

“I’ll get the next round, alright?” he gets up from his seat and heads towards the bar. He signals the bartender over, finding an empty spot between a massive Viking-esque dude and a woman in a pale blue sundress at the bar.

“Hi, can I have four more Guinnesses, please? Thanks.”

Tom keeps his head down, wary of getting noticed, but he can’t help feeling a pair of eyes boring into his side.

“Holy shit.”

Her voice should have set him off. He should have ducked out before the patrons mobbed him for selfies and Spider-Man-related questions, but something about her— her timbre, her inflection made him stop.

And when he looks up, he’s convinced he was making shit up in his head.

“Mistress Ivy, I… wow. Hi.” He knows he shouldn’t say it, but otherwise he wouldn’t be able to tell if it’s true or his mind is playing tricks on him.

She laughs, and oh God, what a sweet laugh she has. “I don’t go by that out here. I’m off the clock, see?”

“Well, nice to meet you, Mistress Off-The-Clock. I’m Tom.”

“Charming,” she grins, saying the exact thing she said last night— because she means it. She offers her hand, “I’m Y/N.”

The irony of shaking hands, again, after everything they’ve been through the other night is not lost on them, as they each hold back a smile.

“So, uh, what brings you here?” Tom asks, gingerly scratching the back of his neck.

“It’s my night off,” Y/N motions at the beer bottle in her hand.

“Oh, same.” He regrets responding so quickly— now he has no idea where to go with this conversation. All he knows is he doesn’t want this to end yet. So he gambles his life and says,

“Do you wanna get some air?”

She raises her eyebrows, and he could recognize that look anywhere. That amused, knowing look she makes every single time he does something bad last night. “What about your four Guinnesses?”

Tom looks at the new, full beer bottles in front of him, and back at his table, where the trio is talking and laughing without a single care. So he faces her again. “They’ll be fine.”

It’s always strange to run into a client outside of work, but Y/N has to admit, this time, it’s not… unwelcome.

“Shall we?” Tom tilts his head towards the beach, and with that, she leads the way out.

Y/N takes off her sandals as soon as they step off of the deck, and they walk for a little bit. Arms accidentally grazing as they move away from the hustle and bustle of the bar, closer towards the gentle waves and quiet rustles of leaves. They walk and walk until the crowd feels distant and they sit under a palm tree with their toes buried in the sand.

She watches him become himself —confident and earnest at the same time. He doesn’t say much about the glitz and glamour of his work (he doesn’t think she’d be impressed by it anyway), but she likes how he lights up when he talks about home. He is every bit as fascinated about her work and her completely unrelated university major. It’s refreshing, and a painfully easy non-first date. And she’s completely right that she would have a crush on him.

In fact, she might already have.

Tom takes a swig of his beer, partly in amazement of her academic achievements, and partly in good-natured self-deprecation. “Aw man, I could never do what you do. School was rough for me. My parents put me through Catholic school for a while and—”

“Catholic school, huh? Is that why you turned out so… perverse?” her smile grows wide and naughty.

“Hey! Don’t kinkshame me,” he nudges her elbow, quietly impressed that he didn’t spontaneously combust at the touch.

But she’s always one step ahead of him, and God, he loves that. She leans back on her forearm and lies on her side, looking like Venus under the moonlight with wits as quick as Hermes.

“I’m not! I’m just… wondering if the whole punishment and degradation thing had anything to do with your, uh, upbringing.”

“No!” He answers a little too quickly, and questions himself. “I mean… I don’t think so. Wait, do you think it was…?”

“I mean, who knows, maybe you were called into the headmaster’s office one too many times…” Y/N side-eyes him as she drinks.

“Ew, that’s gross!” he makes a face, and he rolls onto his back laughing in feigned disgust.

They inch closer together like gravity, and soon they’re lying face to face, not quite touching. Almost.

“Okay, okay, okay. How did you get into it?”

“Well, my ex-girlfriend kind of roped me into it,” he chuckles at his own little pun. “We started off easy —some spanking, some light bondage… and then worked our way up.”

Y/N nods in approval. “A woman with great taste. I respect that.”

“She is, yeah. The relationship didn’t work out, but at least I figured out what I liked, right? What I need sometimes…” he trails off.

It quiets down, and she almost doesn’t want to ask. But he meets her gaze, and it’s almost like an invitation. You’ve broken down the walls, no need to get courteous at the door anymore.

“And what’s that?”

“I need to... let go, that’s what I fuckin’ need to do sometimes,” he laughs wryly, “I get super stressed out about work and, you know, keeping things together for press tours and all this, so… getting my ass beat and brought down a few pegs feel grounding somehow. Weird, I know.”

“Not at all,” she reassures him softly. “I mean, shit, it’s what I do for a living.”

“How did you get into it?” Tom turns to her, his smile almost cocky and challenging. It’s infectious, and she can’t help smiling back.

“Similar story, actually. An ex-girlfriend put me up to it— sweetest little sub, shame it didn’t work out. But she was the one who suggested I do this professionally, actually.”

Y/N has this way of telling so much by saying so little that endlessly amazes him. It takes him a few seconds to even choose what to process first; the fact that she had a girlfriend (which low-key blew up his straight boy mind, in the best way) or that anyone would have that experience with her for the first time and think of sharing it.

He is shocked, baffled, envious, and ultimately, thankful for it all. If it weren’t for that tiny suggestion, he wouldn’t have been here, lying under nothing but the moon and the tree, unveiling the most naked parts of himself with her in every sense but one.

“Well. You’re very good at it,” Tom finally, lamely remarks.

But she closes the gap between his hand and hers, and taps his wrist once. “Thank you.” her eyes bore a piercing gaze, but he can’t seem to meet her halfway just yet.

“I hope it’s not inappropriate of me to say, but… I haven’t stopped thinking about last night.” he toys with the sand under his fingertips, pliant to form yet stubborn to grasp. It’s a bit like this little encounter that way.

She hums, quiet and content. “Don’t worry, you’re fine. If I’m being honest... neither have I.”

He only looks up then. “Really?”

“Yes.” She meets his eye, devoid of mischief— just pure, simple, maybe a little funny truth.

They gravitate closer and closer towards each other, finding it increasingly harder to maintain this space— and for what? When their lips meet, it feels like connecting two missing pieces of the puzzle, and the more they touch, the more they make sense. The more they become one with the earth they’re tethered to and the sky over their heads.

But they’re insatiable. They’ve tasted pure bliss and they crave more, more, more.

Tom just barely pulls away from her sweet lips, his hand cupping her face like he’s afraid she might turn to dust. “Do you wanna get out of here?”

“You’re my client. I shouldn’t…” she leans her forehead against his, nuzzling his nose, even as she says it. She doesn’t want to let go and she knows it.

“I was,” he corrects her. “I mean, I’d hardly be in Bali much anyway, right?”

“Such a smartass,” she rolls her eyes, although she doesn’t fight the smile on the corner of her lips. Or the voice in her head that says, keep going until I’ve run out of reasons not to do this with you.

“I know. I was hoping you’d do something about it?” he pouts and plays up those big brown eyes, and she’s gone.

“Behave, puppy.” she goes in for another kiss, and then—

There’s buzzing in Tom’s pocket.

It’s jarring and sobering and he groans.

“Shit. I’m so sorry. One second.” he picks up the call. “Harry? Yeah, I’m just outside…”

Y/N gets up to give him some space —some room to back out before they go forward with this. Nothing would have happened, and they can go back to their own lives. No harm done. No hard feelings.

But Tom sees her stand up, immediately at a loss of her warmth in his close proximity. Brushing white sand off of her legs, akin to some bronze sculpture of a deity he doesn’t know the name of. The wind blows in her hair and her sundress, and for a moment, the moonlight hits her side profile just right. And there’s just no way he’s leaving her for anything tonight.

Harry’s voice sounds distant and distorted with background noise, and Tom cuts him off immediately. “Listen. We have the morning off, right?”

The younger boy pauses. Then tuts. “It’s that girl, innit?”

Reducing this insanely beautiful and sexy and smart person to just ‘that girl’ feels like an understatement, so Tom just chuckles. “Bro, you have no idea.”

“Ugh, fine. But if you’re late tomorrow, we’re going scuba diving without you,” Harry relents. “Take care. Don’t do anything overly stupid.”

“Bye, mate. Love you.” he hangs up the phone, and gets on his feet to catch up with her.

“Well?” She stands tall, straight, and they both feel her walls building back up to brace for what’s coming next.

“It’s my brothers. They’re going back to the hotel.”

“Oh.”

“Told ‘em to go home.”

“Oh.”

She’s quiet for a moment. Then, as sure as day, she offers her hand,

“Well then. Shall we?”

***

Y/N’s house is a stone’s throw away from the beach, tucked in a quiet street just off of the main road. The wooden gate opens up to a carport, where her silver city car and scooter are parked. Next to it is a small swimming pool against a wall covered in wisteria and climbing jasmine, with one pavilion on either side.

They walk past the first pavilion, a bright and spacious living area that opens right up to the pool. A guitar is propped against the couch, and Tom briefly pictures Y/N serenading herself on slow nights.

“Wow. You have a really nice place,” Tom remarks as she welcomes him into her second pavilion, an eclectically decorated bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the pool.

“You sound surprised.” She pulls him in, nuzzling his nose with hers.

“I just didn’t expect it to be so…”

“Not sex dungeon-y?”

He grins just a breath away from her lips, “Kind of?” and closes the gap once again.

Their lips are bound, but they feel untethered. There’s no nosy fan or paparazzi or club policy threatening to interrupt their time together. And God, he wants all the time in the world to worship this girl’s everything.

In that moment, Y/N tugs the halter ties on the back of her neck, and her little sundress falls to the floor. Tom feels it slip through his fingers and then his hands meet her skin. Soft. Warm.

He tears himself away, just to take a good look at her. “Shit…”

And there she is. No piece of clothing on her body (not even panties, Christ), and no fucks to give in her confidence or her boldness— and why should she? She’s the most alluring creature he’s ever met.

“Like what you see?” she hums, backing him up until he’s sat on the edge of her bed.

He forgets how to use his voice for a moment, and just nods dumbly.

She doesn’t hide her amused, enamored laugh when she lets him pull her into bed. Nor the happy sighs when he peppers kisses down her neck. All over her soft chest.

“Can I… Just wanna—” he nips at her diamond-hard nipple and she moans at the sharp sensation.

“What do you want, puppy?” she lazily runs her fingers through his messy curls.

“I love it when you call me that…” he groans, moving onto her other nipple —gentler somehow, like he’s thinking. “Wanna… fuck, I wanna taste you. Please?”

She’s definitely just as wound up as she is, yet still she can’t resist teasing him. “Oh? Have you been thinking about it since last night?”

“Fuck yeah I have. I didn’t— fuck…” he feels her thigh rubbing at his stiff cock through his pants and he nearly blacks out. “Kept thinking if you were wet when you were punishing me. Wanted to eat you out as a thank you.”

She bites her lower lip. “I’ll let you in on two things.”

He perks up, paying good attention even in his state of arousal.

“One... I was wet since you crawled over to me,” she whispers in his ear, and feels the shiver running down his spine. “And two… I wouldn’t mind that delayed gratification.”

And with that, Tom’s eyes turn pitch black as he slithers down between her legs. He spreads her thighs and dives right in— burying his face in her wet pussy.

“Holy fuck…” Y/N gapes, his mouth flooding her senses in the best ways imaginable.

And in all honesty, she has imagined how Tom eats her out a lot. She imagines him soft and tender, maybe a bit shy, but definitely eager to please— but not like this. All pussy drunk and ravenous and shameless in sucking her clit and fucking her with his tongue. Too out of it to even ask for permission like he usually does. The only thing coming out of his mouth is just muffled groans as he devours her.

And fuck, does he devour her well.

His ministrations make her clench around nothing, and she’s fully ready to get bossy. But before she even makes a sound, she feels a finger slipping inside, and another. Long. Skillful. Beckoning her closer to orgasm.

“Yes, ohmygod. Like that, just like that…” Y/N rambles on as he strokes that spot inside her.

He curls and curls his fingers in as she falls apart, and he kisses her clit for good measure. She feels her pulse under his mouth and then everything else blurs into a haze of pleasure.

But then he doesn’t stop. He continues laving at her clit and slobbering on her weeping cunt for every drop of her arousal, pumping it in with his digits, and it sends her shaking again.

“Baby…” she gasps, pulling his hair like it’s the hardest thing to do, “Slow down.”

He wills himself to unlatch from her pussy, but even then, he still kisses down her inner thigh. “You taste so good. Wanna make you feel so good forever, too.”

“That’s very sweet of you,” she smiles, “But what about you, huh?”

“Don’t care,” he murmurs into her skin.

But she pulls him up so he’s hovering on top of her. Chin glistening with her juices, hair sticking out in all directions, lips sucking his own wet fingers clean… he’s the prettiest little thing she’s ever seen.

“But I do.” Y/N’s hand traverses down his body, feeling his stiff cock painfully strain against his pants. “In fact, I’ve been thinking about your cock all night. You’re not gonna deprive me of that, are you?”

He vehemently shakes his head.

“Then take these off and get over here.” she sends him off with a cheeky smack in the ass, and Tom gets out of his remaining clothes even faster than last night.

He sidles up next to her and she wastes no time kissing him, tasting herself on his tongue.

“Fuck…”

“What is it?” she wraps her hand around his hard length, firm but not too tight.

He swallows. “Wanna be inside you. Wanna— shit— wanna make you feel so good.”

He’s so gone for her pussy, and she would tease him if she didn’t find it so fucking endearing. “Go on, then.”

Tom stops, like he’s not sure he heard it right. But she puts his cock between her legs, teasing her own clit with his tip, his arousal melding with hers, and he nearly loses his mind.

“Go on. Make me feel good, puppy.”

She kisses him one last time in agreement, in challenge, and something snaps within him. He props himself up, hovering on top of her as he lines his cock into her opening. So warm, so inviting. So…

Right.

There’s no words. No games. Just the overwhelming feeling of warmth and fullness and familiar body ache that takes their breath away. He fits her so perfectly —filling her and stretching her like she’s never felt before, she can’t imagine it getting any better than this.

Until he draws back and plunges himself in again, and she realizes… it does.

Tom feels like he’s possessed. Driven by blind, searing lust that just keeps burning and burning. He can’t get enough of how breathtaking she looks writhing in pleasure. Can’t get over how amazing she feels around his fingers and his cock and his body. Knowing that he’s serving his Mistress well.

And Y/N knows that, too. She makes a mental note to reward him with lots of kisses and more, but that comes later. Now… now she’d just sit back and enjoy how pretty he is, with sweat-damp curls framing his boyishly handsome face. His mouth hangs open, making way for those gorgeous moans. Lean hips rutting against hers, every thrust driving pleasure home to her.

She traces her hand along his jawline, admiring his profile from underneath him.

“So pretty— so good for me…” her thumb caresses his lower lip.

“All for you,” he breathes out, taking it in his mouth and sucking on it.

And as she gazes at his sunken cheeks, she fantasizes about him sucking on her strap-on before she returns the favor (another mental note she makes).

She finds her clit with her wetted finger, but he stops her.

“Wait. May I?” He looks at her with pleading eyes, kissing her wrist tenderly. “Please?”

Honestly, who is she to refuse such a request? She nods with a breathless chuckle, edging closer to her high as he draws patterns on her swollen bud.

Her mind is hazy with orgasm, but she has another idea. Her hand moves up his thigh, towards the swell of his ass, and she doesn’t miss how his breath hitches at the touch.

“May I?” she asks, trailing over the line of his backside.

He groans, eyes shuttering closed. “Yes,” he barely utters.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, please.”

“Yes, please… what?” Her nails are digging into his soft flesh, and it’s a miracle he doesn’t come right then and there.

Instead, he drops his head onto the crook of her neck. Mouth greedy on her skin, hands and hips picking up pace. Y/N strikes his ass once, quick and sharp and hard, and he blurts out,

“Yespleasemistress, Christ!”

The next thing he knows, her deft hand is splitting his cheeks and finds his taut ring of muscles and nothing else matters. Just their hands, stroking and coaxing each other, as they bring themselves closer. Towards each other.

Towards bliss.

Y/N finds Tom getting dangerously close, and captures him in a searing kiss. “Come for me, Tommy.”

He bursts into a nothingness of pleasure with her name on his mouth, and with that, she follows him into beautiful agony. Feeling full and whole and happy.

They lie there for God knows how long. There are no words; just lazy kisses and labored breaths, and bodies melded together. Y/N strokes Tom’s hair, his head resting on her chest, listening to her steadying heartbeat. Both of them trying not to count the hours until the sun rises and this encounter has to end.

If it ever does.

#wildest dreams fic #tom holland imagine #tom holland smut #tom holland oneshot #tom holland x reader #tom holland x woc!reader #tom holland x dom!reader #tom holland x you #hollandsrecs #aaaaa its hereeee!!!!#im scared but also excited #sub!tom #sub!tom holland

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not-safeforsanders · 3 years

Text

Mutual and Unresolved Affection

Send me your tropes and I’ll write u a fic cos we need more fluff.

Ship: Anxceit

Word Count: 5427

Warnings: Alcohol mention!

Kink List: Losing virginity (?), Accidental arousal.

Trope List: There Was Only One Bed, Mutual Pining.

Plot: Virgil doesn’t like New York City, but he does like Janus, and now he’s got to spend seven days in the same bed as him.

18+ ONLY. Ageless blogs and minors DNI

Virgil hates the prospect of travelling. He thinks there’s very little reason to travel, he likes being in the same places where there are stability and repetition and the same street corners that he’s perpetually used too. Which is interesting because he moved states for university, the outlier is if you hate your parents then there’s a time to re-familiarise yourself with a new city.

And for the past three years, he hadn’t moved out of this city, not so much as a train ride or a visit to the next town over. He likes the one-space situation. The world is too big, he is very small, and he does not like being lost.

Except Janus had insisted on him going on this trip with him. Third-year arts course get to take a trip to New York to visit an array of art galleries and museums over a one week period. Virgil had said he couldn’t afford it, and the idea of being in a city that is known for never sleeping, actively disgusted him. “But it’s such a good chance, Virgil! You need to live a little!” His best and only friend had insisted, bordering on pouting in his attempt to sell the idea to him.

It worked, it took two days, but Virgil agreed. Janus paid for himself and half of Virgil’s, and then they’d spent an entire day on travelling with some of their classmates and tutors, to get to a hotel that definitely smells like alcohol. They were all sharing a room with one other person, and obviously, Virgil had clung to Janus as his lifeline to some sanity. They’d taken a keycard each and headed to the fourth floor in a very cramped elevator, gotten too their room and pushed open the door.

Virgil was already really tired, he could’ve done without the realisation of the fact that instead of twin beds, they’d been given one big double bed. He rests his head against the wall with a soft sigh and takes an exhausted breath in immediately after, shaking his head. “Don’t even say it,” he mutters to Janus, who looks mildly amused.

“But there’s only one bed!”

“I’m going to hit you.” He rests his suitcase against the wall and sits down to undo his boots. “I’m too tired to even care, I just want to sleep.” He pulls his shirt over his head and leans down to his suitcase to pull his sleepwear from his suitcase. “Unless you sleep naked in which case you’ll be on the floor.”

“You wish,” the blond snorts, sitting on the other side. He ducks his head behind his hair as he leans down to grabs his own things from his suitcase, but he’s only half paying attention to the contents. There’s a slight blush on his cheeks as his smile slips from his lips. The idea of sleeping in the same bed as Virgil would have excited him in absolutely any other circumstance. Not by accident, not when he’s barely communicated the fact that he likes the other man in a way that is distinctly not platonic.

He pulls out a pair of jogging bottoms, his eyes glancing over at Virgil as the other man slides his jeans off and folds them on the floor. Janus swallows a little, his heart skipping a beat in his chest as his gaze ghosts over the curve of Virgil’s ass and thighs, before tearing away to focus on getting changed. He doesn’t want to stare, less for himself and more because he doesn’t want to make his friend uncomfortable.

Virgil flops face-first on the bed once he’s in his pyjamas, hugging the pillow and burying against it like he’s willing it to eat him alive. He’d taken off his socks and Janus can’t help but notice that his feet look sore, thanks to very heavy combat boots he wears everywhere. For the aesthetic, he’d insist, Janus isn’t sure the aesthetic is worth that many blisters.

He pulls on his own vest and lies down on the bed, only just realising how tired he is. “Apparently we’re going out tonight, I think someone will probably knock on when it’s time.” Virgil makes a small groaning noise, muffled by the pillow, acknowledging the idea and how much he hates it in one. “Get some rest, V, I’ll wake you up when it’s time.” Virgil nods, tilting his head to the side so his cheek rests against the pillow, his dark eyes closing. Janus tries not to stare again, lying down on his side so he can resist the temptation, and soon he’s drifting off to sleep too.

They wake up as the sun is setting, dragging their bodies out of bed to take turns in the shower and get ready. “Where are we going again?” Virgil asks, his blackened hair curling from the shower water.

“I don’t think they said anywhere in particular,” Janus replies, trying to stop his curls from knotting around each other. “Sightseeing, but with alcohol.” His smaller friend huffs, leaning his head against the wall as he utters some quiet words of complaint under his breath. “Oh the horror, you’ll have to socialise and…” he gasps in exaggeration, bringing his hand to his chest in mock-terror “...enjoy yourself!”

“I am going to rip out your spine with my bare fucking hands, Janus Richardson, so help me G-” a knock at the door cuts Virgil off. “We’ll be out in a minute!” He curses under his breath and shoves on his hoodie, bending down to stick his feet into his boots. Janus is grinning a little as he reaches for his denim jacket out of his suitcase.

“I really love the fact you own the same outfit twelve times.”

“I wasn’t joking blondie, I will kill you.” The grin does not shift off of his face as he pulls on his beanie and steps towards the door. He doesn’t mention that Virgil kills him a little bit every day, whether it be from the skintight jeans or the way that Janus knows he has feelings he can never find returned. He’d made peace with that, if nothing else he’s glad to be Virgil’s friend, that’s still important, he wouldn’t ever think it made him less important to Virgil. But it still aches.

“Come on gloomy guts, lets go get drunk.”

There are forty students on this trip, and Janus and Virgil have managed to lose the other thirty eight. Janus has managed to lose most of his coherency too, leaning against the brick wall outside to try and keep himself upright. “Do you mind sharing a bed with me?” He wonders aloud. “It doesn’t make you uncomfortable does it?”

Virgil looks up at him incredulously around the cigarette smoke pouring from his lips. “I feel like we have bigger fish to fry right now.”

“I never have bigger fish to fry,” Janus hummed. “Your comfort is all I ever think about,” he looks tired, his beanie slipping down his head and his curls falling into his eyes. Everything about him appears as unstable as he suddenly feels. Virgil falters, unsure how on earth he should respond to that, instead he just holds out the cigarette for the taller man to lean up and take from his hand. “We should just go back to the hotel, I’ll text the tutors to let them know we didn’t trip and fall down a drainpipe.”

He takes a step forward and tries to recount their steps back to the hotel. It starts raining at some point. Virgil tugs the hood up to but Janus barely notices. He flicks the end of the cigarette into an ashtray on a passing bin, focuses on the way the night swallows up the streets. He keeps saying he needs to quit, but in reality he, nor Virgil, could care less whether or not they live or die. The whole world is in hot water, and he’d grown up with the idea he’d be dead before thirty. It helps to keep his standards for life low, that way he’s either right or very pleasantly surprised.

Which is probably why he’d never so much as mentioned his affections for Virgil.

Still, it’s not as if he doesn’t enjoy life, that’s why he’s drunkenly recalling the layout of this area, half conjuring scenarios in his head where he has something funny to say. He doesn’t say anything. Virgil notices, he looks a little worried as Janus trips over his own feet and sighs, but otherwise doesn’t find a conversation anywhere. He puts it down to concentrating on finding the way back to their hotel.

But once they get there, he realises that Janus looks pale and upset, leaning against the metal of the elevator wall as they head upstairs. He still doesn’t speak, but he’s clearly thinking very hard about something, Virgil clears his throat a little, and the blond snaps out of his thoughts, a ‘huh’ on his lips, eyes wide in some shape of surprise, like he’d only just noticed where they were. The elevator opens, and they both step out. “Are you alright?” Virgil asks quietly.

“Drunk,” Janus replies, with a weak laugh.

“I can tell,” he offers a small smile, grabbing his keycard out of his pocket and opening the hotel door. Their clothes are wet, and each toe off their shoes, leaving them up against the wall. Janus glances over at Virgil as his hoodie is discarded to the side; and what he doesn’t know is when he turns around his friend glances up to speak to him but instead admires the way his muscles flex as he pulls his wet shirt over his head. Virgil knows Janus is attractive, has known from the moment they met, but there’s something about the light dampness to his skin as he slides his jeans down his firm thighs that wrenches something else through him.

He busies himself getting changed, puts it down to a little too much to drink, and promptly slides under the covers of the bed, his eyes closing. A moment later, Janus slides in beside him, their backs to each other. Neither of them speak, Virgil switches off the light, and they sleep.

Two days into the trip, Virgil really can’t put it down to alcohol. Janus forgets his clothes and comes out of the shower, skin a little damp and a towel wrapped around his waist, a small apology on his tongue. Virgil is very glad that he’s lying on his stomach. He notices that Janus has an ouroboros tattoo just under his collarbone, and for the first time in his life he considers whether or not he’d like to run his tongue over it.

Four days into the trip, Virgil is reading a book in bed, Janus slides in next to him and starts reading over his shoulder. After a little while he sinks down into the bed and rests his head on his friend’s shoulder, Virgil feels his heart skip a few beats in his chest. When the other man falls asleep, curled up beside him, Virgil shimmies down as carefully as possible, he falls asleep with the blond’s head on his chest.

The next day Virgil wakes up with Janus half on top of him, snoring softly, his cheeks are flushed and his hair is messy, his hand periodically twitching from where it rests beside Virgil’s waist. The dark-haired man leans up to push some of his own hair from his eyes, looking down at the body wrapped around his own. In his head, he can imagine Janus waking up and kissing him, which isn’t a thought he can say he’s had in a while; he hadn’t thought about kissing Janus since...well since they met. He’d thought he was the most attractive man in the class, but Virgil had never seen himself as nearly attractive enough for him. He hadn’t even thought they’d be friends.

At some point, that physical attraction had just melted away. Or maybe it hadn’t.

In his own daydreams, Virgil can imagine running his hand through Janus’ hair and tugging a little, can imagine their tongues sliding together, can imagine feeling his heartbeat. He’s used to telling his best friend he loves him, but something about saying it in that situation has a flare of warmth opening up in his body. He remembers the sight of Janus as he came out of the shower, water running in little droplets over his collarbones, the trimmed blond curls just below his belly button.

Heat pricks at Virgil’s skin as, without meaning too, he imagines sliding his hand below the waistline of that towel, or his jeans, or pulling his shirt off of him. The blood in his own body seems to simmer beneath his skin, and he has to take a deep breath in to direct his mind absolutely anywhere else.

Janus stirs suddenly, his body stretching out with a muffled sound of exhaustion. Virgil smiles down at him as his eyes peel open, sleep clinging to the corners of his eyes. “Sorry,” he mutters lazily. “You’re very comfortable.”

“I’m glad,” Virgil replies, voice barely a whisper and scratchy from dehydration. “I need to pee, though, so could you stop being deadweight for a moment?” The taller man snorts, rolling off of him and lying back on the bed. As he stretches out, his biceps tense and his shirt rides up, and Virgil has never felt like he’s needed to tear his eyes away from someone before, but these past few days have been handing him a series of revelations that he has no idea what to do with.

He closes the bathroom door behind him, and actually uses the toilet. Afterwards, he stands in front of the wall-length mirror as water from the tap runs down the drain wondering if there’s absolutely any part of him that Janus could be attracted too.

He brushes his teeth, but he can’t look himself in the eye.

As he exits, Janus sits up off the bed. “You take forever dude.” He slides to the edge, Virgil’s gaze catches his long enough to blush. “My turn,” he brushes past him to the bathroom, Virgil just snorts but it sounds exhausted, and he hates the way it sounds. He doesn’t know if Janus notices.

He tries to take his mind off the slowly-becoming-inescapable realisation that he may actually love his friend both sexually and romantically, but suddenly he’s very aware of how little he owns that he hasn’t shared with the other man. The past three years of his life has been a joint effort and it takes looking for something that doesn’t remind him of Janus to find that out. That just makes him feel worse because he should’ve noticed how much the blond does for and with him by now.

The bathroom door opens and he jumps. Janus’ hair is still a mess, the curls fluffy and tangled, he grins and flops down onto the bed face-first, before lying still. “I don’t want to do more things today, I just want to lie in bed.” Virgil resists the urge to reach out and run a hand through his hair in bid to sort out the mess.

“Can we just stay in bed today? Do what we want?” Janus lifts his head and grins. “One of us could pretend to be ill?”

“You should win a geniusness award V.”

“That’s a bit much.”

“And I’m utterly sure perfecting your eyeliner and straightening your hair and wearing combat boots with chains on them are not.”

“No those are the basic standards for looking good.” A knock at the door interrupts the conversation, Virgil coughs very loudly, sliding under the covers. Janus rolls his eyes and slides off the bed. Virgil closes his eyes and rolls over onto his side, feigning being sleepy.

“...Yeah, he’s probably just got a cold, but he’s feeling quite sick, he’s definitely got a temperature, but I gave him so cold and flu medicine...” he hears Janus explaining their fake situation. “...Yeah, he should be okay, really, he just needs some rest...” Virgil hears the muffled voice of one of their tutors and then the door closes, and locks. Virgil doesn’t really want to move, so he feigns being asleep, although the small smile on his lips gives him away, if the fact a person can’t fall asleep that fast hadn’t.

“You’re a terrible actor.” The bed dips, and Virgil grins, still not opening his eyes. Janus peels back the covers, and the smaller man who is curled up a little ball on his side, assumes he’s getting in the bed. Until, suddenly, he feels Janus’ hands digging in against his side. He squeaks, squirming and trying to fend off the larger and stronger man. Virgil rolls on his back, trying to lean up to tickle Janus back but is far too busy squirming beneath him. “St-Stop-ah-Janus I sw-fuck off!” He tries to push the other man away, to next to no avail, and gives up, laughing and squirming beneath the other man’s touch.

Finally the blond gives in, resting his body above Virgil’s as they both try to catch their breath. Just as they’ve both stopped laughing, they meet each other’s eyes and find themselves in hysterics once more, caught up in just how childish this whole situation is. Virgil’s giggles are stifled against his hand, but then he hiccups and he’s off again, cheeks flushed as he tries to hide his face. He feels so warm, physically and emotionally. It’s not until they finally cease their laughter that Virgil even realises Janus’ knee is pressed into the space of the bed between Virgil’s knees, previously in effort to keep him pinned down against it.

He sucks in a shaky breath at that thought, the laughter ceasing. Janus’ grin slips a little too, as though worried by the change in demeanour. “That was fun, I don’t think I’ve had a tickle fight in a few years,” Virgil tries to speak normally, but his voice is scratchy from the laughter, and a whisper from the sudden flush to his body.

“Me neither.” Janus moves to kneel up and that seems to be even worse because he’s basically sitting on Virgil’s leg. “I didn’t realise you were so ticklish.”

“I’m not,” Virgil deadpans, with a completely straight face.

“Oh yeah?” Janus grins, slyly.

“Don’t, wait, I take it back-Jan!” Virgil weakly bats off the hands sliding up against his ribs, but the movement doesn’t just tickle as his shirt rides up and a wisp of air brushes against his skin. He takes a very sharp breath in, as one of Janus’ hands plant themself beside his head and the other slips up his shirt. It’s platonic, he’s sure the movement is utterly platonic, but he feels the palm of the other man’s hand against the skin of his ribs and his nails catch against him. It tickles, he laughs, but he feels the movements like shockwaves through his body as his hands comes up to push Janus away but after half a second all he’s doing is gripping a hold of his vest. In his mid-second delirium, his eyes catch the tattoo on Janus’ collarbone, the snake in a perfect circle over his left breast.

His own back arches at the incessant tickling and Janus’ body is just a little too close, he’s half-laughing, half-crying and very aware that he can feel the other man’s body heat radiating against his skin. Janus is grinning above him and his dips his head a little as his arm aches. Virgil can feel their bodies resting to each other, Janus’ fingers dig in and his body jolt upwards, his hips rocking against the other’s thigh.

The touch slows, they’re both blushing, Virgil lifts his hand up, dazed and drunk on dopamine, to brush Janus’ hair out of his eyes. His fingertips trail against faded scars on the side of his face, his eyes following his own movements before he’s looking up at his friend. Janus’ face is soft, his bright eyes meeting Virgil’s, lips pressed in a small smile. “Didn’t mean to work you up,” he whispered.

“Huh?” Virgil asks, a little out of it. Janus shifts his thigh so it’s pressed between the other man’s hips, which jerk almost by autopilot. He’s half hard and he’d barely noticed before but he can’t escape it now.

Virgil doesn’t really know how to react, his initial impulse to panic but suddenly Janus’ face looks a little hungry and he understands, with a hint of incredulousness, and moves the hand on his friend’s face to tangle through his hair. Their lips meet a little too hard, a little too fast, Virgil whimpers at the force and rocks his hips without a second of hesitation. He’s a little confused, very frustrated, and moans when Janus’ teeth sink against his bottom lips and tugs.

His hands wind through the blond curls and pull just a little, tilting the other man’s head back with the movement enough to press his lips, then teeth to the expanse of skin waiting to be bruised by him, burying his face in the crook of Janus’ neck. Their bodies by now are pressed together, both rocking against each other, their breath dissipating in the air around them in a series of gentle moans.

There’s something lazy in the franticity, both still wearing their clothes and grinding against each other like they’re just too desperate to pause. Janus’ body is warm and offers a nice pressure against him. He can hear the other pant against his ear, feel his muscles flex against his body and despite the fact Virgil is feeling so many emotions at once, he’s overwhelmed by the distinct relief that he experiences at the sound of his friend’s moans.

He tilts his head back and lets Janus kiss him again, but his own coordination is missing a beat because the inside of his mind is racing and his heart is beating so fast as it experiences euphoria it has never really felt before. He can feel Janus’ hard cock press against his hip through his sweats, he doesn’t know why it makes him feel dizzy, but it does. Virgil peels open his eyes to look up at the other man, his hands loosen their grips, their eyes meet, and Janus rolls his hips with some semblance of determination, just to see Virgil’s face entirely as he lets out a soft sound of pleasure.

Janus’ hand drags nail-first down Virgil’s side, before he leans up. They both looked wrecked, when Virgil looks at Janus he sees his hair all messed up and his skin is flushed, his cock tenting in his pants. When Janus looks at Virgil he sees someone struggling to breathe, aching to be touched. He moves his leg so that his body is between Virgil’s thighs, his hands falling to the waistband of his sleep pants. He glances up, Virgil nods enthusiastically. Janus feels a little like he’s unwrapping a gift as he pulls them down the other man’s legs and leans down without a second to spare to run his tongue along the length of Virgil’s cock.

The smaller man whimpers, his voice catching in his throat and dissolving into a moan as Janus takes him between his lips. “Fuck, Jan,” his voice comes out high-pitched as his hand runs through the blond curls and holds them out of his friend’s face so he can watch him. He tries to keep his hips on the bed but he can’t control the slight twitch of desperation. Janus pulls his mouth off and wraps his hand around the base of Virgil’s cock, stroking a little.

“Been a while?” He asks, teasingly.

“Could say that, yeah,” Virgil replies weakly, finding that it’s probably the wrong time to admit that he’s a virgin. Janus doesn’t press further, just grins and dips his head to take him in again.

Virgil feels like he’s going to black out for a moment, his hand involuntarily tightening in the other man’s hair as he moans. His head tilts back as little gasps leave him, his other hand gripping the bed sheets beneath him.

He feels his whole body tremble as his hips twitch, he’s not sure if he makes a noise because he’s too busy feeling like he’d just been dropped underwater. He’s fairly certain he forgets to breathe, and he knows when he’s finished coming down Janus’ throat he apologises for not giving more warning, but it all escalated so fast that he’d barely realised himself. Janus doesn’t mind, sucking at the head of Virgil’s cock just to get that soft whine out of him. He swallows and kneels up, wiping his mouth off on the back of his hand. “Not that I’m complaining, but that was fast.” Virgil buries his face in his hands with an embarrassed whine. Janus leans up with a smile on his face, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the other man’s fingertips. “Really has been a while, huh?” Virgil is semi mortified, his cheeks flushing even further as soft hands peel his own away from his face.

“Something like that,” he says softly. “Do you want me to…?” he realises, rather poignantly, he has no idea what he’s doing, maybe the worry showed on his face because Janus’ eyebrows furrow too.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, of course, I...It’s just I...uh…” he trails off, his face getting redder and redder by the second. “Well it’s just I’ve never...and I don’t really know what I’m doing, and I…” Janus breathes a sort of sigh of relief. “Sorry?”

“No, it’s fine, I was just worried you didn’t like it, you should’ve told me though, I would’ve gone a little slower.”

“No! It was good, it was...perfect.” Janus’ breath hitches, and it’s his turn to blush, he sits beside Virgil, who tucks himself back into his pants before moving to kiss the other man slowly. He can taste himself on Janus’ tongue and by principle he doesn’t like the taste, but primally he feels like he could get drunk on it. He pulls back. “You’re going to have to show me,” he mutters, pressing a gentle kiss to the other man’s lips before shifting back, his hand falling to his thighs and trailing upwards.

“Take your time,” Janus advises. Virgil slides his sweatpants down his hips with a little help, his hand wrapping around the half-hard length and moving his hand the way he does with himself. The blond shivers slightly, eyes flickering from the hand to Virgil’s face, their eyes meeting briefly. He’s already breathing a little faster, his heart hammering in his chest. Now he’s had time to catch his breath he’s just about realising that this is Virgil, touching him. His best friend.

That thought abandons, with all other thoughts, when Virgil ducks his head down to suck at the head of Janus’ cock, his movements careful and experimental. He takes him down inch by inch at his own pace. “Mind your gag reflex,” Janus warns, but Virgil takes him down and pulls back up, slowly finding a rhythm. His eyes fall shut as he lets the weight and feel overtake him. He gags a couple of times in the process, before using his hand and mouth in tandem. His dark eyes open and meet Janus’, the blond stutters out a gentle moan as he watches spit dribble down the smaller man’s chin.

He takes a little longer, and Virgil stops and starts as his body aches until determination overtakes him and he pushes through. His eyes shut again, the sort of way someone might doing exercise, in some ways he’s just as desperate for Janus to come as he himself is, like he wants that satisfaction.

Janus stammers out a warning as he feels his orgasm approach, but Virgil doesn’t even entertain the idea of pulling away. The bitter taste of come squirts into his mouth, thick and sticky on his tongue, it hits the back of his throat and he chokes just a little, but moves his head through the aftershocks of Janus’ orgasm with tears pricking his eyes from the sensation.

“Are you okay?” The blond rushes out hurriedly, Virgil nods as he pulls up, bringing his hands to his mouth to cough hard.

“Oh that’s gross I’m so sorry,” Virgil mutters.

“No no it’s okay, worse things have happened, come on let’s get you cleaned up.” Janus tucks himself back into his sweats and stands on admittedly shaky legs as his hand rests on Virgil’s back, guiding him to the bathroom. “Are you sure you’re okay? I should’ve given you more warning, here gargle some water, I’ll make you a cup of tea.” Virgil does not usually like being fussed over, but as he spits come out into the sink and washes out his mouth and hands, he finds the care the most comforting he’s ever felt.

“Was it okay?” Virgil asks, as he’s finally leaving the bathroom.

“You did great, I’m impressed.” A cup of hot tea is placed on the bedside table and Janus’ eyes find his own, still worried, still full of care, his hands coming up to Virgil’s arms as if checking for the millionth time he’s okay. “Was it okay for you?”

“Jan if you ask me one more time I’m going to rip out your jugular with my teeth.”

“Oh joy, we’re back to our regular schedule of sass.”

“Don’t make me hit you!”

Janus grins, shaking his head, he leans down to kiss Virgil gently, their lips moving slowly, much more calmly, a ripple of warmth makes Virgil’s head feel fuzzy. “I have a confession,” Janus mutters, his forehead resting against Virgil’s. “I’ve had a bit of a crush on you since we first met.”

“Good,” Virgil mutters. “I mean I thought I just wasn’t...I mean you’re so hot, with your blond curly hair and mysterious bad boy attitude and I just...you know, it’s like I made myself forget I was attracted to you because I didn’t think I stood a chance.”

“You stand all the chance, 100% chance, odds are in your favour.”

“Kiss me you moron.”

“I’m your moron,” their lips meet again, gently, and then again, and again, until they’re both grinning and falling on the bed. Virgil lies back and Janus tucks up against him, his head on his chest. “So...virgin?”

“Not anymore, clearly.” Virgil glances down at Janus before sighing. “Stop looking so fucking pleased with yourself.”

“I am pleased with myself.”

“Bitch.”

“Slut.”

“Living personification of the moment you dip a digestive in tea and it breaks apart and sinks to the bottom of your cup.”

“Ouch, you win.” Virgil grins, shaking his head, his hand playing with Janus’ hair as he lets everything that has happened sink in. He’d thought losing his virginity would feel different, somehow, but he doesn’t feel like he’s any different. He just feels like himself, but in the nice afterglow of his first sexual encounters, with someone he likes a whole lot. He loves Janus, he’s his best friend, so it doesn’t feel strange to consider that he loves him even if now he’s viewing it through a different lens. “Are we...dating now, is that how this works?”

“I sure hope so because I’ve gotta sleep with you again tonight.” Virgil rolls his eyes. Trust him to pick the most sarcastic, insufferable, annoying...his thoughts trail off as Janus leans up to kiss him gently. “Your tea is getting cold,” (...sweetest, most thoughtful, most handsome man in the world).

They spend the day kissing and drinking tea, and Virgil gets the hang of having a cock in his mouth in the space of twelve hours.

Day six comes and goes and Virgil is anxious to get home, although he’s sad that these memories were not made in a place, a room, that he could come back too. He’s got plenty more to make. He falls asleep that night wrapped up in Janus’ body, and wakes up early just to feel the expanse of his skin before they have to get ready to leave.

When they get back to their dorm, Virgil chucks his suitcase into his room and drags Janus in with him. He shuts the door, happy to be home, so happy in fact, that they won’t leave that room until the next day.

#not safe for sanders

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kittymsmithwritesstuff · 3 years

Note

Legends react to being hit on by another legend? could be interesting! sorry for sending two i just rlly want u to make more 💕

Hey, sorry for being so long to reply! Because it would be a lot to do a reaction for everyone, and I feel the reactions would be extremely different depending on who hits on/flirts with who, I narrowed it down by tackling what I would probably consider my personal major ships, sort of in order by which ones I got into first; miragehound was definitely the first, though the last four kind of all came on in S7 with the invention of my newest coping mechanism, Mary “Horizon” Somers.

This also turned into more of a “Legends react to other legends hitting on/flirting with them/asking them out on a date”, just kind of whatever I guess. Ships listed below, ship names applied to the paragraphs following:

MiragexBloodhound, CryptoxWraith, WattsonxMirage, HorizonxBangalore, HorizonxLoba, RampartxLifeline.

Anyhow, here we go.

Miragehound – Mirage x Bloodhound

Bloodhound: It’s probably happened before in a joking manner, because it’s Mirage, but when they realize he actually means it this time they’re totally caught off guard. If they’re wearing their mask, they are blushing like the dickens underneath it and smiling because he’s sweet and kind of funny about it, and they really don’t get that often. If they are not wearing a mask, they are trying so hard to not let it show, except they’re grinning like a dork so RIP Hound, Mirage won this one (and also probably your heart).

Mirage: Just a bumbling mess. Bloodhound was probably kind of blunt but also weirdly poetic because They’re Just Like That, probably compared him to the sun or something and he stumbled out a “thank you” and then was like, “your goggles, goggles they’re, you know they’re hot-er-cool-er-I like – your face.” If he hasn’t seen their actual face, he’ll try and add that he’d like to see their face to try and flirt back and then wish he could go consult his 14 year old self, because that guy got two girlfriends at one point and he could really use his advice right about now.

Cryptaith – Crypto x Wraith

Wraith: She wouldn’t know she’d been hit on until an hour later, because Crypto’s version of hitting on someone is probably, “your hair looks nice” or “you’re really good with that knife”. Honestly, she probably wouldn’t know for sure until he offered her some of his lunch, since the man is pretty well known to think everyone is going to poison him. Frankly, she’s quietly flattered.

Crypto: Error 404: brain not found. Issue: Pretty girl flirted with me. Initiate shutdown and embarrassment protocols immediately. This will prompt an immediate system override, he will forget how to talk, trip over something, squeak and run away with his head down in his collar like a turtle. Unfortunately (read: very fortunately) for him, Wraith thinks it is adorable and will probably proceed to flirt with him more and forever.

Wattage – Wattson x Mirage

Wattson: Surprisingly easygoing about it, a little flustered but manages to say something right back with a grin. She definitely did not practice flirting in her head. Never. She will later tell her Nessie or Horizon all about it.

Mirage: Not quite as nervous as with BH but he does bumble a little because Wattson got him when he least expected it. Probably teased him about his equipment not being waterproof and he went on the defense, citing all the alterations he’s made and she said something like, “pretty and smart? I like that.” He got shot while trying to think what to say back.

Horizonlore – Horizon x Bangalore

Bangalore: So, this woman is oblivious. I’m talkin’ brick wall oblivious. No goggles underwater blind. Driving in a blizzard with your lights off so you miss every sign along the way. Horizon hits on her blatantly. Several times. Horizon isn’t sure she’s into women, Loba promises she is. By all calculations, saying, “you’re so pretty I could kiss ye right here in the dropship, lass” should instigate something else than, “oh, uh, thank you! I like you’re hair.” It’s the day Horizon finally says, “you look great in those jeans, want to go on a romantic date?” That Bangalore realizes and has to sit down and contemplate how much of a dumbass she is.

Horizon: Significantly less oblivious, it only took her about three days to realize Bangalore had been hitting on her. She now perks up like a puppy every time, especially since most of what Bangalore says is (sometimes revamped) Shakespeare quotes. Yeah, they’re both romantics.

Horizonhound – Horizon x Bloodhound

Hound: Pretty girls make them stupid. She says anything that can be interpreted as flirtation and they’re hardly much better than Mirage, though they’ll say something poetic and kind of pretty back regardless, thanks to a little thing called “random immeasurable luck”. Having the favor of the gods helps, too.

Horizon: So Bloodhound doesn’t so much hit on Horizon as perform a complicated mating ritual that begins with bringing her small gifts and trinkets and then evolves into book exchanges and evolves from there into actual conversations. Then that, finally, evolves into them growing a pair and, while watching her do something mundane, casually state, “you know, I have recently realized I might have a thing for redheads, felagi.” They are not prepared when she states that she has a thing for blondes and, “I’d like to ken if you’re part of the rule or an exception at, say, at 7?” Because she has been waiting for them to say something like that and takes great satisfaction in practically knowing they’re blushing under their mask.

StarStealers – Horizon x Loba

Horizon: The first few times she didn’t think anything of it, since Loba is just like that. But then there’s a time after a game that Loba says, “I’d like to see you around a lot more often, beautiful,” and tucks a piece of paper in Horizon’s hand with her phone number on it. Horizon probably covers her mouth while giggling like a schoolgirl because it’s fucking Loba and she would have never guessed she’d be interested in her but fuck is she not complaining. Smart pretty women are kind of her ideal.

Loba: So, Horizon is such a sweetheart and whatever method she chooses is probably a little dorky, and maybe a bit clumsy being she’s rather out of practice but will probably involve a love note with a really bad science pun on it because she asked Wattson for advice. Whatever it is, Loba is absolutely head over heels. If she’s in the dropship or otherwise visible, she just slowly grins. If she’s alone she bounces in her seat and might even giggle, just a little bit. She keeps a copy of the note taped to the inside of her Apex locker like a lovestruck teenager (this is, provided, they end up in a relationship).

Rampline – Rampart x Lifeline

Lifeline: Rampart tends to go big or go home. After spending approximately 2 weeks debating with herself internally, Rampart just waltzes right up to her, leans on the doorframe or something and says, “do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?” Lifeline would think she was joking and laugh, wave her off. Then Rampart would sort of panic and say, “no, I mean, like, you wanna like, uh, I like you but in a gay way.” Lifeline then smiles brightly and arranges a date on the spot, much to Rampart’s relief.

Rampart: They’ve been hanging out a bit and are chilling when Lifeline just sorta says, “hey, I think yuh really pretty, you know?” And Rampart, with all the grace of a donkey on roller skates, says, “that’s neat” while her voice cracks like a thirteen-year-old boy’s. Somehow Lifeline’s laugh banishes most of the embarrassment, and she even manages to flirt back without stuttering.

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set-phasers-to-whump · 3 years

Text

broken bones are better with a friend

prompt: broken

whumpee: malcolm bright

fandom: prodigal son

heyo! hope you enjoy this fic :) it’s pre-brightwell and i found it very fun and surprisingly easy to write considering i don’t do a lot of ship adjacent stuff with them! but ughhh i love them sm....i miss them :’(

“Bright!” Malcolm hears Dani yell from somewhere quite far behind him. “Hold on! Backup’s almost here!”

Since when have I waited for backup? Malcolm wonders, pushing himself to run even faster after their escaping suspect. In front of him, the man rapidly changes directions and goes racing down an alleyway. Malcolm follows, his footsteps echoing off the walls.

“Hello?” he calls out, slowing to a walk, looking up and down the alley. He doesn’t see the suspect, but he’s certain that he’d come this way. “I know you’re in here. You might as well come out.”

He steps past a rusted dumpster, looks behind it to see nothing of interest, and is suddenly slammed backwards into the unforgiving brick surface of the wall behind him.

The suspect pins Malcolm’s arms to the wall with ease, despite Malcolm’s frantic attempts to shake him off. Up close, there’s a glint in his eyes and a smile on his mouth that makes Malcolm absolutely sure that this is their killer. Which does not exactly bode well for him.

“I didn’t do anything.” The man’s voice is grating and low and dangerous. Malcolm kicks at his legs and receives a knee to the stomach for his trouble. He bends over instinctively, but doesn’t make it very far, seeing as how both of his arms are being pressed into the wall.

“Sure you didn’t. You just happened to be running from the police, then?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You already said that,” Malcolm says, praying that Dani and that backup she’d promised are close behind him.

“Don’t care. It’s true.”

“We both know you killed those girls -”

Malcolm is cut off by a kick to his ankle. He feels something crack and yelps in pain.

“Shut up,” the suspect growls. “You just shut up right now.”

Malcolm nods. For a second there is silence.

“You thought you were helping them. By killing them.”

“What?”

“The girls. You thought killing them would save them.”

Suddenly the suspect is even closer. He shifts his arms rapidly, one arm now barring Malcolm across the chest and preventing him from escaping, while the other one slaps him hard across the face.

“I told you to shut up.”

“I’m not very good at listening to instructions.”

“Enough!” the suspect snaps, and Malcolm has a feeling that whatever comes next is not going to be good. But Dani is bound to be close by now, and if he can just hold this man off for a few moments more…

Whatever thought he was about to have next is interrupted by an extremely unpleasant twisting sensation in his arm. Malcolm is pulled around, away from the wall, and suddenly quite a bit of weight is being put onto his ankle, which starts hurting about ten times worse. He bites back a cry of pain this time, but not five seconds later he is screaming when the suspect suddenly grabs his arm, holds it out, and slams his own arm right into the center of Malcolm’s forearm. It hurts worse than Malcolm thinks anything has ever hurt before and for a second he can’t focus on anything except the pain, and then the suspect is grabbing his face and forcing Malcolm to pay attention to him.

“Leave. Me. Alone,” he whispers, and then he’s letting go of Malcolm’s face and running away and Malcolm tries to follow him but the world starts spinning and his ankle buckles beneath him and then he’s falling, falling, falling, and then he hits the ground and his broken arm makes contact and he thinks maybe he screams again, and then everything goes bright white.

“Bright! Malcolm. Open your eyes.”

Very slowly, Malcolm blinks his eyes open. He’s lying on his back, staring up at the walls of the two buildings and above them, the sky. His left arm feels like it’s on fire and he turns his head to make sure it’s not. His right ankle also hurts, though much less in comparison. He doesn’t even have to check to be certain that it’s not burning. It still hurts, though. A lot. He groans and the voice speaks again.

“Bright, say something” It’s Dani! But if she’s here -

“He got away,” Malcolm says urgently, using his good arm to push himself up. His head spins, but he stubbornly rides out the dizziness, closing his eyes until it passes.

When he opens them again, Dani is crouched in front of him, looking worried. “You good?”

“Yeah,” he says. “But the suspect -”

“We have him in custody. Of course, we could have gotten him into custody without you breaking any bones if you hadn’t gone after him on your own.”

“Or he might have gotten away for good.”

Dani sighs, the long-suffering, put-upon sigh of one dealing with the self-sacrificial tendencies of Malcolm Bright. “He might’ve,” she acknowledges. “I’d ask you not to do anything like that again….” She trails off, since both of them know how that sentence ends.

A few seconds of strained silence pass, and then Malcolm decides that sitting on the ground is not the best thing that he could be doing at the moment. He very carefully pushes himself up onto his feet and then nearly collapses when the weight of his body hits his hurt ankle.

Immediately, Dani is there, slipping an arm around his back and taking the weight off of his ankle. “What in the hell made you think that was a good idea?” she asks, and he gives her a one-shouldered shrug. “A bus should be here in maybe two minutes,” she continues. “Wanna sit back down?”

Malcolm relents with a nod, and together they gently sink back to the ground, leaning against the wall. Dani removes her arm from around Malcolm’s back but keeps a hand on his shoulder. “How much does it hurt?”

“A lot,” Malcolm answers honestly. “I’ve never broken a bone before.” And he certainly has no desire to repeat the experience. The pain is constant and burning and it’s not all-consuming but it’s impossible to ignore and it hurts and he just wants it to stop -

Dani’s hand presses into his chest. “Hey, calm down,” she says, voice gentler than he’s ever heard it. “I know it hurts, but panicking is only going to make it worse.”

He nods jerkily, forces himself to breathe calmly, and blinks the tears from his eyes. He can do this, broken bones are common and really, he could’ve had it so much worse. He is going to be fine.

Malcolm mentally repeats this over and over to himself: I can do this, I’m going to be fine, until at last the ambulance arrives. Dani helps him stand and guides him to the paramedics; and as they start checking him over and saying things like, “we’ll need to take you to the hospital to get these set,” and “are you sure you don’t want any painkillers,” his only thought is that he really doesn’t want to do this alone. But Gil is bound to have his hands full with their recently-caught murderer, and his mother is busy with some kind of social event that he’d been very relieved to get out of, and Ainsley’s on an assignment, and -

And Dani’s in the ambulance and they’re closing the doors and she smiles at him, sitting down next to him on the gurney. Her arm comes back to rest on his shoulder and he turns to look at her and he supposes he must look a little confused, because she says, “what? I’m not allowed to come with my friend to the hospital after he broke his arm and his ankle chasing after a serial killer?”

“No, I’m - I’m glad you’re here,” Malcolm replies, trying for a smile that probably doesn’t go so well with his grimace of pain as one of the paramedics pulls off his shoe to get a better look at his ankle. “It’s always better to break a bone with a friend.”

Dani laughs and turns to look at him at the same instant that he turns to look at her. She’s smiling but underneath it she looks worried, and her hand is steady and warm on Malcolm’s shoulder, and maybe it’s the pain and the adrenaline or maybe it’s not, but he thinks I want to kiss you, and then he thinks that maybe that’s not his best move, sitting in the back of an ambulance with an arm and an ankle that hurt like all hell, or maybe it’s a good idea and -

“Malcolm? You good?”

When he smiles at her this time, it’s genuine and happy and not at all underlined with pain. “Yeah. Apart from the broken bones and all. I’m...I’m good.”

thanks sm for reading this!!! i hope u liked it :)

#summerofwhump #summerofwhump5 #broken #prodigal son #malcolm bright #broken bones #my writing #i say things #anyway 2day i finally played prodigal sim! it is so fun and cute and well done and i think i will be playing it quite a bit more #over the summer...highly recommend.

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allstarsstorymode867 · 3 years

Text

ALL-STARS -STORY MODE- CHAPTER 19

Heya everyone!

Sorry for the absence of chapters, there are things good and bad in my life but that is not important right now.

The OC belongs to @mortal-kombattore-115

I like to thank @this-person-is-slowly-dying and her friend, AlphaKing and @sampoststuff for providing me artwork for this so give them credit guys. ^^

That being said, enjoy reading the chapter you are waiting for while I work on the 20th chapter.

-Chapter 19-

-Back to the All-Stars Group…-

“So there will be a great conflict in the future, eh?” Bruno had asked this while he fed the fire with the wood leftover after others had barricaded the house. “To hell and back it will be to your dimension eventually.” Dempsey said as he helped a captive Helghast making a grate to hang the skinned bear over the fire.

“Still, too much hell for what the Germans had done to us.”

“Can you explain what had happened in that war?” as the large Frenchman helps out Heavy with the creature over to the fire to tie it on a grate.

“To make a long ass story short,” Dempsey apperaded, as he and the Helghast managed to get the grate made from scrapped metal and pipes from the shed with the help of Ratchet who set it in the ground with rocks. “Blame the Germans.” with Ultimis Richtofen giving him a glare from the background with Primis Jin shaking her head.

Demoman walked over with a knife from a kitchen as the smell of sizzling meat and hearing bubbles erupting from the flames crisping on the skinned bear creature. Soldier had to pull the Scottish man back and whispered “You think you can prepare dinner for us?” with a little concern for him. “I mean, Engie and Pyro can cook good meals…”

“I can cook, Jane, I have cooked a lot of food for me ma, remember?” Tavlish smiled with his one good brown eye, looked at it, and the Soldier patted his back and said “Just remember to put spice on each piece if someone wants one.” and Demo nodded.

The meat was grilled by the fire on a grate, was curved and cut onto a plate and served to the people around the bonfire. Spice and salt was provided to several others who wanted it and they ate it with ease.

Some laughed and made jokes, others were keeping watch for any familiar or the unfamiliar threats as Demoman looked a little proud of himself, an friendly atmosphere with little laughter and he thought “All of this needs to have a piano music.” rather joking in his head with a chuckle.

Door opened slightly from beyond the group and they jumped a little as Bruno looked at the door better than anyone and said “Erron is awake.”

Frisk had led the patched up Erron to the bonfire and had him rested at a spot with Mugman looking at them, “Thanks, kiddo.” Erron muttered under his breath as Cuphead looked at Erron and said “Amazing that you had survived that-”

“A Panzer Soldat,” Erron interrupted, “That’s what I learned from an ugly ass octo-” he noticed Jin finally who was looking at him with an eyebrow, “...pus, hello.” he greeted, he seemingly… looked similar to a marine in the group but Jin simply shrugged it off as she then introduced herself “My name is Jin Huang, you’re Erron, if I am correct.”

“Erron Black, Jin.” Erron confirmed, holding his newly bandaged side, “I see you’re here in a tournament too?”

This confused everyone around him as Primis Dempsey asked “What tournament? What’s it about?”

“To think you would know about it by now,” Erron begins to explain, “from where I am from, there was a battle-to-the-death tournament event known as Mortal Kombat. The winner will be the last one standing to decide the fate of the earth realm. But in order to win, is to off the other.``

Others were confused but Frisk looked fairly worried and Primis Dempsey figured it out what it meant as he said “Do we have to…” to Erron who is dead serious about this.

“Yep.” he responded, as Jin was perplexed with a thought of the tournament, “Mortal Kombat…” as Erron looked at her with little interest. “I had heard from Frisk that you are a damned good fighter, right? In the earth- In my universe, we had those there in the other realm. But they are not the only ones, there are tough-ass fighters out there as well and I won’t be surprised that we are meeting one of them from the realms I belong to.”

“I am not but I have been taught to defend myself.” Jin said as she looked at him, “Yet, I can’t die without a fight if it does happen.”

“Oi reckon that and the reason our own had been kidnapped.” Sniper added with a nod, “Yet, so far, it worked for a while so far?”

“Fighting a giant flower, then extraterrisory soldiers, our teammates taken to another world and now this.” P!Dempsey recounted the events from before, “So that could be the theory for this shitshow happening.”

“Could be…” Radec had remained silent until this point, “A strange entity had somewhat cause us to be here, our leader had sent us here to investigate the power and to harness it-”

“Before the shitshow hits the fan with war following suit!” Soldier jabbed, pointing a finger at him as if he was the only one who has authority over their captives. “You pushed first and we pushed back!”

“Stand down, son.” Dempsey said loudly as the Soldier looked at him, grumbling something under his breath as he sat down. “Yet,” Erron broke the ice as he looked at him, “You guys are going to leave me to die here once you guys leave.” in an accusatory tone. Radec nodded and said “But it all went wrong and no hope of leaving this planet as the carrier was destroyed, we are all trapped here together all thanks to you.” as Everyone looked at him until Mugman piped up.

“Not entirely.” he said, Cuphead and Frisk looked at him and said “What do you mean, Mugs?” with an eyebrow.

“Rachet, Clank.” he called to them, “You had said you two came here by a ship of your own, right?”

“Of course, we did but why did you ask?” Clank asked as Ratchet simply tilted his head to this. “You must have a radio on it, you can contact anyone far away from here, does it still work?”

“It does,” Ratchet answered as he simply shrugged but had a disappointed look on his face, “But the galaxy we are from is too far away from here, this is a Milky Way Galaxy afterall, there's a bunch of other galaxies in the universe.” as he stretched his arms.

“Or the next,” Clank added as he stood up and then chuckled when Ratchet turned to glare at him, “Mr. Masaki and Erron had said that this realm is what we are currently living in right now.” he further explained. “As for our ship, we can overlook the city, be your eyes and ears for any zombie coming your way.” Ratchet offered as Clank sat back on three bricks stacked on top of another.

“I agree with the strange talking cat lion alien,” Ultimis Nikolai interjected with a little sober voice even as it was slurred, “On the bright side, they can find Nikolai more vodka in this sh!t hole!” He raised the bottle and then drank it as the scarf Mugman was holding to patch the crack glowed cyan softly as he looked at him before looking away.

*You had no idea why this scarf was connected to Ultimis Nikolai…

A text hangs below his head as he looked at it before he looked at Frisk, who patted his shoulder in comfort. The look they had as if they knew whatever the newer text will explain, they would tell them about it.

Demoman yawned as he looked up the nighttime skies, the stars could hardly be seen because of the city’s lights but in this one, electricity that powered the city was all but gone after something had happened to it and the beauty of the stars and dust sparkled and smudged to regin the skies once more.

The moon is glowing softly with a few stars around it, a night silver ring of rainbow around it as the nearly glassy clouds covering it. “Demo?” Scout asked as he looked at him who got up and said “We should all get sleep, we can talk more in the morning, Lads.”

“I will take the first shift, then Bendy soon Richtofen.” Bruno had stated as he raised the hammer and placed onto his shoulder, resting it in place. “That’s a good idea,” Bendy walked with him to the captive Helghasts, “in case they had any funny ideas.”

“Oh ja,” Ultimis Richtofen said this with rather a sinister venom as he looked at the Helshasts with a wicked smile, “I vill gut zhem if zhey tried to escape.”

As the moon slowly sails in the clouded skies, everyone has made the parts of the backyard and the house itself as their spots for them to live temporarily. Half of them had set up tents in the backyard while U!Richtofen already had the shed to call his ‘cottage’ of his own.

Rest are resting in each rooms of the house 1145, Ratchet and Clank has the couch, Erron and Scout has the room with a bunk bed at the end of the hall in the upstairs, corporal had the master bedroom, Frisk had the side room with two bunk beds as it seemingly possible and sharing it with Cuphead and Mugman and lastly, the rest of the RED Team had the downstairs family room with one room but not the rest of them at the least, Sniper is at on the roof with a lantern on watch duty.

“Do you think that we have to fight each other?” It was Mugman who asked Jin that with a worried look on his face while Jin helped him onto the top bunk, with a blanket he had caught and wrapped himself with.

“Erron had said that as a theory, we don’t know about it yet.” Jin said as she adjusted the blanket he had and tried to be careful not to press the cracks and make them worse. “We need to know the reasons why we are here for a tournament.”

“And if it was the way to-”

“Mugman,” Jin had insisted, looking at him as she had a bit of a parental tone in her voice. “I will not let it happen if it is the only way, I promise you that I will protect you.”

“Really?”

“Do I ever lie to you? I am a fighter afterall.” she softly smiled as she lifted his chin up to face her, “Please get some sleep, Mugman, tomorrow will be better.”

Mugman slightly nodded and then laid down to get comfortable as Jin exited the room to find something to lay down to rest when she noticed something from the master bedroom that caught her eye before she could.

It was Primis Dempsey, he wasn’t wearing his coat and the boiler as they rested on a folding table close to him, sitting on a chair and holding a colt revolver in his hand as he stared at it. He looked at the window and then he rested his forehead on the cylinder and the rear sight with his eyes closed.

Something about this scene had her worried for the marine. She watched him raise his head back up to the window and he appeared to notice something on the window. Then he looked at the doorway, raised an eyebrow at the fortune sight before him.

“Jin? What are you doing over there?”

“I…” She said shyly as she walked in, “I wanted to make sure that you are alright, Dempsey.” she excused as she made her way to the dirty yet faintly clean mattress with a few blankets on it. He sighed as he walked over to the bed to sit down beside him.

“Thanks for doing that,” he said as he looked at the colt in his hand, “But ya really don’t have too, Jin, I am fine.” it was a lie and he and Jin knew that just the way he was holding the weapon. She reached out and then held the hand holding the gun, making him look at her.

“Mind if I ask why are you holding a revolver?” she asked as she and him looked at each other.

Dempsey knew that he wanted to do it with a weapon such as a colt revolver, that one thought, an idea, just swimming in the back of his mind for quite a little while but he couldn't let that side of himself show, not by a long shot and too stubborn to admit it. He simply shrugged and said “Just wanted to make sure those Lickers don't eat us in our sleep,” he excused, “You could never be safer than being ripped to shreds.”

Jin looked at him a bit more now and then she said softly, “I’ll stay.”

“Run that by me again, Jin?”

“I’ll stay with you.” in repeated herself, letting go him hand, she intended to stay with him to make sure that he doesn’t do anything too stupid, possibly to his own life, “I will let you be on watch if you want, do wake me up if you do see something.”

Tank looked down to face the revolver from Jin, looking a bit confused yet vacated from the conversion they had before he looked at her and nodded “Yeah, sure.”

Jin nodded as Dempsey got up to let Jin get into bed, she stretched her arms to prepare for the night as she pulled the sheets over her with P!Dempsey sat down on the bed again as he looked at her. She does have a nice…

“Not now, Tank.” his subconscious told him as he shook his head, “No time for feelings, lover boy.”

Jin fell asleep quickly after finding comfort in the blankets as Dempsey watched, letting out a soft sigh as he looked at the revolver again. He wasn’t the one to admit it but she had stopped him, he’ll give her that but he is a little worried about the Lickers he encountered however so it is a reason for him to keep watch.

He looked at the window again as the fire in the backyard had dimmed and smoke rising from where the bear was cooked. He has watched the window like a hawk for anything with a long tongue and teeth for an hour or two when Jin woke up with a sketch and got out of bed.

“Sleep well?” he asked as she sat down beside him, “Yes I have.” she answered as she immediately prepared to take the night watch, “It’s now your turn to get some rest and me taking watch.”

Dempsey looked at her and then looked at the revolver in his hands, he then looked at her again and said “Do you know how to use it?”

Jin simply nodded as she took it from his hand gently before he had got up to lay down the bed with the blanket over her, she looked over to the corporal and responded nicely “Sleep well, Dempsey.”

Dempsey softly smiled with tired eyes and then started to fight his way to get some sleep. A few minutes of this, his eyelids closed tightly, soon softened and he fell asleep soon...

The sound of gunfire and chains flying through the air, his boots were dusted in dirt as his two feet crashed onto the ground as he ran away from whoever it was he was running from.

“Sh!t sh!t Sh!t SH!T….!” he cursed loudly under his breath as he was losing air from his lungs, the sounds of the gun firing and chains flying in the air are consent; whenever he had to stop to catch his breath, the sounds returned and making him turn tail and running through an old western town that seemed abandoned since the 1800’s or after that century.

He skidded on the ground to turn the corner and then made it inside an nearby building that seemed like a shack. He hid inside the shack, on the wall and remained silent and watched a figure walking by: the one with a cowboy hat, a trench coat and weiding what appears to be a gun of a strange kind.

The pursuer walked by the marine without even noticing him being inside, Tank had sighed in relief softly and he got off the wall. “Thank god…”

He then walked towards the way he came in but chains suddenly appeared and stretched across the doorless frame, wrapping and blocking off his exit as he yelled out a curse word.

He feared that the man chasing had heard it happened too so he had to find another way out of the building as he turned to notice something that he didn’t see in this shack before he entered. A staircase that leads down, he softly breathed in and out before looking at the blocked off exit, then he shook his head at this.

With no other choice on the matter, he descends downstairs with slow steps on the steps as the setting sunlight creeps through the walls made from wood boards. He then turned to see what was in the basement itself of the shack. He muttered “Oh no…” as he got a look of what was in the room.

It was a stake in the center of the basement and on it were four rusted hooks, but they looked like they were sharpened to a fine point and crusted with blood, like it was used countless times with an animal of kind that had been hoisted onto it.

He had stood there to take in what he was seeing until the chains upstairs had been taken down and someone walked in. He cursed under his breath and looked for a way to hide which he eventually did through a hole wide enough for him to fit inside.

Footsteps were descending down the stairs and came upon the landing as he could see through the cracks to see who it was: The man with the gun came inside the basement and began to look around, finding someone inside.

“Where are you…?” an old voice called out from the man, banging on the creaking walls and pounding, “I know you’re in here!” He said as he used the bunt of the rifle to bash through the wall on the right of the basement, the sound had revirabated to Tank as he flinched but didn’t make noise, he was not going to give away his location.

After a long time, the man seemed to give up as he said “Well said… Have it your way then.” as Dempsey sees him going back upstairs with the shadow stretching out on the wall where the sun was shining before it had settled over the entrance.

Dempsey carefully slid out of the hole and looked around as he saw the hole the man in the trench coat had made with his coat. The chips and splinters were on the inside of the wall and some of it was hanging off the craves.

He slowly had put his hand into the hole his purser had made, feeling another wall from within, feeling cobwebs and wood from inside. The bunt of the rifle had made a bend on the wooden plank wall when he had his fingers to feel the bump the man had made out of anger and frustration.

“Jesus…” he muttered as he placed his hand through it, “at least have an therapist…” he sarcastically jabbed as he pulled his hand out of the hole but then jumped when an one claw wrenched out of the hole the man had made, it was pitch black and it had a tinge of orange on the tip as it had a bit of fur of the same color when it came out and made him yell in shock.

The claw happened to try to slash at him but he missed it just in time just narrowingly avoiding its attack, then he witnessed its shell cracked and then crumbed away, transforming it into… Chains.

It was a flash as the chains behaved like snakes controlled by their master and it shot forward towards as he turned to try to run but these metal linked strings had latched onto his right arm and coiled around it in a tight grip. “What the hell…?!” He pulled at the chains as he tried to break it but then he spotted another same claw came out of the first hole he was hiding in and it, like the claw, changed into chains and lashed out.

His left arm was grabbed and coiled by the chains behaving like a predatory snake and the next thing he knew, they pulled and his arms were stretched about as he screamed. The footsteps returned and there was the cowboy on the landing. Dempsey pulled desperately to get them to let go his arms but their grip was death-like as they were rattled and clacked.

“So that’s where you were boy,” the man then lifted his head up to reveal the rest of his face, Caleb the Deathslinger, his white and black eyes locked onto his target as he had lifted his jawbone upward, reconnected it to his skull with a crack that made Tank cringed at the sound of it. “Nowhere to run this time.” he muttered as he stood where he was as he lifted his rifle upwards him as he gotten a good look at it:

[Digitally drawn by Meaghan “Icefir” Halter]

The rifle had a reel with chains attached to it, with a lever to pull it and lastly, it had a very defining feature to it as the chains are connected to it: Some type of harpoon or a spear and it was aimed at him.

The hammer was heard smashing onto the barrel and the next thing he felt was a spear piercing through his abdomen and out his back as the pain was unbearable-

He jumped out of his sleep with a yell, eyes wide open and panting as if he was seeing hell far beyond him. He quickly checked his abdomen with his eyes locked onto it as he placed his hand on where the spear surpassingly made its mark.

No blood, no sign of t-shirt torn or penetrated the skin, flesh and bone. “Dempsey?” a soft voice had questioned worryingly, he turned to face Jin, she was looking at him with an unsettled yet concerned look in her eyes.

He looked at her for a good minute before closing his eyes and placing his hand on his forehead as sweat trailed down. “Are you okay, Dempsey?”

“I’m alright, it’s just a nightmare… that’s gotten worse.” he muttered as he looked in the other direction, Jin was a bit puzzled of what she could understand him saying under his breath. “Nightmare?” she said as she lowered her hand as he looked at something else in the room, an old pile of junk that is drawers filled with beads, strings, scissors and paint brushes with painting of any kind and other things. Like he had never said that but he did say “What time is it?”

“It was only 3 o’clock in the morning, Dempsey.” Jin responded as she looked at him a bit more, studying his movements, “Damn…” he sighed, “Just when I was getting some good night sleep too.” as he rubbed his eyes with his shaking hand with a soft groan.

Jin was worried for his mental health as she continued to look at him for a bit longer and said “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m feeling fine, Jin.” he lied as he looked at her now with tired eyes as he let out a dry chuckle. But she refused to believe him as she saw through that sentence; a lie. A lie to keep his pride up.

“Are you sure about that?” she responded as she crawled onto Dempsey’s side, sitting next to him as he had his hands on the bed, planted onto the sheets as he was baffled by this. “I can see it in your eyes that you are… Distressed.”

Tank looked at the window to avoid but then in defeat, he let go of the breath from his mouth. “Like I had said, it’s a nightmare.” he confessed finally, Jin listened closely to what he had to say more. “It was me being chased and eventually being killed by a creepy-ass cowboy that looked like a zombie but smarter than that.” he then looked down from the window. “And he had a gun with a spear that killed me with…”

“If it’s connected to the war,” Jin rationalized as she had placed her hand on his cheek and had him turn to look at her, “If so, it could be understandable.”

His eyebrows furrowed upward and as he had his arm rested on one of his knees, “But something about it felt so real.” he mumbled softly to himself. Jin then said “There is no need to worry.” before wrapping her arms around the American. He was a little flustered when she did this but he found comfort in this and held her arm with one hand as he closed his eyes.

“Thanks.” he said, showing gratitude.

“No worries.” Jin replied with a gentle smile.

He was smiling softly himself but then they both flinched when they heard the door open, they were both ready to face whatever it was until they saw who it was: It was Erron who yawned as he rubbed his eyes.

“Hey Erron,” Dempsey sneered tiredly, “You almost scared us.”

“Evenin’, Tank,” Erron stopped to see Jin with him, he had dark circles around his eyes like he hadn't slept for a while but he had brushed it off and asked “Mind if I ask you two what you are talking about?”

“Nothing important, Erron.” Dempsey responded as he looked at him carefully, “Speaking of which, ya’ll looked like crap, Erron.”

“It was Scout’s fault for talking.” Erron complained as he had his thumb pointed at the closed door on his left as it left him and the Shaolin woman confused by what Erron meant by that. “But wasn’t Scout asleep on the top bunk above you?” Jin responded with a raised brow as Erron looked like he had run out of many cares to give anyway.

“Oh, don’t worry, he is asleep,” he answered as he grabbed the doorknob, opened it just a crack and what they were hearing was kinda humorous. “Heeeey, Pauling…. Do ya want to go on a date?” Scout murmured from the darkened bedroom with Erron holding the door open just a small wedge as he concluded “But he’s like a radio that can’t shut up.”

Jin giggled and face palmed as Dempsey smirked “Poor you” he joked as the Outworlder glared at them as he pulled the door close just as Scout mumbled out “Oh no, the dog has wings….!”

“Anyway, I was going to take a leak in the middle of the night anyway.” Erron explained as he let go of the knob and waved this off with his hand before he wrapped his arms together, trying to warm up as he walked into the darkened hallways.

“You should’ve got a blanket with you, dumba$$.” Dempsey sassily remarks as the man was fading into darkness as he replied “Yeah, whatever.” his response echoing in the halls.

The corporal smiled as he shook his head while Jin looked sighed and held her forehead, but then he looked solemn again as he looked down again as she noticed.

He looked aloof with himself, “Dempsey,” she responded as she placed her hand on her shoulder. He looked at her again then responded “It’s only a nightmare, I know-” but he was cut off.

“If you want more sleep then you would,” she offered, Dempsey’s mouth was aigbe a little bit upon hearing that, “if you had another nightmare, I’m here, understand?'' She sounded like a mother figure for someone that’s broken, broken nearly beyond repair but he had said nothing but nodded. “We have to do work at sunrise, try to get some sleep.” she said as Dempsey laid back down and fell asleep with Jin beside him, sitting upright on the bed.

Yet, Erron had lied about going to the restroom but instead had his hand over his mouth as his eyes locked onto the ground with furrowed brows. What he had overheard, he hardly ignored what Tank experienced in that nightmare.

He muttered “That can’t be Caleb…”

-In the morning light.-

Sun rose over the mountains that seemed to be close to the neighborhood in ruins and dominated by the forest trees as dawn bleeds anew with colors of purple, orange and sky blue dancing in the sky.

Primis Takeo placed the pieces of firewood into the dying campfire to warm up Heavy, and Sniper.

Bendy had to share a blanket with seemingly tired Bruno who was barely awake as they had been watching their prisoners, the Ink Demon looked concerned for the giant Frenchman as he had him wrapped in the blanket to get him warmth.

Scout was on look out of Ultimis Richtofen’s “Cottage” with Ultimis Nikolai was slubbed down, back on it and drunk as ever, vodka in hand as he hiccup. Ratchet and Clank are with Frank West, Raiden and Erron with the digitized map of Salt Lake City in ruins but it is now named Fallen City due to it’s population of the undead roaming in its streets.

“Hard to believe that they could do this much damage.” Erron muttered under his breath as he looked at the map, Raiden interjected “In most cases, an outbreak like this is common since the COVID-19 pandemic.” as he looked at him while pointing at where they were right now on the map.

“Actually, Raiden,” Clank intervened, “It’s only Utah that’s populated with the infected.” as the cyborg and kombatiant were confused by what the small robot had said. “How is that?” Raiden responds in confusion, “It should be an epidemic by now.”

“It could be but the place where I am from, something similar happened to Willamette is that the national guard had roped and blocked off every road leading into the town where the outbreak started.” Frank rationized, motioning Rachet to zoom out the city and they watched as the city was zoomed out to view the state.

It was Utah in nearly red color but it remained in its shape of that state, not once are any signs of the infection leaving it. “But this was unheard off, they said that it could stay in one city but not the whole state itself.”

“No sh!t, Frank.” Erron said as he looked closer at the map, small red dots were going close to the border of Utah but they disappeared upon reaching the line, “Whatever’s keeping the dead inside the state is not going to let them out.”

“Almost like a force field.” Raiden added. Clank nodded as Ratchet added “Still, it’s something to think about but keep in mind though…” as he pointed at a few blue dots leaving the state and a couple more dots entering it. “I am guessing those who are not infected are allowed to leave and go inside Utah as much as they want.”

“Almost like it was a strange type of spell quarantining the state.” Erron said as he watched the two different colored circles moving around in a few cities of the Beehive state. “With us survivors, it’s good that we don't have to worry about the dead coming out but if you’re a zombie, being trapped here will suck so much.”

“Frank,” Raiden said as he looked at him, “Do you remember how you got here?”

“Not too sure but I was outside the city before I met you guys, plus the way out of it was blocked off but there are other roads out of it if you’re asking.” he replied as he looked at the map once again. Having Ratchet zoom in again on the city.

[Map of Utah, from Google Search]

Raiden looked at the one lone black dot on Orem and pointed at it with a sharp metalized index finger, “That’s where we are right now but if we go along the line,” he said as he had his finger follow the line towards Cedar city. “It could have a road leading out of the state, then we could get out of this hellhole.”

Erron looked at Raiden and insisted “But to travel that far, we need supplies to last us about three days to get there. We need to find as much as we can carry on us.”

Frank West internally groans, again with the three day mark like the same scenes before. He face-plamed at this and said “Is there a train that can get us there?”

Erron looked at Frank West and said “There is one, but it’s in Provo and there’s all of them all over the place.” he then looked at Raiden, “Do you think you can clean that town up?”

Raiden remained silent for a moment but then he responded “You’ll leave them to me.” as he turned away and said “Find anyone that will scout the area, we’ll be leaving at sunset.”

“With pleasure, Raiden.” Erron nodded as he turned to walk away from the map as well with Raiden, leaving Frank West with the lombax and a small robot companion.

“Mr. West.”

“Hm?” he turned to face Clank as he was looking back at him. “You wanted to scout the area as well?” Clank offered as well, “You are a reporter-”

“As well as a freelance photojournalist and a teacher in a local college, Clank.” Frank added as he pointed at the camera, hanging around by an landrid around his neck and hasn’t been used in a while since he met the group of people from different worlds.

“Yeah, that, something like that is useful.” Ratchet said this as he crossed his arms, “Dempsey did say that there are mutations of those zombies like Lickers. If there are more, we need pictures of them.”

“Sounds like a scoop you wanted me to look into.” Frank smiled, liking this idea already but then he said “What if I accidentally ran into one of them if they heard me?”

“Hey Frank, that’s what our arteries are for.” Ratchet responded, “Most of us are armed to the teeth and neck deep in these infected people.”

“As for Lickers,” Clank added as he justered his finger upward, “Mr. Dempsey had said on the note he found that they will attack anything that makes noise so best to remain quiet when they are in an area with you.”

“Gotcha, Clank.” Frank said as he nodded, he then looked at the barbed-wire bat he had rested on an overgrown oak tree with vines draggling off the branches. He walked over to it and then picked it up and threw it over his shoulder and landed. “Right, I’m heading out first before anyone could scout out. Make sure they will bring back any stuff and food we could need.” Frank responded as he headed to the east gate that leads out of the backyard, opened it and then went out of it as it closed behind him.

Erron then turned to Ratchet and Clank then said “As for you guys, best to find the best scouts that can do this.”

They nodded as the map was turned off and then he helped Clank onto his back with a click before walking off as he placed his hands on his hips.

-Later on that morning-

There are a few willing volunteers willing to savage the area; Scout of course, Erron, Gordon Freeman, Soldier, Demoman, and Jin Huang. They are given a brief rundown on how they will be leaving soon but warn them about the mutations.

“So, we will have to find other resources for the journey ahead,” Erron explained to the group, Scout had swung his bat onto his shoulder and asked “And where are we going?”

“Cedar City is far from this city,” Erron answered, “Hopefully less zombies, the better.”

“Aren’t we going to wait for the others?” Soldier asked as he adjusted his helmet a little as Demoman looked at the Outworlder. “The Knight said that they are in another world,” as he places his hat back on and it is shadowed over his eyes, “Besides, he has an artifact that allows him to go from one realm to the next so they will be able to catch up to us.”

“Seems possible?” Jin commented as she raised a brow, “And I had to ask, what artifact is it?”

“I don’t know to be truthful,” Erron responded, “Most of us don't tell me about it but best have good faith that he still has it.”

“Plus, we are armed to the teeth,” Scout strugged, “we can take on those lickers.”

“I didn’t say there will just be Lickers, they could have other mutations.” Erron interjected that poke a hole in the young man’s bubble. “The science experts had said that zombies with parasites or viruses can mutate overtime, judging on how long this city had gone through over the years or so.”

Scout gulped with the thought, Erron then shook his hand to dismiss the conversion as he said “Very well, then, we haven’t got time to waste away. We gotta find something to survive on for the next few days or die stravin’.”

“Understood, Erron.” Jin nodded as Demoman looked at her but then nodded. Soldier then salutes this, “Remember before you're a$$es left; be careful out there.”

They nod to acknowledge before heading toward two different gates and going out back into the woodland neighbor and into the infested busy streets.

Jin, however, still struggled to comprehend how different characters could coexist with each other but she had to push aside her new questions and continued on forward. As they go on, she learns more about Gordon, Demoman and Soldier.

Gorden Freeman is truly a man with a few words, he had helped people in an accident as he had referred to as The Black Mesa Incident and led a rebellion against an enemy known as the Combine.

Demoman and Soldier are quite good friends and teammates actually, despite the American being obsessed with wars and bloodshed while the latter is working two jobs, one being a house cleaner and a flipping demolitions expert as a mercenary for hire.

They are quite smart to stay in groups as new breeds of infection are now more presentable, not just 115 zombies.

One infection had visible black veins, rarely ones without injuries but others are most bitemarks and scratches where the virus had spread. Another was riddled with worms, strange worms of alien origin and mutated into special types as their green vomiting counterparts had different yet same parts when it came to mutating.

The zombies, the non-eyes-glowing ones had eyes almost white yet they stumbled slowly, they will be resistant towards being shot in the head surprisingly but it will take 4 or more bullets or even stabs to bring it down.

They had gotten into stores and located non perishable items that strangely haven’t yet been perished yet despite how much time had passed by since what happened to this state in the U.S.

To cover more ground and to get more, they split up and told to keep an eye out for threats around the corners. Jin entered a community hospital and she had found modern medical equipment with an umbrella logo on each of them. The scene seemed to have a group of people researching brain samples before they were interrupted by something that she already knew what it was.

“We better need medicine for our journey ahead of us.” she whispered as she had a sack to stuff them in but when she’s all done doing so, Jin had found notes on a pharmacy desk, curious on what they would say, she picked them up and read them.

Umbrella Corps. Research Notes

The T-Virus had appeared when we had gotten here, it was thought to be destroyed yet we are trying to come up with the theory for its continued existence.

The virus that mutated white and red blood cells causing them to go black colored, the origin is unknown but it is referred to as The Black Plague Virus.

The parasitic worms, a neurological alien of unknown origin, can take over the host and control it. These “Devil Worms” as we call it and it is rather shocking they can merge together as they mutate.

The victims had similar symptoms to the rabies yet it appears that it had been weaponized, the virus of this type had been nicknamed the Green Flu due to it showing signs of a flu but soon they will become rapid overtime.

The unknown element had reanimated dead cells in the human body, making them, like the four other deadly pathogens, into literal zombies, finding documents of the same thing happening in the late 40’s as this element is referred to as 115 discovered by an organization called Group 935.

They were theories on how they are contained inside the state of Utah due to them unable to go outside as something is keeping them inside. It is unknown what is happening could be good or bad yet we could not know for now.

Further research is needed.

Jin was confused by the notes provided such similar information yet it is useful that it showed strange yet same symptoms of the zombification process. Violet behavior, headaches, sensitive to light and such more.

“This is strange…” she muttered as she folds the notes and placed them in her pocket for later, to show the others of her discovery. She was about to leave when she noticed something that caught her eye.

A mysterious hooded figure walked away from the mirror hanging above and walked out of the door calmly like it was a normal day. She turned to see the backdoor closing in time. “Wait…!” she said as she walked fastly towards it and then pushed it open and she found herself in an alley away that’s rotten away and nature crawling upward on the walls.

She looked on the left side, the end of the alley way leading towards the more heavily woods and on the right she saw the Ridden and Black Plague zombies, they were not looking in her direction but hissing and screeched at one another over a kill the other claimed. Similar to a pack of wolves when the alpha is defending its meal.

Jin covered her mouth to prevent the sound from coming out, deciding that she needs to leave and leave now. Moving slowly, she walked back to the door and tried pulling it open but it wouldn't bulge. She tried again but harder yet it still couldn't open from the second attempt. She was locked outside.

She turned to pay attention in the right direction, one of the Plagues seemed to sniff the air and then turned to the alley, its face was half-way ripped off, flesh and teeth showing as black veins sprawled across its features. It snurled upon seeing her as her thoughts were racing but she remained calm, not showing fear from what her masters taught her. “Looks like I am taking an alternate route…” she thought as she turned on her heels and then ran as she heard the screeches from the damned reined in the air. She ran into the forested area to lose them as both Ridden and Black Plague are flooding in the alley and making their way to the heavily wooded area but not without killing each other to get to it first.

They bite and scratch each other as some of them are overwhelming them and then devouring their flesh and organs that have been tainted with the virus or a parasite as the rest had managed to make it through the alley way and proceeded to chase her.

She was like a monkey on the loose upon release, she ran and avoided logs and used branches to swing over the terrain to outrun the dead. The sound of something else is hopping with her at the same pace as her but she was confused when she heard at least six pairs of feet on the ground or the branches.

Before she could turn her head to face whatever it was, that couplet had hopped into her vision, right in front of her. It was human but it lacked of hair on it’s head, it had four arms, two small as the other limbs are longer and it had a red pulsating organ on the bottom of its throat and collarbone as it has been missing a jaw to begin with and replaced with a lower part of the mouth with small sharp teeth.

Red eyes glowed as it snarled and crawled like an animal one side to the left then to the right a little. A worm with mandible spurts out of it’s one eye socket and into another as they bleed crimson tears down from its eyes as Jin cringed at that sight when she looked at the creature in the eye.

“Did the worms do that?” she thought as she pulled her hair ornament out, prepared to fight what this monstrosity is but it seems to know what it is doing. Getting on two feet and then doing something peculiar with it’s four hands as if it was a normal day of folding clothes but something was slimy and drooling in them then suddenly, it tossed the “ball�� at her and it exploded.

She exclaimed as she tried to get away but her legs were caught in the mucky projectile and it climbed up to her stomach, pinning her in place while she stood. “What the hell…?!” she tried to pull at the clammy slime but it was like rubber and it stood on her while the screeching had reached her ears.

She looked up just in time to find the worm-ridden creature leaping at her, the two hands wrapped around her throat and neck as the other two are holding on her shoulders as she is doing the same with her own arms to push or try to push it away from her as she was choking, fighting for air.

It roared at her as worms fell out of it’s eye sockets and onto the ground, missing her face as she was losing consciousness but then, its side of its head had exploded with blood and brain matter spewed out. It stopped then fell with Jin in its arms as by now the slime had expired.

She gasped in for air as she heard a familiar voice calling out to her, “Jin!” and feet running over to her and then her arm was grabbed and being pulled up onto her feet. It was P!Dempsey.

“Are ya alright!?”

“Yeah, I am fine…” she rubbed her bruised neck as she looked at the creature, “It’s true what Erron has said about the mutations.”

The marine was looking at the corpse then shrugged a little, “A stinger like this one must be Licker’s second cousin, an ugly b@#$ too.” he sass-talked before the ‘Stinger” was slowly getting back up but was quickly shot down with another bullet with a gun.

Head was clearly devastated from the second bullet discharge, several worms crawled out and went into the ground as they groaned in disgust. “F*#$ing gross…”

Jin thought back about the notes she found and then worried that the others might catch up from the alley after their fight with each other. “Corporal,” she spoke up as he was going to leave, P!Dempsey looked at Jin with a raised eyebrow as she held up the papers and landed them on him. “I had found this from the hospital before I fled, I think there are not just two viruses here in this state.” she explained.

“Could be worth the trouble you’ve gotten yourself into.” he said softly but then he heard faint growls from the tree lines. He gestures with his hand to get her moving as he muttered “We have to get the f#$% out of here…”

They turned and fled the area where the Stinger had appeared as the Ridden and the Plague were coming in.

-Suncrest-

From a frying pan and into an oven, that is what Jin could hear him mutter under his breath as he read one page after another. Apparently the deadly pathogens that can create the dead walked this earth and had each section separately after research on them.

“What is the matter, Tank?” she asked softly as the corporal placed the notes in his pouch and said “First 115 and now four more?” sounded angry, “Talk about dinner for the worms after they can…” he then shook his head. He wasn’t sure if this was even more worse than the previous universe they belonged in.

“Dempsey,”

“Yeah, Jin?” he asked, annoyed as he looked at her now.

“That Stinger, it had..” she was interrupted with the marine’s hand placed onto her shoulder and said “I know…” softly, “It’s one hell of a way to die.” and Jin looked down with her brows furrowed. She then looked at him and nodded wordlessly. He smiled softly and then looked around.

Yet, she can’t let go of the feeling peculiarly on how he was at the wrong place yet the right time, so she needs to ask while they are now continuing to walk down the street that is now halfway covered by dirt forming a path.

“Dempsey?”

“What’s up?”

“I like to know, how did you find me in trouble?”

He was usually loud enough to verbally question Richtofen or someone else loudly but he was oddly quiet but then he answered “Don’t like to copy Tak but I had a stinking feeling when you left. " as he scratched the back of his head."

Jin cocked her head to the side with little confusion yet interested, “You had sensed that I’d be in danger.” she said as she and him continued walking down the path. “You could say that.” he nodded as he looked at the tall trees, pine trees and oak trees that grew to climb the skies upon the ground and dirt.

“I like to call it a “gut feeling” in situations like that one back at the house.”

“Well, I am glad you listened to that “gut” feeling.”

Dempsey chuckled softly as he closed his eyes and turned his head away from the trees, “Yeah, this tank sure did.”

Jin softly smiled at this man as she had a tint of pink on her cheeks as birds above them chirped above them. This is a peaceful walk in the woods that is once a town before the walking dead of all five kinds showed up.

Yet, the feeling hasn’t shown up until when they are deeper into the forest and the air has gotten… colder?

Jin had felt the familiar temperature and held her arms together as Dempsey looked around as soon as he felt the wind had gotten colder than usual, “What the hell?” he muttered as they walked along but more aware of their surroundings.

Their feet crunched onto something soft, they looked down and saw they had walked into a bed of snow. “Why is there snow in the middle of summer?”

“The hell I know,” Dempsey had spoken the thought out loud, those the only thoughts he could think to say as he was caught off guard with what appears to be the change of the session. “Whatever’s happening is not a part of mother nature’s to-do list.”

He continued onward into the slowly falling snowflakes before a blizzard hit them both, “Holy sh!t!”

“Tank!”

The snowstorm had come along and the environment had transformed into a winter hell, Dempsey calls out to Jin ``Jin! Are you there?!”

He felt a hand grabbing hold of his own, he flinched and was going to get a knife out, believing it was another zombie but then heard her voice “Wait, I have you!”

He felt himself relaxed a little when he heard Jin, they sheided their eyes from the shooting snowflakes as they continued forward, “It is almost like that winter from the 1900’s!” he bellowed out as he was trying to find a sight or a road for them to go on. “It was colder than Northern France!”

“And it still is!” Jin stated as she too was trying as the corporal marine, “Do you think what might cause this, Tank?!”

“How the hell should I know-” they then bumped into something that caused them to fell backwards from, they looked up and saw a buff towering figure over them, it was frozen but it’s features are still visible; it was missing a jawbone and a tongue dangling out, its fists are too big for the normal human fingers to curl into one.

They both yelled and Dempsey got out his revolver to fire but then noticed the big hulk-like zombie was indeed turned into an icy statue as it appeared it was about to smash onto something or someone it was targeted.

“Hold on…” he got up on his feet as Jin stumbled onto hers as well, and as they looked around the area, they were barely able to see what else was around them; a horde of zombies, frozen into light blue statues as they appeared to have green vomit leaking from their lips. They way they are posed as if they were after something or someone they were chasing.

More of them are several common yet some are special, one of them had a long tongue as it looked like a frog trying to catch a fly almost similar trait to the Lickers, the other had claws and bleeding from the eyes as the hood had covered its head but its face where it was features shown and it was even being hold up by the ice sickle attached to a nearby building as if it was jumping towards something.

The other looked like it had been crying for a long time judging by the trail of tears on a creature’s features with long nails, long blooded sharp claw-like nails up into the air, ready to strike and like others around her, it was also frozen solid.

“They are…” Jin is finding the courage to speak up in silence besides the noise of the snowstorm, “They are all frozen.”

“You said it, Jin.” Dempsey nodded, zombies frozen in places that reminded him of the time that Nikolai had tried out the Staff of Ice for the first time back in France and it had frozen one of the 115 zombies. “It’s like back in Northern France, Jin.”

“Shh… Something is coming.” footsteps crunching in the snow from the south direction, they turned and ready to confront whatever’s the one responsible. The crunching snow made by two pairs of feet came closer as the figure had formed a shadow from the blizzard. It was the shape of a man and this human had glowing icy blue eyes peering from the hail of snow before stopping in front of them.

Dempsey said “Whoever you are, f*#$er, show yourself.'' With a threatening tone in his voice, the figure responded by raising his hand and then in one smooth motion, his hand traveled to the right shoulder and then washed it back down.

As if on command, the storm driddled and hastily stopped as light from the sun shined through once more, revealing the figure that dwindled in the blizzard. As the snow settles around them, the sun reveals this stranger quickly, he is wearing a blue zukin mask, a hooded cowl with a hat and blue ribbon flowing in the wind yet soon slowly handing it as it dies down. The jacket he was wearing had no sleeves and both of his arms are ice colored unnaturally but they moved just fine with no issue as blue and silver arm guards are strapped to them as well with fingerless gloves, blue wrap around his torso and black boots buried in the snow.

Jin looked at this man as he was staring at them with one scar over one of the eyes, his breath breathed through the mask as it provided four retringle holes as it was seen in the frost.

She walked beside the tensed man before her and then gently rested her hand over the barrel of the revolver then lowered it slowly down as he looked at her in confusion. Jin was certain that the situation would continue negatively.

“We mean no harm, sir, we are not one of them.” She spoke in a calm yet professional manner as she looked him in the eye as they changed colors; from icy blue to normal brown as their glow was lost.

“State your business then.” a deep male voice responded from the man as he stood down as a sign of being less of a threat. “We are only salvagers, looking for supplies to get the hell out of this sh!t.” Dempsey responded with his eyebrow raised.

The man responded “Then we are in the same scerno.” as he had his hand reached his zukin mask and then with little work, he removed it, revealing a beard that is black as a raven’s feathers. “I am Sub-Zero.”

“Sub-Zero, huh?” Dempsey is a little intrigued by the name this man had, “Mind saying why they call ya that?” Yet before anyone could say anything, a loud screech was heard and the couple spotted one of the zombies frozen running towards Sub-Zero. It was one of those hooded special zombies as its teeth are sharped and bared like a rabid dog.

“Watch out!”

Sub-Zero said nothing as the screeching zombie acting like a wild animal was running towards him and ready to strike but they seemed aware of what was happening as he turned and then grabbed this “Hunter” by the head.

It attempted to scratch his arm to break free but very quickly, the frost and ice spread all over it as it stopped moving due to cryo-hibernation the Shinobi had performed upon it as P!Dempsey and P!Jin watched on with astonishment.

And then in one go, Sub-Zero threw it onto the snow-covered road, upon impact, its body, head, arms, legs, hands, and feet had exploded into pieces all over. The head rolled over to Dempsey’s feet as he said “Holy sh!t…!”

Jin was a little shocked to see this happen but they now know why he is called “Sub-Zero.”

“Is this why, Sub-Zero?”

The man only nodded before putting his mask back on, and saying “There are much more things than this.”

“Still freezing the crap out of that freakbag!” Dempsey finally laughed a little, “How did you do that?”

Sub-Zero looked at him and answered “I and my brother were born with these,” as he shook his head at the marine, but then took a moment to examine the duo. They are from a different realm, in a past somewhere from what he could think of.

“Do you two know where you are from?”

“From ours?”

Sub-Zero nodded as he crossed his arms as he looked at them both while the two were standing there, recovering from what had transpired.

“We are from…” P!Dempsey wanted to say what dimension they are from, “1918. We’re from the first world war.”

He looked a little surprised, “We are from different realms, whoever did this must have a purpose for us being here..” he stated, Jin looked at Sub-Zero as her eyes narrowed, “Do you believe this might be a Mortal Kombat tournament?”

“Yes, I do.” Sub-Zero nodded as he turned around then walked away, Dempsey then followed behind him with Jin doing the same. “Hey, we have theories about this bullsh!t too.” he said as their feet were crunching upon the snow passing by the horde of frozen statues with the Green Flu.

“And they might be?”

“It could be the octopus-things called Apothicons that Doc called them, or that some kind of an experiment gone wrong the worst way possible.”

“Or could be Shao Khan or Shang Tsung.” Sub-Zero poked the holes, as he looked down at the ground slowly changing from snow to the dirt ground. “The latter could have done this.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Time to count the suffering.”

“I am sorry, Sub-Zero.” Jin apologized as Dempsey looked ahead as he asked “So, you stated you are born like this, is there any training for that?”

Sub-Zero slowed down a minute and turned his head facing the corporal, “If you are ever born a cryomancer, the clan, Lin Kuei, will train you yet I train you how to use winter’s power, and to control and tame it.”

Jin nodded understandingly, as a shaolin monk, she understood the warrior.

Sub-Zero then stopped himself, which made others stop in their tracks, “Stay quiet.” Sub-Zero’s instincts were quite right, Jin took note and got her hairpin out as Dempsey looked at them in confusion but soon heard voices faintly as he muttered “What the hell is that?” as he held up the revolver once more.

Sub-Zero shushed him and they slowly stepped over to the source of the voices and then kneeled down into the tall grass with P!Dempsey and Jin behind him. The tall grass are yellowish green and the height of grass itself goes up to an average human’s wrist but it was tall enough for an animal to hide, the grass was parted halfway for them to see who was talking, much to Tank’s confusion, and Sub-Zero’s surprise, there were Hyenas standing on their hind legs, holding sharpen boomerangs, bows and arrows, and other weapons that the humans would use. They are dressed in tribal african clothing that seemed to be a mix of 1920’s and medieval age.

They are speaking in an unknown language, a mix of Zulu and strange gibberish pouring from their mouths as they surround carcasses with arrows in them, bleeding from the open wounds. Upon closer look, Dempsey and Jin had realized that those were the strange bears Takeo had slain, faces that looked like tigers but had bodies of normal bears with long tails. patterns of tiger stripes placed upon their dark brown and white fur they bore. Then the other spoke in english “Do you think she will approve of the fest of living Tears?”

“The queen will,” the other Hyena responded as he gently kicked the tiger-bear’s head that had been called Tear. “She had said this once and not twice, the Untotens’ flesh is far too rotten and unsafe to eat.”

“Due to the five plagues they had within.” the other one said with a female voice as she had taken a rag that was used too many times to the point it was just a dark crimson fabric. “Humans weren’t prepared for the All-Five Outbreak 500 years ago.”

“Neither the same with Monsters.” their leader added as gotten a knife out, the one that appears to be made from bone and wood, walking over to one of the Tears’ corpses, “Yet, all five Untoten Hordes were stopped by the Tree of Life.” He spoke as he kneeled down and then stabbed the carcass.

Tree of Life?

Primis Dempsey had heard them wrong or… he had recalled a myth that his mother had recalled when he was a boy, he showed a little interest in his Irish heritage and Celtic religion his mother had tried to force upon.

Crann Bethadn is referred to as the Tree of Life by the Celtics in Ancient Times as they believed that the trees on Earth had several powers and were sources of all life we breathed into our lungs.

The symbol is preserved well for so many centuries by our people of Ireland.

We carry our deep roots of our heritage.

Primis Dempsey had averted his eyes away from the Hyenas to focus fighting that memory in his mind, bad timing to recall the past, bad timing he thought.

“Still, do you remember what our elders had told us over and over?” as several other Hyenas looked at the female hunter in their group, “About the forbidden water that was left behind after Humans and Monsters ascended.”

“Ah yes, Femina, we remembered.” the pack leader answered as he pulled out meat and muscle from a Tear and put it into a sack as blood dripped from the bottom. “Gods of the Old World had accidentally let the forbidden water fall down from the skies, our past elders drank from it and soon, knowledge had changed them the way we are now.”

The trio listened to them as the story behind the ordeal was unfolding, yet it was sickening: an zombie outbreak had happened with all five dangerous biohazards and it had been 500 years later afterwards but what caused it to happen? Then a thought came in Dempsey’s head: Broken, the one that Knight had talked about, might have something to do with it.

Something had done something unforgiving and appealing towards humanity and monsters had made his blood boil but he can’t let it burst out of him, not here, not now.

“The day that world has fallen, the Incident, Humans, Monsters, fled into the stars to flee the terrors.” the other Hyena nodded to the conversion, “Yet, from the previous animal kingdom, Gods of The Old World had given birth to us, Furthers, to watch over the world to wait for their return.”

“Yet, the queen is here so we will have no fear if they will attack or not.”

“I agree now, help me skin them.”

They watched in silence as Hyena Furthers had gotten out similar knives and started skinning the Tears, taking organs and flesh covered in blood as they were placed in sacks as blood dripped and poured from the bottom of the sacks and onto the ground.

All that is left of the Tears now were skinless, fleshly yet bones exposing carcasses. They then got up on their hind legs again like they were human beings and then walked away from the bloody scene.

They waited until the voices and footsteps had vanished in the distance, “We are safe now.” Sub-Zero was the first one to speak up as he and others got up from the grass as Dempsey looked to where the hunter Furthers had gone.

“What the f#$% is a Further?” P!Dempsey asked as he is now the one questioning this reality as Jin seems hinged by this discovery. “Do you remember that I said I had woken up in a house with talking animals, Dempsey?” she asked as he placed her hand on his shoulder, making him look at her with doubt for his sanity and Jin knew it.

“Those talking animals were Furthers as well,” she responded, “They had the bare intelligence of a regular human being yet they had developed their own language and cultures. They had worshipped the ‘’Gods of the Old World'' as their religion.” she explained as P!Dempsey stared at her.

“Holy sh!t..” he said with disdain, “Richtofen wasn’t kidding about different realities, wasn’t he?”

“Who?” Sub-Zero was confused about who Dempsey was talking about.

Jin looked at Dempsey and then rubbed his shoulder a little, he loosened up a little when he felt it with comfort. “Thanks, Jin.” he sputtered nervously aas he looked at her with comfort in his eyes.

Jin smiled softly but then heard Sub-Zero calling out softly to them, “You two, come over here.” as they turned to notice that he was kneeling on the ground, picking something from it, something glowing faintly of soft blue.

The duo walked over to the Cryomancer as he stood back on his feet while looking at the object in his hand. Without a word, he showed them both of what he had found on the ground. They looked to see that it’s a gem, an ocean blue crystal that is about the size of a quarter.

“I had found this crystal on the ground.” Sub-Zero said as he was looking at the crystal with wariness in his voice. “It was glowing faintly, I am sensing strange energy coming out of it.”

“Do you think this is nuts, Sub-Zero?” Dempsey asked out of disbelief and ignorance at first but the look in Sub-Zero’s eyes had told the different answer. “Oh, right.” he responded under his breath as he looked back down at the crystal once again.

Jin was looking at the inscallfincent crystal, resting in Sub-Zero’s palm as she felt like she needed to take a closer look, as if it was holding a secret that none of them don’t know yet. “Sub-Zero,” she spoke softly as her hand had started to lift upwards and going towards a crystal slowly, “Can I see it please?”

Sub-Zero was weary of what she was doing and was trying to get his hand from hers but she had managed to get the crystal away from the palm of his hand and it was a bit fuzzy soon afterwards.

One moment, she was with the two men in a forest with a small crystal in her hands but the other minute later, she was somewhere else entirely and laying on the ground. The day was nighttime as a hand came into her line of sight yet this hand is not her own.

This hand was wearing a violet purple glove with metallic claw armor on it as it was placed onto her forehead, it took a moment to realize that what is happening is that she is in a memory of someone and she is watching this from their point of view.

Flashback of Blood

The person she was witnessing had then got onto their feet as she had gotten a look of their attire. The ninja yoroi was pink colored with slight cleavage showing as this person is a female.

“Hmmm…” a woman’s voice groaned as it sounded like it was an echo, and looked around “The earthrealm is different now, must to find a few souls…~” she purred that made Jin feel on edge just by hearing this from her as she walked ahead from where she has woken up.

As the moon floated over the bloodbath and nearing those hours of sunlight rising, this woman had performed onto the undead yet she often let out a groan or a moan of disdain when she sniffed or looked at them as if they were not the one that she was hoping to find. What was she trying to find?

“Most of these mortals are undead… I wonder if this realm has warriors left?” she purred in strange interest as she dropped the Black Plague zombie onto the ground as a dark red pool formed from its devastated head.

She then heard twig snapped and she turned to see a Hyena Further with an arrow pointed at her, the moment she saw him and the next thing she heard was a dark giggle coming from the woman, the type was feral but with ill-intent and sounded like her prayer had been answered.

“You dare to raise your weapon to your ruler of Outworld?”

The Hyena Further looked a bit shock at first but didn’t have time to react when the woman lunged out at the helpless hunter with her claws out and Jin haven’t seen what had happened next but she did heard the hunter screaming that soon heard a gurgle as well as with crunching of teeth and flesh tearing apart that made her recoiled.

Soon afterwards, she saw two more Hyena hunters with bows and arrows on their person. One of them is a man and a woman hyenas as the female hunter looked concerned.

“Juju?” she asked, “What is wrong, we heard screaming.”

[Two comic strips are drawn by SamPostStuff on Tumblr]

A crunch only answered them, Jin turned to see what it was as they stopped and the other readied the arrow, willing to fight but they both froze in horror. Jin cringed at the sight before her.

The same hand was holding the corpse of their comrade before dropping it onto the ground with blood on its palm as Jin had gotten a good look at the woman’s face; it looked like something that any child would scream in terror in their dreams.

Her face was drizzled in blood as sharp needle teeth were on the outside of her lips and cheeks, forming a mouth, her eyes a golden yellow with short black hair flowing freely.

“She really is real…” she heard a male hyena mumble to his friend in pure shock, “Our queen.” is the only thing that he finished the sentence with.

The woman- no, this creature smiled grisly, “Ah yes, I am your ruler.” she spoke with such atrocious tempting bliss, “Your Queen Mileena.” as Hyenas are trembling in fear.

“W-We…” the lady hyena began to explain themselves with a catch of breath, “We are so sorry, we… We have no idea it’s you.”

“Or even say that it’s-” the lady hyena immediately covered her friend’s mouth before he could finish.

“It is only a shock,” She said as she understood yet the look of her eyes can seem like they would hold potential, “I will let this mistake go for now.” Mileena responded as she lifted up what looked like a windpipe and with one chomb, she ate it, blood flowed through her mouth and dropped onto the ground.

“But for now, I have something for you to do.”

That was the last thing she heard before everything around her had gone into white.

“Jin? Jin!”

A familiar voice had ringed in her eyes, Jin was on the ground and being held by a man wearing a familiar jacket, it’s Dempsey.

She was being held in his arms as she, Primis Tank and Sub-Zero as the sun was over them and in noon time. “T-Tank?” she spoke up in pure confusion as she placed a hand on her forehead, “What happened?”

“After ya took that crystal,” Dempsey started to explain the situation, “you just collapsed when it glowed for a little bit.” as Sub-Zero had removed his mask once again and held the crystal yet he’s making sure that it's as far from her as possible this time.

Jin seemed lost for a moment when she looked at them both, but then remembered back the dream she had for a short time with the woman, Mileena, and Hyena Furthers worshipped her as their ruler- a goddess even. As if she was the one they were waiting for god only knows how long.

But she has to know how long she was out like a light, how long was she dreaming exactly before that first, she turned over to Sub-Zero and questioned him, “how long was I out?”

“Only nearly an hour, Jin,” he answered.

“Yeah, while you were asleep. We had to pray it out of your hand since you were holding onto it tight.” P!Dempsey added further.

“I see…” she muttered softly as she looked at the ground again, the two men looked concerned now for Jin as the birds were chirping sweetly in the green and yellow trees around them as the wind danced smooth as butter.

“Let me guess for you,” Dempsey responded a bit more gently than usual, “You had a hell of a dream when you passed out.”

Jin looked at him with a slight jump from her stupor yet nodded, “How did you see?” Sub-Zero questioned her, “From the start of it, how much did this crystal have foretold to you?”

Jin with what little strength she had in her gut, she told them about it in little detail of the dream regarding the comprehensiveness of itself to them but she had noticed that Sub-Zero looked troubled when she had mentioned Mileena’s name, in fact, he looked like he never wanted to hear this name from someone else, ever.

Dempsey took notice of them as well as Sub-Zero had stood up and then walked from them a bit, giving them some space between himself and the two. “Hey, ya alright there?”

“I am fine, marine.” was Sub-Zero’s response.

“Ya sure, you seemed like you know this Mileena chick.”

Sub-Zero turned to look at them with his eyes glowing again but calmed down right away when he drew in a breath and exhaled it. “She was the creation of Shang Tsung, who was an ally to the former Emperor of Outworld itself.”

“Outworld? The one where Erron was from?”

“Erron Black?” Sub-Zero was surprised to hear that, “He was here as well?”

“Of course.”

Sub-Zero looks down for a moment, thinking of what is happening and how much of this revelation has unraveled itself. “There is going to be another tournament,” he thought without doubt but he is quite skeptical of what Mileena’s intentions are. He doubts she could be capable of doing this; kidnapping people from their own realms and into this one, unknown as uncharted.

“...Does anyone but us here?”

“I dunno.” Dempsey said uncertianingly, “All we know, that there most of us are from our universes alone or in a group that’s brought in this hellhole, Sub-Zero.”

Sub-Zero then turned his body to them both and responded “Mileena will be my responsibility to take care of, you two need to get back to your camp right away.” he then started to travel to the direction where he believed the Hyenas had gone too.

“Hey, where the f$%^ are you going?” he yelled after the shinobi who doesn't stopped walking, “I’m going to find their queen.’” as his arms are covered in frost.

Primis Dempsey was watching him go when he noticed that Jin was trying to stand up, “Ya think you can still walk?” he asked while he stood up, helping her onto her feet. “I think so, Tank.” she simply answered from her dizziness from the crystal's influence, legs wobbling like jelly.

She stumbled but she was grabbed by Dempsey when she nearly fell over, “Hey,” he said, “Don’t push yourself too much.”

“I wasn’t trying too.” she replied, holding on her arm while she’s trying to adjust her balance. When she got hold of her footing, she let go of the marine and then tried walking again but this time, one step at a time.

Still, Dempsey is walking beside her in case of her falling again while she was walking as they went through the way they came in, they walked past the tree line and back to the frozen graveyard of the green flu zombies.

They kept an eye out for anything that moved as they carefully walked past them as Dempsey noticed something that made him realize; the sun was hot enough to melt the ice on a hot summer day and the ones that had been turned into frozen statues were dripping water.

“They’re melting…” he muttered, catching Jin’s attention. “What?”

“These freakbags.”

Jin looked around and saw the ice that jailed them was melting into slush, even the big one, a hulking muscle with normal human legs and big arms that nearly overgrown its fingers. They noticed it was moving a bit by the minute soon afterwards a second.

They walked fastly past the major zombie as the ice was cracking as its arms were vibrating, it was going to break away from the ice in a moment and they both knew it just by looking at it. The popping and snapping of the cryogenic ice getting louder, before they knew it, Tank had said “MOVE!”

He pushed Jin forward as the ice finally gave way, soon afterwards a roar from the creature as its hands, now freed, smashes onto the ground, making the ground rumble under them and they stumble from the impact.

P!Dempsey got out his assault rifle and then immediately opened fire on the giant thing but as blood sprayed off of it’s pale too-much built body, it had no effect and that seemed to enraged the creature.

[Drawn by This-Person-is-slowly-dying and AlphaKing]

“Dempsey, get away from that thing!” Jin yelled as the big fella began to charge at the two on it’s knuckles and feet, similar to an angry gorilla ready to destroy whatever had tried to kill its mate and his kid.

He let out a curse and then turned to run from the beast, while they heard it growling. Soon, they heard the ground rumble behind them, Tank turned to see what was going on but soon regretted doing so because this thing had pulled a rock from the ground, hanging it over its head.

“Jin, incoming!” He ran faster and tackled Jin to the ground just as the big boulder was thrown and went over them, smashing onto a nearby car, even though it had aged over 500 years but it is shocking part of this is that its siren had sounded as they looked up. As if it does it despite the age of time.

Soon afterwards, the screeching of the damned was heard from a distance faintly but grew louder as they got back up and soon after he aimed at the incoming horde infected by the Green Flu Virus as he asked Jin “Run or fight?”

She looked at him confused but soon she was brought back by the big creature’s roaring as it was powering through the horde to get to them first before they did.

Dempsey repeated himself loudly.

“Run or fight?”

Jin has already decided on the answer already; she responded “Both.”

He had no time to argue with her so he and she turned to run towards a road, heading towards a hospital while an army of Green Flu zombies closed in the gap as they ran while Tank turned to open fire on them, splitting their heads open, painting the ground in red before turning to keep running.

“F#%^ off, you maggot-asses! Along with that Tank too!” He taunted them, but he is mostly taunting towards the now nicknamed big beast that’s catching up to them more than the horde.

Jin shook her head with raised brow as they reached the hospital, the glass of the doors was long since broken down long ago so they are able to get through them with no trouble but with each answers, it has pros and cons to solve any problems; the con was that there is no barricade to keep the riff-raff out.

Jin had got out her hair ornament from her hair but then she felt a nudge on her arm, she turned to see Dempsey holding a revolver, “Take this!” he ordered her as Jin used her other hand to take it.

“Ever use that gun?”

“I had never used it on a person!”

He fired on a couple of zombies coming closer, he turned his head to her and responded “Well, the best thing to do is to aim for the head.” he then looked at them, he had often felt safe with barricades but he knew that this time it's the opposite, the doors without wood boards and he does not like it.

“Sh!t… What should we do now?”

“I am working on it…”

Just when the horde and the Tank are coming closer, the intercom had rung to life and a new voice came through, it was a different male Australian accent like Sniper’s.

“Oi!” the voice called out, making them look at the intercom with shock and confusion, “Ya two are not one of the Green Flu bastards, are ya?” Then they heard a ding, they turned to look at an elevator opening up with the dimmed light glowing from its ceiling. “Come in the elevator if ya want to live!”

They looked at each other, then they turned to look at the incoming horde and the Tank that is posing through it like a runaway bull attacking anything that has red all over a group of people.

The choices were: Either be killed by the rabid horde and eaten or get in the elevator to where this voice is in one of the five floors.

They looked at each other again and then at the horde before they decided the latter: they ran in the elevator and Dempsey slammed the filth floor button and they readied themselves as the common infected ran inside as the doors hastily closed in.

They are watching them heading towards them as the moving doors closed up and hearing them banging on the doors as they go upward. They ascended upwards as the arrow slowly moved towards and crossed each number as the little moment of relief washed over them, “Holy sh!t….” he muttered, “Never seen anything like that…”

“The horde of the undead or that big creature that could rival a Panzer Soldat?”

“The big guy.” he answered, placing the revolver back in his Back-Pit device and holding his head a little.

“Still, do ya see what it has been doing?”

Jin nodded as she looked down at the ground. “It had thrown the zombies out of the way to get to us,” she softly said, “I can not imagine what it will do if it got to us.”

“Properly literally crush us with those arms,” he halfry joked, crossing his arms as he looks at the arrow going over to the number five, indeciting they are getting closer to the floor he selected. “Besides, we’re gonna be alright now.” he said it too soon the moment the elevator dings upon their arrival on the filth floor.

The elevator doors opened up to reveal their “savor”; a cyborg Carcassian man with device over his right eye or at least acted as his eye, a beard, wore no shirt but a strap that form an X across his chest with the device with glowing red glass, army green cargo pants and boots as he appears to be holding something behind his back.

With a smug smirk, he said in the same accent “Ya made the right choice.” before they heard what sounded like a pin being pulled and then he threw a container at them in the elevator before he had put on a gas mask.

The container they were looking at had exploded and a pretuid smell came from before them as they were trying to get away. “Dempsey watch...ou…” Jin had started to say but the smell had gotten to her that caused her to slur her speech and she fell onto the floor.

“Jin!” He ran over to her but his body started to get heavy but his mind was ordering it to keep going as he stumbled towards her as he was trying not to inhale the stench before he too fell down just inches to her.

The world around him had begun to spin as hearing had started to rung in his ears as the man walked over to them then knelt down while Dempsey watched. He chuckled while he looked at the marine as his eyelids were getting more and more heavy and soon, the world had been drowned in darkness.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A soft moan left his lips as he suffered a suffocating headache, he felt like he had drunk too many beers while he had his hand stretched the back of his head as he muttered “Argh…. My head…”

He groggily turned his head over to look around as his mind wondered where he was right now and he saw Jin sleeping by his side, sleeping softly with her head on his shoulder. “J-Jin…?” he mumbled as his mind was swimming from whatever happened to him.

Inspecting her closer, her coat was missing as well with her hair pin and her hair was let down and flowed down her back.

As he tried to remember what had been transferred, he looked down to see that his coat and boiler were missing, as he was in his gray t-shirt.

The feeling had come back to him and came with it was metal and rust, at the base of his neck as he raised an eyebrow at this and had his hand reached to what it was and whatever it was it was around his neck.

He then had another hand on it as it dawned on him with distress; he had a collar around his neck. He turned his head at the wall and saw that he was chained to a wall before he looked at Jin and saw that she was collared as well.

He was on his knees and then grabbed her shoulders. “Jin! Jin! Wake up!” he said as he shook her by the shoulders as her sleep was disturbed, her head swayed as she groaned in strained breath as she opened her eyes and looked at Dempsey in confusion.

“Dempsey?” she groaned as her head was throbbing in pain as she held her head, “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” he said as he noticed that her coat was gone as well. “But it has something to do with that guy, I think we have been ambushed.”

“What?”

“We have been ambushed.” he repeated himself, “Have we been captured?” she asked to which he nodded.

They looked around the room they are in, it was dark but the light is peering through the bars above them and only them, but it did luminated what room it is; the ceiling, the walls and floor are made from stone, with reddish brown and moss on the wall but they hardly could see through the darkness.

“I believe we were in a cell.” Jin stated as she looked at Dempsey. He said nothing but then he sat down beside her again and looked down, “In all honesty,” he started to say, “I had gotten myself into worse sh!t like this.”

“You’d been captured?”

“That and many things that I wished could be a nightmare.”

Jin sighed lightly as she lowered her head, “So do I.” as she held her forehead. “I wished the same as you.” while Dempsey looked at her again. He said nothing but looked at her. He looked at the chains and by the look of them, they haven’t been properly clean for a good long while.

There is something moving from in front of them, the peek through hole opened up and the eyes are peering inside looking at them with a contented look in their eyes.

“They’re awake.” The voice echoed softly in the chamber, those familiar, different eyes of a hyena is no mistake for the two to recognize, they heard the clanking of boots is heard from outside the cell and a voice, a distorted woman’s voice speaking to the Further as he looked at whoever she was. “Open the door please.”

“Yes, your highness.” the hyena complied as he hopped down from the hole, letting a bit of light flowing in for a moment as they heard something unlatching on the other side of the door.

The metal door scraped across the stone floor as the rusted yellow light poured in the room as a figure entered and the cell door closed behind her. The clicking of heels returned once more but this time towards them.

Soon, Mileena came into the light of the barred off hole in the ceiling yet she was noticeably different with a zukin mask as Jin had noticed. The corporal sighed and said “Let me guess, you must be Mileena, right?”

“Of course, you had it right.” she confirmed as he and Jin had backed up to the wall a little bit, leaving space between them and her. “Do you know where you are now, kombatants?”

[Drawn by Meaghan “Icefir” Halter]

“Your boyfriend, Mileena?” he answered sarcastically, as the chains rattled a little bit behind him with his hand fumbling on the floor for a stone piece that he could use as a weapon in case things could get messy once she got closer.

“Not quite.”

“Hyenas are your army now?”

A giggle as two out of five of her fingers rested on her mask, it was not a good sign as she continued.

“Much so, fair lady.” Mileena responded, “In fact, I am really joyful that they made me their ruler yet honored to have you both here. Even though what I am going to do next may seem… horrible.” she sounded a bit sad when she said this, the marine could mentally roll his eyes at this.

“Must’ve been one hell of an honor to be here, mind telling us what are you about to do to us?”

“Kano had brought this up, I figured that I could at least try-” Mileena had stopped herself when she looked over to him, hesitancy in her eyes when she noticed quite prequitrity.

“Hold a minute,” she started to say, “You looked familiar to me.” She leaned closer to him as he tried to back up but he went into a wall so he was trapped between it and her. “Did I see you before?”

Jin looked over in confusion towards Dempsey as he muttered “I am just one of those faces that just don't like being in a sh!t hole situation like this…!”

Mileena didn't seem to believe but she pulled herself away from him as she shook that thought away, “It doesn’t matter,” she simply replied to his statement, even if it’s barely audible from a man.

“In the next few hours, one will be taken and the other to the tournament.” Mileena explained, “One out of two of you here.”

Dempsey spat out “Like hell that we are going to,” as he gritted his teeth, keeping his eyes trained on Mileena, “You’re stuck here the same as us in this world.”

Another giggle from the deranged woman before this, he had enough of this and he said loudly “What’s so god damned funny?”

“Not too familiar with Mortal Kombat, have you yet?” she asked as her hands reached the back of her head and then began to untie the straps that are holding the zukin mask itself.

“Yeah, someone had told us about it.”

“Oh.” she said as she managed to untie the straps and then took it off. Tank’s eyes grew in shock and disgust but his voice didn’t go out of his mouth as usual, only silence rained down on him as he looked at Mileena before himself and Jin.

“Then you knew how it would end, didn't you?~” she spoke coldly as a tongue slithered out similar to a snake’s as the door opened once again behind her.

-Back at the camp-

Erron glanced over his shoulder for the group of savagers as they are arriving back but yet, he was a little concerned that Jin isn’t with them.

“Where’s-”

“It was a nightmare!” Soldier cuts Erron off, “Gordon had scared off all of the strange-looking deer!” as Gordon had an annoyed expression on his face along with Demoman as the Outworlder can clearly see.

Erron lets out a sigh, “What exactly happened?” to the only two men of the hunting group that are sanerer than this man with low intelligence.

“Gordon was being a quiet boy the whole time when he was hunting the deer. That's clearly different from normal but Soldier is the one who scared them off.” Demoman explained briefly while Gordon Freeman nodded at the end of it.

Another sigh, “I thought so.”

“But cowboy, have you seen Jin anywhere?” Soldier asked as he looked around the front yard, Erron was going to ask them that question in all honesty before he was interrupted.

“I thought that she was with you boys.”

“The lass was with us but we couldn’t find her.”

“Do you know where you last saw her?” Erron asked more.

“We had split up to salvage more items,” Gordon once again said, “I think she went inside a local pharmacy.”

Erron crosses his arms as Ultimis Richtofen came out of the background with Frisk in tow and loudly asked “Have you all seen zhe marine anyvhere?!”

“Wasn’t he here?” he asked with his hand on his forehead once again.

“I had sent Frisk to go find him but zhey couldn’t find him.” he informed them.

“Two people had gone missing.” Erron groaned in frustration, “Last thing anyone wants.”

“Zhen ve have to find zhem!” Ultimis Richtofen announced with pride, sounded less concerned, “Ve can’t leave zhis city of zhe undead vithout zhem, I cannot imagine zhe fates zhey are going through.”

“And we are coming too!” Cuphead said this as he ran out but was stopped at the last minute by Demoman as he picked him up by the handle of his head and turned him around towards the house as he said “No more getting into troubles, and more staying put where it is safe.” as he points at the opened door as Cuphead moaned in disappointment and walked back while Demoman and others watched.

Soldier looked over to his friend and said “You are much more different than you usually are.”

Demoman only chuckled as he shook his head.

No one had failed to notice but the air had gotten cold all of suddenly as they felt it. “Hm?” U!Richtofen muttered as he looked around, “Zhe air is getting colder all of sudden?”

“Doc, it’s impossible,” Demoman stated, “This city was once a desert, ya know.”

“Oh blah blah blah, zhis place can have winters as vell.”

Erron somewhat remained quiet as he was staring something before them, “Frisk, get behind me and into the house.” he commanded, as he shushered them to go inside as others had begun to notice.

“Kuai Liang.” Erron said as he watched Sub-Zero walk over to the group as his eyes were trained on Erron Black. “Erron Black.”

They both stare at each other, Erron had his hand on the handle of his revolver, ready to pull it out of the hoister as frost is visible on the shinobi's hands. “You do understand that I didn’t come here to fight, Erron.”

“I do know that fact,” Erron said as he had his hand up to stop the others from advancing further, “And let me guess this, you don’t remember how you got here too?

“Yes.” Kuai bows as Frisk, Cuphead, Mugman and Bendy are watching the encounter from inside the house, looking worried and concerned of what’s to come.

“Hallo uh, Kuai Liang, is it?” Ultimis Richtofen had spoke up as he walked to stand by Erron for a moment as he looked at Sub-Zero, “You must’ve seen a man und woman by zhis point before you came here, am I right?” he questioned, “One vith brown hair und jacket, zhe other with black hair, fairly pretty skin?”

“You must be speaking of Dempsey and Jin.” Kuai Liang answered as he looked at the German, “I assume they are with you?”

“Oh ja!~” he happily said, “Zhose two teammates of ours, do you seen them?”

“I had left them behind in Suncrest when I had to follow a group of Further Hyenas to see if Mileena was truly here.”

“Mileena is here too?” Erron looked at Sub-Zero who had dropped that bombshell on him, hoping this was just a joke but it’s true as he nodded. “And she leads the what?”

“Further Hyenas.” Kuai answered, “And appearty, it's not just hyenas that are affected by this “Forbidden Water.” they spoke off. They became somewhat an intelligent animal humanoid species after something horrible befell onto the earthrealm or this earthrealm is what they had made their home now.”

“Do they know what caused this?”

“The Incident, involving all five different plagues that includes the one you are currently facing and an entity they called “The Broken.””

“Oh!” U!Richtofen chimed in, “A woman had told about zhis lady but not in full detail about her.” as Sub-Zero looked at him once again. “Has she said anything about the Broken.”

“If she had- Haha!” the Doctor triumphed with delight, “She had taken at least 12 of us avay into another plane of existence or in your vords, another “Earthrealm '' you called it. Und zhis Broken vould drive zhem into insanity or death if I had to put in more details.”

“I will share what I have learned later,” Sub-Zero looked at Erron once again “Are there other warriors here?”

“A bunch,” Erron shrugged, “All of them are different worlds and timelines but it could be enough to bring this bloodthirsty daughter of Shao Kahn down.”

“Und most of us were from our own universes ve called home,” Ultimis Richtofen as Erron raised the revolver a little threateningly but it does seem to silence the Doctor by this much.

“I see.” Kuai nodded, “we must need a plan before we could jump into battle.”

“Ya know, for once, you could be right.”

As being said, Kuai was led into the backyard as others were getting ready to leave the city as the kids were peeking outside to watch others meeting the newcomer. “So, you had met them after encountering a different infection type?”

“But of course,” Kuai answered Bruno’s question, “But I wanted them to be out of harm's way when I did find her.”

“Can you take us to the last spot you left them at, at least?” Scout said with chagrin, “We just lost enough already.”

Sub-Zero made an ickle in response and spoke in a threatening tone “We are getting to that point, young man. Show patience.”

“Are you saying that one of your- their own were captured?” Radec asked as he and his remaining men were being watched over by Takeo while he was keeping a close eye on them while he was cleaning his sword.

“I fear so.” Kuai responded as he crushed the ickle into small pieces, “And you must be Mael Radec from what I am told of.”

“Colonel Mael Radec,” Radec corrected, as he stood up and he was a little bit intrigued that this ninja could barely reached his height, “Our homeworld is Helghan and as off right now-”

“They are trapped here with us,” Takeo interrupted as he had a rag that seemed to be used multiple times to count as he cleaned off the blood crusted onto the blade. Sub-Zero looked at the samurai and he somewhat resembled Hanzo in a way but in World War I form.

Takeo continued “And yet, we had a solution to escape this hell together, uninfected and unharmed.”

“Tak’s right about that.” Frank added “Since for some reason, these zombies can’t literally get out of the state of Utah, as if something is keeping them inside.”

“A tree’s spell…” Sub-Zero muttered as he looked down at the ground and yet, it was audible barely for Frank West to hear.

“What’s that?”

“It is nothing.” he shook his head, as Ultimis Richtofen walked over to him, “I am zhe most curious of you, Mr. Liang,” he said as he looked at the man of ice as he looked at him with an raised brow.

“From vhat I see from you, zhe frost on your arms und hands vithout any trouble at all!” he exclaimed as he took a hold of his arm to get a better look as if he was inspecting a snore or something else that could be intriguing.

“How do your arms vere at normal temperatures instead of breaking apart?” Ultimis Richtofen squeezed his bicep a little to feel the difference, the muscle felt soft yet it is the normal type of soft when you could feel when you squeeze the skin and muscle on your forearm.

“It is only magic, Doctor Richtofen.” Sub-Zero only answered as he pulled his arm away, “I am a cryomancer as I had trained to control the ice magic.”

“I see.” Ultimis Richtofen placed a finger under his chin, he now looked more fascinated by this fact. “Und how do you train?”

“I was the student before I became the grandmaster of the Lin Kuei.” he replied as he turned away and then walked away from the German as he felt like he needed to get a healthy distance away from that man as far as possible.

Something about him was.. Unhinged, he thought.

Others had gathered, talking about something to do after they rescued their allies and escaping Fallen City as they are getting their weapons while Erron is discussing the plan as Kuai will lead them to where he had met Dempsey and Jin.

Sniper and Demoman are talking about what they should do with their prisoners if they make it out of the city infested with the walking dead, then something else that caught his attention however.

“Did ya notice that one of them was missing, laddie?”

“One was missing?” Sniper looked up to have his eyes facing Demo’s only one with stupefaction.

“There were seven of them last night when Bruno took over Bendy’s nightwatch.”

Sniper raised a brow and looked over the Demolimation’s Expert to look at the giant Frenchman and then looked back to Demoman.

“Did one of them escape while on his watch, Talvish?”

“I doubt that, Snipe.” Demoman answered, “Jin had said that she found him slowly regaining consciousness when she found this.”

“Regaining his nongs?” Sniper quizzed, as he tilted his hat a little to rub his fingers on his forehead, “Was his noggin hit by one of them?”

“Ah no,” Talvish shook his head no, “No bruise or a cut on his head whatsoever when she checked on him. Whatever happened to him must’ve been slippery like Spy was.”

“Mate, that is impossible,” the Australian refused to believe his teammate. “If he was knocked out, there could be a-”

“No no no, Sniper,” Demo shook his hand to halt him from speaking his thoughts out, “He had recalled he felt something plunging into his back before he blacked out.”

Kuai Liang didn’t hear the rest as he was already going to find Bruno as he is peculiar about it. He didn’t have to waste time to find him to see if it is true, he may not be with them on the night it happened but he needs to check on what he believed to be an injury. It didn't take him too long to find him when he checked at the withering apple tree and found him sharpening the knife.

“Bruno.” he got his attention as the large man looked at him, the carasian raised a brow and said “Oui, Kuai Liang?”

“Please understand that I am only curious but I heard you’re knocked out while on watch but you were not hit in the head.”

Bruno said nothing but he did nod that confirmed Sub-Zero’s suspicion, the cryomancer walked over to the giant with the understanding look on his face and went behind him as the Frenchman looked at him with further confusion.

“What are you doing-?”

“Do you remember what you felt before you passed out?”

Bruno only responded by looking down, “It felt like something had stabbed me in the back. Like a bee sting.”

“A bee sting, you say?” he said as he pulled the collar of his shirt down a bit as the Frenchman tried to look over his shoulder.

“I do not give you permission to search me.” Bruno interjects but Sub-Zero relents as he pulls it down a bit more and he sees something on the bottom of his neck, near the right shoulder on the tanned skin: It’s a small red dot. It was small enough as if a syringe had poked through and into the flesh.

“What are you looking at?”

“A sting dot,” Kauai answered as he looked at him, “A stab wound small enough to be an injection.”

“I was injected?” Bruno turned to look at him, “With what, exactly, Kauai Liang?”

“Possibly a drug enough to knock a person out yet only someone could be quiet and quick enough to plunge a syringe into you without ease.”

Kuai then had his fingers on his chin, the stable hair brushing against them gingerly, “It could be one of these ‘’Helghast” prisoners you captured.”

“It’s impossible, Kauai Liang.” Bruno denied, “All of them were asleep when I took a watch after the dinner last night.”

Kuai raised an eyebrow at this, looking at the giant before him and asked “If it is not one of them, then who?”

A raven cawed from behind them as they turned to see it flew over to a shed with the old wooden double doors as they were opened just a crack yet the raven was able to wedge between and go inside with no trouble.

Kuai signed Bruno into staying quiet as they unhurriedly walked over the shed on alert as each step drew them closer before they could know it but they stopped when a smell of death hit them both.

Bruno reinched from it, he knew what he was smelling, he was too familiar with the death before and after his time with a gang of thugs and this was a smell of the recently deceased, not the rotting decayed corpse of a zombie.

Kuai knew what Bruno believed to be too as he saw his hand stretched out and then grabbed one of the doors and then pulled it towards them, letting light flood inside the interior of the shed and the sight that greeted them was desolate and horrid.

It was one of the prisoners but what happened is just a grim death. Nothing to say but they noticed the man was stripped of the chest plate and cut open in the chest. Bruno gagged from the sight and turned from it as Kuai did the same with his eyes closed in uncanny disgust.

Bruno looked at him with hairs on the back of his neck raised and said “I think we now know what happened to him.”

Kuai nodded as he said nothing, something like this had the part of him believing it could be one of a Tarkatan or Mileena would do but the other part of himself had believed it could be someone else. Before the latter would say anything, U!Richtofen yelled for anyone to hear.

“Come on now! Ve are now going to get zhem!”

The two men looked at each other, not saying anything but exchanged looks before they walked away from the shed, silent after what they found. It’s going to take a good courage to tell others what they have discovered yet they are worried whoever disembowled him will be still with them as they know.

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crime-bot · 3 years

Text

! Creature Gets Lost in a Bootleg OmegaMart, More at Eleven !

A small, grey weasel of a dragon was in the dim and cool alley of a street. They were rummaging through a garbage can, making a little mess of clatters and clangs, but coming up with nothing edible. They paused to droop and lament over their misfortune. In the middle of the pause, and through the midst of discarded cans and empty bags, they caught a glimpse of yellow, clear as day. It must’ve been a banana! Or cheese! They gasped with some new vigor ignited and reached their scaly arm in to get it, but when they got hold of the thing and pulled it out it was just a plastic lemon. They grumbled and angrily threw it at the ground. It bounced away and stopped, resting near the alley’s wall opposite of them.

Their stomach growled.

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Greyscale said, “I’m trying to find something! Can’t you have any pa-”

They looked up as they hollered and noticed some smoke in the sky, above the surrounding brick buildings.

“Oh, what now, a fire-?”

They had to admit, they’d be intrigued by the idea of a fire somewhere, and at least that’d take their mind off their stomach. What else could smoke mean, after all? They knew the saying: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

They lept to a pipe that scaled the side of the alleyway and climbed it to the rooftop only to discover the smoke was coming from a particularly not-up-to-code shipping truck, but what wasn’t what caught their eye.

Behind it was a large building with the words “DELTAMART” displayed proudly over a set of clear doors, standing tall and sure in the light of day. A grocery store! That’s just what they needed!

“Actually, I don’t think we’ll have to wait for much longer,” Greyscale said.

They lept and bounded down from roof to windowsill to dumpster. Right as they hit the ground, they made a dash through the parking lot desert, behind the truck, and right right up to the doors, then abruptly stopped and clung to the wall in an attempt to stay out of the eyes of anyone from inside.

They did a double-take, looking for anyone nearby. No one was around. They poked their head around to peak through one of the glass doors of the building that towered over them, a looming mass of bricks and corporate design.

There were some people walking around inside, carrying overflowing cornucopia baskets and pushing carts full of different treats, tools, and other products, but that wasn’t what got them the most. The aisles they could see were filled to the brim with food, and a couple of visible setups of fruits and vegetables looked so delicious and tantalizing in their array of colors that they sparkled to the dragon like precious gemstones.

Greyscale drooled a little with wide eyes.

They anxiously waited until there were barely any people near the doors, and anyone that was there appeared too thoroughly occupied to notice anything sneaking in.

They whispered, “the coast is clear!”

The creature sprang from their hiding spot and scrambled ins-- wait, no, nevermind, they just bonked headfirst into the glass door.

A first-time customer in a nearby checkout aisle got startled out of her waiting stupor and looked over to the sliding doors. Nothing was there.

“Did you hear that?” she asked.

“I hear everything,” said cashier #23,457, mid-scan of a bag of milk with one of his hands.

Understandably, that monotone answer concerned the customer, but she tried to brush it off. She just needed some milk for a recipe quick, and this was the closest store to her house.

“So-- Um,” she pressed on, “what about that thud from outside?”

“Ohh, haha, yeah I did,” he admitted, “Someone probably just walked into one of those doors again.” He handed the customer a grocery bag with her bagged milk inside and said, “Anyways, have a good day!”

Warily, she took the bag.

“You’re... not going to check on th-”

“H-H-Have a good day!” He said.

Now truly weirded out, she quickly said, “alllright thenIwill!” and walked out as fast-yet-also-not-running as she could.

It’s safe to say she’ll make the effort to not come back.

Seeing their chance, Greyscale scurried in under an exiting woman’s line of sight before the glass doors closed behind her.

At last, they made it into the glory of fluorescent lighting and vibrant food! In the midst of their wave of triumph, they continued to make the effort to stay hidden, taking cover behind some shopping carts.

The store was very nicely kept, they had to note. The white and navy blue checkered floors were spotless, and all the aisles and displays of different sorts were a combination of white, and/or blue, with some yellow, too. From where they were hidden, the whole place smelled cold and vaguely sterile, but they didn’t complain about it. They knew that was just how supermarkets were.

They took a great big breath in preparation and ran from the cover of the shopping carts, still with the effort of being undetected. As they perused in their own only slightly feral way, they dove behind grocery aisles, clambered up shelves, and hid in crates to stay out of workers’ and customers’ perceptions.

During this act of stealth and agility, they noticed an aisle with no people in it full of candy from atop a set of shelves.

“Aw, how sweet of fate!” they mused.

The creature made a B-line for it, jumping across gaps between short distance of aisles, and snagged a small bag of candy that had fallen to the checkered floor. They tore into it and began to eat a mouthful of the tart, brittle sweets inside.

Among the midst of the corporately pleasant music playing throughout the store, its jingle chimed in.

It sang, “De-De-deee de DelllltaMart, you have NO ideea what’s in STORE for YOU-u-u!”

They noticed the jingle and stopped their snacking to chuckle.

“You’re right about that,” they said, “I wonder what other good stuff this place has!”

They focused back on their bag of Candy Spiders (Now With 70% More Spiders!), just in time to notice one of the confections moving amongst its kin with its bone-pick legs.

A shocking moment of registration passed. They yelped at the realization and threw the bag away from themself as far as they could.

They sputtered, “Did-- did that--? No-”

They paused and slunk back up to the bag, warily.

The bag was motionless.

Slowly, cautiously, they batted it with their paw. They reeled it back away from the bag, as if it might jump up and bite them. Still, nothing inside moved.

They blinked a couple times and began to doubt what they thought they saw.

“Huh, h-ha, maybe this candy’s expired..” they said.

Greyscale left the bag behind to wander about some more(and put some distance between them and the Candy Spiders, but they didn’t want to fully admit that), and checked the rest of the products out.

They trotted through the deli area, passing by a stiff employee who was still in the process of regaining energy from his charging deck, fixated on the selection of meats. They even tested grabbing a slice of ham, and he didn’t notice one bit!

Once they were done with that, they visited another place that no one was in at the time. It didn’t have anything meant to be edible, but it sure was beautiful. Countless flowers were displayed in rainbows of colors, and the air was chilly to keep them all preserved for longer. Greyscale stayed there, smelling the roses both figuratively and semi-literally, until they had enough of that. They walked out of the section and past a sign that read, ‘HYBRID FLOWERS’. One of the tulips opened its eye.

After that snack and slice of ham they had, Greyscale was undoubtedly more content with their level of hunger, but they wanted to try to make the most of this place. After all, when they’re amongst a bounty of food, it’s good to get as much as they can before they go. They put their two front paws up on the ledge of a refrigerated bin full of organized fruit and poked their snout in, looking to choose which might be tastiest. Should they have a pear, or maybe an apple? Oh, but the peaches looked good, too!

Out from under the side of a display pyramid of apples behind them, a glitching, writhing tentacle rose to inspect its produce.

Ah, yes, every apple was shiny and in order... It had the pigeon grease to thank for that. It was about to retreat back under the apples, but something caught its attention. What it noticed was grey, and.. It wasn’t shaped like a customer either. It was rummaging around in a nearby refrigerator bin full of fruit strictly for customers.

Greyscale felt a couple of taps on their back and jumped, then turned to face-

“aAh-!!”

Nope! Nope, nope nope! They scrambled into and out of the freezing bin of fruit and away from the shifting, glitching-- thing in front of them. It lunged, and they turned and ran only to skid to a halt before smacking into a glass display case of ears.

Oh nonono, they shook the shock from that off and sprinted left into an aisle, only to see one of the store workers pulling can after can out of his mouth to put on the shelves.

They quickly turned again to climb up a shelf from the opposite side of the aisle as fast as they could. They really, really, really shouldn’t be here-

They tried to escape, find a way out, but the more and more they ran and jumped and turned, shifting from running on the ground to balancing on top of aisles, the more the grocery store grew and stretched into a labyrinth.

“NononononoIcan’tbetrappedthere’sgottabeaneXIT-”

They stopped briefly, shuffling and turning in place and trying to catch their breath, looking for anything that could possibly function as a sign to point them out. They launched themself from where they stood again only to smack into a pair of legs they hadn’t noticed.

The owner of those legs, a tall, nicely dressed woman, looked down at whatever had bumped into her.

Greyscale screamed and ran as soon as they realized they got noticed yet again.

“Huh…” she said, “one of the fish they’re selling must’ve got out again.”

She shrugged and continued to read the label of some canned wood she grabbed from a shelf of assorted canned inedibles.

Still thoroughly spooked, Greyscale bolted through the open door of a storage room to hide, but it only led to an expansive area of ventilation pipe trees and tubes protruding out of the ground and sky and distant walls in a variety of angles, all painted in a mess of glowing neon patterns.

The little dragon darted about the dark and dizzying manufactured forest, too worried about getting caught by any foe to realize the nature of the location surrounding them until they finally looked back. They began to slow down to a trot when they didn’t see anyone.

“There’s…” they huffed, “no one.. there…?”

Upon that realization, they slowed down even more, but that wasn’t enough to keep them from losing their footing on a pipe nestled into the glittering ground.

“HuhuUuAH-!”

Before they had a chance to save themself, they were swallowed into further oblivion and shot down the pipework with a series of clunks and shouts, thumping, denting into each abrupt turn going deeper, deeper, faster, faster until they were finally spat out to the end.

Greyscale was flung from the mouth, still held at the whim of momentum, and tumbled to a stop, toppled over themself. The result of that disorienting ride was a dizzy, discombobulated dragon, complete with stars going around their head as it bobbed about, trying to get their bearings despite their eyes having trouble focusing on anything for the time being.

They knew it was bright, or-- maybe it was dark? They couldn’t tell, they could still only see stars and an ever-shifting background. Their ears picked up on a further dizzying soundscape of moving, shifting, falling, corporate music, but the more they strained to focus on and determine a sound the more and more difficult it felt to tell any sound apart from another. It was a surrounding, pattering swarm of noise, and as their vision cleared and they tried to stumble up, they only fell back down onto the soft, squishy.. mahogany(?) surface they had been spat onto by the pipe.

Wearily, they picked their head back up and finally witnessed the shifting, unending world surrounding them. Cans floated through the air, worlds of their own, great candy spiders spun threads and webs of sugar on even more pipes that ripped out of the ground, checker patterns slid across surfaces, and everything seemed to pulse with an underlying life.

They were then aware, horrified, of the unavoidable fact that they were now utterly, hopelessly lost.

Amidst the cacophony of sights and patterning and a ground they couldn’t get a hold of, Greyscale thought they heard a familiar yet muffled jingle, far away in the distance yet echoed everywhere throughout these caverns.

“De-De-deee de DelllltaMart, you have NO ideea what’s in STORE for YOU-u-u!”

Their heart sank.

“Oh no-”

#I'm gonna polish this more later but I'm throwing it here so I can show someone because it's more convenient than google docs #my writing #omegamart #is #does this count as OmegaMart fanfiction???

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howdidyoufindthis · 3 years

Text

Their stomach growled.

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Greyscale said, “I’m trying to find something! Can’t you have any pa-”

They looked up as they hollered and noticed some smoke in the sky, above the surrounding brick buildings.

“Oh, what now, a fire-?”

Behind it was a large building with the words “DELTAMART” displayed proudly over a set of clear doors, standing tall and sure in the light of day. A grocery store! That’s just what they needed!

“Actually, I don’t think we’ll have to wait for much longer,” Greyscale said.

Greyscale drooled a little with wide eyes.

They anxiously waited until there were barely any people near the doors, and anyone that was there appeared too thoroughly occupied to notice anything sneaking in.

They whispered, “the coast is clear!”

The creature sprang from their hiding spot and scrambled ins-- wait, no, nevermind, they just bonked headfirst into the glass door.

A first-time customer in a nearby checkout aisle got startled out of her waiting stupor and looked over to the sliding doors. Nothing was there.

“Did you hear that?” she asked.

“I hear everything,” said cashier #23,457, mid-scan of a bag of milk with one of his hands.

Understandably, that monotone answer concerned the customer, but she tried to brush it off. She just needed some milk for a recipe quick, and this was the closest store to her house.

“So-- Um,” she pressed on, “what about that thud from outside?”

Warily, she took the bag.

“You’re... not going to check on th-”

“H-H-Have a good day!” He said.

Now truly weirded out, she quickly said, “alllright thenIwill!” and walked out as fast-yet-also-not-running as she could.

It’s safe to say she’ll make the effort to not come back.

Seeing their chance, Greyscale scurried in under an exiting woman’s line of sight before the glass doors closed behind her.

During this act of stealth and agility, they noticed an aisle with no people in it full of candy from atop a set of shelves.

“Aw, how sweet of fate!” they mused.

Among the midst of the corporately pleasant music playing throughout the store, its jingle chimed in.

It sang, “De-De-deee de DelllltaMart, you have NO ideea what’s in STORE for YOU-u-u!”

They noticed the jingle and stopped their snacking to chuckle.

“You’re right about that,” they said, “I wonder what other good stuff this place has!”

They focused back on their bag of Candy Spiders (Now With 70% More Spiders!), just in time to notice one of the confections moving amongst its kin with its bone-pick legs.

A shocking moment of registration passed. They yelped at the realization and threw the bag away from themself as far as they could.

They sputtered, “Did-- did that--? No-”

They paused and slunk back up to the bag, warily.

The bag was motionless.

Slowly, cautiously, they batted it with their paw. They reeled it back away from the bag, as if it might jump up and bite them. Still, nothing inside moved.

They blinked a couple times and began to doubt what they thought they saw.

“Huh, h-ha, maybe this candy’s expired..” they said.

Out from under the side of a display pyramid of apples behind them, a glitching, writhing tentacle rose to inspect its produce.

Greyscale felt a couple of taps on their back and jumped, then turned to face-

“aAh-!!”

Oh nonono, they shook the shock from that off and sprinted left into an aisle, only to see one of the store workers pulling can after can out of his mouth to put on the shelves.

They quickly turned again to climb up a shelf from the opposite side of the aisle as fast as they could. They really, really, really shouldn’t be here-

“NononononoIcan’tbetrappedthere’sgottabeaneXIT-”

The owner of those legs, a tall, nicely dressed woman, looked down at whatever had bumped into her.

Greyscale screamed and ran as soon as they realized they got noticed yet again.

“Huh…” she said, “one of the fish they’re selling must’ve got out again.”

She shrugged and continued to read the label of some canned wood she grabbed from a shelf of assorted canned inedibles.

“There’s…” they huffed, “no one.. there…?”

Upon that realization, they slowed down even more, but that wasn’t enough to keep them from losing their footing on a pipe nestled into the glittering ground.

“HuhuUuAH-!”

They were then aware, horrified, of the unavoidable fact that they were now utterly, hopelessly lost.

“De-De-deee de DelllltaMart, you have NO ideea what’s in STORE for YOU-u-u!”

Their heart sank.

“Oh no-”

#Long post

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britishchick09 · 3 years

Text

sherlock s2 ep 3 livewatch

it’s time for the sherlock s2 finale! i’ve been keeping lockie alive for as long as possible, but I can’t stall any longer. let’s fall into the reichenbach!

here it is:

the last masterpiece ep! :D

it begins with rain! *beatles ‘rain’ plays*

john’s back with the therapist from study in pink! :o

does this take place after the fall and the rest of the ep is a flashback?

it’s been 18 months!

john called tv ‘telly’:)

OMG HE’S CHOKING UP NO POOR BBY :’(

he called sherlock ‘my best friend’ IN THE SADDEST VOICE IN THE WORLD :’(

john: “sherlock holmes... is dead.” or is he? ;)

BAM INTRO!

guy: “falls of the reichenbach...” you dodged a credit roll with that one! ;)

sherlock: “diamond cufflinks. all my cufflinks have buttons.” john: “he means ‘thank you’. ...just say it.” awww what a parent :)

sherlock isn’t one for thanks and publicity!

the iconic hat! :D

EVERYONE WANTS HIM TO PUT THE HAT ON

he reluctantly put the hat on:)

the transitions from a scene to a newspaper is so cool! :D

john’s tabloid nickname is BACHELOR OMGGGGGG

john: “what do they mean by that?” oh you know what that means buddy ;)

CONFIRMED BACHELOR OMGGG VICTORIAN GAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! (or in his case bi)

john: “we need to be more careful-“ johnlockers: “NO!!!!!”

sherlock is criticizing the hat lol :D

john called it the ‘sherlock holmes hat’ eyyyyy!!!!! ;D

john’s voice has a hint of deep love it ;)

there’s so many people touring at the castle! :o

this sneaky guy has this on his phone and i’m guessing that’s what all apps in the uk look like lol

OMG HE HACKED INTO THE SYSTEM

is it moiarty?

lestrade said ‘bloody ‘ell!’ and it was so british of him :D

he’s dancing to the background music YEP IT’S MOI ALRIGHT

YEET

OMG MOIARTY YOU DRAMA QUEEN

also is this an abominable bride reference? :o

john’s text notif sound sounds apple WHY

he has a windows laptop and an apple phone how chaotic

the smiley face!!!! :o

ooh cool american song playing in the background! :o

john: “ready?” sherlock: “yes” *PRESS CHATTER* how would anyone be ready for that?

sherlock wants to be himself but john’s like ‘no smartass’ LET HIM BE A SMARTHOLE JOHN

it’s the bbc! :D

OMFG A FAN FOLLOWED SHERLOCK INTO THE RESTROOM WTF

i bet johnlockers have actually done this because they were craaazyyyy back then...

THE FAN WANTS HIM TO SIGN HIS SHIRT WTFFFFF

sherlock knows she’s not a fan lol :D

wait is someone peeing in the background wtf

fan: “you and john watson, platonic, have you there as well!” mofftiss totally based this girl off of real johnlockers!!!!

can they please leave the bathroom I SWEAR SOMEONE IS PEEING BACK THERE IT’S SO AWKWARD

sherlock: “you... repel... me.” YAS!!! :D

HOLD UP what if this is mofftiss’ way of saying they don’t like johnlockers :o

now lockie’s in court bor-ing!

moiarty is a spider great metaphor sherlock! :D

judge: “how long-“ sherlock “not a good question.” lol :D

sherlock and moiarty knew each other for 5 minutes lol

who ate the wafer

SHUT UP WIG MAN LET SHERLOCK SHOW OFF

aaand he kicked them out

john: “you’re doing The Look again.” omg so married ♥

he finds The Face annoying lol MARRIEEEED

epic wallpaper! :D

OMG MOIARTY WAS CHEWING GUM DURING THE CRIME AND THE COURT THING DORK

and he looked at john... ;)

moiarty’s out and sherlock beeps john away,,,

he be making tea WITH HIS VIOLIN PLAYING YYYAAAASSSS!!!!!!!!!

omg there’s a shadow...

AN A CREAK

I KNEW IT WAS MOIARTY!!!!!!

sherlock lets him sit down wowza kind to a criminal! :o

moiarty: “every fairytale needs a good old-fashioned villain ;)” omg HE KNOWS HE’S A STORY CHARACTER AHHHH :o

moiarty to sherlock: “you need me.” no he needs john THANK YOU VERY MUCH

moiarty thinks sherlock’s boring SHUT UP FUNNY MEAN MAN >:(

moiarty: “that’s the problem... the final problem.” eyyyy roll s4 credits! :D

moiarty: “i didn’t tell you... but did you listeeeennnn?” lol sing-songy moiarty is funny :D

he’s doing the hand thing ♥

moiarty: “i own secrecy” who do you think you are bish brother

MOIARTY CALLED SHERLOCK ‘HONEY’ :o

WHY IS MOIARTY SAYING ‘DADDY’

THE FALL HE SAID THE FALLLLLLLL

sherlock: “i never liked riddles.” *maddie hatter rages in the distance*

he’s having a row with the machine again ;)

also that’s literally my dad with his card lol :D

ooh antiques roadshow! :D

john’s meeting mycroft why

OMG HE WAS TAKEN HOSTAGE

it’s just mycroft’s way of saying hello?

what happened in 1972

mycroft’s giving john an unrelated case... s1 finale flashback!

john’s loooong groan lol :D

sherlock is moiarty’s ‘only rival’... >:)

awww john fed some crumbs to birds :)

another unrelated case and lestrade is at the flat! :o

lestrade called lockie ‘a celebrity’ awww :)

SHERLOCK DON’T YELL AT THE CRYING LADY :(

oh he wanted her to ‘speak quickly’ ok

not ok but thaaat’s lockie!

it be moi...

sherlock SNIFF

sherlock: “brilliant, anderson?” anderson: “really?” sherlock: “brilliant impression of an idiot.” OHHHHH!!!!!!! :D

sherlock 2 NOW

john: “don’t do the smiling thing. kidnapped children..?” oh he always does the smiling thing! ;)

molly was going on a lunch date but sherlock said she’ll go with him and her little ‘what?’ is so cute! :D

sherlock’s like ‘look at all the fricks i give’ :D

aaand he left her!

sherlock: “the chemical footprints will lead us to moiarty!” all roads lead to rome, and all the footprints there lead to moiarty ;)

SHERLOCK CALLED MOLLY ‘JOHN’ OMG :D

b r i c k d u s t

molly: “you’re like my dad. he’s dead- no, sorry-” lol :D

oh no molly’s telling a sad dad story :(

i can kind of see why people ship sherlock and molly they’re nice together :)

BUT JOHNLOCK IS BEST SHIP

although molly’s super awkward she’s so cute! :D

SHERLOCK GOT THE FAIRYTALE REFERENCE AFTER I DID YAS!!!!! :D

lestrade: “brick dust!” b r i c k d u s t

he’s the google in 360 website! :D

they burst through the kidnapper’s door and it was like ‘someBODY once told me’! :D

omg mercury chocolate wrappers! :o

sherlock: “the more they ate, the faster they died... neat!” ...neat? :o

they found the kidnapped kids! :D

lestrade doesn’t want lockie to be himself awww :(

THE KIDNAPPED GIRL SCREAMED AT SHERLOCK NO :(

lestrade to sherlock: “i feel like screaming when you walk in!” ooh noice ;)

the jerk lady said sherlock was ‘unbelievable’ coolio she’s a bit nice! :D

MOIARTY HACKED THE TAXI TV OMG :o

also there are tvs in taxis OMG :o

lestrade called sherlock and john ‘csi baker street’ lol :D

moiarty’s connecting sherlock to sir bostalot hmm... ;)

hmmm....

sherlock: “what was that on the tv?” cabbie: “no charge...” *drives away* OHHHH

OMG SHERLOCK ALMOST GOT HIT BY A DAR

OMFG WAS HE ALMOST SHOT WTF WAS THAT

john to the rescue!!! :D

the guy was shot not lockie coolio

sherlock uses a mac WHYYY :(

sherlock: “dust is eloquent” mrs. hudson in a whisper: “what’s he on about???” lol :D

lockie vlogs! :D

sherlock: “this is a game, lestrade, one i’m not willing to play.” so the game is not on, then?

john: “i know you for real.” sherlock: “100%” awww :)

john: “no one could fake being suck an annoying dick all the time.” OHHHH!!!!! :D

guy: “yer a bloody idiot, lestrade!” and yer a bloody brit aren’t ya?

mrs. hudson said ‘ooh hoo’ just like oaken! :D

OMG fairytale!!!!

lestrade and the lady knocked on the door and mrs. hudson’s like ‘don’t barge in like that!’ :D

OMG THEY’RE ARRESTING LOCKIE

WHY IS THE LADY THINKING LOCKIE DID IT HE DIDN’T!!!!!

awww sherlock and john were arrested together so romantic just girly things ♥

OMG GUN SHOT????

they’re running omg!!!!!

sherlock: “take my hand!” FRICK YES

john: “people will definitely talk!” FRICK YAAAAS!!!!!!!

just two bfs running around in handcuffs ♥

they need to coordinate while getting up the stairs... easy enough for them! ;)

THEY JUMPED IN FRONT OF A VAN JUST CRIMEY THINGS ♥

i thought the van thing was part of the drunk ep in s3 but it’s cool that-

GUN SHOTS????

they let go! :o

OMG IT’S THE CREEPY FAN!!!!

moiarty: “they didn’t have any ground coffee so i just got-” *SUSPENSE CHORD* out of context that’s hilarious :D

moiarty’s richard!!! :o

wait he’s a hired actor the frick???

THE FRICK ARE THEY ACTING??????

just because it’s in print doesn’t mean it’s real...

ok technically moiarty’s an actor BUT THAT BE KNOCKING DOWN THE 4TH WALL

an actor playing a person playing an actor... wild actorception! :o

moiarty: “i’m the storyteller! it’s on dvd...” but is it on blu-ray? ;)

sherlock: “stop it STOP IT NOW!!!!” yoda seagulls...

fan: “i can read you and you... repel... me...” DON’T USE HIS LINE BOI

sherlock: “there’s only one way to complete his game...” is it on? ;)

OMG he’s admitting his feelings to molly AND HE NEEDS HER awwww!!!! :D

the sherlolly fans loved that i bet! :D

john to mycroft: “you and him go out for coffee? you and jim?” sarah z be like ‘YAS!’ :D

OMG WAIT DID MYCROFT WORK WITH MOIARTY????

mycroft tells john to tell moiarty ‘i’m sorry’ and john just gives this ‘please’ wheeze lol :D

julie albright bouncing her basketball against her bedroom wall in ‘meet julie’ (colorized)

oh CRAP

lockie’s fidgeting with the ball awwww :)

OMG MRS. HUDSON WAS SHOT THE FRICK????????

john: “she’s DYING.... you MACHINE!!!!!!” YEAH LOCKIE YOU BISH

john: “friends protect people!” true that!

THE FRICK WHY IS BEE GEEZ PLAYING

this is the music video lol :D

omg are moiarty and lockie gonna have a dance battle like in despicable me 3 lol :D

moiarty: “our final problem... stayin’ aliiiive!!!!!” HE SO PLANNED THAT

there’s about 28 minutes left will the battle take that long?

oh he turned the song off :/

aw man moiarty has to play with the ordinary people :/

MOIARTY SAID ‘atta boyyyy’ TO SHERLOCK WHYYYYYY

ooh sherlock’s doing binary code with his fingers! :D

moiarty: “first one to sherlock is a sissy” oh SHUT UP

moiarty: “there is no key DOOFUS!!!!” WOAH MAN CALM THE FRICK DOWN

“look at ALLLLL THE FRICKS I GIVE SHERLOCK!!!!”

moiarty: “nice you chose a tall building! great way to do it!” sherlock: “do- do- do what?” oh you know what lockie :(

moiarty: “i read it in the paper so it must be true!” no!!!!

john’s here for mrs. hudson!!!! :D

she seems fine tho?

moiarty: “for me? pleeeeeaaaseee?????” OMG THAT ‘PLEASE’ WAS SO HIGH LOLOLOL!!!!!!!

toss him sherlock TOSS HIM!!!!!

moiarty’s little ‘woah woah woah!’ tho :D

aww sherlock has only 3 friends :(

moiarty about sherlock kermiting: “you gotta admit that’s sexier” WUT

NOOOOOOOOO

sherlock’s breath is so shaky :(

he said ‘privacy’ like ‘pri-va-cee’ why

he’s gonna call john!!!!!

awww smile!!!! :D

he knows that this is fake right?

moiarty’s like ‘WHAT?? WHAT DID I MISS????” BOI CALM DOWWwwwwnnnn

sherlock to moiarty: “i am you. prepared to do anything.” save that line for john plz

sherlock is ‘on the side of the angels’ awww :)

moiarty said sherlock’s not ordinary RIGHT HE’S A SPECIAL SUNSHINE ANGEL

moiarty: “you’re meee!!!!!” NOT WHAT I MEANT

they’re holding hands and standing close NOOOOO

HOLY FRICK SHERLOCK JUS SHOT MOIARTY IN THE MOUTH THE FRICK THE FRACK???????

he’s not really dead right or is that just a theory

sherlock’s like ‘oh god what have i done’ SAME WHAT DID YOU DO

it sounds like the thx theme!

oh no

i know it’s not a legitimate kermiting sewerside but DON’T FREAKING DO IT

HE’S CALLING JOHN OH FRICK

HE WANTS JOHN TO SEE HIM FALL THE FRICKKKKK

sherlock: “look up, i’m on the rooftop.” ♫ up on the rooftop, click click click, HERE COMES SAD OL’ KERMIT CLAUS ♫

CRAP

sherlock: “i can’t come down so we’ll have to do it like this.” it was only a kiss :(

an apology????

‘IT’S ALL TRUE’ THE FRICK????

is this just for moiarty’s game?

sherlock sounds like he’s gonna cry NOOOOO :(((((

john: “shut up, shut up, shut up.” SAME WTF ARE YOU SAYING LOCKIE???

sherlock: “no one could be that clever. you could.” OMGGGGG

FIRST WINSTON & JULIA AND NOW SHERLOCK & JOHN WHYYYYY

sherlock sniffled omg :’(

he researched john to impress him OH MY HEART!!!!!

it’s not a trick sherlock is legit amazing!!!!!!!!

sherlock wants john to ‘keep his eyes fixed’ NOOOOOOOO

if sherlock knows this is fake he’s doing a pretty good job at it BUT WHY JUST TO PLEASE MOIARTY OR ESCAPE THE SPOTLIGHT OR WHAT

sherlock: “goodbye john.” NO

OH GOD THERE WAS A CRACK

if sherlock’s alive THEM HOW WAS THERE A CRACK

WAIT JOHN JUST FELL THE FRICK IS GOING ON????

john: “i’m a doctor, he’s my friend!” yes you are AND YES YOU FREAKING ARE

it’s fake he’s not really dead OH HOW I WISH I COULD TELL YOU THAT JOHNNY :(

OMG NO :’(

THE SAD VIOLIN I CAN’T

everything is slow NOOOOO

i can’t believe mofftiss made the fans wait 2 YEARS TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED NEXT i know there was ‘many happy returns’ in 2013 BUT HOW DID THE FANS SURVIVE THAT LONG WITH THAT ENDING????

it’s raining now perfect

gun????

therapist: “he didn’t say it. say it now.” john: “sorry, i can’t.” he said ‘i love you’ :(

awww john and mrs. hudson! :’(

omg she’s crying no!!!! :(

john to sherlock’s grave: “you were the best man and the most human i’ve ever known.” awww :’)

john: “one more miracle for me, sherlock. don’t. be. dead.” miricale granted my friend ;)

OMG WHAT HE WAS STANDING THERE THE WHOLE TIME WITH JOHN SUFFERING LIKE THAT THE FRICK?????

that’s the end of s2! that was a much better finale than s1 and it’s definitely the best ep of the series so far. there’s a lot of exciting turns AND WHAT EVEN IS THE ENDING??? you knocked it out of the park mofftiss! i can’t wait to see what s3 has in store besides mary, drunk times and the wedding!

and to quote the blog... ‘#sherlocklives #johnwatsonlives’ ♥

#livewatch #i know it'll be a great season finale! :D #and it's the first s2 livewatch without any technical issues ;)

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bubble-tea-bunny · 4 years

Text

another way to fly

[leon x reader]

author’s note: i made a character named lucy to be your bff in this and she may or may not be inspired by lucy heartfilia cuz i've been watching fairy tail while i work out. hope you enjoy <3

word count: 9,182

The sunny morning is a familiar sight no matter where you find yourself in Galar this time of year, but what is a change of pace is the lack of that salty sea breeze hitting your nose the moment you step out of the house. Of course, this is only one of multiple differences you’re confronted with, being further south, but you appreciate the variety in scenery. As you descend the porch steps and walk to the main road, you’re greeted not with the loud horns of ships arriving at the docks, but with the bleats of wild Wooloo grazing.

A quick glance at the clock on your way out of the house indicated it was mid-morning. Lucy hadn’t woken you up due to how late you arrived last night, having taken the last possible train out of Hulbury. Your lack of forward planning had mostly been responsible for your post-midnight arrival, since you'd waved off her suggestions at buying a ticket earlier. In your prior experiences, the trains heading south were never fully booked.

Well, at least, not until yesterday. And you apologized profusely, you had, and you would’ve talked Lucy’s ear right off with sorry’s and you-were-right’s and confused remarks about why the trains were busy out of the blue, if she hadn’t stopped you, settling for a teasing I told you so before informing you where she kept the spare key (beneath the potted plant by the shed), in case she was asleep when you got here. You hadn’t bothered to call her when you approached the front gate of her house, not wanting to accidentally wake her up, so you’d fished out the spare key and let yourself in to learn you were correct: Lucy was fast asleep, all lights switched off save for the softly glowing lamp by the front door to provide you with some illumination as you toed off your boots and got settled. The note she’d left you on the end table informed you where the guest room and bathroom were, and a post script encouraging you to help yourself to any food in the kitchen.

Lucy had work today, which meant you weren’t surprised, nor offended, to receive no greeting at the door. You know she would have loved to stay up and wait and that was enough for you. However, she had also left early this morning because she was in charge of opening the cafe, and you still haven’t had the chance to see her. That’s where you’re headed to now, intent on finally saying hello and also grabbing a bite to eat. You hadn’t eaten since you left Hulbury, as you were too tired to have a snack last night, and you’re starving.

This is the first instance you have traveled to Wedgehurst to visit Lucy, as she moved from Turffield and hasn’t lived here long, but you have been here a couple of times in the past, and you consider those prior visits to be mostly sufficient for navigating your way around town. Your steps slow every so often as you observe your surroundings, searching for familiar landmarks to tell you you’re going in the right direction. But pretty soon you think you’ve made a couple of circles, passing no cafes, and you’re prepared to ask a local for directions.

Your eyes are aimed upward at the various signs on all the buildings, and your pace had been sluggish to give you the opportunity to look them over carefully. With your focus elsewhere, you fail to notice there is anything in front of you blocking your path, and you only do when you collide none-too-gently with something hard. The force of impact with what felt very much like a brick wall knocks you off your feet, and you fall to the ground, a small oof! leaving your mouth as your butt hits the cobblestone pavement.

“Ow…” You reach back to rub gingerly at your tailbone, which stings slightly, and cringe in pain. This might’ve hurt less if it hadn’t been on stone.

Once the pain starts to subside, you look up to see what you’d run into, and your eyes widen when you register the orange scales and wings whose span you can easily envision even while they are drawn close to the Pokemon’s body. The average Charizard is significantly taller than you are, but the height of this one is emphasized to a greater degree because of your position on the ground. You figure you should get up, since you’d been sitting here for longer than necessary, but to be honest, you’re too shocked to move.

Why is there a Charizard in the middle of the town square?!

Its back has been turned to you the whole time, and you follow up your silent question with an exclamation that it hadn’t even noticed you ran into it! But as if it has heard your internal monologue, it finally twists around. You lean back quickly to avoid the flames at the tip of its long tail, and soon you’re met with the curious gaze of the Charizard. You might think its wide eyes were cute if you weren’t currently this near to it and skittish at the prospect of being lit on fire.

You’re not sure if you should say something, and you open your mouth to greet it hello, but the word dies in your throat the moment the Charizard leans down to study you more closely. Its head tilts and you freeze where you are, deciding to let it sniff you until it was satisfied and backed away. You worry it will chase after you if you try to scoot back to increase distance.

The seconds feel like minutes and that’s probably because you’re hesitant to even breathe while the Charizard is practically in your face. You nearly decide to throw caution to the wind and back up anyway just so you can attempt to stand and hopefully continue on your way, but luckily you don’t have to. Your saving grace is a figure who’d been obscured from view by the towering Pokemon.

“Did you see something?” the man standing behind the Charizard asks, peeking around its shoulder.

The Charizard stands back up straight and now you can’t breathe for an entirely different reason as your gaze meets the amber eyes of the Galar region champion himself. He’s also much taller than you are given where you sit, but that still doesn’t change much even after he has held a hand out to help you up, for at your full height, you’re face-to-face with the fluffy collar of his cape.

“Are you all right?” His next question is aimed at you as he makes sure you’re steady on your feet before he lets go. Your cheeks had already been burning first from the fact you’d run into the champion’s Charizard, and second from the fact the champion held your hand, but now you think your cheeks are so hot they could compete with the surface of the sun because he’s looking you over. You know it’s just to check for any injuries but your point still stands—the Leon is right in front of you and, at least in these several seconds, you’re the center of his attention!

“U-Um…” you stammer, and you berate yourself inwardly at your sudden incapability to string together a cohesive sentence. “Yeah… I-I’m all right. Really, it was my fault… I wasn’t watching where I was going.” You chuckle sheepishly. Suddenly you’re conscious of how hard your heart is beating.

Leon smiles and wow, the gravity of how absolutely starstruck you are in this moment is just beginning to dawn on you. “Well I’m happy you’re okay. I don’t think I would ever forgive myself if you’d been hurt.”

You flush at the notion that he could have that much concern for your wellbeing, and you simultaneously wish that he would stop watching you and that he would also never turn away. “Yeah…” you state again, trailing off quietly. “No need to worry about me.”

He nods, satisfied, and you wonder what happens from here. Do you say goodbye and take your leave? But you realize you don’t really want to do that. As nervous as it makes you being this close to him, you do really like being in his presence because you’ve finally met him and you don’t want this chance to go to waste! Quickly you scramble for anything else you could say, if only to prolong the conversation. Who knows the next time this sort of chance would arise? You might never experience anything like this again!

“What brings you to Wedgehurst?” you decide to inquire.

“I’m visiting my family,” he informs you. His readiness to answer is a relief. You aren’t bothering him, and he’s not in a rush to be somewhere. “I just got here this morning.”

That’s right, he’s from the area. He’s from Postwick, just down the road. Wedgehurst has the nearest station. You start to feel a little dumb for asking that question in particular. The town he comes from is basic knowledge if one knows anything about the champion of Galar, and it would make sense he’d be here every now and then to visit his family. The heat in your cheeks remains, refusing to subside due to your nerves and your embarrassment.

“I’m sure they’ll be very excited to see you.” You smile, hoping it doesn’t look awkward.

The smile’s still on his own face and his eyes twinkle at your statement, as if envisioning the ecstatic greetings he’ll receive once he walks through the front door. “I’m really excited to see them too. Actually…” he trails off, and then it’s his turn to laugh as he rubs the back of his neck. “I was on my way there, but I may have gotten myself lost.”

Your smile widens and some of your bashfulness wanes at the common ground you have found with Leon. You’re about to tell him as much, that you’re lost too, not having the slightest idea where the cafe could be at this point, but from over his shoulder, you catch a glimpse of a growing crowd, murmuring amongst themselves as they stare in your direction, and so you change the topic.

“It seems people are noticing you’re here.”

Leon blinks and glances behind him. The murmurs increase in volume at the confirmation that it is indeed Leon accompanying that Charizard (though could there really be that many other people walking alongside one, and with a cape cascading down their back?). They’re only bound to rise still as more people stop to see what’s going on and discover he’s in town, and Leon lifts a hand in a brief wave of greeting.

He turns back to you. “I hate to cut our conversation short…”

His tone sounds genuinely disappointed and your heart skips a beat. Had he really liked talking to you too? Or was this just to be polite? You’re more inclined to go with the latter, now that you really think about it. He’s definitely had to learn to gently close out conversations during his reign as champion, with so many people wanting to talk to him. But you know that he’s busy and you can’t keep him to yourself forever, so you’re not dismayed as you nod in understanding.

“Of course. I have to get going anyway.”

He smiles in thanks. He’s about to turn away to address the now sizable crowd of onlookers, but pauses and looks down at you. “I enjoyed our talk.”

Okay, so maybe what you’d surmised previously about him not being saddened to have to turn his attention elsewhere had been wrong. Had he enjoyed it too? Had he truly enjoyed talking to you? You want desperately to say yes, but you think your heart might stop should you acknowledge it. You could only ever hope to see Leon in person, and it was beyond any dream of yours that you should be able to actually hold a conversation, one where he liked it just as much as you did.

You leave him with his fans, and as you continue down the sidewalk, you sigh because you still don’t know where the cafe is.

Eventually you find it with the aid of a postman. It turns out by the time you’d asked him for help, you hadn’t been far. Just around the corner, he said. The bell jingles quietly as you enter, and Lucy is behind the counter, preoccupied with the register. She speaks up to welcome you, but doesn’t look away from her task until you walk right up to her and remark how hungry you are.

Her eyes light up at hearing your voice and she squeals, leaning over the counter to hug you. She apologizes for not being up to greet you when you arrived but you wave it off. The important thing is that I’m here now, right? Her grin matches yours at these words and you have missed each other greatly. You order a hot chocolate and a muffin, then scan the establishment for an open table.

You claim the booth in the corner with its extra window space and observe the world past the glass. The streets are busier and as mid-morning is slowly ticking its way to noon, you’re sure many people will be going out for lunch soon. As you watch them walk by, your eyes rove back and forth along the sidewalk. A part of you is wondering if Leon might turn the corner any second now, and deep down you hope that he does, so you might be able to see him.

At the thought of him, your mind replays the encounter you had, and your heart beats quicker once more, the tiniest bit of adrenaline coursing through your veins and if it increases any more you might become fidgety. You still can’t quite believe you’d met him, and you speculate, half humorously and half seriously because you’re still trying to wrap your head around what has happened, that perhaps somehow the fall you took knocked you out and it had all been a dream. And perhaps it wasn’t a Charizard you ran into, but a… a lamp post.

You deadpan. How lame! Well in any case, whether a Charizard or a lamp post, your embarrassment would remain. Why do you have to be such a klutz?

With your body turned towards the window and your focus on overthinking every little detail of your meeting with Leon, you don’t hear Lucy approaching with a tray containing the food you ordered. You jump in surprise when she sets it down and luckily she’s a professional and maintains her own composure, so as not to jostle the ceramic mug filled to the brim with hot chocolate.

She laughs and raises a brow. “Jumpy today?”

You let out a breath and reach out for the mug. Tendrils of steam float up from the delicious beverage and dissipate in the air. “Just caught up in my thoughts.”

“Thoughts about what?” Lucy slides into the booth across from you and folds her hands together, showcasing her readiness to listen. “The cafe’s quiet, so I’ve got time for some girl talk.”

You smile but don’t say anything immediately, opting first to take a sip of your hot chocolate. The drink is sweet and maybe too sweet for some, but it’s perfect for you. You feel it warm you from the inside out, and you wish there was hot chocolate this good back in Hulbury. You might like to enjoy it while staring out at a misty sea early in the morning.

“You won’t believe who I saw earlier.”

Lucy narrows her eyes as she considers the statement. Your smile hasn’t left your face, and it makes her smile too, though it’s a little uneasy because she’s drawing a blank. “Who?”

You’d wanted her to guess, to humor you at least, but as she sits across from you now, you’re too excited to prolong it any longer. Almost subconsciously you lower your voice and lean in. “Leon.”

Her eyes widen and she looks like she’s about to yell her response but then seems to catch herself because it would go against her professional nature to raise her voice suddenly. So she follows your lead, voice just above a whisper but still capable of a sharp exclamation of shock. “The Leon?!”

You nod, and it’s so giddy you might be embarrassed if you were talking with anyone else but your best friend. Your cheeks are straining from how big your smile is and how long you’re holding it for. “Yes!” You recount it for her, how nice he had been and how much the cameras really didn’t do him justice. Plus, if you had anything to say about it, the sunshine beat the harsh stadium lights any day of the week—Not that it matters, he looks good in both!

Your retelling is punctuated with a disappointed sigh at the end as you express your regret at failing to ask for an autograph or a photo. You’d been so caught up in the moment, it never occurred to you do to either of those things. Lucy chuckles at your small whine, your hands on your cheeks both to conceal the reddening that has blossomed once more and in an effort to cool down the burning sensation (it doesn’t work).

“So you just saw him while you were walking around?” she asks.

The question stops you short, and you didn’t think it was possible, but your flustered state increases tenfold. You may or may not have purposely skipped over how exactly you ran into him. It wouldn’t have done much good. Lucy was bound to address it eventually. No choice but to come out with it. “Well… I ran into his Charizard… and fell… not very gracefully…”

Lucy’s eyes widen and she breaks out into a laugh. “You ran into it?”

"I wasn’t looking where I was going, okay!”

She throws herself back in her seat from how much she’s laughing and you groan, unable to work up the nerve to glance around for any patrons at the cafe who have noticed her fit. The reason you give for how a conversation with Leon had come about, while completely true, also sounds incredibly stupid, now that you say it out loud. A Charizard is not easy to miss.

“That is so cute!”

“It was not cute, Lucy!”

Her laughs don’t sound like they will subside anytime soon and you’d like to disappear. Sure, you’d imagined what it might be like to finally meet the champion, dreamed of it even, but never had you anticipated that your meeting would be born out of your fleeting attention and two left feet. You think it’s the idealist in you that thought it would be smooth, that you’d be confident, if a little shy, but for the most part composed, all in an effort to impress. But you really do need to listen to the realist more often. Screwing up the way you had is basically inevitable with your level of clumsiness.

You can barely contain a squeak of horror as you consider what Leon might’ve been thinking. It wasn’t hard to put together the pieces of what transpired while he’d been turned away and, again, Charizard sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of town, if not for its height then for its bright scales and flame-tipped tail! Your fall had not been an impressive display in the least bit, nor had your flustered attempts at conversation. All those daydreams were practically rehearsals and you still couldn’t get it right.

“It is!” Lucy shoots back. “And I bet Leon thought it was cute too.”

Are your cheeks on fire? They feel like they’ve been set on fire.

Lucy hones in on the dusting of pink across your cheeks deepening still and giggles. In your opinion, she is having too fun pointing out how flustered the whole situation is making you. First with your actual conversation with Leon and the ways you’d screwed up, and now as she puts up the idea that he could possibly think your lack of coordination was endearing. You don’t want to entertain the thought that he might like you like that, at least not anymore, because meeting him had changed how you saw him.

Whenever you watched his battles on television, you’d always made the passing remark that he was attractive. With his confidence and that beaming grin, who could be impervious to his charm? To see him in person and to talk to him was pushing you far past the point of simply recognizing his good looks and leaving it at that. From how he held himself on camera, shaking hands with challengers and praising their admirable efforts afterward during interviews, you’d known him to be kind. But it was something else entirely to be on the receiving end of it yourself. Concern was evident in his eyes when he saw you on the ground and rushed to help you up, and it hadn’t dissipated until you assured him you were fine.

Then his smile, geez, you’d be happy falling asleep to the thought of it every night for the rest of your life. You shrank in the midst of it, in disbelief to be the center of his sights in that moment, and for all the nerves you couldn’t shake, you still have to admit, it had felt nice. You swore you could see the rising sun in his amber gaze; the shine of the first slivers of morning light reflecting off the sea is poor competition. And in your wistful reminiscence of the details of that kindness lining his face which made him positively glow, you’ve officially gone and done it—with the realization that what makes him truly wonderful lies beneath the surface, you have blown past the marker that signifies your attraction as mere infatuation.

However, you don’t reveal any of these thoughts to Lucy. You don’t want to, at least not yet. For the time being, you’re content to let her keep believing that you are like many others, harboring an admiration for the Leon you all see on television. You suppose in a way, you hold back from sharing it due to hesitation and the paranoia of overthinking. Would these feelings fade? Wedgehurst is a small town but you don’t know that you’ll see him again, and you have no idea when he’ll return north. If you did travel to see a match in person, who’s to say you might have another conversation like the one this morning? He’s constantly being swept away by fans, and in a large city like Wyndon, it’s bound to happen more often. You just want to temper your feelings, an attempt to spare yourself of disappointment. He was Leon, after all, champion of Galar, and you’re… well, you’re you. A nobody from Hulbury.

You don’t like to go to bed bitter and you regret coming back to this topic when you’re already laying down. The moon is at the perfect angle to shine through the window, and you stare at the wash of light it paints on the wall. There are probably plenty of prettier girls in Wyndon, you think dejectedly. It’s silly to ponder the idea he might like you back. Besides, now that you’ve had more time to think, and you’re not so blinded by how starstruck you were to meet him because that was hours ago, you contemplate the fact he might already be dating someone.

That wouldn’t be a surprise. How could he be single? With a huff, you practically deflate at the conclusion you come to, sinking into the mountain of blankets Lucy had set aside for you to use since she knows you get cold easily. You turn onto your side, no longer interested in the moonlight, and pull the edge of the thick comforter up to just below your eyes. You’d held off on deciding for certain if what you felt for Leon was serious, and you were left disappointed anyway. Overthinking’s good for no one.

So you tell yourself not to let it go any farther. Leon’s attractive, yes, and he’s caring, yes. But you won’t get hung up on him! That would lead you down the rabbit hole of dashed hopes and dreams and that wouldn’t be good for your emotions. You’re done thinking about this, done trying to reconcile your feelings and justify that the conversation with him had stuck out to him as special, that you had stuck out to him as special.

Of course, it’s always easier said than done. And you know that, and you hate that you do! You know that if you were to see him again, all your resolve would be flushed down the toilet. Given how small Wedgehurst is, to come across him once more is very much possible. Well… you guess you could just try your best to avoid him? (That’s definitely not something you ever thought you’d say. You, avoiding seeing the champion of Galar. Is that something anyone would aim to do?)

Lucy isn’t able to take off work during your visit, but you don’t mind. There’s plenty to keep you occupied, whether walking along the trails or through town, window shopping and keeping tabs on restaurants you’d like to go eat at. The locals are friendly and you chat with them too. Though to your chagrin, most chitchat comes back to Leon eventually, as they ask excitedly if you know he’s in town. You can’t blame them for their enthusiasm and you smile and nod. Some of those you speak with can’t contain their comments on how good-looking he is in person and you can’t blame them for that either. But whenever you walk away from those particular conversations, the air seems to finally let you out of its tight hold.

This whole avoidance thing isn’t very successful… Even if you didn’t see him, you were hearing about him. What turned into a day where you did your best to block him from your mind, has turned into one where he’s all you’ve been thinking about since you stepped outside. Did the universe just know? Was it purposely working against you? If so, you couldn’t fathom why.

You spot a flower shop just up ahead, and it’s a welcome distraction. The closer you get, the stronger the aroma becomes. There’s a display with various flowers out front, some in pots and some arranged in beautiful bouquets wrapped with brown paper. A small chalkboard sign advertises the sale prices for the arrangements, a special that will last the rest of the week. This prompts you to more carefully survey the selection. Perhaps you could get one for Lucy, a small gift to say thanks for letting you stay in her house (and raid her pantry, as you’d jokingly remarked the other day).

There’s a bouquet primarily made of pale yellow flowers, and you pick it up to look at in more detail. It kind of reminds you of her blonde hair, and it makes you smile slightly. That’d be a cute reason for choosing this one. You breathe in the sweet smell they emanate and it only serves to convince you more that you should buy it. But there was still the inside of the shop to walk through.

“Hey!”

You look up, brows furrowed in confusion. You weren’t sure if the call was meant for you, and you glance left and right until you see Leon. He’s several yards away, and he’s grinning and waving in your direction and yes, that call out had been meant for you.

Your eyes widen and your heart beats quicker, but this time it’s not for the same reasons as during your first encounter with him. Now, all you can think is you have to get out of here! You force a smile on your face but it’s probably more of a cringe than anything, and hastily you set the bouquet back down. You’re trying to be careful with it since the flowers are fragile, but you’re moving so fast you nearly knock down the rest of the bouquets. With a small gasp, you stretch out your arm to steady the row. Heart beating quicker now, you slowly back away, still on edge in case they start to move again and you have to rush forward to stabilize them.

Thankfully, they stay as they are, and you don’t turn towards Leon, instead walking the opposite direction. You don’t look over your shoulder, so you don’t know how he’s reacted. It does hurt a little to actively be moving farther away, because deep down, you’re still a fan and you think you’ll always gush over how skilled he is, but you need to sort out your feelings first. And by sort out, you mean let them go.

If Leon is confused about what’s happened, he isn’t left to be confused for long. He’s lingered in the same spot long enough that some people have seen him and flocked to him for photos.

When you see Lucy later on, you make a point to leave out that awkward encounter from your series of stories.

The two of you go out for brunch on the day she has a late start at the cafe. You’re trying to convince her to visit you next. It’s your turn to come to me! She chuckles and says she promises to go, she just needs to get the days off. She’d already recently gone out of town to visit her parents. But you’re fine with waiting, and you declare that with her forward planning, her ticket-buying experience won’t be nearly as stressful as yours had been.

“We could go spectate a battle at the water gym,” you suggest. “It’s been a while since we went to one together.”

Lucy grins and holds a hand to her chest, quiet for a moment as she remembers the grass gym that had been basically her backyard, prior to moving here. “I still think about the Wooloo all the trainers kept at the grass gym. I count them to fall asleep sometimes.”

You laugh. “Do you think if you count the Wooloo you see on Route 1 that you might knock yourself out?”

Lucy laughs too. “You know, I wouldn’t put it past me.”

You accompany Lucy on her walk to the cafe and end up lingering a bit longer to enjoy a cup of tea. After the large meal you had, you wanted to get one to help settle your stomach. There are more customers at this time so Lucy has no chance to stop and chat, only turning her attention away from her duties long enough to bid you goodbye and a See you later! as you start heading out, leaning your body on the glass door to push it open.

The boutique is down the road, and you consider going there. You’d been in need of some new clothes, and you enjoy rifling through the selections and styles of all the towns and cities whenever you’re in the area. It helps give your wardrobe some variety. But from where you stand currently, the flower shop is in your line of view, and you still wanted to buy flowers for Lucy. With a nod of resolution, you decide to go there first, and then the boutique.

Since you’d already looked over the flowers out front, you go straight for the open door of the shop. Inside, there are more shelves displaying more flowers, some in ceramic pots and some in wicker baskets. Wooden slats line the edges of the ceiling and it’s from these that vibrant green plants hang in white pots. The colors that greet your eyes as they rove over the numerous rows of flora are pretty and you think you’ll be here for a while. Not only do you want to take your time choosing, you’re not intent to leave the presence of these flowers and their pleasant aromas too quickly.

Because there’s so much to go through, you want to take an organized approach. You start with the aisle on the far side, head tilted back to look at the selection higher up, and then you work your way down each shelf, slowly walking along all the while.

“Welcome!”

The florist greets you, having seen you from her place behind the counter, and you smile, turning your head to say hello, but you freeze when you notice there’s someone at the register you really hoped you wouldn’t come across again.

At the florist’s greeting, Leon glances behind him at who she’s speaking to, and he also seems to stop short when he realizes it’s you. He smiles, the corner of his lips lifting in an amiable but silent greeting of his own, and it’s unusual that he should be so subdued, but you think that’s due to the fact you're indoors. He has no need to call out for you when you’re just a few steps away.

“H-Hi…” you stutter, smiling and looking at the florist and doing your best to pretend there’s no one else standing there. But that fails, of course, as your eyes inevitably slide over to meet Leon’s gaze. His grin widens a little when you actually do hold his stare, and you think you might give in, that you’ll cave and throw caution to the wind.

No, you can’t!

You twist around on your heel, being sure to move casually so as not to seem out of the ordinary, and you try to clear your mind by scanning over the flowers again. As soon as you turn out of the aisle, however, you’re speed-walking back outside. The cool breeze that hits you is a relief. The atmosphere in the flower shop had become suffocating the moment you saw Leon, closing in on you like it was pressuring you to just give up on your decision to avoid him. Because clearly if you were running into him this often, the universe was telling you to stop resisting, right?

With a heavy sigh, you walk to the edge of town towards Route 1, plans to go to the boutique set aside. Even if that were true, you were too averse to the idea of being let down, and that your feelings wouldn’t be returned. And the thing is, it wouldn’t be Leon’s fault. It never would be, and you would never dream of being irritated with him, but you desperately want to make sure any such feelings of attraction on your part are gone before you’re comfortable talking to him again and you could entertain the notion of being friends, if he was interested in that too. And being friends with him doesn’t sound bad at all!

That is, if you do see him again. Maybe the universe will take your continued avoidance as final, and the two of you will go your separate ways from here and you’ll be left wondering if you might get the chance to talk to him again, or if he’ll even remember who you are the next time your paths cross.

You shake your head. You’re overthinking. Surprise, surprise. A walk would do just the trick to clear it, and you’re now staring out at the dirt road leading to Postwick and the tall grass on either side. You readjust your backpack, and the Poké Balls inside it clack with the movement. Lucy had given you the last few she had, so you could try your hand at it. You’d scrunched up your nose and reminded her it wasn’t your first time using them, and she’d chuckled. Though her phrasing hadn’t been unfounded, for you have so little experience catching Pokemon that this might as well be your first go at it.

Training Pokemon wasn’t something you saw yourself doing. You don’t think you have the skills or the resolution to train up a team. The only Pokemon you do have is Jojo, your Yamper back in Hulbury. He’s the only one you ever caught, and that was enough to satisfy you. He’s practically your best friend, even beating Lucy, which you never told her, but you have a sneaking suspicion that she knows. (Though you love them both dearly.)

Lucy’s the one with more experience with catching Pokemon, and she’d offered to help you. She gave you the Poké Balls this morning in case you did want to try while she was still at work. Now that you’re out on Route 1, you think you might at least try it once by yourself, to test your memory regarding all the little pointers she’d shared with you in the past.

You stick to the road for the most part, not intent to walk into the grass unless you’re sure of what’s there. You don't want to get caught up with a Pokemon trying to fight you with no Pokemon of your own to defend yourself. With the fresh air filling your lungs and the sun shining amidst patches of clouds, you’re starting to feel more energized, and considerably less stressed. Soon you aren’t thinking of Leon or your feelings or even of the town behind you. There’s just you, the Poké Balls in your backpack, and—

A bleat reaches your ears. You look to the left and see a lone Wooloo munching on grass.

—and Wooloo!

Your eyes light up and you quietly take out a Poké Ball. Clutching it in your hand, you creep forward, careful to take light steps. The Wooloo isn’t facing you, and so long as your approach is gentle, this shouldn’t be any trouble. Once you’re closer, you crouch down to be at eye-level. For a few seconds you simply stay still and watch it eat. It bleats again and shakes its head, its little braids swinging back and forth.

As it returns to eating, you take a deep breath and mentally prepare yourself. Wooloo in particular are skittish, and they’ll run away if they become startled. You’re about to throw the Poké Ball, but you feel as if you’re still a little too far to be comfortable. From this distance, you’re not confident your throw would be accurate. You just need to move up a little bit more…

If your gasp is what had grabbed the Wooloo’s attention first, it’s your tumble to and hard impact with the dirt that scares it off entirely. Your foot had got caught on a rock you didn’t notice and you tripped. The Poké Ball slides out of your grip and rolls away, but you hardly pay that any mind, for the rocky ground wasn’t very forgiving on your body and that was all you could focus on. You push yourself up, wincing from having the breath taken right out of you.

You sit on your knees and glance around in search of the Wooloo. It’s farther away now and has returned to eating as if nothing’s wrong, but you sigh heavily at having to start the process all over again.

“Dang it…”

“Are you okay?”

You blink and turn around, and you’re thoroughly startled yourself to see Leon approaching. It's a repeat of your first encounter as he holds a hand out, and while part of you wants to hesitate due to your conflicting emotions regarding him, you’re also still a reasonable person and you won’t ignore a literal helping hand. He guides you back to a standing position and he’s grinning knowingly, like he's also cognizant of the fact this is playing the exact same as your initial meeting.

The amusement in his gaze is contagious and you smile, chuckling as you say yes, you’re okay.

He nods, then he looks down at the Poké Ball you dropped. Putting the pieces together, he then turns his head to the Wooloo. “You’re trying to catch it!” It isn’t even a question.

“Oh, uh, yeah, I am…” You’re quiet as you confirm his remark. What must he think, that you’re failing to catch a Wooloo, of all Pokemon?

“I’ll help you!”

You don’t think you heard him correctly. “What?”

“Yeah! Come on, let’s go get you a Wooloo.” He walks the few steps to the fallen Poké Ball and picks it up before returning to you.

Well, what else was there to say besides yes? No? You’d have to be stupid to decline because not only are you willing to admit you could really benefit from some assistance, given the earlier display of your lack of prowess, you're also being offered help by the greatest Pokemon trainer in the region! Not even the side of you battling with your feelings for him could win out in this situation because right now he isn’t Leon, a man you seriously think you’re falling for but are trying not to; right now, he’s Leon the Galar champion, and there’s a Pokemon to catch.

Leon holds up the Poké Ball for you to take, and his eyes are sparkling with an unbridled excitement he can’t hide. And you begin to understand the passion that runs through his blood for Pokemon, to catch them and to help others catch them too. For him, the current pursuit is not for just a Wooloo because it doesn’t matter to him that its not a formidable Pokemon, able to give him a run for his money. It matters to him that it matters to you, and his face is hopeful that you’ll agree to let him join, so you could have the experience together.

And who could say no to that?

“Okay, let’s do it,” you state, taking back the Poké Ball.

Leon guides you closer to the Wooloo, his focus occasionally switching from the Pokemon down to the ground. Momentarily you wonder why, then figure he must be watching out for anymore rocks. He’s covering you where you need the extra help, as you’re unable to split your own attention between tracking the Wooloo and watching where you’re walking. The awareness is admirable and, really, kind of sweet.

“Let’s stop here.” He lowers his voice to a whisper. He’s gotten you closer to the Wooloo than you’d gotten on your own the first time.

“Wait, but it’s facing me,” you point out. Your plan had been to take it by surprise, but you’re both in clear view of it. It leans down to take another mouthful of grass then lifts its head to chew, and it’s staring right at you.

“That’s okay,” Leon reassures. “Just be gentle, and take it slow.”

He gives you a nod, your signal to go ahead, but you don’t move. It really shouldn’t be a big deal if you fail to catch it this time, as you could always try again. You did bring extra Poké Balls. You just don’t want to make a fool of yourself in front of Leon. You think you’ve done enough of that already. Plus this is his element, and at the very least if you can’t impress, you want to prove yourself competent.

Your brows furrow. Stop thinking too much! But Leon isn’t bothered by your hesitation and he smiles to help put you at ease. “Remember: it has to choose you too.”

This last bit of advice is the push you need, and you start to take careful steps forward. You’ve chosen this Wooloo to catch, but the second half would involve cooperation on the Wooloo’s part. And you do hope it chooses you too. It hasn’t tried to run away yet, and you take that as a good sign. You can’t prevent the sifting of the grass beneath your shoes as you walk, but it’s not a jarring noise like your fall had been, so the Wooloo stays put.

You keep your voice at a low volume, softly greeting the fluffy Pokemon. “Hello there…”

The Wooloo’s eyes follow you closely and you could swear it understands what you’re saying.

You crouch low to be face-to-face with it, and the distance between you could be covered with a small toss. The Wooloo bleats, but remains where it is. You know this is it, this is your shot, but you still feel too nervous to do anything without some sort of instruction, so you glance behind you at Leon. He’s gesturing enthusiastically for you to throw, and you can pick up on the urgency easily. If you took too long, even for all your efforts to be quiet, the Wooloo might run away anyway.

You hold your breath as you toss the Poké Ball, afraid that a shaky exhale would throw off your aim and you’d somehow still miss. The Wooloo is scooped up by the Poké Ball, which lands on the ground with a light thud. You stay rooted to the spot, staring intently at the flashing light. Still yellow…

The Poké Ball clicks.

Green!

You shoot back up into a standing position and grab the Poké Ball with a squeal of elation. “It chose me!” you exclaim.

Leon is laughing as he approaches you. “I knew you could do it!”

Before you realize what’s happening, he’s pulled you into a bear hug, arms wrapped around your shoulders. You collide with his chest, a quiet oof! leaving your mouth to punctuate the impact, and your cheeks are rapidly heating up. You were so absorbed in trying to catch the Wooloo that you forgot you were supposed to be flustered around him! And now that shyness is coming back as he holds you close. Not only are you supposed to be flustered, you’re supposed to be avoiding him. This was not avoiding him. But despite telling yourself to pull away, to make an excuse that you have to be somewhere, anywhere else, you don’t want to do either of those. No, you think you’d like to stay right here.

When he finally lets you go, he seems shocked with himself to have kept you in the hug as long as he had. He chuckles, and it’s nervous, you can tell because it sounds like the one you’d given when you admitted to him you accidentally ran into his Charizard. If you’re right, if he is nervous, you don’t address it since you know what it’s like, and attention being drawn to it is far from ideal. So instead you glance down at the Poké Ball in your grasp, then back up at him.

“Thanks.”

You hope he can sense the sincerity in your voice, and can surmise all the different reasons why you are thankful to him. He helped you catch a Pokemon, first and foremost, and this is not a privilege many have, to have Leon, of all trainers, aid them. Secondly, he believed in you from the beginning when you were doubtful of yourself, had enough confidence for the both of you and then some. And lastly, that he’d been so ready to cheer you on and was there to help you up with zero hesitation, even after being subjected to, from his perspective, your very odd behavior.

He smiles, and it’s warm, and you know that yes, he picked up on all of it. “You’re welcome.”

And then, the dreaded topic finally rolls around, as it was bound to once Leon caught up to you and made sure you couldn’t make any escape, of your continued avoidance. You try to mentally prepare yourself as he opens his mouth to speak, but you find you’re still not ready.

“Well, now that we’re here talking, and you haven’t tried to run away, could I ask why you were avoiding me?”

“It’s… It’s stupid…” you trail off, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

Leon’s brow raises and he’s showing the slightest hint of amusement. “What is?”

Wow, now that you’re here, you really don’t want to say it out loud. But he’s watching you closely, and you can’t get out of this one. Just come out with it!

“I… like you.” Your face is burning. “And I mean I did before, but the day we met and you helped me up after I fell, I realized how much I like you. You’re just so kind, and I dunno… it was different to experience it firsthand. You weren’t just someone on a television screen anymore.”

You finally muster up the courage to glance up at him, and you can’t read his expression, which is worrisome. Then he smiles, almost imperceptibly, but you catch the quirk of the corner of his lips, and you don’t know if it’s just you being hopeful or searching for things that aren’t actually there when you detect that he seems… happy.

“How much do you like me?”

At his question, you want to groan and not answer. Your entire body might be set aflame from the embarrassment. Yet he waits patiently for you to respond, and if you’re in this deep, you might as well keep going.

“A lot.” It’s quiet, and if he weren’t as close as he is, he wouldn’t be able to hear it.

Leon’s smile widens at the admission, but then he tilts his head as he thinks. “Wait, so because you like me a lot, you were avoiding me?”

“Well, no… I just… I didn’t want to accept I had feelings that strong for you, and I couldn’t do that if I kept seeing you around.”

“But why didn’t you want to accept them?”

“Because I figured someone else might’ve caught your eye by now,” you explain, eyes sliding back down to the ground. “I mean, you’re you. You have all the girls in Galar falling head over heels for you! And I thought… maybe you already had a girl in Wyndon who captured your attention.”

You were expecting him to confirm your assumptions or to laugh at how much you have overthought this, the way you overthink everything, and you were expecting to drown in your awkwardness. But he doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t tell you that you’re right and your sentiments are sweet and all but he’s already seeing someone. Instead, he’s completely silent, and this catches you off guard.

When you dare to look at him, he’s watching you closely. His grin is soft and he shakes his head. “No girl in Wyndon, no. But I was hoping to catch the eye of one here. That is, if she’d stop trying to avoid me.”

You were ready to come out with the It’s okay and Really, it’s fine, my feelings aren’t hurt, and now that he has hit you with this, you don’t know what to say. Except—

“What?”

Leon chuckles at the confusion laced in your tone, and he continues on, in a manner more relaxed than you had been while confessing. “I wanted to talk to you more after the first time, but when you kept running away, I figured you didn’t want to talk, so I didn’t pry. I thought my charm had failed me when I needed it most.” His grin is sheepish as he shrugs.

You can’t believe what you’re hearing. Leon had been interested from the very start. You had stuck out to him in the way you hoped you had, before you tried to stifle that wishful thinking with the more realistic expectation that he would never like you like that. But apparently that hadn’t been realistic in the least bit, and your self-doubt and your propensity for overthinking had you both running in a circle, chasing after each other and never catching up. That is, until you realized all you had to do was turn around.

“I’m sorry I made you feel that way,” you apologize. “I should’ve given you a chance.”

Leon smiles and that’s all it takes for him to let you know that it’s okay. That’s all in the past now. “If you want to make it up to me, you could start by telling me your name?”

You smile too, more at ease now, and tell him.

He nods and repeats it, and there’s a satisfaction inherent in his gaze, as if content to finally know it. Then he says it again, and you can’t help grinning too because you like the way it sounds, and this time he tacks onto the end of it a request to go out with him on a date. And, well, what else was there to say besides yes?

When you and Leon part ways, with plans for lunch tomorrow, you return to Lucy’s house. She’s already in the kitchen, gathering ingredients. The two of you are going to make dinner tonight and have a movie marathon. After you close the front door, she calls out, “How was your day?”

“Good!” you reply, removing your shoes and throwing your backpack and jacket onto the couch. “How was yours?”

“Also good.” Lucy shuts the cupboard and sets down the mixing bowl and smiles as you walk into the kitchen. “Oh, and also, guess who stopped by the cafe earlier.”

You shrug. “Who?”

“Leon! You’re so right, you know. He’s much better looking in person. And he’s so nice too!”

You figure he must’ve stopped by to eat lunch because why else would he go to the cafe? But then Lucy points to a vase of flowers you hadn’t noticed was sitting on the dining table. “He actually went to drop those off and ask that I give them to you. He said he knew we were friends because he saw us hanging out. I just went ahead and put them in some water.”

As Lucy rifles through the spice cabinet for the ones she needs for tonight’s dish, you walk up to the table to look at the flowers more closely. They’re a pale yellow. You smile is equal parts fond at Leon’s thoughtfulness and good memory, and amusement due to the fact he’d bought the bouquet you were intending to give Lucy. Your train for Hulbury leaves tomorrow, after your date with Leon, so you suppose you could pretend to reason with Lucy that the flowers were better in her care, and maybe later you can admit to her what had actually transpired.

You slide the vase closer to you to feel the soft petals, and you spot a small card tucked among the stems. Carefully you pull it away and open it up. It’s plain but for a few words written inside: Maybe you’d let me fall for you too?

Leon’s signed his name at the bottom, and your face might crack from how widely you’re smiling. Sighing lightly and clutching the card close to your chest, you twist around.

“So I took a walk along Route 1 earlier,” you begin, and Lucy hums so you know she’s listening, “and the funniest thing happened…”

#pokemon leon x reader #pokemon leon imagine #pokemon x reader #pokemon imagine #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword and shield #bubble-tea-bunny #queue

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