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wonnoy · 3 years

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yamaguchi and smart cars

i feel like if anyone were to own a smart car, it would be yamaguchi and it'd be white, so here's a short fic about it

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it was one of those breezy summer days where it was the perfect temperature and everything just felt right. you were pulled up at a stop light, the hum of your smart car vibrating nicely in your ears. yes, your smart car.

it was bright yellow, had a top speed of 120mph and gear shifted like a bitch. but you absolutely adored it.

it was a gift from your mother when you finally got your license and you've been driving it for the past five years. student in college with no debt on your shoulder but still too poor to fix the poor transmission on your car. you were quite literally driving it into the grave.

you pushed your foot on the brake when coming to the red light at the intersection. you were first in the line, windows down, a pair of shades on and with your radio blasting music from the aux connected to your phone.

you were well aware that your car brought a lot of attention to itself, it wasn't a very popular car where you lived - excluding the bright yellow it already was. so you were used to the eyes it brought whenever you rolled up. sometimes, people even took pictures with you posing for them.

that was the extent of it.

your fingers drummed lazily against the steering wheel, the light you were currently at notoriously being the longest to sit at. you could barely hear yourself think over the music blasting from your abused speakers let alone the mans voice trying to get your attention. you reached for the volume, turned it down, and looked over to your left.

holy.

there was another smart car next to you, blindingly white with electric stamped right above the wheel and what looked to be a tiny volleyball over the 'i'.

iconic.

the guy yelling out your name was leaning over his friend in the passenger seat with his hand next to his mouth. he smiled brightly when he saw you finally looking at him. his hair was green, contrasting every other decoration in his car that you could spot (everything in there was white). with his freckles, he looked like a tanned strawberry. he looked like a tourist, a small little volleyball sparkling on his chest on a silver chain and a pink floral printed shirt. his shades were golden, perched right behind a spring of hair on his head.

you couldn't see his friend from the way that he was pressing himself into the passenger seat, but you could tell he was much taller than the car itself.

"your smart car looks so cool!" he called out to you and he stuck his thumb out, winking at you. you blushed a little. a cute guy, in a cute smart car, complimenting you? something like that has only happened in your dreams and you squashed those dreams maybe a year ago. you swallowed and gave a complimenting smile back towards him.

"why thank you," you said, "mr. carrot top," you teased, sliding your sunglasses down over your eyes. you could see his stunned expression though the tinted view of your glasses before his grin returned.

"your banana go kart can't compete with the white damba here," he laughed at you, pretending to caress the dashboard of his smartcar. you scoffed at him, pressing your foot down on the pedal. your car practically whined when you did that, mr. carrot top doesn't know who he's messing with.

to anyone else who was listening to you trying to race the 'white damba' (as he put it), someone would have laughed hysterically at you both. your car sounded like a toy car that you moved back for it shoot forward.

"you wanna bet?" you stuck your tongue out at him before glancing up at the light to check if it was still red. it felt like you've been here forever.

the guy looked at your and gripped his steering wheel looking away before making eye contact with you again, "you can't hear it, but i'm pressing on the petal too," he said with a cheeky smile. oh right, because it's electric. you barked out a small laugh before nodding your head at him. you felt giddy, as if you were middle school again by doing something so silly.

"what do i get if i win?" you looked back over at him, smile smile idly playing on your lips. you didn't miss the way he licked his.

"maybe i'll give you a kiss?" his thumb tapped on the wheel and his friend put a hand up to their head. you know for a fact that he was probably muttering something but you couldn't exactly hear it. you could imagine what this interaction was feeling like for his friend right now.

"that feels like more a reward for you if you win, how about your number instead?" you winked again at him. you looked up quickly at the red light you sat at, seeing other cars start to slow down in front of you. you would be moving again soon.

"first one to the wendy's parking lot wins then?" he pushed his glasses down over his eyes and looked forward again, both hands gripping the wheel again. you snorted lightly before getting ready to race him too. you were pretty sure you knew which wendy's he was talking about.

the cars that were passing in front of you had fully stopped now and you knew it was any millisecond now when it would finally be your turn. you took one last glance at carrot top before looking back and the light turning green.

your foot slammed so quick on the pedal and your poor little tires worked so hard the moment you did that - you were more than certain that you left little tire marks on ground. the whine of your engine was anything but quiet and you lurched back into your seat with whatever horsepower your car had. the needle on your dashboard went into the red zone, something that you've never accomplished.

next to you, you could see the white damba zoom a little quicker than your car and you grit your teeth. a kiss from him doesn't sound bad (and you were sure that it wouldn't feel bad either) but you, for one, would hate to lose. your car pushed you forward with every gear shift, elbows chicken-boning each time it did.

it hadn't been longer than six seconds until you finally pulled out level with the white damba, not even sparing a glance at it's cute driver. instead focusing on the quickly approaching wendy's sign. your speedometer was pushing into the 50's now with 45 being the speed limit for the road you were currently on.

you were only hoping that there were no cops around or speed cameras out to catch your license plate number.

you had barely just pulled ahead of the white damba before your indicator was on and you drifted into the wendy's parking lot. you were more than certain that you would have to take your poor car to the mechanic after this whole ordeal. you narrowly missed the light pole in the parking lot trying to park your quickly with the white damba following your exact moves. the adrenaline was pumping through more than just your veins, making your heart throb.

you tried to keep your breaths even, more alarm by yourself because of what you just did. racing a complete stranger because they were cute and in another smart car. is this all that it takes for you to be irrational?

a cute face? you looked in your rearview mirror watching the white damba pull up, you barely caught a glance of the man's face before it moved out of view.

you sighed heavily, yea, it was.

he pulled up next to him, honking his horn and it sounded exactly like a tiny honk coming from a child. you looked over at him, the cockiest smile that you could muster on your face.

"didn't think that you could beat me honestly," he said whilst unbuckling himself from his seat. his friend however didn't even move but you could hear him muttering again. the guy stepped out of his car and so you took the hint to do that same.

after stepping out, you placed a hand down on your hip, "so does this mean i get your number?" you grinned.

"can i at least tell you my name before you do? so it isn't just cool smart car guy?" he grinned at you. he's a bit of a smooth talker isn't he? you shook your head at him and smiled.

"the number will do," you reached through your window to grab your phone, "for now at least."

in the side mirror of your car you could see the guy fist bump the air furiously as in a way of victory. he acted so boyishly despite the devious flirting he was doing with you at the stop light. you pulled up the contacts on your phone and put in for the contact name 'race loser' before handing it to him.

"tha-" he stopped short seeing the name and frowned, "race loser? really?" he scoffed and typed his number in.

you sent a message to the phone hearing an instant cheap ringtone in response. was that his ringtone?

you jumped back into your car and waved back at him through the window. the carrot top went to the car window leaning into it.

"can i at least get your name?" he smiled at you. your heart lightly fluttered at the look of it before shaking your head - you were not about to give in so easily.

"sorry, but that wasn't apart of the bet,"

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cute, lol

#yamaguchi x reader #yamaguchi tadashi #yamaguchi haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!!#haikyuu fluff #haikyuu yamaguchi #i give up a little but here you go

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ice-cream-nekogirl · 4 years

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lights will guide you home (Tokoyami Fumikage X Reader) PART 1

I’m back ya’ll~. Serving ya’ll up with some ANGST!!

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at making a semi-long story consisting of some bittersweet angst with my bird boi Tokoyami~. I dunno, I heard about three different songs and for some reason they made me think about him, the mood of the song I guess... but I hope ya’ll enjoy~.

Summary: “This will be so much fun.” You had said before and during the Summer Training Camp because you were going to be with your crush Tokoyami, but... things happen.

And it finds me The fight inside is coursing through my veins And it's raging The fight inside is hurting me again And it finds me The war within me pulls me under And without you The fight inside is breaking me again

-’Fight Inside’ Red

The red woman from Game of Thrones liked to say that ‘the night was dark and full of terrors’, but tonight the night was dark, but cool and serene. The moonlight lit up the darkness provided by the night sky as you looked up with a melancholic glance and a bittersweet glimmer in your eyes.

Something about the light that made you comfortable even though the darkness could also be soothing. However, you assumed that it had to do with your light-based quirk. You could see light in many things, even in the gloomiest and haziest of situations.

Light is what made everything clearer, light is what allowed you to see things when everything was too dim or too hazy, whether it was in a dark room or a dark memory.

Light was your clarity.

And clarity was something you had slowly gained over the past week after everything that’s happened to you.

It’s only been a week and yet you could still remember everything that happened at the Summer Training Camp. Everything.

The good memories and the bad ones. No, how could you forget the good memories? You were with your friends, you were training hard alongside them and you were with Tokoyami. The boy you’ve had feelings for since the first time you met in class.

It was awkward at first, but it helped that you weren’t much of a talker yourself, so the small moments you and he spent indulging in a little bit of small talk over things like quirks, music, horror movies and Gerard Way were moments you loved. You feared that you sounded dumb at times but the raven never judged you, he had a lot of respect for you and you especially respected the hell out of him too.

Then there was Dark Shadow, who was oddly just as kind as his host was, just much more expressive and childish. But sweet, you adored the shadow and never hesitated to give him head pats and scratchies, much to Tokoyami’s immense embarrassment as he would try to make Dark Shadow stop acting like such a needy dog. It was moments like that that made you adore him all the more, him and his quirk.

He was such a chivalrous and kind boy, no ulterior motive to him whatsoever. He had no real vices that you could think of, nor was he a pervert.

You liked him, you liked him a lot.

Part of you almost believed that he knew it too, because after all Tokoyami was a smart guy even if his grades didn’t always show it. And you weren’t wrong, he did know it, but didn’t have the heart to confront you about it because he didn’t know how he would talk to you about it. Also, it stemmed from insecurity that he wouldn’t be able to be a good potential partner to you, so he was perfectly content with being a good friend to you and always being there for you.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t gain feelings for you too. Something about your kindness, the light in your eyes and your little giggle whenever you were excited. How he loved to hear you laugh...

The most mirthful sound that the gods could never replicate...

Unlike him, you had no idea if he felt anything else for you other than friendship, but you knew that he valued you and cared about you. And for now that was enough for you. Moments with him like that you cherished and adored, and it didn’t stop when you and he trained with the rest of your classmates at the summer camp.

But of course, there were the bad memories too. How could you forget those? You desperately wanted to but you couldn’t…

LAST WEEK…

You were so excited for this Test of Courage challenge as you giggled a little bit and stood by Tokoyami and Shouji, “Isn’t this exciting? I’ve always wanted to do something like this. And I have a feeling that this will be so much fun~…!” You whispered to the two males, both looking as expressionless as ever but that was just their natural default look and they paid their full attention to you.

“Revelry in the dark.” Tokoyami nodded in agreement and repeated that little phrase he’d been uttering, and this was the fourth time as you giggled at this. And just hearing it made his heart flutter a little bit and he couldn't help but feel just a little more bashful.

“It’ll certainly allow us to practice awareness of our surroundings.” Shouji also agreed with you as you smiled and gave him a thumbs up, “Totally… I need to work on that more. But I think I’ll be okay, whoever’s sneaking around won’t be able to get me. Not when I can… light em up~.”

You brought your hand out to create a small ball of light thanks to your quirk ‘Light Construct’ which let you control light and use it to make anything, but you favored making balls, a sword and wings. It was useful in combat to blind opponents especially.

Ah it was something Tokoyami was still fascinated with despite his penchant for the darkness. Your quirk was something positive, which was kind of ironic given your sarcastic sense of humor. Still, Tokoyami knew your heart and he admired how your quirk reflected that, because sometimes you could light up the darkness in his gloomy world. Literally and figuratively.

“I trust they won’t be able to sneak up on you (L/N). Not with your power. Light is what draws the terrors out of the shadows. If anyone can win this game, you can.” He said with admiration in his tone which made you blush and smile, “Hehe, true that~ And thank you!”

As much as you wanted to keep chatting, you had to do this thing and you had to go to Izuku since he was your partner, “Good luck Tokoyami. Shouji. I’ll see ya’ll back at the place, maybe before we go to sleep we can either listen to some MCR or watch the Cabin in the Woods on my phone and discuss which of our classmates would be the classic horror archetypes and who would get killed first.” You said with a little smirk which made Tokoyami chuckle a little bit. There’s no way he was turning down that offer.

“I would like that.” He said politely as Shouji nodded while you walked off with Izuku.

Shouji was well aware that his friend clearly had a crush on you, so he would do his best to be the wingman for him. And Dark Shadow for that matter.

‘You got a crush on (L/N)~!’

Tokoyami could hear him already teasing him telepathically, and although he wasn’t one to be flustered, such a (correct) accusation still embarrassed him as he could feel heat rising on his cheeks. ‘B-Be quiet! I do not…’ He claimed, but his shadow knew better and he wouldn’t shut up about it even as he and Shouji left to go into the trees.

You were smiling as you made your way to Izuku…

At least… until it became clear that something was very, VERY wrong and it all happened so fast that you had no idea what was going on until Mandalay sent everyone a message and urged everyone to go back to the pro-heroes and fight back if necessary.

You were ready to do so, but then Izuku told you to just go to the rest of our classmates and try to help them out as much as possible and let him find Kota to take him back to the place. So you did and activated your light wings.

Oh no, you should have stood with Izuku because you had no idea what he was doing or what kind of danger was looming over him. You should have stood with him, you should have…

But you also had to look around for your classmates, you had to find Ochako, you had to find Tsuyu, you had to find Shouji, you had to find Tokoyami…

Tokoyami…

Where were they? Why was it so dark? Dammit, your quirk worked better when it was daytime with the sun, and although the moonlight helped your wings weren’t as bright as they normally were in the daylight.

But then something sharp suddenly pierced through the air and just in time you moved away before it could cut through your skin although your wings automatically dissipated in that moment of distraction and you hit the ground with an ‘OOF!’

“(L/N)?! Is that you?!”

You sat back up when you heard Tokoyami. He saw the light and knew that belonged to your quirk so you were quick to get up to go follow their voices, “I’m here! I’m here!” You ran to both the males and Dark Shadow who were alert and waiting for the lurking villain to come out of hiding.

“Be careful (L/N)…” Shouji quietly whispered to you with one of his mouths as you nodded and brought your hand up to try and see if you could find this punk who was hiding. “What the fuck was that…?” You quietly whispered as you stood among your two friends.

“We don’t know. Stay alert though… this person’s quirk is long-range.” Tokoyami replied to you while he and Dark Shadow were still on alert, uncertain just what was going on, but he just knew that whoever this guy was, he was close and he had a long-range quirk based on the fact that he attacked you while you were in mid-air.

If what Mandalay said was true then there really were villains in the midst, and that meant there was one right now in the dark. Anything can attack you in the dark, because the dark played tricks on people…

You were proven correct when one of the same blades you saw nearly sliced through Tokoyami until Shouji quickly pushed him back to take the attack at the cost of one of his arms.

“Shouji!”

You and Tokoyami cried out his name as you activated your wings to become a distraction and get that villain away from him, you couldn’t let Shouji or Tokoyami get hurt. You had to protect them both.

“HEY!” So you called out the villain as you flew, “Show your face you pussy!” You outright challenged whoever this villain was if it meant getting him away from your friends but you gasped when you saw only a glimpse of his face under the dim moonlight...

His teeth were like blades and his face was ugly, body bounded by a black straight jacket as he gave a raspy chuckle, “Flesh, flesh, sweet soft flesh!!” The man cackled as another blade came your way so suddenly out of the shadows and stabbed you right into your shoulder.

“GYAH!!” You couldn’t stop the agonized shout leaving you as the pain made your wings evaporate, “(L/N)!!”

You heard Tokoyami scream for you as you fell, he wanted to reach out for you but he stopped as soon as he saw Shouji retreat out of the bushes so he could catch you. Shouji was hurt… one of his arms was gone… your shoulder was bleeding…

As you grunted in Shouji’s arms you clutched at your bleeding wound, “(L/N) are you…?” But before Shouji could even ask if you were okay, his eyes started to widen when he saw the rage in his friend’s eyes, his quirk manifesting in a blind fury and festering rapidly.

How dare they? How dare they hurt his friends? How dare they hurt someone so good and kind? How dare they hurt you?

This villain… he could not be forgiven…

“I’ll... KILL YOU...!!” As his shadow roared, Tokoyami didn’t hesitate to let him attack as soon as that villain reappeared to try and attack him, and an enraged Dark Shadow struck with such brutal force that the tree his claw smashed was broken in half without a bloody mess occupying it.

The villain was fast, he kept moving even as the shadow attacked him again and again until he grew larger and all the more outraged as he let out an otherworldly roar much to the horror of you and Shouji.

“T-Tokoyami!”

You couldn’t help but reach out to him and cry out for him, as if hoping that calling for him would snap him out of his rage. Wide, shocked red eyes met your terrified, worried (E/C) ones as it momentarily brought him back as you started to smile a little bit…

Only for that to fade into a horrified look when Dark Shadow continued to roar and tried to viciously swipe at you, but Shouji quickly grabbed you and jumped away just in time before the shadow could mash you into a bloody paste.

Tokoyami shouted when for a moment, he thought his quirk was going to kill you and Shouji, but to his relief you both got away, but he couldn’t stop it… he couldn’t stop Dark Shadow, he couldn’t control him anymore.

It was raging…

It was raging so angrily, so violently no matter how hard Tokoyami tried to get him to stop…

He couldn’t stop it…

“Tokoyami…” You whispered sadly as Shouji carried you and ran away from the incensed shadow so neither of you would get hurt. It broke your heart but you knew that it was the right thing to do.

You both needed to hide.

“(L/N)… you’re hurt… can you move…?” Once you and Shouji were away far enough from Dark Shadow, he inspected your wounds as you weakly nodded. “I-It hurts like a bitch but… I’m okay… I-I can… I gotta keep going…”

He didn’t protest to this, because he knew that even through pain you tried to pull through things. And he thought that maybe, just maybe you and he could save Tokoyami and stop Dark Shadow before he spirals further out of control.

Dammit, you wanted to try and help but, in the darkness, and in this thick forest of trees the moonlight couldn’t give you enough light for you to generate a light bright enough. Shouji didn’t blame you though, you couldn’t help your quirk’s limitations.

You just had to find someone like Todoroki or Bakugou…

A blessing in disguise met you as you held onto Shouji when he heard Izuku coming and quickly, he swooped in to get him out of the way when Dark Shadow’s claw nearly got him too.

“Shouji! (L/N)!”

The first thing he noticed what that you and Shouji were injured, but that was also what you and he also noticed on Izuku.

“What the fuck Midoriya…? Your arms are fucked up even more…” Despite your cursing, there was nothing comical in your tone. And Shouji knew it as he commented on how his injuries were not normal at all.

But then you both quickly told him what was really going on at the moment, and how dire the situation was with Tokoyami as the three of you all saw him, engulfed by the power of his Dark Shadow.

“STAY AWAY… FROM ME…! YOU’LL DIE!!”

You furrowed your brows when you saw him like that, stuck, powerless and taking a backseat at the mercy of Dark Shadow. That quirk was that powerful without any light, and it honestly terrified you and had you scared for your friend…

“Tokoyami, no!”

As Izuku shouted for his friend, the three of you had to remain hidden so neither of you got turned into paste. You were shuddering as you stood behind Shouji, albeit also quietly fretting over how horribly injured Izuku was.

This was supposed to be fun… why was this all happening…?

You thought in horror until Shouji told Izuku how this happened and how Dark Shadow went berserk in accordance with Tokoyami’s anger, indignation and remorse altogether. It was both horrifying and fascinating how this kind of power exploded without any light as you could hear the shadow roar and smashing through trees and thick branches.

All it took was a small snap from a twig Shouji accidentally stepped on and WHOOSH, the shadow struck fast but your friend moved swiftly as you grabbed onto him to get away. The shadow became a beast, whatever sound was made, whatever move anything unfortunate enough to get in its way would be attacked, killed…

“FORGET ABOUT ME…! GO…! FIND OUR CLASSMATES… PROTECT THEM INSTEAD…!”

Tokoyami’s desperate shouting made your heart ache as he tried to made Dark Shadow to stop and begged him to calm dow, how could you just leave him like this? It didn’t feel right. No, this was wrong… you needed to go save Bakugou from getting taken by the villains but you couldn’t just leave him like this…

Wrong… it felt so wrong…

“If we can bring him to a fire back to camp…” You could hear some of Shouji’s words, but not all of them as you were both really scared and really worried that you almost didn’t hear what they were saying. But you knew what the plan was, after you explained to Izuku that you couldn’t do it because of the weak lighting not being enough to make a light strong enough...

Nonetheless, the three of you made a plan to save both Tokoyami and Bakugo. It was crazy as hell and possibly suicidal but at this point it was all the three of you had. Your wings would guide these two to camp, and also allow Dark Shadow to follow you.

Was it insane? Absolutely?

Were you reluctant to do this? Duh. It’s highly likely that you were going to die now.

Were you doing this for Tokoyami? Hell yes…

“The things I do for love.”

You quietly groaned to yourself you glanced over at Izuku and Shouji, “If we die for Bakugou Midoriya I’m gonna kill you.”

As if to put SOME light on this situation you had to say at least SOMETHING kinda funny, which the boys noticed and gave you a weak chuckle before the three of started to move…

FAST…

As your wings lit up, this didn’t go unnoticed by Dark Shadow the second he saw light, something he hated the most and wanted to destroy…

“WORTHLESS LITTLE FIREFLY!!”

The shadow bellowed as soon as it saw your wings and he struck but you moved fast in terror, and you couldn’t see the horrified look on Tokoyami’s already distressed face as he struggled and shouted at the mercy of his shadow.

“NO! (L/N)! Get out of here!! What are you doing?! Fly away!!”

What were you doing? Couldn’t you see that he was dangerous? Run away (Y/N)! You’re going to get hurt!

And you were so afraid of that happening but you couldn’t stop now, you had to save Tokoyami and protect your friends and your classmates.

“We’re going to save you Tokoyami! It’s all right!!”

So you tried, you really tried to shout out to your friend in hopes that it could at least give him a little bit ease and it worked… but it wasn’t enough as Dark Shadow kept rampaging and destroying everything it it’s path as you shouted and had to dodge some of the flying debris.

“Leave me (L/N)!! Please!! Save yourselves!!”

“I’m not leaving you!!”

You shouted with tears in your eyes as soon as you saw the tears streaming down his face, you’ve never seen him cry before, let alone show this much emotion…

But you gasped and winched when a large branch nearly hit you and it urged you to fly away as fast as you could and followed Shouji holding Izuku. The moonlight was your only source of power now and you prayed that it didn’t fail you as you kept going, keeping an eye on your friends and glancing down to make sure Dark Shadow didn’t get them.

“YOU’RE IN THE WAY!!”

A vicious, furious roar reverberated through the air as your (E/C) eyes went wide and a rush of horror began to stream through your veins as you gasped when you saw the ginormous entity right behind you. He was so close that you could barely react on time.

“(L/N)!! Look out!!” Shouji and Izuku shouted when they looked back to see your flight slowing down when your nerves got the better of you.

“(L/N)!! GET AWAY!!”

You were so scared you didn’t hear Tokoyami’s desperate screams for you to fly, fly away far away from him until his pained and struggling shouts snapped you out of it.

Flapping through the cool air, he chased you and he wouldn’t stop...

SLASH! SLASH!!

Sharpness cut through your flesh as you let out a sharp scream as your wings of light instantly vanished when the keen claw tore the skin on your back and across your abdomen you could feel gravity pushing you down. Consciousness beginning to slip as you didn’t even see Dark Shadow’s claw coming for you…

“DARK SHADOW STOP!! PLEASE DON’T!!”

You blinked slowly when you heard your friend’s voice but everything went black as soon as the claw back-handed you out of the sky and sent your body flying far away from your friends as they all screamed for you.

“(L/N)!!!”

But you couldn’t hear them anymore as you just felt yourself flying and whooshing through the air as you grunted and shouted with every branch you made contact with stabbing your body. Until finally your cut-up back and the back of your head made a hard, violent impact with the back of a dense tree trunk.

“AH…!”

Your eyes went wide as you blacked out entirely and fell back to the earth once more in a thicket, eyes closing shut as the pain clouded your being.

There was no light.

Nothing at all, just a heavy shroud of darkness, dusty haze clouding your mind and the distant screams of your friends…

TO BE CONTINUED...

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angstymarshmallow · 5 years

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part two: breaking point (cal lowell x mc)

[a little note: i should come up with a name for this series. Two stories almost back to back - this is what happens when inspiration finally manages to cooperate. I wanted to get this out quickly, while I’m still very much invested. If you read it - than you! If you leave a comment, bless you!].

[part one]

[summary: when Wren (MC) is faced with the choice to either walk away or protect Donny, she chooses the latter. But tensions brew between her, Cal and the pack - because for an alpha, the pack must always come first.]

[words counted: 5189]

The pub is in full swing as Wren follows Donny past the double doors of the entrance. The two bouncers dressed in all black and they stiffen, their posture indifferent to her presence while paying no mind to Donny’s less imposing stature. Although they make no move to stop her, Wren still feels their eyes trained on her back as she pushes past them.

There’s a heavy scent of smoke that clings to the air the moment they’ve stepped inside. Her nose tickles, and Wren sneezes before she uses the collar of her shirt to shield herself from the worst of it. It isn’t until the smoke thins out as they delve deeper into the pub that her eyes are able to adjust to the view.

On first glance The Howlers is a good place to mingle and chat to strangers if you’ve got the time. The lightning is darker than she remembers – not that she makes it a priority to visit anymore, but the place seemed to always hold character. Maybe it’s the fact that they only play 80s rock music from the jukebox located in the corner of the room. Or maybe it’s the hustle and bustle from the typical Friday crowd. Still, it’s lively – with the sound of laughter as a common occurrence as people flag down waitresses for a round of more drinks. Predominantly, Wren spots the telltale signs of werewolves spread sporadically – donned in their familiar jackets that emphasizes their pack insignia. The rest are seemingly an innocent mix of humans and supernatural; coexisting all in one place. Most of those humans probably can’t even tell the difference.

If Wren hadn��t been on edge when she’d walked in, she certainly is now as several onlookers’ gazes halt in her general direction. Muttering stiff apologies, she wedges herself among smaller groups of people until the bar is nearly within plain sight. She makes a point to raise her chin high, despite the lingering glances that still haven’t looked elsewhere. Some of them she recognizes, some of them she doesn’t – most of them aren’t happy to see her.

“Hey wait a second –” She starts, but it’s too late to stop him; Donny has already scampered ahead of her. He’s almost half way across the room within the seconds it takes her to speak, heading in what appears to be one of the backrooms after a boy near his age waved him over.

Wren hesitates to call after him a second time.

So much for finally hanging out together.

Honestly, she shouldn’t be surprised. Donny’s antics of ignoring her is something she’s accustomed to. Feeling a little deflated by his distance, Wren stuffs her hands inside the pockets of her jeans and swaggers the rest of the way over the bar.

At least she’ll be able to drink and forget. That’s at the least the one plus side.

She orders a beer and almost reflexively remembers she’s the one in charge of getting Donny back home in one piece.

Ugh.

Changing her order at the last second and giving the older bartender an apologetic smile, she slouches a little inside her stool as her eyes skimmed the length of the room.

There are always a pair of eyes hovering in her direction – wolves mostly; she wonders irritably if they don’t have anything more to do with their time than send daggers at nearly every given opportunity. Still, she supposes it could be worse. They could have let her stay outside. The last time she’d been here hadn’t been pleasant and Wren rubs her eyes at the memory.

“Is everything okay Wren?”

She glances up at the bartender to find his brow creased with worry. She forces a smile. “I’m alright Bill,” she mumbles, “it’s just been one of those days.”

“Don’t I know it,” Bill snorts derisively, his dark eyes softening with sympathy when she doesn’t respond right away. Pausing, he scratches his bread, then hands her a drink of water. “But it’ll get better. You just gotta take every day one step at a time.”

“Even when every day is starting to look insufferable?” She eyes him critically before bringing the cup of water to her lips. “And in the form of a seventeen-year-old boy?”

“Even then. I’ve had to raise three, be lucky you only have one to deal with.” He clucks his tongue.

“Damn, I’ll cheers to that then.” She raises her class to him and he laughs before lifting an empty polished glass towards hers’.

They clink.

“Haven’t you ever heard of that sayin’? When life gives you lemons, you –”

“- make lemonade.” She finishes for him, “yeah, yeah – only about a hundred times.” She rolls her eyes, setting her drink slowly back on the counter.

“Thatta girl.” He seems satisfied with her answer and grins. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

At least she can always count on Bill not to great her like an outsider. He’s the only one that accepts her as one of his own, and she wonders if it has anything to do with him being half-demon. Although, he’s only half human – he’s treated her more humane than all the other bartenders here.

Frowning at the thought, Wren rifles through her jacket until she’s able to find her phone. She dials Cal’s number quickly before hooking the device by her ear.

It barely rings once before his warm baritone floats across the line. “Good evening beautiful.”

Hearing his voice does something funny to her heart. It skips a beat and some of the tension leaves her body. She’s able to sit a little straighter and relax her shoulders at the husky rumble in his tone. “Hey, I just wanted to check in.”

“How sweet,” his tone is light and teasing. “Good thing too, you’re just in time. I’m almost done over here.”

“Long day?”

“The longest.” He replies with a sigh, “I just can’t wait to get home and see you.”

“Sweet-talker,” she teases back. “You’re just saying that to get me alone again.”

“I need to get you alone. Maybe we’re finally due for a vacation.”

She smiles, “I’d like that.”

“Hmm, how do you feel about going up north – getting out of the city?”

“Mmm,” she closes her eyes briefly – picturing the two of them snuggling and getting cozy by a fireplace. “A weekend at a cottage sounds heavenly.” She sighs wistfully. “There has to be marshmallows and lots of blankets.”

“Sold.” He laughs. “I love that idea, it’s definitely a top-contender. It would be nice to have some alone time; I know we haven’t been able to lately.”

“I don’t mind stealing moments here and there.” Just thinking about this morning makes Wren’s stomach flutter. “Especially when they’re rough and fast.” She lowers her voice, “god you can make a girl scream Lowell.”

Cal utters a noise somewhere between a growl and a chuckle. “Be careful, I’m too far away for a repeat performance right now.”

“Don’t temp me to stop by your office.” She warns. She mumbles a short word of thanks to the bartender as he delivers a second glass in front of her.

“Where are you?” He pauses for a moment, “are you by the pub?”

“Mhm, just here with Donny – who’s left me alone the second we walked in by the way. Classic Donny.”

“You know he doesn’t mean anything by it.” But Cal sighs as he says it, and she can almost picture his brows forming a crease.

“I know – I just want to get through to him. I keep hoping that if we get a chance to bond, he won’t see so bad for you.”

His interjection is almost immediate. “He doesn’t think you’re bad for me.”

She shrugs, “not in so many words, I guess it just feels that way. I see the way you two are with each other when I’m not around. It’s…nice.” She ends her sentence shakily, clearing her throat that’s suddenly grown thick with emotion. She’s never grown up with that and in a lot of ways – she envies them for it. She’s always wanted a family – people to make her feel like a whole person and not the bits of herself she’s still trying to figure out.

“I think sometimes he just misses it being the two of us.”

Wren snorts. “I’ve gathered as much.”

“But,” he continues, his voice upbeat despite the flatness of Wren’s own tone, “he’ll see how amazing you are the more you two hang around each other – I know he will.”

“Mhm,” she’ll believe it when she sees it.

“Is that –” A pause. And then, “is that the only thing that’s troubling you?”

She’s almost surprised he’s able to tell so quickly that something is wrong. But then again, Cal has always been proven to be extremely considerate of her feelings – even when she tries to bury and hide them. He seems to have the uncanny ability to read her.

Wren bites her lower lip for a second, deliberating on how to answer. “I guess it’s a little awkward…being here without you.” There are still eyes watching, probably ears listening around her too. And the longer she sits, fiddling with her drink – the more she wishes he was here.

Somehow as though reading her thoughts, Cal’s tone turns soft and he mutters softly into the phone. “I’ll swing by as soon as I’m done.”

“Thanks,” she swallows thinly. “It’s not that I don’t like it here,” you’re a liar and you know it Wren. Ignoring the voice in her head, she continues “it’s just I prefer being here with you on my arm.” Suddenly smirking, she brings her drink to her lips and takes a long sip. “I mean you are pretty nice arm candy.”

Hearing him laugh across the other line, makes Wren to smile into her drink. She loves the sound of his laugh.

“Wren, you’re one of the most capable women I know. Down to when we just met – you were ready to tackle and beat the shit out of a guy for cheating during my cage match for Donny.”

Oh yeah, that did happen. Those days she’d never even realize how important Cal would be to her – not completely, but she’s always had an inkling they’d share something. It’s only her luck that something turned into something she never wants to let go of.

“There’s nothing anyone can say or do to you there that you can’t handle,” his words bring her back to the present, “– werewolf or otherwise.” He finishes and speaks with such alarming sincerity and pride in his voice that her heart swells with affection for him. “Most of all you’re my mate. As much as they don’t care for it, as long as you’re under my protection – you’ll be okay.”

“Not that I need the protection, but I’m still completely melting over what you said.” She props a hand up and tucks it underneath her chin. “I love it when you get all protective and sweet over me – it’s really a turn-on.”

“Good,” he laughs. “I intend to take care of you for a very long time Wren Howell.”

“Mmm, right back at you.”

“I’m getting ready to leave now; I’ll see you soon?”

“I’ll be waiting.” Exchanging goodbyes, Wren pockets her phone for a moment, still smiling over their conversation. He reassures her like there’s never anything to be afraid of – but he’s the one that makes her feel fearless.

Flagging Bill down for another drink, she points to her cup. “Could you bring me a beer this time? Heineken?” Hell, one drink won’t kill her. Probably.

Bill nods, before turning his back to her and quickly retrieving it.

While he’s busy opening the beer, Wren slides a twenty and turns her attention to behind the bar. She frowns at the sound of some kind of commotion – she can’t make out the words yet, but several people in the bar seems drawn in that direction too. Damn, sometimes she wishes she had a better sense of hearing. Almost half the supernaturals she knows of had ten times better hearing than she does.

“Is something going on back there?” She jerks her chin behind Bill.

Bill gets the top off of her drink effortlessly before giving her a nod. “Yeah, it’s just some kids giving trouble after losing a gamble.”

Oh no. Is that why she’s had a funny feeling since getting here? Did she dare think the worst? There’s no way Donny would - “Which kids?” She’s almost too afraid to ask for more, but it doesn’t seem like she has much of a choice.

Before Bill is able to answer, the flurry of activity turns into a scuffle as two familiar and young-looking werewolves leap past the crowd that’s started forming and abruptly whizzes past the bar.

“Hey! Get back here!”

There’s a third figure fumbling to get by, but a beefy man blocks his path, and Wren can’t see past him to get a good sense of going on. Grabbing her beer, she gives the bartender a parting smile before stalking over, her boots clicking quickly on the floor as she tries to get past the small crowd that’s formed.

The first thing she notices is how scuffed up Donny looks. His hair is askew, there’s an angry gnash across his cheek and blood dropping from his mouth as he spits on the floor. His fists are clenched and the beefy man a few feet away glares down at him with so much hostility that Wren’s terrified he’d beat the shit out of him right then and there.

“Woah, woah – woah.” She holds up a hand, pushing past the crowd that’s gathered to step in front of Donny protectively. “What the hell is going on here?”

“The little shit here owes me one grand.” The beefy man sneered, jerking his behind her. His arms are covered nearly from head to toe as he folds them.

“This little shit has a name,” Wren speaks up, holding the hand around her beer tighter while the other helps to keep a clear distance between Donny and the taller figure still glaring them.

He has a good five inches on her – but he isn’t too tall for her not to still deck him if she needed to. “It’s Donny, and he isn’t just any pup – he’s the alpha’s little brother.” She doesn’t like pulling rank, but she’s starting to realize that look in the man’s eyes – the blazing anger that’s reserved for someone who isn’t going to go anywhere unless they’re given what’s due.

“Well in that case, he can pay his and his friends share. Since Cal sits so fucking high on horse, I’m sure it’s no problem to pay off the debt he owes us.” At the sound of us, two other men stepped away from the crowd to stand behind him.

Shit.

“And what I’m looking at is two grand from all three of them. So pay up.”

Ah, shit.

“I don’t need your help.” Donny’s protest is weak and almost a soft whimper as he tries to step away from her.

At the slight movement, the two men flanking the beefier one steps towards them until Wren growls and their attention shifts back to her.

“Really not the time Donny.” Wren snaps back, shifting towards the side until she’s in front of him again. She doesn’t want to hear it from him not right now. She’s pretty sure if they get out of this alive, Cal is gonna beat the shit out of him when he finds out. Hell, maybe she’ll give him a piece of her mind too.

Truth is – she doubts Donny has that kind of money – she didn’t. Not right now. She’s blown past her last check to help pay for Donny’s school fee this year and the idea of giving the last of her savings to some assholes is the last thing she wants to do. “Look Donny’s a kid.” She starts, making cautionary steps back. She motions for Donny to do the same. “He didn’t know what he’s doing.”

“I heard it’s not the first time he’s gambled himself into a debt he can’t pay.” The beefy man sneered.

“And look where that got him?” Wren notices out of the corner of her eyes that a few people have started paying more attention to their circumstances. Several of them carrying Cal’s insignia. “You attack Cal Lowell’s brother,” she raises her chin higher, “you put a target on your back.”

The three men exchange glances and then laugh. They laugh so hard that the crowd uneasily starts to get bigger and Wren keeps edging her way towards the counter-tops of the bar – hoping that’ll give them enough cover to cause some sort of distraction to get out of here.

“Cal’s got nothing on me, ain’t that right boys?”

The two men nod, “that’s right Derek, he eats people like him for breakfast.”

Shit, she definitely doesn’t like the sound of that.

At this point, there’s a shuffle of movement behind her – and Wren nearly does a double-take at the line of four other men stepping up to her defense. She recognizes most of them and almost utters a sigh of relief that they’re from Cal’s pack.

“I’d get out of here if I were you man. That isn’t just any woman you’re talking.”

“Yeah,” one of the men growled. “She’s a real piece of work, huh?” His beady eyes give her once over that makes Wren’s skin crawl.

“It’s Cal’s mate.” One of the men behind her mutter, “and if I were you –”

“I’d back the fuck off.” Wren interjects, feigning more confidence than she actually feels. “You think Cal is the only person you shouldn’t piss off? I’m one of the best nighthunters this side of the state.” Okay, saying she’s one of the best is a stretch – but she can’t appear weak. They’ll jump at the chance to hurt Donny if she does.

Plus, she isn’t completely alone. She tries to tell herself they’ve at least got the numbers to take them on if they had to, but all the cocky attitude vanishes from her expression when three men from the crowd swagger over and fall in line behind Derek – wearing tattoos in a familiar fashion.

Maybe, this isn’t such a coincidence after all.

“Donny, you’re gonna have to run.” Wren whispers softly, behind her. Not taking her eyes off the men, she tries to step tentatively backwards. She tries to be subtle; shifting her half-empty beer to her dominant hand.

If looks could kill, the blind rage in Derek’s eyes would have had Wren rolling in her own grave right about now.

“No way.” Donny mutters back stubbornly.

Ah, fuck. “Come on kid, work with me here.”

Tension oozes between both sides – neither one of them making the first move, until Donny snarls and bares his teeth at them.

Suddenly all hell breaks loose.

Wren isn’t sure who moved first – if it’s Derek or a collection of wolves that move together as one once they ran full speed into them. The rest of the room erupts into chaos soon after – with bodies wrestling into each other the moment they make contact.

Wren shoves Donny out of the way just as Derek slams into her.

The force is strong enough to send her flying and Wren lands with a hard thud across the counter of the bar. Tears threaten to swim her eyes for a second until she’s able to recover and roll herself off the counter seconds before Derek’s punch can land – taking half of the granite counter tops with him.

Shit.

Wren flings the bottle from her hand and watches as it lands almost directly near the top of Derek’s balding head.

The man grunts, stumbling for a second before growling and throwing himself at her.

Wren utters a yelp of surprise – barely dodging the most of his blow before delivering one of her own. She punches him square in the jaw, hisses as her knuckles make contact and does it a second time before ducking away from his hands.

The stint of the blow makes her wince but adrenaline has already flooded her system and Wren knows if she doesn’t act quickly – he’ll catch her.

All around her, there’s tossing of glass despite Bill and the two bouncers trying desperately to maintain order – fists that find flushed and angry faces – plus a bellow of screams and growls that makes Wren think she belongs in some old Western instead of a dingy bar across the river in New Orleans. The situation is almost comical – if she hadn’t been knee-deep it; dodging Derek’s attempt to grab her as she makes her way towards the exit of the bar.

A blow to her stomach from another wolf makes her swear she’ll see stars as she sags against the wall. The pain is almost blinding, but Wren has adrenaline on her side. Taking a moment to breathe, her eyes searches for Donny and much to her relief he’s remained mostly unscathed – closer to one of the exits with a werewolf that had backed them up earlier. Good, she’d lost sight of him for a second and she hates the idea of anyone else hurting him except for her when they’re back home later.

Another punch sails by her head and Wren ducks at the last second to avoid it. Some of the cement from the wall give way and falls on top of her head. She drops low to swipe at the man’s knees in front of her.

He staggers and Wren twists upwards to strike an uppercut across his jaw – powerful enough for him to stumble and fall. Wincing, she takes a second to ensure she hasn’t broken her wrist before she twists away – not giving the man a chance to recover.

Now’s my chance.

Sprinting towards the door, Wren abandons all pretenses of fighting anyone else before a hand grabs onto her and yanks her back. “Fuck –” The world threatens to go black as her head hits the pavement.

Something twists There’s a moment she thinks her fear will win out before she tries unsteadily to get back on her feet. They buckle and she falls. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“You fucking bitch!” Derek bellows, grabbing her by the ankle. He digs into her flesh and a flare of pain shoots up her leg. “You’ll pay me what you owe!”

Wren twists enough to peer down at the irrational rage inside the man’s eyes. He’s still holding on too tight – and if she isn’t careful, he’ll break her bones. Yelling, she uses the heel of her boots to kick him. “Let me go!”

The man grunts. The pressure decreases as she struggles against him. His grip loosens, but he doesn’t let go.

He kicks him harder this time, yanking her leg away despite the ache in her ankles at the sudden motion. She scrambles to her feet and barely moves three steps before he tries to grab her arm again.

“That’s enough!”

The entire bar nearly goes completely still.

Although Wren recognizes him – it’s always easy for her to tell because he takes so much space of the doorway; the dull-amber colors in his eyes alludes her into thinking he’s not just Cal anymore. He’s the alpha. And the alpha demands complete control.

Almost immediately, every wolf belonging to his pack lowers their head in a sort of reverence and subservient way. Only the remaining stragglers stay half unhinged by his appearance. They stare at him, blinking and unblinking as he steps further into the pub. “What the fuck is going on here?” His tone hasn’t changed, but the words are said with purpose as his eyes dart around the room.

They land on Donny first, who wipes blood from his lips before finding her.

Ah, shit.

The look of surprise turns into instant worry as his eyes look her over from head to toe. Something in her chest tightens until disappointment replaces his concern. Before she’s able to say anything – he has already turned his attention elsewhere. “Well?”

Most of the residents -notwithstanding the werewolves have began packing up as Bill half-orders them out.

Derek, bloodied and still holding onto Wren – drops his hand and jerks his chin at Donny. “Just collecting on a debt that’s all. He owes me.”

There’s a tumble of emotions inside of Cal’s eyes at his words. Then just as quickly, they disappear and he smoothens his face into a careful expression. “I suggest we take that matter outside, as the leader of my pack – I’ll deal with anything he owes you.” He starts, then inclining his head to Bill apologetically he adds. “I will take care of this, if you’ll allow me to come by tomorrow.”

Bill doesn’t protest, seemingly he nods in understanding as the rest of people began to clear out for the night. “It’s time I closed anyway.” Louder, he adds. “The Howlers is closed – get your asses out of here.”

There are murmurs and snorts all around, but no one disagrees with the man in charge. Slowly the crowds began to think out and disappear in threes and twos at a time. Most of them leaving have bruises here and there – the worst of it are probably the people clutching their arms and favoring one leg.

“We shouldn’t be fighting in someone else’s fine establishment; won’t you gentlemen follow me outside? Where we can discuss this properly?”

The men behind Derek hesitate, clearly taken aback by Cal’s decorum. Derek snorts, his nostrils flaring before he agrees surly. “As long as I get what’s owed to me.”

“Perfect, just give me a second to talk to the owner and I’ll meet you outside.”

“You better.” He said begrudgingly. Wordlessly, he walks past Wren and shoves Cal before pushing past the door’s entrance.

Wren swallows past the sudden lump in her throat. Cal’s barely looked at her since coming in, and she can tell by the way his jaw is clenched that he’s too angry to do much talking than he has to. Still, her concern for his feelings are louder than how considerate she knows she should be, and tries to reach for his arm as he steps past her. “Cal, I –”

He doesn’t move away, but he doesn’t reach for her either. Although his eyes don’t glance back to meet her pleading gaze, she feels the change in the atmosphere between them – as tense as it had been moments ago, just before the fight had broken out. “Could you take Donny home? I need to take care of this before I talk to those guys out there.”

“Of course.” She hesitates, “if you need anything else –”

“What I need, is just a moment to convince the staff that this was all some kind of misunderstanding. The last thing I need is for them to think my pack is a danger to anyone coming in here.” He snaps, his voice raising an octave higher that makes her flinch in response.

Her own temper rises at the sound of his tone. “look, it’s not like any of us planned for any of this to happen –”

“No, because you never give a thought to what anyone else wants.”

“E-e-excuse me?!’ She sputters. Her heart has started beating louder than the sound of her own breath as she takes a giant inhale to settle her nerves – to stop herself from saying something she’ll regret later. Anger is easier to resist when it isn’t someone she cares about. “Look, I know tonight was a lot, but you don’t get to put that on me.” She can barely temper her own voice, although miraculously – she manages to ignore the urge to scream. “Things happened so fast,” she steps close enough to point a finger at his chest. “And I tried to stop it.”

“Did you?” His tone is almost mocking.

“I did!”

When Cal turns to her, his eyes are flashing with so much anger that for a moment – the rest of Wren’s sentence dies in her throat.

She’s seen him look at a lot of people like that over the year she’s known him. It’s the kind of fierceness and anger he channels, whenever he protects someone he loves – whenever he’s protected her. It’s the kind of raw anger whenever Donny’s safety is threatened that Wren often finds endearing. But she can’t find it endearing now, not when she’d never thought to see the day he’d look at her like that– like she’s the enemy. As though she’s made it her life mission to screw this all up.

“I’ve got half a dozen pissed off wolves, a couple others I’ve never met before and a staff to help to pay for all the fucking damages here.” He takes a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair as though it’ll take some of the frustration out of him. “If you want to help me Wren, I just need you to take Donny home because from where I’m standing that’s the only thing you can do for me.”

The stint of his words hit home. She barely manages some semblance of a nod before she turns to leave; her eyes stinging with tears she refuses to shed as she jerks her chin at Donny. Without waiting for him to respond, she pushes her way past the metal doors of the entrance and wastes no time to shove past the small crowd still left at the front of the bar.

By time she’s found her car, her fingers are shaking and it takes a couple attempts for her to fish the keys out of her pocket. Fuck. Keep it together, just keep it together. A sob escapes her throat, and Wren yanks the door quickly open as Donny’s footsteps finds the passenger seat of her truck. She turns on the ignition, and rubs her eyes hastily as he slips inside.

“I’m sorry.”

There’s a tremble in Donny’s voice.

Wren freezes, glancing up only to stare at him.

Sometimes, she forgets he’s still just a kid.

And much to her dismay, his eyes are glassy enough that she thinks he’ll cry. Although he isn’t bleeding anymore, he looks nearly as broken as she feels – from his torn shirt, down to the arm he’s currently clutching to his chest.

She doesn’t speak, not at first. Almost hesitantly, she leans across to his side of the car and squeezes his good hand for good measure. And for a moment, it’s enough.

His eyes are a little clearer as he stares unblinkingly back at her.

She offers him a shaky smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Me too, kid.”

Leaning back inside her seat, she winces at the dull ache in her sides at the motion. With the adrenaline rush nearly gone, she’ll be feeling a hell of a lot more before she even reaches the main road. Closing her eyes for a moment – she breathes deeply, searching until she’s able to find enough strength and willpower to move. Seconds later, her eyes fly open – Wren smoothly pulls the car out of reverse and drives home.

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