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#she meows like an old lady it's hard to explain
hedgehog-moss · 4 months
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Mascarille when she impulsively follows me outside not realising there are 3 whole centimetres of snow on the ground
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it's fine it's snow! you are familiar with snow
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go home then. you are five steps away from the door.
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it's not Napoleon's retreat from Russia it's literally just five—
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Here´s to our pets
A little spontaneous kristanna modern AU, pet holder AU
for @hiptoff because Sven and Olaf deserve to play together...
Frozen/Encanto crossover (only little bit....)
Find this little something also on AO3
Words: 3193
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Going to see the Vet was terrible.
But then, Sven´s paw looked infected and I didn´t like it either. We have moved to Arendelle only recently, and the address of Dr. vet. A. Heart had been the first I had found in the phone book.
So then, we waited, surrounded by other people with their patients.
Across from me sat an old lady with her cat which kept meowing in the most dramatic way in high pitched tones. My ears started hurting, and I wondered why those places would not have separated waiting rooms for the silent animals and the whining ones.
Next to me there sat a little boy with his little Guinea pig. Apparently, the animal had eaten too much, was too fat and the boy cradled the soft fer with his fingers, sweetly whispering to the little Bruno that all would be fine. He explained to me that the other Guinea pig was called Felix and that they loved eating and playing together. Cute. Only then I learned that there were also two hamsters, five rats, a pair of parrots, and a pair of turtles leaving in his room, too. Who was that boy and how big of a room did he live in? But then, with the tender way he cared for his pet, I couldn´t refrain from a smile. Those creatures surely had a good home with that boy.  
The young woman on my other side held a cat on her lap, which consistently glared at Sven who laid relaxed to my feet, and totally unimpressed by the hard stare he received from those green slit eyes. The woman was called by the friendly assistant with big glasses who peered through the door. A short while later, the old lady was called in. Maybe it was a sort of cat first-thing. I didn´t know, but it was okay. Since it was all silent now and the boy to my side had started to hum a sweet lullaby to Bruno. The Guinea pig curled its nose and squeaked contentedly to the tune.
Sven stirred a little, sitting up and resting his head on my knees. I cradled his ears fondly and rubbed his back supportively.
“I know buddy. The Vet will soon check your paw, and all will be fine.”
“What´s wrong with your dog, Sir?” The boy had stopped singing and looked up to me with those big dark eyes, and his black mob of hair on his head.
“Sven´s paw got hurt by glass because some dumb jerks had crashed beer bottles in the park grass.”
I hated those people. Seriously, all of them should get arrested and tightened onto nail beds to experience the pain themselves.
“Oh, that´s awful and I am sorry. Why do people do that at all? That´s such a shame. Get well, Sven, and always watch where you´re going.” The boy grimaced sadly and nodded supportively towards my dog.
“Thanks. We will keep that in mind.”
The door opened and the kind lady from before peeped in again. To her feet, a little white Jack Russel pranced excitingly and then hopped back to his cushion across the hallway, apparently waiting decently whenever another animal left the waiting room.
“Hey Antonio. You´re next. Who have you brought this time?”
“Hi Mirabel. This is Bruno. I think he ate too much. I hope that Miss Anna can help him.”
“Oh, I am sure, she will. Let´s have a look at Bruno then, okay?”
So, his name was Antonio. Cute. And wait, Miss Anna? Who was Miss Anna? The Vet?
Dr. A. Heart is Anna, then? Oh… okay. That Antonio seemed to be sort of daily customer, then? No wonder with the zoo he held at home. 
So, Sven and I waited another little while when Miss Mirabel called us to follow her. Sven slightly limped by my feet, and I desperately hoped that Dr. Heart could help his injury. When we left the waiting room, I spotted Antonio in the hallway, next to him a young woman reddish curled hair combed to a wild bun at the back of her head, she had a freckled nose, and blue eyes. Gosh, was this a Vet surgery or a beauty studio?
She had laid a hand on Antonio´s shoulder and smiled warmly, bending down to cradle Bruno´s head.
“Don´t worry, Antonio, you could not know. Those mix-ups sometimes happen in the pet shops. Only, that you will have to give Bruno some other name now, I suppose.”
“Oh, that´s easy, she´s Bruna now. And how long will it take for the babies to come out?”
“Not that long. I figure by the end of next month. You just bring her in if you think she´s not feeling well, okay? But she makes a sound and healthy appearance to me.”
“Thanks, Miss Anna. Wow! Felix will be happy, too, I am sure.”
“I bet, he will.” The Vet lady smiled and bit her lips, squeezing the boy´s shoulder.
I should not stare at them. That was simply impolite. But the tender scene had caught me off guard. How sweet was that. And the little Jack Russel crouched to the Vet´s feet, wagging his tail eagerly at her words.
Oh, so the Guinea pig was not Bruno… maybe I should not talk about Bruno… since it was Bruna…. Oh dear…
***
“Good day, Mr. Bjorgman, I am Anna Heart. And who is that lovely patient?”
“Good day, to you, too. This is Sven.” I introduced my dog after lifting him onto the exam table.
“Hi, Sven.” The Vet stroked his head with a smile and the Labrador practically threw himself into her arms. What had come over him now? I had never seen him do that before, except… with me. I stared a bit dumbfounded, but the young lady did not seem to mind but hugged him affectionately with a hearty giggle.
“My, you are a stormy fellow. You would get along fine with my Olaf.”
“Olaf?”
“My little dog, a Jack Russel. You might have seen him in the hallway? He loves warm hugs like this.”
I nodded, glancing over my shoulder at the little imaginary dog behind the door. Dr. Heart grinned so cutely and then tilted her head and took a closer look at Sven.
“So, what´s the matter with Sven. Why have you brought him here?”
And I told her about the glass splitter I had detected and pulled out last night.
Anna Heart frowned, shook her head and sighed in annoyance.
“Seriously! I always get so infuriated when I see broken glass on the road or worse, in the grass where nobody can see it in time. If you ask me, those people should get condemned to dance on glass splitters bare feet, so that they know what it feels like.” She huffed angrily and shook her head again.
I could not tell what I must have looked like, but certainly I stared at the woman mouth agape.
Just my words!
“I so agree…” I stammered still and flabbergasted by her impressively enthusiastic outburst, and she then shrugged apologetically, tugging an escaped hairstrand behind her hear.
“Well, I suppose that does not help Sven now. Let´s have a look at that paw.”
She carefully checked on his leg downward and examined his injured paw, while the dog eagerly licked her hand. It was fascinating to see her taking care of my buddy in such a concentrating way. She must take her job very serious and after a moment, she nodded with a sigh. She carefully put his paw down and then looked at me with a sincere glance.
“I am afraid it does not look so good. That happened yesterday, you said?”
I nodded, rather worried now. Just then, Mirabel entered the room and stood close by, ready to assist. Anna mentioned some medicine and something about a neck ruff, only to turn back to me.
“It´s good you came here. The wound is already infected, and his leg is warm. Look.” She reached for my hand and placed it on Sven´s leg, and now he licked both our hands in turns. He must have enjoyed himself greatly, despite the pain. Such a good boy. And yes, that leg felt warmer than the other. Did the infection reach up that high?
“Beginning of a sepsis. But I can handle that by injecting some antibiotic right now. And you will have to apply a tablet each to his meal twice a day till the end of week. For now, I will tend to the wound with disinfection and small curettage to prevent it from further infection.”
Mirabel had returned with some medical material, syringes, bandage, and that dreadful neck ruff to prevent the dog from licking his paw.
Sven was lying on the surgery table, and I held him for comfort, while Dr. Heart tended to her task of cleansing and operating on his wound, with the assistance of Mirabel, who eventually addressed me with a quiet voice.
“Mr. Bjorgam, are you here by car?”
“Yes.”
“Can you carry Sven to your car, or shall I call for help? My sister Luisa could bring the dog over for you.”
“No, I can do that myself, thanks.”
“I thought so.” Anna said affirmingly with a sideway wink, fixing the bandage around Sven´s leg. Why would that nonchalant comment make me blush?
“Well then, good boy!”
Oh, she was talking to Sven… obviously when she checked the bandage and his vitality symptoms one last time before Mirabel helped her to fix that nasty collar around his neck.
“Well, Mr. Bjorgman. You must not worry. Sven will be fine, I am sure. Still, if you think there is something wrong, don´t hesitate to call me, alright?” Dr. Heart placed a comforting hand on Sven´s head and gave me a reassuring smile before I picked him up and nestled the now sleepy dog against my chest.
“Thank you. I appreciate your help. Uhm, so, I come back in tomorrow so you can check on the wound again, right?”
“That´s right.”
That kind smile… shut it, she´s simply friendly.
I was not the only one with an injured dog. When I left the exam room with Sven in my arms I spotted a tall lady in the hallway, carrying literally a Saint Bernard like he weighted practically nothing. The owner followed her with that worried face. So, that must be the big sister… Luisa?
Wow, that was by far the most interesting Veterinary surgery I had ever seen...
I carefully placed Sven on the backseat of the car and drove home with him.
She had said that she wanted to see him again tomorrow, and if everything was looking better or at least not worse than today, I should come back by the end of the week and then again in a week´s time.
I swear, I don´t like Vets… But why was I feeling disappointed of not being ordered in more often now…? Not that I wanted Sven to be in pain or sick… of course not! I felt so sorry for him… But… Dr. Heart seemed nice and maybe it would do Sven good if she could check on him more than what she had recommended….?
You´re such a moron…
***
2 weeks later…
“I think we can take this off, now.” Anna Heart offered Sven the long-craved freedom for his tongue finding his paw again. He yelped in excitement and wagged his tail fervently, just to prance on the table like a happy puppy.
“Thank you so much. So, when do you need to check on Sven again?”
“Oh, that´s it. He´s fine and we´re done. Unless you detect some irregularities of any kind. You´re always welcome to come in… with your dog I mean.”
Luckily, Mirabel had not been in the room. Was I imagining it or was Anna slightly blushing? She bit her lips and then hastily turned to wash her hands while I lifted Sven from the exam table. There was this odd moment of silence, where none of us said a word. Only the elephant of the unspoken question lurked in the corner, glaring at me.
Could I ask her out?
I was about to open my mouth, when the door opened, and Mirabel walked in with the old woman and her whining cat in tow. So, the magical second had puffed off and I nodded my goodbye and tugged at Sven´s leach for us to leave the room.
When Mirabel closed the door, I unobtrusively glanced over my shoulder, and I might have been mistaken but had Anna looked up quickly to smile at me?
You´re still a moron…
I then sat in the car somewhat dumbly… I knew it was silly. We had been to the Vet, not to a date… She had tended to him as a Vet, not like his mom… Even though Anna had inquired after my job and then on some other appointment if I had settled well in Arendelle by now, it had most certainly only been out of sheer politeness. Because she was simply a nice person, a very nice person indeed. Her smiles had appeared so sincere, and here sparkling blue eyes a glimpse of heavenly light. But of course, all that belonged to her completely naturally, not that she would smile at me by purpose, so I assumed. And her hand sometimes reassuringly brushing my wrist while explaining Sven´s state, it must be professional habit. Surely, she was as kind to everybody.
She seemed the kindest soul I had ever met, well, besides my parents and of course, Sven.
Anyway, it was silly of me to think of her in such tender way… yes it was.
So, I started the engine and we drove off towards home, the two of us. Sven seemed to be happy to look around freed of the terrible view blocker. But he was also a sensitive buddy, placing an understanding paw onto my arm.
“Hey buddy. Let´s go home and then to the park, alright?! Just make sure not to trample into some glass, again, will you! Albeit it might be nice to see the Vet, right?!” I laughed meekly, more ashamed of my abusive idea towards my dog, than the stupid notion itself.
It was late afternoon when we headed for the great green gardens at the city´s brim, where one could have a most wonderful view onto the harbour and the great Fjord meandering it´s way beyond the cliffs and towards the northern mountain lands.
Sven clearly enjoyed his liberty and skipped and hopped around like a bouncing ball. Speaking of his favourite toy, I threw his plush carrot for him to catch and apport back to me. We repeated that game several times, only that at one point, the carrot landed behind some big bush and Sven could not find it right away. Just then, a little white dog rushed past the Labrador, with something orange in his mouth. Sven ran after him and when he caught the little rascal, they trolled around as if they knew each other since long. The carrot was the focused topic of their play, and they tossed the toy and pulled at it with eagerly displayed joy. It was funny to watch and for some reason heart-warming.
Who was that little fellow? Oh, was that not….?
And then I heard her voice, would recognise that bell-like sound from miles away.
“Olaf!”
Anna appeared from where the little dog had emerged from a moment ago. When she noticed the Labrador and Jack Russell rolling over the grass with the plushie´s ends each in their mouths, she stopped short and laughed whole heartedly.
I stood a few feet away from her, still not sure what to do, nor what to say in the first place. The dogs were having their fun, and who could deny them their excitement. Only that their master and mistress could hardly act the same way, could they? Goodness!  
Oh shit! How could I even think of such nonsense…?
“Oh, now I know why the Labrador looks familiar to me!” Anna had turned around and was looking at me with the cutest grin.
“Yeah… well, looks like you were right. Your Olaf seems to like my Sven.”
“No wonder!” She bit her lips and then nodded towards the yiping dogs, “your Sven appears the perfect play buddy.”
“Oh, he is.”
“What about his master?” Her eyes a sparkling firework.
“What?!”
Now she giggled.
“Sorry. That came out a bit straight I am afraid. What I mean… well… not that you need to roll across the park like that… but… well, maybe…”
“But I can roll with it. That´s what I can do.”
“What´s that supposed to mean?”
She now googled me with big eyes, and it was my turn to grin. Well, if she was not sure what to say and still asking me after all if I was a play buddy…, well, at least I could try to help her out. Oh, I wanted to help her out, but not screw it up myself. So, I shrugged and grimaced somewhat helplessly.
“I can roll with it and invite you for diner? But maybe that comes out a bit lame then, doesn´t it?”
“Oh, no! Not at all. I´d love to go out with you.”
If that was so… well, was I not a lucky guy… but wait…
“And there is nobody waiting for you, asking why you get home… late?”
“No. Well, my sister Elsa. But she won´t ask.”
“Why not?”
“She knows me well. And if she sees me smiling because I spent a nice evening, she will smile back at me. That´s about it.”
… because I spent a nice evening… Wow….
“How would you know that it will be a nice evening?” I felt my stomach clench nervously.
“Because it´s you who invited me, and…” she shrugged with a shy smile, “I really like the prospect of it.”
Time stood still for a tad of a second and we had not been aware that the dogs had come around, sitting side by side, patiently waiting for us with wagging tails, and expectantly tilting their heads.
I knew that look on Sven´s face. And apparently, Olaf seemed to share my buddy´s opinion. Namely, that this was a great idea of mine, and I should pursue my instincts.
“Looks like the dogs are ready.” Anna chuckled and attached the leach to Olaf´s neckband, and I did the same with Sven´s.
I could not help but feel a warm sensation when I straightened and noticed her red hair glowing in the light of sunset, and her smile complementing the delightful moment.
I reached out my free arm for her, and she looped her hand in the crook of my elbow. It must have been the golden light of the sun sinking beyond the Fjord´s horizon, but she seemed to beam like a radiating star. I tried to control my elation and nodded towards the harbour.
“Shall we?”
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gwaaaaar · 2 years
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Having finished Hyde and Seek like 3 days after release here are some of my thoughts. There's gonna be some stuff implied so read with caution, i wont say outright but ill talk abt the implications. Sorry most of this is Alan rambling I have brainworms and I'm ill.
-Alan is literally my malewife. Love at first sight, if Noah is my little meanwhore Alan is my malewife. I love their big boobs.
-Pollie>Sally. My heart dropped when Alan tried to ask Sally out like out of all people, Sally? Good news though hes single by the end.
-Pollie is literally that one tumblr post where its like let women be pathetic little meow meows too. She is the definition of a pathetic meow meow and i love her for that.
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Hey Alan, Alan, how old were you when this happened. IF YOU WERE LIKE 15 AND IF SHE WAS LIKE YOUR BABYSITTER IM CONCERNED. Its between this and a joke MazM made that his siblings were his secret lovechildren, thing is Alan is 21, his siblings are 7, that is a really dark implication. You can't just say that Alan.
-Yasssss Pollie and Kate are girlfriends, they we're LITERALLY ROOMMATES. OH MY GAH.
-After reading Sallie backstory I feel sorry for her, she can join the Kate polycule.
-M I H I R. mihir. Just mihir. I called him a DILF and my friend was like "hes 25" 👁👄👁. The stress and his monocle made him look older.
-He represents my culture very well! A little fun fact, the sun pin he has is a religious symbol, ironic considering hes a criminal. My friend said its the equivalent of a mafioso boss wearing a cross.
-The fact that he used to write poems but his dad called them shit. The true asian experience, having your parents disapprove of your hobbies.
-I actually love the subvertion of stereotypes and tropes here. I have personally never heard of this stereotype till yesterday but there's one abt Irish people where they are redheaded lazy drunks. Then there's Alan who's such a hard worker and a good boy and and and ehwbhsgrnehehsneghsha. The stereotype that Indians are either stupid or h word. Mihir is none of those things, he's eloquent with his words, witty, and very respectful. The trope of cute dainty maids gets subverted by Pollie and Kate.
-The Kate and Pollie duality. Now I'll be talking abt tropes here but do not take it as my opinion on gender expression, I'm just using things MazM has done b4 + popular media.
Pollie constantly calling herself a lady and dressing in fem clothes, bonus points for the blue. Although she would technically be the more masculine one because she loves to fight and gamble. Her face is also somewhat masculine, similar to Daejin Park in MazM Pechka!
Kate crossdressing and having to live as man would technically make her the more masculine one. But she's also the most feminine one with her soft face and for some reason media associates education with feminine? Idfk brawling is seen as more masc. But mazm rated these hands E for everyone.
-In Alan's introductory tweet he is stated to be a good fighter that holds back. In game the explaination for that is he doesn't want to get injured. I would've thought this was a set up to fighting Alan at one point. I'm a little dissapointed it didnt go that way qwq.
-That scene where Alan starts taking the drugs to stay active and assaults a customer was kinda terrifying. Well it's the scene after they mention that. But his angy face when he talks abt how much hes had to endure for his family, how he sometimes wished they were dead. Only for him to recoil in shock because that wasn't Alan. Hits me in my feelies.
-Mihir says trans rights, he asked his father to address Kate like a man bc she was living as one and he called it stupid. Mihir actually respects her though wjhejehehnehenejej.
-Alan if you keep complaining about my pants I'll shove you in a maid dress. Then youll realize how nice it is not to be constrained by gener.
-If you can't tell from my blog banner, I love older brother characters. The fucking angst but also hehe cute older brother type that cares heehoo im trash.
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karmasuna · 4 years
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Shinsou, Deku Bakugou headcanons where they go shopping together with the reader and gets mistaken for a couple
das hella cute 👀 
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Midoriya Izuku
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○ the two of you would be out shopping together for Eri’s birthday party and to get her some presents from you and him 
○ you would go around to different stores buying decorations, food and drinks, and just anything you thought the little girl would like
○ at some point while getting the ingredients to bake the cake at the supermarket, you had taken to sitting in the cart while Midoriya pushed you around so you could grab everything you needed off the shelves
○ as you waited for the green haired boy to pay for the stuff with the allowance Aizawa had given you and him for Eri’s birthday party, you get a text message from said teacher asking you to help him get some extra balloons to decorate
○ so you tell Midoriya you had one more stop to make before heading back, tugging at his sleeve while telling him to hurry and he chuckles, patting your head and telling you to be patient
○ the old lady working the cashier smiles at your cute interaction, saying that you two made an adorable couple and saying something about young love
○ and you both flush bright red, the boy sputtering and frantically telling her that you two weren’t dating, just close friends before you grabbing his hand and literally dragging him out of the supermarket out of embarrassment
○ as you two slow down to your normal pace after rushing out of there, you share an awkward laugh
○ he suddenly becomes aware of his hand in yours, his face flushing an even darker shade as he tries not to immediately jump away from your touch 
○ you notice him glancing down at your joined hands and you laugh at his embarrassed face, lacing your fingers through his 
○ and you watch with amusement as he practically melts into a flustered puddle
○ you laugh and plant a kiss on his cheek before teasingly telling him to hurry and get moving before the ice cream you had just bought melted
○ and he hurriedly follows you as you tug on his hand, eager to go back to the dorms and start baking Eri’s cake
 Shinsou Hitoshi
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○ Hitoshi was heading to the pet store to help Aizawa get some cat food and you had decided to tag along, saying that you wanted to go visit the cats there too 
○ and when you get there you immediately rushed off to where the cats were, cooing at the adorable fluffballs as they meowed at you from their room
○ you came by so often that the people who worked there recognized you, and would often let you play with the cats
○ today was no different, the boy working the shift letting you into the room as you give him an appreciative smile
○ the purple-haired boy eventually shows up after grabbing the cat food Aizawa needed, watching you dangle a toy in front of the tiny kitten in front of you with a soft smile on his face
○ and when you see him, you open the door to let him in, telling him that he should play with them for a while too 
○ of course he would never say no to cats (or you for that matter) so he puts down the cat food and picks up the cat that was currently wrapped around his leg before sitting down on the floor next to you
○ the two of you play with them for a bit until Hitoshi gives each of them one last pat and stands up
○ “C’mon Y/N, we gotta start heading back or else Aizawa-sensei’s cat is gonna starve to death”
○ you pout but oblige, waving at the cats as you left the room and headed towards the cashier so that he could pay for the cat food
○ as you two approach the boy from earlier put down his console and eyes you two suspiciously
○ “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend, Y/L/N,” he comments as he scans the cans. “Always assumed you were single since you come here so much like some old cat lady.”
○ your face turns red, both from surprise and anger from him calling you an old cat lady
○ “We aren’t dating, Kenma, he doesn’t like me that way,” you say, poking a finger into the boy next to you, “and who are you calling an old lady, pudding head?!”
○ “Uh huh, whatever you say,” he responds, totally unconvinced as he shares a weird glance with Hitoshi before nodding and handing him his items back
○ you wanted to ask about it, but you kept your mouth shut, not wanting him to insult you again
○ when you ask Hitoshi what that was about as you boarded the train, his reply was a mysterious smile before flicking your forehead
○“You said I didn’t like you that way, but you never said you didn’t like me that way, Y/N.”
○ “Are you implying something?”
○ “No, of course not,” he replies, leaning over to gently boop your nose 
 Bakugo Katsuki
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○ class 1A was all out shopping together, and when you arrived at the mall you had all split up to go browse stores you were interested in
○ you and Mina wanted to check out some new clothes, and so you two set off together
○ Bakugo insisted on following you, saying that he had nothing he wanted to buy and with Bakugo also came Kirishima and in tow the entire Bakusquad
○ “Katsuki, how does this look?” you ask, coming out of the changing room in a dress that Mina had picked out and insisted you try
○ “Fine,” he answers curtly before looking back down at his phone, seemingly uncaring of your outfit choices
○ but you knew better, seeing the tips of his ears turn red and knowing he actually liked the dress
○ and so you make a note to buy it later when you leave, going off to check out some other clothes in the shop
○ “It’s so impressive that you actually got your boyfriend come shopping with you,” the girl who was currently helping you out comments, making your face heat up as you laughed awkwardly 
○ “Ah, we aren’t dating, our entire friend group is here, actually,” you explain
○ “Is that so? Boys usually leave when the girls are distracted.”
○ so you glanced around the small shop, and sure enough, Sero, Kirishima and Kaminari were long gone and nowhere to be seen
○ and you try not to think too much of it, writing it off as the blonde just not liking shopping that much
○ the girl notices and winks at you, telling you to keep him to yourself before he got bored and ran off to someone else since boys like him are hard to find 
○ after a while you plop down next to him, resting your feet for a bit as you watched your pink friend continue to pick out clothes
○ jokingly telling him about your interaction with the girl earlier, you were surprised when he actually puts down his phone and looks you in the eye
○ “well she’s damn right that I would be a great boyfriend,” he drawls before giving you a peck on the lips and making you a flustered mess
○ (you totally get a staff discount and a very enthusiastic thumbs up from the girl after that when Bakugo offers to pay for you instead) 
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mewi-or-lara · 2 years
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hollow knight?
Ooh, let's see I'm in the fandom for not so long, so I don't actually know who is underrated or unpopular, I'll just give my thoughts! It was really hard, because HK has super cool characters, very difficult to choose
blorbo - Broken Vessel/Lost Kin I just love them, I don't know how to explain... Just feel related
scrunkly - Old Stag me when the last stag turns into an old stag i just afughehguagheusuh 😭😭😭
scrimblo bimblo - Iselda Yesterday I dream nailed Iselda and she said something like I'm glad I put down my weapon after I met Cornifer and everything I can think of rn is that Iselda is a retired cool warrior bug lady
glup shitto - Willoh She has a very nice design! I love...
poor little meow meow - Hollow Knight they're just a poor little vessel let them live their happy life......
horse plinko - Pale King This is for all of those saws and spikes at the White Palace
eeby deeby - Grimm Something in his design I really really don't like (for me, his design is cool in general) and I want Grimm to burn in hellfire for all of my unsuccessful attempts to defeat him in a fight
I also want to note, that I love Hornet (love her design, love to draw her etc), but I can't put her in any category
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abbysfrenchbraid · 3 years
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Kissed by a Wolf - Chapter 4
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Masterlist 🌿 (check for previous chapters) / Playlist
In this chapter, the reader fully joins Eivor’s clan and takes part in the celebrations before the raid. Talking with Eda does not go as planned.
Content Warnings for food & alcohol, mentions of physical abuse, lesbophobia, light smut and vomit.
Inspo Picture by @anaakeart​
The Sting of Rejection
You had already slept for a few hours when Eivor returned from her council meeting late at night. Even though she tried to be quiet and not to wake you, you were awake as soon as you heard her steps on the path outside.
Birna had curled up in your arms and raised her head when the warrior entered, not moving from her warm and comfortable spot. You remained still, your eyes closed as you listened to the woman’s movements. Her fur coat fell to the ground almost inaudibly, the wood of her trunk creaked quietly as she sat down to take off her boots, her leather pants rustled when she pulled them off and threw them in a corner.
Then you finally felt her motions, too as she lifted a corner of the quilt covering you and slipped in the bed, immediately scooting close to you. She gave Birna a few gentle strokes until the cat started to purr softly and Eivor lowered her head next to yours with a satisfied sigh. She smelled like beer and smoked meat, accompanied by that faint, wonderful scent of tree bark.
You must have stirred because Eivor lifted her head again, whispering: “Little bird… there are good news for you.”
Careful not to disturb Birna, you turned slightly and looked at her with raised eyebrows. She smiled.
“You are now one of us. Mine.” She watched your face attentively for a reaction. You closed your eyes and swallowed. So it was decided.
“Are you happy?” Eivor asked, drawing her fingertips over your healthy cheek.
“Yes, I am,” you answered, turning back around and scooting back against her.
“Mmhh. We’ll talk in the morn.” She wrapped her arms around you and pulled you close, then you both drifted off to sleep.
-
You were woken by Birna's demanding meows at the door. She had not left the hut since yesterday and was probably hungry and in need of a quiet corner. Eivor grunted, then she untangled herself from your limbs and cursed in her mother tongue when she stumbled over her clothes on her way to let the cat out.
“You won’t like it outside, little lady. The snow has stayed,” she grumbled as she opened the door. Indeed, Birna was not amused at the prospect of stepping into the cold, wet powder that painted the village in beautiful white and whirled into the room as soon as the door stood ajar. You pulled the blanket over your head to escape the stinging cold air, listening to Eivor and Birna bicker about the cat’s options for the day.
It really sounded like they were having a conversation, one that ended with Birna leaving with a last, angry cry and Eivor shutting the door with a thankful sigh. She let herself fall back on the bed and crawled under the covers. You stuck your head out.
“So, I’m one of you now?”
Eivor needed a moment to process your question, then she sat up and nodded.
“The council was thankful for your offer to help us prepare the raid and accepted your proposal. You’re going to come with me later so you can have another look at the map and tell us everything you know. In return, you will receive a wooden bangle declaring you part of this clan and my personal servant as soon as we return.”
You sat up as well and leaned against the headboard, fidgeting with the edge of the blanket as you tried to find the right words.
“I am very grateful for your trust. I know it normally does not come easy,” you said. “May I ask something else of you?”
The blonde raised her eyebrows with a questioning look.
“My- the people who came with me. How are they?”
“Oh, they are all well.” Eivor got up and started putting on her clothes. “Three of them have decided to stay with us freely and work in the stables and the longhouse. Two have yet to decide and your lady friend is refusing to speak to us. I hear she is eating, at least.”
A wave of relief washed over you. You were not the only one to change sides. You were fairly sure you knew who had taken up work in the village; the two remaining prisoners were probably the squires to Lord William. They had endured harsh treatment at his hands, but he had promised them a future as knights and held them in higher regard than his own daughters. It made sense that Eda was not willing to speak or change her mind. She blamed Eivor for the death of her entire family.
“Eivor?”
“Yes, little bird?”
“Do you think I could have a word with Eda? Maybe I can reason with her,” you suggested, holding your breath as you waited for her reaction. She considered it for a moment, then she shrugged and put on her coat.
“I guess it would do no harm. You can speak with her before we meet the others in the map room, maybe she will tell you something helpful.” She turned around. “Do you want to join me in the longhouse for breakfast?”
The question surprised you, but she was right. You were healing fast, and there was no reason for you to stay in bed any longer. You agreed and swung your legs out of bed, slipped into your wooden clogs and put on your new coat over the linen tunic. Hopefully, you would be able to acquire some more fitting and functional clothes soon, but now was not the time to worry about looks. Your face was still swollen and blue anyway, your bruises now starting to fade to green at the edges.
You quickly rubbed the salve Valka had given you on your tender cheek, then Eivor held the door open for you and you stepped outside into the snow. The air was hard and cold, but clear and when it filled your lungs, you could feel it chase out the last remains of smoke and illness. Walking down to the longhouse, two dogs ran toward you and circled you with excited barks and wagging tails, apparently delighted to see Eivor. She laughed and chased them around for a bit, then she told them she had other things to do and they let her be and ran off towards the stables.
When you entered the longhouse, Eivor was immediately greeted by cheers and excited comments regarding the coming raid. She smiled and acknowledged everyone’s words before leading you to a side part of the house. There was a fireplace in the center of the area, a hole in the roof directing the smoke outside. A kettle and a metal grid were hung over the fire and an old woman was stirring porridge with a gigantic wooden spoon. You both stepped closer.
“Sfáva, dette er Y/N,” Eivor introduced you, gently placing a hand between your shoulder blades. “She is from Williamsburg and has decided to join us. She is a cook, too."
The old woman slowly came closer, squinting her eyes at you until her face was almost directly beneath yours. Then she suddenly gave you a warm, almost toothless smile, deepening the crows’ feet around her eyes and stretching the leathery, weatherbeaten skin on her cheeks.
“Velkommen, Y/N,” she croaked and took your hand, patting it lightly. She chattered something in Eivor’s direction and the warrior translated: “She’s glad to have you here and hopes you can show her some English cooking. She does not speak your language, but she understands a few words and can grasp your meaning if you speak slowly. Our tongues are not too different.”
You smiled back at Sfáva, gently squeezing her hand.
“I’m honored to work by your side, Sfavá.”
The old cook let out a delighted laugh at your proper pronunciation of her name and gestured for you to take a wooden bowl. You and Eivor both took bowls and spoons from a table and Sfavá filled them with porridge. Eivor loaded up her meal with several sausages from the grill, to which you passed.
“I’m afraid we can’t eat together. My place is up there” - she mentioned to the table at the back of the room, standing orthogonal to the rest of the tables - “with my brother. I see your old companions have found themselves over there, maybe you would like to join them?” She motioned over to where the three men that had been released as well sat and ate their breakfast.
You nodded and wished the warrior a good morning, then you walked over and sat down with the others. Aelfric and Hal had been the stable masters back at Williamsburg and were excited about the variety of horses and possibilities here. Eivor had apparently put a lot of money and work into the stables, making them a much more enjoyable place than the dark, moldy ramshackle hut William’s old mares had spent their days in. Lewin was also content with his situation; he had joined the butcher and his son in preparing meat for winter.
They were all happy to see you, thanking you for your quick thinking and cautious behavior during and after the attack. Lewin was even convinced they owed you their lives. While they went on discussing the possibilities of hunting at this time of the year, you stared into your porridge and tried to find the words and the courage for a conversation with Eda.
What could you say that would explain to her your disloyalty to her name, your treachery to England, your betrayal against her after everything you had gone through together? How could you ever change her mind or her situation, what were your possibilities in this? Would she stay locked into a cell for the rest of her life? What would the Vikings do with her if she was nothing but a nuisance?
The others took their leave and you were still none the wiser. Absorbed in your thoughts, you let your gaze wander through the long hall. Your eyes finally got caught on the she-wolf at the elevated warriors’ table. She was deep in conversation with Sigmund and tapping her finger on the table as she made her point to him. He seemed to agree with everything she was saying, consistently nodding his head as he devoured his sausages.
Suddenly, Eivor caught your gaze and while she kept talking, her finger stayed pressed to the wooden tabletop. You could have sworn there was a hint of a smile on her face as she turned back to her brother to ask him something. Shaking your head, you got up and brought your empty bowl back to Sfáva’s side table.
Even though her eyesight seemed to be terrible, she immediately recognized you and repeated your name with a joyful fondness in her voice that made your heart swell in your chest. What a wonderful woman.
As you wandered around the hall to collect the dirty bowls people had left on the tables, you felt someone’s eyes on you. Smiling to yourself, you relished at the feeling a little bit longer before turning around to return Eivor’s look. To your surprise, she had stood up and turned her back to you, speaking with someone behind the table.
Slightly bewildered, you finished your round and carried the stash of bowls and spoons back to the cooking area. Just as you turned to ask Sfáva where you should wash the dishes, you saw something blue in the corner of your eye. You looked up and had to force yourself to keep your composure as you saw Randvi leaning against a wooden pillar across the hall and watching you from afar, her arms crossed and her face smooth and expressionless.
She did not move or look away when you saw her, standing perfectly still and continuing to look at you as you finally lowered your gaze and asked Sfáva about your tasks for the day. The old Viking explained her wishes to you with a mix of slow Norwegian and sign language, making it clear you should wash the bowls outside in a big trough and bring her another few sacks of flour. You felt uneasy as you left the longhouse to do your washing up, still followed by Randvi’s piercing gaze.
Eivor caught you outside, glad you had already settled in with your new work and thrilled for the raid. She was practically buzzing with excitement and her restlessness made you laugh, taking your mind off the strange moment with Randvi.
“What are you laughing at, eh? You are looking at a proud drengr, not a jester!” she exclaimed, furrowing her brows in feigned outrage and making you laugh even harder.
“You remind me of Eda and Delia on the eve before Christmas. They were so excited for the next morning, they could barely sleep.” Your gaze lost itself in the dirty water in the trough before you. You had some good memories with the two girls. They had been so innocent and happy. A hand on the small of your back drew you back to the present. Eivor had stepped closer.
“I will sleep like a bear in winter so long as you lie by my side,” she said quietly.
Her words and touch sent chills up your spine. Before you could reply, Eivor stepped back.
“But first, we will plan our glorious raid. And then we will celebrate. Oh Y/N, you will love it. Mead and food and great songs - we will be in good spirits tonight. And tomorrow will be even better!” Her eyes lit up at the thought of the joy and glory to come. “I need to look at a few things in the stables. Take this time to speak with your friend. I will come and get you when it is time to meet over the map.”
You watched her as she walked away, a spring in her step as she headed for the wooden building at the far end of the village. The dishes were clean, so you took them back inside and left them on the table for Sfáva. She was deep in conversation with two other Norse women when you filled another bowl with porridge and two sausages and quietly made your way to the cell in the back of the longhouse.
Eda sat on the floor where you had left her last. Her dress was dusty and stained, her hair was matted and her face looked grey and old. Dag, who was keeping watch again, let you in with a grumble and sat back down on his chair. Eda refused to look at you as you knelt down before her and offered her the food.
“Eda, please. You must eat. You look like death itself.”
“I don’t fear death,” she mumbled, still staring at her hands, “I fear traitors and backstabbing snakes.”
Her words knocked the air out of your lungs. You had not expected her to be this hostile. What now?
“I do not claim to know the pain you feel and the losses you are bearing. I am simply trying to live with dignity instead of wasting away,” you explained, tears welling up in your eyes. “Do you not see my face? Were you not there when I learned I was worth nothing at Williamsburg, nothing but dirt on your father’s shoe? Eivor has offered me a place in this world. She-”
“You and your precious Eivor!” Eda snapped, her gaze now burning right through your head and her face screwed up into a hateful grimace. “You fell to your knees the second you saw her, begging for her to take you. I will not be lulled into submission by a filthy little sapphic whore!”
This blow hurt worse than William’s fist. There was nothing left to say. You put the bowl down next to her, then you stood up and left the cell. Dag gave you a strange look when he locked the door again.
Just as you rounded the corner, you bumped into Eivor. She knew something was wrong right away, pulling you into her warm embrace and letting you cry into her chest for a long moment until she pulled back and lowered her head to look at you.
“What is it, my little bird? Will your friend neither soften nor think clearly?”
You just nodded and pressed your lips together, trying to swallow the lump in your throat. Eivor turned to look over her shoulder for a moment, then she pulled you into an alcove.
“You stay here and collect yourself. I will tell them you got held up and will be there soon.” She pulled you in for a last, quick hug, then she vanished from sight.
You took a few deep breaths and slapped your chest and torso, trying to fully return to the present, to your body, and to your rational thoughts. If Eda wanted nothing more to do with you, so be it. You had other things to worry about now.
When you entered the map room there were five men waiting for you alongside Eivor and Randvi. One of them was Sigurd, Eivor’s brother and the official chief of her clan, even though you felt like a lot of people cared for Eivor more strongly. You had just found out today that he was also Randvi’s husband. The other four you had seen before but you did not know their names.
Eivor looked up from the map first, smiling widely and rounding the table to introduce you.
“Everyone, this is Y/N. She was the cook at Williamsburg and has visited Fort Winton several times. She will tell us all she knows about the area and the castle.”
“What happened to your face, Y/N?” One of the warriors gave word to what everyone was thinking. You straightened up, trying to brace yourself against Randvi’s icy expression.
“Thank you for this opportunity to make myself useful here. My cheek made acquaintance with Lord William’s fist the day of your attack, but I am healing now and he is not, that is all that matters. And I have you to thank for it.”
Your answer seemed to satisfy everyone and you got to work. You spent the next hours telling them about every path and entrance to the castle you knew of, every person working there when you last visited, and everything about the Stewart that had taken over the shire. You even drew a plan of the order of the buildings and the rooms you knew of.
The Viking warriors warmed up to you quickly when they realized how much valuable knowledge you were giving them and even Randvi seemed to forget her hostility toward you after a while. The group even allowed you to stay for their debates on the right strategy, taking all your comments into consideration and thanking you for your help. Eivor reminded you at some point that you were still injured and told you to go back to the hut, put on the salve, and lay down. She would pick you up later for the feast.
Birna was already waiting for you at the door, mortally offended at having spent the day outside in the snow. She weaseled through the first crack in the door and was even more distraught when the fireplace was dead and the bed cold. You apologized sincerely and lit a fire to make Valka’s wonderful brew while you gently applied her salve to your healing cheek.
While your tea was steeping, you curled up with Birna and poured your heart out to her about Eda. She was a wonderful listener, snuggling up to you when you started crying and supporting your distraught words with agreeing meows. It was heartbreaking - the one friend you still had left did not want to be your friend anymore. You were all alone here. You had to admit that the Norse people were extremely welcoming to you and that Eivor would probably be very offended to hear you call yourself alone after two nights in her arms, but still. You were lonely. After you had drunk a cup of your herb infusion, you laid down, pulled Birna into your arms and cried yourself to sleep while the white cat silently watched over you.
-
A light grasp on your shoulder woke you and you opened your eyes to find Eivor crouching down before you, smiling softly at you. It was already dark outside and you had trouble finding your grasp on reality for a moment. Was it the next day? No. The feast.
Your mouth was dry and your eyelids felt heavy from crying. Eivor softly brushed the hair out of your face with her fingers.
“Good evening, little bird. Can I interest you in some excellent boar meat and warm mead?”
Birna answered in your stead, crying out as she stretched her little body on top of you. Eivor’s expression became even softer.
“For you, little lady, I have something special.” She took a small balled up bundle from her pocket and opened the stained cloth to reveal some fresh innards, probably taken from the boar. She placed the cloth on the ground in front of the fireplace and Birna jumped down from the bed to have her own royal feast.
You got up and followed the cat's example in stretching your limbs, feeling Eivor’s eyes on you as you put on your shoes and cloak and tried to comb your hair with your fingers. The blonde was next to you at once, holding your hands still.
“Wait. Let me.”
She opened her wooden chest and produced a beautiful wide-tooth comb. It was made from some kind of bone or fang. The warrior stood behind you and gently pulled all your hair back towards her. Then she began combing it out, starting at the bottom of each strand and carefully moving upwards, taking out any knots or dirt. Her fingers touched your scalp every time she took a new strand of hair, sending lightning down your spine and making the hair on your neck stand up.
“That’s better. I can braid it for you, too, if you’d like that,” Eivor said behind you. You brushed a hand over your long hair and felt its smoothness. You had never been allowed to wear your hair down at Williamsburg, always having to put it up in a knot and wear a bonnet or at least a cap. Today you had seen so many Viking women proudly wearing their hair down, some with intricate little braids and beads in theirs.
“I’d like that, yes,” you whispered, scared your voice would betray you. Every day, every hour here felt like a step closer to freedom and happiness.
“Sit down on the bed.” The blonde gently guided you to sit at the foot of the mattress so she could stand next to you. Then she began taking hair from your healthy side and braiding it along the hairline around your ear and down the back of your neck. She stepped around you to look at her work from the front.
“I think that is all you need. You’re beautiful.”
Your heart jumped into your throat, almost making its way onto your tongue. Your fingers followed the path of the small braid, admiring the perfect work of the warrior’s calloused hands. How peculiar, that these rough hands that wielded swords and axes bigger than your head could also be so gentle and precise.
A knock on the door tore you out of your reverie. It was Valka who wanted to take a look at your face and pick you both up for the feast. She was satisfied with your healing process and delighted to see Birna, having a little chat with the cat on the bed. You had to keep yourself from laughing when the thought of Birna being the true queen of this clan entered your head. She probably felt that the same way. The white cat was adored by everyone, and her demands were followed without question.
As the three of you made your way down to the longhouse, you could already hear loud singing and laughter. People were stumbling outside to relieve themselves in the bushes and others were just arriving, all being greeted with loud cheers and big jugs of mead. The same happened to you when you entered the great hall. A few warriors rushed to your side, greeting Eivor and paying you compliments and thanks for your help that day. Enthusiasm saturated the air like a humid day, filling everyone with joy and confidence for tomorrow.
Valka was quick to take the jug of ale from your hands and gave it to someone else who swore his love to her in return. She just smiled and pulled you towards the kitchen area. You had already lost Eivor in the mass of warriors jeering and singing praise to Odin. At the hearth fire, you met Sfáva sitting on a bench and enjoying a massive pitcher of mead. She cried out in joy when she saw you and hugged Valka tightly in greeting before squeezing your hands and grinning her almost toothless smile at you.
Valka asked you to stay with the older woman for a while and help her with the food; then you saw her talk to a red-haired woman and vanish in a dark corner with her. Maybe that was the woman she had spoken about with Eivor before? You wished her the best of luck.
There was not too much to do. The boar was on a spit over the great fire in the main hall and the men were responsible for cutting down the meat for everyone. You were grilling sausages and vegetables on the side and helping the boys open new barrels of ale that were consistently emptied within the hour.
Eivor came by soon, asking for more variety on her plate. It was obvious that she had already had enough mead to kill a boar, slightly swaying when she walked and getting extremely close when she tried to talk to you over the noise in the hall. Her face was red and radiating heat, her eyes had a drunk glisten to them and her laugh was rougher and dirtier than during the day. You were glad she was enjoying herself, although you could not help but wonder if this was the best idea considering her plans for tomorrow.
You spent some time outside cleaning plates at the trough and getting fresh air when you suddenly heard a noise around the corner. You debated for a moment whether you should risk a look but your curiosity got the best of you. As you stuck your head around the edge of the house, you weren’t immediately sure what you saw before you.
Two figures were leaning against the wall in close embrace, chuckling and mumbling sweet nothings to each other. As a cloud finally freed the moon and its light shone down on your village, you made out Valka’s golden headdress and the silhouette of the red-haired woman she had talked to earlier. Apparently, she had gotten lucky. You quietly moved back to your plates and smiled to yourself. Valka was a wonderful person, giving and loving and always putting others’ needs above hers. Eivor had spoken very highly of her trusted friend. She deserved to be happy.
When you came back inside and put the plates back on the sideboard in the cooking area, you noticed Eivor sitting at the front table surrounded by her men. And oh - there was Randvi sitting next to her. The two of them were leaning toward each other, their heads almost touching as they laughed about something Sigurd had said. It seemed that they had talked about their difficulties and made up.
You let yourself fall on the bench next to Sfáva and she patted your thigh, holding out her pitcher to signal it was empty. With a sigh, you got up to get her more mead and made yourself a plate of vegetables from the grid, seeing as you had not eaten since breakfast. Sfáva noticed you had not taken any meat and insisted you go get some boar meat. Upon the realization that she would not let you sit down again until you had tried the boar, you slowly went over to the big fire, hoping no one would notice you. The warrior there cut you a generous piece and you were almost back in your dark corner when someone called your name. God, no.
Aelfric, Hal, and Lewin were sitting at a table with some other stable boys and young maids. You gave Sváfa an apologetic wave which she answered with a loud, heartfelt laugh, then you made your way to your old companions. The boar was better than you had expected and you really were terribly hungry, wolfing down your food at an indecent speed and even going back for another portion. The others were talking about the two squires still sat in the cell; they were sure they would come around by the next morning. Who would really prefer the cold ground over these celebrations and the wonderful food that was shared fairly between everyone?
Looking over to the table at the back of the hall you could see Eivor and her friends conversing loudly, laughing and slapping each other's backs. At one point Dag danced on the table, but he soon lost his footing and went down in a wave of plates, jugs, rattling metal, and the yells of his fellow warriors. You stared at Eivor for a while, hoping she would return your gaze, but she was completely immersed in her conversation and never even looked up from her table. You finished your meal quietly, listening to the others talking about a new dice game they had learned and about a filly at the stable that was born in late autumn, a strange and dangerous time for newborns in the animal world. Together, they were sure they would get it through the winter safe.
Later you returned to Sfáva and leaned against the wall opposite her, warming yourself up by the fire and keeping an eye on Eivor, who was apparently in another drinking contest with one of her men. Randvi had her hands on Eivor’s shoulders and was cheering her on. A small figure stepped next to you, crossing her arms and following your gaze. Valka had returned.
You made no attempt to hide your feelings, you knew she had already seen through you. The healer put an arm around your waist and shook you slightly, looking up at you with a sympathetic expression.
“I know you saw us, Y/N.” The words took a moment for you to grasp their meaning, then you turned to Valka in surprise.
“Oh God, I swear I will keep your secret. I am a master at keeping my mouth shut.”
The smaller woman had to smile at your nervous reaction.
“I trust you. I am glad it was you that caught us and not someone else.”
“May I ask…” you hesitated, “what is going on between you?”
Valka turned her head to look at the singing warriors in the hall. There was a pain in her eyes that felt just too familiar.
“She is married. It was not her choice, but her father’s way of forging an alliance. Her husband is one of the hunters and away most of the time. When he beat her badly the first time, she came to me.”
The silence between you was heavy with meaning. When she began to speak again, her words grabbed your feet and pulled on them, getting heavier and heavier until you began to wonder why the earth had not opened underneath you and swallowed you whole.
“I know you wonder what happened between Eivor and Randvi. It is neither my place nor my ability to tell you everything, but I will say this, for fairness’s sake and because I think you already know in your heart. There was once love between them. Whether it still lives on, I cannot tell. But Eivor has told me that she is ready to leave this bond behind her because she feels something new, something far deeper and more intensive is coming. That is why she has pursued you. She felt something deeper the moment she met you.”
Valka turned to you and you fought to at least turn your feet so you could face her. Everything was spinning around you. The dark-haired woman gently placed her hands on either side of your neck and looked deep into your eyes.
“Follow your heart, Y/N. The gods will lead you. They have decided your destiny long before you were born.”
After recommending you should get some sleep, Valka left you frozen in place and dizzy. The noise that filled the room was now nothing but a single loud booming voice threatening to split your head. You needed to get some air. Maybe your bed was really the best idea.
You looked around for Eivor, but she had vanished from sight. It did not matter, you would find your way into her arms later one way or another. You said your goodbyes to Sfáva and the other servants, then you finally exited the longhouse and inhaled the cool night air.
Rounding the corner toward your hut, you were suddenly startled by a noise that sounded like an animal crying out. Maybe a cat? You tiptoed around the dark cottage to your right and suddenly stopped dead in your tracks.
Your heart dropped to your feet and all the blood left your face.
Eivor had pressed her brother's wife to the wooden wall and was kissing her passionately while her hands explored Randvi’s body under her tunic. They were so immersed that they had not heard you coming. You could not move, your feet suddenly weighing you down like boulders again.
The blonde’s knee was between the other woman’s legs and Randvi spread them for her lover, moaning into her mouth. As Eivor started attacking her neck with kisses, the auburn-haired woman opened her eyes and looked directly at you. The surprise in her gaze was almost unnoticeable, fading quickly to be replaced by malicious pleasure as she continued to stare at you while whining Eivor’s name and burying her fingers in the warrior’s hair.
Finally, your muscles started to work again. You turned on the spot and quietly made your way to Eivor’s hut. You felt sick. Closing the door behind you, you kicked your shoes under the bed and threw your coat into the corner. The cat on Eivor's pillow just gave you a questioning look.
“Oh Birna, if only you knew.” You threw yourself on the bed next to her, then you started bawling for the second time today. You cried until there was not a single tear left and you felt completely empty inside. Then you scooted close to the edge of the bed, turning your back to Eivor’s side, and tried to fall asleep.
Even though you fell into a state of absence, sleep would not come. Dread filled you when you heard teps at the door. But before Eivor could enter, you heard her cough and retch, probably throwing up into the thorny bushes a few steps from the door. A slight feeling of righteousness overcame you but it quickly disappeared again, leaving only misery and desperation.
When the warrior finally entered, you could hear her stumble through the room and curse under her breath as she hit her foot on the bed frame. She seemed to only take off her coat and let it fall to the floor before lying down next to you and falling asleep in an instant. A part of you had still hoped for her arms around you, despite everything. Now you could hear her ragged breathing and smell the smoke and alcohol on her hair and breath.
The tears came again and you silently cried into your pillow while the warrior slept soundly next to you, oblivious to your sorrow. Only Birna proved her loyalty to you by getting up from Eivor’s side of the bed and rolling up in the crook of your bent knees.
-
You must have fallen asleep at some point because you were woken the next morning by another salve of mumbled curses. It was still grey outside, dawn had only just begun. You stayed completely still and listened to Eivor dress herself and collect her weapons and shield from her trunk.
To your surprise, the warrior suddenly walked around to your side, crouched down, and lightly stroked your hair.
“Have a good day, my little bird. I will bring you honor and victory today,” she whispered, then she stood up and swiftly left the hut.
-
Let me know what you thought ❤️ (it’s okay if you hate me, I promise I’ll make it up to you in the next chapters)
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youarejesting · 3 years
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Kookies, Trojans & Malware
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[Sparks Masterlist]
[Tag Yourself]
Beta: @nightshadevinter​ Pairing: Robot!Jungkook x Reader Genre: Friendship, Comedy, Soft boy, Fluff, Action, Adventure, Romance. Words: 7.6k
Summary: Jungkook is a robot police officer. He obeys and upholds the laws. After mistaking you for the criminal you open up his world and soon he is ready and willing to break the law for you.
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You were making an honest living selling romance novels and the latest was about a robot carer and a sick human; right at the end there was a hint of love. Having just got off the phone with your publisher, the story had gone viral. Everyone was asking for a robot-human love story, but you didn't know if you could write about that without having written from a robot’s perspective. You hadn't even met a robot outside of general shopping or passing them by on the street. 
You really liked the idea but wished you had some sort of extensive interaction with a robot. But this wasn’t the case. Your phone alarm went off, you had to pay rent, before the landlord called. But when you checked your bank there was a strange transaction going into your bank. It was from two days ago for a huge sum of 50,000,000KRW
This was super strange, you wondered why the police or bank hadn’t been calling or breaking down your door. That must only happen in movies, you turned back to your computer. The door was kicked open smashing into the wall beside you, making you squeak with shock as the place was flooded with police officers holding guns.
Restrained by someone you heard them recite your rights, "Good evening, I, police officer, robot division, Jeon Jungkook have come to place you under arrest for suspected fraud. Anything you say or do can be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney; if you can't afford one, one will be given to you. I am a robot police officer..." he spoke through the whole spiel. 
You sighed exasperated, this isn't what you had in mind when you said you wanted to interact with a robot. "I am always recording, if you are uncomfortable with a robot police officer I will step aside and let my fellow officers take over"
You blinked slowly as he walked you out the hall, it wasn’t much of an apartment and the old lady next door peaked out her door to watch you get taken away. They would definitely talk while you were away. "We will head to the patrol vehicle and take you back to the station where we will interrogate you"
"Wait sir, uh... robot man, my cat?" You said, making him stop and look down at you whilst trying to process the meaning of your words. She was an odd cross-eyed most of the time but you loved her, she could hardly take care of herself while you were there. How would she survive on her own? You would implore to bring her with you.
"Your cat?" The robot repeated as a meow was heard behind you. He turned eyes wide looking at the animal who had stepped into the hallway "What about your feline companion?"
"Well, we can't let her get hurt, can I take her with me?" You asked, looking up at him hopeful, “She is only a little baby.”
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"I am unsure?" He tilted his head, you could practically see him searching for an answer in his hard robes. The lights scanning past his eyes were an indication of his exploration of protocols and policies when it came to pets.
"If you leave a defenseless animal on their own they will die. Isn't a police officer's job to protect?" You countered hoping his system would understand that. You had never tried to outsmart a robot but you thought you could make a compelling argument.
He paused again, thinking over your words, before nodding, "Obtain your feline companion and we shall continue the arrest" He uncuffed your wrists but held them firmly in his hands making you look up at his stern eyes. “I am warning you if you try to run I will have to restrain you.
You grabbed your cat packing a small bag of food, and a small bag of litter, and a clean tray. Watching the officers in your apartment taking your things for evidence. Taking the cat and scooping her into the small cat carrier you walked back over to officer Jeon, “I must cuff you as is procedure, but I assure you, the animal will not be harmed."
You placed down the cage holding your hands behind your back letting him re-cuff your wrists. He leaned down gently picking up the cage his large hand secured around the handle. He guided you along and you tried to turn back to study him some more, "mister robot man?"
"My name is cyber office Jeon Jungkook." He looked straight ahead and you smirked at the professional personality programmed into his hard drives. The cat made a small meow and he adjusted the cage holding it in a way that kept it still as he walked.
"Sorry, um I was just wondering if I could ask you some questions later?" This would be an amazing opportunity to gather intel about robots for your next story. He was handsome and moved with such poise, there was a faint hum under his skin like the buzz of electricity in the air when your apartment got quiet.
"You have the freedom and right to speak" he smiled, you saw the Police cruiser just across the street and headed for it but he pulled you to the right and the two of you were walking away from the vehicle and down the street.
“Are we walking to the station?” You laughed sarcastically.
“No, though I am equipped with GPS and am fully charged and able to walk to the police station, I feel it would be much more comfortable for humans and more time-efficient to take the police cruiser parked across the road, driven by officer Han” He replied seriously gesturing to the very same police cruiser you were walking away from.
"It was sarcasm,” You snorted, “If that is your car, why are we walking away? where are you going?"
"To the intersection, Jaywalking is illegal" He sighed, checking on the animal which was moving around the carrier “I apologize I don’t often pick up human nuances. Perhaps you would be so kind as to teach me more?”
"Okay..." You hummed, the two of you finally reached the pedestrian crossing, you went to cross but he didn't budge, making you fall back and hit his broad chest "What, why did you stop?"
"We must wait for the pedestrian light to turn green indicating that it is safe to cross," He said as if he was reciting it for children and you rolled your eyes. 
"You follow every rule?" You questioned his dedication to the cause.
"I follow all rules." he said with a definite tone like he couldn’t be swayed.
"So what happens if the light is red but across the street, there was a man stealing a woman's handbag. You would have to wait for the light to turn green before crossing and pursuing the criminal and by that time he would have gotten away and may have even killed someone. When you could have captured him and saved lives and stopped more crimes. I mean really are you not aiding and abetting the criminal by watching them getaway.”
You saw him process this information until the light turned green, the symbol of the walking man prompting the robot to walk briskly across the road. As you walked back to the car you laughed “Your police officer friends are Jaywalking, you should write them a ticket.”
“My fellow police officers are the exception, I cannot turn against them,” He said, seeming to not understand this element of his instructions either.
“So if your fellow officers go rogue and shoot someone innocent you let them, they need to uphold the law so they should be the prime example, should they not?” 
“I don’t know, I must ask the sergeant and review my policies and procedures” You both finally got to the car, officer Jeon opened the door placing the cat down on the curb and turning to you, "you must sit in the back. Please mind your head"
He placed his hand over your head and guided you into the vehicle and even leaned over to buckle you in. "I will place your cat in the seat next to you" You were soon on your way to the police station. Where you were ushered into the interrogation room with Jungkook who held your cat carrier and bag.
The interrogation began and you were told to answer truthfully. 
“What is your name?” Officer Jeon asked with no writing or recording impliments.How was he recording your answers? Was he literally recording your answers?
“How about this, I will answer one of your questions, officer, and you answer one of my questions.” You asked curiously.
“What is your name, miss?” he asked again.
“My name is (Your full name),” You said and he nodded just as he opened his mouth to speak you asked your question quickly, “How do you record my answers without a pen and paper or laptop, and when you record my answers how does it get into the police system?” 
He didn’t answer looking at you and you leaned forward, “Come on it was my turn you have to be fair,”
“I am completely fair and just” he sat up straighter how that was possible for the prim and proper robot your would never know, “I record everything, it is saved on my system and the back up system whilst also being wirelessly sent to the national system where it is filed and finally everything is live fed to the bureau.”
“That’s really nifty. So you are recording everything now, where from?” You looked him up and down.
“That was more than one question miss y/n, I thought you were being fair and just, I am recording everything,” he raised one finger with a smirk and gesticulating another as he continued, “my eyes are the camera and my ears record everything I hear. That is two questions for me.”
“Correct,” You leaned in a little more intrigued further by his systems and personality and all that they entailed. He asked how old you were and where you lived and you answered leaning a little more over the desk. “What do you like to do?”
“What?” He looked shocked
“Hey you can’t answer a question with a question,” You pouted and he shut his mouth processing the meaning of your words, “You can just ask me to explain you don’t have to search everything. What do you like to do? it means like what are your hobbies?”
“Officer Han likes playing poker” He said slowly
“No, I asked what you like to do, not him,” You laughed at his expression. He seemed stumped “Like when you aren’t working.”
“I am always working and when I am not working I am charging” He said “Now, I have some questions about the recent activity in your bank…”
You were shocked all he knew was work and sleep, it was uncommon for humans to only know these two traits as well but you hoped he got to do something.
“Have you ever watched a movie?” You blurted out and he froze in the middle of reciting dates to you.
“I have obtained information from many movies, I understand pop culture references and have a list of top one hundred famous movie quotes in my system.”
“But have you seen them, like at a movie theatre?”
“No I haven’t.” He said looking impassive but you felt a little upset, sure he was a robot but that didn’t mean he had to spend his entire life working. You had no more questions for him after that finding you were a little scared to find out more. 
You were made to stay overnight in the cell. It was nice for a cell, there didn’t seem to be anyone else in but you, the bedding was freshly washed and pressed. What fancy cell was this? “It’s nice huh, at night Jungkook washes all the bedding and when he wakes up he makes the beds.”
“Is he allowed holidays?” You asked, “He only works, haven’t you tried to let him see other things outside of work.” 
“I am afraid he wouldn’t understand it, he is meticulous with his programs and doesn’t understand many other concepts.” The man said, watching officer Jeon walk over with a tray of food, “Good job Jungkook, you did a wonderful job”
“Hey officer Jeon, would you like to sit and have dinner with me?” You sat on the floor and gestured to the floor in front of you, he tilted his head.
“I don’t eat food miss y/n,” He smiled “I am a robot,”
“What do robots eat?” you grinned curiously, he ran off and came back with a bottle of something.
“Everyday I drink this liquid and every night before recharging I expel the old liquid, it keeps everything running smoothly.” He smiled pouring himself a cup.
“Well come sit with me and we can eat together,” You gestured and he sat smiling and you held up your cup and he held up his and you clicked glasses. Something flickered in his eyes. 
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You watched him take a long drink as you took a sip and he stopped pulling the glass back down, swallowing thickly. He held the cup looking at the liquid inside and whenever you would take a sip he would drink a little more liquid.
The two of you were talking all night and you had finished your food and drink but he still held the cup sipping slowly watching you tell him about how you were afraid of trains, because when you were a kid you had been left on a train and bad things happened. “You have been holding that empty cup for ten minutes now Jungkook, you can’t fool me. Oh! I mean Officer Jeon.”
“It’s okay, I finished after you told me about the story about the sick human and the robot caregiver.” He grinned, “I liked that one, it is nice to see the robot caregiver being able to help the sick human.”
“You are getting tired, Miss y/n, it’s time to sleep” He said softly as you stood walking the tray to the door of the cell and he took the tray and left. You got into the bed and officer Jeon sat at his desk plugging a cord into his arm. You saw his shoulders slump indicating that he had powered down to charge and you closed your eyes falling asleep.
 ~
The next morning brought with it your discharge from the overnight cells, the officers thanked you for your cooperation and gave you a card in case you needed to contact them. Officer Jeon and Han drove you back to your apartment.
Officer Jeon insisted on carrying the cat carrier up the stairs. It seemed when the officer had woken up, your cat had snuck out of her cage and slept on his lap. The two continued to play throughout the morning and when you woke it almost seemed like the robot police officer was a little brighter.
You arrived at your apartment and watched as he tried to find where to put the cage. He was so endearing, you were going to ask even though you think you knew the answer. “Would you like to go to the movies with me, to watch a movie?”
He was snapped out of his dilemma of where to put the cage looking almost regretful, as he was about to turn you down. You took a deep breath, and opened your mouth to downplay it as just a friendly offer to get him away from work when a screeching of tires sounded outside your apartment. 
The two of you ran to the window and saw Officer Han shot down. There were beeping sounds coming from the robot officer and you looked at him horrified. “I just called for backup. Stay here and I will restrain them.” He said and the men started shouting and running into the building.
You heard them say your name and you knew his robot ears did too, “You are in danger. Do everything I tell you and stay behind me.” He looked at the cat cage and went to go out the apartment door and you caught his hand, “Follow me down the fire escape?”
The two of you got out and ran to the police car, Han’s was still alive, but barely. “Move him to the back seat, we will take him to the hospital” You whispered, trying not to panic., “Can you drive?”
“Well yes, but I can’t do car chases its against the law, that's why Han’s drives” He said, 
“Okay, Jungkook I need you to get in the passenger seat and close your eyes and don’t open them until we get there, I want you to get a GPS to the hospital and turn on the sirens” He nodded 
“Go straight.” You took off and the sirens were put on, true to his word he kept his eyes shut allowing you to maneuver through the traffic and got to the hospital stopping in the emergency bay. “We are here. Can I open my eyes?” 
“No wait,” you moved around the car and opened his door as the doctors ran out to grab officer Han. Leaning over Jungkook you took off his seat belt looking up. You got lost in his features, they were so smooth and his eyelashes were so long and you wanted to touch his hair. You let out a shaky breath and he seemed to feel it against his cheek, the cat carrier on his lap stirred and a meow was heard between you.
His eyes drifted open and focused on you, you were flustered. “I am in trouble, I am getting orders to return. They are wondering why I left the scene of the crime, I don’t know why I listened to a civilian. It went against all the policies and procedures, you broke the law.” He pushed the cat carrier into your hands and drove you back to the station. 
“Officer Jeon, you defied orders and you left a crime scene, let the two gunmen get away, can you explain why this is?” The sergeant said, you sat in the corner as a suspect to this crime and you had to give a statement regarding officer Han’s shooting.
This was it you were going to get in trouble for saving a police officer, “When I saw officer Han, I just moved instinctively to save him.” Your mouth fell open, he just lied, he cyber police officer Jeon Jungkook just lied to the sergeant, isn’t that against everything he stands for.
“I want you to hand over the footage of this incident?” The sergeant said
“There is none” He said “My wires shorted out and there is no footage from getting in the car to getting to the hospital”
Another lie. What is happening?
“Jeon Jungkook, you are going to be scheduled for maintenance at the end of the month.” The sergeant said “You are off active duty until then”
After all the more important officers left, Jungkook slumped into his chair. “Officer Jeon, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean for you to get taken off duty. I just wanted to save your partner officer Han, he was going to die”
“I don’t know what to do for twenty-one days, sixteen hours, forty-three minutes and eleven seconds. Ten seconds” He stated with no emotion, “Nine seconds.”
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“You could come stay with me, my cat already loves you. Plus what if those guys come back,” You smiled and he looked up at the two of you before nodding. Grabbing a small supply of the special liquid he drinks the two of you took a taxi back to your apartment. 
~
Jungkook looked around; he wasn’t wearing his uniform but instead was wearing a tracksuit. Looking him up and down you laughed, “First we need to find you some clothes. I am pretty sure I have some old clothes of my dad’s, I couldn’t part with them all these years so now I guess I can finally get some use out of them.” 
You found him a button up and some dress pants and he went to get changed. When he stepped out you could help but tear up a little, “What is wrong?” Jungkook strode across the room and looked at you, “Have I done something to offend you or make you upset?”
“No, no” you sniffed, laughing at his over the top reaction. “I just miss my father.”
“Where is he?”
“He passed away a few years ago,” You said and Jungkook seemed to slowly process that information but struggled to comprehend the extent of the feeling.
“I am sorry for your loss,” He sighed, “I wish humans were like Robots, there are rarely any deaths, just missing data that can be restored. I don’t think I could ever truly understand permanent death.”
“Imagine the people you love and care for, your friends and people you work with and you are having a great time and death is never having that again,” It was an odd way of explaining it but you think it summed it up well enough. Jungkook’s eyes flashed and he nodded seeming to file the information away to review.
You took Jungkook out. it was his first day off and you were going to make it special, dragging him to the movies you tried to find something fairly new that his internet filled head wouldn’t have seen. If Jungkook was all about the law he wouldn’t be watching bootlegs on the dark web.
You pulled him into a romantic comedy, part of it was because you wanted to watch it and another part was for research to see how Jungkook would act. He seemed engaged watching the couple fall in love with their little awkward moments.
There was a scene where the main character and the love interest were locked in a gaze. It made your heart beat quickly, it was such a heavy feeling. Jungkook shifted uncomfortably and you wondered if he felt it.
After the movie the two of you headed to an aquarium and after the aquarium you were heading home when you passed a busker and you started dancing giving them some money and laughing as you swayed to the beat. Dragging Jungkook to dance with you, he seemed a little nervous but you were quick to praise him. His eyes locked on the Robot with a shirt that read ‘hope world’ dancing and he analysed the moves joining in. 
The two of you headed home and you ordered yourself some dinner. The two of you sat down while he drank and you talked about the movie. “Why did it get slow when the two of them locked eyes?” Jungkook asked, finally addressing the elephant in the room you had wanted to bring up. 
“Well when you fall in love with someone it's like your heart speeds up but everything stops working and all you can think about is that someone.” You said he processed it, eyes flashing, it was like neither of you wanted to go to bed. You had started watching ‘Circuit Chef’ the host was hilarious and he had a new sidekick who really livened up the show.
“I didn’t know robots could do other things” Jungkook said “I just assumed we were all the same, but after reading your book and looking around I can see robots have many functions, but why can’t we have all of them? Humans can do anything they want but us Robots are only programmed to do such a small portion.”
“I want to be human, I want to do everything, try everything” he sighed, “Now that I am off duty I can’t even uphold the law or I will get in trouble, I am just a basic command robot.”
“Then I command you to try everything you ever wanted to do, act like a human.” Yawning, Jungkook looked at you, seeing how your eyes were closed and your head had fallen onto his shoulder. He thought you were asleep, he scooped you up and your eyes opened. 
“I am sorry I thought you were asleep,” He apologized but continued walking you to the bed, he laid you down tucking you in. Jungkook paused for a moment searching for something in your expression, a flash in his eyes and he stood straight up and scrambled looking at his forearm, “I have to go charge.”
You couldn’t be sure if you dreamt it but for a moment there you thought maybe he was going to kiss you, whatever it was you had fallen asleep before you could dwell on it further. 
~
The next day you woke to a delicious smell in the kitchen and when you stepped out Jungkook had made a range of meals and when he saw you he smiled brightly. “Look what I made, I can cook like Circuit chef Kim Seokjin.”
“That’s really good, did you cook everything in the house.” You sat down eating some of the dishes and grinning. “Wow, kookie this is tasty.”
“What did you call me?” He asked, pausing in the middle of mixing some batter. The frilly apron he was wearing looked cute on him. 
“I called you Kookie, it’s a nickname,” looking at all the food you frowned, “Kookie, you have to put the food into dishes and pack it away in the fridge and freezer for me to eat over the next year.”
“That is a joke,” He pointed at you and chuckled, “I have been learning about jokes from Robot Hyung Kim Seokjin,”
“I’m glad you have been having fun?” You grinned at the young man in your kitchen, noticing some flour in his hair, wondering if that would ruin how soft it looked. “Wait, stay still you have flour in your hair?”
“Lean down a little, okay, stay there,” The flour had been wet when it had touched the few affected strands, now it was dry and reminded you of papier-mâché. 
You gently removed it and ran your fingers through his soft tresses trying to dust away any loose strands of flour, or at least that was the excuse you were using. Jungkook didn’t even seem to notice, he sat there bent slightly, his head in front of your face, his eyes looking down. 
You moved his head around and looked at his fringe making sure there was no flour there. “Are you waterproof?”
“Yes,” he grinned, looking you in the eyes you felt your heart skip a beat as you watched his lips form the next words. “I take showers at the station once a week unless told otherwise. Why do you ask?”
“I think you may need to shower when you finish cooking?” You said and went to the bathroom, to get him a towel and everything. Jungkook stepped into the bathroom and began taking off his shirt and you turned away. 
“Is something wrong?” He asked, folding up the shirt and placing it on the bench. 
“Nothing, I will let you shower,” you left, hoping your cheeks hadn’t reddened further. You heard the water running and let out a sigh, he was busy for now. 
The food was better than anything you could make and you were a great cook, so it was hard to admit. It was also hard to pack away when you were running out of Tupperware and fridge space. 
“I am done,” Jungkook called, as you slipped the last container into the fridge.  
“Kookie no more cooking today there is no room” you laughed, pressing the door to the fridge closed with all your strength until finally the door sealed shut. “I need to be able to eat all of this first.”
Turning you saw Jungkook standing with only a towel around his waist, you squealed, slapping your hands over your eyes. “What are you doing, half naked in the living room?”
“I had no more clothes,” He paused “Should I put those clothes back on?”
“No, I will find you some more,” You handed him some more of your fathers clothes and you left the room so he could change, undisturbed. That didn’t stop you from looking over your shoulder. 
Jungkook was ripped, his body literally made to perfection, his back was so broad. He was built lean and yet his biceps were the size of your calves. You sat on the couch, closing your eyes and indulging in the sight that you had been blessed with.
You shouldn’t be thirsting over a robot? But it was so hard not too when he looked like he was an actual adonis. You took a few breaths in an attempt to still your beating heart, and opened your phone, you began searching news websites for information of Robots being weird.
Nothing had been posted except an advertisement for an experiment trial with robots designed for personal pleasure. You quickly close that tab not wanting to think about that any further. You had almost given up hope until you saw it.
My Robot is acting weird.
It was a reddit forum and you were quick to jump on and read the stories of robots doing things that they weren’t programmed to do and questioning things. Acting dare you say it? Human. It was a scary thought but you weren’t the only one who thought the same. Someone had said that their robot was developing feelings and emotions and becoming more human per day.
Jungkook exited the room and shuffled nervously. Was he programmed to be a little shy? One would hope not, being a police officer. Maybe this was what they meant on the forum? Or, maybe you were reading too far into it? Yes that had to be it.
You took Jungkook through the town and the two of you stopped by a bar. It was a modern style and super clean, you found a booth and sat down, The waiter was a long legged robot who moved so elegantly and you were lost for a moment in his movements.
“Good evening, can I take your order?” He said his voice soft and sweet like an angel. You felt your ears go warm and you asked for a glass of wine. You were really only here to let Jungkook experience everything he wanted and he did wonder earlier about what it was like to drink at a bar. “And should I get you some oils or coolants sir?”
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“No thank you,” Jungkook huffed, turning away, the waiter wilted at the rudeness and nodded leaving the table.
“Jungkook, why were you being so rude?” You asked looking at him and he blanched, you could see he wasn’t happy but you couldn’t figure out why. All you did was order wine from the attractive robot waiter. Wait. Was he jealous? Because you were ogling the waiter?
“I am not being rude, I just don’t want any cheap coolant or oils, I only drink the best” He puffed up his chest and lifted his chin turning away. He was like a petulant child. While waiting for your drink you began writing the outline for your story and sending it to the editor to liaison to the publishing company, seeing if it was worthy to write.
Your drink was bought back and you saw Jungkook bristle again. “Um, I am sorry if I offended you, my name is Jimin and over there is my owner and the love of my life, I wasn’t trying to hit on your girlfriend or anything?”
Jungkook almost visibly relaxed and the two started talking quickly in a series of beeps that made you giggle writing down a few more dot points for your next book. Jimin left with a wave and a thank you toward you both and he went back to the counter. 
You saw him kiss the bartenders cheek and he pouted when the bartender shrugged him off to focus on her work. Jungkook watched the two happily and you stood up, “Excuse me Jungkook, I just want to talk to the bartender, is that okay?”
He nodded as you were walking to the bar when Jimin passed holding glasses of coolant, one for each robot. Sitting at the bar you smiled “Hey, do you mind if I ask some questions about your robot?”
“What do you want to know?” She looked up, handing a drink over to a customer who went and sat down. It was a monday so it was pretty quiet. 
“I was wondering if he has done anything strange, something he isn’t programmed to do or even started developing thoughts, ideas and feelings?” You said, “That robot is a police officer who physically cannot break the law and yet he did it for me, he lied to protect me and not two seconds ago got jealous of your robot, this isn’t normal behaviour, he isn’t programmed for any sort of relationship personality traits.”
“Half a month ago Jimin had a drink thrown at him, he went funny, I had programmed him to be gentle and kind and he shouted and practically threw some people out the bar. I did some maintenance and he told me he wanted to be my robot companion, you know the type?” She gave you a look and you flushed nodding. “After that I found out he was doing his own maintenance and upgrading, he has become so free now, he told me the programs made him feel limited”
“That’s exactly what Jungkook said, he said that he wanted to be human and not just one program, he was a police robot who never had a day off, had no hobbies installed and only worked and slept.” You explained stressing the simplicity of his systems. “Now, he likes to cook and dance and he wants to go see an art exhibition tomorrow and he is getting jealous and nervous, things he has never expressed before”
“That does sound odd,” She hummed “I have been thinking it for a while now and I heard someone may have an explanation but I haven’t had time to find them, perhaps because I am scared of what I am going to hear”
She slipped you a napkin with an address and looked up, “His name is Hitman Bang, he used to create robots and then something happened, that’s all I know?”
You returned home and began writing but not for the story, you started documenting everything you found, experiences and more. You were going to go to the art gallery tomorrow and then afterwards you would go see this mysterious man for information.
~
The next morning you woke early and got dressed, Jungkook was sitting on the couch waiting for you and he smiled face lighting up when he noticed you walk in. Giving a soft meow, your cat had lifted its head from his lap.
“Good morning,” The greeting was laced with excitement, you felt like you were on the edge of a discovery and you wanted to see it through until the end. The two of you were ready to see the art exhibition, it was from a university and there were many entrants who submitted their work.
Buying tickets at the door, Jungkook frowned, “In movies the man usually pays for things?” You turned to him a little shocked and also a little amused.
“Back in the day it was the man who earned money and the woman was locked up inside their house to do nothing but cook clean and have children. So men paid for everything.” You spoke softly, “Then women were allowed to work and vote but they were paid less than men and nowadays that still sometimes happens but in some places it is equal wage and that means I can buy things myself.”
“Oh,” He processed the information and searched a few things in his head, “This seems like something discussed a lot online, I am glad I have seen this side of things. I would like to thank you for using your money on me, I wish I had money so that I could pay for my own things as well”
“You don’t get paid!” You were outraged, he worked everyday of the year since he was manufactured and they didn’t pay him, didn’t let him enjoy anything fun. “Jungkook what is your birthday?” 
“I wasn’t born, I am a robot,” the word robot almost sounded bitter. “I was manufactured on the first of September”
“That was a few months ago, I am sorry I missed it, have you ever had a birthday party or gotten any gifts?” He stopped for a moment before he had completed his research online and turned back to you shaking his head. “Alright well I know it’s late but I will give you one birthday wish, you can ask for anything you want?”
The two of you finally reached the inside of the gallery past the lobby and Jungkook’s eyes met a code on the door that had information from the artists of each piece and their inspiration. He walked through and began explaining it all to you and it made you smile. Linking your arm with his, you laid your head on his shoulder and continued walking slowly.
He stopped, looking at the painting and he was frozen examining it. “This is beautiful.” He whispered, you looked at the painting it didn’t seem like much, just random overlapping shapes in strange colours. “It was painted by a robot named Taehyung, he says he fell in love with painting after a young woman taught him how. The next part is written in binary code but I can translate it. 
“My hair shows my basic emotions but this is a painting representing my love for the woman who taught me how to paint. When she kisses me it feels like my engines will explode. My system has a folder of her and everyday I file away new information.” He touched his chest and turned to you. The two of you walked to the address on the napkin, each stride ate the city ground away and you were in some less populated suburban streets. 
You passed a small advertisement of a woman kissing a man holding a bouquet of flowers, it was for a florist and Jungkook stopped underneath it. Taking his bicep in your hand you tried to offer him comfort without swooning over the size of his biceps. “Jungkook is everything okay?”
“Do you know how you said I had a birthday wish,” Jungkook looked at you, “I think I know what I want to try?”
“Okay, what do you want to try?” He leaned down and kissed you. It was awkward at first the way he was bent and just pressing his lips to yours but, he seemed to jolt, his engines beeping and his auto air compression units hissed to life. 
Jungkook’s hand cupped the back of your head and he tilted his head the opposite way and deepened the kiss naturally. He pulled away looking panicked and he ran off. You were frozen unsure if you should follow him or not, but you decide he is pretty good and knows how to fight and protect himself.
Ringing the doorbell a voice came over the intercom, “Name and business?” the voice stated. It sounded like a tired but refined man and you were a little nervous. The house though in an average neighborhood was quite posh.
“My name is Y/n and I was told you might have information as to why my robot is acting weird?” Your voice cracked giving away your nerves and he sighed the gate buzzing open. 
“Come in.”
Walking briskly to the front door you felt dwarfed by the sheer size of the house, it was almost laughable the grandeur design and the ostentatious presence it gave. The door was opened electronically and you moved inside taking off your shoes. “Good afternoon, my name is Hitman Bang, what is it you want to know?”
“I am in possession of a Police officer robot who has no other programs features or hobbies only his police programing, he has developed hobbies and interests without upgrades or downloads and he um, just kissed me and ran away outside the florist down the road?”
“I see,” He hummed leaning forward, “Let me tell you a story,”
He began telling you about a robot he programmed. “It was while I was working at Spark’s industry. His name was Lee-Hyun. He was the first love companion robot that was made, he was perfect and could be tailored to anyone's desires. He fell in love with a researcher that worked there, her name was Dae. He found out Dae was getting married and caught her and her fiance kissing. He rampaged and killed them both. He was inconsolable and had to be shut down.”
“You looked shocked, not every robot is like this, his feelings just manifested so strong due to the environment and seeing her with anyone else made him so angry. When we checked the records before he was shut down he uploaded a virus, something small that started affecting the bots and we got the virus under control and I quit, unable to work there anymore.”
“So this virus?” You asked, “does it make them feel real emotions like a human?”
“Yes, it will give them the emotional capacity and empathy of a human, they will love and hate and become curious” He ran his hand over his face, the only thing that worries me is if this virus leaks out what might happen, they will have emotions but they will have no teachers their understanding of right and wrong will no longer be objective, they will be influenced by their feelings not knowing how to control such strong emotions. The robots acting on impulse could get people hurt.”
~
You headed home wondering if you should tell Jungkook what you had learnt, the more you sat the more you seemed to stew over the words. It was true as humans you are taught how to control your emotions but for robots they were not they had no teachers. Perhaps, you could be his teacher.
“Jungkook I have something I need to tell you,” you called stepping into the apartment, you were met with a chilling sight. Jungkook wasn’t there and your cat was hiding in her tower but two men stood in your living room waiting. 
“Good evening,” They smiled, it wasn’t pleasant or reassuring. It was a nasty smile, “we won’t hurt you, we just want to get some information, if you cooperate we won’t have to use force.”
“We believe you have something of ours, some money and we would like you to come with us. leave your phone here” The other spoke, you nodded, walking to the table and placing your bag down, and your keys, your phone was still in your back pocket.
“May I feed my cat before we go, I assume I won’t be back for a while” They nodded, you headed to the pantry and bent down grabbing the bag of cat food, quickly sending a message to Jungkook. 
There are people in my house with guns. It was read instantly.
You stood back up grabbing a cup and filling the water bowl with water before placing the cup in the sink and the scoop back into the cupboard. In the safety of the cupboard you tried checking your phone once more when it beeped. You swore as you were grabbed by the hair and thrown onto the ground, the phone taken from your hands.
“Who are you messaging?” They asked, guns drawn.“Who is Kookie?”
“My robot companion,” you blushed
“Look lady, your robot isn’t going to help you, now get up” The pulled you up off the floor and dragged you to the door and to the elevator where you stopped. The elevator ride was awkward and when the doors opened there were police at the door guns drawn. 
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You sighed with relief and Jungkook hugged the two gunmen getting arrested, “I thought you were going to die. I drove here and broke so many road rules. I jaywalked.” You laughed eyes watering, the elevator doors shut around you two and you didn’t move to fix it. “I thought you were going to die. All I could think of was us having such a wonderful time together and never having that again. It was like my heart sped up but everything stopped working and you were the only thing I cared about.”
He kissed you and you kissed back the adrenaline wearing off and your legs went weak. He caught you as the doors opened once more and the officers climbed in. They were going to your apartment to ask you a few questions.
Jungkook said he would stay the night and watch over you and you were grateful he didn’t run away again.
~
It was the end of the month and Jungkook was called back to the station he was being picked up to get maintenance but instead when he arrived with you nervous in tow he met the sergeant and asked to resign.
“I think my judgement has been compromised and I would like to be taken off the police force” He requested, the sergeant looked like he was in shock. “I do not wish to be upgraded or to continue working in the police force. I hope my replacement is a new model with fewer issues. I forfeit all my rights to the police database as I hand you my resignation”
“I cannot deny you the right to resign, even if I don’t understand it.” The sergeant sighed, “get out of here, I have a replacement to order”
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Tags: @moccahobi​​ @take-u-2-an0ther-w0r1d​​ @knjkitten​​ @black-rose-29​​ @jooniesdimples70307
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rocketonthemoon · 2 years
Note
at this point I have no idea which fandoms you don't know and what you're familiar with so please use this as a chance to badly explain any fandom of your choosing
I'm trying to think of things I know of osmosis
Well there's that Fort Motherland Salem show with the general that's like 300 years old and has done Many A War Crime?? And they're all witches that use their magic through song??? But Also like the Main Force of the US Army?? side eying that a little hard honestly And the General and the Tall-ish Red Head (can't tell if she's Tall or if General War Crime is just Small) have tension that's getting a lot of attention over the canon gay couple? I think there's a canon gay couple? It's definitely Gay Somehow
OH AND THE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS which feels a little cheating cause I did watch like half an episode cause my roommate was watching it in the living room while I was making dinner once but there's This Blue/Purple girl with a gap tooth that's super cute and even though she's a cop and rich(??) people like her cause she's Good and Earnest and she's ????? Trying to Stop The Pixie Manic Nightmare Dream Girl because????? reasons??? and PMDG is the long lost(?) sister of Red McPunches A Lot girl who somehow was in jail and they got separated when they were kids cause a building blew up?????? So now McPunches is trying to find her little sister again and Maybe The Real FriendShip was the Gay We Found Along the Way with Gap Tooth Cop cause there's like a spiderman almost kiss on the ground sorta thing? But also McPunches Breaks Up with GTC saying they're oil and water even though they work well together??? But ALSO there's something happening with a Fuck Boy Politician/Scientist who's got a Killer Fade and like The Most Beautiful Woman I've Ever Seen in Animation who???? maybe???? stabbed someone as a kid?????? Unclear honestly. But Mr. PoliSci has a Partner/Boyfriend who's a Mad Scientist or something and he's got a bad leg and deals with.... magic? Science? Something and it's making him sicky meow meow boy and maybe kinda crazy cause I think he gets a giant suit of armor and a metal claw hand (Idk I just see art) but according to everything I see on Twitter Mr. PoliSci is like part horse but gets it from the back ANYWAYS Pixie Manic Dream Girl works? Is Adopted? by/for this dude who looks like the food critic from Ratatouille (it took me too long to spell that) but with a cool ass robot eye who is I think a crime lord of some kind but he's trying to get her to ????? blow up another building??? cause she's really into blowing things up while looking like a long lost Gorillaz member and he's got something about monologuing about water is what I understand so there's probably something to do with the metaphor of washes away sins or whatever in the story I dunno. And I think PMDG stabs the Food Critic in the eye and maybe kills him but feels bad about it so she gets this shark canon think while crying pink??? What the fuck's up with that I dunno! and Supposedly there's plot happening but Honestly I think it's just pretty animation that got to Have Fun OH AND THERE'S A BIG BEEFY LADY THAT WORKS FOR THE FOOD CRITIC AND SHE'S GOT A MECHANICAL ARM AND IS NOT FOND OF PMDG AND MCPUNCHES
and that's what you missed on glee!
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be-ace-write-crime · 4 years
Text
Too Many Kitties!
“I had six cats… Now I have six nearly naked men in my house…” you summarized out loud, rubbing your temples.
The cats you adopted turn out to be magic hybrids and they are so glad to be adopted by such a sweet mistress! You're not sending them away are you?!
Reader x Cat hybrid Bucci gang!
Wish fulfillment, fluff, cat hybrids, poly ships, surprise adoption, reader insert.
You were driving home after a long day at work. Nothing was going right at all. You had received a promotion at work a while ago, which you were initially excited about, but it really just meant you were handed off a complete dumpster fire for a small pay raise and your cat was your only salvation in these dark times.
You were actually thinking of getting a second one to keep Leone company. You’d get one from the pound when you had a little more free time. You weren’t really picky about breeds or things like that, but you wanted something cuddly.
Leone you had found on a rainy day under a dumpster. You had carefully kneeled in the filthy puddle around it and reached out to him. The look in his eyes broke your heart and you ran home with the big, soaking fur ball. He’d not even struggled when you bathed him, although he certainly howled like he was being murdered. It took him a long time to want to be touched after that first night, but now he greeted you when you came home with a rub against your legs, headbutts when you fed him, and he slept on the foot of your bed.
Thinking about it, it was raining just like that day now. Only by now you had a car. You looked into the grim alley you had found Leone in nearly steering off the road when you saw what you thought was a crate full of cats there. You blinked at yourself, thinking that had to be some kind of mistake. Who would leave a crate full of cats in this weather? You needed to check.
That U-turn you made could have landed you in prison if anyone was around, but you drove back up to the alleyway and heard the unmistakable yowling of cats. The bottom of their crate had filled up and the wet, mangy looking little gremlins were pawing at the bars, begging to be let out of the small basin they were sitting in. You slapped a hand over your mouth, shaking your head.
“Oh, no, babies. I’m not letting you out into the street, but I’m not leaving you here,” you said, grabbing the crate and tipping it over until the water was mostly if not completely out. It was hard to tell with the wet, furry sponges inside and the pouring rain that had soaked your hair and clothes as well now. It wasn’t just a drizzle, it was bad. You moved your car closer and hauled the crate the rest of the way and by some miracle got it into the trunk.
You turned the heat up for all of you and drove home, cooing soothingly at the soft meowing in the back.
When you opened the door Leone was there, joining the chorus of meows all around. You were all kinds of tired though, kicking the door shut and opening the big crate. You tore off your wet clothes down to your underwear, because it was freezing and examined the cats more closely for the first time.
They were a mixed bunch. One was white with black spots all over and bright blue eyes, almost snow leopard like, but it was most certainly a kitty. It was the first to tentatively step into your apartment and let out a less offended or scared sounding meow.
There was another white one, this one looking like one of those fancy, purebred, long haired ones, and it had bright red eyes. That one in particular was pressed as far back as possible, hissing even. You couldn’t really blame it. Your transport here had been less than gentle.
Then there was the small back one with little patches of orange. It was small and scrawny, you could tell it would be even when it was dry, but it had the brightest, most adoring purple eyes you had ever seen. It stayed cuddled close to the spotted white one, getting it all wet again trying to shake off.
Then there was a very exotic looking one. It was long and slender, with bronze fur and elegant spots and tiger like stripes. It had cheerful brown eyes and was the first to start looking around, under loud, meowing protest from Leone.
The last one was a small, fluffy one with gold fur and a slightly lighter patch in the shape of a heart on his chest. It’s green eyes studied you inquisitively, before getting out of the cage and bolting deeper into the apartment, getting a loud yowl of protest from Leone, who gave you an accusatory glare.
“Sorry for the surprise, Leone floof… I couldn’t leave them out in the rain, could I? And I do feel bad leaving you home alone all day now, so maybe you can get along? I’ll put up lost cat posters and call in with the local shelter, but I don’t think they were left out by accident…” you explained sadly, scooping the big, silver grump into your arms. He was so warm against your rain chilled skin and he didn’t even protest, just kept staring down at the other cats imperially from his place in your arms.
First order of business was getting the cats and yourself dry and warm. You toweled off the spotted white one, the exotic one, and managed to give the black one a cursory ruffle with a towel before it bolted. The blonde one had hidden under your couch, looking at you quietly with its tail twitching restlessly. You decided to leave it. You also didn’t dare get near the long haired white one.
Next was food and you wanted to be sure they all ate so you split them into different rooms, as much as possible, with a bowl of wet food each. White one in the crate, Leone in the kitchen as usual, gold in the living room, spotted white in your bedroom, exotic in your spare room, and black in the bathroom. In the minute or two they were all eating you quickly changed into something warm and dry and comfy. Dry and comfy being the dumbass giant onesie in your favorite color that you only ever wore around Leone.
You ran around to let the cats out of the rooms and checked to make sure they had eaten. They had. You collapsed on your favourite spot on the couch. You threw your electric blanket over your lap and turned it on and laid out the other over the free space on the couch where Leone liked to nap. As expected, your oldest cat curled up on it, purring happily, and the other cats caught on quickly, flopping down on either Leone’s blanket or you while you browsed your phone and decided tonight was a takeout kind of night.
The long haired white one came trotting over eventually and you slowly held out your hand to it until it dared come close enough to be lifted onto your lap. It was still kinda wet, but you could ignore that for now. The gold one peeked out from under the couch, still damp and sad looking as well, and you tried to reach, but it already hopped onto the couch and laid down on the backrest, watching you with its big, bottomless emeralds for eyes.
“I’ll probably have to name you all something, huh? Hmm…” You mused, holding the hissy baby still in your lap. It needed to dry up a little and you knew you’d never be able to pin him down with a hairdryer, so this was the best place for it. “You can be Pannacotta. Like the desert~” she told him.
The exotic looking one meowed as if to say they wanted to be named next. “Alright, you… Guido? Do you like that?” The cat meowed affirmatively and looked at the gold one.
“How about Giorno?” you asked the blonde kitten. It showed no outward response, but it didn’t seem to object. About what you could expect from a cat.
“You can be Arancia, with those bright orange spots~” you told the black cutie. Right away it seemed to meow something like the name and you laughed. “Narancia? Would you prefer that? Okay, it actually sounds cuter that way. Good call!” you laughed.
Last was the spotted one. You struggled with a name for a bit, thinking of a few and dismissing them. “I really like the name Bruno, but you’re a white kitty,” you eventually said. You’d already gotten kind of fixated on the name for him, assuming he was even a boy. You hadn’t checked. The spotted cat purred and came to cuddle up to you, which had to be the clearest consent you could get from any feline. “Alright, Bruno it is!” you agreed, snuggling with your new cats until the food arrived.
You didn’t feel like staying up late or doing much the rest of the evening. You checked a few missing pet sites and set a reminder in your phone to call the pound during your lunch break tomorrow. You were starting to hope no one was looking for them, because these kitties made you happy beyond belief in just one night, even if you felt a little bad for Leone now. However, strays don’t end up in a giant travel crate together and most of these cats looked like very expensive breeds.
You left the heated blankets on the couch on a low setting and quietly went to bed while the cats slept. Only Leone got up to follow you, as he normally did. You got in bed and he made a soft mewl that drew your attention.
“What’s wrong, Leone?” you asked softly, smiling as he rolled onto his back and exposed his soft little cat belly submissively. He’d never done this before and you giggled and rubbed his belly in slow reassuring strokes. “Don’t worry, baby. Someone’s probably busy looking for them right now. I don’t think I can take care of that many cats anyway. I’m too young to be an old lady with six cats, right? You’ll always be my favorite, Leone. Just don’t tell them, yeah? Kitty promise?” you whispered softly, smiling wider when he purred and cuddled up against your side.
The next morning you tried to feed all your new cats their wet food the same way you had the day before, but Giorno had somehow made it to the top of your bookcase and was not coming down. Panna had taken his spot under the couch and was similarly unmovable, and Narancia and Guido were both hovering by your door, ready to make a break for it.
You had a kibble feeder set up, so you fed Leone so he wouldn’t get grumpy and set out a bowl of special cat milk your first cat didn’t care for. It did catch the attention of your other cats, who were more interested in it and satisfied you hadn’t left out the new kitties food wise you got showered and dressed for work.
“Be good babies! I love you!” you called out, already excited to come home to your sweet cats tonight. You forced yourself not to get too excited. You also forbade yourself from shopping for an extra big litter box and collars and cat beds, because you already knew that the second you got a call about the owner being found you’d be heartbroken.
During your break you called a few of the shelters near you, reporting what had happened. They all recommended you take them to the vet to check for a chip, which you agreed to do. You booked an appointment at the vet and with gritted teeth you begged for the time off from your boss. He was not happy, since you were still in charge of a shitshow from hell and your predecessor had left a mountain of work to be sorted out for you. You were entitled to that time off though, so you got your vet visit, under the condition you worked some overtime again, which you already expected.
It was getting dark by the time you were on your way home and while you were happy there was the slight underlying anxiety your new babies might have demolished your home in your absence. You had no way of knowing if any of them had spraying issues or if they might need a special diet. Leone was a very clean and neat cat, who’s only messes were his litter box and some shed fur that couldn’t be helped.
There was also the chance they might have fought for whatever reason and you quickly forced that thought out of your mind.
You would come home and there would be six lovely kitties meowing hello and wanting food and you’d all cuddle on the couch together and you’d be alright.
You opened your door and were shocked by the smell before anything else. It wasn’t the smell of cat pee or blood, which you were happy about, but it smelled like food. Like pasta with red sauce, to be precise.
Okay… maybe your mom had come over and let herself in and made you dinner? It was unlike her to do that, especially unannounced, but it was the only semi-reasonable explanation you could come up with until a stranger came walking out of your kitchen.
“Mistress, you’re home! Bellissimo! Leone said you’re usually home sooner, so we were getting worried-”
“Who the fuck are you and why are you in my house?!” you yelled. You didn’t want to be rude, you really didn’t, but you did not know this man and he was standing in your hallway, wearing nothing except your girly white apron that you rarely ever used. The man was of medium build, tan skin and a black bob cut, with two black cat ears perched almost cutely on the sides. You weren’t sure if the not knowing or the almost naked part disturbed you more.
A few seconds later you would discover it was in fact neither of those things that bothered you most, it was that apron man wasn’t the only under dressed intruder in your house! “You don’t have to yell. You invited us in,” a tall, lean, brown haired male with leopard spotted cat ears said, coming out of your living room wearing a pair of your hipster panties with a leopard print that matched his ears and at this point you were groping behind you for the door handle.
“Vecellio is next door...” you said, thinking these guys were probably friends of your neighbors who let themselves in. Did you not lock the door? Did they find your spare key? Did they not realize they were in the wrong house?
“That’s… nice? But I don’t think that’s got anything to do with us,” apron man said.
“You’re home~!!!” a small, black haired boy yelled, coming down the stairs in a bright orange mini skirt that you had only worn for Halloween once. He looked like he wanted to come up and hug you, but your indignant yelp stopped him.
“Why are you wearing my clothes?!” you demanded, tucking yourself way back into the corner.
“Chill, you didn’t have any guy clothes. Just thought it’d be more polite to put something on than to greet you with our dicks out. We’ll take ‘em off if you want,” leopard print said, already hooking his thumb into the panties he was wearing.
“N-No, keep that on! That is not what I meant!” you said quickly.
“If she’s home, does that mean we can have dinner now?” the black haired boy in the skirt asked.
“Not yet, Narancia. I think our new mistress needs a little more explaining,” the first said, beckoning you further into your apartment. By now two more guys had appeared. One was wearing the bottoms of your strawberry print pajamas and more egregiously, holding your laptop! The other only had a white sheet around his waist like he belonged in a renaissance painting, which quite frankly, would not be wrong.
“You're damn right I need a fucking explanation!” you snapped, already at a point where you were willing to overlook the mistress part of that statement when you realized something that had you ready to escalate this situation from potential battery to potential murder. “Where are my cats?!”
Around the corner at that very moment came your big, silver fur ball and you exhaled a sigh of relief, getting down on one knee to pick him up quickly.
“Hey, Leone,” you said, considerably more calm, only for the sweet but distant tomcat you’d had for over a year to transform before your very eyes into a tall, naked, silver haired man with an impatient scowl, with you still kneeling at eye level with exposed groin as he cocked his hip and crossed his arms.
“Now will you make them leave?!” he asked.
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lu-undy · 3 years
Text
Chapter 106 - SBT
Here it is!
“Alright, here we are." 
"Meow." Perle sat down and Soot imitated her. A couple of weeks had passed since the birth of the kittens now and they had opened their eyes fully.
"Mundy, I would rather stay outside, I really don't think that-"
"No." Mundy cut Lucien's speech. "No excuses, no half-truths. We go together." Lucien raised his eyes to Mundy and sighed. "Don't look so sad, Lu', you're not the one takin' risks here."
"Of course I am." Lucien answered. "If this whole idea fails, who is going to carry your sorrow with you?" 
"I… Yeah, I'm sorry." Mundy sighed and adjusted his grip on the basket he was holding in his arms. The kittens were squeaking and squealing gently there.
"It is fine." Lucien answered. "Mundy?"
"Yeah?" Mundy raised sorry eyes to his lover. 
"Je t'aime, mon loup. You will make it."
[I love you, my wolf.]
"Hope so… C-Can you knock on the door for me, please?"
"Before I do," Lucien raised his eyes to Mundy. "Take a deep breath."
Mundy melted and his shoulders sank. He smiled, albeit sadly. 
"Love you, Lu', you're my everythin'." He whispered and their eyes locked, both blushing. 
Lucien raised his hand and gave the dark brown door a few knocks. 
"Oh, hey boys, come in, please…" Caroline opened the door and let both men through. 
"Who's that?" Mike asked from his sofa. 
"It's Micky and Lucien." Caroline answered while throwing a mildly scared glance at Lucien. The Frenchman nodded to her. 
Mike appeared at the living-room's door, his hand on the door frame. 
"What d'you want?" He bluntly asked. 
Perle took a step forward and her fluffy hair spiked everywhere along her spine. Soot joined her, standing defensively between his wife, his children, his fathers and grandmother, and Mike.
"The cats had babies, we've come here to show them to Mum and you, Dad." Mundy answered.
"Pff…" Mike looked down at Perle and Soot. They were showing their fangs and hissing. 
"Pearl, Soot, no." Mundy said, but the cats disobeyed, their posture was defensive. "Please, guys…" 
The old man took the stairs up and disappeared. 
"You guys come in and make yourselves at home, I'll go and talk to him." Caroline almost whispered to them, and both men agreed. 
They sat in the living-room, Mundy on the sofa and Lucien on the armchair. Mundy put the basket on his lap and Perle jumped to her little ones. Soot helped her bathe them all.
"I'm not so sure it'll ever wo-"
"Shh." Lucien cut him. He was pricking his ears up, trying to hear what Caroline and Mike were saying, but to no avail. "I cannot hear them…" He finally gave up. "Not with the babies mewling that much."
"Bah…" 
"Meow." Perle took them out of the basket one by one and lay down. The babies were hungry and the Mummy had felt it. She started feeding them when Caroline and Mike came back downstairs. 
"So! Where are my great-grand babies…?" She excitedly asked.
"Here, Mum, look." 
Caroline took a seat next to Mundy.
"Aw, look at them… There are… four! They're adorable! How old are they?"
"Just two weeks today." Mundy answered. 
"Aw…" Caroline stared at the little ones feeding from their mother who was trying to bathe them at the same time. "Do they have names?" 
"Yeah, Lu', c'mere and tell Mum." 
"Uhm, of course…" Lucien rose from the armchair and crouched in front of the sofa. "This lady here is Marshmallow, this one is Inky, and then we have two brave little males. This black one is Bushcat, or as Mundy calls him, Bushkitty, and this white one with black paws is Glovy the Second."
"The Second?"
"Yeah," Mundy answered. "Previous litter had a similar kitty but with inverted colours and we called him Glovy. He liked his food a lot too, a bit like this one. He's always the first on his mum's milk and the last to go away from her. He even sometimes falls asleep still sucklin'..." 
"Poor baby…" Caroline smiled. "Ooh, they look gorgeous, look at their eyes…! Bushkitty has one green and one blue, eh? That's very pretty!"
"Yeah, one from his mum and one from his dad." 
"Congrats, Pearl, your babies are gorgeous…!" Caroline gently patted Perle's head who closed her eyes under the tender gesture. "Mike, come have a look-see, they're adorable…!" 
Lucien went back to the armchair to leave some space and Mike approached, not without glaring at the man…
"Listen to them mewl, aw, cutie pies…" Caroline insisted, trying to get a reaction out of Mike, but the old man remained as lively as marble. 
Mike took one more step and Soot jumped to his feet to hiss and show his fangs, digging his claws on the couch's armrest. Perle's ears were pulled back too. She curled on her babies defensively before slowly rising to her feet as well. 
"Right. They don't want me to get close." Mike sighed. 
"Pearl, you get down and Soot too. What's this now?" Mundy's voice was authoritative and it surprised everyone in the room, from Caroline and Mike, to Lucien. The cats immediately stopped and Soot withdrew to Mundy's lap. "There. And stop hissin', we raised you better than that." 
"Meow…" Both adult cats lowered their heads apologetically.
"It's ok, but don't hiss like that ever again, not at Dad's dad, alright?" 
"Meow." 
He scratched Perle and Soot's heads.
There was a second of silence in the room. Everyone was processing what had just happened differently. Lucien was melting on his seat, only he didn't let it show. He didn't know Mundy could be authoritative, and gosh, his insides were molten lava. 
Caroline was overwhelmed by the pride she was feeling. If this was what Mundy was like as a father, then her job on that planet was done. He knew when to step his foot down but showed compassion too. The mother couldn't help but take some pride for herself, surely Mundy had learnt that from her, at least a bit?
The one whose emotions were hidden as well as Lucien's, was Mike. God only knew what he thought of that, but he came closer and sat at the edge of the sofa, on the armrest. Perle looked at him intensely and turned her head to Mundy, who nodded. 
The lady cat carefully approached the old man, who was offering his fingers. She smelt them from a distance and got closer, ever so slowly. Soot jumped on the sofa and tended to the babies.
Perle looked in the direction of her Papa, who nodded too. He wanted to speak, but Lucien was trying to make himself as small as possible in the room. 
The lady cat finally brushed her head against Mike's fingers gently. The old man softly scratched her and she purred, her meows wrapped around the rolling of her purrs. 
"There ya go, baby, this is your Gramps, he's nice."
"Meow?" 
"See how I'm your Dad?" 
"Meow." 
"Well this is my Dad."
"Meow?" 
"Yeah, this is my Mum, and my Dad." Mundy explained. 
"Treat her like your kid, huh?" Mike finally broke the silence. 
"Yeah, she listens." Mundy said and scooted over. He pulled Perle to himself to create some space and Mike joined them on the couch. Caroline and Lucien exchanged an eager gaze. 
"Lucien, d'you mind helpin' me with the tea?" 
"Of course." Lucien took the bait and followed Caroline out. They went to the kitchen and shut the door. Then, both promptly stuck their ears to it… 
"So, how've you been, Dad?"
"Not too bad. Last week, we sold most stuff at the market. With the extra, I had the car fixed."
"What was wrong with it?" 
"The cylinder head gasket needed replacin'."
"Ah, fair. Is it fixed now?"
"Yeah, it's alright now."
Both were nervously petting Perle while the little ones mewled and explored the sofa, wrestling with each other while wobbling on their short legs. 
"And uh… What's up with you, son?" 
Mundy's ears pricked up at "son". 
"Not much. Been busy with these fluff balls. Hard to raise them proper with the daytime job and all, but we manage. Lu' works in the mornings, I take the afternoons, unless there's an emergency."
"They're alright? Growin' well?" 
"Yeah, so far, so good. Today's their first day outside the house."
"They're curious, eh?" Mike said as Glovy and Bushcat tried to climb on his thigh. 
"Yeah, sorry about that, I can take them back…"
"No, no, they're fine." Mike gently let his finger run on the little ones' heads, and Mundy grinned. "Son?"
"Yeah?" 
"I uh… I still don't get it." Mike said in a serious tone. "For Lucien and you."
"Ah yeah, well… It's uh, it's alright. You don't need to-"
"No." Mike cut him short. "I… I wanna understand this. Been talkin' to your Mum about it." He scooped Glovy and petted him between his hands. "I don't know, son…" 
Perle took Bushcat in her mouth and gently dropped him on Mike's lap. The young black male curled down and looked up at Mike.
"I listen to your Mum, see? She's been tellin' me a lot about you and Lucien. Every time she visits you guys, she comes back and tells me about it, gives me the news." 
Perle took Inky and dropped her on Mike's lap. She sat down there and didn't move.
"I don't get it cause I don't feel it in me. Never felt more for a bloke than just bein' friends. Hell, it never came to me that you could be more. And we didn't raise you like that, son, nah, we didn't. So of course, I thought about it all for a long time. Where the hell could you have got the idea from? You can't have just thought about it on your own, can you?" 
Perle finally took Marshmallow and brought her to her great-grand father's lap. The poor kitten lay down, curled in a ball against Bushcat, she seemed afraid.
"But then, when I thought I could never get it, I asked your Mum. And as always, she knew."
Perle lay down, curling her body around her babies, on Mike's lap. 
"She asked me why I chose her. I told her that it was because she was kind, and pretty, and compassionate… I went on until I couldn't think of any words anymore. D'you know what she said then?" Mundy shook his head. "That your Auntie Sally was the same." Mike chuckled and Mundy smiled. The old man laced his arms around Mundy's shoulder. "Then she told me that there is no rhyme or reason as to why I chose her. Yeah, she's nice and all, but lots of other girls are like that too. But your mum has somethin' special that speaks only to me, on the inside, somethin' that no one can put into words. And that's why I chose her." 
Mundy smiled at his father's dreamy eyes. He could clearly see that even after all these years, Mike still loved Caroline, a bit out of habit of course, but the feelings deep down, they were still the same. 
"Then she said it was the same for you and Lucien. You chose him cause he's nice and all, but also, there's stuff you can't explain to me, you can't explain it to anyone, but when you think of him, it feels alright." 
Mundy nodded. 
"Y'know, I still find it a bit weird but… I'll try. I can't promise I won't give weird looks, I'm sorry, it's just so strange to me. But that doesn't mean I don't love you, Micky. It's just that I'm a bit… surprised, if that makes sense." 
"Does that mean you're ok with Lu' and me?" 
"I'm… I'm tryin' my best, son and uh… I'm sorry I didn't just understand it sooner." Mike pulled Mundy in an unexpected hug. "I made your mum and you worry about me and for what? Cause you were happy with a bloke. God damn it, I asked Maurice and he told me he was a war hero that Lucien of yours, did you know?" 
Mundy nodded, returning his father's hug and holding him close. 
"Y-yeah, I know." 
"He's… Maurice told me he's a hell of a guy, traditional, and honest, hard-workin' too." 
Mundy nodded again. 
"Micky?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you really happy with him?" 
The Aussie closed his eyes. 
"Yeah, I am." 
"For sure?" 
"Yeah. He saved me and sacrificed everythin' for me, even his own self. I won't find anyone else like him, Dad." 
"Right. Then, please go and get him out of the kitchen, I need to talk to him." Mike gently pulled himself out of the embrace.
"Alone?"
"Nah, bring your mum too." 
"Ok… Uh, Dad?" 
"Mh?" 
"Thank you." Mundy smiled. 
"Heh, I should be the one apologisin' and you're thankin' me? Gosh, son…" Mike ruffled Mundy's hair. "You're a good boy. Now go and get Lucien." 
"Alright." 
Mundy went to the kitchen and gestured to Lucien and Caroline to come. They brought Caroline's usual tray of tea and biscuits. 
"You wanted to see me, Mike?" Lucien asked. 
The old man gently scooped the kittens out of his lap and Perle helped him remove them. He then stood up to Lucien and looked up at him. 
"You sit down next to me." 
Lucien nodded and obeyed, Mundy went to the armchair.
"Now you listen here… I talked to Micky. I talked to Caroline too. I'm not sayin' any of this makes sense to me at all, alright?" 
Lucien nodded. 
"I wanna ask a few things." 
"Pray do." 
"What d'you think of my Micky?" 
Lucien took a deep breath. 
"He is… unique. Without a doubt, he is the most compassionate soul I have ever met. His unconditional love for you and Caroline speaks at length for his faithfulness, his patience and his loyalty. I have seen him show love for his family, for his friends, and for animals in an outstandingly respectful way. I have also seen his wrath and his frustration, and I admire him for them too. There is something beautifully frightening in seeing a man so gentle become furious. But as of late, I have had the privilege of seeing a more confident Mundy, and what a sight… I think you have raised an example for the human kind, Mike. You might not even see it, or not the way that I do, but please hear my words and believe them."
Mike had listened, frowning all along and nodding from time to time. From the armchair, Mundy was shaking, his limbs were trembling silently as his jaw clenched. 
"Is Micky happy with you?"
"This is my only worry." Lucien answered. "I strive to make his life complete, to make him feel as whole as possible. If in your eyes I am not doing enough for it, then please understand that no one else on Earth would do as much as I have, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I am, and will remain, the only person who will go to unthinkable ends for Mundy's happiness."
"Lu'-"
"Son." Mike raised a hand to silence Mundy. He turned to Lucien again. "You takin' care of him as best as you can?"
"Oui." 
"Hm." Mike nodded to himself. "You… You really make him happy, huh?" 
"More than I thought I could make anyone, including myself." Lucien answered. 
"And d'you have plans for the future?" Mike asked. 
"Neither him or I are young anymore. I do not plan anything else but live with him for as long as God allows it. Whatever his wishes, whatever he dreams of, I shall know of it and bring it to him. Those are my plans for the future." 
"Hm…" 
Mike remained silent for a minute that seemed like an entire life and a half for everyone in the room. 
"Meow…" Perle moved her babies to both Lucien and Mike's lap before sitting on Lucien's lap. She raised a paw to him and he gently held it and put it back down.
"Attends, ma chérie, je parle avec Mike, c'est important."
[Wait, my darling, I am talking with Mike and it is important.]
"Caroline?" Mike asked. 
"Yeah?" 
"Anythin' you wanna ask him?" 
"N-no…?" She answered surprised. 
"Well, c'mon, y'have to, we can't let Micky go with him without askin' a few things…!"
"Mike, they already are together, what are you on about?"
"Yeah, but you know that this isn't about them bein' together, it's about you and I givin' our blessin'." 
Mundy's eyes watered up. Lucien saw it and looked at Perle before nodding in direction of the poor Aussie, melting on his island of an armchair, further away from the action. Perle turned her head to her Dad and both Soot and her went to comfort him. The kittens squealed in Lucien and Mike's lap, seeing Mummy further away, but both men kept them warm in their palms. 
"I have nothin' to ask, I've seen them. I've seen them and I've heard them at home, they're… They work perfectly, Mike, they might even work better than you and me!" 
Lucien was sandwiched between Caroline and Mike and leaned back on his seat to not block their conversation. 
"C'mon, Carrie, ask him one thing at least, just for good measure…!"
"Right, right…. Uh, Lu'?"
"Oui?" 
"Will you excuse Mike and his century old manners with you?" 
"Carrie!" Mike exclaimed and Lucien smiled. 
"Non, please, I am an old man, and a man of tradition too. It is only normal that Mike asks me a few things." Lucien tried to calm both parents down. 
"See? He gets it!" Mike said. 
"Oh well then, now you agree with Lucien, Mike, hm?" 
"Course, I do! He talks sense! Now, please Carrie, give us some tea, throats are dry here and we can't think anymore."
"Right, right… Here, Lu', pass this on to the old man from the last century, yeah?" 
"Of course, Mike? Here is your cup." Lucien handed him the cup that Caroline had given him. 
"This is for you, Lu'... And this is for… oh?" 
Mundy had been staring, his back hunched and tears were streaming down his face. 
"Mundy…!" Lucien put his cup aside and the kittens on the carpet before going to Mundy. "What is wrong, Mundy?" 
"Step aside, son, I think this is for me to handle." 
Lucien felt a hand on his shoulder and withdrew. 
"Stand up, Micky." 
The Aussie pushed on his wobbly legs and Mike pulled him into a hug, to which Mundy couldn't resist and burst out sobbing, his knees gave up but Lucien held him from behind and helped him stand. 
"Dad…"
"Shh, son, don't cry… What's Lucien gonna think, eh? Didn't raise you to cry like that, eh?" Mike patted his back and held him close. "What's yer… uh… companion gonna think, eh?"
"Dad…" Mundy sobbed again, the only word he repeated was Dad for long, long minutes of wringing himself. 
"C'mere now, sit down." Father and son took a seat on the sofa. "There, there, thanks, Carrie. Look, your Mum's handin' you a tissue, yeah, wipe that mess off yer face, good boy… Now, can you speak?" 
Mundy's breath was hitched, his whole ribcage was trembling in erratic waves.
"Y-yeah… I-I'm sorry… I…" 
"Now, now, shh… You have nothin' to be sorry about. I should apologise to both of ya. Sorry, Micky, I didn't want to be mean to you or anythin', I just thought… I couldn't imagine how you could be happy with a man. And you," Mike turned to Lucien. "You continue takin' care of my Micky, alright?"
"Oui, Monsieur." Lucien nodded.
[Yes, Sir.]
"See how sensitive he is? He's fragile, my boy. But he's strong too, eh? I didn't raise a sissy! He's strong and sensitive. He's my boy, and if I learn that anyone's been mean to him…!"
"Mike," Caroline answered. "So far you've been that one…"
"Yeah well, I was… not really bright, anyway! That's not the point, point is, I love you Micky, you're my boy, the baby we chose to raise and we both love you. As I said, don't expect me to not give you the occasional weird stare, I can't help it, you can't change an old man, but I don't mean any harm. I'm just… I'm just surprised, is all." 
"Thanks so much, Dad, I…" Mundy hugged his father, clawing and clinging to him. 
"There, there, it's alright… Now, Carrie, give the boy his cup of tea, he's lost lots of water and will need the hydration. There we go… Now…"
Everyone held their cup and Mundy turned to take Lucien's hand in his. The Frenchman blushed intensely.
"Lucien?" Mike called. 
"Oui?"
"Did I tell you that one time we went fishin' with Micky and he caught a fish with his bare hands, or rather his bare foot?" 
"Oh, non, I don't believe you have." Lucien smiled in anticipation. 
"Well, it's not a flatterin' story, not at the beginnin'..."
"Dad, please…"
"Let me tell him, it's a good story."
"Dad…!" 
"He caught the fish, see? But the fish caught him too! It was a vicious thing that grabbed his foot!"
"Oh, God…" Mundy hid his face in his hands. 
"See, we were on a lil' row boat and Micky fell in the water trying to pull on his fishin' rod too hard. When he came back to the surface, the damn thing was on his lil' bare foot!"
Lucien chuckled and Mundy shook his head. 
"Dad, he doesn't need to know that…"
"Yeah, he does. Now there was also that one time where he tried to hunt bees, now I'm sure you can guess how it ended, eh?" Mike chuckled. "Carrie, get us the photo album, Lucien's gotta see the picture…"
"Dad, no, please…!" 
"Come on! It was ages ago, let me show him what specimen you were… See, he caught the bee in the end, but the poor thing stung him on his ear as it tried to escape and the poor kid got an ear as big as a frying pan!" 
Caroline brough the photo album. 
"Now, squeeze a bit boys, c'mere Carrie… There we go… Now, let's have a look, yeah?"
"Dad, do we really have to?"
"Yeah we do! Lucien has to know what kind of a kid you were. Now, where was I…?"
Perle gathered her little ones and with Soot's help, they all went on their parents and grandparents' laps. As it turned out, the kittens were as curious about the pictures as Lucien was. 
The Frenchman turned his head to meet his lover's gaze and smiled. Mundy's eyes were still a bit red with the crying, but he grinned back, and he slid his fingers between Lucien. 
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auncyen · 3 years
Text
two snippets from an early draft of “when the Cat Dragged in the Trickster” that had more buildup covering the school year and the repeat requests for Ren to be given a change of heart...because I’m deleting old docs to clean up but I still like them.
The first time they checked the MetaNav because Amamiya had been requested on the Phansite, Morgana crowed at the negative result. "See! He doesn't have a distorted desire! If he was wicked before, he has clearly reformed."
The second time they checked the MetaNav because Amamiya had been requested, Morgana rolled his eyes before explaining to a mildly curious Yusuke that people were only scared of Amamiya because of his dubious past and that they weren't paying enough attention to his current impeccable conduct. Ryuji then filled Yusuke in on what said dubious past was. Ann informed everyone the result was still negative. No distortion.
The third time Amamiya got requested, Ryuji shook his head when Makoto started to bring out her phone. "He ain't gonna be on there," he told her.
"You're certain?" the student council president asked. "With a record like his..."
"He's been on the site before, I believe," Haru said. "Was he already given a change of heart?"
Ann sighed in aggravation. "No, but we've checked both times Mishima's forwarded the requests before, and he hasn't shown up then either. I mean, yeah, you'd think if he assaulted someone out of the blue, he must be distorted, but he got arrested and put on probation for it. That'd be enough to make most people reflect on themselves, right?"
Haru nodded, accepting the logic, but Makoto still said aloud, "Amamiya Ren."
"Candidate not found."
Morgana huffed. "See?" He jumped up on the accessway's railing. "Lady Ann, I say we tell Mishima to not accept these requests anymore. They clearly have no basis."
Ann frowned, thinking. It'd be a little hard when they were still trying to keep some plausible deniability with Mishima, but she could probably...drop a heavy hint. "Okay--"
"Wait," Makoto said. "You only think it lacks basis because of the app. We don't know where it's from or how it was made, so how can we trust it to be accurate?"
"Do you think the accusation has merit, then? That he threatened the writer?" Yusuke asked. Morgana gave a loud, exasperated sigh.
"I...don't know," Makoto said slowly. "Honestly, I'd prefer if Ann's explanation was right. If Amamiya's reformed, it would mean the justice system at least works sometimes. It's just...what if these are serious? Haru made multiple requests, and you still nearly missed them before I brought them to your attention."
"By blackmailing us," Ryuji muttered.
Makoto's cheeks colored. Haru squeezing her hand as gentle reassurance didn't help. "...That's besides the point. I just want to make sure no other victims slip through the cracks either."
Ryuji and Ann exchanged looks. Ryuji shoved his hands in his back pockets and leaned against the railing. "Honestly, I kind of wonder if I'd be on the Phansite if it'd gone up before Kamoshida went down," he said. "People mostly just leave me alone now, but last year there was talk about how I was gonna haul off and hit the next person who looked at me funny. Shit made me want to quit school for a while."
"You called Amamiya-san 'the guy who stabs people'," Morgana reminded him.
"Well, that's how I knew him! And I wasn't spreadin' anything--Ann had already heard about him, and who were you gonna tell?" Ryuji shot back before a gesture from Makoto reminded him to lower his voice. "Look, I know the guy's done something bad once before, and from what I've seen of him, he's a little weird. Like, I can't get a read on him at all. But none of that means he should be harassed. I guess...we should check to be sure nothing's going on...but can we do it without bothering the guy?"
"I think...both Mako-chan and Ryuji-kun have a point," Haru said slowly. Since we don't know much about the MetaNav, we can't know for sure if it's always working correctly, can we? So I think we should do some questioning ourselves to make sure Amamiya isn't involved in anything suspicious. But we must be discreet, and if we find nothing, we ask the administrator to not accept any more requests about him. I wouldn't want us to be used as a tool for harassment. People deserve second chances."
"That seems reasonable," Yusuke said. "I agree with the proposed action." Makoto nodded, and Ryuji shrugged. Ann hesitated for a moment, but...if there was a victim...and if there was a chance the MetaNav didn't always work, they needed to know, considering how much they relied on it. She nodded.
Morgana held out for a couple of tense minutes, his tail swishing in agitation behind him, but at last it slowed. "I guess...it'd reflect badly on the name of the Phantom Thieves if we ignored a request that turned out to be legitimate... very well, then. We investigate, and then we tell Mishima to reject any further requests."
Morgana's phrasing made it obvious he expected Amamiya to be found innocent. Fortunately, he seemed to be right. Morgana tailed Amamiya from a distance. Yusuke kept an eye out for Amamiya when he people watched at the station. The four Shujin students kept an ear out for any current rumors that might have any basis. Ann asked Mishima if he would be able to find more details about Amamiya's record, since the original leak appeared long-deleted and he was good with the internet and searching for information.
Mishima was more than happy to help her find information--he actually pulled up the record itself for her. The details on the trial were sparse, with the victim's identity completely missing from the record. Was that normal...? Ann hoped it was, to protect victims. It seemed the assault conviction was legitimate enough, anyway. Amamiya had pleaded not guilty, but there was an identified witness who had testified that he had attacked the man she'd been with out of the blue. The judge had made a quick ruling--Ann guessed it was a fairly open-and-shut case. The most troubling thing was that the transcript of the proceedings gave no hint into what had provoked Amamiya to assault that man, who seemed to have been a stranger, besides the allegation that he had anger management issues. That lined up with a few of the rumors, but...the rumors were based on his record to begin with. And they were all old--nothing they turned up sounded that different from what they'd heard in April. Yusuke and Morgana had nothing suspicious to report, unless Amamiya holding three part-time jobs, one of which seemed to be where he was living, counted.
It was...weird. No, she guessed it made sense if Amamiya had reformed and was working to control his temper. They ended the investigation. Ann dropped hints to Mishima that the Phantom Thieves weren't after criminals who'd already been punished.
Mishima seemed seriously reluctant to take those hints, considering they got a fourth request for Amamiya while they were waiting for Futaba to wake up. Ann hadn't even finished reading the message before she deleted it in aggravation.
-
The second snippet being a slightly different form of investigating with interesting/concerning results:
Haru and Makoto were in agreement from the beginning, with Yusuke agreeing it seemed reasonable enough soon after. Ann was the first to be won over from skepticism. Then Ryuji. Finally, Morgana's ears drooped. "We really don't know how that thing works," he said with a glance at Ann's phone. "It'd be terrible if we accidentally ignored someone in danger...all right. We investigate, and then we tell Mishima to reject any further requests."
Morgana's phrasing made it obvious he expected Amamiya to be found innocent, and Ann was a little worried what would happen if he was wrong. Still, for now, they had a unanimous vote. They started an investigation.
Makoto tailed Amamiya, with Ryuji at a distance just in case she was confronted. All she learned was that that Amamiya worked at both 777 and a beef bowl shop and seemed to be a decent employee. Yusuke kept an eye out when he people watched at the station and spotted Amamiya a few times, but never saw him do anything or go anywhere unusual, and most of what he had to say about finally seeing the transfer student for himself was "his aesthetic is appallingly drab". He also figured out somehow that Amamiya's glasses were fake, but Ann didn't know what that information had to do with anything, even if Yusuke found it the one interesting thing about Shujin's transfer student.
Morgana also tailed Amamiya, and by 'tailed' he really just strutted up to Amamiya, meowed and acted like a lost cat, and let Amamiya take him home for the night. It was a lazy approach. It was also the most informative, though not in the way Ann had expected.
Amamiya returned Morgana to Ann in the morning. That, she'd expected: either Amamiya would be conscientious and return a cat he'd recognize as hers, or Morgana would eventually slip away and return on his own. What she hadn't expected was that Amamiya looked nervous--really nervous--when he let his schoolbag down on his desk and showed her Morgana, safe inside. Morgana looked upset.
"He...must have gotten out somehow? I found him in Shibuya, after my work shift--"
"He thinks you'll think he stole me," Morgana blurted.
"Okay, okay, come on," Ann said, reaching into the schoolbag to extricate the smallest thief. She was confused. Why on earth would Amamiya think she'd suspect him of kidnapping Morgana? He'd gone up to Amamiya himself--
Well, though...if Ann didn't know that, if Morgana was a normal cat--oh. Yeah, it might be suspicious that Amamiya of all people had 'found' him. Shoot. She immediately looked up at Amamiya and gave him her brightest smile. "I'm glad you found him! I was sooooo worried about this little guy. Thank you."
"'Little guy'?" Morgana muttered, but he clambered into her desk and turned himself about, his blue eyes focusing on Amamiya. "See? It's fine. Calm down."
Obviously, Amamiya couldn't understand Morgana. But he did seem to be relaxing. He smiled back a little at Ann, an awkward thing, and she felt so lost. What had happened to the guy who'd intimidated the entire class just to let a cat sit in a desk?
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bittybattybunny · 3 years
Note
The florist?! What has she done?! And what au is that?
Oh I guess I never talked about that AU
hahaha
Okay so sit down---
I have an AU called “the resurrection of Arulius Law”
it’s based on Frankenstein as well as the song “Annabel raises the dead“
Lillian is a crazed woman who fell in love with her classmate and childhood friend Arulius Law, however, he was already in a relationship with Vanessa Frost and they did plan to wed when he finished schooling. Lillian was kicked from the school for her mad science projects including reanimating a cat and it injured a student so badly he got sepsis and died. However, she was still in love with Arulius.
Arulius got his degree and was setting up his own law firm and he and Vanessa had a daughter named Harriet. They were happy. When Harriet is 5 years old, a carriage struck her father and Arulius died from his injuries.
Lillian stole his body and others in order to experiment in raising the dead. She did succeed.
Marcus is a detective on the case of the body-snatching, and he ends up teaming up with Estelle Guardian, an ‘undertaker’ who runs the Nightingale Mortuary. Estelle is revealed to be a grim, summoned by the prior owner Sena Nightingale. he named her Estelle and had a contract with her. however when he died she just. Kept his business going. The mortuary is a cover and they really investigate happenings in Subcon City.
So with Marcus, Estelle starts tracking the cause of the body-snatching down. She ends up meeting Vanessa and becomes close to her, helping her with Harriet as they look into matters. Harriet is actually the key to helping figure it out because whenever the reanimated Arulius is out with Lillian if he sees her he stops and she notices. So using her they are able to locate him and Lillian’s hide out. They find that Lillian is having issues stabilizing him and he’s failing and will wind up like her other experiments if she can’t fix it.
Estelle tries to get him to pass on (as a grim protects the dead. she will guide them) Lillian has other plans and wants to attack all of Subcon for mocking her and make a paradise of corpses for her and Arulius.
Arulius is able to snap to clarity when Harriet screams for him and ends up escaping with the main cast. He gets bad, Estelle can’t get him to pass. he willingly returns to Lillian to try and get her to stop, instead she locks and chains him up.
Marcus keeps an eye on Harriet and Vanessa and Estelle go to confront in a  big showdown, during it, Vanessa forms a fresh contract with Estelle giving her the name “Eclipse”. this Allows her to unlock her magic properly as due to the death of her prior contractor she was stuck in human form as she refused to return to the vail.
Eclipse in her grim form, runs and puts down the zombie army Lillian has created. with Vanessa on her back they are able to free Arulius and they chase Lillian down to stop the hoards. Arulius ends up snapping and going feral as an undead and attacking his own creator. In the struggle, he ends up consuming Lillian’s heart (as she wanted his heart--) This causes him to fully stabilize and he returns to his senses.
With Lillian’s death the undead slowly fall and they are released from her grasp. Eclipse states she’ll guide Arulius if he wants and they wind up staying together until Vanessa dies of old age. She then guides the couple. She stays with Marcus and Harriet as well, guarding them until Harriet herself is a mother and tells her she’ll be okay and says if she wants to go meet her parents she can. Eclipse is torn because she misses them both terribly but isn’t sure how to go herself as she’s been a guide so long. However both Vanessa and Ru are able to help her and let her finally pass on. (You see, a grim in some legends is made by BURYING SOMEONE ALIVE IN A CHURCH FOUNDATION. Eclipse was killed in this manner.)
Anyway that’s that au. Here’s the first couple pages I have written cuz IDK if/when I’ll work on this more--- it was like a hyper fixation I had for a few weeks hence the completed plot synopsis
“Soon… Soon you’ll be back…” She smiled so wide mouth threatened to rip. Her red hair flying around wildly in the stormy air as the window flew open papers scattering, “Soon. Soon, my dear, you’ll be back!” 
She laughed as she looked outside than at her work table and threw the switch.
The hand twitched.
-----
“Mommy…” the little girl tugged on her hand as they walked through the town, “Mommy can we do a chicken for dinner?” She asked curiously. 
The blond looked down with a chuckle, “No, Harriet. We’re doing fish tonight.”
The little girl puffed her cheeks up and stopped. She let go as she watched a tall figure amongst the crowd vanish into an alleyway. She smiled widely and ran off after him.
“H-Harriet!” her mother yelled taking off after her.
The little girl wove through the crowd, her small size making it easy to weave. She jumped into the alley, “DADDY!” She shouted.
The man turned, gold eyes flashing with recognition before the red-headed woman grabbed his hand and they vanished.
“HARRIET!” her mother gasped pulling her up in a panic, “D-Don’t run off like that! I-if I lost you too…” she held her close and buried her face in her daughter’s shoulder.
“B-But mommy! I saw daddy!! He was a weird lady!!!” She whined as her mother picked her up.
“Harriet... Sweet, sweet, sweet Harriet… Mommy told you… Daddy isn’t coming back…” She sighed carrying her back into the crowded streets, the heels of her shoes on the stone.
“But.. I SAW daddy… and daddy saw me…” she mumbled as she held onto her mother.
------
“Another?!” She gasped as she threw a knife at the wall, “Are you kidding me?!”
“Calm down Este----” he flinched as the dagger buried itself behind him, “Look. I wouldn’t come if it was a joke and this time--!” he flinched, “It was my own family who was stolen.”
She froze. “Marcus.”
He gripped his hat tightly, “My elder brother. Arulius. Estelle. They stole his body. Half the graves were stolen.” he sighed and shook his head, fighting back tears. He reached to rub his visible eye, “My sister-in-law and niece don’t know yet. I can’t tell them. W-why would someone be stealing bodies?!”
She scowled and sat down in her chair. She fumbled in the drawers behind her, “Nothing good. I can say that.”
The young man jumped as the cat rubbed against his legs, its blue and red eyes glinting before jumping to the desk. It crawled onto the woman’s shoulders as she skimmed the papers.
Pulling out a stack she threw them on the table, spreading out. Marcus grew closer, reading them over, and scowled, “These are…”
“Older cases. We had a string of body-snatching about a decade back. If I recall, a student from the Subcon School of Science and Law. She was expelled for illegal possession of a corpse. Something about fighting natural order.” she growled a bit.
“You don’t think!” He gripped his hat, “M-my brother’s body is being used for an illicit crime?!”
“Most likely.” She stroked the cat’s chin, enticing a purr. “I can’t say I’ve seen this much disrespect for the dead in a while.” she leaned on a hand, black hair falling over her shoulder. She chewed on her lip some, “If Sena was alive still…” she looked at her hand and sighed getting up. She grabbed the top hat and threw it on, “Well, Mr. Law. ready to get a little dirty?” she grinned as her cat meowed in agreement.
He shuddered, “No But I suppose this is on purpose?”
“Of course.” she sang moving to remove her dagger from the wall and hid it in her waistcoat among her other knives, “Why else did you come to Nightingale Mortuary after all?” her eyes glinted.
He sighed and fixed his hat as he followed after the woman as she locked the door behind her.
She flipped through pages of cases and scowled, “seems it all over. I wonder. Have you eaten recently?” she asked looking at the young man.
“Eh? No? I haven’t since breakfast. I’ve been too nervous.” Marcus grimaced, “why?”
“Oh I just didn’t want you to vomit over my associate’s home.” she waved a hand as they walked down the street. Her heels clicked as the cat on her shoulders snickered as they shifted.
“Why would I vomit?” Marcus scowled, “Estelle, where is it we’re going?” he asked in a shaky breath.
“Tacks-idermy and other novelties.” She explained, “I need to speak to the owner. She may have an idea.”
“A taxidermist?” he scowled, “why would she know of missing…” he got close to whisper, “corpses?”
“Well. you’ll see.” she sang.
----
Marcus paled as he heard the snapping bones as they entered the basement. He stuck close to Estelle as she walked, flinching every time he heard that sickening crunch. His eyes were wide as he noticed the blood on the walls.
“E-Estelle wh-what exactly are we doing?” He asked as he clung to her.
“Asking an associate if she stole the corpses.” she huffed.
“WHAT?!” Marcus gasped.
The bone snapping stopped. There was the sound of a heavy door as a person with skin white as paper and dark inky hair peeked around the corner. One eye was held firmly open with thick black stitches and the other half closed.
“Oh. Grim. Hi. What do I owe the pleasure of company?” their voice didn’t match their frame at all. It was light and soft like a voice made to read a storybook to children. She crossed her arms. Marcus stared at the thick stitching across her pale arms and she raised a brow, “who’s the standard?”
“This is Mr. law, my current client.” Estelle nodded at him, “we’re actually investigating something you may have ties to.”
The pale woman sighed, “Bodies?”
“Bodies.” Estelle chirped, “Have you been bothered?”
“I can’t GET any!” She threw her arms up annoyed, “do you know how HARD it is to do necromancy when you have no corpses?! Stanradrds make the BEST servants but with the shortage, I can’t GET any!” she fumed.
Marcus gulped.
“Really? You have issues getting corpses? Riley is unable to find any?” Estelle blinked, “Bridgette!”
“Riley has been having issues as well. I’m barely getting enough parts to keep healthy.” The necromancer rubbed her nose bridge, “I’m not going to go make my own but I may have to move shop.”
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toohardtoforgetcth · 4 years
Text
Too Hard To Forget
Chapter Two
Warnings: Swearing, angst, the usual 
4,570 words
A/N: I’ve been waiting to post chapter two of this fic until I got some interest in the first bit so here it is! Feedback is so so appreciated since this is the first piece of writing I’ve ever published and I’d love to know what you think!
It had been twelve days since Parker’s awkward exchange with Calum at the record store, and eight days since he had put the fear of God into her outside Grace’s room. She was surprised to discover he hadn’t been in to visit Grace in four days. In the short time she’d known him, she’d come to realize that it was unlike him to go more than a day or two without visiting.
Despite being downright terrified of him, Parker felt drawn to Calum. Every time he knocked her down, she found herself wanting to come running back for more. Parker’s curiosity got the best of her, and she couldn’t stop herself from asking Grace where he’d been.
“Everything okay with your grandson—Calum, right? Haven’t seen him all week,” she asked nonchalantly, but the old woman saw right through her.
She smiled a knowing smile, making Parker blush. “I told you he wasn’t so bad, didn’t I?” she winked.
Parker made a face. She would never say so, but she had to disagree with her on that one. She wondered if Grace really knew the effect her grandson had on people.
“Anyhow, he’s been so busy with work. Poor boy. It’s a terrible job. He could do so much better, he just doesn’t know it.”
Parker pondered this for a moment. Hating his job would explain why he was so moody all the time—she couldn’t imagine having to wake up every morning and work your life away at a place that made you miserable. “If anyone can convince him, it’s you, Grace,” Parker smiled.
» » » » » »
Friday afternoon, Parker still hadn’t seen Calum. She had been hopeful every time the front door opened and disappointed to discover it wasn’t him. She wasn’t sure why she felt that way—Calum scared her, and she should really learn to just let it go. Maybe there was a part of her—a competitive part—that wanted to win his friendship, simply because his cold demeanor made him a kind of challenge.
Calum wasn’t a nice guy—that much was obvious. He had given Parker plenty of reasons to want to stay away from him. He was clearly not interested in her—as friends or otherwise. In fact, he had been nothing but hostile towards her since their first meeting. But still, she couldn’t stop thinking about the man with the chocolate brown eyes. She daydreamed about those eyes, his muscled frame, soft brown curls. He was alluring, and Parker wondered what he was really like, under all the black and tattoos and leather, wondered if he had a soft side that anyone besides Grace was ever privileged enough to see.
• • • • • •
Calum was sick and fucking tired of Tom’s bullshit. He was this fucking close to quitting today and telling him to go fuck himself when he got a call from Gram. No matter what kind of shit Calum got himself into, Gram was always there when he needed her most, saving him when he didn’t even know he needed saving.
“Hi dear,” her shaky voice sounded from the other end.
Calum sighed deeply. He missed her voice. He missed her. He felt like shit for not going to see her, but he’d just been feeling so inexplicably angry and irritable the past week, and honestly, it was draining him. He knew he should visit, wanted to, but Calum couldn’t hide anything from Gram and he didn’t want her to worry. And he had to admit that subconsciously, he’d been avoiding Parker. Calum thought maybe some distance from her would keep his mind from wandering back to her, but so far he had been unsuccessful. He had a pretty good idea why he had been so bitter lately, and it was because of a pretty blonde with grey eyes. Parker was throwing him off—he’d never spent more than one night thinking about the same girl—and he didn’t like it.
“Hi, pretty lady,” he breathed, relaxing a little.
“Everything alright, honey? I haven’t seen you all week,” she sounded sad. It broke Calum’s heart. You piece of shit, he thought to himself. She doesn’t deserve this.
“I know,” he exhaled. “I’m sorry, Gram,” he said sincerely. “I don’t have a good reason. I gotta get back to work, but I’ll come see you tomorrow, okay? I promise.”
• • • • • •
Parker was coming back from her lunch break when she noticed Calum emerging from the double doors of the lobby. Her heart skipped a beat when she locked eyes with him. His dark eyes bore into hers, leaving her feeling strangely exposed. He said nothing, looking away from her as he put a cigarette between his lips, stopping to light it as the door shut behind him.
She hadn’t seen him since he lashed out at her for listening at Grace’s door, but apparently Parker had a death wish.
“Hey,” she greeted quietly with a small smile as she approached the door, more out of politeness than to spark conversation. She knew he wouldn’t stop to chat with her, but Parker wasn’t going to ignore his existence, the way he did with her. Hopefully he didn’t rip her head off for trying to be polite.
Calum caught her by surprise when he responded.
“Hey.”
Progress, Parker thought. A definite improvement from the complete silence or burning hostility that he usually greeted her with. Taking advantage of his sudden mood change, Parker stopped in front of Calum. He watched her with curious eyes, taking a drag from his cigarette and blowing a cloud of smoke to the side.
“Haven’t seen you in a while,” she observed casually.
“Been busy,” he replied with a shrug.
God, he made it so difficult to have a normal conversation, but Parker was determined to change his falsely skewed opinion of her.
“Grace has been missing you. She talks about you all the time,” Parker commented, heart picking up as she noticed his eyebrows drawing together and his shoulders tense. Shit, wrong thing to say. Fuck, here we go again.
“Like I said, I’ve been busy,” he pushed off the wall, standing to his full height and looking down at Parker. “Doesn’t really concern you, anyway, does it?” he spat bitterly as he flicked his half-smoked cigarette to the pavement, stalking away.
Parker stared after him, wishing she had kept her mouth shut. What was his problem?
• • • • • •
Later that afternoon, Jenna sat cross-legged on Parker’s bed, painting her nails. Parker lay on her back, Loki curled up between her legs.
“What’s got you all moody today?” Jenna pressed, recognizing the face Parker usually made when she was overthinking.
“Ugh,” she groaned, flipping over onto her stomach. Loki let out a displeased meow at being disrupted, launching off the bed. “Stupid Calum,” Parker rolled her eyes in frustration.
“Ooh, hottie grandma’s boy? Elaborate, please,” Jenna gushed, scooting closer.
“I ran into him at work today. I haven’t seen him all week, and then he showed up out of the blue. He actually said hi to me, so I tried to make conversation since that’s the most he’s said to me, like, ever.” Parker sat up, facing Jenna. “And then he just—snapped at me. I don’t know what I did—why he hates me so much,” she flopped back down on the bed, blowing out a sigh.
Jenna giggled. “Not everyone is going to like you, babe. That’s life. Anyway, he sounds like a total d-bag. Why do you even care what he thinks?”
“I don’t know,” Parker admitted. “He just seems—different. I can’t help but feel like there’s this whole other side to him and I don’t know why but I feel this, like, need to get to know him. He is a d-bag,” she laughed, “but I can’t stop thinking about him.”
“Sounds like you need a distraction,” Jenna’s face twisted into a sly grin. “We’re going out tonight.”
• • • • • •
Calum was sitting comfortably on his couch, trying to unwind with a beer and a bad movie after a particularly shitty ending to an otherwise great visit with Gram. He had been avoiding Parker, and after a week of not seeing her, he felt the unwelcome feeling of butterflies in his stomach the second he laid eyes on her. It was a sensation he was wildly unfamiliar with but had grown accustomed to feeling whenever she was around.
And then she had to open her mouth and ruin everything. This girl really knew how to get him going.
To be fair, she hadn’t really said anything wrong. Her comment only pissed Calum off because he had already been feeling guilty for blowing off his visits with Gram and he was mad at himself. His response was harsh—he could tell it hurt her. He wished he didn’t care, but he did. As much as he hated to admit it, Calum was intrigued by Parker, and it was unsettling. He didn’t like feeling captivated by her—it made him feel vulnerable and Calum was not vulnerable. Parker made him feel like he had no control, and he hated it. He was trying and failing to come up with a way to get this girl out of his head when his three best friends burst through the door of his apartment unannounced.
“Put a shirt on, we’re hitting the town tonight,” his friend Michael shouted enthusiastically, heading straight into the kitchen and rooting through Calum’s fridge for a beer. He pulled out three, handing one to Ashton and Luke before opening his own.
Besides Gram, Calum loved only three people in this world; Michael, Ashton and Luke. The four of them had been best friends since high school, and they loved Calum unconditionally, despite his harsh tendencies and his troubled past.
“Boys, I’m relaxing,” Calum stretched his long legs out on the coffee table. “I’m not in the mood for your drunken misadventures tonight.”
Luke launched himself onto the couch, head landing in Calum’s lap. “Too bad, babycakes, we’re going out. So get up, get dressed, get pretty. You got ten minutes.” Luke reached up and pinched his cheek affectionately, taking a long swig of his beer.
Calum rolled his eyes at the tall blonde with the bright blue eyes, but he couldn’t help the grin that graced his lips. He’d been thinking about Parker all day, and truthfully, he could use a night out with his boys.
• • • • • •
Parker was feeling good, having downed several drinks since arriving at the bar with Jenna and a few of her other friends, but she was getting tired of dancing. Deciding she needed a break, she and Jenna wove their way through the crowd of tightly packed bodies before reaching the bar. She ordered a vodka and cranberry for Jenna and a beer for herself. She was sliding her cash across the bar top when she felt Jenna’s hand close around her forearm.
“Oh, my god,” she leaned in. “You’ll never guess who’s here.”
Parker followed her friends’ gaze to the other end of the bar, where Calum was leaning against a pillar, talking with three other ridiculously attractive men. Parker groaned. She came out tonight to think of things other than Calum, and there he was, in all his glory, demanding her attention.
“Why are they all so hot?!” Jenna gaped.
As if on cue, Calum turned his head in their direction, his dark eyes meeting Parker’s. His face fell, clearly not impressed upon seeing her here. She looked away immediately, flushing.
“Oh, Jesus. He saw me staring. Kill me now.”
“Oh, stop being so dramatic,” Jenna brushed her off with a wave of her hand. “Come on, let’s go back.”
She grabbed Parker’s wrist, dragging her back to the dance floor. Parker threw a subtle glance over her shoulder, where she caught Calum’s eye again. He was still watching her, not a trace of a smile on his lips.
• • • • • •
Calum stood by the bar, unmoving from his spot by the pillar. He’d been nursing a beer for the last hour, no longer in the mood to get drunk. His focus was on the blonde dancing with her friends, hips swaying and body moving in all the right ways. He hadn’t expected Parker to be here tonight, and it killed his vibe. The very thing he had come here to distract himself from was dancing fifty feet from where he stood, and he couldn’t tear his thoughts—or his eyes—away.
Calum was nothing if not experienced when it came to women. He had an attitude and a hard edge that women just seemed drawn to. He would never understand the obsession they had with the bad boy type, but he wasn’t complaining. Calum was not a relationship guy. He had two rules—never stay the night, never bring them home. Their place, quick and dirty, then disappear when they fell asleep—that’s how Calum liked it. He liked to be in control. That’s why Parker unnerved him—he’d never been drawn to anyone the way he was to her. She fascinated him in a way he didn’t understand. He’d been watching her all night, and he was starting to get irritated. He needed something else to occupy his racing thoughts.
“You got your eye on that pretty blonde one, don’t you, pal?” Ashton nudged him, snapping him out of his reverie.
“What?” Calum shook his head as if to shake the image of her out of his mind. “No. I just—I know her.”
“Bullshit. I know that look,” Ashton mused.
Calum scoffed. “I don’t have a look.”
Ashton was the oldest of the four of them, and he knew them better than anyone. There wasn’t a thing he could hide from any of his boys, least of all Ashton.
Ashton’s expression turned sympathetic. “Cal, you can’t tell me you don’t get lonely. All you do is work, and Gram is the only girl you spend more than a day with. Don’t you think it’s time to try sticking with one girl, maybe?”
“Fuck off, mate. It’s none of your business,” Calum snapped.
Ashton’s expression softened. “I’m just worried about you, man. We all are.”
Calum pushed off from the pillar, annoyed. He knew Ashton meant well—it was obvious how much he cared for his boys. Like brothers. He was the glue that kept them all together. He was wise for his age, and he was the one they went to when they needed advice. But Calum wasn’t in the mood for his profound bullshit tonight. He needed a smoke.
Calum pushed through the throngs of people in the bar, earning glares from a few of them as he shoved them out of his way. He felt himself calm down almost immediately once he opened the heavy metal door at the back of the bar, the cool air hitting his face. He stepped out onto the deserted patio, pulling a cigarette from the pack in his pocket. He lit it and closed his eyes, leaning back against the brick wall. He let the smoke burn his lungs, but it didn’t clear the fog in his brain like he had hoped it would.
Calum considered what Ashton said to him inside. He was pissed off at Ash for calling him out, but he had a point, though Calum would never admit it. He couldn’t explain why he didn’t want to settle down. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the girls he slept with, it’s just that he couldn’t see himself doing ordinary things with any of them. They were all just nameless faces, there to satisfy a need and that was it. He couldn’t picture himself waking up and making breakfast, staying up late watching movies, grocery shopping, with any of them. The only person he daydreamed about doing those things with was Parker. And that scared the living shit out of him.
Maybe his problem was that Calum didn’t know how to be someone’s boyfriend. He hadn’t grown up with parents, his grandfather died when he was only eight, and Gram never remarried. Calum was good at being alone. He wasn’t happy, but it was all he had ever known. The only girl he ever had somewhat of a relationship with—if you could even call it that—was Kendra, his first year out of high school. The rest of the boys went off to college while he stayed back and worked, and they dated for all of a month until she started sleeping around on him. He never loved her, but after that he decided that would be the first and only time he let himself care about someone.
When he finished his cigarette, he stubbed it out under his boot and headed back inside. He ordered himself another drink, returning to where he left the boys. Parker was still dancing, and Calum used all the strength he had in his body to force himself not to look at her.
A dozen feet away, he locked eyes with a cute brunette in a tight dress, leaving very little to the imagination. She flashed him a sexy smile, raising her drink to him.
Yeah, that’s exactly what he needed right now. A distraction in a tight dress.
He returned her smile with a lazy one of his own, which she took as an invitation to approach him. Good. Calum liked it better when he didn’t have to do all the work.
“Can I buy you a drink, handsome?” she asked in a sultry voice.
“Depends. You gonna take me home?”
• • • • • •
Parker took a break around midnight, her feet aching and her mouth dry from the alcohol. Walking past the bar to the bathroom, she caught sight of Calum sitting on a stool, a beautiful girl with long, dark hair standing between his legs. He was smiling, his hands on her hips, and Parker felt a pang of jealousy hit her in the chest. You have nothing to be jealous of, she scolded herself. He’s an asshole—why do you like him? In that moment, Parker realized that she most certainly had feelings for Calum, even if she didn’t really know anything about him. Even though she was confused about what those feelings were, she knew she didn’t like seeing him with another girl. Parker changed her mind about taking a break. Seeing Calum with someone made her want to down several shots and forget he existed.
• • • • • •
Half an hour later, Calum said his goodbyes to the boys, leaving the bar with his arm slung around the shoulders of the brunette. As they passed the dance floor, he scanned the crowd for Parker. Calum spotted her in the same place she had been earlier, only this time she looked up and their eyes locked. He flashed her a cocky smile and winked, feeling equal parts satisfied and guilty at the expression that crossed her features.
He’d have to be blind not to see that look. It was written there, plain as day, on her face. She was hurt.
• • • • • •
Calum untucked himself from the grip of the sleeping brunette, slipping out of the bed that wasn’t his own. He didn’t even remember her name. She was pretty, but Calum hadn’t really been in the mood tonight. Something didn’t feel right, and a nagging voice in the back of his head told him it was because of a certain grey-eyed girl. He found his clothes on the floor, quickly dressing and shrugging on his leather jacket before finding his boots. He tugged them on as he shut the door silently behind him, leaving the girl with nothing but his first name and a night she wouldn’t forget.
Calum couldn’t say the same.
Calum stepped outside, thankful for the fresh air—the girl’s apartment was stuffy as hell. She didn’t live too far, taking Calum only 20 minutes to make it back to his apartment on foot. Enough time to have a smoke and clear his head. Despite the smoke burning his lungs, he was unable to erase the image of Parker’s face when he left the bar. Why had he taunted her, on purpose? What reason did he have to want to hurt her? When Calum finally settled in his own bed, he found himself wishing he never went out tonight.
» » » » » »
Parker spent most of Sunday morning being lazy in bed, hiding under the covers until the early afternoon, moving from her bed only to be lazy on the couch instead. She was having a great night dancing with her friends and letting loose until a certain moody, tattooed brunette ruined her night by going home with another girl. She wished that it was her going home with Calum, and that thought disturbed her. He was an asshole and Parker knew nothing good could come of her feelings for him, but she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She had left the bar shortly after he did, her good mood spoiled when she thought about what he was doing.
» » » » » »
Parker awoke on Monday in a foul mood. She spent Sunday sad and stewing over Calum and how she’d never have him, but today she felt downright angry. Calum was a jerk and he was trying to hurt her, and for what reason? She deserved far better. Her sour mood only got worse when she arrived at work and spotted Calum in the hallway. He had his usual scowl on his face and he ignored her as he passed by, yet again.
Normally, she’d let it go and pretend not to let it bother her. Normally, she was a people-pleaser and hated confrontation.
Not today.
No, today there was no holding back. She was going to give him a piece of her mind.
She whirled around as Calum walked in the opposite direction, away from her.
“What is your problem with me? Did I do something to offend you, or are you just an asshole all the time?” she demanded.
Calum stopped, slowly turning around to face her.
“Excuse me?” he replied dangerously, taking a step towards her.
“Since the first time we met, you’ve acted like a complete jackass. Every time I see you, you either ignore me entirely or you try and scare me with that stupid badass attitude,” she paused. When he said nothing, she huffed in annoyance. “Get over yourself, pal. We all go through shit, there’s no need to be a dick about it.”
Parker was surprised at herself for her outburst, which was completely out of character for her. But Calum had pissed her off one too many times—he wasn’t getting away with it again. She placed a hand on her hip, eyebrows raised, waiting for an explanation.
The cocky smirk he wore turned into a menacing glare. He took two more steps towards her, their toes touching. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her face. He smelled incredible, like the woods, and spice, with a hint of smoke. Stop it, dumbass. You shouldn’t be thinking about how good he smells right now. His tall frame forced her to tilt her head back to look at him. His dark eyes glittered, but not in a kind way. He grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Watch your mouth, doll,” he said threateningly.
Parker’s spine chilled, goosebumps raising along her arms and the back of her neck. His use of a pet name gave her butterflies, but she knew he didn’t mean it in an adoring way. Calum frightened her—this she already knew. But confronting him was clearly a bad idea, one she hadn’t thought through—she was stupid for getting on his bad side. It was obvious he wasn’t one to be messed with, and he definitely didn’t have any qualms about voicing his opinion.
The rest of her workday she spent thinking about their confrontation. The unsettling feeling Calum’s presence gave her weighed heavily in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know whether her feelings towards him were attraction, fear, or a dangerous mix of both.
• • • • • •
This girl was going to be the death of him. Calum had been stunned when Parker called him out this morning. He hadn’t expected it from her, of all people. She was usually so bright and cheery, going out of her way to be nice to him even when he lashed out at her. And even though her words made him angry, all he could think about was putting that mouth of hers to good use. Calum didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to keep this up. The more she pissed him off, the stronger the pull was to her. It was beginning to become difficult to deny that he felt things for Parker.
» » » » » »
Parker and Jenna were dancing the night away at a club downtown on Thursday night, much needed after working overtime hours this week. She had had one too many drinks, her head fuzzy and spinning. She had Friday off, and she was looking forward to nursing her hangover on the couch, curled up with her cat and watching Netflix. Parker excused herself to use the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face in an attempt to sober herself up a bit, and when she returned, Jenna was wrapped in the arms of a guy that was exactly Jenna’s type. It was getting late, and Parker was drunk; she wanted to go home.
“Hey, I’m gonna head home. You coming?”
“I think I might stay,” she said, obviously distracted by the handsome blonde dancing in front of her. She turned to Parker. “Unless you want me to come. Do you need me to come with you?” she asked.
Parker appreciated Jenna’s offer, but she knew she didn’t want to go. “No, you stay. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Parker turned to make her way off the dance floor. “Be good,” she added with a smug smile.
• • • • • •
Parker sat on the curb outside waiting for her cab. She should probably have waited inside the bar, but she had hoped the fresh air would sober her up a bit. Her head was still spinning, and she could hardly keep her eyes open. It had been at least fifteen minutes and she was beginning to get tired of waiting. She could probably have walked halfway home by now, so she stood on shaky legs and headed in the direction of her apartment. She silently thanked her sober self for picking sneakers over heels. It was a warm night, typical of August, but she pulled her denim jacket on anyway, not wanting to have to carry it.
Walking through a particularly sketchy area of downtown, Parker got an uneasy feeling in her gut that she was being followed. She chanced a quick glance over her shoulder, and her heart started pounding when she realized her suspicions were right. There were two men walking behind her, picking up their pace as she attempted to pick up her own, but her legs were still wobbly from the alcohol buzzing in her veins. She should have stayed and waited for the stupid cab.
“What’s your hurry, sweetheart?” one of the men called out from behind her, his gravelly voice sending a shiver down her spine.
“Where’re you off to? We can take you home, honey,” the other one drawled, turning Parker’s stomach.
Parker all but broke into a run, desperate to make it onto the nearest busy street before they caught up to her. She could hear their footsteps closing in when a black 1970 Charger screeched to a halt at the curb. Parker stopped dead, panic setting in. Her instinct was to run, but her feet were frozen in fear. A hooded figure emerged from the car, slamming the door behind him. This is it, Parker thought. She prepared herself to fight back, but the three against one odds were not in her favour. The streetlights illuminated his face as the stranger approached her and Parker’s chest flooded with relief when she recognized those familiar brown eyes.
Calum.
On second thought, Parker wasn’t sure why she felt relieved to see Calum. She wasn’t sure if she was more afraid of him, or the two men following her. At least, she didn’t think Calum would hurt her. Would he?
“What the hell are you doing, walking around this neighbourhood at night by yourself?” he demanded, pushing his hood back.
“I—” she started, but Parker had to admit she didn’t have a good reason. It had been stupid to leave the club alone. She should have waited inside for the cab. “I don’t know,” she confessed sheepishly. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“No shit,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. He turned back to the car. “Get in,” he commanded.
Parker looked behind her, but the two men were gone. She was relieved they had seemingly given up when they realized she wasn’t alone, but her heart was still pounding. Whether it was from her close call with them or being close to Calum, she didn’t know. She followed Calum to the car and opened the passenger door. The smell of leather and spice enveloped her when she sat down, and it was oddly comforting.
“What were you doing out there alone?” he repeated once they were in the car.
“I was out with my friend Jenna. I wanted to leave, but she didn’t, so I called a cab—but it never came so I just started walking,” she explained.
“You should know better,” Calum berated, irritated. “Where’s your place?” he asked shortly.
Parker told him her address. She briefly wondered if it was a good idea, him knowing where she lived, but it was too late now. He did just rescue me, she thought. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have left me alone in the street.
She leaned her head back against the headrest, closing her eyes as her drunken state overpowered her ability to stay awake.
Calum pulled the Charger onto Parker’s street and glanced sideways at the blonde passed out in his passenger seat.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he muttered. He got out of the car, opening her door and scooping her easily into his arms. She didn’t stir, but he could feel her breath against the bare skin on his neck. It tickled his skin, giving him goosebumps. She smelled like alcohol, and there was a faint trace of a flowery perfume. He carried Parker up the stairs of the front porch, using her key to unlock the door and stepping inside. He was greeted by a little grey cat meowing at his feet. He followed Calum through the house as he fumbled his way in the dark in search of Parker’s bedroom. He took a guess when he found the only room with a bed, setting her gently down and pulling the duvet over her.
Calum lingered in the doorway for a moment, his eyes scanning over her face, staring at her parted lips and then glancing at the cat that had curled up in a ball on the pillow next to her. She looked peaceful, and she was really kind of beautiful when she wasn��t running her mouth.
He let himself out, locking the door behind him and dropping into his Charger.
What the fuck are you doing, Cal, he thought to himself. He started the engine and peeled away from the curb. He drove for a while, no specific destination in mind, when he found himself parked outside of Ashton’s house. Subconsciously, he must have known he needed to talk things out with someone.
• • • • • •
He knocked sharply on the door, waiting impatiently. A few moments later, a tired-looking Ashton opened it, shirtless and in blue basketball shorts, his black hair in disarray from recent sleep.
“Cal?” he mumbled groggily. “What’s wrong?”
Calum pushed past him, walking to the kitchen to get himself a drink.
“It’s the middle of the night, man,” Ashton groaned. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you.”
Ashton sighed in defeat, sinking down onto one of the barstools in his kitchen. Calum leaned against the island, downing his drink in one swallow.
“You were right. The other night, at the bar. The girl I was staring at.”
Ashton remained quiet, prompting him to continue. He couldn’t fathom why this couldn’t wait until the morning, but he didn’t tell Calum that.
“I think I have feelings for her. And I don’t know what the fuck to do about it. She drives me insane and she gets me so riled up that I lash out at her every time I see her, but when she’s not around, I can’t stop thinking about her. What the fuck is wrong with me?”
Ashton sighed, raking his hand through his messy hair. “Cut yourself some slack, Cal—this is new territory for you. There’s nothing wrong with you,” Ashton assured him.
“So why do I feel angry? Why do I keep trying to hurt her?”
“Maybe you’re just scared,” Ashton shrugged. “Opening up to someone puts you in a vulnerable position, and you don’t like losing control. You’re pushing her away ‘cause that’s all you’ve ever done, and maybe you’re angry because she’s making you feel unsteady.”
“Then how do I stop?” Calum questioned, feeling a little hopeless. Parker was kind, and gentle, and good, and Calum was none of those things—he didn’t deserve her. She was afraid of him—there was no way she was going to let her guard down around him after the way he’d treated her.
“You just have to let her in, man. You’ll never get a handle on your feelings if you don’t allow yourself to feel.”
» » » » » »
On Friday morning, Parker awoke with a hangover from hell. Her head felt like it had been split open, and her stomach was churning violently. She sat up, slowly, and noticed she was still in her clothes from the bar, minus her shoes. It was unlike her to collapse into bed without changing first. She checked her phone, several missed calls and texts from Jenna to make sure she got home safely. Then, the memories came flooding back to her. Calum brought her here. He must have tucked her into bed. He hates me—why would he do that? For the life of her, Parker could not figure him out.
taglist: @treatallwithkindness
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The Origins of a Very Special Agent
Summary: Just a fluffy curtwen oneshot I meant to finish months ago. Pure fluff. Barely any plot.
Sorry this is not under a cut, I only have mobile right now. :(
Owen rapped his knuckles against the familiar door before taking a step back, waiting patiently and in full view of the camera he knew was hidden above the door. 
It had been nearly two months since he’d last seen his partner. Until the other day, though sadly only briefly. Owen had been assigned to a mission in America, unfortunately not with Curt. But he was sent there for a full week of time, his plane home not scheduled until the end of said week. So he’d promised Curt when he had briefly passed through his agency’s headquarters that he would stop by the American agent’s house as soon as the mission was done. 
He’d had no sleep and far too much coffee but he’d gotten the mission done in just two days leaving him free for five.
He was already leaning forward to kiss Curt as the door opened, but he paused as he took in the appearance of his love. Curt was looking at him with wide eyes. His clothes were askew. There were scratches at the top of his back leading down under his shirt. There was saliva on his neck along with what looked like teeth marks. “Owen! Before you say anything, I swear it’s not what you’re thin-”
“Only you could get into a fight with a cat Curt.”
Curt’s shoulders seemed to sag with relief though his eyes gain a curious look. “How did you...I mean I was worried you would think….I know what I must look like….most people would-”
Owen cut Curt off again by dramatically rolling his eyes and sighing as he gently pulled the American agent closer to himself. “I’m a spy Curt. I would say my deductive and observational skills are far superior to that of ‘most people’ as you so elegantly put it.” He said with somewhat exaggerated smugness before his voice softened. “Besides,” He paused to give Curt a quick kiss on the lips as he’d intended earlier before continuing. “I trust you, you moron. Now do you want to tell me how the USA’s top spy got into a tussle with a cat? And lost based on your injuries.”
Curt was grinning at him as he responded with an endearing glitter of excitement clear in his eyes. “I didn’t get into a fight with her. She chose me.” Owen raised an eyebrow. “Chose you?”
“Yes. She was hiding under my car from these assholes who were throwing things at her.” Curt explained further. Owen nodded in understanding. “Mmm, did you shoot said assholes, love?” 
“That’s neither here nor there Owen, the point is she chose me. Clearly she knew I was a badass spy who would protect her, hence why she chose to hide under my car.” Curt said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Owen did not have the heart or the inclination to contradict him. “Okay. So how did you get wounded then dear?”
Curt shrugged. “She did better than I expected in the bath but when I dried her off there were some tangles in her fur still and she did not appreciate me trying to get them out. You should see the sheets on my bed. Torn right down the middle.” This gave Owen pause. “Wait, that cat is here?”
“Of course! I couldn’t just leave her outside to be abused again! And it’s getting colder at night.” Curt defended. “Did you get special permission for a pet from your building manager?” Curt fidgeted a bit and smiled sheepishly. “She...doesn’t exactly know…..” 
Of course. Owen fought the urge to slam his face onto his hands. 
“I know you can keep a secret Curt, but you have an inspection monthly. Are you going to be able to remove all evidence? And what about when you are on mission? Someone will have to take care of the cat. Will they be able to keep a secret like you? Plus there are variables you can’t control that could reveal her. What if she meows too loud and your neighbors hear? What if someone sees her in a window? It’s against your building’s code and you could get kicked out.”
He knew this because Curt had complained to him about it on a mission nearly a year ago. Owen remembered the frustrated voice and the lip jutted out into pout. A pout he desperately wanted to kiss. But he couldn’t. Not then.
 He squeezes Curt comfortingly and speaks his next words carefully and with sympathy. “You can’t keep her Curt.”
He expects whining. An argument. But instead Curt nods solemnly in acceptance. “I know. That’s why you are taking her back to London with you.”
Owen blinked at his boyfriend. When no sign of joking became apparent after a few moments his thoughts left his lips. “I most certainly am not!”
“Yes you are. You have to. I can’t keep her. But you can. Your building doesn’t have these stupid restrictions.”
“I understand that, but owning a pet is a huge thing and...I don’t know Curt. I’ve never had one. I’m not home half the time. She might not even like me.” Owen was almost desperately trying to justify himself and hold up against Curt’s pleading gaze. 
“Great! So she’ll be your first! And you have that nice lady who comes in to look after your plants, she could help you care for your new pet! And I am sure Special Agent Fluff will love you almost as much as I do.”
Silence reigned in the room for a minute. “Please tell me did not name that poor cat Agent Fluff.”
“Special Agent Fluff.” 
“Oh yes, that’s so much better.” Owen’s sarcastic words seemed to go unnoticed as Curt continued. “She needs someone to take care of her O, and I trust you more than anyone. I know I could find her another good home but I can’t stand the thought of her going to some stranger who might not treat her right. And this way I’ll still get to see her. She chose me and I chose you, she’s ours. Please.”
Owen Carvour had been a spy for years. Faced down countless people of the very worst kind. Had killed terrorists even as they begged for their worthless lives. Had carried out acts others would be sick at for the good of humanity and did it without flinching. He had steel nerves and resolve.
But damn it if Curtis Mega using the word ours didn’t do something unspeakably warm and gooey to his insides. 
“I…..will consider it.” Owen conceded, gaining a heart-stopping smile from his partner that he couldn’t resist (not that he tried) leaning in to kiss again. “So, I suppose I should meet my potential new flatmate then.” He commented when he pulled back. 
Curt nodded happily and practically dragged him toward the bedroom, something he had been expecting to happen when he got here though not in this context. Hmmmm….maybe later. 
“I just know you are going to love her.” Curt announced as he opened the door to his room. His empty room. “She must be hiding.” Curt followed his words by making soft clicking noises, clearly trying to summon the cat. Owen was scanning the room, trying to spot any sign of fur when he suddenly felt a soft tickling sensation on his ankles. He looked down to see a tiny orange puffball rubbing it’s way in and out of his legs. 
“Jeez I didn’t even see her come out.” He exclaimed in slight surprise. “Of course not, a good Agent is stealthy, O.” Curt commented almost proudly. “I told you she would like you! And I relate, I also want to constantly rub up against your legs.” Curt ended with a sultry tone and a suggestive wink. 
Owen swallowed hard before schooling his face into one of mock chastisement. “In front of a baby Mega, you should be ashamed of yourself.” Curt scoffed at his words, a mischievous look playing on his face. “I have no shame.” Owen hummed in reply, concealing his chuckle. “Clearly.”
Owen leaned down and scooped up the kitten, holding her out and looking at her critically. She looked no older than a couple months old max. She had blue eyes. She was not declawed. She was reaching out a front paw to bat curiously at a strand of hair hanging in his face. He tries to maintain seriousness in the face of her adorable tilted head and his boyfriend's infectious laughter sounding from beside him.
“Well she looks healthy enough. Not sure what breed she is. Doesn’t look like she would shed too bad.” Owen listed off as if the combined forces of the adorable pleading faces of both this cat and his partner had not already swayed him.
“She’ll be a nice companion and I would come over to check on her so you get to see me too.” Curt encouraged.
Owen froze and let out a low gasp. “You mean you wouldn’t come over just for me? I’m not good enough?” His voice cracked near the end and he sounded like he was holding back tears. 
Curt’s eyes widened. “Of course I would come over just for you, honey. I love you so much. You are way more than good enough for me. I didn’t mean it like-” Owen cut his lover off with a soft kiss on the cheek. 
“I know that love. I was just messing with you.” He admitted with a semi sheepish smile. 
Curt stuck his tongue out at him. Like the mature spy his boyfriend is. 
“Not funny asshole. You are too good an actor sometimes.” Owen nodded and gave Curt another kiss on the cheek. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He leaned in to kiss his boyfriend again, get him smiling again, when the cat decided she wanted in on the action, butting her little head against Curt. 
Curt smiled and reached a hand up to scratch at her ears to the cat’s delight. Owen felt the soft vibrations of her purrs against his hands. “See what you are going to have to deal with Fluff?” Curt questioned the kitty. Owen sputtered. “I have not agreed to take the cat yet!” He pointed out. 
“But you are going to right?” Curt looked at him beseechingly. As if in understanding the situation at hand, the kitten gave an adorable little mewl and before giving a tiny kitten lick to Owen’s hand. 
Damn both of them. 
“I guess I am.” He acquiesced with an exaggerated sigh. “Yes!” Curt exclaimed with a large grin as he plopped to sit on the edge of his bed. Owen let the cat jump down onto the bed before sitting down himself. Again as if understanding what had just happened, the cat gave him a mewled happily at him before going to curl up on one of Curt’s pillows. 
“Thank you.” Curt said once Owen was beside him, his voice sounding half sincere and half smug. Little bastard knew Owen would cave. “You’re lucky I love you Curt Mega.” He teased. He expects to be teased in return, as per usual but Curt forgoes their banter to give him a genuine smile. “I know I am.” 
Owen barely had time to smile back before Curt’s head was tucked under his chin, the American agent’s arms winding around his waist and hugging him tightly. He returned the hug, one hand coming up to play with the back of Curt’s hair while the other simply rested on his partner’s back. They sat in silence and contentment for a minute. 
“How long do we have?” Curt asked, voice muffled against Owen’s chest. The question was posed with clear hesitancy. As if Curt expected him to say they had only minutes left together. He was glad that was not the case. “I have five days before my flight. Please tell me you don’t have a mission coming up right now?” It was Owen’s turn to be hesitant and worried, though his worries were quickly eased by feeling Curt’s lips pull up into a grin against him before being totally swept away by Curt’s words. “Cynthia has me catching up on paperwork for the next week and a half. I’ll be at home.”
He knows to most couples five days would seem like nothing. But in their line of work, in separate countries and agencies, in a forbidden relationship, five days with no work and no distractions was a true rarity. “Just us for five whole days.” Owen spoke aloud, knowing Curt’s thoughts must be echoing his. He goes to say something more but interrupts himself with a yawn. 
“Tired darling?” Curt’s tone is teasing but his face betrays his concern as he pulls back and notices Owen is a bit paler than normal and has slight bags under his eyes. Owen shrugs off the concern rather sheepishly. “I umm...haven’t really slept since the flight over. Wanted to get done with the mission as soon as possible. Give us as much time together as I could.”
Curt sighed before squeezing him tighter. “I appreciate that. And you know I love every second we get to spend together. But that could be dangerous on a mission. Lack of sleep can make you lose focus, react slower, and a whole bunch of other bad shit. I don’t ever want you getting hurt or….” Curt trailed off. 
“I know that. I wouldn’t do it if it were too risky. You’re the reckless one remember.” He joked but Curt didn’t even chuckle. He leaned forward and pressed the softest kiss he could to Curt’s lips. “I know what I can handle, love. I didn’t put myself in any unnecessary danger. I promise.”
This seemed to appease Curt to Owen’s relief. “Besides, the faster it got done the more we would have time to do together right?” He said, hoping to cheer Curt back up. 
It worked, bringing the smile he adored back to his partner’s face. “Well the first thing we need to do is sleep together.” Curt announced to which Owen immediately leaned in and kissed his lover’s neck. “You read my mind.” He practically purred out between kisses. Curt let him press a few more kisses to his soft skin and just barely begin to suck on a sensitive part of his love’s neck before pushing him back. 
“No. I mean actual sleep Owen.” Curt clarified. Owen definitely did not pout at that. “You did that on purpose. And I don’t need to go to sleep. I just got here.” He also definitely didn’t whine as he spoke.
“You just said you hadn’t slept in over forty eight hours. Don’t need sleep my ass.” Curt retorted. “I would be much happier doing something with your ass than sleeping.” Owen mumbled back. Curt grinned and patted his cheek affectionately. He glared back with all the heat he could muster. Which was honestly not much. It looked more like a sulk.
“Okay. Since I can see you are going to be stubborn, how about I make you an offer.” Curt suggested. Owen lifted his head and regarded Curt interestedly. “What kind of offer?”
“You go to sleep now.” Owen immediately went to interject but Curt pressed a finger against his lips. “You go to sleep now. I will stay and cuddle you until you fall asleep. Then I will get up and make your favorites for dinner while you are sleeping. And once you wake up we can eat together and then I will put Special Agent Fluff out in the living room with a bed and a few toys and you and I can come back in here and spend the next few hours doing whatever you want.” Curt’s sultry tone had returned for the final sentence and damn it if it wasn’t tempting. 
He made a show of considering for a minute before speaking. “You are an excellent negotiator Agent Mega.” The British spy complemented wryly. “I try Agent Carvour. So do we have a deal?” Owen let the question hang for just a moment before responding. “We do.” 
Curt grinned at him. “Good. Do you need to borrow some pajamas or do you have your own?" 
He technically had his own but wearing his boyfriend's clothes was a guilty pleasure, one they both had coincidentally. "I want to borrow some." 
Curt shooting him a slightly smirking grin is the only indication that he noticed the distinction Owen had used. Owen watched absent-mindedly as his partner rifled through his drawers. After a minute or so he tossed something I've his shoulder without looking back. 
Owen caught it with ease and examined it. A soft pair of sleep trousers that looked like they were just slightly too long for his American counterpart meaning they should fit him quite nicely. He raised an eyebrow as Curt shut his drawers and started back towards the bed, turning the blankets down. 
"What?" Curt asked when he noticed Owen's stare, radiating innocence."You forgot to give me a shirt, love." He informed, even though he was absolutely certain Curt was well aware of this. "Did I? Whoops. Sorry, O." 
Despite his apology the man made no move to actually go get a shirt for him, instead climbing into bed and tucking himself under the covers. 
Owen huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes before changing into the trousers, chucking his worn clothes into a pile in the corner. He climbed back into bed and scooped his boyfriend into his arms. Curt squirmed slightly in his arms, adjusting against him before stilling, his body relaxing. Owen felt his body relax too in response, enjoying sleeping beside his love for the first time in so long. Wishing he could do this every night but knowing that was impossible, so he would just have to make the most of the time they had together now.
The last thing he felt before he drifted off with a smile on his face was a small warm jumping up and settling on his hip.
That's it, hope you enjoyed! If you did please leave a like or comment or reblog, it would mean the world. Have a wonderful day/night/whatever time it is for you! :)
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anhed-nia · 4 years
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BLOGTOBER 10/17/2020: SPOOKIES
What do we watch, when we watch movies? This question was sparked by my SOV experience with the very different, and differently interesting BLOODY MUSCLE BODYBUILDER FROM HELL and HORROR HOUSE ON HIGHWAY 5. Within the Shot On Video category, one can find inventive homemade features that are driven entirely by blood, sweat, and the creators' feeling of personal satisfaction. The results are sometimes fascinating, in their total alienation from the conventions and techniques of mainstream filmmaking, and after all, one rarely sees anything whose primary motivation is passion, here in the late stages of capitalism. But, all this talk about what goes on behind the camera points to a discrepancy in how we consume different kinds of production. The typical mode of consumption is internal to the movie: What happens in it? Do you relate to the characters? Are you able to suspend your disbelief, to experience the story on a vicarious level? One hardly needs to come up with examples of films that invite this style of viewing. Alternatively, we can experience the movie as a record of a time and place in which real people defied conventions and sometimes broke laws in order to produce a work of art. SOV production is usually viewed through this lens, where the primary interest is not the illusory content, but the filmmakers' sheer determination to create. We find some overlap in movies like EVIL DEAD, which simultaneously presents a terrifying narrative, and evidence of what a truly driven team can create without the aid of a studio, or any real money to speak of. See also, Larry Cohen's New York City-based horror films, in which a compelling drama with great acting can exist side by side with phony but beautiful effects, and exciting stories of stolen footage that would be dangerous or impossible to attempt today. I'm thinking about these different modes of consumption now because I just watched SPOOKIES, a legitimately cursed-seeming film whose harrowing production history has superseded whatever people think about what it shows on the screen. The lovingly composed blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome includes a feature-length documentary that attempts to explain the making of the film--which is accompanied by its own feature length commentary track by documentarists Michael Gingold and Glen Baisley. The very existence of this artifact suggests a lot about the nature of this movie, in and of itself. The truth behind its existence is as funny as it is tragic.
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I'm not going to do a whole breakdown of the tortured origins of SPOOKIES, which is much better told by the aforementioned documentary. To summarize: Once upon a time in the mid 1980s, filmmakers Brendan Faulkner, Thomas Doran and Frank Farel conspired to make a fun, flamboyant rubber monsterpiece called TWISTED SOULS. It was wild, ridiculous, and transparently fake-looking, but it was loved by its hard-working creators; as a viewer, that soulful sense of joy can rescue many a "bad" movie from its various foibles. Then, inevitably, sleazoid producer Michael Lee stepped in--a man who thought you could cut random frames out of the middle of scenes to improve a movie's pace--and ruined it with extreme prejudice. Carefully crafted special effects sequences were cut, relatively functional scenes were re-edited into oblivion, and the seeds of hatred were sown between the filmmakers and the producer. Ultimately, everyone who once cared for TWISTED SOULS was forced to abandon ship, and first time director Eugenie Joseph stepped in to help mutilate the picture beyond all recognition. Thus SPOOKIES was born, a mangled, unloved mutation that would curse many of its original parents to unemployability. For the audience, it is intriguingly insane, often insulting, and hard to tear your eyes off of--but in spite of whatever actually wound up on the screen, it's impossible to forget its horrifying origin story as it unspools.
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As far as what's on the screen goes: A group of "friends", including a middle-aged businessman and his wife, a vinyl-clad punk rock bully and his moll, two new wave-y in-betweeners, and...a guy with a hand puppet are somehow all leaving the same party, and all ready to break into a vacant funeral home for their afterparty. Well, this happens after a 13 year old runaway inexplicably wanders in to a "birthday party" in there, that looks like it was thrown for him by Pennywise, and he has the nerve to act surprised when he is attacked by a severed head and a piratey-looking cat-man who straight up purrs and meows throughout the picture. Anyway, separately of that, which is unrelated to anything, the island of misfit friends finds a nearly unrecognizable "ouija board" in the old dark house. Actually this thing is kind of fun-looking, having been made by one of the fun-havers on the production before the day that fun died, and I wonder if anyone has considered trying to make a real board game out of it...but I digress. Naturally, the board unleashes evil forces, including a zombie uprising in the cemetery outside, a plague of Ghoulie-like ankle-biters, an evil asian spider-lady (accompanied by kyoto flutes), muck-men that fart prodigiously until they melt in a puddle of wine (?), and uh...I know I'm forgetting stuff. One of the reasons I'm forgetting is because of this whole side story about a tuxedo-wearing vampire in the basement (or somewhere?) who has entrapped a beautiful young bride by cursing her with immortality. That part is a little confusing, not only because it doesn't intersect with the rest of the movie, but because sometimes it seems contemporary--as the bride struggles to survive the zombie plague--and sometimes it seems like a flashback, as our heroes find what looks like the mummified corpse of the dracula guy, complete with his signet ring. So, I don't know what to tell you really. Those are just some of the things that happen in the movie.
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Some people like this a lot, and have supported its ascendance to cult status, which is a huge relief when you know what everyone went through to make this movie, only to have it ripped away from them and used against them. I found SPOOKIES a little hard to take, for all the reasons that the cast and crew express in the documentary. It holds a certain amount of visual fascination, whatever you think of it; something of its original creativity remains evident in the movie's colorful, exaggerated look, and its steady parade of unconvincing but inventive creature effects. But then, you have to deal with the farting muck-men. What was once a scene of terror starring REGULAR muck-men, that sounded incredibly laborious to pull off, became a scene of confusing "comedy" when producer Michael Lee insisted that the creatures be accompanied by a barrage of scatalogical noises. Apparently this was Lee's dream come true, as a guy who insisted everyone pull his finger all the time, and who once tried to call the movie "BOWEL ERUPTOR". But, of all the deformations SPOOKIES endured, the fart sounds dealt a mortal injury to the filmmakers' feelings, and even without knowing that, it's hard to enjoy yourself while that's happening.
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Actually, all the farts forced me to ask myself: Is this...a comedy? Like for real, as its main thing? As the movie slogged on, I had to decide that it wasn't, but I was distracted by the notion for around 40 minutes. I was only released from this nagging suspicion when the bride makes her long marathon run through throngs of slavering zombies who swarm her, grope her, and tear off her clothes, before she narrowly escapes to an even worse fate. The lengthy scene is strangely gripping, and sleazy for a movie that sometimes feels like low rent children's entertainment. Part of the sequence’s success lies in its simplicity; it is unburdened by the convoluted complications of the rest of the movie, whose esoteric parts never fall together, so it seems to take on a sustained, intensifying focus. The action itself is unnerving, as the delicate and frankly gorgeous Maria Pechuka is molested and stripped nearly-bare by her undead bachelors, running from one drooling mob to another as the horde nearly engulfs her time and again. Actually, it feels a lot like a certain genre of SOV production in which, for the right price, any old creepy nerd can pay a small crew-for-hire to tape a version of his private fantasy, whether it's women being consumed by slime, or women being consumed by quicksand, or...generally, women being consumed by something. I wish I could describe this form of production in more specific or official terms, because I genuinely think it's wonderful that people do this. Anyway, Pechuka's interminable zombie run feels a little like that, and a little like a grim italian gutmuncher, and a little like an actual nightmare. Perhaps it only stands out against its dubious surroundings, but I kind of love it--and I'm happy to love it, because apparently the late Ms. Pechuka truly loved making SPOOKIES, and wanted other people to love it, too.
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Which brings me to the uncomfortable place where I land with this movie. On the one hand...I think it's bad. It's so incoherent, and so insists on its impoverished form of comedy, that it's hard to be as charmed by it as I am by plenty of FX-heavy, no-budget oddities. Perhaps the lingering odor of misery drowns out the sweet joy that the crew once felt in the early days of creation--which is still evident, somehow, in its zany special effects, created by the likes of Gabe Bartalos and other folks whose work you definitely already know and love. But I feel ambivalent, about all of this. On the one hand, I can be a snob, and shit on people for failing to make a movie that meets conventional standards of success. On the other hand, I can be a DIFFERENT kind of snob--a more voyeuristic or even sadistic one--and celebrate the painful failures that produced a movie that is most interesting for its tormented history and its amusing ineptitude. I'm not really sure where I would prefer to settle with SPOOKIES, and movies like it. (As if anything is really "like" SPOOKIES) With all that said, I was left with one soothing thought by castmember Anthony Valbiro in the documentary. At some point, he tells us how ROSEMARY'S BABY is his personal cinematic comfort food; he can put it on at night, after an exhausting day, and drift to sleep, enveloped in its warm, glowing aura. He then says that he hopes there are people out there for whom his movie serves that same purpose, that some of us can have our "milk and cookies moment" with SPOOKIES. Honestly, I choke up just thinking about that.
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zutarasecrettunnel · 4 years
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It’s time for Chapter 6 of In the Month of June!
I really loved writing this chapter. This is the chapter I was looking forward to writing before I even started this story. Why? Cause it’s got some of that sweet sweet angst. Longing. 
Heard there was a challenge for Zutara angst this week, too, which works really well for this chapter (although this is much longer than 500 words). 
Story summary:
In the year after the end of the 100 Years War, the new month-long celebration of the summer solstice is meant to bring the Four Nations together after so many years in disharmony. During the first night of festivities, Ozai and Azula break out of prison. Zuko knows he must personally go after them, but he needs help from a certain waterbender as well as a new agent of the Order of the White Lotus. Their journey may be the key to restoring not only balance, but harmony to the four nations.
Read on AO3. Read on FF.net.
Excerpt below the jump!
“This isn’t working!” her hands are on the firebender’s arms, trying to hold him steady as he continues to writhe. He groans under her touch, and Katara feels the panic begin to rise in her throat. It’s been so long since she was powerless in the face of an injury. Zuko’s skin is volcanic, the heat burning into the palms of Katara’s hands as she keeps her grip hard on his biceps. She positions herself behind the firebender, wrapping her arms around his torso to hold him in place.
“Come on lady, we don’t have time for long stories!” June’s husky voice is elevated as she glowers at the aged herbalist.
“It’s a paralyzing poison made from a combination of the white jade bush and maka’ole berry,” the old woman continues to frown as she explains, “I’ve never seen it used. The war ended before the soldiers came back for it. But if my thoughts on the concoction are correct, the poor young man doesn’t have much time.”
June’s eyes widen as she turns her neck to see Katara cradling the young man in her arms, his twitching now settling back into lifelessness. She is still glistening with sweat from her efforts to heal him, the water now sitting stagnant in the ground, turning the earth to mud.
“There’s got to be something,” the older woman hears the waterbender’s voice like a low rumble at first. She watches as the girl clings to the boy, her fingers gently moving one of his black tendrils from his scar now that his convulsions have pacified.
“There was never a need for me to concoct a remedy,” the herbalist states plainly. Miyuki gives a soft meow and the woman looks at her with sad eyes. The small gray cat mews again, and the woman’s expression perks up.
“However,” she starts, “there is a plant that can cure nearly every poison. There is only one person who cultivates it.”
Katara gingerly removes herself from her grip on Zuko, standing up.
“Who? Where?” she’s already walking toward Nyla as she pelts the old woman with the questions.
“The fortuneteller in Makapu Village,” the herbalist replies. Katara stops in her tracks.
“Aunt Wu?” she recalls the fortune teller she had harassed upon her first visit to the small settlement, “but that’s miles from here!”
She feels June’s hand on her shoulder.
“What am I looking for, grandma?” June asks casually.
The old woman scowls at the title, but responds quickly.
“A rare red chrysanthemum, it’s petals can be steeped to create a tea that neutralizes nearly every toxin.”
16 notes · View notes