#then the second one beta fish number two

[python333]

omg i’ve never submitted a thingy before but i wanna assign myself an emoji too 🐠

thats so cute?? guys i love fish the fish emojis are so cute

#i used to have a beta fish #except my mom got it and put it in shitty living conditions #so it lived for like a few months then died #then we got another one #and it lasted like #8 months #then died #i miss my beta fish #my mom didnt even name them #she called the first one beta fish number one #then the second one beta fish number two #i also used to have a goldfish named goldy #it died cause my sister overfed it #ill never forgive her #python333 lore?? #python333

[beskarandblasters]

You Hired a Cleaning Lady, Mr. Morales?

Sub!Frankie Morales x Dom/F!Reader

Main Masterlist | Frankie Morales Masterlist

Author’s note: Thank you to @catchallfangirl for beta reading!!

Summary: After the events of Colombia Frankie finds himself in a spiral of depression, letting himself and his house go. Santiago hires a cleaning service (you) to help him out and as you work for Frankie the sexual tension grows. One day when you can’t take the tension anymore you show up to clean in something else rather than your usual cleaning attire to him to make a move.

Word count: 2.9k

Warnings: reader is able-bodied, uneven power dynamic (Frankie is Reader's client), dom/sub, lingerie, whimpering Frankie!!, sensory play (feathers), edging, orgasm delay/denial, fingering, vaginal sex, unprotected sex, cream pie, no use of y/n

Santiago pulls up to Frankie’s house on a Thursday afternoon, same as he’s been doing every week. The lawn is overgrown and there’s about three days worth of mail piled up on his doorstep. He sighs and puts his truck in park. Frankie fell into a bout of depression after the events of Colombia, and rightfully so. Considering not only what happened in Colombia but also what happened when he got home. He came home to find all of his shit on the lawn and the locks changed on the house he and his wife used to share. The two events combined sent Frankie in a downward spiral. So Santiago took it upon himself to come check on Frankie every week. Sometimes they go out, sometimes they stay in. It’s been nice for Frankie to have some sense of normalcy. 

He gets out of his truck and walks to Frankie’s doorstep, grabbing the mail before knocking on the door. 

“Just a second!” Frankie’s gruff voice call out.

Frankie answers the door looking like a wreck; pajama pants that have been worn for well over a week, hair unkempt, and dark bags under his eyes. It’s a sight Santiago’s used to but Frankie’s been getting progressively worse. 

“Good to see you,” Santiago says, stepping past Frankie and heading inside.

Somehow Frankie’s house is in an even worse state than him; dirty clothes strewn about, dirty dishes piled high in the sink, the trash overflowing. 

He turns to Frankie and feels a pang in his chest. He wants to help him somehow. He’s already tried suggesting therapy, but Frankie rejected it pretty quickly. And then an idea pops in his head… What about a cleaning service?

“Fish… I wanna help you out.”

“I already told you I don’t need therapy.”

“I know. I know. It’s something else.”

“...What is it?”

“What if I got someone to come in and clean like once a week?”

“I don’t need that.”

Santiago glances around the room before circling back to Frankie.

“This place is a biohazard.”

“Which is why you shouldn't subject someone else to this.”

“Come on, Fish. They’re professionals.”

Frankie sighs, but he doesn’t say yes or no outright. 

“So where to? Let’s go out instead today,” Santiago chuckles.

Frankie can't help but laugh, too. 

-

Santiago gets your phone number from Will’s neighbor. You get a text the next day reading:

Hello, this is Santiago Garcia. I’m looking for someone to clean my friend’s house every week. His name is Frankie Morales and his address is 607 Palm Street. 

You respond:

Hello, Mr. Garcia. I have an opening for Wednesday afternoons. Would that work?

The "typing" icon appears on the screen followed by:

Great. Thank you so much. 

Score! Another job for you. You  wonder why the client’s friend booked you instead of the client himself. Guess you’ll find out on Wednesday.

-

You pull up to the client’s house on Wednesday afternoon, right around two. Judging by the state of the lawn, you have your work cutout for yourself. 

You walk to the front door, dressed in your normal cleaning attire; a t-shirt, leggings and rubber Birkenstocks. It’s your first time meeting here so you brought  supplies of your own. Typically you meet the client first, take a look at the house, and decide who will provide the cleaning supplies,but this client came to you in a strange way. You know nothing about him, nothing about what you’re getting into. You knock on the door and await a response, feeling a little bit nervous about who will answer the door. 

After a moment, the door opens and to your delight, he’s easy on the eyes. You hold out your hand and introduce yourself followed by, “You hired a cleaning lady, Mr. Morales?”

He looks down at your outstretched hand and back at you, a confused look on his face. 

“Damn it, Santiago.” He sighs. “Frankie’s fine.” 

“Ah yes, he’s the one who contacted me.”

Your hand is still reached out, ready for him to shake it. And he does, but you can tell that something’s off here. 

“I can leave if you want me to. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No,” he sighs, “Come on in.”

You go inside his house and take a look around at the living room and kitchen. …It’s a full on depression cave. Your heart pangs for him. 

“If I had known you were coming, I would’ve straightened up a bit.”

“Not necessary,” you smile, “That’s what I’m here for.”

“I brought some of my own stuff today since I wasn’t sure what you wanted to do. I’ll do a deep clean today and then every week after that it’ll just be a regular cleaning. Does that sound good?”

“Sure,” he nods, a bit nervous still, “I’ll get you cleaning stuff for next time.”

“Sounds good!” you say, wasting no time as you set to work. 

The house is in rough shape,but you don’t say anything. He must be going through something and you get it. You’ve been there a few times yourself. 

You spend roughly five hours at his house; cleaning the dishes in the sink, throwing a load of laundry in, making his bed, vacuuming, dusting, mopping; the works. Frankie can barely recognize the place when you’re done. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do with himself while you cleaned. Is he supposed to leave the house? No, what if you need something and what if you’re done before he gets back. He has to pay you. But he also doesn’t want to hover over you either and make you uncomfortable. These are all things he thinks about in the span of your three hours at his house. But ultimately he decides to just sit on the couch, feeling awkward. 

You gather your stuff and head to the door but Frankie stops you. 

“How much for today?”

“Ah, don’t worry about it this time.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” you smile, “See you next week!”

And with that, you’re gone. Frankie’s left feeling conflicted. You were technically just forced upon him by Santiago. But… it feels nice to have a clean home again. You did a good job and Santiago was just being a concerned friend. However, there is one thing he’s just gonna bust Santiago’s balls for when he sees him tomorrow. 

-

Thursday afternoon Santiago pulls up to Frankie’s house, same time every week. He gets out of his truck and the lawn is still in the same state. But he knows Frankie’s house will be different. He knocks on the door and Frankie answers almost instantly. 

Santiago steps inside and says, “Wow! Doesn’t even look like the same house. Did you like her?”

Frankie closes the door and turns to face Santiago, arms folded. 

“What?” Santiago asks. 

“You didn’t tell me she was hot!”

“She is? I’ve never met her.”

Frankie sighs. 

“Ah come on, Fish. Maybe I found you a cleaning lady and a girlfriend all in one.” He grins. 

Frankie groans and Santiago laughs. 

“Come on. Let’s hit the Legion. I’m dying for a beer,” Santiago says, clapping Frankie on shoulder. 

-

Over the next few weeks, you come to Frankie’s house every week. The workload becomes significantly less  with each visit. Frankie breaks out of his shell a little too, and you begin tohave wonderful conversations. 

That’s not all you have either. To say there’s underlying sexual tension would be an understatement. It’s practically hanging heavy in the air between you two. Between longing touches and lingering stares, you can’t take it anymore. In fact, one day when you were cleaning his bathroom sink, he scooched behind you to grab something out of his medicine cabinet, his groin fully pressed up against your ass. Fuck, you want him. Not only that, but you’re really falling for him too. He’s such a sweetheart. But you know deep down he’ll never make the first move. 

You’re faced with a moral dilemma. Frankie’s not just anyone.He’s a client. If you make a move and he rejects you, you’re losing a client and he’s losing his cleaning service. Except, you know the tension between you is undeniable. He can’t reject you… right?

-

It’s been six weeks since you started cleaning for Frankie, and today you’re going to do something bold… and a little crazy. 

You’re showing up to his house in sexy maid lingerie. You’ve got the full get up; black stockings with a garter belt attached, a black and white matching bra and panty set, and a short skirt with a lacy apron to match everything. The plan is to clean like normal until he literally can’t resist you anymore. 

Your hands grip the steering wheel nervously, palms slick with sweat. You have a trench coat on to hide your lingerie until you enter his house and now you’re painfully aware of just how cliché this is. 

You pull up to his house and walk to the door, knees feeling weak. You’re wearing heels since you didn’t think your normal rubber Birkenstocks would fit with the lingerie. 

Frankie answers the door before you can knock, something he’s been doing more often now. He takes one look at your attire and says, “A trench coat? Are you feeling sick? You sure you should clean today?”

“I’m fine, Mr. Morales,” you respond, stepping inside. 

“…You know you can call me Frankie, right?” he says, looking down at your choice of shoes… your stocking clad legs.

“I know,” you chuckle, standing by the recliner in his living room. 

Slowly you start to take off the trench coat, revealing more and more of your scantily clad figure. His eyes trail up and down your body, eyebrows raising and mouth agape. 

“Wh-what’s all this for?”

“Just thought I’d clean in something more comfortable,” you say, walking over to his kitchen and bending down to grab something from under the sink. You swear you can hear Frankie audibly gulp. 

You grab microfiber cloths, some furniture polish, and glass cleaner and begin cleaning his kitchen, feeling his gaze from behind you. It practically burns your skin. If this doesn’t do the trick, you don’t know what will. You dust the kitchen, turning to grab a glance at him as you move to his kitchen table. With every movement, you make his eyes follow you and he’s left speechless. 

You move back to his kitchen sink, spraying his window and wiping the glass with the cloth. When you pull the cloth away, you see his reflection in the window. He’s standing behind you and his hands ghost your waist, touching the lacy fabric ever so lightly. 

“If you’re gonna feel me up, just do it,” you tease. 

Your brattiness works because he grabs your waist forcefully, pulling your ass into his groin. 

“You think you can just show up in this skimpy little outfit and expect me to not do something about it?”

“Mr. Morales, I’ve been wanting you to do something for weeks,” you tease, turning around to face him. 

He looks at you with pleading eyes, like he can tell where this is going. 

“On the couch, Mr. Morales,” you command, batting your eyelashes at him. 

He does as he’s told, moving from the kitchen to the living room. He sits on the couch and waits for further instructions all while you grab something else from underneath his sink; a (clean) feather duster. 

You walk from the kitchen to the living room.our heels click against the floor. You stand in front of the couch. With your hands on your hips, you look down at Frankie who’s sitting and waiting oh so obediently for you. 

“I’m gonna need you to strip for me, Mr. Morales.”

He groansbut follows your orders. As he gets up, you notice his cock straining against his sweatpants. And when he pulls his pants down it springs free. 

He sits back down and you kick off your heels, sitting beside him on the couch. You turn to face him puttingyour legs in his lap. 

“Can I touch you?”

“Not yet,” you say, feigning sweetness in your voice. 

You take the feather duster and trace it down his bodystarting at his neck. His breath hitches at the contact of the feathers against his skin. As you move the duster down from his neck to his chest, a trail of goosebumps is left in its wake. He shudders as you swirl the duster around his pecs. 

“How long are you gonna tease me for?” he whimpers. 

“As long as I want to,” you smirk. 

He groans again and you giggle, shifting to straddle his lap. You drag the duster down his chest and abs, stopping at his groin. He whimpers again at the sudden absence of stimulation. 

“Please, I can’t take it anymore,” he begs. 

“Are you begging for me, Mr. Morales?”

“Fuck- yes I am. Please,” he whimpers. 

“Well since you’re being such a good boy,” you giggle, fluttering the duster in circles around his groin. 

You stand up and shed your panties, moving to straddle him again. 

“Can I please touch you?” he asks, with true desperation in his voice. 

“Go ahead,” you say sweetly. 

He brings his fingers by your cunt, trailing his fingers up and down and feeling your wetness. 

“Fuck,” he curses under his breath. 

“Can I finger you? Please?”

“Mhm,” you say with a smirk. 

He brings his fingers to his mouth, moistening them but also tasting you. He hums at the taste, closing his eyes, before bringing them back to your cunt. He slides one finger in slowly, taking the time to feel your warmth; your wetness, before curling it against your walls. It feels good, but you need more. 

“Add another, Mr. Morales.”

“Yeah?” he says, looking up at you with wide eyes. 

“Mhm,” you nod. 

He adds another finger, working your walls and curling them against your g-spot. Then he does something unexpected; something he didn’t ask permission to do. He brings his thumb against your clit, rubbing small circles around it. You want to scold him for doing something without asking, but it feels too good. You’re too deep in bliss to scold him. You throw your head  back in pleasure. Your eyes are closed, lashes fanned against your face. You look like a goddess to Frankie, with your lingerie hugging your figure just right and your breast rising up and down as your breathing quickens. You cum around his fingers, your release soaking down to his wrist. Your walls grip and release his fingers in rhythmic waves before slowing to a halt. 

“I didn’t say you could do that,” you say with shaky breath.

“Oh shit. I’m sorry.”

“Just for that, I tell you when you get to cum. Got it?”

“What?!”

“Mhm. “

He whimpers again and you can't help but laugh. His whimpering turns into a moan when you spit in your hand and start stroking his cock. He’s already rock hard but you want to tease him just a little bit longer. 

“Can I please fuck you already?” he whines.

“You think you’re going to fuck me?”

“Fuck,” he curses under his breath again.

“Can you please fuck me already?”

“That’s more like it,” you say smugly.

After one last stroke you move your hand away, inching yourself forward  to hover over his cock. You sink  onto him, taking his full length inside you in one swift motion. His large cock stretches your walls, grazing your cervix and making you feel truly full. You bounce and grind on his cock. Although Frankie doesn’t want to admit it, he already feels like he’s going to bust. 

“I’m getting close,” Frankie whines.

You stop moving and say, “Fine. I’ll wait.”

He’s forced to sit there, just feeling your warmth wrapped around him while you’re completely still, waiting until the feeling dissipates.

“Okay, okay. I’m not close anymore,” he says, pouting just a little.

You start grinding against his cock harder, hitting all the right angles inside you. You yourself are going to cum soon. Except now, you want Frankie to cum, feeling him painting your insides while you ride out your high. 

His cock twitches inside you and he’s already close again. 

“Touch me, Frankie.” You moan.

“What?!”

“I said touch me.” You moan again. 

His hands grip your waist before sliding up to your breasts. His hands pull the laces of your bra back and he takes your nipples between his fingertips. God, it feels amazing.

“Cum for me, Frankie.”

“Really?!” he asks excitedly.

“Mhm,” you respond before crashing your lips against his.

You cum at the same time, moaning against each other’s mouths, all while you move your hips back and forth and he pinches your nipples. His cum coats your walls as your hips slowly come to a stop, keeping it inside you as you rest against his cheek. Both of you are exhausted.

“What was that all about?” Frankie sighs, hand rubbing up and down your back. 

“Got tired of waiting around for you to make the first move,” you reply, leaning back to look him in the eye and shrugging.

“I didn’t even know you felt this way,” he chuckles. 

“I know that’s why I had to make it really obvious, Frankie,” you say sarcastically.

You two share a laugh and you lean forward, keeping him inside you as you rest against him. 

“Maybe you could come clean in this more often?”

“Deal.”

Follow @beskarandblastersfics and turn on post notifications to be notified when I post a new fic!

Tag list for anyone who interacted with the announcement post!: @missladym1981 @kirsteng42 @jksprincess10 @theywhowriteandknowthings @littlemisspascal @casa-boiardi @hiddenbabynyc @mirandablue1 @xdaddysprincessxx @meveispunk @pedroshotwifey @fanficlover1414 @tuquoquebrute @goldennine @chaotictingz @princesatracionera @undrthelights @jensensational71 @idungoofed @ketxamine @axshadows @scenaaario @lavema @drewharrisonwriter @blooming-bubs @jennfromthebayarea @tuesdaytaco @glycerinrivers @madness-and-love @anavatazes @lincolndjarin @mandoisapunk @penvisions @ablackmagicwoman @perennialdoll247 @paleidiot @tokkiwrites @joelmillerswifu @magpiepillsjunior @csarab615 @morallyinept @virtualbuni @livingoutsidethetardis @megalobsorbancy @lovebandrry @pedritosgfreal @beefrobeefcal @karlaispunk

#frankie morales x f!reader #frankie morales x you #frankie morales x reader #frankie morales smut #frankie morales fanfiction #frankie catfish morales #triple frontier fanfiction #triple frontier #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedrostories

[beefrobeefcal]

Dark!Frankie Saga: VII

Chapter Seven: Bring It Home

Pairing: Dark!Frankie Morales x Fem!Reader

Summary:

Boston. The Frontiersmen is a crime syndicate that deals in drugs, arms, and anything else they can to keep themselves on top. Since the original ring leader, Tom, was allegedly taken out by a rival gang, it's now run by Big Fish, with Pope second in command. Ironhead runs the numbers and Benny is the muscle. Your family member put you down as collateral when they needed credit to score more smack. Problem is, they can't pay it back, and Big Fish & the Frontiersmen always get their payment...

Rating: Explicit 18+ (MDNI)

Chapter Word Count: 3,740

Content Warning: angst, threats of violence, crime, snark, Major Character Death, stabbing, violence, betrayal, kissing

Author's Notes:

Y'all, I know you had big dreams for this chapter... and I thank you for your patience. Please don't hate me 🥺

The biggest, juiciest, wettest thank you to @neverwheremoonchild for being the Beta Fish for Big Fish (get it? Beta'ing the story about Big Fi-... okay, you got it). Thank you, Nevy! 💜🥩💜

thank you to the following for being supportive good eggs & sounding boards: @theywhowriteandknowthings @toxicanonymity @xdaddysprincessxx @thehalflifeofloveisforever @rebel-held @gracieispunk

And this is not the Chubby!Frankie we know and love in the Catfish & the Mouse universe; he's dark, mean, and hungry. I'll be updating this each week (Monday/Tuesday) until you lose interest or I finish it - let's see what happens first! when i feel like it👌

On the Waterfront Masterlist | Previous Chapter

--------<3---------

From the time Frankie pulled you onto his lap at the bowling alley to when he stood with you at your bedroom door, you felt like you were in a dream. A beautiful, hazy dream that you were pretty sure was going to end with him fucking you in your bed.

“You did good tonight, Honey.”, Frankie said sweetly, cupping your jaw and cheek in his big hand.

You couldn’t help but stare back, falling further for him through his deep, brown eyes. He but the softness in his gaze hardened as he sucked in a breath and released your face, stepping back. He broke the connection with you and looked away. He cleared his throat and nodded towards your door, leaving you feeling cold and confused. What did you do wrong?

“Night, baby girl...”, he mumbled as he turned, heading towards the lounge.

You opened your mouth to say something to him, but all you could do was feel your body react to the lack of his touch and your cheeks burn from the rogue tears that fell. You were alone in the hallway, and you didn’t know why.

*****

Pope had been outside in the shadows, trying to remain inconspicuous while on his phone, when the blacked-out SUV pulled up at the front doors.

“Yes, I know!... fuck you... I’ll call you back...”, he hissed quietly into his phone before ending the call and focused on the two of you returning.

He watched as Frankie got out of the SUV, holding his hand out to you, and saw the stupid look on Frankie’s face as he helped you down from the vehicle. Pope shook his head and rolled his eyes, watching Frankie pull you in for a disgustingly sweet kiss before he tugged you into the building.

He scoffed as he brought his phone back up to call his contact back, a message popped up on the screen.

Steven is done. Now what?

Pope grinned as his deviously sadistic mind’s wheels turned; he pocketed his phone and walked into the building.

*****

Frankie’s heart was beating fast as he walked away from you, and his palms were sweating as he clenched his fists. He didn’t stop until he was standing in his office, shakily sucking in his breaths, and he allowed himself to think about what had just happened. It was one thing for him to go down on you in the bowling alley and hold you as your body came back down – he was still in control. But looking in your eyes as you looked back at him, seeing the same thing he felt staring right back told him he was no longer holding the reigns in this, and it terrified him to his core. He felt like you could see who he really was under his harsh and mean exterior; under it all he was just the former drug addict who battled his demons daily to keep himself upright; just the man who made himself bigger so he could be respected, because no one was going to respect a scrawny junkie. And if you did see it, why did you still want him at all? Did you see weakness? Did you know that just asking him for a kiss would make him weak in the knees? Why did he allow you to get under his skin?

He was finally broken from his trance when the door to the office opened behind him. Frankie whirled around and found himself facing Pope.

“Fish... you got a sec?”, Pope asked, cautiously approaching him, with a judgmental eyebrow raised. When Frankie nodded, trying to shake the weakness of you from his mind, Pope nodded back in kind.

“What d’you need?”, Frankie said coolly as he made his way around his desk and sat down heavily on his chair.

Pope walked up to the desk and leaned heavily on, deciding not to tell Frankie that he saw him come back with you, and how he saw the look on his face and knew what it meant. He instead decided to set in motion what he hoped would be the last thing he needed to.

“I got a message... from one of the grunts under Will... he was making the rounds and checking in on people that owe us...”, he said quietly, trying to sound nervous about what he was going to say. “and, he - uh…”,

“Fuckin’ spit it out, Pope.”, Frankie groaned after a deep sigh, rubbing his eyes.

“He went to Steven’s...”

“Who the fuck is that and why do I care?”, he growled, not looking up at him. “Get to the fuckin’ point!”

“It’s your girl’s brother...”

“What about him?”

“He’s dead.”

Frankie looked up at Pope, feeling his blood run cold.

*****

After being left on your own, you sat in your room, feeling the buzz from the beer slipping away and letting your thoughts drift towards more nefarious avenues. It hurt to know that no matter what happened, you would end up alone; your brother sold you out for more drugs, Benny hated and abandoned you, Will threw you into the lion’s den, and Frankie didn’t want you beyond getting what he could from you. And Pope... you knew what Pope wanted and it made your skin crawl.

The tears that you’d cried had mixed with your make up had dried on your face, leaving your skin feeling itchy and tacky. You needed to clean yourself up and give yourself some comfort, even if it was small. You stepped into the shower and tried to wash away your sadness.

After drying off and getting into your pajamas, you once again sat in your room alone. The weight of solitude was heavy on you, so much so, you could barely stand it. All you could do was pick up your Kindle and try to distract yourself until you fell asleep.

*****

Benny sat back and watched the other guys play a round of foosball. They’d invited him to join but he’d waved them off. He’d wanted to sulk and be angry with no interference; he couldn’t get your face out of his head from the last time he’d seen you the night before, and Frankie’s words to him sounded off like a fire alarm in his skull: She’s not here for you. Stick your dick in literally anything else, but that is mine.

He’d replayed your last interaction with him over and over in his mind over the past 24 hours, building up more rage and fury over how stupid you were being. He didn’t want you for himself; he wanted something better for you. There’s no way Frankie could offer you what you deserve. Fuck, no one in this fucking building could. He sneered as he shook his head, anger rising further each time Frankie’s words bleated in his brain and deafened the rest of his thoughts. Frankie told him to fuck anything like you weren’t even a person. You were just part of the wide scope of anything, like an object he could own and devour like he did everything else he wanted.

Will watched Benny silently from across the room. He saw his brother furiously twisting his hands and clenching his jaw; saw the vein in his forehead pop out as his face turned red with rage. Will knew he was at fault for this; he knew Benny had a soft spot for vulnerable people, especially women. He knew Frankie was wrong about how Benny felt, but he wasn’t willing to correct him and confirm that Benny wanted to fuck her as much as Frankie wanted to diet. But the powder keg that was hitting a critical point across the room in his brother was far more worrisome than he’d accounted for, given even a day going by hadn’t managed to dampen his rage. Benny could be a dangerous man, given the right mindset, and he wasn't afraid of violence or being violent. It was the reason he was so valuable to the Frontiersmen - he wasn’t afraid of getting his hands dirty for the right cause, and Will worried that you were becoming the right reason for Benny to unleash that terrible dog in him at Frankie.

As Will decided it was in everyone’s best interest to try and quell the fire, Pope walked in with a smug grin aimed directly at his brother, and Will felt like he was about to watch a train derail.

“What’s with the long face, fucker?”, Pope crooned sadistically as he sauntered towards Benny.

“Fuck off, Pope.”, he growled in response, his eyes glaring up at the smiling man.

 Will saw the determined, toothy smile breakout over Pope’s face as he squatted down in front of Benny.

“What’s the matter, baby Benny?”, Pope mockingly cooed, amusement bleeding from his tone. “You mad that Fish is cockblocking you from that sweet little puss – “

Benny’s hand jutting out and gripping Pope’s throat stopped him from finishing his sentence. He stood up, pulling Pope into a standing position as he stared wide eyed and clawed at Benny’s arm and wrist, gasping and choking.

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”, Benny snarled, pulling Pope’s face close to his.

Will ran up beside Benny and gripped his shoulder, shaking him. “Benny! Drop’im!”

He yanked Benny’s arm back and Pope collapsed on the floor, gasping and coughing.

“GET YOUR FUCKIN’ HANDS OFF ME!”, Benny roared as Will’s arms wrapped around him form behind and pulled him back.

“Fuck you, Pope! Fuck you 'n fuck your fuckin’ smug mouth!”, Benny screamed at him as Will continued to restrain him. ‘FUCK, WILL! LET ME THE FUCK GO! I’ll FUCKIN’ KILL YOU!”

Will knew Benny didn’t mean it. Sure, he’d probably take a swing and hit him – he’d done it before. But beyond that, he knew it was Benny’s rage talking.

Pope shakily looked up at Benny and offered him a cruel smile. Benny saw red; that fucker fueled his blinding rage, and he threw Will off him, storming out of the rec room.

“Don’t move, Pope!”, Will yelled, pointing his finger at him as he turned and ran out after Benny.

Pope smiled, watching him leave after his brother, seeing a brand-new opportunity. Fortune favours the brave…

*****

Benny was on a rampage. Like a rabid bear, he stalked the hallways, making a beeline to the barracks. He’d walked right past Frankie’s office, not even considering stopping there first to tear into him over what he was doing. Will quickly caught up to him, yelling for him to stop.

Frankie sat in his office chair. He heard heavy footsteps coming towards the door and he looked up, but they moved past.  He thought nothing of it until he heard Will.

“Ben! Stop!... Stop 'n take a fuckin’ breather, man!”

“FUCK YOU AND FUCK POPE AND FUCK FISH AND FUCK THAT STUPID BITCH!”

“You’re not thinkin’ this through! You don’t wanna hurt her, Ben! BENNY!”

Will’s panicked voice caught Frankie’s attention and he stood up, listening to the sounds move further down the hallway. He knew not to get in Benny’s way when he was mad, but he was heading towards you and the idea of Benny being in this foul of a mood and even Will wasn’t able to placate him didn’t sit well with him.

Benny threw the doors to the Barracks open and screamed your name. Even being in a separate area, the volume at which he called you made you jump. You dropped your Kindle on the bed and moved cautiously to your door. You clicked the flimsy lock on the doorknob, and you jumped heard the door to the hallway slam against the wall from how hard it was flung open.

Your heart was beating deafeningly loud in your ears, and you backed away from the door as the thumping footsteps got closer and your doorknob jiggled.

Just as soon as you were mentally thanking what every deity was listening for that lock, the door was kicked open and there was Benny. Breathing hard, his face twisted in a snarl and his fists clenched.

You looked up at him, not sure what he was going to do. “Benny... wha - “

“You're so fuckin’ dumb!”, he yelled, stomping towards you and cutting you off. “You’re fuckin’ smarter than this!”

He stood over you, his hot furious breaths fanning over your face. You tried to back away, but he grabbed at your arm.

“Don’t fuckin’ move!”, he yelled in your face, his hold on you tightening.

You yelped and tried to pull away from his grip. He shoved you back, sending you to the floor. Shock gave way to fear and anger as he stalked towards you, and you scrambled back into a standing position.

“Just fuckin’ stay down, you- “

“What do you want from me?!”, you cut him off, yelling in a cracked voice as tears welled up in your eyes.

His eyes narrowed at you and his scowl set further in his face. “I want you to smarten the fuck up! I want you to stop bein’ a dumb bitch!”

You angrily wiped at the tear that fell down your cheek, and, for a brief moment, Benny’s eyes looked at you almost horrified at what was happening. Your face contorted with a frown, and you pushed him with all your strength, making him take a small step back to keep his balance.

Neither of you knew that Will was in the hallway watching this unfold, not sure how to intervene, and his focus was torn away from you both as Frankie walked into the hallway and stood next to Will, ready to jump in.

“What is your problem?!”, you screamed at him.

His menacing glare returned, and he stepped up to you, challenging you.

“My fuckin’ problem is you’re not thinkin’ with your goddamned brain!”, he bellowed. “My problem is you’re thinkin’ with your pussy like a fuckin’ whore- “

Before you could register your actions, your hand harshly made contact with his face; you slapped him hard.

The room fell silent, and Benny’s head snapped back to you, all fury gone. What was left was the look of hurt and disappointment, and you weren’t sure who it was directed at – you or himself. Will rushed in and grabbed Benny, hauling him back. Benny’s eyes didn’t leave yours until Will had dragged him out of the room, cursing at him for his temper.

And once again, you were alone. Your chin quivered and your body trembled as the rage dissipated from your system, replaced with shame and remorse. What did you do?

Before you could collapse under the weight of your actions, Frankie stepped into the doorway.

You raised your eyes to him and held back a sob as you shook your head, silently saying please – I can’t handle any more.

“Baby girl...”, he spoke softly as he walked slowly towards you and pulled you into his arms. You tried pushing him back, but he gently used his strength against you, holding you in his embrace. His gentleness after the harsh intensity of what you’d just experienced with Benny broke you, and you let out a heavy sob that wracked your body. His large hand held your head against his chest and he murmured softly, trying to soothe you.

“I’m so sorry, baby girl... come on, Honey... calm down... he’s gone... I know, baby... I know... he’s gone now... I’m sorry... he doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground, baby... he doesn’t know what he's talkin’ about...”

“Stop... just stop!”, you squirmed out of his hold and stood back from him. You furiously wiped your face again and shook your head. “He’s right! He’s right about everyth - “

“No, baby girl... no, he’s not!”, Frankie pleaded, holding his hand out to you, beckoning you to come to him.

It made you angrier, his actions seemingly still trying to train you to be his good little bitch, coming when he calls. You shook your head, rage taking over. “I’m not a fucking dog! You don’t order me around like one!”

His voice was so soft. “Baby... Honey, please...”

“No! Mr. fucking Morales! He’s right - I’m just another one of your dumb whores that you can throw away! I’m no better than that bitch you had on your lap at the bowling alley! You just keep me like a pet and bring me out when you need a fuckin’ fix! You don’t want me - no one does!”

You didn’t realize you were screaming at him and walking towards him.  Frankie’s hands were held up, trying to calm you. His eyes were wide and pleading, his mouth was open and frowning, as he shook his head.

“Baby girl… shhhhh… no… no, Honey…”, he shook his head, and cooed, moving towards you again. “No, Honey… you got it all wrong…”

“Don’t…”, you warned as you stepped back, glaring up at him. To Frankie, you must have looked like a cornered, feral cat, fueled by rage and fear.

You didn’t intimidate him. He reached out and cupped your cheek, as he’d done countless times before, but this time you pulled out of his grasp.

You didn’t scare him. But he needed your softness back; this harsh and jaded version of you hurt him in ways he didn’t know he could be wounded. His heart ached as his other arm wrapped around your shoulders and pulled you into him again. He smoothed his hand over your jaw, his thumb gently caressing your lips. You tried, albeit half-heartedly, to get away, but he saw the softness slipping back into your eyes.

You didn’t deter him. “Don’t push me away, baby girl…”, he said softly, bringing his face close. He ghosted his lips over yours. “I want you here… with me.”

He pressed his lips gently against yours. Your resolve to fight dissolved and you wrapped your arms around his neck, grasping for more contact with him. Opening your mouth to deepen the kiss, he followed suit, slipping his tongue against yours. You were both desperate. Yes, you’d fooled around in a bowling alley, but this was something that wasn’t scratching an itch or a power play; this was the two of you finally, without words, admitting that you needed one another on a baser, more human level.

Frankie pulled back first, breathing heavily and his eyes scanned yours, asking silently for more. You nodded, and with that, he grabbed your hand and pulled you out of your room and into his.

*****

After his run in with Benny and making sure his windpipe wasn’t crushed, Pope was back outside around the building in an alleyway. Hidden in the shadows, the only sign of his presence was his phone screen lighting up his face.

As he searched through images confirming Steven’s demise, a call came through. He answered it quietly, keeping his voice low but harsh.

“I need more time - … no, you don’t understand, he - ... I know that was the deal, but you gotta hear me out- … I can’t just… I know it has to look like an accide-… I tried! The fuckin’ little brother… Yeah… fuck, no… No… I know, but I ca-… fuck. Okay… I understand… Yes! Fuck! I got it!”

Will watched from the far end of the building. Pope’s voice, although quiet, carried, and Will’s mind raced, putting piece by piece together, not quite being able to wrap his mind around what he was hearing. He didn’t know what he was up to, but he knew he didn’t like it.

He watched as Pope hung up and stopped himself from throwing his phone against the wall, and he clenched his fists and teeth. Will moved on his feet, causing the gravel to shift and crunch under him.

“What do you want, Will?”

He stopped, feeling his body tense at Pope’s recognizing his presence, even in the dark.

“Who you talkin’ to, man?”, he asked. Will tried to keep no discernable emotion or feeling in his tone, trying to keep Pope off his anxious scent.

“No one… one of the grunts fucked up… just tryin’ to set them straight.”

Will hmm’d in acknowledgement; he knew it was a lie and he knew Pope wouldn’t be convinced that he believed him, but he knew saying anything more would probably drive more suspicion.

“I’ll ask again, Will… what do you want?”

Will moved closer to Pope, trying to keep his voice down when he spoke.

“You gotta stop rilin’ Benny up. I know you think it’s funny, but he’s gonna really fuck someone up and we don’t need that.”

“Fuck you, Will… what are you, his keeper? His fuckin’ nanny?”

“I’m the last thing keepin’ him from killin’ someone… If wasn’t there tonight, you think you would’a made it?”

“So, what you’re saying its you’re the one keeping a leash on him?”

Even in the dark, Will knew Pope was facing him. He could feel the breath on his face. He was close – too close.

“If you weren’t around, no one could stop him?”

“Jesus, man… You know he’s got a fuckin’ temper... he needs someone to hold him back.”

“Yeah, he does have a temper.”

“Then stop pushin’ him! Stop antagonizin’ him!”, Will pleaded. He heard Pope huff a laugh.

“You’re in his fucking way, Will.”

Will heard the smile in Pope’s voice, and his blood ran cold.

“The fuck is that supposed’ta mean?”

Pope got close to Will and grabbed the back of his neck and held his face to his.

“You’re in my fucking way.”

Will felt a sharp sting in his stomach, and then warmth. Wet, hot warmth on the skin of his abdomen. The sharp sting erupted into searing pain, and he sucked in a ragged breath as his head spun.

“Santi… wha- don’t….”

“Fuck you, Will.”, Pope huskily whispered, ripping the knife out of Will’s gut. “This is on you. You wouldn’t let him just...”

“San-Santi? Pope? … why?” Will gasped, stepping back and clutching his middle. He stared up at Pope, wide eyed and trembling as he fell against the wall behind him and slid down to the ground. A tear slipped down his face as he watched his friend – his murderer – turn and walk away, leaving him alone in the alley to slip away into the inky darkness.

--------<3---------

TAGLIST:

@theywhowriteandknowthings @harryleatherfit @harriedandharassed @neverwheremoonchild @rebel-held @beee-haw @nevergoingbacknowshine @idolatrybarbie @v4vayha @lalocitos @xdaddysprincessxx @deathsholywaterr @heareball @lyssramscal @wintrwinchestr @blackfemalenerd @toxicanonymity @southernbe @starkeydaviss @noxturnalpascal @gwendibleywrites @romanarose

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal tummy #frankie morales #triple frontier #francisco catfish morales #frankie morales fanfiction #chubby frankie rights !!!!! #chubby!frankiedark #dark!frankie morales #dark!frankie still chubby though #on the waterfront #OTWF #major character death #🥩

[gatheredfates]

Hello my lovelies! 🦈 You might be asking yourself 'Sea, this is weird, You don't update during the week!' and you would be correct. I was supposed to push this update out by the end of my long weekend as an addition to this; however, due to a bunch of irl stuff I won't go into here, it was delayed. I have endeavoured to rectify it now rather than waiting out the week so peoples' resources are properly showcased. This will not be a common occurrence!

However, as of today (06/04), the following resources have been added to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives.

FREE COMPANY / COMMUNITY FOCUSED / EVENT SPACES

The Final Fantasy XIV Tumblr Community — A public Tumblr community where you can share FFXIV content and meet other players.

*NOTE. Tumblr communities are currently in beta and cannot be joined/applied to directly at this time. You will need to request an invite from @spotofmummery in order to join. When communities are out of beta, the disclaimer on the Compendium will be removed to properly reflect its public status.

LORE

The Rabanastran Record — A resource on Dalmascan lore, history and additional notes incorporating missing information via FFXII content. Is regularly maintained and updated when new information is given in game/lorebooks or on request. Created and maintained by @stalwart-spirit on tumblr.

Pandæmonium Raid Series Transcript — This is a full transcript of the quest dialogue, battle lines and NPC dialogue from all of P1-12! Created by @divinitymanifest.

MISC

FF14 Battle Portrait Tutorial — Have you ever wanted to create a battle portrait for your WoL similar to the ones you see in Endwalker story events and dungeons? @twitter-sakuranokaze has put together a guide on just how to do it!

CHANGELOG

A 'lore' checkbox has been added to the google form to better reflect the update to the Compendium's sorting. It was the one part of that change I forgot to do, so it's now up-to-date!

Free Company / Community Focused / Event Servers has not been updated to Free Company / Community Focused / Event SPACES to better reflect Tumblr communities and potentially encompass other smaller communities not easily covered by Large-Scale or Misc.

Bookmark links to certain resources have been added/amended. Again, not sure why they broke... but they're working now!

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here, send me an ask with the relevant information contained on the Compendium, or join my Discord at SEAFLOOR (21+ only)!

Is my space suitable for the Compendium? Most of the time, yes! Below the read more is some more information/stipulations. Again, all the below information is accessible on the document! 🐡

Below are the following things I do not accept on the Compendium:

Personal/Single-Character LFC ads.

Content intended for or can be used for bullying, harassment and OOC gossip. E.g. ‘Secrets’ blogs, receipts, callout posts, etc. This does not include in-character tabloid blogs used to generate RP.

Communities that do not have an RP/writing element (large-scale exempt).

Anything I find personally distasteful or goes against the spirit of this project.

Common-sense rule applies.

FAQ.

I want to put my community on the compendium but we have an application process. Is this okay?

Yes! Just note somewhere in your application that's a requirement. The only thing that is mandatory for the Compendium is that you must be open to new members or have a public-facing/accessible facet. There's no point advertising a community if no one can join it in some way!

I want to put my community on the compendium but I only have x number of members —

Also totally okay! People don't start with large communities. Activity is a must but, whether your server has two or two thousand members, if you're looking for new people to join, I'd love to help you find people.

I want to put my community on the compendium but I worry its too niche?

Okay, and? If your Eorzean Fishing Alliance has four members but you roleplay every second weekend, I still want to know about it.

What resources/communities can I add if I'm not the owner of them?

Mutual consent is extremely important to me, so anything that isn't a large-scale community OR a publicly accessible resource must be endorsed by the owner/admin/moderators in order to be added to the compendium. I operate under the assumption that a resource posted to a public space (tumblr, googledocs, youtube, etc) is open to all. A large-scale community is one with a significant member count or openly advertises itself as being accessible to everyone for whatever purpose it serves. If in doubt, please get in touch with me. I'm happy to contact your community owners for you!

How active does a community need to be?

If you find a community has not been active in about two/three months, send me a message and I'll take a look at it. Communities have ebbs and flows, especially event spaces that may take hiatuses depending on member interest/life events. I'm not strict in my implementation provided a space isn't dead. If a link or anything is broken, absolutely contact me about that.

I have [insert a question not stated here]?

No drama! Send me an ask or use the #Compendium channel in my Discord!

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #ffxiv community #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea's community compendium #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea speaks

[p5x-theories]

What We Know About Sepia

(last updated 6/4/24!)

Toshiya Sumi, codename Sepia, is an unemployed man known for his fishing skill. He joins the team as a “Phantom Idol”, or cognitive teammate.

His files are named with the codename "Sumitosi" instead of his canon codename Sepia. The exact significance of this, if any, is unknown.

His Japanese voice actor is Junya Enoki.

Sepia is Confidant of Wonder’s, and an official post confirmed they're working on adding his Confidant into the game, though when this will happen is unknown.

He has not yet been seen in-game, outside of being a Phantom Idol, so where he's usually found in the city or how he interacts with Wonder is currently unknown.

Info on him in the real world has been translated as: “An unemployed young man who often hangs out at the fishing grounds and is known as the “fishing immortal”. There was a glorious record of catching the fish king without a fishhook. Although he is not very old, he has his own unique logic of understanding emotions and life, and his words are often astonishing."

Beyond this, his personality and situation are largely unknown, as he wasn’t present in any beta outside of being a Phantom Idol, and has not yet made a real-world appearance in the official release.

Sepia's Persona Gorgyra (based on a nymph that lived in the underworld) is categorized as a Curse type, and resists Curse while being weak to Electric.

Gorgyra is a Resist Persona, meaning he’s good at targeting single enemies, and his trait allows him to follow up a teammate, after they do damage, with a curse attack, whenever he has 14 "Verses". He has three curse attack skills: the first hits one enemy three times, and gives him three Verses of Hate (a Verse that increase the damage of his follow up); the second hits all enemies twice and gives him two Verses of Healing (a Verse that allows his follow up to also heal the weakest teammate a bit); the third hits one enemy four times and gives four Verses of Passion (a Verse that increases the damage of his follow up and converts some of it to almighty damage). His passive skills cause his follow up to deal more damage to enemies afflicted with the curse status effect, and allow the number of Verses he has in total to also increase his follow up's damage.

In combat, his melee weapon is a cane, while his ranged weapon is a duck's foot pistol. His Highlight is shown from 1:20 - 1:29 in this video, and it hits one enemy with a curse attack three times, then buffs the attack of his follow up.

His recommended card sets are 1) 8 of Swords (Interference) + Page of Cups (Awareness), 2) 4 of Coins (Power) + Page of Coins (Growth).

The game recommends teaming him up with 1) Fleuret and Riddle, 2) Closer.

#character info #open beta #sepia #gorgyra

[charmikarma]

good lird. what have i done.

hey. i wrote this in response to yesterday's upd8. it's a drabble about candy!jade stuffing dave's corpse. a little more than 1k words. it's kinda graphic. there's implied cannibalism. it's also not beta read.

read at your own risk. peace

You summon the corpse from your sylladex and lay it out across your dining room table. The shades are gone – why, you can't be sure – but the eyelids are shut, so you can't see the eyes anyway. No matter. Dave was always cagey about his eyes; even in death, you're willing to respect that.

You head to the basement and look through the dusty old boxes. It's been decades since you did anything like this, but you know your supplies are still here somewhere. You find rifles, plushies, old gadgets – all kinds of junk you don't want to let go of, but no longer have any use for. Finally, the second-to-last box contains what you're looking for. Scalpels, needles, wood wool – all that and more. Tools and materials any amateur taxidermist should have on hand.

Below that box is one labeled simply dave in Dave's handwriting. You don't remember this being here.

You open it; it's not like he has any use for whatever's inside anymore.

Inside are a number of things you remember from his room. Records, photographs, fossils. There's even what appears to be a human fetus in a jar, which you would probably find more alarming if you weren't drowning in preserved human remains from a young age.

Rolling around the bottom of the box is a number of marbles, which gives you a brilliant idea. You fish out two of the largest ones you can find – one a red cat's eye, and the other a translucent blue-gray. If there is any symbolism to be seen in these colors, you don't notice it. You've neglected to notice symbols like these for decades.

You add the two marbles to the box with your tools. You return to the dining room and get to work.

You strip the body of its clothes. You are calm as you cut into the skin. The art of taxidermy takes a lot of care, after all, and while you are inexperienced, the training your grandpa gave you sticks in your memory like gum. You'll never forget how to do this for the rest of your eternal life. The feeling of the scalpel dividing flesh, the sound of skin peeling away from muscle, the smell of blood and something else which you have always assumed was death – it is all burned into your memory, and has been since the last time you did this. The time you stuffed your own grandpa. It was what he wanted for himself.

What you're doing right now is not what Dave would want for himself. You know that. But you also know better than your younger self – what Dave would want does not matter anymore. He is gone. But you're still here. So of course the question falls to you – what do you want to do with your husband's lifeless body?

With a squelch and a lot of arm strength, you pry the humerus free from the bicep. It's a shame Dave has no use for the muscle anymore. He always did have attractive arms. Though you could say the same for the rest of his body, too. You'll be sure to keep your rendition as faithful to the original as you can.

You set aside the bone on the kitchen counter. You wipe off the blood and write "LH" on it in black sharpie, so that you don't get it mixed up with the right humerus later. They will be helpful for posing the body when you stuff it.

You return to the carcass. Over the course of the next few hours, you strip skin from muscle, and muscle from bone. You lay each bone with the first humerus and each stretch of skin on the floor. You are careful to keep every piece organized. You are not careful to keep the house clean. Discarded flesh litters the floor. There is blood everywhere – on the table, on your hands, on your clothes. Your hair is sticky with it. The scent of it stings your nose.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, it registers that you are mutilating your dear husband without his permission. That it is Dave's blood on your hands. Somewhere deep below your diaphragm you are unsettled. But your body carries on; you're pressed for time. There's a war out there, and this is your only chance to preserve the love of your life.

You begin to reconstruct the body, and it stops feeling so impersonal. Tears blur your vision as you sew Dave's flesh back together. Why did he decide to leave? Of course you'd always feared the worst – that he never truly loved you. Why would he? But he stayed anyway, for sixteen long years. Sixteen happy years. Maybe he never loved you, but at least he would stay with you.

No longer.

Your hand begins to shake, and you nearly tear through his skin with your needle. You begin to mutter to yourself.

JADE: shh shhh its ok dave im sorry JADE: ill be more careful i promise! i wont hurt you JADE: christ jade get it together!!!

You steel yourself and fill his skull with wool. You stretch his scalp over the backside, and his face over the front. You sew the two pieces together just in front of his hairline, whispering sweet nothings to him all the way.

JADE: just a bit longer ok? JADE: youll be all nice and pretty again dont worry :)

When his head is finished, you pop the two marbles into his eye sockets.

JADE: there now you can see!!! JADE: do you like your new eyes? hehe i thought you would JADE: theyre from your own collection after all!!

You remember the hands being the most difficult part, so you've saved them for last. There is something unexpectedly intimate about reconstructing a hand you've held so many times you've memorized it. It may not be warm the way it used to be, and those stitches were never there before, but it's still Dave's hand. You have half a mind to press it to your cheek, to kiss the palm like you always used to, but you aren't that far gone. You do, however, thread your fingers between his after you finish your work. You hold his hand like that for a while.

JADE: i miss you already JADE: ......... JADE: well i guess youre not really gone JADE: youre still here, just JADE: quieter

You look around the room. Unsurprisingly, it's a mess. The blood is probably never coming out of the hardwood floor. And, of course, there's flesh everywhere. Organs, too. It's a shame, really, how much of the body is wasted in the process.

Your eyes fall to Dave's still heart. It's smaller than you expected; you were so little when you handled your grandpa's, so you guess you remembered it being bigger.

Your hand slips out of Daves as you fall to the floor. You stare at his heart, thinking. Not thinking about what to do – no, you're thinking about whether to do it. To follow the urge bubbling up from deep below your consciousness. If it were anyone else, you wouldn't hesitate to discard the thought. But it's Dave. You'll never meet anyone like him again. You don't want any part of him to go to waste.

You shouldn't. You know you shouldn't.

You reach for his heart.

#homestuck #homestuck: beyond canon #homestuck fic #jade harley #davejade #mine #charmi writes #charmi fics #jadepost #i'm sorry. i'm really sorry. #the inspiration hit at 4am last night and now i must reap the consequences.

[halloweenyyyy]

This is the other version, lol.

Remember Luffy is an Omega in this one, Zoro's an Alpha, and Koby's a Beta. (If anyone actually reads this, and wants to know what they smell, just ask.

Oh and I kinda went back and forth on the anime, and Manga.

Plus I meant to post this last year, lmao. I just needed to finish the bottom part.

"We're here! The marine based city!" Yelled out Luffy, excitedly raising an arm to the sky. Proceeding to walk down the dirt path, leading to a busy crowd of people. Koby following behind, with a heavy scent of anxiety. 

"Luffy! If you think the right thing to do is get this guy to join you, you're out of your mind!" Koby argued, trying to make him see his point. It was like arguing with a wall.

"Well… I haven't made up my mind yet. I gotta see if he's a good guy." If his friend had the will to smack himself in the face he would've. 

"—prison! Because he's obviously not!" He must've zoned out for a second, missing the first part of the sentence. Although he doubts he missed too much of it. 

Bounding over to a fruit stand, he picked up a green pear. Instantly taking a bite out of it, and devouring it within seconds. Turning to the owner, he flips a coin, a smile playing at her lips in delight. “Hey, is that guy Zoro around here somewhere?” The crowd that was once gathered, now dispersed. The air reeked with fright, and panic. Covering his nose, he begins to move away from the suffocating scents.

“May—” Drowning out koby, the faintest scent of steel, and blood capturing his attention instead. “Luffy!” Regaining his sense, he glances back with a questioning gaze. The other male feeling his anxiety skyrocket, because since arriving there his friend has been in and out a daze.

Was it all in his head? Nothing seemed to be wrong. “Yeah?” He was back to his smiley self, was his mind really playing tricks on him?

“N-nothing! We just shouldn’t mention Zoro here, ok?” Not really answering his question, they began to move forward down the path road. Something of uneasiness brewing in the pit of his stomach.

“Let’s head to the base and check it out, you wanna be a marine right?” Luffy suggested, while they continued walking. 

“Of course I do! But I really don’t think I’m ready just yet…” The beta left the silence linger for a few seconds. “Although from what I heard, the man in charge of this base is named Captain Morgan.” Gasps and screams erupted in the air, everyone who was once in close range stood as far as they could from them.

“This town is such a weird place!” The taller of the two laughed, yet it sounded forced. Had anyone been properly paying attention, they would have caught on. Though now with a large number of people out of the way, he quickly moved away from the smell the people emitted. Holding himself back from gagging, his stomach churning, not enough to make him back down from a challenge.

Oblivious to the other’s dilemma, the anxious friend went on to continue with, “That was odd, I mean I understand if they’re scared of zoro. But why did they flip out when I mentioned the marine captain’s name? I don’t know… I got a bad feeling about this.” Unbeknownst that he is spot on, about not feeling right.

“Maybe they were all just joking around for the fun of it?” The doubt settled over them, causing more of a confusion in the situation. If anything the people should feel a sense of relief, or even security at the name, especially being that of the person who is meant to take care of the island and its civilians.

“And how would that make any sense?” Koby asked, bringing out a point. Which further caused his anxiety to raise, to a sickening scent of fish rotting. The taller turned, once they were in a secluded area, and pulled off his patch. “Luffy?” He watched as the other leaned in and rubbed his neck against his, and the inside of his wrist. His overwhelming anxiety, calming down, he realized what he had done. He had scented him, to help his uneasiness. Without saying anything the taller one placed his patch on, turned back around, and continued to walk as if nothing had happened.

“This looks like the place!” Luffy smiled looking around excitedly, and catching that tantalizing scent.

Without realizing his friend wasn’t actually there to listen, he began his farewell speech. “I made it! This is where you and I part ways luffy, we didn’t have long together but…” Though he froze at the sound of struggle, his heart no longer beating as he turned his eyes upward.

“Where’s the foothold?” There was the momentary moment he wanted to strangle him, alas he knew he would never be able to. 

“Get down from there! What are you doing?! They'll see you!” The panic settled back in, especially if he’s caught with luffy. He doesn’t want this to end in tragedy, with his dream crushed, and the possibility of him and luffy in prison. “Get down!” He urged, although his plea fell on deaf ears.

“Now where’s this demon?!” Seeming to gain his balance, he looked around, squinting his eyes in search of the legend himself. Excitement bubbling in his chest, at the possibility of gaining a strong member.

“With everyone fearing him, they wouldn’t keep him out in the open. He’s probably tucked in a prison cell below ground!” Hoping that he listens to his logic, it didn’t make any impact to deter him from searching on.

“There he is!” Jumping down from the gated doors, he begins to run. Hollering “Imma get closer!” as he ran, making his way to the stone wall. Stretching enough to peak over. “Koby look!” A sense of fright ran through him, before it settled down since it’s unreasonable. Why would they have a powerful swordsman out in the open, when anything could happen. Like luffy could happen.

Climbing up, he looked at luffy before turning forward. “Ugh… I’m telling you he’s not eh!” It was just his luck. The man tied to the pole, Roronoa Zoro, the person his friend hopes to recruit. It was as if the odds were with him.

“If we untie those ropes, he could just walk away!” If he wasn’t holding on to the wall for support, he would facepalm himself. His friend clearly having no sense of awareness when it has to do with danger, and the danger is the person he wants to take on.

“Oh luffy! Don’t be such an idiot! There’s no telling what a bandit like him would do! If you let him go he might just kill us both!” That’s what worried him more than anything. His sour scent clouding up to the scent of rotting once again. 

Without trying to react to koby’s scent, he gritted his teeth, closing his eyes, to gain back his ability to speak. “Don’t worry! I’m strong! I can protect us!” Even with confidence, he began to feel sick with the never ending scent that he had been able to ignore up until now.

“Hey you two! You’re an eyesore! Get lost!” The supposed demon beast called out, annoyed as the two idiots bickered ruining his peace.

“Trust me luffy! There’s no chance of survival with someone like him in your crew!” His panic dulling his senses, as he tried to divert him from trying to recruit zoro. A small girl with pigtails climbed up beside him, he opened his mouth to scream in surprise, but the girl made a shushing sound as she pressed a finger to her lips. Watching with shock, he snaps out of it when he realizes she jumped down.

“Ah! We got to stop her! She’ll be killed by the marines or worse the demon himself!” Koby cried out, looking alarmed as luffy made no movement to help. Ignoring his friend’s fear he watched as the girl made her way to the swordsman.

“What do you want?” He asked, as the child stood a few feet before him.

She looked nervous before she began speaking. “I-i thought you may be getting hungry now! So I made you a couple rice balls!” Holding out the rice balls, she had been clutching to her chest protectively.

“You gotta a death wish kid? Scram!” His eyes narrowed into a glare, causing the child to grow anxious. His eyes soften for a moment, before they harden again.

“But you haven’t eaten anything the whole time you’ve been tied up! Here! I’ve never really made them before! But I did my best so I think they're fine.” Flinching, her lower lip wobbles at the feeling of harshness coming from him.

“Listen kid! I’m not hungry! Now stop irritating me and get out of here!” The beast growled, a sense of dread growing as the sound of walking grew louder in his direction. “Leave!”

“B-but I—” Shaking her head, she made no movement to go.

A trio entered. “Don't make me kick your ass little girl!” They caught zoro threatening the child, who wasn’t discouraged by his incivility.

“Now, now. Nobody likes a bully.” A blond with a bowl cut, and cleft chin remarked. He began cackling as if someone had told a joke. “Roronoa Zoro, you seem to be handling this well? Don’t you agree?” A smug smirk made its way to his lips, looking with amusement at the tied criminal before him.

 “Look! Another weird guy.” Luffy commented, his eyes never straying from the scene unfolding before them.

With a relieved smile, koby exhaled, releasing some of the tension from his body. “That’s great! He must be with the marines, now we know the girl will be safe!” He felt excitement to see how he would handle the situation, and hoped they got the girl out of there safely.

The bowl cut looked with interest at the girl's hands. “Lookey! Some tasty rice balls!” Ripping away a ball from her grasp, he takes a large bite into it.  

“That’s not for you!” Gasping, she watched helplessly. A feeling of fear ran through her, as he held the food meant for zoro.

“Wah! Too sweet!” Gagging he spits out the rice, his face taking a pink hue. “They’re packed with sugar! You’re supposed to use salt you idiot! Salt!” Having emphasized on salt, he threw down the rice ball he had been holding.

“But I… I thought they might taste better sweet…” With a scolded look, she flinched away when he took a step forward. Her eyes growing large, and with unshed tears.

Looming over her, he narrowed his eyes on the sight of the second rice ball. “Give me that!” Throwing the ball of food, he crushed it underneath the weight of his foot. 

“N—Stop! Please! I worked so hard!” She choked out, her eyes glued to the destroyed rice. Feeling helpless, she could simply gawk.

“—awful!” Koby whispered disappointedly, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I worked so hard to make those…” What else could she do? To go against him, someone who’s older, and has more strength than her. To feel the wrath? And have to pay consequences.

“Too bad.” He chuckled, snapping his fingers. One of the marines pulled out a neatly folded paper. “You must’ve not read the notice that was posted.” The once folded announcement is now neatly extended. “Those who assist criminals in any way will be executed, signed Marine Captain Morgan.” Gasping, her face paled. Trembling the slightest, the spoiled blonde laughed, not realizing what seriousness the matter holds. “It seems even little brats fear my daddy!” Finding hilarity, he covered his face to calm down.

“His daddy?” Luffy questioned, sniffing the air. Flinching in disgust, as smells of fear, panic, anger, and a nauseating arrogance. Regretting it, he pinched his nose.

“—ain morgan?!” Ignoring koby’s surprise, he carried on watching the scene.

“You!” The spoiled son turned to look at one of the marines, who stood up straighter. “Toss this kid out! Right now!” The soldier gasped, a look of nervousness gracing his features. Yet he made no gesture to move to follow the issued instructions. “I said throw her over the wall, soldier! Now if you don't follow my orders, I’ll tell my father!” Threatening the marine, he sent a glare causing them to flinch.

“Yes sir! I’ll do it!” The soldier agreed to the order, a feeling of reluctance.

“No!” The child opposed, pushing against him as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m sorry. Try curling up into a ball.” He whispered, hoisting her up. Adjusting his stance he throws her. Gritting his teeth, he wishes for this to end. The awful reign of a leader, and his spoiled son who uses his name as leverage.

“Ahhh!” Flinging himself away from the wall, luffy enveloped the girl in his embrace. Colliding harshly to the ground, they both gasp at the shock of the impact.

“Thanks mister!” She thanked, once they both sat up. Smiling, he stood up waiting for the pain to fade. Climbing back up the wall, he listens to the last of their conversation.

“Dead set on staying alive, aren’t you?” The spoiled blond asked, in a mocking tone, as he grinned.

“That’s right. I’m going to make it through the month without a problem.” His confidence enticing luffy, to watch as he shows his spirit that keeps fighting.

“Right. Good luck with that!” The blond answers with feigned support.

“Ten days.” 

“Oh, you still assume you’ll make it to those ten days.” The tone of voice sounded smug, as if there’s more than what he’s revealing. Turning he begins to walk away, both of the soldiers following.

 

Waiting for them to be gone, and out of sight he jumps down. “So I hear you're a bad guy…” luffy begins, watching his reaction. 

"You're still here?" He sounded annoyed, as when he first told them to get lost.

"You're stuck out here for all the world to see, and nothing. Are you really that strong?" Breathing in, he takes in the scent of steel, and what should be alarming that of blood. It should make him recoil, gag, and want to remove himself away from what could be considered a vile smell. He doesn't. If anything he wants to bask in it, but he won't. He needs to know who this person truly is, before he decides on him. 

"Mind your own business!" Glaring at luffy, he resolves that he's a dumbass with nothing better to do than bother him.

“I would—”

“You reek.” Zoro grimaces, the scent clinged to luffy’s skin wafting out, that of fear, anxiety, wrapped in the smell of rotting fish.

Sniffing himself, he frowned. “I don’t stink!” If anything he’s mixing koby’s scent as his.

“Sure.” His tone unconvinced, and an analyzing gaze. A shiver ran down his spine, the sense of adventure sparking even further.

A bright idea came to his head, as he rushed forward whacking his head into zoro's face. “See!” A groan came from the one that just got a face full of dark hair.

“Get your hair out of my face!” He snapped, moving his head only to stop. There's no particular odor that's coming off him, except for the scent attached, and the smell of dirt, ocean, and straw. 

Pulling back, "Told you I don't stink!" he smiled, proving his point when the green head stayed silent. 

“No, you need a shower.” Pouting for a bit, he can’t disagree. It’s been a while since he’s properly washed his skin, and hair. It makes him itch.

Beaming, luffy turns around. “See ya!” Taking a few steps forward, he pauses when a distressed scent caught him off guard.

“Wai—hold on! Could you pick that up for me?” Facing him, he took a glance at the crushed rice.

“It’s a dirt ball.” He pointed out, as he picked up the smashed rice.

Agitated with his previous encounter, he snaps. “Shut up! And give it to me.” Shoving the dirt covered food, he choked it down. “Tell her I said it was delicious.” His head hung once again.

~~~    ~~~    ~~~    ~~~

“You again.” He commented unfazed, a little expectant that he’d return. “The answer’s still no.”

“I’m Luffy! Promise to join my pirate crew, and I’ll untie you.” He bargained, a large smile playing at his lips.

“What?!” How can this person be so dense, and not understand the meaning of when someone says no.

“My pirate crew.” He repeated, wondering if he wasn’t loud enough. “I’m looking for people to join.” 

“Hell no! I have my own ambitions.” Zoro argued, disagreeing with even the thought of being in a pirate crew.

“Why not?” He frowned, confused why’d he reject.

“I don’t want to be a pirate! You get that?!” But why not? Being a pirate is fun! And freedom! How can’t he like that?

A smile broke out on luffy’s face. “I’ve decided! You’re joining my crew!” The tied demon frowned, annoyed, and ready to end this, sighed at the persistent pest.

Remembering koby mentioning he wields swords. “I heard you can use a sword.” 

“I’d show you…” An amazing idea struck luffy.

“If I get your sword you have to join me!” Then he ran off.

“Wha—genius it’s the other way!” Shock coursed through him, he must really be an idiot.

“I know!” Zoro watched perplexed, what the hell was he dragged into. Especially after watching him rocket himself towards the building.

~~~    ~~~    ~~~    ~~~

Well damn, he’s a pirate now. Can’t say he regrets it, though his captain is a little touchy. Rubbing his scent all over himself, surprisingly without being repulsed by it.

#one piece #zoro x luffy kinda #roronoa zoro #zoro roronoa #zoro x luffy #luffydmonkey #monkey d. luffy #straw hat luffy #Marine base #Koby #Ff #Fanfic #ABO #alpha beta omega #Second version

[crab-instruments]

What’s Coming to Me Part 15

Master <Part 14 Part 16>

Pairing: Crosshair x Sniper Reader (GN)

Rating and warning: killing and ambivalence to killing

Beta Reader: @unfocusedfish

a/n: My beta reader Fish shared this song about WWI snipers from Sabaton many months ago, so I'm sharing it with y'all. A Ghost in the Trenches Historical version

A few seconds ticked by, your heart beat keeping time. Everyone was suspended in silence. The elevator made a ding! ready to close the doors and move on. The sound acted as a signal for your instincts, setting you back in motion. You spun the knife in your hand and flicked it at one of the guards with a snap of your wrist, shooting the other two quickly with your rifle a moment after it left your fingers. They dropped to the ground, stopping the doors from closing. The sound of the doors closing on their bodies before springing open again filled the tense atmosphere.

Tsk. Four people killed in less than two minutes. Being good is more difficult than I thought.

You stepped over the bodies, treating them more like obstacles and not bothering to hide them this time. There was too much disruption to keep up the façade, the facility was alerted to the invaders. The three of you would stick out. Once outside the door, you slung your rifle around front and gestured for the two to follow your lead. They hesitated, but you didn’t give them time to think of another plan. You crouched forward, hugging the wall and staying out of sight.

The other two close behind, you pulled out your holopad to check on the location of The Batch. Not too far from your current route, it would be easy to grab the general and commander’s equipment and reconvene. Hopefully you were right about where their equipment was being stored as well as possibly finding something to unlock their cuffs.

The archway at the end of the hall was large and important looking, perfect for storing prisoner’s belongings and discussing evil plans. You could see large computer screens and consoles with assorted buttons. Unfortunately, it was packed with guards and technicians. You quickly pulled the Jedi and clone out of their sightline, squatting down lower before being be spotted.

“Watch it!” Commander Scowl did not appreciate your manhandling but your patience was all but gone. You shot the clone a look before remembering it would be obscured by your helmet. Assessing the number of men inside the room, it would be easier for you to snipe them off one at a time, but you couldn’t guarantee the safety of the two in your care. Leaving them alone was impractical, as well. With the first taste of freedom, you were sure they would split and possibly get in your way. You looked down at the tools at your disposal. If you ran at least half way into the room, the attention would be away from the door. You could drop a smoke bomb to decrease visibility. Hmm… this could be fun.

You shoved your rifle in the clone’s hands, much to his confusion. His expression was perfect, well worth the price of admission. You pulled out and extended your collapsible Kali sticks, the Beskar shining in the dim hall light. With one quick look back inside the room, you motioned for them to stay put and hoped they understood. The creases in the clone’s face became deeper as he tried to understand his current situation, but the Jedi recovered faster.

“You’re with Clone Force 99, aren’t you?” You stopped prepping your smoke grenade to give a thumbs up. Finally, you had some semblance of trust. The warm smile Kenobi gave in response almost made you drop the grenade, your brain stuttering. He really was attractive, Hunter wasn’t kidding. Shaking it off, you pulled the pin and rolled it forward into the room. The smoke filled the room and the guards shouted in response.

Not giving them time to react, you burst through the room, slicing the air with your Kali sticks. It took more effort to knock down each guard than with a blaster shot; a few solid hits before they fell down unconscious. Blocking an incoming blade with one stick, you swung the other at the guard’s torso before smacking him down in the head with the first. A movement in the corner of your eye forced you to dodge, rolling out of the way of a few blaster shots. Popping out of the roll, you blocked two blaster shots, curving the last one to hit the shooter.

The smoke cloud started to dissipate, revealing only two left standing. Getting a running start, you slid feet first and used a stick to topple over one as you slipped by. You jumped up and gave a knockout combo to the other who was unprepared for your change in elevation. As he crumpled to the ground, you caught your breath, the injuries setting in. A scratching noise caught your attention, a guard still crawling on the ground attempting to be sneaky. Rolling your eyes behind your helmet, you collapsed one Kali stick and flicked your wrist, the Beskar bludgeoning him unconscious with a clank. You picked up the discarded stick and holstered both.

You studied the room now that you weren’t in attack mode. Next to the giant screen were four drawers; perfect for placing prisoner equipment. The body closest to you had a keycard clip to their belt. It was easily pilfered and opened the drawers. There was a clone helmet, regulation blaster, and what you imagined to be a lightsaber among various other prisoner weapons. You picked up the blaster and hilt, placing the items in the helmet. Before you left, you searched the body that had the key card once more to find the keys to their cuffs.

Shaking off the pain, you slowly trudged over to where you left the clone and the Jedi. Before you could pass the threshold, your own rifle barrel was pointed in your face. Commander Scowl was ready to kill you, even after knowing you were the last one standing. Where’s the trust, man?

“Stand down, Cody.” General Attractive placed a hand lightly on the rifle, lowering it away from a kill shot. The clone sneered but he couldn’t go against his general. You watched as he twitched under your cruel gaze, or what he assumed was somewhat hostile. Your helmet covered your expression and you enjoyed watching him squirm, unable to do what he wanted.

When an uncomfortable amount of time passed, you shook your head and unlocked the cuffs. The two flinched in surprise, their hands now free. With one hand, you requested your rifle back and offered the helmet with the other. The Jedi must be itching for his lightsaber back, the idea of him being in pain from being far from it crossed your mind.

TV static and garbled voices from the room behind you caught your attention. You turned, quickly studying each display. The Batch had split up and covered three screens. Seeing as they weren’t actively hiding, you alerted Hunter of your completion status. He gave an affirmative grunt and ordered you to regroup with the squad.

You confirmed but didn’t move from the console keyboard, studying each panel closely before switching to a new camera angle. After staring at each poor quality screen three times, you finally got a jagged, rushed movement on one. Weaver had an entourage and was heading towards the loading bay.

Gar hut’uun! Running away? When I’m done with you, you will wake up tomorrow in three different barrels, in three different systems!

The clang of metal on metal reverberated in the room as you slammed your fist into the panel. The Jedi and the clone balked and looked in your direction with differing emotions expressed on their faces.

“Ah, I can sense you’re angry about something, why don’t you—” General Attractive stepped into your space to calm you, but you didn’t need him to. You were a professional, a momentary lapse in focus wouldn’t stop you. You swiftly locked down the loading bay, delaying Weaver long enough for you to put a bullet in his head or a knife in his neck or—

Your body turned with a snap as you quickly readied your sniper and headed toward The Batch, pausing to signal for the other two to follow curtly. Commander Scowl didn’t show any more annoyance towards you than normal, but the Jedi studied your face before moving. Explosions and vibrations made it easy to locate The Batch, meeting their all out attack in a central location. The clone rushed toward the battlefield, broken starfighters and other space crafts littered around the large room. Based on the state of the ships, they were here for maintenance on top of being caught in the battle.

Staying back, you provided suppressing fire to cover him as he disappeared into smoke and field of blaster shots. The Jedi stayed back and blocked blaster shots but made no attempt or indication to push forward. It took all of your focus to stay in place and not immediately confront Weaver. It was something you had to do alone, so you had no plans on having any followers. Trying not to show your frustration, you gestured for him to move in.

“I would join them, but I worry you’re going to do something dangerous and ill-advised on your own. You have that look about you, I’m unfortunately very experienced in spotting it.” His playful yet concerning tone was enough to let your guard down for a moment. You huffed, a weird sound inside your helmet. You weren’t sure if the Jedi heard, turning to see a tiny, victorious grin on his face.

This Jedi is getting in the way.

Another explosion near the two of you caught your attention and the Jedi could no longer ignore his men. “Don’t do anything reckless!” It wasn’t long before he vanished into the smoke. Once out of sight, you turned off your comm completely. Couldn’t have any interruptions.

Diving to dodge a falling cat walk, you rolled out of the way and ran towards the loading bay. Any unlucky guard who stood in the way of your rampage was shot or stabbed with barely any thought towards the new leaf you were attempting to turn over. Removing this man from existence was more important than a moral code. When you finally breached the loading bay, you were met with heavily armed guards. With a concentrated fury fueling every move, you took each one down efficiently, sacrificing dodging approaching blows for speed. One guard threw a substance that stuck to your helmet, making it difficult to see and leaving you open to a few hits. Aggressively, you ripped off your helmet and threw it hard at one of the assailants before stepping forward and shooting him in his face.

When all of the guards within a few meters had cleared, you took a few forced, haggard breaths. You weren’t able to hide the ferocity on your face, the once emotionless, professional mask cracked. The high pitched hum was still ringing from the explosions but you could hear the clicks of blasters as the barrels pointed in your direction. Pushing your messy hair out of your face with a free hand, you focused your eyes on the next wave of attackers. You concentrated on finding the fastest way to take them down, not accounting for the injuries you would sustain by using that method. Just survive and complete the mission.

You got one shot off before Weaver’s voice cut through, halting everyone. “Hold your fire!” Though you could hear his voice, you couldn’t locate him. A slow clap reverberated in the large room, each echo filled with the same arrogance as the original. It grated on your nerves, filing down the little patience you had left.

“Shev’la. Oh, how far you’ve fallen. You were once the best bounty hunter in the entire galaxy and now… now you’re reduced to rescue missions? Working with a team doesn’t suit you, you shine too brightly on your own.” Your grip on your sniper tightened. There was one time those words would have gotten to you, and you would have agreed with them. But he no longer had that hold on you. He’s wrong... Just survive and complete the mission…

Weaver appeared from your left, dragging a body wrapped up in wires next to him. A recognizable color scheme and tattooed face came into the light as the body was dropped to the ground. Crosshair’s brown eyes gazed up at you, your weakness out in the open. “Before you think about shooting me, understand that I’ve got a bomb on him that will go off if my vitals drop. Of course, you could shoot me anyway, accomplishing what you came here to do and what you failed to.” Weaver gestured with his head for his men to load up on a ship, leaving the three of you alone. His eyes were dull and lifeless, yet expressed his malice. The color was the same as the blue on the badge attached to his uniform. The only thing about him that wasn’t particular and neat were his eyebrows, even his evil smirk symmetrical.  

“Never did I expect you to flip. Never! And to the clones, no less! Oh, it’s almost tragic when you think about it. The clones you now care for as your own will turn against you one day and very soon. It’s written in the stars… or rather, their programming, but the stars sounds more striking.” Weaver shrugged, nonchalantly.

Everything about his mannerisms were aggressively curt, radiating a powerful anger and coerced, cheery attitude. “I wish I could be there when it happens, the look on your face when you realize everything you’ve acquired the past few months will come crashing down with one measly command.” Weaver placed a foot on Crosshair’s body and leaned over. “I had hoped to take you with me when the Republic fell, but this is a fitting end for someone like you; to die completely and utterly alone. You’ll get what’s coming to you.”

You tried your best not to let him manipulate you. Weaver was tipping his hand, revealing so much information, but what did that all mean for you and The Batch? What did the future hold? What if he was right?

Weaver used that moment to shoot you in the shin, forcing you to fall forward on your other knee. He chuckled before heading towards his ship, not bothering to rush. Crosshair was squirming in the binds, frantic. You rushed towards him, tripping over your now unusable leg. You snagged your helmet along the way before crumbling down next to the clone. You tried to get the wires around him lose but when your fingers fumbled onto the bomb, you froze. Carefully, you removed it and a very stupid idea popped into your head. Crosshair caught your eyes. He knew exactly what you were thinking and nodded in approval.

The ship was about to fly out so you didn’t have much time. You tried to put the helmet on Crosshair but his eyes pleaded with you. He almost won the silent argument before you pulled out the trump card; the rock. You pushed it into his face before shoving it into one of his hands. The clone stopped fighting you and accepted the helmet.

Weaver’s ship was a few meters off the ground, building up with potential energy. With the bomb in your dominate hand, you threw it towards the ship before lining up the shot. You waited for the moment the bomb was closest to the ship in it’s curve back to the planet and would do the most damage.

I’ll get what’s mine but I’ll make sure you get what’s yours.

You pulled the trigger and your ears were filled with a high pitched whine and the heat from the explosion engulfed your body. The last thing you saw before everything went black was the clone who changed your life.

Part 16

Notes:

I feel X Gon' Give It To Ya is appropriate for the fight scene.

I've mentioned Shev'la using Kali (escrima) sticks before, but they are one of my favorite weapons in CoD. I'm treating them almost baton like and made of Beskar, so they can reflect blaster shots but not as accurately as lightsabers.

Gif made by me, video of my game play :)

Mando'a

Gar hut’uun - You coward

Tag List: @rintheemolion @salamiwrites @lokigirlszendaya @jinxedleo @dionysuskid21 @awkwardwookie @welcometothepedroverse @gabile18 @xxglossii @imalovernotahater @littlemisscare-all @seeley-marie23 @badbatch-simp24 @goddess-of-congeniality @sunipostsstuff @admiralmaple @dwarfnip @whatshxrname @ttzamara

Tags Not Working: @techssexythighs @ladydiomede @crosshair-is-the-superior-clone

If you want to be added to the tag list, just send me an ask or fax me a picture of a crab

#crosshair x reader #what's coming to me #crosshair x you #the bad batch x you #the bad batch x reader #bad batch x reader #bad batch x you #tbb x reader #tbb x you #crab fics

[snowdice]

742 (Chapter 2: Here Again)

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Virgil/Patton (romantic, but could be read as platonic)

Characters:

Main: Virgil, Patton

Appear: Janus, Logan, Roman

Mentioned: Remus

Summary:

Virgil Sanders died alone on a hill at the edge of town by his own hand near the end of his senior year of high school. Patton had never known him; he was also the last person to see him alive.

Despite having barely ever talked to Virgil, Patton never could get over the boy’s death and he could never get rid of the sketchbook Virgil had pressed into his hands before running off that day. It didn’t matter that the number of drawings of Patton himself was… a bit creepy given the context that they hadn’t really known each other. The sketchbook was always somehow a comfort to him.

When Patton is mortally injured, he finds himself reaching for that comfort and suddenly ends up in his old high school with a dead boy standing front of him. Now, it’s a race against the clock to survive a danger Patton had no memories of being in last time with a boy who knew more about him than he really should. If they’re fast enough, maybe this time, no one has to die.

Notes: temporary major character death, suicide (temporary and self-sacrificial, not because of mental health reasons), a bit of gross out stuff (a character walked through what is in essence digestive fluid of a giant slug monster)  

This is the chapter by chapter repost of my story for the Big Bang 2022 event. You can see the whole story here.

A special thanks to @kiapet2 for being my beta reader and to @easy-meta-knight for the artwork. It was fun working with you!

Check out the awesome artwork for this fic here!

Part 1

They smacked into the ground hard, though not as hard as Patton had hit the ground only moments before when the sidewalk had crumbled underneath him.

Wait…

What was happening?

His mind was having trouble catching up to what was going on, trying to draw a logical line between the last thing he remembered and what was happening now.

He’d gone to his favorite coffee shop, had started to walk home, and had fallen because of… something. Now he was in an empty hallway. Not only that, he seemed to be in an empty hallway in his old high school.

He hadn’t even stood up from the first time he’d fallen. Yet, he’d just fallen again. He was on the floor. He… He was…

“Huh?” Virgil Sanders sputtered. Patton shouldn’t recognize his voice. He’d seen his picture thousands of times at this point, but he didn’t know his voice. Maybe Patton had heard him speak once or twice when a teacher had called on him, but he couldn’t have recalled what he sounded like only 5 seconds ago. Yet, at the same time, somehow the voice was familiar despite the fact that they’d never held and actual conversation before he’d died.

Virgil was dead, but he was also talking to Patton.

“Patton?” Virgil continued when Patton froze. “What?”

Patton looked down at his shocked and confused face. He looked exactly like the school picture they’d put in the newspaper after he’d died, down to the frown on his face. Patton had cut the picture away from the rather impersonal obituary on impulse one day. He still had the photo hidden in a book on his nightstand. He’d never been able to bring himself to throw it away. Not when the person in the photo was dead.

The person in the photo was laying under Patton and staring up at him.

The person in the photo was dead. And he was laying under him.

Patton didn’t know how those two concepts could coexist, but he did know one thing. His hands turned to fists in the front of Virgil’s shirt. “You can’t!” he cried.

“Can’t… what?” Virgil asked, his eyes darting over Patton’s face.

“You can’t die!”

Virgil’s mouth opened a bit, making him look like a very confused fish. It’d be funny in any other situation. 

“H-how do you…?” He trailed off, studying Patton for a long moment. “Do you remember something?”

“I remember everything.”

“How do you…” He paused, biting his lip. “What exactly do you remember?”

“I remember you die,” Patton said.

He looked confused. “You mean you remember I’m going to die,” said Virgil.

“No, I remember you dying!” Patton said, grip tightening even more in the front of his shirt against his will.

“But I… haven’t died,” Virgil said, face twisting into a frown.

“But you’re going to!”

“But I… but I haven’t.”

“Yes!” Patton looked down at the clearly not dead boy. “…No…?” He grimaced. “I don’t know. I’m confused.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty confused too,” said Virgil. “I feel like we’re having two separate conversations. What exactly do you mean by ‘I’m going to die’, or have died or whatever?”

“I…” Patton said. He took a breath and gathered his thoughts for a moment. “Today’s March 15th, right?”

Virgil nodded.

“You died… die today,” Patton told him. “You give me your sketchbook and then no one sees you ever again. They find your body on the hill at the edge of town tomorrow morning.”

Something funny flickered across Virgil’s face. 

“Tomorrow?” he asked like he’d never heard the word before.

“Yeah,” Patton said. “You died today, and they found your body tomorrow.”

Virgil still seemed lost for a second, but then he seemed to shake himself. “Wait, so then, are you saying you’re from the future?”

“I,” Patton said, stopping to think for a moment. “I guess I am.”

“Like, the real proper future, not like from 10:37pm tonight?”

“Yeah,” Patton confirmed. “I have no idea how it happened, but it’s been 2 and a half years since you died for me. I… something was going on. I don’t know. I hit my head and then you were here and giving me the sketchbook. Again.”

“You’re from the future.” Virgil leaned his head back against the linoleum tiles with a clunk; his eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. 

Patton winced at the noise. 

“What even is my life?” Virgil asked. It did not sound like he was talking to Patton.

“Worth living,” Patton immediately said.

Virgil’s face scrunched up; he turned to squint up at Patton.

“Look,” Patton began to blabber, “I know we don’t exactly know each other, but I’m sure many people do care about you, even if you can’t see it. Even if for some reason no one does right now, I’m sure many people will care about you in the future. You seem like a nice person. I could be your friend. You don’t need to-”

“I’m not suicidal, Pat,” Virgil sighed, cutting him off. “Not really. Not like that. I am planning to die today, yes, but it’s not like… I don’t want to die.”

“You don’t?” Patton asked.

“No,” he breathed. “I really, really, don’t. Don’t get me wrong, life’s not great right now. I miss my mom and dad. My foster parents are kind of cold. I’m a bit behind in school and I don’t have many friends in town, because I wasn’t in the best headspace when I moved here. I don’t want to die though.”

“Then why do you?” Patton asked.

“I’m just,” he said; there was a hitch to his voice. “I’m really tired, Pat. I’m not getting anywhere. I literally can’t keep going anymore.”

“That… sounds suicidal,” Patton said.

“It’s not,” Virgil said. “It’s… you have no idea how much I’d like to see tomorrow right now.”

“Then why are you going to die?” asked Patton.

“I don’t have a choice. I’ve tried so many different things so many different times. I literally don’t think I can go any more rounds, and I’m scared of dying, but I’m more scared of what could happen if I run out of energy to keep this up.”

“Keep what up?” Patton asked. “Rounds?”

 He sighed, and finally moved to push Patton off himself and sit up. He looked to the side and reached out an arm. The sketchbook had fallen and skidded to land next to him when Patton had tackled him. However, he froze the second he touched the cover.

“What the hell?” Virgil pulled the book into his lap, looking down and staring at it like it was an alien.

“What?” Patton asked, looking at the book himself. It looked the same as it always had.

“How did it-? When did it-? Why?” Virgil sputtered, sliding his finger along the cover.

“What?” Patton repeated more insistently.

“It’s become a praetectio somehow.”

“Uh,” Patton said. “What’s that.”

Virgil glanced at him and then back at the book with a frown. “It’s a type of protection charm,” he answered, “one of the strongest types.”

“A protection charm?” Patton asked, confused.

Virgil turned to blink at him. “Right,” he said. “You wouldn’t know about any of that today.”

“Huh?”

Virgil exhaled heavily. “Alright,” he said. “Let’s do the spiel one last time. My name is Virgil Sanders. It’s a little hard to believe, but please hear me out. Magic is real, and I’m what’s known as a mage. Except I’m not really a mage, because you have to study a certain amount to be considered one, but both of my parents were mages. I have magic in my blood and some amount of knowledge about how to use it.”

“This town,” he gestured with one hand to the air around them, “is currently in danger. It will be destroyed, and everyone will die at 10:37pm. I don’t know how to save it. Or, at least, I don’t know how to save it permanently. The only thing I am able to do is a band-aid. When the town was destroyed the first time, I panicked and my magic responded, putting the entire town into a time loop. It takes me back 12 hours before everything ends. The only thing that persists through the time loops are my memories and…” He held up the sketchbook. “This. This is a time anchor. It was the closest object to me when everything went to shit, and my magic latched onto it. It’s what keeps the time loop stable. It also helps me keep track of the loops. Every day before 10:37pm, I make sure to draw a picture to remind myself of that day, and I label it with the number of loops it’s been. The picture I draw remains even when the loop resets. Currently, there are 742 drawings. We have gone through 741 versions of today before this one. Yes, we have had this conversation multiple times.”

“You’re stuck in a time loop?” Patton asked, alarmed.

Virgil smiled slightly. “And you always are the only one who believes me, first try. Though,” he added, “if you just time traveled yourself, it’s probably even easier to believe.” He paused with a contemplative look on his face. “That brings up the question as to how you time traveled. What happened to get you here?”

“Hmm,” Patton said. “You said something’s weird about the sketchbook, right?”

“Yeah, it’s not a time loop anchor anymore. Or, well, I think it still is, but it’s not just that.”

“Well,” Patton hedged. “I had touched it right before I ended up back here. I’d gotten knocked over and was dizzy and confused, but I saw the sketchbook in my bag. There was a weird hole burned into the bottom of my bag that hadn’t been there before. I reached for it and suddenly was here.”

Virgil looked down at the sketchbook. “Oh. “His eyes widened in realization. “It must be… the praetectio, it must be for you.”

“For me?”

“You must have been in danger in the future. The book was trying to reach you to protect you.” 

He looked over at Patton, something funny in his eyes. 

“I must have… when I gave this to you, I somehow charmed it to protect you. I don’t know how. I don’t even know how to make one. I didn’t even think I had enough magic left for anything, let alone something this powerful.”

“But why did it send me back in time?” Patton asked.

“I’m not sure. I guess since it was also a time anchor, time travel is in its repertoire of how to protect you. It apparently saw that as the best option in that moment.”

“So, it protected me from whatever was going on in the future?” Patton asked.

Virgil scowled down at the book at that. “Well, it didn’t do a very good job of it,” he scolded the cover. “You were supposed to protect him, not take him back in time to a time where he was almost eaten by a giant slug!”

“Giant… slug?”

Virgil stopped glowering at the book to look up at him with a grimace. “Yeah. We’re currently in the… well, it’s not really a mouth. It’s a stomach, kind of, but it’s not in the slug. It’s like an outside stomach… thing. We’re in the that of a giant magic slug monster.” He shuddered a bit and then seemed to gather himself at least somewhat. “It’s gross,” he said. “It’s a horrible death. For everyone. Everyone in town dies. Except for me for some reason. Parent death magic things, I think. I don’t know. I haven’t actually studied any of this for real.” He sighed. “I know more about it now than I did 700 rounds ago, but there is literally one beginners magic book in this entire town and it’s the one that I brought with me. I have read it so many times and it is not sufficient for this situation. Honestly, your brother has been more of a help figuring out what’s going on than that book, despite him having a maximum of 11 hours with the knowledge that magic even exists.”

“You know my brother?” Patton asked.

“At this point, I probably know everyone in this town better than they know themselves.”

“So then,” Patton said, “all of those drawings in your sketchbook. Those were real? You knew me?”

Virgil’s cheeks suddenly flushed a bright red. “Oh right,” he coughed. “Uh, well, see…” 

He curled into himself, his shoulders hunching and his hands coming up to hide his face. 

“I was not expecting to be alive to see a version of you who had seen those pictures.”

“They’re very good,” Patton said.

“I have literally never shown anyone my drawings before except my mother.” He curled up even tighter; his goal seemed to be to become part of the floor, “and there are so many pictures of you.”

“Well, I really liked all of them,” Patton said.

“Ahhh,” he softly screamed into his hands. Patton couldn’t help but be amused at him with his reddening face and form trying to disappear into his hoodie. He’d pulled his hands into his sleeves to make sweater paws which were pressed to his face.

“Sorry,” Patton said, trying and failing not to smile. “I didn’t mean to invade your privacy.”

“No,” Virgil said into his hands. “I wanted you to have it. I just did not expect to have time to face the mortifying consequences.”

Patton’s smile faded at the reminder of what he’d planned to do. “Why are you planning to die today?”

Virgil breathed out, his shoulder slumping instead of hunching now. “Like I said, I’m tired.” A hand rubbed over his face. “I only have so much magic, and since I’m the one keeping the time loop stable, my magic reserves aren’t resetting when time does. They’re basically empty at this point.”

His fingertips tapped against the sketchbook lightly in an anxious pattern.

“I may have reversed time hundreds of times for everyone else, but that doesn’t give me unlimited time. I’ve tried everything I can do from within this town, and everything to try to get out of town. Nothing has worked, and I know if I keep going, eventually the loop will fail. And eventually… eventually is really soon. I may have even been pushing with this one, but I…”

His voice broke then, and this time his sweater paws were not hiding a red, embarrassed face.

“I wanted a chance to say goodbye, and then to reset it all one last time, so you wouldn’t have to live with it afterwards.”

Patton felt his heart drop. “Oh.” 

His hand reached out and he brushed a knuckle across the hands still hiding Virgil’s face. Virgil peaked teary eyes at him when he did. 

The lurch in Patton’s chest didn’t feel like just casual empathy for a stranger. “Oh, honey.”

“I’m protected from being killed by the slug. It doesn’t even really know I’m here because of the protections around me,” Virgil said, “but if I do it myself… well, with my magical heritage, my magical essence is worth about 5 towns filled with normal people of this size. I don’t know a lot about the monster trying to feed on us… on you, but I know it feeds on innate magic in blood. I’m pretty sure if I bleed out on that hill and it feeds on that blood, it won’t have enough room for the town and it’ll just go. At least, that’s what I’d hoped would happen. Even if it doesn’t work, at least I did everything I could.” 

He shot a half smile at Patton. 

“And it does work, apparently,” he said, gesturing at him. “That…that’s nice to know.”

“No,” Patton said at his resigned tone. “No, you can’t. You’re not allowed to give up.”

“Patton, there is literally nothing I can do. I have nothing left.”

“Well,” Patton said, “well, you did that!” He pointed at the sketchbook in Virgil’s lap. “You made that, didn’t you? You thought you had nothing left when you started this last loop, but then you did that.”

“I don’t know how I did this, Pat,” he said, tapping his fingers lightly on the cover again. “I don’t know enough magic to even know if the magic used to make this is different. It could be coming from another source and if it is, I can’t consciously tap into that. All I know is I can feel myself draining, and that the time loop has been getting unstable these last few times. It’s been taking longer to reset.”

“You have to keep trying,” Patton stressed.

“No,” he said firmly.

“Yes!”

“We’ve had this conversation before,” Virgil said, frustrated. “I’ve made up my mind. You and your brother and Roman, even my foster parents who barely care about me… everyone in this town are not worth risking just for me. It’s the only thing that could work and it will work. If you’ve seen tomorrow, then you’re proof of that.”

“I won’t let you!” Patton snapped.

Virgil just sighed, tiredly. “This is why I didn’t tell you today,” he said wistfully.

“Please don’t give up,” Patton begged. “You’ve already come so far.”

“And gotten nowhere,” Virgil argued, turning his head away. “Literally, nothing I’ve done has changed anything.”

Patton watched him for a moment. His face was impassive, but his fingers were still tapping that anxious rhythm on the sketchbook. 

“But,” Patton said slowly, “but that’s not true anymore. You have done something that’s changed things. Things are different right now.” 

He reached out and put his hand on the sketchbook next to Virgil’s. “I’m here. I’m from years in the future with extra knowledge that didn’t exist in this loop until right now and we have this sketchbook charm thing. That has mean something. It has to give us something else to try. You can’t give up when, after all of these tries, something has finally changed.”

Virgil didn’t respond.

“You made this book to protect me. It’s not going to bring me back here just for you to die on me again.”

“Yeah, well, it’s probably a stupid protection charm,” he spat. “It’s from my stupid magic, so it’s not like it has any idea what it’s doing.”

“Mister, you’ve held this loop together for what’s functionally years. Don’t you think it’s time for you to give yourself some credit?”

That got Virgil to finally look at him; he slowly turned to face him, a pinched, almost annoyed, expression on his face. “Really?” he asked.

“What?” Patton asked innocently.

“Do you know how many time puns I’ve heard over the past 12 hours times 742, Patton?”

“Puns are never a waste of time,” Patton said.

“Stop.”

“What?” Patton asked. “Is it ticking you off?”

Virgil put a hand over his face, but Patton could see his hidden smile.

Patton smiled too and let his hand slide across the sketchbook to cover the hand Virgil had left on the cover. “You made this protection charm,” he said, “and it sounds like you made it because you care about me a lot. Enough to befriend me over and over despite the time puns. Would any part of you have made this in a way where it could hurt me?”

Virgil looked at him and swallowed. “No,” he said softly.

“You know, even the first time around, when I didn’t know we knew each other, it still hurt me. Even when you were just a name in the local newspapers and a few sketches in a sketchbook, it hurt. My memories of whatever happened through all those loops might not be up here,” he tapped the side of his head, “but I’m pretty sure I’ve always known deep down that I cared about you. Even years later, I suddenly saw your face again and…” he trailed off and to prove his point, a wave of feeling washed over him. He had to bite his lip to prevent tears from spilling down his cheeks.

“Patton…” Virgil said. He closed his eyes. “I’m sorry I did this to you.”

“Don’t be,” Patton said. “Don’t you dare be sorry. I should be sorry for not figuring out a way to fix it the first time.”

“It’s not your job to fix it,” Virgil said.

“It’s not your job either,” Patton said. “You’re, what? 17? You didn’t deserve to have to go through all of this and you don’t deserve to die. It’s not your job to keep a time loop going to try to save the town but…” Patton paused and squeezed Virgil’s hand that was still laying on the sketchbook. “I’m asking you to try one more time anyway. One more try for me. With me. Please.”

Virgil looked at him for a long few moments, almost like he had all of the time in the world, when in reality the clock was quickly ticking towards its end. He turned the hand under Patton’s over, so their palms met and then squeezed his hand. 

“Okay,” he said. “One more time for you.”

“Thank you,” Patton said, squeezing his hand back.

“Okay,” Virgil said again. “If we’re going to try this again for real, we need to do a couple of things.” He glanced at his watch and hissed out a breath. “We only have seven hours.”

“Well, then,” Patton said with a smile, “we’d better move fast. What do we need to do?”

Want to read more? Click below!

Part 3

My Masterpost.

#sanders sides #moxiety #virgil sanders #patton sanders #tsss #logan sanders #roman sanders #janus sanders #adriana writes #742 #temporary major character death #temporary suicide #not pieces fic #gross out stuff

[khttrpg]

KHTTRPG Job Class: Witch (V2)

(Please note this is beta material, and subject to change)

An unusual class which focuses on illusions and magic of the mind, witches like Namine are capable of incredible feats, given the time to work their magic.

Witch Spells

At your first level in this class, you gain access to spells with the Manipulate tag. For each level you have in this class, you can choose one spell with the Manipulate tag. This spell does not count against the number of spells you can learn. After first level, you can also choose to Amplify spells using this feature.

Illusory Item

At second level, you can alter a person’s perception and magically make the changes real, at least to the eyes of others. As an action, you can spend 1 MP to change the appearance of an object, creating illusory color, material, and/or shape. This magic cannot significantly change the object’s size.

Alternatively, you can use this magic to create a small illusory trinket. This trinket fits in the palm of your hand and offers no mechanical benefits.

Rewrite Intention

At third level, you have learned how to interfere with a target’s immediate short-term memory on the fly, enough so to give you an edge in battle. As an Interrupt, you can spend 1 MP to change or redirect a target’s Action to any other Action of your choice.

Additional Stat Bonus

At fourth level, you gain an additional +1 to one Stat of your choice, on top of the usual Stat gain you obtain at a Major Level.

Quick Chain

At fifth level, you can work quicker to change out memories, and quicker to restore them. You can expend 1 MP as an action to change a character’s Attack Stat to any other Talent until the end of their next turn.

Read Memory

At sixth level, you can use your weapon or magical focus to interpret a person’s memory experiences, learning something about their past. As an action, pick a target that you can see. You can learn one fact about them, potentially including one of their stats. You can use this ability on a target a number of times equal to your Magic Stat before you need to Take a Break to recharge.

Illusory Appearance

At seventh level, your ability to form illusions out of people’s perceptions now extends from objects to people themselves. As an action, you can expend 1 MP per person to take on an illusory form. This magic cannot make someone look significantly larger or smaller than they actually are; however, it can make it appear as though someone has appendages they do not have, such as a fish tail. The targets of the feat gain no special benefits from the illusion other than their appearance.

Additional Stat Bonus

At eighth level, you gain an additional +1 to one Stat of your choice, on top of the usual Stat gain you obtain at a Major Level.

Alter Memory

At ninth level, you have learned how to rewrite the links in a person’s memory, altering them to a limited degree. Given one minute of interrupted work, you can change one major detail about one of the memories of a target you can see, including a person, location, action taken, or emotional response.

A character whose memory you rewrite can temporarily exchange two of their Stats as they recall certain skills to forget others. The Stats return to their original numbers after Taking A Break, but unless you choose to allow the memory to return, the target retains their new, false memory permanently.

Distant Connection

At tenth level, you have learned to see past physical boundaries into memory itself. You no longer have to see a target to perform your Read and Alter Memory Feats.

Illusory Reality

At eleventh level, your illusions have become solid, tangible parts of the world when used. When you create an illusion on an item or person, that illusion extends to the sensation of touch, meaning that it is no longer exposed if someone tries to hold it, even if it is a different shape from the original object. In addition, if the illusion is on a person, the person can take benefits from this form the same way they would from the Alter Body spell.

Additional Stat Bonus

At twelfth level, you gain an additional +1 to one Stat of your choice, on top of the usual Stat gain you obtain at a Major Level.

Mind Break

At thirteenth level, you can break the chains linking together a character’s memory, completely destroying their sense of self. As an action, you can expend all of your MP to put a character you can see into a brief coma, devoid of any awareness of the world around them. While in this state, a character is immune to damage as their body compensates for their mind’s reconstructing itself. This coma lasts for ten minutes. You can only use this feature once before needing to Take A Break to recharge it.

#kh #kingdom hearts #khttrpg #rpg #ttrpg #previews #yes i still havent written the flavor text no i will not be doing so until the very last minute

[eskelsgirl]

So Romantic

(Title is still in the works) This is just a brief prologue. With an abrupt ending. Main pairing: Dumb Alpha Vesermir x Original Male omega character Tags: Alpha/Omega/Beta au, dubious consent, mages made them do it.

Their mating was one of convenience rather than affection - at the beginning. Larkin was a small man, not unusual for an omega but strange for a Witcher.

A stature made more for a cat than a wolf. He was overlooked as a possible mate by many, but then Larkin didn’t mind his single status, preferring to stay at the keep helping to take care of the pups left in Kaer Morhen’s care, then trudging along the path, killing creatures for coin. Vesemire spent most of his time on the path, only returning when deemed necessary. Doing his duty to his pack, contributing to their stores in coin and children. Content to allow someone else to take on the few child-surprises he’s collected over his many years on the path, also enjoying the single life. The winters have been getting longer and colder, Witcher’s held up for months in Kaer Morhen, but no half-breed children were born - well born alive - those that made it didn’t make it thru their final trials to turn from half-breed to full. With their numbers failing and unable to sustain themselves, there were really no other options. Many unmated witchers were highly encouraged to mate. It was once such winter when it happened; the two were thrust into a heated room, and two potions sat on a low table, taunting them meant to induce their rut and heat, respectively. The hints and threats were obvious; it was just a matter of stubbornness regarding how long the two would be there. But there was no mistake; only mating or death would allow them to leave this room.

Once past the point of stubbornness, Vesemir is the first to relent, downing his rut potions and carelessly throwing the bottle aside. Larkin, of course, isn't one to back down, having dealt with his fair share of knotheads, is more than willing to put Vesemir through his paces before taking his heat induction - knowing both would be needed for successful mating and pregnancy - Instead walks over to the circular indent in the floor of the room, and gets to work on his 'nest' a few items from his room were thrown in haphazardly as well as Vesemir's - While the alpha's scent wasn't unpleasant it had its fair share of foreign omega's muddled into the mix so those, of course, were thrown out - into the fire. With a yelp, Vesemir breaks across the room to the little fire and fishes out his shirt. "What the hell, Omega?" he growls, patting out the flames. The smell of burnt fabric becomes more prominent. Larkin just hmms and goes about arranging the pillows and blankets into a comfortable pile. After five minutes of shifting a circular pillow to the left and inch every few seconds, he ultimately decides to put it back in its original place. 

All the while, Vesemir's core began to heat up. The next mistake Vesemir made almost cost him greatly. The bold alpha took one shoe-step into the nest before Larkin pulled a DAGGER on him. Surprise had them both falling out of the nest. Larkin on top, an enraged growl tears from his throat. "How dare you! Who do you think you are?"

An equal growl from Vesemir challenges Larkin, and the two put their Witcher training to the test; even with a weapon, Lark shouldn't be a match for the bigger, stronger Alpha but the Omega had tricks up his sleeve; a few choice kicks to the right area has Vesemir and his dick retreating. "You will submit!" Larkin roars as Vesemir doubles over, "Just because the powers that be deem us a match doesn't mean you can walk all over me I won't allow it!"

Vesemir pushed back; he tried to one-handed- maybe if he shifted his weight - stab - "AH! You bitch!" - he should be thankful it was his thigh, not his dick - dagger was a compliment to the knife Larkin wielded, but it did its job, allowing blood to flow from the wound. Once the knife was removed, Larkin adjusted his hold, shifting his weight higher until he straddled Vesemir's midsection. The knife now brought to Vesemir's eye. "Submit." The two stared eye to eye. Minutes passed, but like before, the alpha relented first, tilting his neck to the side. Larkin purred in response,

"Good boy," He teased, dipping his head just enough to make the first mark.

#Witcher #witcher a/o/b au #Vesemir #Vesemir x omc #Vesemir x original male character #vesemir x original character #alpha vesemir

[sugamamacustard]

Sweet little chick

 Pairing: Mafia boss! Alpha! Sugawara Koushi! X Omega! Reader

Genre: Fluff, Yandere

Request: N/A

Summary: The Karasuno Crows fell to the will of one person and one person alone. You were expected to do the same to the mama crow.

Warnings:  Slight/Yandere! Themes. Stockholm Syndrome, Collars, dresses, blood/core/ mafia compliant violence. 

Author’s Note:  An anon on my main blog (Shameless plug, it’s @angstyclowns​) sent me an amazing message and I took care of myself for once and now I’m super motivated! Also, I’m tried keeping this gender neutral, but reader does end up in a dress and thigh highs, so I’m sorry for that!

Requests: Open!

Disclaimer: I do not condone the acts below, please do not kidnap people you fancy and force them to stay against their will until they pull a beauty and the beast. Thanks for reading!

Sugawara Koushi

➵ You weren’t sure how long you had been there. 

➵ In fact, at this point you weren’t sure you cared. 

➵ You were respected here. People groveled on their knees at your feet for your favor, just to make you smile.

➵ Because if you liked them, your alpha was less likely to slit their throats. You were a direct link to getting in the alpha’s good graces.

➵ At first, you hated it. Hated the feeling of people begging you for their lives.

➵ And sometimes, sometimes late at night, you hated it now too. Hated how their screams still rung in your ears, begging and pleading for you to help.

➵ Most times, your alpha tried to keep you out of the bloody weeds of his business, but some times, when Noya or Hinata weren’t quick enough to stop a new guy who royally messed up from begging you to call off the hit.

➵  At that point, you had to hide in your nest, close your eyes and cover your ears until Suga came to comfort you.

➵ In the beginning you would smack him away, but now you craved his touch. His hugs, his purrs, his words of reassurance, anything he would give to you to settle your fears. 

➵ You weren’t sure why you pushed him away in the first place, as you were much better now. You were getting help after the untimely death of your parents (Car accident), you had friends (Suga allowed you to keep company with some of the other crows’ omegas), and everything you wanted at the snap of your fingers.

➵ You were perfectly content with life as it was. 

➵ But that didn’t mean you didn’t have your own rules to follow. 

➵ Your alpha had several rules to follow, especially because of the role he played. 

➵ When he had meetings with Fukorodani or Nekoma, you were to sit on his lap, in whatever tight little number you were gifted that day, and stay quiet. Occasionally, Daichi (Who ran Karasuno along side Suga) would bring his own omega and you two would be allowed to talk quietly among yourselves or play Animal crossing together. 

➵ If you had a concern or comment, you would whisper it to Koushi, who would either allow you to share or re-word it himself.

➵ The other leaders thought you were the second cutest thing in their worlds (Their own omegas holding first. But you were reminded them of their own omegas they left at home) and always listened when you spoke, treating you like a valid member of the Karasuno crew.

➵ Which you were. 

➵ But not in the same sense as everyone else. You were more-or-less an innocent bystander that held the title. 

➵ Under no circumstances however, were you allowed to talk to someone that wasn’t approved by Koushi. Kuroo, Bokuto, Oikawa (Read, Iwaizumi), even Ushijima were all approved, their omegas too, but no one else. 

➵ They understood this, growling at their guards and anyone else they brought for a meeting to stay away. 

➵ But unfortunately, not all people took the gracious warnings they provided. 

➵ The day started off like it normally did, with Suga waking up far earlier than you cared to know. 

➵ He pecked your lips while you groggily watched him get ready, button his shirt while you sat up to run your hands through his hair.

➵ “Do you have to leave so early, Koushi?” You whined, pulling him down once more to hug him tightly. He chuckled in your ear, pecking your cheek before prying you off. 

➵ “Unfortunately I do, sweet thing. But I promise, I’ll back to pick you up for the meeting later.”  A final kiss was pressed to your lips before your alpha was off, tightening his tie on the way out and slinging on his suit jacket.

➵ Predictably so, you went back to bed, sleeping until a knock on the door woke you up. 

➵ Hinata walked in slowly, beaming down at you brightly before setting down a silver and gold box and walking back out, closing the door behind him. You liked Hinata. He seemed to have a second sense to when you wanted to talk or when you just wanted your alpha.

➵ His omega was lucky. 

➵ But you were more lucky. You got to see your alpha soon, since he always had your dresses delivered in the time frame that allowed you to get ready right before Suga would show up to pick you up

➵ So you shakily got up, stretching and yawning before picking  up the box and sliding off the top. The dress inside was a velvet black up until the bodess, which was a sweetheart neckline. From there, a mesh overcoat covering your shoulders and arms hooked around your neck. It was beautiful. 

➵ So you slipped it on quickly, styling your hair with dry shampoo and whatever else you deemed appropriate and slipping some black thigh highs to match  before clipping on the final accessory

➵ It was a pristine white collar that buckled around your neck, with a small white bell and a hanging heart charm that simply said your name. It wasn’t as extravagant as the other omegas’ collars, but it suited Suga-- who, in a way, owned you. 

➵ Like clockwork. the moment you finished tightening the collar your alpha was knocking on the door, opening it soon after and smiling at you. 

➵ He was in a different suit then what he left in and his knuckles were wrapped, but you didn’t want to question it. 

➵ “Ready to go?” 

➵ You nodded excitedly, hooking your arm with his and making your way out of the room. He grabbed your switch (Which he had gifted you, custom with your favorite colored joycons) on the way out, soon leading you to the ‘meeting room’. 

➵ Daichi and Kuroo both smiled from their conversation when you two finally made your entrance, nodding in your direction. 

➵ Suga sat in his chair, allowing you to sit in his lap right after before passing you the gaming console and starting the meeting. (Kuroo and Daichi said something about how lucky Suga was that you were ‘ready’ whatever that meant)

➵ You didn’t care to listen, probably for the better, only playing animal crossing with small hums leaving you. 

➵ Twenty minutes in and all was fine with minimal disagreement on whatever was going on. At least, minimal trouble for the alphas.

➵ You felt a sense of unease set over you while you were playing a while ago but hoped it would just disappear. 

➵ But it never did. 

➵ You looked up to see Suga completely enveloped in the conversation with Kuroo and Daichi, so it wasn’t him, nor the other two alphas. 

➵ Looking around, you noted it wasn’t any of the Karasuno crows that were in there. 

➵ All the usual people Kuroo brought with him were focusing on the void. 

➵ All but one. You had never seen him before but he looked slimy from here. Even Lev (One of Kuroo’s bodyguards that got along with literally everyone, including you) was standing far away from him.

➵ His hair was greasy and blue. A gross as blue that looked like he tried to go for silver but failed. 

➵ It was disgusting to you and he was staring directly at you. Who tf was this guy???

➵  You mindlessly nuzzled back into Suga’s arms, which made him falter and look down at you before going back to the conversation (A land deal?) 

➵ But the feeling never faltered. 

➵ You had tried getting up to go the bathroom once during the meeting but the feeling at you sitting right back down, trying so hard to focus on your game. Your scent was burnt slightly, which set Suga on edge, but what made it even worse was when the boy- smelled like beta- offered to take you off of Suga’s hands for the meeting. 

➵ “A frail thing like her shouldn’t be in the company of such vile conversation topics, yeah?” 

➵ “We’re talking about land, what about that is vile?” Suga sneered, switching from looking at you to the man. He could tell you were off the moment you burrowed into him.

➵ There weren’t any excited giggles coming from you if you discovered something new. No squeals of joy when you finally, finally caught that fish you had been trying to catch for however long. Nothing. Silence and tense muscles.

➵ He had been trying to figure out what was wrong with you the entire time until it suddenly clicked. 

➵ The male spoke and you were grabbing his shirt like a lifeline.

➵ It was him. 

➵ This beta was making his omega uncomfortable. 

➵  Kuroo and Daichi picked up on this fairly quickly, Kuroo already apologizing to Daichi before looking to the Beta. 

➵ Suga didn’t hear what they said, but he felt Daichi pushing you and him out of the room. A silent promise in his eyes.

➵ He picked you up effortlessly, taking you to your room and setting you in your nest and scenting you excessively

➵ You whimpered and allowed him to do so, the switch being discarded somewhere. 

➵ Suga held you to his chest for hours after that, silently planning  ever terrible thing he would unleash unto the unsuspecting beta. 

➵ there was nothing in the world Suga wouldn’t do for you. 

➵ He killed for you once and he’d do it again over and over again.

➵ Whether it be faking a car accident or disposing of trash, keeping eyes on you with specially planted agents, Suga was willing to do everything for you. 

➵ And he certainly had the means to do so.

#Koushi Sugawara #sugawara koushi #suga x y/n #suga x reader #sugawara x y/n #Alpha sugawara x reader #alpha koushi sugawara x reader #alpha suga x omega reader #alpha sugawara x omega reader #haikyuu!! #a/b/o haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #alpha/beta/omega AU #alpha/beta/omega verse #alpha/beta/omega #mafia au #yandere haikyuu #yandere sugawara #yandere suga x reader #haikyuu mafia #haikyuu mafia au #mafia boss! Sugawara Koushi #Mafia boss Suga x reader #custard writes #mafia boss sugawara koushi x reader #mafia boss sugawara x reader #yandere x reader #yandere #yandere headcanons #haikyuu headcanons

[gatheredfates]

Hi everyone, happy weekend (or happy almost weekend, depending on your timezone)! I was waiting on a couple of communities to get back to me before I released this update... but there is nothing stopping me from making a belated one later. ⭐

With that being said, as of today (06/01 - Happy Pride!), the following resources have been added to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives.

LORE

Minerica Eorzea — maintained by @wildfireward, this Compendium was inspired by the Botanica Eorzea and serves as her counterpart. It contains item descriptions of raw materials, item descriptions of gear that use said materials, stats of gear that use said materials, leve quest lore, and crafter quest dialogue.

MISC

Animations for XIV — A spreadsheet created and maintained by Sayo#0196 that contains a list of animations that can be useful for posing purposes.

Transparent Assets for GPOSE — Have you ever wanted to overlay a screenshot with XIV’s assets like ‘this scene cannot be skipped’? @fortunafavore has you covered!

CHANGELOG

For some reason, the text for the Hingan Alphabet had vanished on its bigger advertisement. It has since been readded! (Don't ask me why it did it, I have no idea.)

COMMUNITIES

With the Tumblr communities in beta, I'm trying to think how to best incorporate them into the Compendium should we get an influx of XIV related ones when the feature goes properly live. While they're currently invite only I won't be adding any (unless community leaders would like to reach out and have them added) but, once they are, I'll either make a separate section in the Compendium for them or sort them between the aforementioned categories as needed. If you have any thoughts, questions or suggestions, please let me know!

Do keep in mind that the feature is in beta, so my thought and categorisations may change as the community feature itself expands. Tumblr may also incorporate a better method of searching/filtering that might make it redundant! We'll have to see.

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here, send me an ask with the relevant information contained on the Compendium, or join my Discord at SEAFLOOR (21+ only)!

Is my space suitable for the Compendium? Most of the time, yes! Below the read more is some more information/stipulations. Again, all the below information is accessible on the document! 🐡

Below are the following things I do not accept on the Compendium:

Personal/Single-Character LFC ads.

Content intended for or can be used for bullying, harassment and OOC gossip. E.g. ‘Secrets’ blogs, receipts, callout posts, etc. This does not include in-character tabloid blogs used to generate RP.

Communities that do not have an RP/writing element (large-scale exempt).

Anything I find personally distasteful or goes against the spirit of this project.

Common-sense rule applies.

FAQ.

I want to put my community on the compendium but we have an application process. Is this okay?

Yes! Just note somewhere in your application that's a requirement. The only thing that is mandatory for the Compendium is that you must be open to new members or have a public-facing/accessible facet. There's no point advertising a community if no one can join it in some way!

I want to put my community on the compendium but I only have x number of members —

Also totally okay! People don't start with large communities. Activity is a must but, whether your server has two or two thousand members, if you're looking for new people to join, I'd love to help you find people.

I want to put my community on the compendium but I worry its too niche?

Okay, and? If your Eorzean Fishing Alliance has four members but you roleplay every second weekend, I still want to know about it.

What resources/communities can I add if I'm not the owner of them?

Mutual consent is extremely important to me, so anything that isn't a large-scale community OR a publicly accessible resource must be endorsed by the owner/admin/moderators in order to be added to the compendium. I operate under the assumption that a resource posted to a public space (tumblr, googledocs, youtube, etc) is open to all. A large-scale community is one with a significant member count or openly advertises itself as being accessible to everyone for whatever purpose it serves. If in doubt, please get in touch with me. I'm happy to contact your community owners for you!

How active does a community need to be?

If you find a community has not been active in about two/three months, send me a message and I'll take a look at it. Communities have ebbs and flows, especially event spaces that may take hiatuses depending on member interest/life events. I'm not strict in my implementation provided a space isn't dead. If a link or anything is broken, absolutely contact me about that.

I have [insert a question not stated here]?

No drama! Send me an ask or use the #Compendium channel in my Discord!

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #ffxiv community #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea's community compendium #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea speaks

[samwilsonsbabymama]

Late Nights

Pairing: Gray!Sam Wilson x Black Reader x Gray!Bucky Barnes (18+)

Summary: You meet Sam and Bucky on different days, but it seems as though they already know you.

Warnings: dub-con, maybe non-con, stalking, fingering,

Word Count: > 3,000

A/N: didn't I say I was done with gray!fics??? lol I wrote this one based off of @mariahthelioness29 's prompt (I can't find it lol). I hope yall like it. Big thanks to @megapeacelovemusic-blog for beta-ing this for me! I really appreciate it!!!

💖 Please let me know what you think by leaving feedback 💖

You walked up and down the aisles of the nearly empty store without a care in the world, as you checked off items on your list. Late-night grocery shopping was one of your favorite pastimes, especially when you couldn’t sleep.

You reached for the last item on your list, but just as your fingers brushed it, it was ripped from the shelf. You hadn’t noticed anyone else in the aisle you were in, so to say you were surprised was an understatement.

“I’m sorry,” the stranger said. “I didn’t see you there.”

You looked up at the stranger and froze; you had never seen a more handsome man before. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a sandy brown button-up over a fitted, reddish-brown shirt. Your eyes continued to slowly drag over his form, taking in his dark brown skin and plump lips. Your gaze lingered on the scar under his left eye for a second too long before you finally reached his twinkling brown eyes.

He cleared his throat, clearly amused that you had been checking him out.

“Hmm?” you asked, as you shook yourself from your ogling.

“I said,” he began, “‘I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.’”

“No,” you chuckled. “I should have been paying more attention.”

He smiled, and you could have sworn you felt the earth shift. The way his face lit up when he smiled at you made your heart rate speed up. Never before had a smile made you want to drop to your knees as fast as this one did.

He tilted the package towards you. “Here, take it. I have some at home.”

“Are you sure?” you asked as you reached out and took hold of the box.

“Yeah,” he replied as you put the food into your cart. “Are you new in town? I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”

You chuckled. “Yeah, well kinda,” you began, “I moved here about a year ago, I kinda keep to myself.”

The man chuckled softly. “I can understand that.” he stuck his hand out, “I’m Sam, I grew up here.” He waited for you to take his hand and when you did, he brought it up to his lips and kissed your knuckles.

Your jaw dropped when you felt his soft lips on your skin. You swallowed and choked out your name.

“Y/n,” he repeated when he pulled away and released your hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” you panted.

“Look,” Sam said before he licked his lips. “I know we just met, but something is telling me that I’m going to regret this if I don’t do it, so here goes. My sister Sarah is having a fish fry and I was wondering if you would like to come?”

You beamed at him. “Absolutely.” you reached for your phone and handed it to him after you unlocked it. “Here, drop call your phone and text me the details later.”

Sam took your phone and you smiled when you heard his ringtone.

“Great,” he smiled once more. “I’ll let you get back to your shopping and text you later, Y/n.”

You continued your shopping with a smile on your face after he walked away. Your elated mood carried you throughout the rest of your shopping trip.

The following day, after you had gotten some sleep, Sam texted you. The same feeling you had when you talked to him the night before resurfaced the moment you saw his name.

Hey, Y/n, it’s Sam. Here’s the info for the fish fry.

Hi, Sam! Thanks! I can’t wait.

A few minutes passed. You wanted to keep talking to him, but you couldn’t think of anything clever to say, so you sent the first thing that came to mind.

So, do you always shop so late at night?

Yeah, I like the quiet. Fewer people. What about you?

Either late at night or early in the morning for the same reasons.

This might be a little too forward, but next time we could go together.

That would be fun! I’ll let you know the next time I have to go on a late-night grocery run.

You two continued to talk throughout the day while you ran a few errands, and with each message, your excitement for the weekend grew. You couldn’t believe how lucky you were with finding such a catch. You were distracted by a text from Sam when you ran smack into a brick wall, or what you thought was a brick wall. You watched as your phone fell to the ground in slow motion and you cringed at the thought. But your phone never hit the ground, a gloved hand reached down and grabbed it just before it hit the ground.

“Thank you so much!” you cried as you reached for your phone.

“No worries, sweetheart,” a deep voice drawled.

Your heart lurched at his voice and your legs clenched. Once your phone was safely in your hands, you took a step back and bit your lip as you once again found yourself taking in the form of an attractive man.

This man reminded you of Sam because they had a similar build: thick thighs, broad shoulders, strong arms, and dazzling smile. But that’s where the similarities ended. The blue-eyed man in front of you wore a pair of dark wash jeans with a gray shirt underneath a leather jacket. He only wore one glove which made you quirk your eyebrow during your perusal but you didn’t say anything.

When your eyes landed back on his, his smile got bigger. “I’m Bucky,” he said.

“Y/n,” you said and smiled back at him. “I’m so sorry for running into you. I should have been paying attention.”

Bucky shook his head and laughed, “It’s all good, love. It’s not every day a beautiful girl falls into my arms.”

You felt your cheeks heat up. “I wouldn’t say all that,” you mumbled.

Bucky snorted. “I’ve been here for months and you, Miss Y/n, are the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”

You rolled your eyes, “Thank you Bucky. Well, as nice as this is, I must get going. It was nice to meet you!” you gave him a small wave and began to walk away.

A few days passed, and you were getting ready to head over to the docks. You didn’t know the area well, so the night before, you had made a trip over so that you knew where you were going. The trip seemed easy enough so you weren’t too worried about getting lost.

As you were getting dressed, your stomach filled with butterflies at the thought of seeing Sam once again. You two had been texting and video chatting every day but you couldn’t wait to be in his presence again. You’d thought about Bucky as well, and part of you had wished that you had given him your number, but you weren’t too sad about it.

After checking yourself in the mirror once again, you headed out of the door and made your way to the docks. You found the gathering quickly, but you hesitated before you got out of your car. You sent Sam a quick text letting him know that you made it before you stepped out of your car.

You looked around at the faces on the docks and smiled as you greeted those around you. You always felt relaxed when you spent time around your people. You didn’t have to hide or pretend to be someone that you weren’t.

“There you are!” a familiar voice caught your attention and before you knew it Sam had pulled you into a hug.

When he embraced you, the scent of his cologne filled your nose and you relaxed into his arms. You inhaled deeply and sighed as Sam squeezed you tighter. You felt him bury his nose into your curls while you embraced. After a few moments, you both pulled away.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized.

“No worries.”

“Here, let me introduce you to everyone,” Sam said before he took hold of your hand and pulled you through the crowd. He introduced you to almost everyone in town, some people you’d already met but others you hadn’t had the opportunity to.

“And here’s my sister, Sarah, and my nephews, Cass and AJ,” Sam said and you waved.

“Hi, I’m Y/n,” you said and stuck your hand out for a handshake.

“Nope, we hug around here,” Sarah said just before she pulled you in for a hug.

You could hear Sam laughing beside you.

“We’re just waiting for the cake to get here,” Sarah said when she pulled back. “But the food is done so feel free to fix yourself a plate.”

You nodded your head before she walked away.

“Could I interest you in a drink?” you heard Sam say from beside you.

You nodded your head once again, “Water please.”

Sam chuckled. “Why don’t you go fix your plate while I get you something to drink.”

You watched Sam walk away before you started fixing your plate. You made sure to grab your favorite foods before you found a place to sit. You had already started eating when Sam returned with your drink.

“We didn’t have any water bottles left, so I hope lemonade is okay.” He handed you a cup, and you smiled at him as he took a seat next to you.

Conversation between you two flowed easily and you were having a good time talking to him and Sarah. Sam kept you laughing and entertained while you ate. You were listening to Sam tell a story when there was a commotion at the end of the docks. You watched as Cass and AJ sprinted from their spots at the table and weaved through the crowd. You looked over at Sam in question, but he was already standing and smiling at the newcomer.

“Hey, Y/n, I want you to meet someone,” Sam said as he outstretched his hand toward you. He pulled you out of your seat the moment your hand was in his and before you knew it, you two were weaving through the crowd once again.

Sam dropped your hand the moment you reached your destination and you peeked over his shoulder to see Cass and AJ play fighting with someone holding a cake. You laughed as the man dramatically dodged the young boys’ fists before setting the cake on the nearest table. You stayed put when Sam walked over to the newcomer with a huge smile on his face. Your stomach dropped to your knees when he took off his sunglasses.

“Bucky?” you whispered in disbelief. What were the chances that the two men you’d been dreaming about knew each other? Not only that, what were the chances that they were friends? And close friends at that. You stayed rooted in your spot as you watch the two men in front of you embrace each other. Your eyes darted around to find an escape but luck wasn’t on your side.

As you said his name, Bucky’s eyes landed on you and he froze. Sam noticed the shift in his stance and pulled back from him and followed his gaze. Sam pulled Bucky over to you with a smile on his face.

“Bucky, I’d like you to meet-”

“Y/n.” Bucky finished for him.

Sam paused and looked between the two of you, “Am I missing something?”

Bucky spoke first. “You remember that beautiful girl I told you about?”

Sam nodded before realization flashed in his eyes. “Well damn, Buck,” Sam chuckled and clapped Bucky on his back.

“Wait, what?” you asked. To say you were confused would be an understatement but the two ignored you.

The rest of the evening found you sandwiched between Bucky and Sam, and one of them was touching you at all times. Sam would caress your leg, or Bucky would twirl one of your braids. Sam would lean in close to whisper something in your ear while Bucky rubbed your back. Your senses were heightened and you were slightly overwhelmed. You needed to breathe.

You were glad when Sarah came over and distracted the two men for a second. It allowed you the chance to slip away, and you rushed into the nearest bathroom. It was small, but just the right size for you to hide in.

You stared at yourself in the mirror and caught your breath. Your head was still spinning when you heard a knock at the door. You waited a few seconds before you called out that you’d be right out, but the person on the other side didn’t listen. Before you knew it, Bucky was pushing himself into the small room and locking the door.

“Fuck, Y/n,” he said before crashing his lips against yours. You easily melted into his kiss, but a small part in the back of your brain caused you to pull back.

“Wait, Bucky,” you moaned. You felt his hand slip under your clothes.

“There’s no ‘wait'. I’ve waited long enough,” Bucky growled as he pushed two fingers inside of you.

You were floating. The feeling of Bucky's fingers inside of you felt like heaven. Your eye rolled to the back of your head as he fingered you. He used his other hand to prop your leg up onto the toilet so that he could fuck you deeper.

“Fucking following you around for months hoping that you’d notice me,” he growled into your neck as his fingers picked up speed. “Notice us. And then you go and notice Sam first? You let him win? Fuck you’re gripping me. Can’t wait to feel you wrapped around me.”

Your head began to swim as you caught onto his words.

“What?” you mumbled out. “You’ve been following me?”

“We both have,” he corrected you. “Sam’s been following you longer, ever since you moved here.”

You tried to push him off of you but the hold he had on you kept him rooted right where he was. His fingers began to move impossibly faster as he chuckled.

“I know you wanna cum, baby girl, don’t you?” Bucky grunted.

You shook your head but your breath hitched in your throat. You could feel your orgasm approaching. This was completely wrong but it felt so good.

“Cum on my fingers, baby, I know you can,” Bucky urged and with a few more strokes of his fingers, you came with a silent scream.

You felt Bucky remove his fingers from inside of you, and you watched as he stuck them in his mouth.

“Since you noticed Sam first,” Bucky said as he helped you right your clothes. “He gets to fuck this pretty pussy first, but I just needed a taste. Something to hold me over.” Bucky brushed back your hair and cupped your face with his hands before he kissed you again, deeper than the first time. The kiss lasted for a few minutes before he finally pulled away and he was gone before you could say anything else.

When you came to your senses, you looked at yourself in the mirror. “What the fuck?” you whispered. You needed to get out. You needed to get back home without anyone noticing. When you exited the bathroom, you were thankful that no one was around as you made your way to your car. But that thankfulness was short-lived when you spotted Sam standing at your drivers’ door.

You could see the smirk on his face from where you stood. You began to back away, but your progress was halted when you ran into a solid form.

“Do you think you’re getting away from us now that we’ve got you?” Bucky whispered from behind you. “I told you, we’ve waited too long to let you slip away, baby girl.” Bucky gently pushed you forward until you reached Sam. You refused to look in his eyes, something he found funny.

“I had imagined this going differently, y/n,” Sam said as he hooked his finger under your chin. “But as Bucky said, we’ve waited long enough.” Sam gripped the back of your neck and pressed his lips to yours and forced his tongue into your mouth. His lips were as soft as you had imagined and you were excited to feel them all over your body.

No. No, this was wrong. You didn’t want this. Or did you? Hadn’t this been what you had been dreaming about? Being taken by Sam and Bucky? Hadn’t you dreamed this actual scenario many times? Why would you deny what the Universe was gifting you?

Finally giving in, you threw your arms around Sam’s neck and allowed him to lift you up around his waist. He carried you away from your car and away from the dock. When you pulled away from his lips to catch your breath, you looked around and noticed you were heading towards his truck.

You watched as Bucky let down the back of Sam’s truck and hopped onto the bed before reaching out to you and helping you in. Sam followed the two of you, and he waited as you got comfortable. He had taken care to cover the cold metal with a thick comforter and some pillows.

“You ready for this dick, y/n?” Sam asked and you nodded your head.

“Y/n?” he called your name again.

“Y/n?” he said louder and he shook you this time.

Your eyes snapped open, and you tried catching your breath. You looked around the room and your gaze landed on the man who plagued your dreams.

“Sam,” you whispered once you calmed down.

“Another nightmare?” he asked as he pulled you on top of him.

You shook your head. “No, not this time. This one was different. It felt different. Real almost but I know it didn’t happen.” you couldn’t explain the feeling you had. It felt so real, you could feel everything, but you know Sam would never treat you like that.

Sam held you as you laid on top of him. His hands stroking your back trying to calm you down. When your breath finally deepened, and he was convinced that you were asleep, he reached for his phone and dialed out.

“Hey,” Sam spoke into the phone. “She’s starting to remember. I’m going to need something stronger.”

💖 Please let me know what you think by leaving feedback 💖

#dub-con fic #noncon fic #Gray!Sam Wilson x Black Reader x Gray!Bucky Barnes #Dark!Sam Wilson x Black Reader x Dark!Bucky Barnes #sam wilson x reader #bucky barnes x black reader #sam wilson x reader x bucky barnes #sam wilson imagine #bucky barnes imagine #sam wilson needs more love #maree writes

[shoutogepi]

A Million Times Over, part 1

┌────── ⋆⋅✧⋅⋆ ──────┐

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Todoroki Shouto x American!Reader

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 11.3k holy shit this is so long guys. fuck.

[ ☀︎, ☁︎, ✘ (nsfw!) ] (series warnings)

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞 : some NSFW themes but no actual smut. a lot of pining and angst. some cute moments too tho!

𝐛𝐢𝐨 : You lose all memories from the past five years of your life due to an accident-induced coma, including any recollection of your beloved boyfriend and fellow pro-hero, Shouto. He’s devastated that you don’t remember him, but the both of you are determined to get your memories back, no matter how long it takes. In the meantime, you attempt to rebuild your relationship with him… while also nurturing the spark that’s still very much lit between you two.

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 : Originally I intended for this to just be a long fic… but even for my standards, this would be wayyy too long to be just in one post. I decided to split the fic into three instead, so this will be the first part of my very first multi-chap series, A Million Times Over, for my beloved Sho <3

𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 : big thank you to my sweet friend @todoscript​ for beta-reading this for me and hyping me up!! love you, can’t wait to read what you have in the works soon <3

└────── ⋆⋅✧⋅⋆ ──────┘

─── ・°* ﾟ✧:* • ｡ﾟ:*･☽･*: ｡ﾟ•*:✧ ﾟ*°・ ───

“.../n”

…

“.. y/n…”

…

🅃he buzzing noise in your ears sharpened. White light snuck between your eyelids and you groaned, fingers reaching toward your temple. Confusion burst forth as you recognized foreign, plastic tubing connected to your skin, your eyes opening wider as you began to register your surroundings.

You were in a hospital room. To be more exact, you were in the bed in the middle of the hospital room— meaning, you were the patient. The realization shocked you, and you jolted upright abruptly, suddenly all too aware of the tubes stuck up your nose. At your sudden movement, large, warm hands landed on your arms and rubbed at your skin gently, making your attention turn to the person sitting at your bedside.

“Y/n? Hey, you’re okay, love, it's alright. You’re safe, I’ve got you.” His voice was smooth and deep, an anchor for you to grab onto in the midst of your confusion.

You were gawking, staring straight at him— you couldn't help it. Your jaw was probably hanging open, gaping like a fish at the man before you. What were you in the hospital for exactly— had you gone insane and dreamed this situation up?

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

“Sh-Shouto Todoroki,” you mumbled, gaze connected with his tired but bright, heterochromatic orbs. His brow furrowed and his head tilted slightly at your courteous acknowledgement, but he brushed it aside and smiled at you instead.

Your heart was pounding in your chest as you took in his form beside you. He was tall— you could tell even though he was seated— and he was more handsome than you’d ever imagined, somewhere in his mid-to-late twenties judging by the sharp, masculine features of his face.

“Y/n…,” he breathed out, a large, calloused hand coming up to cup your jaw. Then he pulled you into a hug, his strong, muscular arms wrapping around your torso and cradling the back of your head to press you into his chest. He smelled of clean laundry and winter, a crisp, fresh scent that made an unknown comfort blossom in your chest.

Slowly you placed an arm around his neck, your other hand laying limp on the sheets as it was still connected to the IV. You rubbed his back slightly, still dazed by your apparent situation. Looking outside the open window in the corner of the room, you realized it was daytime; yellow sunlight beaming into the room and pouring onto the tiled floor. There were vases of flowers all around the room, as well as stuffed animals, cards, and balloons that all wished for your health and speedy recovery.

“I’m so glad you’re awake,” Shouto whispered into your shoulder, still holding you tight in his embrace. His voice was still low, but this time it shook with profound emotion. “I missed you… so much.”

Your body felt relaxed in his arms, even though your brain was whirring a thousand miles a minute. You had no clue how you’d ended up in the hospital, who sent you all these gifts, where you even were geographically, and most importantly, why Shouto Todoroki was holding onto you like you meant the world to him. You patted his back stiffly and he let go of you just enough to move his face in front of yours. His eyes held such love and relief, the emotions as clear as day that butterflies ruptured from your stomach. As if his expression wasn’t enough to get your heart racing, he leaned forward and captured your lips, pressing his mouth to yours in a firm but sweet kiss.

It only lasted for a minute, but it was enough to have your heart rate monitor start beeping rapidly, noisily chiming at the other side of your bed. His face was so perfect and smooth up close— you couldn’t close your eyes as you took in his astonishing beauty. Sure, you’d imagined he would be perfect… but in person, here before you, he was indescribable. The man of your dreams. And a good kisser, too.

A nurse rushed into the room, seemingly out of breath. When she caught sight of the two of you, your lips locked, and Shouto holding you so tenderly, she let out an awkward cough and pawed at her scrubs, averting her eyes as she approached your bedside. Shouto pulled away, only to plant a soft kiss on the very tip of your nose before leaning back into his seat. He had a wide smile on his lips, content-crinkled eyes settled on you as his hand enveloped yours.

“So you’re awake!” the nurse stated excitedly, busying around with the beeping machine, managing to shut the blasted thing off. “How are you feeling? Any pain, discomfort?”

You glanced at Shouto, who smiled at you warmly and squeezed your hand. If that heart rate machine was still on, surely it would be going haywire again. “Uhh, I think I’m okay… just kinda groggy,” you replied truthfully, your voice coming out hoarse. You cleared your throat and she handed you a small cup of water, which you took gratefully. You continued on after taking a few sips, the liquid cooling your irritated throat. “No pain, but I’m a little… confused, to be honest.”

“I’m sure you are, hon,” the nurse said, giving you a smile full of understanding. It made you feel a little less on edge, and you gave her a half-hearted smile back. “You were in a bad accident almost a month ago. You suffered some head trauma, and you’ve been in a coma ever since. You also had two bruised ribs, and some minor surface wounds. The cuts are all gone now, and your ribs should be almost all healed by now as well, but if you have any discomfort on your left side here,” she gestured to your ribs and continued, “just let me know. I’ll page your doctor and we’ll do a quick check-up on you in just a minute!”

You nodded slowly, the gears turning in your head. You were in an accident, and then a coma for a whole month? It all seemed so crazy to you— you can’t remember a single thing leading up to your supposed accident. Head trauma… you weren’t usually the type to get hurt, and you’d never been in a coma before. “Umm… what kind of accident was it?” you asked, looking between Shouto and the nurse, not really directing the question to either of them specifically.

“You were flung into a cement pillar during a fight, love. The blow was mostly on your side, hence your bruised ribs… but your head smacked into the pillar secondarily,” Shouto replied, his smile disappearing as an unfamiliar bitterness washed over his handsome face. “We were battling together and you were knocked unconscious instantly… you’ve been asleep ever since.”

“A fight..?” you frowned, tilting your head in confusion. “We were fighting, and you threw me against a… cement pillar?”

Shouto looked horrified at your misunderstanding, adamantly shaking his head and making his soft, two-toned hair shine in the sunlight. “No, I would never hurt you— the villain did, baby. I incapacitated them right after,” he paused, eyes casting downwards and his free hand forming into a fist at the memory, “but the damage had already been done...”

That sounded right… your job was herowork, you could at least recall that. But you didn’t think you’d ever fought beside a hero as great and renowned as Japan’s famed dual-tempered Shouto. Sure, you’d been doing your best to climb the American hero leaderboard, but you weren’t by any means at the top yet. “Umm… can you tell me.. why we were fighting a villain together, exactly?”

Shouto looked directly at you, his brow furrowing before he looked to the nurse on the other side of your bed. They shared a look, and you shuffled uncomfortably in the cotton sheets pulled up to your waist, unease sitting like a rock in your stomach.

“Y/N, can you tell me what you remember before the accident?” Shouto asked slowly, his grip on your hand tightening just a fraction. There was a sliver of something else in his voice now, a hint of urgency in his request.

You looked between him and the nurse hesitantly, racking your brain for anything you could think of. “Uhh… I don’t… I don’t remember, I— I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright hon, don’t worry. It’s common to have some confusion after just waking up from a coma. We can try an easier question. Let’s see… do you know your birthday?”

You responded instantly, and there was the tiniest amount of relief on Shouto’s face at your correct response.

“Your mother’s maiden name?”

You got that one right too, Shouto’s thumb rubbing over your knuckles soothingly in silent praise.

“How about your phone number?”

You took a second to think of it, but you answered that one too. The nurse looked over at Shouto to see his reaction, and so did you. But Shouto was frowning at you, making dread drip into your veins. “That’s your US number, love… what’s your Japanese number?”

You looked at him incredulously. “My Japanese number? Why would I need a Japanese number?” you inquired, thinking this must have been some kind of trick question.

The nurse and Shouto shared a more serious look, and Shouto swallowed as he looked away from you, turning toward the window instead. You squeezed at his hand but he didn’t respond, so you turned to the nurse instead, confused now more than ever.

“I don’t understand…,” you mumbled, hoping for some clarification from her. She smiled at you, but this time it did not reach her eyes.

“You’re in Japan, hon. You’re speaking Japanese right now… and you’re also one of the top heroes in Japan, just like your boyfriend here.”

⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆

The next few days passed by in a blur. The hospital staff was all very kind and hospitable, but it still felt like you had woken up in the middle of someone else’s life. Even though your body was yours, and you looked just the same, you couldn’t help the unease that lingered from your imposter syndrome.

You had gone through so many tests and check-ups that they all blended together at this point. You had been poked, prodded, and quizzed the entire time since you’d woken up from your coma. There were so many different tests regarding your memory that your brain felt like melted jelly by now, and your frustration was at an all-time high.

Shouto had gotten up and left the room shortly after the nurse informed you of your situation. Your heart felt heavy for him— he seemed so excited, so relieved that you were finally awake— and this was the devastating reality that he was left to face. After patiently waiting at your bedside for weeks, this was the bitter pill he had to swallow when you had finally come-to… you imagined that he was not eager to confront such a terrible twist of fate. Yet he had come back into your room half an hour later, eyes suspiciously puffy and pink, and his nose a little stuffy, but nonetheless, he grabbed your hand and kissed your knuckles, squeezing even tighter than before. Even though you barely knew him, his presence made you feel safe, and you were glad to have him by your side.

Between your numerous mental tests and check-ins, the conversation between the two of you was surprisingly easy. He was patient with you, and kind. Apparently, you’d first met him in America at a hero convention about five years ago, and you started dating after a year and a half of being friends. Your memory had been completely wiped of the past five years, leaving your Japanese friends, coworkers, and dedicated boyfriend all in the dark. According to Shouto, you had befriended many of the top heroes in Japan, seeing as they were also your colleagues. It turned out that the numerous flower arrangements scattered about your room were from these heroes, as well as fans… though a good amount were from the heterochromatic man himself.

Shouto took care of you during your days at the hospital. He talked to the doctor after your check-ins, pulling them aside and conversing in hushed voices in the hallway just outside your door. He called your family for you and flew them out, only adding to the chaos in your hospital room. He told all of your Japanese friends and acquaintances to stay away for now, knowing that meeting them would probably just overwhelm and guilt you. And each day he would bring you a treat that you would inevitably love, proving to you that he really did know you, and that he knew your preferences and even your favorite boba order. He probably would have stayed by your bedside even through each night, but you insisted he go home and sleep in a proper bed. You already felt bad enough that he was taking a hiatus from hero work until you recovered… you didn’t need to add his future back issues to your already guilty conscience.

You found yourself enjoying your time with him. You knew who he was— you had certainly heard of him during your previous hero work that you actually remembered. You kept it to yourself that you had harbored an embarrassingly large crush on him, though. You figured he probably knew that, seeing as he was your boyfriend of three and a half years… no need to bring it up! But now that your memory had reverted back to your mental state five years ago… you inevitably had feelings for the pro hero, and you weren’t sure if he either couldn’t tell how he affected you, or if he was just being polite. Whatever the case, there was still a spark between the two of you. Even though all the progress of your relationship had been erased on your side, each day your feelings only grew for the selfless, charming, and witty half-and-half man. So much so, that you would now reach out for his hand when he would enter your room each morning, and he would smile at you and slip his fingers between yours, no matter how much it hurt to restrain himself from showing you more affection.

After about a week, you were cleared to go home. Your nurse, who you had come to know as Akari, told you that the doctor had originally wanted to keep you for longer… but that Shouto was such a doting beau that they had given you the express go-ahead, knowing you would be in the highest of care.

Your memory was still not restored, though you had started to remember odd things here and there. Like how to use your phone— it was the newest model and far from the technology you were familiar with five years ago, but you opened the device and navigated it expertly on your first go. The doctor said that that was a good sign, though it could just be muscle memory... but Shouto still gave you a small smile of encouragement. Next was when you had asked Shouto to bring you your favorite moisturizer, a Japanese brand, and you just mentioned it so casually in conversation that you would have blown right over it had Shouto not pointed it out to you. You were recalling little, mundane things here and there, but never anything big— no people, no places. No distinct memories.

Akari assured you many times that as long as you kept working at it, your memories would return. She always said it when you were frustrated— she could tell your moods and she could see how hard you were trying. But she also said it when you were doing fine, and that was when you knew she was saying it more to Shouto than anything. You were glad to have her there, because even though Shouto was there for you physically, he kept most of his emotions sealed off from you… and it was hard for you to read him. Akari was an excellent nurse, and you felt blessed to have been taken care of by her. But a tiny, minuscule part of you was jealous that she could tell how he was feeling, while you were left in the dark.

⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆

You sighed as the car door clicked shut, feeling apprehensive. The vehicle that Shouto had driven to the hospital today is sleek, shiny, and foreign. You had no clue what model it was, but you knew it must have been expensive— the interior was framed with a polished wood that complimented the peanut-butter color of the leather seats and steering wheel. Shouto slipped into the drivers’ side next to you, offering you a small smile as he clicked his seatbelt into place.

“Are you nervous?” he asked, pausing before he turned the ignition. The car purred to life, a welcome screen popping up in the middle of the console.

You thought it over for a moment before answering, watching as he slid the parking ticket out from under the overhead visor. “A little… I think excited is a better word for it, though.”

Shouto’s smile broadened just a tad, his hand reaching over the center console and squeezing yours briefly. “Me too,” he murmured, eyes locked with yours for just a moment too long before his arm propped back against the corner of your seat, and he reversed out of the parking spot. You couldn’t help but admire his chiseled jawline as he did so, eyes flitting away quickly when he caught your lingering gaze.

The drive from the hospital to your home wasn’t long, and you were thankful that was the case— you’d have definitely felt even guiltier if he’d been driving for a long time all these days to come and see you. The city distracted you along the way, bustling and bright as ever, and your eyes were wide with wonder as you took in the colorful displays littering the streets and storefronts. Everything— everyone just seemed so alive; it was impossible to keep the smile from your face.

At one red light in particular, you saw a cat cafe, zoning in on a particularly pudgy cat snoozing at the top of the cat tree in the window. You giggled and pointed it out to Shouto, glancing over at him to see if he was looking, and the softest smile was on his lips as his eyes gazed deeply into yours. You held his stare for a moment and then looked away again, flustered and your cheeks feeling warm as you cleared your throat.

It was then that you noticed his hand lying atop the center of the console, tempting you to reach out and lace your fingers with his, like you had done so many times at the hospital. But it felt different without the safety of the white walls and medical equipment you had grown to know, somehow scarier— like he might reject you for whatever reason. You chose to keep your hands to yourself for now.

“It seems like you’re curious about the city,” he said as silence settled between the pair of you, the only noise in the cabin of the vehicle being the low melody from the radio.

You shrugged and hummed in agreement, eyes now glued to the other side of the window as countless people and businesses whizz by. “I like to know the city I’m protecting,” you answered, leaning back against the headrest. “It makes me feel more connected to the people that live here… the people we’re helping when we do our jobs. Y’know?”

Shouto nodded, humming his own agreement. “Yeah… I know what you mean,” he replied. After a short pause, he turned to you, waiting for another red light to turn green. “Maybe we can come out in disguise sometime… if that would interest you. I can show you around, we can have a little adventure.”

You visibly perked up at his suggestion, your grin making his heart flutter suddenly in his chest. “Yes! I would love that!” you beamed at him and he smiled back at you, the faintest hint of a blush dusting his cheeks.

You bit your lip as he turned back toward the road, the car shifting forward as he pressed the gas at the green signal. He was trying… so you had to, too.

“But only if we go together, okay?” You reached over and took his hand before you could chicken out. His fingers fit perfectly in between yours, and your cheeks felt hot again as you gazed intently at your intertwined hands.

Shouto let out a little breath of surprise at your action, but his fingers curled tightly around yours in under a second. “Of course… love.”

⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆

Shouto had sent your family home, despite their protests. The doctor’s orders were for you to resume life as you normally would— apparently, that would be the quickest way for you to regain your memories. The verdict was much to your parents’ dismay, but they understood that it was the fastest means for you to return to, well, you. So they left Shouto to take care of you, and he insisted that once your memories came back, he would fly them back out to see you again, or the two of you would come to them.

Though technically he was a stranger to you, he was the closest thing to home in the strange storm of your memory loss. He had been there for you every step of the way, every day. He tended to your every need, and he even anticipated your needs before you were aware of them. That didn’t change once you arrived at your shared apartment.

If you could even call it that.

“Holy shit,” you mumbled when Shouto unlocked the door for you, gesturing for you to enter first. Your jaw was on the herringbone-patterned, hardwood floor as your eyes wandered around the entryway, taking in every design detail you came across. You barely managed to take off your shoes before you were peeking your head into the bathroom next to the entry hallway, inspecting the clean and gorgeously-furnished half-bath.

Shouto chuckled and closed the door behind him, making sure to turn the lock as he set his keys into a porcelain bowl beside the door. “Go explore, I think you’ll like what you see,” he said amusedly, a half-smirk on his pink lips as he eyed you. Your starstruck expression only grew as you padded into the open space of the living room.

A long, cushy sofa and chaise stood before the huge flat-screen that was nestled into an elegant built-in, shelves filled with books you knew and loved and ones you didn’t recognize, too. Game consoles lined the shelf below the plasma screen, and your toes curled into the fuzzy rug underfoot as you gaped at the room. Everything— even the curtains and the coasters on the coffee table— was exactly in your taste. You felt like you were in wonderland. Had you fallen down a rabbit hole and this was the magical, heavenly place you had landed in? Clearly this had to be a dream, right? You woke up as Todoroki Shouto’s long-time girlfriend, and apparently you lived here, with him?

Goddamn.

The kitchen, laundry room, main bath, office, bedroom, and master bath all fit your taste exactly the same. Only the second office and spare bedroom seemed a little out of place— they were more of a traditional Japanese design, but even though it was different, you did not mind. Even the runner on the staircase— who had a staircase in their apartment, by the way?!— was in a pleasing color and pattern. There was even a decently sized home gym, with various equipment and machines and a mirror running the length of the entire wall. By the end of your expedition, you were simply at a loss for words. You found Shouto sitting on one of the stools at the marble island that separated the kitchen and the living room, busy combing through some manila files.

“Umm,” you started, catching his attention.

He looked up at you, propping his chin onto his hand as his elbow rested on the counter. One brow quirked up, he grinned slyly at your outright astonishment. “Well?” he prompted, sitting up and rolling his neck, then stretching his broad shoulders. “What do you think?”

You try not to linger on the way the muscles rippled underneath his tight, crisp shirt, playing off your silence as shock. “It’s uh… perfect? I live here? I actually live here, right? You’re not pulling my leg?”

Shouto chuckled and shook his head. “I would never, love. Well, I have before, but no— I’m not right now. You live here. We live here. It’s all ours.”

You laughed giddily, unable to contain your excitement. Shouto smiled fondly at you, your grin infectious as your eyes wandered around the kitchen once more.

“Snack pantry is behind that door,” he nodded his head to the side and your eyes grew even starrier. He couldn’t help the laugh that trickled out of him at your instant footsteps— you were still you, after all. He knew all the ways to your heart very well, and one of them was most definitely through food.

“Woah.” Your mouth hung open once again at the rows of snacks and foods that greeted your gaze when you opened the door, the light flicking on automatically. Your eyes danced over the labels, recognizing many of your favorite flavors throughout the variety. “We could survive a whole year off of this stuff, Shouto.”

You stiffened when an arm wrapped around your middle, his front pressing up against your back as his chin fell onto your shoulder. That same comforting scent encircled you, but this time it was mixed with a subtle, woodsy aroma that made your mouth water.

Shouto breathed softly into your hair, the tip of his nose brushing the side of your neck. “I stocked up for your return, love.” He took another leisurely deep breath before he pulled back, his arm falling from your body and leaving you surprisingly cold without his touch. “Wanted you to have everything you could possibly desire.”

Your eyes inspected the pattern on the hardwood floor as he stepped away from you, your arm crossing over your front to grab onto your bicep nervously. Letting out a small laugh, you replied, “Yeah, I think you covered all the bases…”

He only hummed as he returned to his seat, sliding on a pair of thin metal glasses you hadn’t seen him take off before. You couldn’t help but think he looked incredibly handsome like this— a rare, domestic sight for only your eyes to enjoy. “Sorry I can’t entertain you at the moment,” he said, that analytical gaze locking onto you once more. “My agency asked me to look over these cases and I just have to finish them up— I’m technically on leave, but I still want to help out when I can. I only need another half hour or so. Feel free to help yourself to anything you like. This is your home, after all.”

You smiled and nodded, rolling back and forth on the balls of your feet. “Alright, I’ll try not to bother you.” Shouto frowned at your wording, but you carried on anyway. “I think I’ll poke around our room and see if I can find something that triggers a memory.” Your acknowledgement of your shared bedroom seemed to put him at ease, and with that, you grabbed a strawberry-flavored snack from the pantry before making your way past him, roaming over to the bedroom.

“You can go through my things if you want, too!” He called from behind you, having already made your way to the stairs. Choosing not to reply to his invitation, you hopped up the steps and quietly closed the door to your bedroom, hands landing on your hips. Inspecting the room from left to right, you decided to go through the toiletries in the master bath before anything else.

Before you could move even a foot in the direction of the en-suite, a furry creature darted out from underneath the bed skirt and dashed toward you. You gasped in delight at the gorgeous visage of the long-haired cat— she had bright blue eyes and fine white fur, her coat streaked with gray here and there. The cat meowed cutely and curled around your ankle, rubbing her head against your leg affectionately.

You immediately crouched down and lowered yourself to her level, fingers eagerly diving into her soft fur and offering a good scratch behind the ears. “Hi gorgeous,” you cooed, the animal mewling back at you in response. Your fingers found her collar and you flipped over the tag, reading her name with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Yuki.” 

Heart softened at the thought of Shouto owning such a pretty creature, you gave her a good long rub before you decided to move on to your quest at hand. The creature followed closely behind, twisting in between your legs as you entered the en-suite.

The bathroom was large and luxurious, just what you would expect from a pro-hero of Shouto’s standing. It occurred to you that you too, were a hero of such regard, which must explain why you could afford all the lavish things you came across while combing through the closets and cabinetry.

You went through countless skincare products, face masks, makeup items, and bathing goods on what you presumed was your side of the double sink before you peeked into Shouto’s drawers. You fingered through his hygienic products, mumbling to yourself in surprise when you came across skincare items whose existence most men would not even be aware of. You shrugged and figured that you just must be an excellent girlfriend and teacher, assuming he used them correctly.

Eventually you found his shaving items, eyes scanning the labels until you find his aftershave. Shrugging, you took the cap off, giving a tentative sniff before you realized that must be what you smelled on him earlier, when he’d pressed up against you from behind and nuzzled into your neck. You bit your lip as you recalled how his arm felt around your waist, his nose on your throat. It had felt so intimate, and oddly… natural.

It was the most contact you’d had with him so far. While you were at the hospital, he would hold your hand. Besides that first moment when you had just woken up— when he hugged and kissed you, and the fireworks that had gone off had been then overshadowed by the horrific realization that your memory had been wiped— the half-hug just twenty minutes ago was the only time he had initiated further physical contact with you.

You frowned. It wasn’t like you’d been super affectionate toward him, either. Sure, you had reached out for his hand at the hospital, and you took it again during the car ride home… but now that it was just the two of you, alone in your home… it felt different. Maybe that was why Shouto had asked if you felt nervous when you were in the car, following your discharge from the hospital only an hour ago. Had he seen it coming— this potential pitfall in the reconstruction of your relationship? You wondered how he felt about all of this, but you were too shy to ask him so directly. Not when you barely knew him.

“Missed me so much you’re sniffing my cologne?”

You froze and glanced up at the mirror, Shouto’s reflection smirking at you from his leaned position against the doorway. Your cheeks immediately went warm and fuzzy again as you capped the glass bottle, carefully placing it back into its drawer before looking over your shoulder to him. A glance at the clock on the wall revealed it had been forty minutes; you must have gotten swept up in examining your beauty products.

He didn't have his glasses on anymore, and he had changed into a solid-colored t-shirt, the crisp button-down he’d donned earlier nowhere to be seen. Damn it… you had missed your chance to ogle at him with his shirt off. At your silence, his smirk melted into a small smile, stepping forward and joining your sitting form on the heated-tile floor. “Don’t worry, I’ve done the same to your perfume before as well,” he murmured as he reached toward the drawer on your far side, his arm brushing against your back as he searched for the glass vial. “You can try it, too. It’s the most recent addition to your collection, and I personally am very partial to its scent.”

The contact made you swallow, your gaze flicking over to his. He was looking at the various perfume bottles in the drawer, though, giving you the chance to inspect his face as his hair fell forward, soft locks of red and white splaying across his forehead. He was so breathtaking up close like this… your gaze dropped to his lips. God, you wanted to kiss him. You wanted to feel those lips on yours again, to be in his arms and to be held as tenderly as you were that first day you awoke.

“Oh right,” he chuckled, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. “I brought it into the spare room the other day… Must’ve forgot to put it back.” He leaned back, ending the accidental physical contact with you.

You looked at him quizzically. “The spare room? Can I ask why?”

Shouto blushed and your heart thudded in your chest. Oh crap, he was so cute with his cheeks tinged pink. “Yeah… I’ve been sleeping in there since the accident. It just feels…,” he paused as he searched for the right word, eyes avoiding yours, “wrong… to be in our bed without you.”

Your own cheeks warmed at that, his confession pulling at your heartstrings. “So the perfume..?”

His cheeks darkened a few shades, the hand on his neck rubbing harder at his skin. “Ah, that’s… honestly kind of… embarrassing to explain.”

You reached out so your hand covered his, and Shouto sighed as he allowed your fingers to slide in between his. “Can I guess? Will you tell me if I’m right?” He nodded at that, deciding it was better if he didn't have to say it. “You spray my perfume onto a pillow at night and snuggle up with it?”

Shouto’s eyes widened at your immediate response, swallowing before he let out a stiff laugh and a nod. “Yeah, that’s exactly right… kind of lame, isn’t it?”

Shaking your head, you smiled gently at him. “No, I think it’s sweet. It’s just what I would do if you were away, too.”

There’s a shocked silence that filled the bathroom then, Shouto’s wide eyes fixed on you for a long, intense moment. Eventually you broke eye contact, looking to the floor with an awkward smile.

“And you don’t have to do that tonight…” you offered quietly. “If you want, I mean… you can sleep in here.”

“Is that where you’ll be sleeping?”

You looked back at him, surprised by his instant reply. “Y-Yeah, I think so…”

“Alright,” he conceded, his blank face melting into a warm smile. “Then that’s where I’ll sleep, too.”

You returned the gesture, pleased to have made him happy. “Will you be spraying me with perfume before we tuck in?” you joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“No,” Shouto answered seriously, the smile dropping from his face, “your natural scent is a thousand times better than any perfume, love. I’ve missed it lingering on our sheets.”

Cheeks warmed for what seemed like the thousandth time today, you tucked a piece of hair behind your ear and smiled, unsure of what to say. “Aha okay… well, I think you smell pretty good, too.”

⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆

Shouto originally wanted to order in from your favorite restaurant for dinner, but you managed to sweet talk him into allowing you to cook instead. After about a week of feeling completely worthless, it was nice to have something you could finally, actually do.

The refrigerator was just as stocked as the pantry, so after analyzing the plethora of ingredients at your disposal, you decided on a meal and set off, gathering all the things you’d need in an excited hurry. Just as you were about to start washing vegetables, Shouto slipped an apron over your head, steady hands drawing the ties together at the bottom of your spine. The garment fit you perfectly, intricate design in your favorite color. You thanked him as you glanced over your shoulder, grinning up at him.

There was a somewhat somber look in his eyes, a halfhearted smile just barely curving his lips before he nodded and moved away, retreating back to the other side of the counter where he’s staked out to watch you work. He’d offered to help— numerous times, actually— but you told him to just sit back and relax. You wanted to do something for the tired man, even if it was as small as putting together a meal.

It didn't take long for you to get into a rhythm. Chopping the vegetables and preparing the other ingredients came naturally to you, and you found yourself enjoying the process. It was something familiar, which was very much welcome.

“Do we cook a lot?” you inquired, raising your voice a bit so Shouto could hear you over the sizzling pan in front of you.

He was leaning on the countertop again— he must’ve known he looked delicious like that or something— and he glanced over at you from the open book he was reading. “Mm, when we have time. It’s not that we don’t enjoy it, but usually we’re both very busy. It’s normal for us to leave early, and return home late.”

You nodded in understanding, grinding fresh peppercorns above the skillet and giving the contents a stir.

“I like everything you cook for me, though.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that, stealing a look over at him. While your cooking had improved since your teenage years, it wasn’t like you were a chef by any means. “Everything? You’re just trying to be sweet on me.”

The corner of his mouth curled up. “Maybe… is it working?”

The sound of the food crackling from a drizzle of oil filled the kitchen for a beat, and you stared at the wilting greens before you, unable to bring yourself to look at him. “Yeah, I think it’s working…”

There was another pause in conversation, this one less stifling than before. This time, Shouto broke the ice. “Even though we’re busy people, we always have a date every Friday… It’s the highlight of my week.” His voice sounded gloomier than just a moment ago, but when you chanced a look over at him, he was smiling slightly, staring at a cabinet and seemingly off in his own memories.

You wondered which memory he was going over particularly, but didn’t want to intrude his recollection, so you focused on stirring the pan instead. Tapping your phone on the counter next to you just to make sure, your eyes flitted over today’s date. 

Thursday. 

“Tomorrow’s a Friday,” you mentioned, trying to be casual, despite your heartbeat ringing in your ears. It was stupid for you to get anxious that he’d reject you— he was your boyfriend after all. But to you, this was all  uncharted territory; foreign waters.

“Tomorrow is a Friday, yeah,” he confirmed, looking down at his book again. “It’ll be a week since you woke up.”

The realization that you’d woken up exactly one week ago—the day that caused the man so much joy and then so much pain— that that day had been on a Friday, your sacred day that was devoted to being spent with each other… it made your heart throb uncomfortably in your chest. You nibbled on the inside of your cheek, shutting off the burner and transferring the food into a serving dish. Bringing it over to the counter and setting it in front of him, you untied the apron and folded it neatly, placing that on the counter too.

“Would you… want to go out with me tomorrow, then?” you proposed smally, opening the drawers before you in search of eating utensils. You frowned when all you were met with was measuring cups and spatulas. “For our Friday date ritual, I mean.”

Shouto stood and crossed the island, opening the drawer behind you and revealing all the silverware and chopsticks. You moved to grab two pairs of chopsticks and he took your wrist gently, large thumb stroking across your skin. His other hand came to brush against the small of your back, but he chose not to grab onto you. “I would love that.”

You shared a smile and a meaningful look.

“Then it’s a date.”

⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆

After the dishes were all washed, you agreed to watch a movie. You had initially wanted to pour over your things again, to see if anything could help your memories come back. But Shouto had suggested the two of you relax on the couch instead, explaining that  he was not surprised that you were overworking yourself, but that it was his job to make sure you took care of yourself. He further threatened that if you wouldn’t take care of yourself, then he would have to “take care of you himself”, and that left you flustered more than anything. So you dropped whatever excuse you had prepared to argue back at him and followed him to the living room.

Walking in, you blinked in awe at the spread that Shouto had set up. Numerous candies and snacks are laid out for your convenience across the coffee table. The lights were dimmed and curtains drawn, even a few candles flickering in the shadows and scenting the room with a cool, refreshing aroma. There was a pile of blankets stacked in the center of the sofa, all the decorative pillows pushed into the corners to leave one large space for the two of you to share. It was a little… dare you say it… romantic. You looked over your shoulder at him, shooting him a suspicious glance. He had led you to believe he was “taking care of you”, but it seemed he had ulterior motives, too. Not that you were complaining.

Seating yourself next to the blanket tower, you peeled one off the top before unfolding it, letting the soft fleece tickle your ankles and lay across your lap. Shouto crossed in front of the TV, grabbing two remotes from the basket and coming to sit next to you. There was a respectful amount of space between your legs, and you couldn’t help but frown at the gap. You thought that he would sit right next to you…

It took a little while for you to settle on a movie, all the films from the past five years unknown and novel to you… even if Shouto informed you you had already seen them. He went along with your selection without resistance, opting to grab one of the biscuit snacks on the table before you.

As the movie began, you leaned back against the soft cushions of the couch, not really focusing on the actors on the screen. Your eyes were trained on the television, but your mind was elsewhere, unable to distract yourself with the story. You also noticed that Shouto was sitting stiff as a board next to you, focused on nibbling at his snack. He didn’t attempt any moves at you throughout the first thirty minutes, even after he’d finished with his confection. Slowly you allowed yourself to relax, succumbing to the film and settling into the pillowy sofa.

Shouto detected your newfound relaxation, a gentle smile tugging at his lips as he watched your eyes fix on the main character and her love interest. “I’m going to make some tea. Would you like a cup, love?”

“I’m okay, thanks…” you replied softly, not really hearing him as the love interest was in the middle of their heartfelt confession.

He took a moment alone in the kitchen to calm himself. Even though you had been very receptive to him, he couldn’t help but feel hesitant whenever he touched you. He wanted you to want him; for you to want him to touch you. But he didn’t want to force anything with you, in fear that he’d scare you off or make a bad impression. He didn’t want to be pushy. Even before the accident, his heart still pounded whenever you would smile at him. When you would grab his hand, bring him something because it reminded you of him… when you would moan into his ear at ungodly hours in the night… Now it felt like his heart was in his throat every time you spoke to him, like if he said one word wrong, you’d fly away from him and never look back. It was terrifying.

Shouto shook his head. Sighing to himself, he filled his mug with water and held the ceramic in his hands, steam rising off the surface of the liquid almost instantly as he activated his quirk. He allowed the tea leaves to steep for a moment before he fished them out, steeling his nerves and returning to his spot on the couch. He couldn’t be sure, but it looked like you’d scooted over just the tiniest bit, shortening the distance between you two as he took his seat.

Your eyes flicked over to him and caught his gaze on you, inspecting the mug in his hands before giving a curious sniff. “Chamomile?”

He nodded and offered the cup to you, which you took in both hands. “Technically, it’s called Sleepytime Mix. But yes, it has chamomile. Have some, if you want.”

“Ah,” you gave a long inhale and smiled drowsily at the familiar scent. “I don’t wanna drink all your tea. And besides, it’s a little hot for me.”

“Oh,” Shouto said, taking the cup back into his hands. He focused for a second, and then the liquid no longer emitted steam, now a pleasant, warm temperature. “Try it now. Help yourself, please.” He handed the mug back to you, the light from the television flickering across his handsome face.

You blinked at him cutely, taking the mug in your hands again. Your fingers brushed against his in the transfer, and he cleared his throat slightly, skin warmed from your touch. “Wow!” you chimed after a sip, going back for another few gulps before you handed it back to him. “It’s really good. Perfect temp, Sho, thank you.”

Shouto felt his heart skip a beat in his chest, his eyes widening at the name he hadn’t heard in weeks. It sounded so good rolling off your tongue, so right. At his flustered expression, you laughed awkwardly, fingers delving into the blanket and looking away meekly.

“Sorry… I thought that that was probably what you’re used to me calling you, but I can use something else if you like.”

“No,” he said instantly, his hand automatically reaching for yours. He pried it out of the fleecy material, folding his fingers around yours. “I like it. Please call me that, I… I’ve missed hearing it.”

“Alright,” you mumbled, fingers squeezing his for a moment. You kept his gaze for a long pause, and then you duck down, scooching flush against his side and laying your head onto his broad shoulder. It caught him off guard, but after a moment of buffering, he moved, his arm tentatively wrapping around your shoulders and pulling you against his side. The action made your cheeks perhaps as hot as the tea in his mug, but you only settled deeper into his embrace, happy to be in his arms. You fixed the blanket so it covered his long legs, too, settling over the both of you snuggly.

You two stayed like that for the rest of the movie, another forty five minutes or so. Your hand gradually moved to rest on his stomach, his long fingers stroking your spine through your shirt. It was new to you, but it was comfortable— your body recognized his touch and welcomed it, even— years of unknowingly conditioning yourself to receive his affection allowing you to accept his embrace. By the end of the film, you were dozing off, warm and relaxed now more than ever, curled up into Shouto’s side.

Shouto, however, was wide awake, his pulse rushing in his ears at your proximity. It had been a very long month without you, and now here you were, cuddled up with him just like how you used to be every night. He knew you were somewhere in between consciousness and sleep, so he let the entire movie credits roll by before he decided to move you. Still holding his mug, which had been empty for the past half hour— but he didn’t want to risk moving and causing you to pull away— he set it on the side table, carefully maneuvering his wide frame so as to not disturb you.

You whined in protest but did not stir when he curled his arms around you, picking your form up and off the couch. After making sure all the candles were blown out and the lights were turned off, he quietly carried you to your shared room, not bothering to turn on the lights. It was then that he hesitated to make the next move— you were still in your clothes from the day, and he wasn’t sure if you would want him to see your bare body if he took the liberty to rid you of them.

His tongue wandered over the bottom of his teeth as he gazed at you, strewn across the soft blankets that covered your bed. The few beams of moonlight that slithered through the bottom of the blinds fell perfectly onto your face, your lashes casting long shadows onto the duvet and giving you an ethereal glow. He could imagine how your naked skin looked underneath that cute little sweater you donned, your bra strap poking out as if to tease him even more. His eyes slammed shut as he sucked in a sharp breath between his teeth, recognizing the color, and the image of you clad in the matching panties that completed the set suddenly sprung forth in his mind.

Acquainted was an understatement as to how well he knew your body, but the problem was not as simple as physicality— the problem was mental, and it could not be vanquished by anything except time, it seemed. The beautiful brain he loved so dearly was now wiped, void of all the memories the two of you had made and cherished together. Shouto clutched his stomach as he took a seat on the ottoman at the foot of the bed, feeling sick from the forceful whirlwind of emotion that came along with the thoughts that crept up on him in the night. The knowledge that you did not remember him, not even one measly memory of him, upset him more than anything.

He had not realized how much his world had shifted now that he had you. Of course, he loved you and he made great effort to ensure that you knew the extent of his devotion to you. But it wasn’t until you had woken up like this, confused and distraught, mind reverted to just months before he had even met you, that he had come to terms with just how much you meant to him. He knew that he loved you before. But now he knew the pain of being unable to hold you, and be with you— really, even talk to you like he had grown so accustomed to.

It was eating him alive, and tearing him apart.

When you had awoken after such an excruciating, lonely month, he had been overjoyed. Finally, he could be with you again— he could touch you and kiss you, hear your sweet voice, hold your body close to his as you fell asleep, and wake up with you still in his arms, groggy and adorable… except, he couldn’t. Because while you knew who he was… you didn’t, really. You didn’t know him at all. And what hurt the most was that he could see that you were trying… but at the end of the day, he was only a stranger to you. He was not your boyfriend, not anything more, other than a hero that you idolized and had a silly crush on.

At the very least, he found comfort in the knowledge that you found him attractive. Of course, you had revealed to him, albeit once you were deep into your relationship, that you had fantasized about him and fostered a schoolgirlish crush on him when you hadn’t yet been introduced. He remembered laughing at your embarrassed confession, pinching your cheeks and then kissing you through his smile… then, taking you from behind as you bent over the bathroom counter, pressing you against the mirror as he donned his hero suit, savoring your pleading moans for him to fuck you deeper, harder.

His cock twitched in his slacks, blood beginning to travel south as his interest grew for the first time in weeks. He groaned and he grit his teeth, frustrated at himself for even daring to feel desire while you laid asleep next to him, plagued by your wiped memory but sitting there looking like that. Gorgeous and untouchable.

As if his heated gaze had summoned you from your slumber, your eyes opened and you blinked at him, squinting at his silhouette in the dark of the room. Shouto recoiled even though he hadn’t been caught doing anything too suspicious; he was a good distance away from you, but still, you had caught him staring at you like a creep in the shadows.

“Sho?” you mumbled drowsily, a hand coming up to rub at your eyes. You propped your body up on your elbows, your shift stretching flush over your chest.

Shouto nearly moaned at the sight combined with the sound of your sleepy voice uttering his name. It didn't help the situation that was stirring in his pants one bit, only adding water to an oil fire. “Hey,” he replied, clearing his throat. “You fell asleep, so I brought you to bed.. Did you want to clean up before we go to sleep?”

You sighed, rolling over as you roused yourself from sleep. “Not really…,” you chuckled, and Shouto felt his chest tighten at the premise of having to get into bed with you with his problem at hand. “But I’ll be a responsible adult,” you finished, rolling out of bed and padding over to the bathroom.

He glanced over at you in the mirror as you brushed your teeth, the cat curling around his ankle and taking his attention away from you. Giving the animal a scratch underneath her chin, he tried to focus on calming himself, closing his eyes and controlling his breathing. Even though this wasn’t at all like how it had been before, it was still better than being alone. Your presence, the sound of you tidying yourself up in the nearby vicinity, took the month-long weight of loneliness off of his chest. It still stung, it still hurt— but at the very least, you were here. You were alive, and you were here with him.

It was you calling out for him that interrupted his train of thought, and when he looked toward your voice, he found you peeking around the doorframe, your hair pushed back and your face glistening with moisture from your nightly routine. “Aren’t you going to wash up, too? There’s two sinks in here, y’know,” you stated matter-of-factly, as if he didn’t know the layout of his own home.

But Shouto only smiled at you and nodded, leaving the cat and accepting your invitation for him to join you in your bedtime ritual. The situation in his pants had since relaxed, thankfully, so he didn’t have to worry as he took his place adjacent to you at the sink counter. Squeezing toothpaste onto the bristles of his toothbrush, and watching you put on your moisturizer in his peripheral, it felt almost as if nothing had changed. For the first time in a long time, he let himself forget about the horrible curveball that life had thrown at him, instead choosing to stare at you as you picked up the cat at your feet, and placed a sweet kiss on the top of its head as you cradled it in your arms.

You padded out of the bathroom first, opting to close the door behind you. After Shouto had finished his routine, he slinked out into the bedroom quietly, surprise flickering in his gaze at the pyjamas you were now dressed in— a pair of soft sleep shorts and an old t-shirt you had stolen from him years ago. He tried not to stare as you crawled into the sheets, the cat taking her perch at the foot of the bed.

The clearing of his throat caught your attention, and he licked his lip as your eyes settled on his. “Is it okay if I sleep without a shirt?” he asked, having to keep himself from smirking as your eyes widened and a flustered expression blossomed on your face. Cute.

“Y-Yeah,” you stuttered after a second of recalibrating, your eyes still trained on his. “The doctors said we should just live out our normal routine, so… whatever we normally do, we should do.” Sliding deeper underneath the comforter, you pretended to look busy as you fiddled with your phone.

Shouto bit his lip and wondered if telling you that your nightly routine of getting naked and passionate between the sheets would do you any good, but he decided against it, not willing to push his luck. Instead, he tore his shirt over his head and pulled down his pants, turning toward the wall so you wouldn’t have to look him in the eye. He could still feel your gaze on his flesh— he always could, for his skin prickled and the hairs on his body stood up as your eyes roved over every inch of him in appreciation. He didn’t need to see you to know that you were staring.

After he stepped into a long pair of sleep pants, he turned and pretended not to notice your obvious shuffling in a foiled attempt to not be caught looking at him. Carefully he slipped into the sheets on his side of the bed, ensuring not to wander too close to you in order to keep a respectful distance between your bodies… even though he wanted nothing more than to launch himself at you, and wrap his body around yours until neither of you could tell where one of you stopped, and the other started.

There was a long, stuffy silence as the two of you laid there, both of you unsure as to the level of affection you should be displaying at the moment. Shouto was doubtful that you’d want him to hold you like he so desperately desired, and you were hesitant to initiate anything with him laying frozen and a good distance away from you.

“Is this… how we normally sleep?” you wondered aloud, and though you were surprised that the words actually fell from your lips, you were grateful to have broken the rising tension.

Shouto left out a breath he had been holding at that, turning so that he was facing you on his side. “No,” he answered truthfully, his fingers sliding over the cool cotton that separated your bodies, wandering toward you at a snail's pace. “Usually… we like to,” he cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the lump that was situated there, “snuggle.”

In the quiet of the room, he could hear your lips part, a soft breath falling from between them as you processed his response. Your heart was beating faster now, body crying out for his touch, his embrace. “Can we?” you asked so softly that you hadn’t thought he’d heard you, but slowly, surely, he shuffled toward you.

You inhaled as he placed a gentle hand on your waist, pulling your body to slide across the sheets and meet him in the middle of the bed. Lifting your head so he could slip his arm beneath your neck, he brought your face into his neck, arms wrapping tight around your torso. His fingers dug into your side and the hair at the crown of your neck, curling around the tendrils as if he was scared that you would slip out of his grasp at any moment. Pressed up against his bare chest, you could hear the steady, fast thumping of his heart, and the shakiness in each breath he drew in and let out.

It sounded like he was trying not to cry.

Your hand wandered up and under his neck, your elbow angling around the back of his neck so that your fingers could trace the sinews that lined his shoulder blades. Your other arm slung around his back, and although it was just a bit of a reach, you managed to find his silky locks, combing through the ends with your fingers. Daring to push the fragile boundaries that kept you two separate, you threw your leg across his hips, trapping his legs between yours and pressing your body completely flush against his.

Shouto stopped breathing, tears threatening to spill over as he held you so delicately for the first time in what seemed like forever. Similar emotions were flowing through you as well, your body singing at the feeling of being with him, in his embrace. Your heart throbbed at the thought of leaving this man alone for an entire month, with no one to comfort him and calm his worries. No one to hold him and tell him that it was going to be okay, no one to plant kisses across his tear-streaked cheeks and help him forget his pain.

It wasn’t your fault you had been in this accident, that you had forgotten your memories from the past five years. But it wasn’t his, either. The two of you were forced to suffer in different ways, separated by your condition and worlds apart. You wished so desperately that you would just remember already— if not for your sake, then for his. Anything that would make him feel better, anything to ease the ache in his heart.

“I’m sorry,” you choked out quietly, overcome with emotion as you laid in the arms of the man you had once loved. The man you’d been learning to love again. “I’m so sorry I don’t remember you. I want to, I’m trying.” A tear dripped down your face and landed on his chest, sliding down to stain the sheets.

Shouto sucked in a shaky breath at your meager apology, rough fingers running over the back of your neck. “I know you are,” he murmured, and you could feel him swallow thickly as he tried to find the right words. “It’s not your fault, love… You can’t— you can’t blame yourself.” His voice broke at the last syllable, his arms squeezing tighter as he held onto you.

You pressed your face into the junction between his shoulder and his neck, uncaring of your tears that smeared across his skin. “Neither can you,” you sniffled, body clinging to him as best you could. “Please, Shouto, promise me you won’t.”

It was then that he let the tears he had been holding back fall, racing down his cheeks to plop onto the dampening pillow. You held him as he cried, unphased by the sudden outburst of emotion from the man who had shown you so little of himself in the past week.

“I’ll try,” he mumbled into your hair once he had calmed down a bit, lungs still rattling as he tried to suppress his emotions. “For you, I’ll try.”

You leaned back from his chest, his heart seizing up at the tear tracks on your cheeks that were illuminated by the soft moon’s glow. And then, you kissed him. It was simple and sweet, just your lips pressed to his as your thumb swiped across his cheek. But it felt like you were breathing life into him, like he had been starved of oxygen until this very moment.

Both of you gasped when you pulled away, the kiss having lasted as long as you could stand without breaking for breath. Your eyes wandered from his shining ones to his lips, shocked that you had planted such a passionate kiss there just seconds ago. It had worked, though— Shouto was breathing normally and his tears had stopped, dual-colored eyes now staring at you as if you had just given him a purpose to live. You licked your lips, not missing the way his gaze flicked down to watch the action with longing, but he did not act on it.

“We’ll get through this together,” you whispered, hand resting on his sharp jawline. There was not a hint of doubt in your voice, no hesitance nor fear. It was just a fact, simple as that. You let yourself look at his handsome face for a moment longer before you ducked and nuzzled into his chest again, taking your spot as if you had never left.

Shouto exhaled, his fingers trailing down your spine as he closed his eyes, syncing his breathing to yours. The feeling of your body wrapped around his made his bones glow with a missed sense of comfort, his heart fuller than it had been for quite some time. He welcomed sleep to take him, the exhaustion of many long and insomnia-plagued nights from the past month all piling on. Pressing his lips to your forehead as softly as he could, he closed his eyes and murmured one word, wishing with every fiber of his being for you to wake up the next morning and have just one memory of him.

“Together.”

─── ・°* ﾟ✧:* • ｡ﾟ:*･☽･*: ｡ﾟ•*:✧ ﾟ*°・ ───

.

.

...soooooooo idk how this is only part 1, shit’s 11k already 💀 ahh for those of you who made it through, thank you so much for reading and i hope you enjoyed!! there was no smut in this chapter which is so foreign to me, but i’m hoping to improve my story creation skills as part of my 2021 author resolutions... so, let me know what you think! hopefully part 2 will come to fruition soon, but it would probably come faster if i knew people were waiting for it ;) 

➥ masterlist

𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 © 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐩𝐢 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝.

#shouto todoroki x reader #shoto todoroki x reader #shouto x reader #todoroki x reader #shouto todoroki angst #shoto todoroki angst #todoroki angst #shouto angst #mha x reader #bnha x reader #mha angst #bnha angst #shouto todoroki fic #shoto todoroki fic #shouto fic #todoroki fic #bnha fic #mha fic #my fics #series: aMTO #shouto todoroki smut #shoto todoroki smut #shoto smut #shouto smut #todoroki smut #bnha smut #mha smut

[rocorambles]

It's Always Been You

Pairing: Semi x Reader

Genre: SFW, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff (I swear it’s more fluff than hurt/comfort), Getting together

Summary: You’ve always known Semi was your first choice. Now you just need to convince HIM that it’s true. Easier said than done.

Prompt: “When will I be someone’s first choice? Tell me, when?”

A/N: This is my contribution for the HQHQ SFW collaboration. There are so many talented writers on the server and I highly encourage you to check out the collaboration masterlist here to see how everyone decided to run with this prompt. (Also this is an AU where the boy’s and girl’s volleyball teams practice in the same gym. Just go with it. LOL Please and thank you.) Thank you for beta-ing @sawamooora~

There’s a certain sense of pride and anxiety that comes from being accepted to Shiratorizawa as a student athlete. Pride from knowing your athletic prowess has been recognized as being at least notable. Anxiety from not knowing if that’s all it’ll amount to, talent that’s forced to remain seated on a bench as other, even more capable athletes surpass and outrank you. But as wide-eyed first years, Semi and you don’t feel that full weight yet, not as you watch and learn from your senpais in awe, and it’s that curiosity, that love for the sport that brings you two together.

Semi’s always been on the quieter side, but when he sees you in the corner of the girl’s side of the gym all by yourself, practicing setting a volleyball against the wall, recognizing you as a fellow newbie from his class, he takes his chance. It’s an easy friendship, one that easily crosses from the court, to the classroom, to after school study sessions and hangouts. And even though it sucks to still be set aside on the bench, left to cheer on your upperclassmen while the both of you hone your skills, it brings both of you comfort that you’re not alone, that you have someone else cheering you on, growing and improving right alongside you.

It’s hard work trying to stand out among all the hopeful first years at Shiratorizawa, but the endless hours of hard work and encouragement you give each other, the shouts to keep on going, the careful bandaging of each other’s fingers before and after grueling practices, it all pays off. The two of you proudly stand side by side in your second year as your parents snap a photo of both of you donning your brand new team uniforms, marking you as starting players.

The adrenaline of the cheering audience, the exhilaration of being in a real game, it’s everything both of you have wished for and more. But through the excitement, a nagging worry tugs at Semi as he watches the new rookie setter, Shirabu Kenjirou, from afar.

There’s nothing wrong with Shirabu. He’s a smart kid, albeit a little short tempered and rude at times, but aren’t they all in high school? But it’s not his attitude, not even his shitty haircut that bothers Semi. It’s the ease with which he connects with the rest of the team, the natural skill and talent he possesses, the way Coach Washijou stares at the younger male with interest, that has Semi striving harder, his desire to stand out and prove himself only hindering him and the team more.

And reality comes crashing down around him one day as a shrill whistle jars him from his razor sharp focus, the paddle with his number being held up by Shirabu making his heart drop to his stomach as he’s subbed out, face heating with humiliation and embarrassment as his teammates eagerly high five and clap the younger setter on the court, welcoming him into the game.

Just like that, he’s been replaced.

It hurts, but he knows it’s to be expected. He had seen it coming, and acknowledges that it’s the better decision for the team. But that doesn’t make it sting any less. And he watches with steely eyes at how effortlessly Shirabu melds in with the team, the ball easily and smoothly connecting.

He thinks this is the worst of the heartache, vowing that he’ll just work harder, at least be a useful pinch server. He’ll be the best setter he can when he’s needed. But what he isn’t expecting is the lancing stab to his heart when he sees you rush over to Shirabu after the match is over, the way you’re practically bouncing on the soles of your feet as you fawn over the younger setter, congratulating him on his first game, complimenting him on a job well done, not even sparing a glance in his direction. In your defense, you do make your way towards him eventually, but he can feel the pity in your eyes, the way you approach him as if he’s a wounded animal, and he slaps your hand away before it can come in contact with his arms, storming off, leaving you gaping in his wake.

The situation was poorly handled and he knows he owes an apology at minimum, but those words get stuck in his throat when he spies you chatting one-on-one with Shirabu at practice the next day while the boy’s and girl’s teams share the same gym. It’s vaguely reminiscent of watching a horror film and despite the way he freezes, heart clenching, Semi can’t tear his eyes away as you demonstrate some setting techniques and drills to Shirabu. And when your bandaged fingers carefully wrap around the younger male’s forearms to adjust his posture, Semi rushes off, unable to bear watching how once again, he’s become irrelevant.

He wonders— hopes that it’s just a one off thing, that things will return to how they once were. But they don’t, and he watches as Shirabu and you laugh and joke, high fiving and cheering each other on as you help one another practice, time and time again. He tries his best to ignore it, gritting his teeth and using more strength than necessary in his practice serves, brushing off the concerned questions from even usually stoic Ushijima. But it all comes to a head when Shirabu is absent from practice one day and you cheerfully walk up to him like no time has passed, like you hadn’t turned around and instantly betrayed him for a better version of himself, grinning as you ask him to practice with you.

There’s a sick satisfaction in how quickly your smile disappears, the flash of hurt in your eyes when he sneers at you, thanking you for “gracing him with your presence”.

“Glad you could find it in yourself to make some time for me. Thought you’d skip out on practice to take care of your little boyfriend.”

“What-”

The whole gym stares at both of you as his harsh voice echoes throughout the area.

“When will I be someone’s first choice? Tell me, when?!”

Semi and you don’t talk to each other for the rest of that year, although not for quite the same reasons.

For Semi, it’s a completely burned bridge and, as good as seeing you feel some of the same pain he feels is, there’s an emptiness inside of him as he goes home that night. The belief that he’s ruined everything between the two of you heavily weighs inside of him.

For you, it’s a medley of hurt, shock, and confusion. You give Semi the time he needs to cool off, give yourself the time and space to ponder and think into the late and early hours of each night, wondering where everything went wrong.

Shirabu? Boyfriend? How could Semi possibly even believe that?

Being an upperclassman means mentorship and guidance. So when Shirabu had come up to you one day after he became the boy’s team’s starting setter, you had graciously offered up some tips, let him know that you’d practice with him if you were free, encouraged him. You had missed your easy banters with Semi, missed how in sync and in tune with each other you were. But how could you turn away an underclassman in need?

Yet, the more you think about it, the more you really try and understand Semi’s perspective, guilt gnaws at you, clawing at your heart.

Had you meant to neglect your closest friend? An emphatic no.

Could you see why he had felt abandoned? ...A begrudging maybe laced with remorse.

Do you want him back in your life? A resounding yes.

You know it’ll be hard work to regain Semi’s trust, know he has a stubbornness that’s hard to crack — especially when it’s been hot glued together by seeming betrayal. But you’re just as determined, just as headstrong, and to both the dismay and amusement of both your teams and classmates, you twirl together in a chaotic dance.

To say he’s caught off guard when you knock on his door one morning to walk with him to school is an understatement, but when realization comes crashing down on him, he scowls, and his parents watch while shaking their heads and hiding a laugh as you scramble to keep up with him while he pointedly ignores you and speed walks a few steps ahead of you.

His mom points out to his father the way their son slows down just the tiniest bit when you stumble in your haste to catch up.

Ushijima watches in uncomfortable confusion as you sit with them at lunch, plopping down in the empty seat beside Semi, chatting away at your old friend despite the way Semi resolutely stays silent, not even sparing you a glance.

But if the ace notices the way Semi doesn’t snap at you or pull his bento box from you as you grab a piece of fish Semi’s mom had cooked, he doesn’t say anything.

Shirabu pouts when you completely bypass him, fondly ruffling his hair as you stride towards Semi, volleyball in hand at practice. And both your teams watch in exasperation and fascination at the unintentional comedy show the two of you provide as you waddle after Semi like a baby duck following its mother, quacking your head off and never giving up even though Semi pretends he doesn’t see you in the corner of his eyes, mimicking every drill he does.

Coach Washijo and your coach wonder if they should slap both of you on the heads for this madness, but when they observe the way Semi painstakingly slows down and exaggerates his form when you struggle with an exercise, they roll their eyes, turning their attention to the other players lounging around.

Yet as amusing as it is, all shows must come to an end and your grand finale arrives with the devastating loss against Karasuno, the chances of going to Nationals again ruined just like that for the third-years.

Even for you, a bystander in the audience, just another spectator in the crowd, it’s a hard pill to swallow. Unshed tears glisten in your eyes when you see the years of hard work they’ve all put into the sport go down the drain, the slump of Semi’s shoulders as they walk off the court. You can’t even begin to imagine how the players themselves are feeling, don’t know a single word you could say to make this alright. Yet your legs are sprinting, wobbling and shaking in their frantic need to comfort your long-time friend, to try and soothe him, to tell him how proud you are of him, how this doesn’t change how you think and feel about him.

It’s more than a little awkward, panting to catch your breath as the entire dejected team stares at your sudden appearance in confusion. But Tendou’s always been a little quicker, a little sharper than the rest, and he grins, practically shoving Semi in your direction, playfully waving farewell at both of you before slamming the locker room doors shut before Semi can process what’s happened.

There’s a tense silence as you try and wrap your suddenly dry mouth around words.

“I’m sorry for your loss-”

You jolt at the cold scoff, the way Semi quickly spins on his heel, set on re-entering the locker rooms, turning his back on you.

“I don’t want to hear that from you. Go comfort your little boyfriend. I’m sure our star setter would eat those sweet words right up-”

“SHUT UP!”

This time it’s Semi’s turn to clamp his mouth shut in shock, hesitantly turning around, eyes wide as you storm towards him, jabbing your index finger into his chest.

“I swear to God, if you mention Shirabu’s name one more time while I’m talking to you, I’m going to muzzle you until you can’t say ANYTHING.”

(If either of you hear Tendou’s giggle from behind the closed doors, neither of you mention it.)

“I came to talk to YOU because I miss YOU. I like YOU. And if you could take just a minute to get your head out of your ass, you’d know that you’ve always been and always will be my first choice.”

Your chest is heaving, blood rushing in your ears from the exertion of your passion. But the reality of your accidental confession comes crashing down around you and your face heats in embarrassment, heart plummeting at the way Semi just gapes at you, speechless. You turn to rush away, mortification triggering your flight response. But a gentle, but firm tug on the hem of your shirt keeps you still.

You brace yourself for the rejection you know is coming, nervously turning around, slowly lifting your head to meet Semi’s gaze. But your heart flutters at the hope and disbelief in his eyes.

“But I thought...You and Shirabu- OW!”

You roll your eyes, a satisfied smirk on your face at the way he gingerly rubs his head, shooting you an accusing look.

“I did warn you about mentioning him, didn’t I?”

But before he can open his mouth to retort, you gently peck him on the cheek, giggling at the flabbergasted and stunned expression on his face, cooing at the faint blush that radiates across his skin.

“Hurry up and get your things. You owe me a popsicle for being such an ass this past year.”

There’s a lot more cheering and celebration in the locker room than there should be for a team that’s just lost their shot at Nationals as Semi re-enters the space, his already packed bag (courtesy of Ushijima) shoved into his arms by a gleeful red-head.

#haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu angst #semi x reader #haikyuu fic #haikyuu x reader