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spacedace · 11 months

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Here have some snippets of the AU that’s taken over my brain (featuring Elle unintentionally dunking on both of Bruce’s identities, Clark realizing he passed his taste in partners on to his son, a bit of pre/unaware that they are dating Super Serious Chaos, and some blink-and-you-miss-it background Enemies to Lovers Dick/Dan)

---

“Sorry, who’s Bruce Wayne?”

The room when quiet. All heads turned to look at Elle at the end of the table. Bruce didn’t visibly react, but Clark could make out the subtle indication of disbelief that his old friend was feeling - that they all were feeling at the interpreter’s question. Elle, suddenly aware she had the full room’s attention, had the look of someone who realized they’d said something wrong, but didn’t know what.

“You’re kidding.” John said, “You know Bruce Wayne. Everyone knows Bruce Wayne.”

Elle blinked. “I don’t.” She glanced from face to face, “Is he like a big deal? Does he work here or something? I haven’t been around that long so I might have missed him.”

It took every bit of self control Clark had not to laugh. His voice still came out a bit strangled from the effort as he offered, “No he doesn’t work here.” If Bruce was the type to do so in uniform, he’d be kicking Clark under the table.

“You live in Gotham. You have to know Bruce Wayne.” Barry said, voice going a bit high with growing bewilderment. “Mega ba-jillionair. CEO of Wayne Tech? Richest man in Gotham - in the world? Has like a hundred kids?”

Their interpreter’s nose scrunched. “So he’s like…in one of those fundamentalist cults obsessed with having a bunch of kids or something?”

Bruce actually twitched at that. The sound of utter disgust in Elle’s voice at the concept, the complete and total lack of any kind of recognition she had for the single most famous non-crime or crime-fighting related person in the city that she lived in, she truly had no idea who they were talking about. Clark had to get a recording of the room’s security feed, Lois would love this. Oh, wait no, Bruce’s kids. Maybe if he was fast enough he could text Dick to get there ASAP so he could see it all in person before it was over.

“No! Nothing like that! He adopted them - well most of them.” Barry tried to explain, looking utterly lost as he turned from Elle to the rest of them and back again. “You’re messing with us right? This is like a joke?”

Elle shook her head, looking just as lost as Barry did. “I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

“Do you know Dick Grayson?”

“I know of an officer Grayson who is a dick. Total tool. He’s been making my brother’s Dan’s life miserable for like a year now. Pretty sure not who you’re talking about though.”

“Jason Todd.”

“The library goon?”

“Tim Drake.”

“Sounds like a Dark Wing Duck character.”

“Cassandra Cain.”

“Isn’t that the author that started out writing incest Harry Potter fanfic?”

“Duke Thomas?”

“What’s he a Duke of?”

Barry snapped his fingers, pointing emphatically at Elle with a look of victory on his masked face as he shouted, “Damian Wayne!”

Damian, who had at that moment just walked into the meeting room with Jon at his heels paused in his place just behind Elle. He did pretty well at hiding his surprise at Barry seemingly shouting his civilian name and pointing at him upon walking in. Though the tense line of his shoulders suggested that if Barry was actually revealing his secret identity without warning or permission, there would be blood.

Stella Nightingale, unaware of the almost-kinda identity reveal going on around her, tilted her head in confusion at the speedster. “I’m assuming he’s related to that Bruce Wayne guy?”

“They’re all related to Bruce Wayne.” John said with open amusement now. The Green Lantern had given up on the research entirely, watching the entire debacle with a growing smirk he kept casting towards Bruce. “That man’s face is plastered absolutely everywhere in the news. How do you not know who he is?”

“If Lois Lane hasn’t written about him he can’t be that important.” Elle said with a casual certainty of one speaking a core tenant of their beliefs. Clark’s opinion of the young woman - already quite high considering her ferocious loyalty and fondness to Jon - rose sharply.

“You’re read the Daily Planet?” Clark asked, warmth curling in his chest at the mention of his wife and her work.

“I read articles by Lois Lane.” Elle said promptly, “I tried reading some articles that Kent guy she partners with sometimes wrote on his own but I couldn’t get past his writing style. Dude sounds like he’s from outer space with his word choice sometimes.”

Bruce, looking far too pleased, gave a quiet and not terribly convincing cough as Clark tried to will his soul back into his body.

It was going to be a long day.

—

“You are at least aware of who Gotham’s vigilantes are, yes?” Damian asked with a raised brow behind his mask.

Elle shrugged, giving him a sly smile. “The relevant ones.”

Clark tried to hide his short laugh with a feigned cough. Elle at least was distracted enough with Jon and Damian’s attention to notice but Bruce was giving him a look over the tablet he was trying - and undoubtedly failing - to review files on.

Jon grinned eagerly from his spot beside Elle as he asked, “Aren’t they all relevant to you? You live in Gotham.”

“I live in Crime Alley.” Elle corrected, bumping his shoulder with hers. “We have different standards of relevancy there.”

“So what are the relevant ones then?” Clark asked, pointedly ignoring Bruce’s burning stare. They’d get back to the research. Eventually. Finding out if the Gothamite who had been spending all her free time with Phoenix and Flamebird for the past year and a half was as oblivious to her city’s heroes as she was its celebrities was too entertaining a notion to pass up.

“Phoenix, obviously.” She grinned cheekily at Damian across the table, ticking names off her fingers as she continued. “Red Hood. Spoiler. Uh…Orphan?” She trailed off, forehead scrunching in concentrated thought.

“That’s can’t be all the ones you know.” Jon gaped, eyes sparkling with amusement as he glanced over to were Bruce was seated, not five feet away before turning back to watch Elle try to rack her brain for any more Gotham vigilantes. Clark could see the moment that the words are taken as a challenge as Elle sat up and looked more determined.

“No, shut up, I know more. Uh…there’s the one, um Red Sparrow? It’s another bird one with red name, I’m pretty sure. And the one with the blue - fuck I should know his name. Nightjar? Wasn’t Nightingale I would have remembered that…shit, dude threw up on our couch once I should remember his name -“

“Nightwing threw up on your couch?”

“Nightwing! That’s the bitch! He got poisoned or something and Dan drug him to our place to patch him up since Doc Thompkins’ clinic was closed.”

Clark shared a look with Bruce and Damian. Dick had failed to mention that little event. Clark could see Bruce reaching for his wrist computer, undoubtedly typing out a message his eldest about what he’d just heard - possibly another to Alfred if he was feeling like pulling out the big guns.

At the other end of the table Elle ticked Nightwing off with a nod, even as Jon squawked that it shouldn’t count since he’d given her the name, “Then there’s…uh…oh! Harley Quinn!”

“Harley Quinn does not count.”

“She beat up a guy trying to mug me last week and got me a hot chocolate afterwards, she totally counts!”

“Someone tried to mug you?”

“Crime Alley, Nix, if someone doesn’t try to mug me while I’m out I get worried that I missed Hood calling in a Street Clear for something big.”

“We’re going to circle back on that later.” Jon said, sharing a pointed glance with Damian. It looked like young Miss Nightingale was going to be getting escorted to and from the Watchtower from now on.

Ah, Clark mused, falling head over heels for someone with no understanding of the concept of self-preservation and a stubborn determination to run straight into the heart of danger without a second thought. It brought back such fond memories. Of both Lois and Bruce. And Diana. And - Hmm. Kara might have been right. Clark might have a type.

Watching the three at the other end of the table and taking them in, Clark realized he might have passed his taste in partners on to his son. Well, at least he’ll be able to give Jon some advise on how to handle the heart attacks Damian and Elle will inevitably give him.

“Harley Quinn doesn’t count. You got any more?”

Elle rolled her eyes, muttering about Harley totally counts, before leaning back in her chair. “I think I’m out. I know there’s more but,” She gave a shrug, “I’m tapped out. Those are all the ones I can think of.”

It was, surprisingly, Bruce that spoke up at that declaration, a slant of amusement to his lips as he asked, “No one else comes to mind?”

Elle waved him off, attention turning to the mountain of alien script they needed her to translate for them. It was the reason she was even there rather than in her office trying to translate whatever incredibly dangerous magic tomb JL Dark had dropped off without accidentally summoning a demon or ending hte world in the process. J’onn was right, they really should give her a raise.“That’s all I got.” She said with a sigh, “Like I said, I know the relevant ones.”

“Hn.”

Twenty minutes of shared looks of amusement and suppressed laughter later Elle’s head shot up, a look of wide eyed embarrassment on her face. “Oh my god.”

“There it is.”

“About time Nightingale, I was starting to be concerned about your mental faculties.”

“Shut up, this so embarrassing!”

“Don’t sweat it kid, we all have our moments.”

“I can’t believe I forgot Signal.”

“What.”

---

Context of this snippet if anyone is interested:

This is actually the same AU as the Steph & Jason sibling bonding Anger Management snippet from a bit ago (I’m calling it my Ghosts in Gotham AU in scrivener so I guess that’s what I’ll call it here lol). This time focused on Elle and her misadventures as a Totally Normal Civilian (TM) working for the Justice League with her two besties Jon & Damian (none of them realize yet that they’ve been dating for months).

No idea when this is supposed to take place in terms of timeline with the other snippet, but kinda vibing the idea that while Steph & Jason are having a heart to heart on a rooftop over their shared background and Jason’s future as a dad, Elle is up in the Watchtower telling Bruce Wayne to his face that she has no idea who he is and forgetting Batman is a Gotham vigilante while he’s sitting at the same table as her.

Anyway, this AU has taken over my life. Expect more nonsense to come lol

#dp x dc #dc x dp #dpxdc #dani phantom #danielle phantom #super serious chaos #superseriouschaos #jon kent #jon el kent #Damian Wayne #clark kent #justice league #bruce wayne #barry allen #john stewart #ghosts in gotham au #batfam #elle doesn't pay any attention to the famous people in gotham unless they're trying to kill her or save her #and she might not even pay attention then #and yes this is more of my headcanon that the Justice League is the world's biggest polycule #no i will never let that headcanon go i love it too much #there's a version of this world where Elle never figures out that Bruce Wayne is supposed to be kind of a big deal #years in the future she Dami & Jon are married & she has a new friend she's made over for lunch #and they see some of the family photos and are like #is that fucking Bruce Wayne at your wedding?#Elle - oblivious: oh you know my father-in-law?#Bruce gets unmasked before Elle knows about everyone's identities & he's freaking out while she's just #full lex luthor moment: I have no idea who this is #Bruce: you know who I am now #Elle - does not know who he is but doesn't want to admit to it guessing: Clark Kent?

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justapigeonn · 9 months

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DOTC REWRITE/AU

Ok so I know I said I'd never do an actual rewrite for DOTC but after some thinking I honestly couldn't help myself so here;s a megadump of some of the changes I'd make:

Turtle Tail and Bumble would escape the twoleg house together after she becomes pregnant and Tom shows his ugly side

2. Gray Wing actually realises he was the reason Turtle Tail left in the first place and apologises for being a twat

3. With Turtle tail's help, Bumble convinces the moor cats to let her stay, but she soon discovers that she's not cut out for their way of life so Turtle Tail takes her to River Ripple to live with him and his colony and she becomes a seasoned river dwelling cat. She ends up living a long, peaceful, happy life and she and Turtle tail visit each other regularly

4. Tom eventually shows up to demand Turtle Tail's kits. He ends up finding the hollow by actually scenting them out as opposed to Gray Wing doxing them out of sheer stupidity and attempts to sneak into camp and take them, but Turtle Tail intercepts him and kills him where he stands

5. This is a big one that may spark controversy but SkyClan does not exist and Clear Sky never gets to be leader. He proves time and time again even after the battle that he is not worthy of being one, let alone a FOUNDER by any stretch of the imagination. He continuously demonstrates irresponsibility, is unnecessarily controlling and cruel, even to the cats he's supposed to care about and only seems to get his shit together in the very last book, long after he should have 'learned his lesson'. He never changed and should never have been given the countless chances to redeem himself. Instead, after the battle he is stripped of his leadership role by StarClan and the other founders and the forest cats fall under Thunder's authority instead, who leaves the moor after the battle to be where he truly wants to be. Clear Sky is allowed to join his ranks but he does so with the utmost resentment and bitterness. When One Eye and Star Flower enter the scene, One Eye takes advantage of his hatred and convinces Clear Sky to spy on and betray Thunder's group with the promise of him joining his rogue group and earning a position of power by his side and Clear Sky accepts (you have full permission to interpret this as gay) while Star Flower grows close to Thunder as she does in canon, manipulating him from the side line. At some point along the line Clear Sky outs himself and Star Flower and he joins One Eye's group before having a change of heart while Star Flower has her own redemption and blah blah blah still working on it). Clear Sky realises that being a meanie head ain't it, turns against One Eye and his rogues and supports his son wholeheartedly etc. At some stage during the final battle Clear Sky is killed by one of One Eye's close supporters as a final sacrifice/attempt to redeem himself, though I'm not keen on giving him a particularly heroic death considering how angry Tom's canon death made me so I figured it would be funny of the other settlers were like 'ohh noooo, anyways' with a couple of solemn words as opposed to a whole grievingfest. As for my reasoning for omitting SkyClan completely, half of it is due to the fact that it's basically just defacto ThunderClan except for the fact that they can jump high and hunt in trees, which are easily things ThunderClan can adopt. Firestar's quest and the latter half of AVOS can just not happen which I'm sure not many people will complain about

6. Gray Wing is not a Clear Sky apologist loser and actually resents him for all the grief he has caused

7. Rather than his own big bad, Slash is rather one of One Eye's devoted followers. One ruthless manipulative rogue leader would have been quite enough to serve as the arc's main antagonist for the latter half of it's duration, with better writing they could've spread it out and and left a true impact. Considering have him kill Clear Sky in the heat of the final battle maybe as opposed to giving his slaughter to One Eye

8. Fern and and a few of the other various mistreated rogues still exist, but this time under One Eye's command. She still ends up working with Gray Wing and joining the moor cats along with some of her friends after betraying One Eye

9. Star Flower never becomes Clear Sky's third mate or is reduced to a stock sweet baby mama where her getting kidnapped, abused then giving birth in an inconvenient place is introduced as a form of conflict, but rather reconciles with Thunder and builds on the previous connection they had already established (which would be stronger in my au). He eventually forgives her and they bond over the fact that they have manic shitty bloodthirsty fathers plotting against them and team up to be their foil, eventually becoming mates at the end of the arc.

10. Slate and Violet Dawn do not exist. This isn't because I don't like them as characters but imo never existing in the first place is a far better fate than being last minute underdeveloped love interests for the male protagonists with no other function in the story whatsoever

11. Quiet Rain is not guilted into forgiving Clear Sky for the atrocities he committed on her deathbed by Shaded Moss (who had no business doing so considering the fact that he wasn't a victim of his and she was particularly angry at the fact that he has killed Rainswept Flower who seemingly didn't get a say in the matter)

This was super lengthy and I ended up adding way more than I expected but I do hope to expand on them in the future. There are other things I have issues with such as the way Gray Wing treats Jagged Peak in numerous scenes as well as the overall ableism of the arc but this is all for now :3

#warrior cats #warriors #wc #dotc #dawn of the clans #clear sky #turtle tail #bumble #thunder #thunderstar #one eye #star flower #violet dawn #slate #gray wing #river ripple #slash #jagged peak

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ruthlesslistener · 9 months

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☠ , ☮ and maybe ൠ with Hollow?

HOLLOW MY BELOVED

☠ Angry/Violent headcanon

-Hollow is naturally extremely slow to anger and is very good at controlling said anger when it starts to kindle, but once they've properly gotten angry, it's all over. Expect a cold, calculative fury that is deliberatly honed to an edge by all their built-up grieviances, as well as a grudge that'll never quite go away. Their siblings get a pass to an extent in that they won't hate them forever if they be annoying about something, but Hollow will also never let them live it down. For actual hatred, though, just take a look at what they did to the Radiance in Dream No More, where they tore open her face and staring deep into her eyes as they held her in place to be ripped apart by their other sibling. That's what Hollow's anger looks like. They've got a long fuse, but the explosives attatched to the end of that fuse might as well be a nuclear warhead

As for the violence aspect of it- they've been trained to be a godkiller, and even if they failed bc the actual plan of attack was rather passive, that doesn't mean that they aren't any less dangerous. They won't ever feel the desire to turn that violence upon the civilians of Hallownest (unless they turn to the Radiance or otherwise be a problem), because they believe it to be their duty to protect anyone living within the caverns, but outsiders don't get that luxury and would be dead in a fight against them before they even had a chance to draw a weapon. Hollow's also got a deeply-buried hunting instinct as well, so there's a double layer of them viewing enemies as both adversaries and prey that makes them extra fatal in a fight

☮ friendship headcanon

-Hollow doesn't really make friends as much as people sort of be nice to them, and they gain increased loyalty to them in return, but I like to headcanon that the closest they ever came to having a friend was with Quirrel, back when he was young and Hollow was still an adolescent. Monomon and the Pale King were both friends (though PK himself didn't think of it as such), so as Monomon's apprentice/adopted son, Quirrel got brought along quite often. Eventually when he was around 15 and learning how to mentor others, he was given permission to practice his lessons on the Pure Vessel as a dummy student, and eventually began to talk to them just as a person and a confident when he was left alone while Monomon and PK did their research. He had no idea that Hollow grew to be quite attached to him in the process, and neither did Hollow- they just knew that they felt calmer and at ease when he was around, and that realization both baffled and frightened them

In post-canon aus, I like to imagine that they reconvene with each other while Hollow's still recovering, and form a closer bond as a god of the lost and their favored disciple. That sounds really fancy, but it's basically just a souped-up qpp that accounts for the fact that Quirrel and Hollow are alien to each other. I also like to imagine them as fwbs when Hollow begins to have heats again post-recovery because Hollow is aroace and trusts nobody but Quirrel, while Quirrel himself is easygoing and curious enough about his friend's strange nature to offer a helping hand

ൠ random headcanon

-This is entirely inspired by Broken Open, but I feel like Hollow would be a really good midwife and/or caretaker for those that are fragile and close to death. The Void is aligned close enough with endings for them to technically qualify as a death god, and they've had enough brushes with it for them to be able to identify it when it's close. More than that, however, I feel like as the God of Nothingness they have a naturally numbing/calming aura around them that stills the world into silence, which is very useful for soothing people who are frightened or in pain. I also feel like their protective nature would mean that they'd naturally fall into the roll of a caretaker, and that a profession opposite from what they were reared for would suit them well, even if they would never be able to fully shake their knighthood. They're a protector first and foremost- they don't know how to be (or want to be) anything else

#slimeel #yknow how tolkien had that whole 'the hands of a healer are the hands of a king'#yeah thats the sort of person i feel hollow to be- a protector and caretaker before a royal #the hollow knight #hollow knight #pure vessel #hollow knight headcanons #ask game #ask meme

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ronwestbreeze · 2 months

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ok so here’s some more of the au. i seem to love angst/miscommunication more so this au is pretty angst in terms of the relationship between reeds and tustey,jake and neytiri.

1. as i said before, jake, neytiri and the rest of the village believe that reeds is dead after tustey brought back a broken arrow with blood on it and a piece of reeds hair and claimed she was killed by another navi.

2. what jake, neytiri, and the village doesn’t know (minus mo’at, cause eywa definitely told her lol) is that reeds isn’t dead but instead made a kind of deal with tustey that in order to solve both the whole “needs a 4th mate” and the whole “every navi in the vincity of the village wants reeds dead” is to fake her death after mating with tustey. that way the people don’t have to risk going to war with the other tribe over the “monster” (aka reeds). this allows reeds to escape safely and for tensions with the other tribe to lessen since they will believe the monster has been “taken care of”.

3. since i love miscommunication, when reeds was asked by tustey to be their mate, she saw this as an opportunity to get her freedom. instead of just asking tustey if she can have his permission to tame an ikran and leave. she used his need to find a 4th mate like ewya said as leverage to not only get her freedom but to essentially cut off her ties with everyone, since the village only reminds her of painful memories like her mothers death and her death after getting hit with a poision arrow, and frankly her horrible treatment by tustey and jake (and neytiri a little bit) she has lost all trust of them and refuses to play “family” with them without having to worry if tustey will kill her if she “steps out of line” again. (a marriage on unstable foundation is not good) also i hc reeds as being more perceptive and kinda knows that not only do people in the village wants her gone (aka tus’tey mother and her loud ass mouth) but that other villages probably heard about her and want her gone too. so she makes a secret agreement with tustey that she will be his mate but he needs to let her take an ikran and after the mating thing is over she will leave the village the next day and respect her wish to be free. tustey stays silent for a bit and ask if she could give him a child first before she leaves. (idk if he will ask that or he will just go “fuck you i don’t want you as my mate” just for daring to abandon them right after the mating thing. but in my au tustey less hot headed in this scene)

3. jake and neytiri knows that reeds is their 4th mate and that lokota is her child but due to her wishes she asks if neytiri will lie to the village and let them believe she actually gave birth to twins (lo’ak and lokota). reeds reason is she worries that since she’s not on good terms with the village (especially tus’tey mother who voice the loudest that she should be dead) she worries that harm will come to the child if they found out lokota is not actually neytiri’s child but reeds. neytiri protest against this but both tustey and jake reason this will be best for the child. reeds also asks that no one knows she’s the forth mate until after her reputation in the village has improved and she has given birth. she also decides to stay at the human compound while pregnant so the village doesn’t see her entering and leaving the sully’s family tent.

4. of course reeds lied to jake and neytiri about staying and playing family with them since she and tustey agreed that there needs to be as few people as possible know she’s not actually dead when the time comes for her to fake her death.

ok i made that back story too long so now onto lokota!!

1. as mentioned lokota never knew about his true mom until he’s around 14 when spider said he found a notebook in norms desk that has reeds name on it. excited to read the journal from his adoptive mother he opens it and realizes after reading the first few pages that it’s actually address to her child she was pregnant with. (just imagine lo’ak, kiri, and tuk is there with him when he found it) but anyway spider says he does remember when he was younger he did remember reeds being pregnant. but of course only being 4 he doesn’t remember or even knew that reeds gave birth to the child since soon after lokota was born she left that night. norm had to tell the young spider that his mother died the morning after. also when tus’tey told the village that morning that he found reeds body during his morning hunt, neytiri went into labor due to the grief and stress of receiving the news about losing her dear friend/mate. of course this was convenient since norm told tustey that a navi baby was left at the human post last night. tustey took that chance to tell the village neytiri gave birth to twins. neytiri is distraught that her friend and her potential child has died but when tustey brought the newborn in the home and gave him to neytiri she realized quickly this was her dear friends child.

2. tustey was the one who gave lokota his name ( and i might change it to a better name that suits him) he also was given a letter by norm that reeds addressed to him reminding him of his promise to her to treat the child as his own and to give him lots of love. as well as to keep her a secret to the child until he was much older to handle the news.

3. tustey may be a horrible mate for lying to his other mates but i refuse to make him a bad father too! anyway lokota is raised with the other sully children with much love and when he gets older he begins his training with netayem. thus he becomes close with his older brother but kinda has a distance relationship with loak and kiri, especially since the village people always considered lokota the “well behaved twin” and lo’ak the “misbehaving twin” so its like a similar dynamic with lo’ak and netayem. since neytayem is toruk mokto first born and lokota is the village leader (i forgot how it’s spelled) first born. they are always compared to the other sully siblings and to each other since both are training to be leader.

4. anyway! spider finds out from norm who feeds child is and norm tells him to keep it a secret. of course spider is a blabbermouth and told loak and kiri. and then lo’ak ends up telling lokota in a heated argument that neytiri isn’t actually his mother (nice going lo’ak 🙄) as well as spider confirms that they found out from norm about who his true mom is. poor lokota must go through his own self discovery thingy about who he truely is and if he’s a monster like his mom (cause he heard a few times from his grandmother that reeds was a monster) and weather he should hate his dad for lying to him.

5. i just wanna say this all happens during the beginning of awow before the sullies go on their island vacation. but yeah lokota gets tustey and his other parents to admit that a human woman named reeds is actually his mother and was their forth mate. of course lokota never heard about reeds much other then spider talking about how much he misses her(and also he occasionally visits her grave)

6. anyways during their island adventure, jake and neytiri find out somehow that reeds isn’t actually dead and they tustey lied to them about her. but of course they don’t get to question him further about it cause now they got to go save their stupid kids from getting killed by the human warship heading right for them while they are trying to save a whale! yes neytayem dies in this. it is needed for loak and lokota to grow closer and bond as brothers again!!

7. idk what the hell happens after but when lokota turns 18 he goes on an adventure himself to find his birth mom!! yay!!

wowwww, this is such a cool au. i love your details about your oc and his relationship with tsu'tey. it's sooo interesting!

i love that he goes to find reeds once he turns 18, mama's boy tehehe

#ronwestbreeze’s got mail #[you’re gonna go far]#au

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gingerteaonthetardis · 6 months

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Apple cider, and any variant of Tucker and Rose you’d like (I know you have a couple lol)

thinky! thank you so much for this prompt. i once again just sort of started another au with it, because i have no self control. i just love putting these two in Situations. or three, rather. wilf showed up in this one, for some reason. hope you enjoy (when you get your internet back, lol)!

read on ao3 here. or send me a prompt here!

something for nothing

"Hot," Rose asked, thrusting out her hands, "or cold?"

In each was a paper cup, the left one gently steaming while the older man glanced back and forth between them with his usual consideration.

"That depends. Is it chocolate?"

"Nope."

"Coffee, then?"

"No." She failed to stifle a grin. "Sylvia would have my head and you know it."

An extremely unnatural-looking scowl made its way across his face. "It's not one of those fancy 'steamer' things, is it? Those always end up tasting like plain old spoiled milk."

Rose shook her head in fond impatience. "Just pick one, will you? Or they'll both be cold."

His eyes narrowed beneath his bright yellow bobble hat. "Fine, then. Hot," Wilf finally declared. "But this had better not be like the time you put chewy stuff in my tea."

"Boba," she corrected. "And don't worry, only liquid in there. And some spices, of course."

At this, Wilf took a long inhale, his nose hovering just above the thread of steam. It was endlessly endearing, how dubious he was about the whole exercise.

Then again, she had just been a stranger who walked up and offered him eggnog, that first time.

It had been nearly a year ago, around the holidays, and she'd been leaving after another long, tedious shift at the café across the way. Her manager had given rare permission to close up early after Rose pulled a double, but she'd not taken advantage: instead, she'd satisfied an intense exhaustion-fueled craving for eggnog by whipping it up right there in the shop.

But she'd made a bit too much, and with no one to share it with, she'd spied the old man at his newspaper stall—such a merry figure, like Father Christmas himself in a heavy red-and-white striped scarf, packing up his stacks of paper like gifts bundled in twine. He'd looked so cheerful and so cold, with his red nose and fingerless gloves, that she went out and offered him a cup of still-warm eggnog. He'd kindly offered a copy of Radio Times in trade, and suddenly they were talking like old friends.

That had been the beginning of a ritual which she held to after nearly every shift she worked. She never emerged without two cups of something to share, and he always held aside a paper or magazine he thought she'd like. They didn't always chat, but they did undeniably enjoy one another's company.

Rose thought of him almost like an adopted grandfather.

She watched with amusement as he put his eye to the narrow hole in the lid like it was the lens of a telescope, trying to see the colour of the substance within. She bit down hard on her lip. "What can you see?"

"Not much," Wilf admitted.

"Drink it! I promise there's nothing odd in there—well, too odd, I mean."

He shook his head at her, but he was smiling as he went to take a sip. She waited, holding her breath—and was delighted when his eyes lit up.

"Oh, that's not bad," he proclaimed, "not bad at all!" As he took another sip, Rose finally lifted her own cup to her lips.

Ripe apple, cinnamon, nutmeg—a faint hint of smoke—even cold, it all burst over her tongue, evoking a sense memory disconnected from anything she'd ever personally experienced. It reminded her of campfire nights after crisp autumn days, falling leaves and waning grey skies. Days so perfect they could really only exist in films, or books, or daydreams.

"It's cider, but with a little—something! Very good, Rose," Wilf added warmly. "So, what's the secret?"

"An infusion of lapsang souchong while the cider's warming up." She was a little proud of that one. "And all the usual suspects—clove, cinnamon, a tiny bit of anise… I have more," she said, patting her thermos where it stuck out of her messenger bag. She'd planned to take it home and sip it with her feet up in front of the telly, but seeing how eagerly Wilf drank from his cup made her want to share more instead. "Want a refill?"

"Let me see to what I've got first," he said, after another savoring sip. "It's good stuff! Is it going on the menu?"

She scoffed. "Of course not. Nobody around here wants fussy cider. They just want tea, or else coffee, black, no sugar—god, if you only knew how many red eyes I make in a day…"

"Well, it is Westminster," Wilf reasoned, looking around at the street which, while presently quiet, was crowded with buildings still fully lit up at long past six. "There's always some crisis they're perverting."

Rose hesitated. "You mean averting?"

"I meant what I said," he replied with a chuckle. "Takes a lot of energy to play at running the world."

"Yes, well, I just wish they'd get a bit more creative with their drink orders while they do it. Civilisation won't end if one of them branches out and adds a shot of vanilla to their latte! And," she went on, voice hushing dramatically, "then there's the peacoats. They all wear the same bloody shapeless things. What is with that?"

"Speaking of peacoats…" Wilf coughed, clearly covering a laugh. "Evening, Mr. Tucker!"

Rose tripped over her own feet whirling around to see who he was talking to, and then nearly stumbled up again when she saw who it was.

Malcolm Tucker.

The Malcolm Tucker.

The scariest man in British politics, and possibly in Great Britain generally, stood about a foot away from her.

She recognised his face from Wilf's newspapers and the occasional clip on telly: fair eyes, humped nose, harsh lines bracketing a restless mouth, head crowned with tarnished silver hair. Under the flat, unforgiving light of the street lamps, he looked hyperreal. But even someone who didn't know his face would see evidence of his hand everywhere. He ruled the media with it. He puppeted the ministry with it.

And he was shaking Wilf's hand with it.

"Wilf, how the fuck's business?" he greeted, breezing right past her, smiling with the kind of familiarity that couldn't be faked. It even looked sincere. He brushed close enough that she could smell the wool of his coat, and she winced.

"Better, now that your mug's back out of the papers, sir!" Wilf laughed, and strangely, so did Tucker. "What'll it be today? We've got the New Statesman, fresh out this morning. There's an interview with your man, that baldy economist—"

But the other man brushed him off carelessly. "Oh, please, none of that, I'm off the clock."

"What brings you round, then?" For a second, Wilf's eyes darted sheepishly her way, and she could only goggle back in confusion. It was like he didn’t want to give something away, something secret. To Tucker, he said, voice low, "Celebrity Skin?"

Rose's jaw dropped. "Wilf!"

"Now, now, Rose, you can hardly fault the man! Just because he's in government doesn't mean he's made of metal."

"It's not him scandalizing me," she shot back with a laugh. "Wilfred Mott, I learn something new about you every day."

“Got to keep you interested, don't I?” Teasing though his tone was, there was also a glint of genuine pride as he added, “Or else I'll stop getting the best hot drinks in London hand-delivered to me!”

They were so busy sharing smiles that it took her a moment to remember they had audience. A rather intimidating audience. One of his iron-dark eyebrows was arched in something like humour. “That so?” Tucker said, eyeing her up and down.

“She’s more than just a pretty face, she is,” Wilf replied, and she felt herself flush. Whether it was from Wilf’s blunt, overenthusiastic praise or the assessing look she was receiving from the Prime Minister’s media enforcer, she couldn’t tell. “You should—oi, Rose, why don't you give him a little of that cider stuff? Mr. Tucker looks cold. Or maybe that’s just his personality.”

She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth, amused by the blatant ribbing. He’d accompanied it with a wink, and Tucker didn’t seem offended. In fact, his smile was back, spreading slowly, like it was foreign to his mouth.

“Not sure that's a good idea, actually,” she said.

“Why not?” asked Tucker, locking eyes with her for the first time. There was just something about his face; she knew she ought to be intimidated by him—and maybe she was, a little—but she was at least equally fascinated. He looked just like a man, ordinary.

Except not.

His gaze was too intense for that. Like it was used to cutting right through people. All day, people with glazed-over eyes muttered orders at her—barely seemed to even notice her. It was a startling change, to feel so… observed.

She blinked. “Do you usually risk drinks from strangers?”

“You're saying you wouldn't, if you were me?”

“If I were you—there’s an idea,” she dared with a breathless laugh. “If I were you, we probably wouldn't have quite so many bald, boring blokes in office. And things would probably get a bit more West Wing. But I wouldn't risk poisoning, no.”

“You're clever, then.” The smile that played around his mouth was a shade off the one he’d offered Wilf, but she liked it all the same. “Cleverer than me.” Her eyebrows jumped, and the corners of his lips only ticked higher. “I'd love a warm drink, if you can spare one. It's been a… very long day.”

And she didn’t know quite how, or why, or anything at all, but her hands just started moving on their own, sliding down the strap of her bag to the pouch with her thermos. She was actually going to share her drink with the Hitman of Downing Street, the thing that lurked under the beds of the ministers she saw on television.

You couldn’t make this stuff up.

“Easy, now,” Tucker drily warned. “No sudden moves. I might get clever.”

She chuffed a laugh. “Not likely.” But she slowed anyway, attention bouncing momentarily to Wilf—who was watching their exchange with a rapt and wildly amused expression—before she turned back to Tucker.

His eyes were more reflective of the colour of the sky than she’d ever imagined eyes could be. So blue and grey that it was like looking through the clearest water at the river stones beneath.

She couldn't quite shake off the observation—couldn't manage an appropriate amount of detachment as she withdrew the thermos and twisted it open. Concentrated steam burst free, smelling sweet and enticingly sharp, and she extended the mug out to him.

He took it. And when their fingers brushed over the warm metal, it hit her.

Attraction.

What she was feeling was attraction.

Her first thought was oh, Mum’s going to brick herself if I tell her. Which, of course, Rose wouldn’t. After Jimmy Stone and the complete fiasco he’d created in her life as a teenager, she knew better. But what would Jackie Tyler say about Malcolm bloody Tucker? He'd been working in politics for practically half Rose’s lifetime.

She could just imagine her mum's face, the repulsion and horror, and the picture was incongruous enough that it successfully pulled Rose out of her stupor. She withdrew her hand, feeling the cold snap of air instantly, more fiercely than she might have.

With a tense eye, she watched him lift the thermos to his lips. Watched him drink, slow and contemplative. He didn't seem particularly slow or contemplative by nature, so it must have been for her benefit. Her fingers made fists, which she wedged into her coat pockets.

He took another sip. Then proclaimed, “That's very good. Is that tea I taste?”

Her smile bloomed without thought or permission. “Secret recipe,” she said. “Now you owe me four pounds fifty.”

Those eyebrows leapt again before resettling even lower than before. He looked very intent. “You charge our mutual friend,” and here, he glanced at Wilf, “for cider, too, or is it just me who pays for the privilege?”

“Well, you know what your sort say—no such thing as a free lunch. Or cider,” she added, realising exactly what was about to come out of her mouth and doing nothing at all to stop it. “Wilf pays me back in magazines and good conversation. So what'll you give me, Malcolm Tucker?”

And god, she was actually doing it. She was flirting with him.

Beside her, Wilf was laughing into his fist. Part of her was embarrassed—or would be later—that she was making a fool of herself in front of the old man. He’d certainly rub her nose in it the next time she popped out with a drink. That was just what family did.

But there was another part of her, a much deeper and more untameable part, which insisted on saying, What the hell? Why not?

After all, this would probably be her only chance to tease one of the most powerful men in England. The prospect of pushing him, even a little, felt dangerous, rebellious. Deliciously improbable. And if there was a little extortion involved, well—he was hardly a man with clean hands.

One of those hands, she noted, slid into the pocket of that ridiculous peacoat—which was, she could admit, beginning to grow on her a little; it contrasted sharply against his skin and hair, so pale and severe—and he withdrew something small and white and rectangular. He extended it to her, but before she could take it, his hand snapped back. He seemed on the verge of smiling again.

Then, tipping back his head, he took another long drink from the thermos. A long, long drink.

She grinned, watching his throat bob. The bastard was draining the mug. Getting his money’s worth, she supposed.

She found she didn't mind. Her evening was shaping up to be substantially different than she’d expected.

Only when he'd finished with a faint hum of appreciation and returned the thermos did he give over the proffered card. It was simple, unremarkable white cardstock with crisp black text.

Malcolm Tucker

Director of Communications for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

10 Downing Street, Westminster, London

Below were two phone numbers. One was crossed out, the smudged ink suggesting he’d done so recently. The second number was indicated as his personal line, and her breath caught. Was he mad, handing out this information to a veritable stranger? Did he know the trouble she could make for him if she started, say, making copies and handing them out with every cup of coffee she sold to his more politically repellant enemies? Of which there were many?

“Don't get clever,” he warned her, and there was a trace of real threat there. She felt it. It made her spine straighten and something senselessly warm unfurl in her belly. Then he said, mildly, “Call it an IOU.”

She looked up at the man before her and wondered if he was mad—or perhaps just fearless—or possibly, she guessed with a tilt of her head, he was lonely.

But whatever he was—and however much she needed to get her head checked for being so intrigued by it—there was only one way to find out.

Rose slipped the card into the back pocket of her denims, meeting his unwavering eyes the whole time, smiling to herself. She bit down on the tip of her tongue to prevent it spreading.

“Well,” she said, trying to sound tough, “it’s not exactly four pounds fifty. But it’ll do.”

Tucker smirked. And—oh, yeah, she thought. Mum’s definitely gonna lose it.

#SORRY I GOT LOST IN THE WILF OF IT ALL <3 I LOVE GRANDPA MAN #prompt fic #rose tyler #malcolm tucker #tuckerrose #fic and chips #dw fic #abbey writes #my fic #malcolm tucker x rose tyler #also RIP to me. if there are mistakes i'm sorry. my fingers are just cold and i'm tired of typing lmao

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strwbrrybxn · 2 years

Text

⌜after all these years⌟ ; word count: 2.6k

☞︎︎︎ pairing: inuzuka kiba x fem!reader

☞︎︎︎ warnings: death, serious injury, panic, war

☞︎︎︎ genre: angst, mutual pining, best friends to lovers

☞︎︎︎ au: naruto canonverse

characters: kiba inuzuka, reader, tsume inuzuka, hana inuzuka, tsunade senju, shizune, ino yamanacka, sakura haruno

You hiccupped, sniffling as your little fists rubbed over your eyes and tried to dry your tears. “Mommy!” You cried, looking around the village. It was so late at night and your mom promised to be right back before running off towards the trees, dropping you off in front of a compound. You sniffled, tears spilling onto the rough ground below your feet.

A light turned on in one of the compounds, a small huff through a hound’s nose before a gate swung open. You stared wide eyed at the woman who opened the gate, a wolf with an eye patch sniffing at your hair.

“What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you okay?”

“I-I can’t-hic-find my-hic-mommy.” She frowned, squatting down at eye level with you. “Sh-she sa-id she’d be r-right back b-hic-ut that was two h-hours ago.”

“Oh, sweetheart. What’s your name?” You gave her your first and last name, her facial expression changing from horror to one of worry quickly.

You were the orphan your mother had picked up on the way home from a mission one day. You were just over one, but you knew nothing else except for your adopted mother’s love, but now she was gone and you couldn’t find her.

“Honey, come in and we can look for your mom in the morning, yeah?” Your eyes were growing heavy from the shed tears and all you could do was nod. I’m so sleepy. The wolf moved to gently nudge you onto his back, the Inuzuka head carding through your hair before making her way back into the compound with her hound companion.

You were five years old when your mother disappeared from the Leaf Village.

“We have to go to the Hokage’s office. Tsunade-sama is waiting for us.”

“Kiba! Put me down!” You giggled, kicking your legs. Tsume was laughing as the hound ninja brought you into the kitchen, Hana smiling brightly.

“I can use my legs.”

“Yes, but I don’t want you to.” You pouted as you smacked his butt, wiggling on his shoulder. You both said goodbye to his mother and sister before rushing off to the Hokage tower.

“Ten ryos they get married one day.”

“Hana!” Tsume laughed before sticking her hand out. “Deal.”

Kiba walked through the village with you thrown on his shoulder, ignoring the random stares the two of you got. You had given up trying to get him to set you down until he got to the tower and he finally put you on your two feet.

“You’re going to get tired if you keep picking me up like that. I’m not as small as I used to be.” You pout up at the taller man, arms crossed over your chest.

“What are you talking about? You’ve always been smaller than me.” He smirked, ruffling your hair before making his way up the stairs with you.

“Why are we going to the Hokage tower, though? Do we have a mission?” Kiba shrugged his shoulders and you should have known, rolling your eyes.

“She said she wanted to see us.” A small knock before you heard permission to enter the office. Kiba followed you inside and the first thing you noticed was how solemn the atmosphere was. Shizune looked sympathetic while Tsunade tried her hardest to look at you with a blank expression. Her eyes were giving her away though.

She spoke your name quietly, “We found your mother.” Your first instinct was to run. You thought hearing those words would bring you nothing but relief and happiness, but the look of torment in the Hokage’s eyes brought about your worst fears. Your second instinct was to grasp for Kiba and that’s exactly what you did. “She–”

“Don’t–” You choked out, the tears welling up at your lash line. You knew what she was going to say. “Please, don’t.” Shizune stepped forward, her fingers moving to rest on your shoulder but you pulled back, face pressed into Kiba’s chest. Tsunade took a deep, and shaky, breath. You fisted the Inuzuka’s leather jacket, the sobs racking through your body and into the small space.

“What is wrong with you?!” Ino yelled, the rain falling harder as the two of you tried to fight against two rogue ninjas. “You can’t just fire off the raikiri without checking for chakra signatures. You’re not an amateur. You know better than that!” You tightened your fists, swinging a kick at one of the ninjas in front of you, sending him back and into a tree stump.

You were fourteen when you were informed of your mother’s death.

“I had to. We were surrounded. It worked, didn't it?”

“We could have made it without that. You drew too much attention to us.” You growled, turning your attention to the blonde and missing the ninja throwing a kunai at your thigh. The pain was sharp, your leg giving out as your eyes went wide. Your fingers gripped the handle, ready to pull it out when Sakura shouted at you to stop.

“It hit your femoral artery. Don’t you dare take it out, or you risk bleeding out on the floor.” Just as quickly as you stopped, you were hit with two more, one smack in the middle of your chest, forcing blood to spill from your lips.

What is that sound? God, it’s so loud. Someone turn it off.

“Fuck–” You collapsed onto the forest ground, pushing one of the knives further into your chest. Coughing, you tried to stand before black spots entered your vision and you felt your head hit the dirt.

✏⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ✏⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ✏

Am I under water?

Dead? Am I dead?

You wanted to open your eyes, you wanted to open your mouth and speak. You wanted, wanted, wanted, but you couldn’t. You could feel your face heat up, your eyes stinging. Your throat was so dry.

“—up, stupid. You’re not supposed to go first. You promised.”

Shut up.

Ugh, what is that smell? Bleach?

“Kiba, you can’t lean on her like that.”

“C’mon, let’s go get some air. She’ll wake up soon.”

You felt your fingers twitch, something heavy on top. You could barely hear the whisper of your name and the slight squeeze to your hand felt like needles pushed into your skin. You could feel Kiba’s presence leaning over you, smell the grassy scent on his jacket, and hear the heart monitor slow down.

“Ki–Kiba–”

“I’m here. Don’t talk.” Your finger curled around his hand, head tilting slightly towards his voice. “Can you guys give us a minute?” They didn’t say anything, just gave your arm a small squeeze before they shuffled out of the room. How many people are in here?

“Ki–kibbles–” Kiba’s sad laugh found it’s way to your ears and you tried to smile. “I can’t open my eyes.”

“So don’t. Keep them closed.” You gave his hand a small squeeze, two times; something you both came up with when you were younger and needed the other beside you. You heard Kiba shuffle then the mattress dipped. You shimmied closer to his body heat, wincing as the pain shot up your chest. “I’ll- I’ll get closer, just– don’t move anymore.” You didn’t have to open your eyes to know the worry permanently etched on Kiba’s face. Your fingers intertwined with his, his free arm wrapping around your pillow before you felt his face bury itself in your neck, the tremble of his body making you squeeze his hand a little tighter.

“Kiba!” You ran throughout the battlefield, debris from the end of the war. Your shoulder was bleeding, the scar from your injury last year opened up. You stumbled slightly, but kept running through the different tents of bloodied and deceased shinobi. “Kiba!” The tears were falling quickly, your breath coming out in rapid, short huffs as your body shook with fear.

You were sixteen when you felt your best friend cry for the first time.

What if something happened? What if he died? Was he there with Neji? Did he get hit too?

You heard the faint sound of your name being called. Spinning around, you ran towards the voice, knees threatening to give out, but you had to find him. You needed to tell him. The bright red fangs on his face were visible as you got closer to him. You pushed through your own pain, running and tackling him down, Akamaru barking beside you two. Your sobs were muffled by his flak jacket.

“God, I was so fucking worried.” Kiba’s tears fell onto your hair, his arms tightening around your body. Your shoulder didn’t even hurt anymore. You felt too relieved to be in his arms. “I thought something happened to you.”

“Nothing too bad,” you laughed humorlessly. Kiba lifted you up, letting you wrap your legs around his waist as you cried.

“Your shoulder…”

“I’m fine. I just had to find you.” He shook his head, laughing softly.

“Always putting people in front of yourself.”

“You’re my best friend. You’re more important.”

Stupid. He should have said something before. He should have opened up to you when you looked him in the eye and told him you loved him. He panicked and now you ran away. You left the compound and here he was, running on the rooftops to find you. God, he was so stupid. He ran faster as soon as he picked up your scent, the rain masking most of it and that’s when he heard the crackling of lightning. The training fields. It was the one near the memorials. He should have known.

You were seventeen when you realized you were in love with your best friend.

There was a large crack in the ground, your body slumped near the stone as you rubbed your eyes; the same way you had all those years ago. He squatted down in front of you, trembling fingers gripping your shoulders gently.

“Go away.”

“No.”

“What more could you possibly say to me?”

“What I should have said before.” His canine sticking out of his lip as he chewed on lip. “Let me tell you something–”

“No. I don’t want to hear it.”

“Even if it’s to tell you how much I want to be with you?”

“Especially that.” Your eyes found his eyes, angry tears running down your cheeks. “You can’t just show up and expect me to accept it when you were the one who walked away when I spilled my heart to you.”

“I didn’t know how to say it–”

“You could have said anything else. Kiba, I’m not that hard to read and I have been your best friend for fucking fourteen years!” He let out a growl, his fists clenching tightly in his lap as he looked at you. “You’re so stupid! A stupid, stupid man.”

“I’m your stupid, stupid man.” He muttered, his eyebrows furled. You couldn’t stop the smile that spread on your face, no matter how much you tried to suppress it. You couldn’t stop the way your fingers picked up his head and smoothed out the lines on his forehead.

“You have so much making up to do for it then.”

“Anything!” His canines poked out as he smiled, cupping the back of your neck and tugging you closer until his lips molded to yours. It was soft, sweet, and oh so amazing. Kiba slipped his arm around your waist, tilting his head to kiss you deeper, with as much passion and fervor as he could muster. His forehead found yours, the smile reappearing just as quickly when you opened your eyes.

“Don’t run away from me, again.”

“Kiba! Are you fucking kidding me?” The shoe hit the wall with a resounding smack, Kiba ducking quickly to prevent it from hitting him.

You were eighteen when you had your first kiss.

“Am I? Are you!? You just threw a fucking shoe at me!”

“You can’t come back from a mission and pretend like we didn’t fight before you left. You fucking promised not to walk away again. You promised–”

“I had to go. I couldn’t make them wait any longer.”

“So you make me wait instead?” You stared at him in disbelief, jaw dropping. “You weren’t even leaving right then! You were getting lunch with them!”

“I didn’t want to stay! I am so tired of fighting with you. Ever since you mov–” Your sniffles interrupted his thoughts, his eyes quick to make contact with yours. His feet moved fast, his hands gripping your shoulders. You tried to pull back from him, tried to get away to breathe, but his arms trapped your frame between them. His cheek fell against your shoulder, your hands pushing against his chest weakly.

“I’m sorry,” he hiccupped. “Pl-please don’t leave. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t. I don’t want to fight anymore. I don’t want to see you cry anymore–”

“Then let me go and you won’t have to.”

“No! No, I won’t.” You cried against his chest; your body and mind being comforted by the one person who caused the turmoil. “I won’t let you go. I finally got you– I finally have you with me. I’m not giving that up because I keep being a fucking idiot. No, I won’t.”

“You have to,” you could barely raise your voice; it was barely audible and if Kiba wasn’t right in front of you, he might not have heard it, “let me go.”

You were twenty-one when you realized love wasn’t enough.

You placed the flowers beside the memorial, the blanket settling underneath you as you sat down cross-legged on top of it.

“Mom, Neji, sensei. It’s been a while, I’m sorry. I miss you guys. God, it’s been so long since you’ve all been gone.” You played with your fingers, staring down at the diamond on your finger. You wiped the tears threatening to spill from your eyes.

“God, I’m such a cry baby lately. I wish you guys were still here. I’ve made peace with everything though, you know? My life hasn’t exactly turned out the way I wanted it to. I’ve had some ups and downs, but I’m happy. I’m happy for once in my life. I’ve never been happier.” You thought back to all those years ago, when the Inuzuka clan took you in, wondering how you got so lucky to have found them.

“There you are!” A voice called over to you before sitting down beside you.

“I was just telling everyone about you.”

“Oh? What do they think?”

“I think– after all these years, they’ll be proud I’m happy.” He hummed thoughtfully, relaxing against your back.

“We have been through a lot.” You nodded, nuzzling your nose against Kiba's cheek as he spoke again. “I missed you.” His hand splayed across your belly, chin resting on your shoulder. “And I missed this little one too.”

“This little one is barely little.”

“Still little until he comes out of you.”

“Or she.” Kiba shrugged, kissing your cheek.

“A mini us, that’s all I know.”

“A mini us is right.”

“Now, come on. Hana is gonna kill us if we’re late for the cake tasting.” Kiba picked you up, carrying you towards the compound with a loud laugh. Meanwhile, Tsume was reluctantly shoving ten ryos into Hana’s hand, secretly happy her daughter had won the bet.

After all these years, this is where you wanted to be.

©️ ALLYALLYGATOR 2022

#kiba #kiba inuzuka #naruto #kiba x reader #angst #narutoverse #🍓#🍓 writes

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aita-blorbos · 6 months

Note

AITA for betraying my siblings to end a brutal war?

(AU of canon characters I got permission to post from the creator, paired with my other ask)

I (35M) am the child of the leader of a small autonomous tribe/country, one of five that lives in the area. A disaster destroyed most of our home, mostly before I was born, and the other four tribes refused us aid and let us be driven out into the wilderness. Our father, the leader, knew he had to stay with his group, but did not want to let my sister and I, as young children (2M and 2F), suffer out there as refugees constantly traveling, perhaps never able to get our next meal. He managed to convince one of the other groups to accept my mother and us into it.

Time passed, and we grew up, along with our adopted brother (now 37M), who became the leader of our new group. He decided to start a war with the other three tribes in order to take land back that could be then given to them, allowing them to return. My mother and sister were enthusiastic about the cause as well, and I was always there to support them, though I will admit I often had to play the sensible ones when they became too impractical with their ambitions.

But things turned ugly quickly, even uglier than war normally is. My brother was so determined to win that he used cruel tactics never before seen in war to do so. He set fire to the enemy's territory and left their land devastated, and messed with their supplies rather than solely targeting people. I loved my family, but I have always been one to calculate things logically - was this really worth the cost? All this bloodshed and horror, in the names of people we had never met, save when we were too young to remember. My family argued that the fact they never sent word to tell us they were alright meant something horrible must have happened to them, but could we really know this for sure? What if after all that, they didn't need the help, and were happy to be alone away from our wars and politics - or the group had been scattered forever and it was too late to help them anyway? And maybe them being exiled was just the way of things, anyway; their home was destroyed by a disaster none of us could control, they were too weak, and no one could give up their limited resources for them - that's just how the world works, and it would only cause more pain trying to rectify it.

The last straw came when my brother revealed his plan to attack a peaceful gathering of all four groups. The gathering was a tradition that had always allowed us to put aside our differences and constant warring and see each other as all human, play games, and connect with each other, and vulnerable people not fit to fight, like the elderly, would be present there. I decided I wouldn't let this stand, and told the other groups about the plan, allowing them to ambush him and only bring their strongest fighters.

My new allies won the battle, my brother was killed, and my sister... I killed her myself in battle. It's a shameful thing, but there wasn't really any logical way. I try not to dwell on guilt too much, but still sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing, betraying my family like that. I wonder what you will all have to say about this.

#aita #am i the asshole #unreality

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synthsworld · 2 years

Note

Alright, since I have been given permission here are some HCs I have up my sleeve but I’m gonna share the HCs I have with Tom since he’s my favorite so I’m gonna do a recap of what his life is like in my interpretation of him

After the death of his pineapple father, he quickly lost his mother due to a bowling company taking her away from him and thus making him an orphan where a young twenty something Bing and Larry decide to ‘adopt’ him only to make him into..GASP! A CHILD STAR! But during the ship ride to Tom’s new home it fortunately got shipwrecked due to an unfortunate mutiny on board that escalated really badly leading Tom to be stranded in an unknown island filled with Kaiju-Esque monsters aptly known as Kaiju Island or Monster Island where he spent his years raised by the Kaiju of the Island which influenced his interest in all things destruction-based and his behavior as well because let’s be real we’ve grown past the need for cynical pessimistic Tom and we need the good ol Feral Wackyman, let him go absolutely apeshit, bonkers even. So as he grows up to be about at least at the start of his early twenties, an expedition party is held at his island to research and possibly capture the wildlife of the island along with two stowaways who are you guessed it Edd and Matt who thought that they would go to somewhere like Hawaii or any other fun Tropical Island but after realizing that they went to the wrong island, they try to make the best of their trip and thus had their own camping trip, however after searching for firewood and returning to camp they eventually find Tom raiding the camp by scarfing down what they had packed for this trip who at this point in his life looks somewhat more like a shaggy worn-down version of Tarzan and sort of looked more like a wild caveman leading to Edd and Matt to go ‘WOAH WE FOUND A CAVEMAN OMG OMG OMG’ and Tom resulted in attempting to attack Edd and Matt out of panic and fear only to realize ‘Wait they look a lot like me, maybe they’ll help me know what I am’ and so a friendship was made if not for the small help of Smirnoff as well and they managed to sneak Tom back to the ship back to civilization and thus after years in civilization (albeit with the discovery that he may or may not be human but rather a terrifying Eldtrich spawn that if angered enough can transform into a terrifying monster) Tom was fully readjusted and while this man has fully readjusted to human civilization and is wearing pants for once he is still and I quote ‘A Feral Wackyman’ because I’ll say it again he deserves to be apeshit, he deserves to bite someone, and to scream at the top of his lungs for no absolute reason

VERY COOL AU, anon, i love kaiju stuff. also YES. MORE SILLY FERAL WACKYMAN TOM!!!!!!!!!! of course edd and matt would go to the wrong holiday destination and just make the best of it. 2 men and their funny little feral guy.

#eddsworld

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lonewolfel · 2 years

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Cries of the Sea: Chapter 2

Read on AO3

First Chapter

This Au comes from @vobomon on Tumblr. I got permission from them to use this au. The post that they made about it that inspired me is here.

Hunter had failed. If it wasn't for Kikimora he would have succeeded. It was a lie. He could have taken care of both of them easily. Titan, he should have attacked the human and taken the palismen before Kiki even had a chance to attack them instead of talking to her.

Hunter had been lucky that he hadn't been punished. He should have been and he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. His uncle needs those palismen to keep his curse at bay. He wasn't like Hunter who could mostly ignore the effects of his. Now his uncle didn't have any palismen...well, that wasn't true. There was one palisman in the castle.

Hunter didn't know why he hasn't handed over the red bird. It would have at least slightly made up for his failure. Yet he couldn't bring himself to do it.

The palisman had chosen him having turned into a staff for Hunter to use. He didn't understand why. After all, he tried to capture the palisman and his brothers to be killed by Belos. Yet it had.

A creature full of wild, dangerous, magic, and yet Hunter is allowing it to stay in his room. He told himself it was just to study it. To find out its properties so that he could replicate it without the carving of new palismen.

Now Hunter was scouring through various forbidden books trying to find more information to help him find a cure for his uncle. All the while the bird chirped and tugged at his hair. Each time Hunter waved it away it returned. He was very much wishing that he decided to hand it over. Eventually, he decided to ignore it.

At one point Hunter had fallen asleep cause all of a sudden he was in complete darkness.

Hunter heard the monstrous breathing behind him. Closer than it has ever been before. He froze in place.

He could feel its heavy body moving towards him. This broke the spell over him. He began to run. Run away from the beast that has inhabited his mind for as long as he could remember.

Granted he has never seen it fully. Only the dark silhouette. His uncle told him that whenever he dreamed of the beast to run as far away from it as possible.

He ran until he saw the Golden Guard mask. He reached out to it.

Hunter woke up. He was breathing heavily and the pull towards the sea was strong. Just like how it always was after he has that dream. It was still dark so he turned back to the books.

The palisman let out a concerned chirp and Hunter ignored it.

~~~

Luz lay in bed awake. She may not have gotten a palisman at the palismen adoption day but Eda and King got her palistrum wood to make her own. Yet that wasn't what kept her awake.

No, it was what had happened the night before...or more specifically who she had met before.

The Golden Guard, Hunter, was interesting. He was cursed like Eda. He was stripped of all his magic and had been given a chance by Belos.

That didn't fit the image Luz had of the emperor. He was cold and calculating willing to do whatever it took to get his way. After all, he promised Lilith that he would heal Eda's curse when it's now clear that he couldn't.

Though why would Belos keep a cursed individual on his paygrade? Why save Hunter? It just didn't make any sense.

She had the feeling that Emperor Belos was up to something. Something to do with the teen witch.

Luz decided to get up having decided that she wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight...today. She went down and saw that Eda was laying on the couch.

"Hey, Eda." Luz greeted.

"Kid," Eda responded.

"I've been curious. So this one character in my Azura has a hereditary curse meaning his ancestors had it and passed it down all the way to him. I was wondering if the Boiling Isles had an equivalent to that." Luz rambled. Eda sat up and gave the human a calculating look.

"What brought this up?" Eda asked. Luz put her hands behind her back.

"I was reading a fanfiction about that character and well...I got curious." Luz lied. Eda gave her a look that clearly said she doesn't buy it.

"Well there are some curses that are said to be passed down, but it's hard to say. Curses are seen as a punishment for wild magic and they aren't really looked at. Not to mention few people like to talk about their curses." Eda said.

"Oh, ok, thanks," Luz said

"Is there anything specific that you know about this curse?" Eda asked. She had a knowing smirk on her face.

"Not really. I mean it stips him of all his magic but besides that nothing really." Luz said.

"Well that is a lot of curses in the Boiling Isles but I'd say that more counts as being born without a bilesack." Eda said. Luz looked at her in shock.

"That's possible?" Luz asked

"It's rare but it does run in some families. It leads to a lot of health issues along with a short and hard life. They rarely make it to adulthood." Eda explained

"Have you ever met a witch without a bilesack?" Luz asked

"No, but there were rumors...No not that I know of," Eda said

"Rumors?" Luz asked. Eda sighed.

"There are rumors that the Clawthornes have a few bilesackless witches within the family tree. While not all of us are strong we all have magic in some form. So it's just that rumors." Eda explained.

"Ooh, are there any more family rumors and secrets?" Luz asked in glee. Eda smirked at her.

"Still trying to figure out my mysterious backstory?" Eda chuckled.

"Always," Luz responded.

"Well, that's all the secrets that I'm telling today," Eda said. Luz made a sad sound.

#owl house #the owl house #toh hunter #luz noceda #eda the owl lady #the owl house flapjack #flapjack #toh #fanfic #fan fiction

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grizzledyoungimpact · 7 months

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Kay's Whumptober Day #23

Prompt #23: It's gonna get me by the end of the night/Shadows/Stalking Pairing: Davey RichardsxEdmund Dyer (OC) ((Nonship)) Mentions Of: Eddie Edwards, Lyra Dawn (OC), Harlow Fischer (OC), Cassidy Cabana (OC) Verse: Main, Slight AU

The monster that had been hunting his family for the past few months would get him by the end of the night. Davey had known that the moment he entered the darkness of the abandoned building that he had been given the address of, told to meet the devil himself here to settle the business between them. There was nothing about Cassidy Cabana that frightened him.

He just didn't know the truth that awaited him.

Cassidy hadn't shown up alone, which Davey gathered he wouldn't have, but seeing his adopted daughter Lyra next to the other man hurt. Her eyes wouldn't meet his and he spoke up, "You ain't gotta be here, Lyra. He making you be here?"

"I'm not making her do anything," Cassidy sneered, his arm around Lyra's waist. Davey regretted giving the man permission to marry his daughter. Eddie was right, but that was not something he'd ever admit to his husband. "You know you shouldn't have come alone, Richards. I didn't."

Davey felt his fist clench in time with his jaw, "I can see that. I don't blame 𝐡𝐞𝐫. She's-"

"Not her."

Davey felt something wrap around his neck from behind before he was yanked to his knees. He brought his hands to his neck, pulling and tugging to free himself. It felt like he was being choked by the tendril of darkness. From behind him, Davey could hear the cruel chuckle of another. It wasn't until the being was in front of him that Davey felt true fear. "Dyer..." he choked out.

Edmund laughed as he knelt to one knee in front of Davey, a smirk on his lips. This was the man who had antagonized his son, Harlow, with his powers of darkness. The vampire had done all he could to terrorize Harlow from the shadows, going as far as to feed him. Was that going to be his fate? "You were right, Mr. Cabana. He is as stupid as the other dogs."

Davey grunted as he pushed himself to his feet, finally managing to get his fingers between his neck and the pure shadow wrapped around it. He kicked Edmund in the gut. It broke the vampires attention long enough for Davey to be able to turn the momentum away from his attacker. He growled, throwing a punch at Edmund's jaw, "Not so fucking keen on a fair fight, hm, bloodsucker?"

Edmund cackled and his gaze fell on Davey's eyes completely black, "I am going to drain you, you prat."

Davey threw another punch, only for Edmund to grab his wrist. He could feel his bones shatter under the vampires grip. He cried out, trying to swing his other fist to fight back. He could feel Cassidy's eyes on him, feel his Lyra's eyes on him. He expected Cassidy to stand by, to watch with twisted glee. But Lyra? His Lyra? "Ma fille, please, ma fille. Help."

"She knows the real you, Richards," Cassidy sneered, "She won't be doing that."

"Je suis désolé, papa. Il faut le faire," Lyra whispered in her native tongue.

Davey felt Edmund pull him in close and felt the mans fangs sink into his neck. It was a pain, for a moment. As Edmund lowered him down to the cold stone floor, Davey felt 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝. It was a euphoria that spread over his body. His hands rested on the mans chest and with a low moan, he glanced to where he could see Lyra and Cassidy. Was she crying? Oh, he didn't want her to cry. "Please..." Davey begged, "leave...alone..."

Edmund pulled his mouth away, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbing Davey's blood from his mouth, "Leave who alone?"

Davey felt the tears in his eyes, "My pack..."

Edmund and Cassidy both cackled in delight. Cassidy moved closer to where Davey lay, weak in his motions. He swiftly kicked Davey in the ribs, snarling down at him. "I'll beat Eddie next. Maybe he won't be too far behind you."

Davey reached gasping for Lyra, but she stepped over him, taking Cassidy's hand, "Let's go home, Cassidy. S’il vous plaît?"

Cassidy wrapped his arm around her waist, adjusting his scarf as the two left the building. Davey blinked up at the darkness, feeling the shadows closing in. Edmund knelt over the top of him, regarding him with a fascination. "There are things worse than death, you know, Mr. Richards?"

His breaths were coming slower now as Edmund cupped his face, "They...need...me..."

"Oh, Mr. Richards, the time for that has passed," Edmund patted his cheek before his hand traveled to the bite wounds on his neck, "I will spare your life, but you will suffer. They will suffer."

"Promise me not to...that Eddie..."

"Shh, shh," Edmund chuckled, his voice thick with the cruelty he was about to perpetrate, "by the end of the night, he will mean nothing to you."

#kays whumptober 2023 #whumptober 2023 #character: davey richards #character: original character #character: edmund dyer

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lily-drake · 3 years

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Fantasy/Twin AU

Sorry for being late and not posting for a bit. Was a bit burnt out and had writer block. I will go back to write the other days soon though. Also, sorry, I suck at writing wing aus, this is my first time doing it.

Earth J-236, an earth full of mystical life. An earth where everyone is born with wings. Your wings represented who you are; well not really, but that’s what people believed. If your wings were bright and colorful then you were obviously an amazing person, but if your wings were darker or had little color, then you have great evil in your soul. Marinette was born seconds after her twin, Damian. It takes a few years before your wings fully grow in, usually to about 6. But with the accelerated growth serums used in their artificial wombs, it took them till they were three for their feathers to sprout. Damian’s were black like their father’s with subtle hints of red like their mothers. Marinette’s were pure black, devoid of any color, and her mother was so proud of that. She was the League’s charm, for it’s believed that anyone with pure black wings was pure evil. Her only purpose being to protect her brother, nothing else was more important than her brother’s safety. She would die for him, because if he died she might as well have died as well as her only purpose for living would be gone.

Damian glared at his sister, his wings ruffling in annoyance. She was hovering close to him again, and she never said anything to him ever unless she was completely sure they were alone. He did not believe that his sister was or could ever be, “pure evil” just because of her wings. In fact, her mannerisms are the exact opposite of what people believed. She, in her own ways, is caring, sweet, and protective. He had seen, and helped, her nurse a baby bird that had fallen from its nest back to health. She would often place little things around the base for only him to find such as some extra baklava, a throwing knife, a drawing of someone, beads, or other random objects. Grandfather had always been extra hard on her, making sure she wouldn’t betray them, she wouldn’t become “evil enough to lose herself”. Sometimes she would sneak into his room at night, and it tore him apart to see silent tears run down his little sister's face as small black raven feathers fell onto the floor from her days worth of training. He had been learning how to fly, her wings had been clipped every two or three months so she could not leave the base. She had learned long ago to control her facial and wing expressions, but he could always see the droop in them and the sad shine in her eyes as she stood on the ground while he was in the air.

________

Marinette looked up and watched as the fiery Phoenix flew through the air setting Nada Parabat aflame. She didn’t feel much as she watched her grandfather get blown up. She only felt great anxiety and fear as she could not find her brother. She loved her brother, and if her job was to cause chaos, she would make sure she could prevent it from hurting him. Grandfather had told her about how cursed she was, it’s why they had to be extra tough on her, and she understood that. They couldn’t have her hurting anyone they needed, only the people they wanted gone. She was angry at grandfather yesterday for taking some of her feathers for failing a task, this must have been her fault. She didn’t want to hurt her brother, her wings had only proven nothing but destruction. She had to leave now, then she could go where no one else was, and she wouldn’t have to hurt anyone else. So like a coward, like the disgrace she was, she ran. She kept her wings tight against her back making sure that no one could grab them as she ran. An arrow hit one of them, but she didn’t have time to think about the burning pain as she ran and ran and ran farther and farther and farther away. Tears ran down her cheeks as she silently prayed that her brother would be okay.

She didn’t know how long she ran, but she knew it must have been a really long time as she had just collapsed from exhaustion in the woods. She looked back at her wings and slowly and carefully spread them out and hissed in pain from where the arrow had pierced her left wing. Drops of red slowly dripped down her feathers and dropped on the ground. She quickly closed them and made sure they were as small and put away as possible. She looked up at the trees made of brass with different colored jade leaves. Pearl-like apples growing on a few. She watched a baby griffon follow it’s mother in the distance, turtle ducks waddling to a pond somewhere nearby, deer nibbling on plants, she could hear the rustling of leaves and branches from unseen creatures and everything was getting more blurry and dark. She was cold, it felt very cold. She slowly unwound her wings from around herself and closed them tightly around her, but that didn’t stop the chill that went deep down to her bones. She was a failure, a mistake, she would only cause harm. Here she wouldn’t be able to do that, and if she died here, then no one would be hurt by her again, and wasn’t that such a nice thought.

________

Tom and Sabine had finally been able to hire some trusted employees and explore places in Tibet. They had made lots of money over the years with their successful bakery, and they thought now was a better time than ever to go on a real honeymoon as they hadn’t been able to afford it before when the bakery had first started. It was during one of these forest explorations when they saw a trail of little drops of blood and felt they needed to follow it. What they discovered broke their hearts. There lying on the cold forest floor was what appeared to be a child hugging their very black wings around them. They knew of the rumors and myths of black winged people, but they did not care. They believed that their wings were not what made them evil, but rather situations put into their lives. Sabine quickly checked for a pulse, and though it was slow she sighed in relief when she felt it. She quickly handed the small unconscious girl to Tom and they both quickly went to the nearest hospital. How could someone leave such a small child all alone to die like that? It looked as if she had been injured if the dried blood on the small fragile wings said anything. And worst of all, upon closer examination, they had been clipped, recently too.

As soon as they arrived they carried the small girl to the front and demanded that they take her in. They waited until the doctors were done and gave them permission to visit claiming to be the girl’s adopted parents. It wasn’t technically a lie, they would be soon even if Sabine had to force it to happen.

When Marinette woke up she knew something was off. She was under a blanket, she’s never been given a blanket before. The sent of bleach and chemicals were everywhere and it hurt her nose. There was a beeping noise next to her that was giving her a headache. She didn’t know where she was, and that was bad. She opened her eyes a small fraction so nobody could see she was awake and looked around as much as she could. The entire room was white and there were bright lights. There were two strange people waiting in chairs near where she was laying. She wondered if they were the ones who brought her here. Slowly she opened them up all the way and silently sat up. It’s best to make no noise, then she wouldn’t disturb anyone.

“Oh sweety, I’m so glad you’re awake.”

The woman said in a cheery and relieved manner, but she just continued to watch and study them silently. Her wings felt stiff against her back, though she made sure they didn’t move or give anything away.

“How are you feeling dear?”

Silence greeted them, and her face remained as impassive as ever. They wanted something, why else would they save a freak like her? What were they aiming for here?

“Did your parents hurt you? If so, we can take you away from them.”

Marinette’s eyes widened only a fraction. These were randoms, innocents if you will. They obviously had no idea who she was, and they seemed unafraid of her and her wings. Did they not know how dangerous she was, didn’t they know that black wings meant she was cursed? The man and the woman looked at eachother and spread their wings. Marinette was shocked, but she wouldn’t show it.

The large man had light brown eagle wings while the small woman had white and black woodpecker wings. She wanted to reach out and touch the feathers, but then something bad would happen to them, so she held her hands together.

“We don’t care what your wing color is. Your wings don’t define who you are, it’s what you do with your life that does. Can we please help you?”

The woman said sincerely as she gripped the man’s hand in hers. She felt a pull to them, something telling her to accept. She didn’t want to hurt them though. But maybe she could protect them? Maybe she could find a way around her curse and make sure they don’t get hurt? Slowly she nodded and they both looked so happy when she did. She hoped that she wouldn’t hurt them, they didn’t deserve to be cursed. Maybe if she didn’t touch them things would be ok. If she didn’t let them touch her then it wouldn’t spread. She could do this!

________

Apparently she couldn’t do it because this is a very affectionate family, and the first thing that happened before they let her sleep on their —super fluffy, pure Heaven— bed was give her a hug. She had made sure that her wings were tucked under her clothes and tight against her back the entire time though. So they didn’t touch her wings, so maybe that meant they wouldn’t be cursed.

It was strange, because the next morning they went to a courthouse, and she was adopted. She hadn’t said anything throughout the entire event, she just watched and observed what people did. They stayed in Tibet for another few days before they flew to Paris, France. This was supposed to be her new home. The city of light and love. Maybe here, it would stop her curse. It was so bright that it had to block out her darkness. She still always carried one of her knives with her, she felt naked without one. Tom and Sabine seemed to understand somehow, and said that it was her business and that was enough for them till she was ready to talk about it. It was strange not to be interrogated for now wanting to tell someone something.

Marinette had lived with the Dupain-Chengs for about a year now. It was strange really, they were honest business people and their joy was always sincere. They didn’t question much of what she did even though it was probably weird to them. They didn’t punish her for messing up like the league did, and they never went near her wings without permission. They never plucked her feathers, and they would often ask if they could preen her wings. She would refuse every time, but she would often wonder what it would be like to have someone else touch them. Think of what it would be like if she weren’t cursed. When it was time for school she would always wrap them around herself then tape them so no one would see or be able to touch them. Things were finally going well, she couldn’t risk it now!

There was a blonde brat that liked to act like she was above her, and because her wings were always hidden with no explanation she made sure everyone knew that she was “wingless”. She didn’t care though, being wingless was better than being evil winged. She never really said anything in class or to other students, she never gave much reaction keeping her stoic face up. The brat left her alone soon after for being a, “ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous freak.” And nobody was the wiser.

Being Lady Chaos was….the best thing that ever happened to her if she was being honest. Even with pure black wings, people still thought she was a hero. She never flew, she was scared she’d fall and die. She was never allowed to fly before, and even if she technically can do so now, it’s not worth the risk. Her partner though, Mr. Bug has gold, red, and black wings. He can fly through the air with ease she wished she desperately had. Sometimes after patrol she would go to the very top of the Eiffel Tower and just stretch her wings out as far out as she could. She would close her eyes as the wind blew past her and ruffled her feathers and pretend that she was soaring through the air.

________

Year three of living with Tom and Sabine she was comfortable talking to them more, and with Plagg there to control her chaos she finally let them touch her wings. It was strange really, she never took care of her wings, never cared enough to. When she first felt the hands on her feathers she had to will herself not to draw them back for fear of them plucking or ripped out. But Sabine’s hands were so gentle and smooth that they seemed to move on their own and go closer to her touch. Sabine would smile and hum as she gently preened the dark raven feathers that were soft and smooth. Maybe she could finally tell the class that she wasn’t wingless soon, and maybe they would be okay with it.

No, they would not as she learned from listening to her classmates talk to the new student, Lila Rossi. To them Lady Chaos was the only good black winged person because she was chasing after Mr. Bug to earn his affections. Lady Chaos was obviously evil before she met Mr. Bug and she would always be evil no matter what she did. Marinette felt nauseous that she ever thought about telling them the truth. She had never felt more betrayed than she felt now, because she had given them her trust, and they broke it without even knowing it. After that day, she made extra sure that her wings were hidden and wore a bit thicker clothing just in case. Tom and Sabine are a little worried about it, but she calmed them pretty quickly. She was fine, it wasn’t like they were all great friends to begin with. That’s probably why everyone sides with Lila and decides that she’s a terrible person.

She had tried leaving her past behind, pretending that she didn’t hurt and kill people. Pretend that she wasn’t a weapon. She tried to push it far away, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. She had abandoned her brother. She betrayed the league. She did unspeakable things to please someone who would never care about her, just her use. The city of lights seems duller than usual, it was probably her fault Hawkmoth came to be in the first place, afterall she was cursed to bring ruin everywhere she went.

________

Lila and Chloe thought it would be a great idea to bring everybody to the Crime Capital of the World for their senior trip. Probably to watch people flounder and worry when things go wrong, which they definitely would. She had stopped Hawkmoth a month before the trip, but Mr. Bug took all the credit for it. The arrogant self centered bas*. Adrien kept giving her side glances that always made her feel uncomfortable and slightly disgusted. During school he would try to touch her with every chance he’d get. He almost discovered her wings at one point. She couldn’t do anything about it before because of the stupid your-rich-so-do-whatever-the-heck-you-want treatment. Now that Adrien’s family fortune is gone, and people don’t trust him because of what his dad did, so he has to be more careful. He now kept some distance, which she was extremely grateful for.

She would have broken his hand, she had imagined it plus other things more than once. But then Tom and Sabine would get in trouble by Gabriel for her actions. They didn’t deserve that, they had been nothing but good to her since they found her abandoned in that forest.

She would be fine though, as long as Lila had a grip on his arm and she was in the back, away from him. She listened to their tour guide, Richard Grayson, talk about the history and importance of WE. The architecture was brilliant really, and you couldn’t blame her for having to draw and sketch it. She often thought of Damian when she sketched. She used to leave drawings for him around the base, little things that expressed her adoration for him without getting too close. She wondered if he was still with the league, had he escaped, did he die? She hoped that wasn’t the case, she hoped that he would be alive and well. Bright orange and white wings nearly slapped her in the face if she hadn’t stopped right before the movement had occurred.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry Marinette! Sometimes my wings just spasm out of control like that! I didn’t hurt you did I?”

Marinette just silently rolled her eyes and took a few steps backward and watched the class glare at her waiting for her to comfort the liar. She would never lower herself to do that. She was still an Al Ghul afterall, even if she did leave it behind when she fled. She was thankful when lunch came, she waited far away from the line and watched silently from a dark corner to make sure no one would hurt her. Then she felt it, a hand touching her back feeling for something. She quickly and instinctively grabbed the arm and twisted it behind them pinning it behind their back at a painful angle.

“Ukhti, let go.”

Marinette knew that voice. She remembered that name and she could feel her heart stop. The lunchroom was silent as they watched the small bluenette silently and quickly release the “Ice Prince”. Everyone watched with bated breaths to see what would happen next. The boy’s wings were ruffled in agitation and fear.

“Where are they?”

He demanded. Marinette knew what he was talking about, she simply wrapped her arms around herself and turned her head away definitely.

“Why are you hiding them, Malak? Please.”

Marinette could feel her wings moving in defiance to what her brain was saying. They wanted to be shown, they wanted to be touched by her brother again. She looked down and slowly uncrossed her arms from her body. Damian gently took her hands in his and looked directly into her eyes.

“Everything will be ok, Taw'ami.”

She slowly nodded and with shaky fingers reached under her hoodie and began to slowly unwrap the tape that kept her wings confined. When all the tape was in her hands she hesitantly removed her hoodie and let her wings unfold from around herself and into the open. She had made shirts that let her wings slip through slits in the back that were tailored to her wings specifically and were most comfortable. Damian marveled at how big her raven wings had grown and how shiny they were. He reached out a hand slowly and gently ran his fingers down the inky black that was her wings.

Shouts of fear and accusations were thrown at her, mostly from her class. She didn’t listen though, she just observed. The tour guide was coming over now, probably to kick her out. He had such lovely wings though, they were a deep navy blue that looked similar to black with dark red and light blue running through them. They looked so well kept and soft.

“Damian, what’s happening? Who is this?”

“Grayson, meet my twin sister, Marinette.”

“You have a twin?!”

Richard exclaimed loudly, drawing even more attention. The insults and jeers stopped after that. She looked over at the class and smirked when she saw their shock and confusion.

“Yes, keep up.”

Damian said brusquely. They must know each other well then.

“Come, we must take her away from these imbeciles and take her to father.”

Damian grabbed her wrist and tugged, her quickly falling into line like she used to when he did this.

“Now tell me Ukhti, have you been taking care of yourself?”

She nodded as they came to an elevator and walked into it with Richard right behind them. Marinette felt her feathers fluff up nervously. She wasn’t in control of them right now, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Damian ran a hand gently down her right wing trying to smooth it down.

“Things will be fine Marinette. Just watch, father will be glad to meet you.”

She looked him in the eyes and squeezed her hands together.

“No, I have not told him about you. Things will be fine though.”

He seemed to understand her weird way of communicating, she still didn’t understand how he did. Richard cleared his throat and both turned to look at him.

“Sorry to interrupt, but um…I’m Dick, I’m Damian’s, and yours I guess, oldest brother. It’s nice to meet you.”

He spread his wings in a welcoming way that meant and showed safety and peace. Her wings involuntarily rose up as well to reciprocate his greeting. When the door to the elevator opened again she quickly forced her wings to hide on her back trying desperately to keep them from sight. Damian didn’t seem to like it, but he just grabbed her wrist and dragged her to a large office room. The plaque on the door read “CEO Bruce Wayne”. Their father was Bruce Wayne?! She couldn’t go in there, she couldn’t curse him and ruin his life. No, she had already messed up at the league, and she was just barely not messing up with Tom and Sabine, she would definitely ruin Bruce Wayne’s life, and she would not allow that to happen. She tugged at his grip desperately trying to get away.

“Marinette, stop. Your wings are not cursed, that was a lie.”

Marinette shook her head and kept trying to escape the iron-like grip.

“Do you not trust me anymore?”

She froze at that and quickly shook her head. Of course she trusted him, it was her that shouldn’t be trusted.

“Good, because we’re going in now.”

And that was that, because the door was now open and she was being dragged into the office room where their father and another boy with large bags under his eyes stared at them. Damian puffed up his chest and feathers letting his strong, big, and brilliant wings rise into the air.

“Father, this is your daughter, my twin, Marinette Erebus Al Ghul-Wayne.”

They both stared at her in shock and Marinette slowly and cautiously raised her despicable black wings into the air. Both stared at them in awe before looking back at her, but she didn’t meet their eyes. She didn’t want to see the disgust and hatred in their eyes.

After a few moments she looked up and saw their wings greeting hers like Dick’s had. Their father’s wings were a mix of black and dark grey alternating the color in each row of feathers. The other boy’s were black at the top and slowly turned to red at the bottom. But they were welcoming her openly, so that must mean something! Well, it was time to get to know her father, she guessed.

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floofs-headcanons · 3 years

Text

Happy Birthday; Scenario

Character; Law

Word Count; 1,248

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEARLY BELOVED !! Modern AU because there are ONLY good vibes here !! i’m writing this without hamfie’s permission pls don’t kill me ty ily

There was something incredibly lonely about waking up in the mornings alone.

When the rays from the sun peeks through the curtains, and the chirping of birds sound more like nails scraping against chalkboard than a daylight tune, Law finds it hard to get out of bed. It wasn’t the first time, and it surely wouldn’t be the last. Still, he manages.

The scent of freshly brewed coffee and the sound of Bepo’s pattering is enough to wake him up in the mornings, most days. He’s thankful that today is one of those days.

It’s 8:42 in the morning when he receives a text.

It’s from the group chat he has with Shachi and Penguin- it’s unusual for them to be up this early. They’re wishing him a ‘Happy Birthday,’ and it’s only then does he remember what day today is. Scrolling up, it seems this was the second birthday text. The first was sent exactly at midnight.

Why did you send it twice, he wonders sipping on his coffee and sending back a ‘Thank you,’ message. They respond moments later, saying how he’s too formal, and that they’ll be telling him happy birthday for the rest of the day- something he very quickly shoots down. Unfortunately for him, he knows his friends don’t take 'No,’ for an answer.

He doesn’t tell them how he’s secretly grateful that they were so hard-headed.

The weather is good today.

There’s a slight breeze, only strong enough to sway a few hairs, and the sun is playing hide-and-seek, popping out every couple minutes to greet passerby's before going back behind the clouds.

This is the time he takes the harness off of Bepo and allows him to run and play with the other dogs. Despite being so big, Law would argue that he’s never met a bigger baby.

“Don’t run too far,” he ruffles his fur, earning a happy bark in return before the white mass scampers off.

He could still remember the first time Bepo had ran off and gotten lost. It wasn’t too far away from home, not even a ten minute walk, but the poor thing was frightened, shaking near some bushes. Thankfully, every since then, he’s always stuck within view.

“TORAOOOO!”

There goes my morning, is the only thought that passes as he’s tackles to the ground.

“Shishishi!” Law would swear up and down that Luffy needed a leash way more than an actual dog. “Happy Birthday!”

“Thanks,” he groans, trying, and failing, to push the younger male off of him. Where does he get all this strength from? Eventually, he gives, and falls back on the ground. There was no use in trying to get him to let go, and he surely wasn’t going to do it voluntarily any time soon, so what was the point?

“Need help there, Traffy?” The snickers of Luffy’s two brothers ring prominently in his ears. Of course they were enjoying this- if you hadn’t told him that the three of them were actually adopted brothers Law would accept that they were all blood related.

“Get him off,” he seethes, watching as Sabo casually lifts his younger brother up by the collar like a cat. He only barely manages to regain his balance when Ace comes next to him and roughly slaps his back, grin wider than ever, as if he didn’t just give someone a seven-inch bruise.

“Happy birthday, dude!” Thankfully, Sabo’s a little nicer.

“Any special plans today?” The blonde asks, still holding onto his brother who’s desperately trying to flee from his vice grip to no avail.

“None,” he answers. His friends have enough energy for today that he feels like there wasn’t a need to expend his own. “I’ll take Bepo on a walk, visit family, then go back home.”

Despite his rough tone, they don’t seem to mind. “Well then,” Ace makes his way to join Sabo. “I hope you have a good day then, we should get going. It’s was nice seeing you.”

He rubs his back, half-heartedly agreeing with that statement before walking back to the bench. For some reason he felt like today was going to be a long one.

The door opens with so much force Law swears that the hinges would need to be replaced later.

“Big brother!”

He smiles, as he always does around her. “Morning, Lami.”

“Don’t ‘Morning, Lami,’ me! You didn’t respond to my text message this morning!” She huffs, puffing out her cheeks and settling both hands on her lips. “But who cares about that,” her frown is replaced as quickly as it came with her signature smile. Her hands reach out to grab his and drag him inside the house, Bepo and all. “Mom and Dad have been waiting for you! Cora-san is here, too!”

“Cora-san?” He repeats. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy to see him, quite the opposite, but given the clumsy nature of the man Law had to wonder how, and if, did he get here unscathed.

“Yeah! Uncle Doffy drove him over.” Ah, he cringes, that explains it.

Stepping into the room felt stifling. Not in a bad way, of course, but the amount of love that fluttered through the air and glided right towards him felt surreal. This happens every year, but he could never get used to it.

“Law!” His mother and Rosinante both stand up from their seats at the same time. Lami dodges out of the way, moving to sit next to Doflamingo- how she could stand that man was beyond him. “You’ve grown so much since I last saw you!” The older male ruffles his hair.

“You saw me last month, Cora-san.” He moves out of the way from his uncle only to get trapped in the arms of his mother.

Her words are as gentle as her touch, and he doesn’t mind admitting that he likes being held by her. “Happy birthday, Law.” He gives her a gentle squeeze back.

Their hug doesn’t last long, only a couple seconds, but there were other people in the room, restless to congratulate the celebrity of the day. “Why don’t you come sit down?”

He would like that.

It’s late night when he finally arrives home again.

It’s been a long day, just as he had thought it would be. From visiting family to friends tackling him on the street, to getting dragged out to celebrate at the Baratie for lunch- there was no denying that he was grateful to have such supportive people in his life, but perhaps they were just a bit too supportive.

He barely manages to fish the keys out of his pocket when the door opens.

“Law!” A flood of calm washes over him. “Welcome home!”

He doesn’t say anything as he steps inside and takes off his shoes, finally releasing Bepo from his harness. You don’t say anything either, content with simply standing to the side and waiting for him to finish his tasks.

There was something so fulfilling about coming home to someone waiting for you. How they’ll greet you back every time with a big smile and open arms, urging you to come closer.

“I’m home.” He mutters, burying his face in your neck.

“Tiring day?”

“Yeah,” he appreciates the strokes to his hair.

“I’ve made dinner.”

“Do you mind if we take a bath first?”

“The food will get cold.”

“That’s fine.”

You chuckle, “alright.”

He hums, but doesn’t let go. Just a bit longer.

“And, Law?”

“Yeah?”

“Happy Birthday.”

#Trafalgar Law #Trafalgar D Water Law #Trafalgar Law x Reader #Trafalgar D Water Law x Reader #one piece scenarios #one piece x reader #happy birthday to my absolute favorite character #i hope this man gets all the birthday wishes !!!

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viouez · 3 years

Text

First Snow | 1

synopsis. introductions are never fun, especially when between the eight of them, one of them is ignorant about the things behind the curtain.

pairing. bts x reader genre. angst au. hybrid!au contents. its only about 6651 words note. i again, like most of these, wrote this a bit ago, rewrote it, fixed small parts, you know? jjk main character type ego

entire masterlist.

all rights reserved © viouez | the reposting, modifying, and/or translating of any kind on any medium is allowed. the reposting, modifying, and translating of my work without explicit permission from me is technically a criminal act under the law but will not be dealt with legal action because i would enjoy my ideas to be distributed.

A slight sigh fell from the female's lips, head tilting to the side as she listened to her coworkers job explanation. She had already been given the rundown by the boss when she was given the job. Though, she wasn’t going to stop him from talking about his passion, a second listen never hurt anybody.

She smiled widely when she caught her friend turning the corner, clipboard in hand to show her to the work area. He raised a hand in a wave and sent the other worker off, saying something about the boss needing him down in the labs. She wouldn’t question it. He turned towards her once again and gave a warm smile.

“So, the boss has given you room twenty-nine, I think you’ll want a room explanation before you meet any of the hybrids occupying such a room.” Chanyeol admitted awkwardly, pointing back towards the rooms.

“That’s the newcomers room, Chan, I don’t think I’m educated enough to deal with them yet. I haven’t even finished my schooling.” she almost gasped out, hands gripping onto the boys arm

He only gave her a sympathetic smile, patting the top of head. It was very uncommon for the boss to put someone just hired into the newcomers room. They were some of the most hostile or violent hybrids that were into the facility. He just hoped the boss knew what he was doing by sending her in.

“Thankfully, your job with the newcomers is simple. You’ll be the one who does checks up. Meaning, you’ll be the one giving medications, ordering their food and delivering from the cafeteria, at least three times a day, since you’ll be working until about six.” He paused, reading over the paperwork one more time

“I’m just the caregiver, then?” hopeful, she stood on her tippy toes to try and read the papers as well.

“If they need absolutely anything, you’ll be the only person they can go to. Its also your job to decide if adopters would be a good fit for them. You get to give the final decision.” finishing his reading, he motioned towards the door, “Let’s get you to the hybrids, shall we?”

She nodded, excited to start her first day, before taking the clipboard from the man. Her eyes raked over the words and tried her best to take in the information as quickly as possible to seem professional. She had this, she just had to start her first day with confidence and authority. This would be easy for her.

Pushing through the door, she stepped into room twenty-nine. This is where she started her first day. She needed to make a good first impression.

Without realizing, she stood froze in the door way as her eyes danced around the room. Seven males sat in a circle in the middle of the plain white room. Most of their heads were hanging down and their hands were placed, folded in their laps. This looked more like an AA meeting than a comfortable meeting space for them.

She parted her lips to question the hybrids on what was happening before a male pushed through a side door holding a tray of medications. Having not noticed the female, the worker stopped in front of a hybrid who curled in on himself. The almost threatening glare of the worker scared the girl as he forced the hybrids lips apart, dumping the array of medications into his mouth.

“Hey.. hey, what are you doing?” her voice came out, a stuttering mess, goodbye to that good first impression, “Stop that, what do you think you’re doing? Don’t grab them like that.”

This gained the workers attention, hand ripping itself away from the hybrid at the new appearance, “I’m just giving them their medications, what do you think I’m doing? Are you an adopter or something?”

“I’m the new worker for this station. You can go, I’ll finish up here, thank you.”

The worker only rolled his eyes and moved to place their medications back onto the tray before leaving through the door they came in from. She was truly shocked at how harshly the worker was treating the hybrids. That was completely unneeded. She was sure the hybrids would take their meds without violence.

She sighed in relief that the worker was gone before once again sinking into her thoughts. She had just done that little show in front of seven hybrids, the ones she was supposed to be caring for. Her stuttering and lack of confidence probably did not give the best look.

Trying her best to build up just a tad bit more confidence, she stepped into the circle of hybrids and hurried to the medications tray. She could do this, she knew she could, but now she was anxious that she gave a bad first impression.

“You got this, don’t even worry about it. So what you got scared? Anyone would be after seeing that.. Right?” she whispered to herself as she glanced over the paperwork one more time, “Don’t chicken out now.”

From what she could tell, the medications they were being given weren’t really hybrid medications. Seemed more like meds you would be giving your actual cat or dog, not a hybrid. What hybrid needs flea medications? Could hybrids even get fleas?

A lot of the ones she was seeing did differ depending on the hybrid taking them. A wolf hybrid within the group would be taking medications to calm down the alpha effects within their body, seeing as they are being shoved into a group of unknown hybrids. A few were being given anti-anxiety medications. One was being given heat suppressors, which was confusing, wouldn’t they all be receiving them if in a center?

Finally turning towards the hybrids, she swallowed harshly and tried to put a hybrid on the faces. She could tell who the wolf was in the pack, the intimidating aura gave that away very quickly. Some of them were harder to tell from the others, granted, she could just look at the list, but she wouldn’t be able to have them introduce themselves. First impressions.

Stepping towards the one who she saw being manhandled, she glanced over the hybrids features, sighing when the red marks from the worker came into view. She bent down a bit to give them the look over, finger trailing over the red marks the workers hand had made. She grimaced at the light whine the figure made at her touching, hand pulling back without a second thought.

“Would you like a drink? I’m sure you’re not feeling too well with what had happened. Taking pills with no drink sounds quite painful.” Y/N smiled lightly, waiting for a reply, hoping that the hybrid wouldn’t be too scared of her.

Once the hybrid nodded, she returned the gesture and quickly walked over to the door the worker stepped into. When she glanced into the room, she furrowed her eyebrows. With a slight groan, she stepped back into the room and pursed her lips. She did have drinks for herself.

It wouldn’t be too bad if she skipped out on them today. She’ll make sure to order some for them tomorrow morning. She wonders if they’d be able to give her suggestions for what kind of drinks they would like. Hopefully after this introduction, they’d trust her a little bit more.

“Seeing as I don’t plan on asking the person from before, I’ll be right back, I need to grab everyone something to drink, okay? Don’t go too far.” She tried to joke around before she exited the room.

It only took about ten minutes before the female was stepping back into the room, with Chanyeol. All the hybrids bodies stiffened at the sight of the man. She was smiling at him before showing him where to sit down the items she had brought.

“Thank you so much, Chan, I promise I’ll ask about getting drinks from the cafeteria next time but the worker that was here seemed a bit too hostile towards everyone.” She mumbled, though the hybrids could hear everything she was saying.

“I’ll have to talk to them about that. I can’t believe they would handle the hybrids like that. Disgusting behavior. But, next time you need anything, write it down and send it over in a text until we can get you a work phone, okay?” Chanyeol added on as they walked back towards the door.

She nodded quickly and moved to push him out of the room, “Go, go! You’ll be late.”

Happy with everything, she walked back into the hybrid circle. Thankfully, Chanyeol was there to help her with the drinks. She had gone grocery shopping and decided that because it was chilly out, her drinks would be alright in the boot of her car. She was correct and glad she left them.

She quickly grabbed one of the milks and stepped back towards the skittish hybrid from before. The second she held the drink out, the hybrid hesitantly took the drink.

“I apologize for taking so long, I had to go out to my car and then Chanyeol stopped me. I hope your throat feels much better. Oh! I also grabbed some cream from my car for your face.” she muttered out, hands shoving into her pocket.

Pulling out the cream, she put a small dot on her finger before glancing up at the hybrid. Once again, hesitant, the hybrid gave a slight nod and turned his head to the side. Gently, the girl applied the cream to the marks left on his face.

“I read on your paperwork that you’re a Samoyed? I mean, your ears kind of give it away too.” She smiled as she pulled her hand back, “I used to have a close friend who was a Samoyed, she always had such bright white ears. It didn’t help that she kept dyeing her hair black and left her ears out.”

This caught the hybrids attention, “You’ve met a Samoyed before? I’ve never seen another one-”

“My older brother used to have a close friend who was Samoyed. She was always so active, I could never keep up with her. Always had such amazing stamina, my little chubby legs could never.”

She could only smile at the memories, she missed the hybrid. Her brother wasn’t too happy when it came to the topic, but he would talk about it if needed. She was taken away by a center because she wasn’t actually adopted. She was a stray he had found and decided to keep. When they found out, they took her away.

“Her name was Mina. She was a lovely person!” happy to be speaking about her, she watched the hybrid sip on his milk, “What’s your name?”

“Oh.. I’m Jimin. They didn’t tell you beforehand?” The hybrid asked, quietly, almost unsure of himself.

“It’s on the paperwork, but I would like to meet you guys how anyone would normally meet someone new, you know? I don’t care what they write on paper.”

The hybrid nodded at her words, going back to his drink. She took this as a sign to move along and meet the other hybrids, not sure how long it had been since she started talking to Jimin. He was a very quiet dog hybrid, she wondered if the other canines were the same.

She turned to grab another milk, glancing over the paperwork to know which pills were for the next hybrid. She knew he was a wolf hybrid, but they did not have the pills ordered correctly. If she knew they were this disorganized, she would’ve grabbed their medication herself.

“It’s the one with the large red pill.” a voice pulled her from her concentration.

Trusting the hybrid, she grabbed the cap of pills and stepped towards the wolf hybrid. She was not the best when it came to meeting new people, she had a good reason to speak with Jimin normally. He needed cream for his marks, but, the wolf hybrid was intimidating.

“Thank you for helping me. The worker seems to really not like his job. He’s made it very confusing for everyone but himself.” she spoke softly, knowing wolf hybrids spoke more confidently when the others were more submissive sounding.

Granted, it may have been a stereotype that she learned from schooling. She wasn’t too sure but she wasn’t going to test that logic either. Wolves seemed to be the most difficult hybrids to deal with when it came to tempers and aggression.

The wolf showed no aggression towards her, she felt like she was safe.

“The names Namjoon,” the wolf started, taking the items from her, “Yeah, he’s not the best worker here, you saw how he treated Jimin.”

“I’m still really sorry about that. I was in shock or I would’ve spoken up sooner. I did not think that the workers were so.. harsh.” she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

“Don’t worry about it, a lot of us are used to it. Jimin just seems to be his main target most of the time. None of us understand why. Maybe because he’s the smallest, but eh, not much we can do about it.”

“I promise to try my best and not let that happen again. I’m your new caregiver anyways, he should stay gone. Or I’ll speak to Chanyeol again. He’s my friend, so, he should do something, right?”

She was speaking more to herself at this point, the wolf could tell. Though, he was confused about how she assumed Chanyeol was any better than the worker from before. He’s beaten the hybrids in the room. He’s done a lot worse and yet, she had no idea.

“It’s nice to meet you, Namjoon. I’m happy to be your new caregiver. I promise to do my best.” she spoke out a minute later, smiling at the wolf.

The hybrids in the room weren’t in a pack together, but he still appreciated her assuming they were. That means he would be making most of the decisions for the group. He had been here the longest and he knew the most, so this would help the group as a whole.

Watching her step away to grab the next set of medications, the wolf glanced around the room. He caught eyes with Seokjin, only giving a slight nod his way. The hybrid dropped his shoulders in relief. The eldest was the most worried about the group, sensing that she was a very new employee. Ignorance is bliss.

She hesitated when she had to step towards the next hybrid, him already giving her a nasty look. Swallowing her nerves, she gave a small smile and held the milk out for him.

“I.. I’m assuming you’re Suga? I think you’re the only feline in the room..” she whispered, the confidence draining from her body.

The hybrid took the milk and meds, downing them within seconds. He shrugged his shoulders at her words. He wasn’t too sure why she was so terrified of him. He knew he had a resting bitch face, but he couldn’t do anything to her while she was here.

“It’s Yoongi.” he spoke, licking over his lips, “Do you have anymore milk?”

She quickly nodded, moving to the box to grab another bottle for the cat. Once he got the bottle, he smiled at her to try and ease her nerves. The room was suffocating in them, he could barely breathe. She wasn’t entirely confused about the cat, but, she knew this was going to be quite the relationship between client and worker until they were separated into their own sections for hybrids.

“Yoongi? It’s pretty, means shine, a lovely name” She commented as she stepped over to the next hybrid.

Taking a break from the hybrids, she slowly walked back towards the medicine tray. She had already met three hybrids who all had very different personalities. Jimin was shy and quiet, not too sure what to say whenever he said anything. It’s almost like he triple checked in his mind before he spoke to her.

Namjoon knew what he was saying and was confident in himself, she was surprised that he was even sent to a center, honestly. Wolf hybrids weren’t entirely rare to see in the hybrid world, but seeing them in a center was a rare sight. They would rather send them in the wild than in a center full of hybrids. Sometimes its too much for them to concentrate or create bonds.

Though very much intimidated by the feline, Yoongi seemed to be a interesting one. Why did they give him a nickname like Suga? Was he returned from an adopter? He didn’t seem to keen on talking with her. Though, that could be a trauma response as well. Most hybrids go through trauma within just ten years of life.

“Are you alright?” a voice questioned beside her, scaring her

She pushed away from the new voice, hand slamming over her heart in quick movement. She didn’t mean to freak out over one of the hybrids speaking to her, she was just lost in thought.

“I am so sorry, I did not mean to freak out like that. I was just in thought. I have a bad memory, so remembering names is a bit hard.” she quickly moved to apologize, bowing slightly towards the hybrid.

“You were just staring at the table, I assumed you needed a bit of help.” Namjoon sheepishly acknowledged, “It’s okay if you don’t!”

“No, no, please, they’re not labeled and I don’t want to mix any medications up. I appreciate the help, I do. Again, I’m really sorry for getting scared, I should’ve been paying attention.”

Shaking his head, the wolf smiled and quickly went to put the medicines in order for the last four hybrids. He quietly named off the hybrids breeds in order for her not to mix them up. She mentally begged that he did not believe she couldn’t do her job. She was just nervous and trying to remember names.

“Thank you again, Namjoon, I get overwhelmed when things aren’t in order, I wish I had gotten the meds myself.” she admitted, muttering out a little curse towards the other worker.

Once again shaking his head, he moved back towards his seat. She appreciated the help, seeing as she almost gave the wrong hybrid the heat suppressant. She was glad she wouldn’t be messing up their medications. God knows how upset Chanyeol would be with her.

“Hi, uh, I want to assume you’re the fox hybrid?” quietly, she walked over to the male with the more pointed ears.

“Ah, yes, that’s me. My name is Seokjin, by the way, it’s lovely to meet you.” He was happy to take the items from her grasp, thankful for his meds.

“Its lovely to meet you as well, Seokjin, I hope we have a nice time working together.”

She couldn’t help the smile from appearing on her face, heart calming down. She was so worried to meet these hybrids and yet they’ve all been kind to her. Hell, Yoongi could’ve reacted a lot worse than he did, but he did introduce himself willingly.

“I.. I like your hair color.” she whispered, nervous now that she complimented without thinking.

“Thank you. I had just gotten it done before I was pushed into here. I think it’s a lovely orange shade.” Seokjin laughed at the compliment, thankful at a change in atmosphere.

“Ah, compliment me next, please? Pretty please?” another voice cut in between the two of them.

Y/N glanced over and caught the second dog hybrid pouting at the two of them. Nodding at his request, she quickly grabbed his things and came back over to speak with the excited pup. She was happy that one or two of them were happy to talk with her.

“I’m Taehyung, but you can call me Tae, I don’t mind, I feel like we’ll get close anyways!” He spoke, voice deep but louder than most of the other hybrids she met already.

“If you want me to call you Tae, I don’t mind at all. It’s a beautiful nickname.” She nodded at his words, opening his milk for him as his tail slapped against another hybrids chair.

She wanted to question why he sat sideways, but she as not going to do that just yet. He seemed extremely comfortable with her already, she wouldn’t wanna ruin that.

Grabbing the drink from her, making sure to be calm enough to not drop it, he quickly brought it to his mouth, gulping down the liquid. Without thinking, she tapped his wrist gently, whining at how quickly he drank.

“Be careful, Tae, you’ll end up with a stomach ache if you keep drinking so fast.” she rushed out, almost thankful when he pulls the drink away from his mouth.

Whining back at the worker, the pup listened and pulled the bottle from his lips, licking the milk that was strapped above his lip. She held the pill bottle towards him, tilting her head to see if he would be another willing hybrid, only to have the pill bottle pushed back towards her.

“You don’t want to take your pills? Why not? They’re supposed to make you feel really good and make sure your body is healthy.” She frowned, holding the pills up again.

“You take the pills for me then if that’s what they’re supposed to do. Pills are no no’s, you can’t take them, they’ll hurt you.” He sarcastically commented after her

“Hm, okay, how about we make a deal then? If you can take all your pills, i’ll give you another drink, how does that sound?”

He took a minute to think about the deal. It was obvious she was trying to bribe him into taking the meds, but this is the most fun he’s had in a while with any worker here. Pursing his lips just slightly, he looked over the girls face and hummed.

Seeing how hopeful she looked, he sighed in defeat and nodded at her words. Taking the cup of pills, he dumped them in his mouth and quickly drank the rest of his milk. Clapping her hands happily, she quickly moved back to grab him another milk, opting to grab a strawberry milk as a treat.

Taking the drink, he was happy to take little sips this time, wanting to savor the drink.

“So, I have a quick question to ask you, Tae, you know.. do dogs like to sniff hands like cats do? I know the full animal sniff the rears of their playmates but what do hybrids do?” She questioned with genuine confusion, looking away from the pup

“I do not.. and hybrids sniff as well, we just don’t sniff their asses like the full animals do. Also, Yoongi doesn’t do the whole sniffing thing either, he’s too mean, plus he has a sensitive nose, it always shows when Jimin and I are around him, but he never has an issue with Namjoon!” the pup almost vented to the worker.

She didn’t mind letting the canine to vent to her, she kind of found it cute. He did not mind talking to a stranger about the problems within the hybrid group. Though, she wasn’t surprised that he and Yoongi didn’t get along. Steretypically cats and dogs have never gotten along too well. Especially when they’re much older.

“I wouldn’t think he did, he didn’t seem so pleased with my presence, but it's something I knew was going to happen. And its nice to meet you, Taehyung, it’s a nice name, something unique.” She nodded at his words, stepping back towards the middle so she could move on, but still wanted to talk to the pup

“My owner gave it to me! she’s a really nice person, you know? She always gave me meat, so much meat, but then she stopped coming home, I think that maybe she was just visiting her family and they brought me here to watch after me.” He spoke loud enough so she could hear while she stepped away.

Turning her back to the hybrid, she frowned lightly. This could only mean two things and both ways, she didn’t like the idea of him finding out one day. The owner either passed away while away from the house or she had given up ownership to the center. Both ways are heartbreaking.

It wasn’t uncommon for hybrids to be taken from their owners either, it just seemed to more reasonable for someone to give up their ownership than the hybrid just be taken away. By law, it had to be a huge reason for your hybrid to be taken from you. Most places, the law passes over abuse, most mean trafficking or invalid adoptions. It was hard to learn in school, but one day it will change, everyone was sure of it.

Without speaking another word about the issue, she found herself standing in front of another hybrid, softening when their features formed into worry, probably realizing what the boy next to him had meant by what he said. He looked up at her and frowned, mentally asking if she understood.

“Will they ever tell him what happened? He hasn’t stopped talking about her since he got here and its been weeks. He thinks he’s going back with her when she gets back..” The hybrid started, a low whine falling from their throat.

“I don’t know when the center thinks would be the best time to tell him. I just know that when he is told, he’ll need some comforting. I know hybrids can read feelings and emotions a lot better than humans can, so, do you think you’d be able to help out?” she questioned softly, not sure how else to approach the situation.

“I could do my best. I’m just not too sure how much the poor thing could take. He’s like.. In love with the girl or something. It’s always Jieun this.. Jieun that. He never stops talking about her. Even Yoongi tried to say something and he just refused to take it as truth. He almost fought with the dude.. Taehyung did. Its weird.”

Not sure what else to say to the poor hybrid, she gently handed over the milk and pills. Maybe she’ll talk to Chanyeol about the situation and see what he thinks about it all. Hopefully when she gets close enough to the hybrid, she’ll be able to talk to him about it.

Taehyung seemed to be an extremely hopeful hybrid. It’s not something rare to see, but in a center it is. He seemed to be around her age as well in human years, meaning that he was old enough to forget all about child-like hopes and dreams. She’s curious about who his last owner happened to be.

Unlike Taehyung though, Seokjin seemed to be a very calm hybrid. He didn’t seem to mind talking to her like they were old friends. He was nice to speak with, very well educated and talked as if he had been with a high-class family. She wonders why they would give up such a delightful hybrid.

Feeling the atmosphere change, the hybrid in front of her pat her arm and got her attention, only giving a small smile, holding the cup back up towards her. They both knew the pup would be told sometime while here and they both knew that it wouldn’t be a pretty picture the minute he actually realized he had been abandoned.

“We’ll try and let him know slowly, so it doesn’t hurt him too much as he realizes. It’ll be a lot for him, but I think he’ll come out fine with a bunch of friends around him, you know?” she smiles, glancing over the canine one last time.

“I hope so, he’s a lovely kid, just has a childlike way of thinking. He’s hopeful,” the hybrid shrugged, turning back towards the girl with a nod, “I’m Hoseok, by the way, It’s nice to meet you finally, I’ve been waiting so long.”

She blushed, realizing she had been taking her time with meeting most of the hybrids, having talked to the five before him for over two hours. She hadn’t even realized how long it had taken her to introduce herself to them all. This is probably why she was a good fit for the job. She can have time pass really easily.

“You’re a red panda, right? A rare sight to see.” She admitted, trying to change topics.

“I am! I’m quite rare on this side of the world, yes, I’m not originally from here.” Hoseok nods,

“They really don’t teach us about red pandas in school, you know? We learn the very basics about pandas. I don’t think I learned anything about red pandas.”

Laughing at her comment, the hybrid shook his head. Of course it was rare to see red pandas talked about in schooling, they’re mostly only learned about when it came to natural habitat. Most of the time, they were taught in places like India and China, where you could actually find them. Not here.

“I guess we’ll both be teaching each other something. If you don’t mind.. I would like to learn about hybrid things as well! We can be each others teachers.” Hoseok smiled, hopeful.

“I would love that, actually. I would love to learn about red pandas. You are someone I take care of, I’d like to know more about you and your hybrid side. I’m sure there’s so much to learn as well. I’m excited.” She bounced on the balls of her feet.

Making plans with the hybrids was nice, she felt like she was getting along with mostly everybody. Standing back at the medicine table, she realized she only had one more pill cup left.

Glancing over at the last hybrid, she swallowed. She could tell why the hybrid was sent into a center. It broke her heart, but she knew how people and hybrids were. If they didn’t fit the usual stereotype of the hybrid, they weren’t wanted or cared about.

Most bunnies had small figures, shorter in height, smaller in size, most were grey or white colored, and they had more feminine features as well. This bunny seemed to be quite the opposite. His shoulders weren’t the broadest, but he definitely looked more masculine than feminine besides maybe his facial features. He was built larger than most as well, seemed about a few inches from six foot, larger thighs and biceps, he looked more like a man than a boy.

If she were seeing them from far away, ears hidden, she would assume the Samoyed and bunny were the opposite species. The pup had a figure closer to a stereotypical bunny while the bunny had the stereotypical body of a dog, she thought the stereotype breaking of both species was adorable. She loved the idea that you would be surprised seeing their species.

“The most rare breed of rabbit..” she spoke quietly as she red over the paperwork, glancing back over to the boy.

How in the world did one of the most rare breeds of rabbit end up in a center?

“Blanc De Hotot.. You are the most rare rabbit to exist. How are you here?” her voice came out weak, now that she was standing closer to the hybrid.

No, she did not realize how harsh the comment came out or how wrong it could sound to any of the hybrids in the room. She was completely shocked that someone willingly got rid of him. He was the most rare.

“When you aren’t sought after in sex work, they don’t want you anymore.” the hybrid spit, rolling his eyes are her comment, though, he was confused on how he was a rare breed.

“I’m sorry to hear that, I’m glad you refused such terrible work, I would rather be on the streets than to be forced to sleep with people I didn’t know. It’s a harsh business to work in, especially for hybrids.” her voice was barely audible by the human ear.

He tensed at her words but kept his eyes down as he grabbed the items from her hands, allowing himself to take the medications. It wasn’t the fact that he hated the sex work, it gave him a place to stay while also relieving himself of anger or frustration. But once he couldn’t take the work, he was shoved into the streets, a bunny who had only known labs and then sex work from a young age.

“At least while you’re here, you can take care of yourself and then get an owner who will take you in with care and not with ideas of slaving you around.” She smiled happily, completely confusing the poor bunny.

He was going to be sold off to someone else? He had no idea they they took in animals just to sell them off when they felt like it. He left for a reason. He wanted to live on his own and become his own person. He didn’t want to just be sold off to someone else. He’d rather staying this room with the people he had gotten used to being around, people who would become his friends or family, people he trusted to leave him in his own room without bothering him.

Anger built inside the bunny, fingers squeezing the milk bottle until the liquid exploded on both him and the worker, resulting in a small squeal falling from her lips as the cold liquid soaked into her clothing. He pushed up from his seat before slamming the bottle against the females chest, hearing the side doors shove open.

“Jungkook.. Please don’t.” her small voice came out, hands wiping at the wet feeling on her chest.

“They plan on reselling us? They plan on taking us in and then shipping us off to some new owner?” He snapped towards the male, ears twitching at the anger radiating from him

“No, no that’s not what i meant, that’s not what i meant at all.” The female tried to calm the hybrid down as well, letting the milk drop to the floor.

His hands raised before she was shoved to the side, hands gripping onto the medicine tray as the bunny stormed his way towards a side door. She whipped around and faced the fox hybrid, eyes widened before she realized exactly why the bunny stopped being forced into sexual work, he had a temper, a bad temper.

The same worker from before found his way next to the girl, smirk filling his lips as he watched her realized she had to actually be strong around the hybrids. She only rolled her eyes, wiping her clothes with her free hand, smiling sadly at the fox, hoping his body would relax from what happened.

“You can leave. I’ll clean up here and try speaking with the hybrid.” The girl muttered, grabbing the milk bottle from the floor.

“There’s not way you’ll make it a week. Chanyeol was an idiot for thinking you were a good fit with this group. They’re a group of unwanted hybrids with bad tempers. You’ll figure it out. Ones already shown his true colors. Just wait.” the man spoke, smirk only widening as the girl stared at him.

‘I do not care who you are or who you think you are to be speaking to me like that. These are my hybrids now. I want you out of this room or I will be calling Chanyeol. Do you think he’ll take sides with his friend or some rude worker who attacked a hybrid and threw milk on his friend before trying to scare her off?”

She knew what she said was manipulative or against her own morals but she refused to let some man sit here and tell her she wasn’t strong enough for this job. She would not back down. This is the job she wanted and the job she fought years of school for.

“Get out of my room.” her voice cracked as she spoke, but the fear now crawling up her legs was something she or the hybrids couldn’t ignore.

The male instantly went for the door after her threats, leaving the girl to bend over to try and calm her anxiety down. How the hell she had the balls to say that, she will never know. It scared her thinking on it.

“I’ll check on Jungkook and when I get back, I would like to know what you guys would like to eat or drink from now on. I’ll be ordering food from the cafeteria now and I would like for it to be something you guys will actually like.” she spoke, now quiet, scared she would sound too harsh.

Without giving any of them time to answer her or say anything, she made her way towards the door that Jungkook stormed off into. She took a deep breath, thinking about what to say when she’s in front of him. She hopes it’ll work out.

“I’ll go in and try to speak with him, if you hear any commotion, please do come in after me, you have every right to manhandle me if anything is happening as well, I get I'm not strong looking, but I do kick shins really well.” she spoke to the other hybrids.

Knocking gently, she pushed her way into the room when she hear a grunt in reply. When she closed the door, she gently backed up so her body was pressed into the cold metal. This is her time to try and make amends with the hybrid. If he forgave her or not was not up to her, this would take time.

Now that she looks around, it looks like a casual college kids room. posters rested against the walls here and there, a laptop even sat on a nightstand. How he was able to have one, she wouldn’t question. Weirdly enough, the room almost reminded her of her older brothers college dorm when he was still in college.

“Why are you in here?” the bunny snapped from his bed, hands bunched up in his lap.

“Jungkook, I want to apologize for what I said,” she bent her head down, trying to seem less intimidating, “I don’t think you’ll be sold off if you don’t want it. I make all final decisions, If you don’t want adopted, I can refuse any offers made until you know what you want. I can’t promise you that the others wont want to leave though, that’s up to them.”

The boy stayed quiet, watching the female as she waited for his reply. He wouldn’t be so forgiving, he couldn’t. He’s seen how horrible humans were. How horrible they would treat others and then how quick they would be to manipulate them into liking them after all of it. He couldn’t trust humans. He could trust Namjoon. Only Namjoon was trustworthy.

“I do not want to be sold off into another family. It’s bad enough being treated like another slave here, I don’t want to be owned by anyone. If you ever sell me off, I don’t know what I’ll do, but It will not be pretty.” The rabbit snapped out, standing from his bed to try and look big.

He didn’t need to try and look anything when the female was shaking like a leaf in front of him. How little was she told when she decided to take the job offer? How little does she know about this place?

“When things come out of the dark, I don’t want you to change your mind about this. If you’re here to be a caregiver, you stay. You are not allowed to leave, you hear me? Chanyeol can make you think what you want.. but when you see the truth.. you cant leave.”

hi <3

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anagentinwriting · 3 years

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Lifeline - Part 11

Summary: (First Responders!AU) Moving to Los Angeles and living with your brother, Thor, was never part of your plan nor was being a 9-1-1 dispatcher, but plans change when you are faced with your own emergencies. In your case, it was leaving behind a relationship that wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Will this be the fresh start you were hoping for or will your past find a way to catch up with you?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Odinson!Sister Reader

Word Count: 2500+

Warnings: Heart attack, fluff, angst, language

Lifeline Masterlist / Main Masterlist

It was a slow day at the call center, which was a good thing, and you couldn’t help but wonder what Steve was planning. Earlier, he texted you, asking if you wanted to get lunch together, and you accepted. It’s been a couple of weeks since you hung out and had a movie night, but since then, you’ve hung out a few other times at your house watching movies and talking. It was innocent fun, nothing serious, two friends enjoying each other’s company. But, you did fall asleep on him one night after a late shift, but luckily, he didn’t seem to mind. Neither of you labeled them as dates because neither of you were looking for a relationship. You both joked about them being dates though, but they never blossomed into anything, even though one night you hoped they would.

Your phone line ringing pulled you from your daydream. “911, what’s your emergency?”

“Um...my daddy can hardly breathe?”

“Okay, hold on for a second, sweetie.” The address popped right up since she was calling from a landline and you dispatched an ambulance to their location. It was much easier to send help when they called from landlines; cell phones were tricky because you needed to go through the carrier if you needed to get their exact location. “The ambulance is on their way.”

“Good...they need to get here real fast,” the little girl said in a calm voice.

“Okay, sweetie, what’s your name?

“Duranna Dey. My daddy’s name is Rhomann Dey.”

“Okay. How old are you, Duranna?

“I am five years old.”

“Okay, Duranna, I need to know if your father is still awake?”

“Yeah. He called 911-- then couldn’t really talk--he gave me the phone then.”

“Your dad is a smart man. Duranna, is your front door unlocked?”

“Uh…is our front door unlocked, Daddy? Uh, no.”

“Okay, Duranna, can you go and unlock the front door for me?”

“Sure…okay, I am going to go. Don’t worry, Daddy!” You heard shuffling over the line. “Front door unlocked.”

“That’s good, Duranna. Now can you go ask your dad if this has ever happened to him before?”

“Yeah,” she said as you heard shuffling through the phone. “Dad, has this ever happened before? He says no, and he is still awake.”

“Good. Can you ask him if he has any kind of chest pain?”

“Do you have chest pain? Yes, yes, he does.”

“Okay, hold on for a second, okay, Duranna.”

“Okay,” she replied.

You radioed the paramedics over your headset and told them the situation so they would know what they were walking into upon their arrival.

“I’m back, Duranna. Is he still awake?”

“Yeah, we’re in our jammies. Is that going to be okay, or should we get changed?”

“No, that will be fine,” you smiled at her question. “I need you to stay with your dad to make sure he stays awake.”

“Okay. I got it. Stay calm, Dad.” You could hear sirens coming over the line. “They are here now; should I hang up?”

“Yes, Duranna, you can hang up.”

“Okay, thank you, bye.”

The line went dead, and you couldn’t help but smile. Duranna was one strong, calm, brave little girl in her given situation, where some adults wouldn’t be. It was surprising, and you couldn’t help but praise her parents. You sighed, taking off your headset and setting it on the table as you went on your lunch break.

When you walked out of your building, you saw Steve standing outside holding onto a leash with a beautiful golden retriever attached to it. You smiled, walking right up to them and crouched down to pet him.

“Awww, you must be Cosmo,” you cooed, scrunching up his face in your hands, and quickly licked your cheek. “You’re so cute, yes you are.”

“He wanted to meet you. Wouldn’t shut up about it all morning,” Steve grinned under his baseball cap.

“Well, it is lovely to meet you, too,” You added, bopping him on the nose. You stood up, smiling at Steve. “What are we doing for lunch?”

“Since I brought Cosmo, I thought we could take a stroll through the park. I know there are a few food trucks in the area we could check out.”

“Sounds fun,” you smirked, walking next to Steve with Cosmo out in front. “How has Cosmo been adjusting?”

“He’s doing better. He’s a little off at certain times during the day, but the vet says it’s pretty normal, and it’s all a part of the process.”

“Well, he looks happy.” You let out a soft chuckle, watching Cosmo look around with his tongue hanging out. “And he is so cute.”

“Thanks for the compliment. You know dogs do take after their owners,” he winked, forcing you to roll your eyes.

“Okay, wise guy,” you scoffed, nudging him in his side. “How’s Station 107?”

Steve cleared his throat. “Your brother gave me permission to ask you out a while ago, and he keeps reminding me about it.”

You chuckled. “Did he? Clearly, he doesn’t know how much of a guy you are.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You come off all innocent, but let’s be real, you’re a real troublemaker.”

“I will neither confirm nor deny that information,” he chuckled, waving it off as you shake your head at him.

“It’s crazy how he gave you permission, yet you haven’t done anything about it?” You questioned, narrowing your eyes at him. “And here's Cosmo, who by the way I just met, and he has already gotten further with me than you have.”

“That hurts.” Steve feigned a pained look, holding his hand over his heart. “In my defense, I didn’t want you to feel pressured or pushed into something you weren’t ready for.”

“You never did, and that’s what makes you a good man, Steve,” you confessed, seeing his signature smirk spread across his face. “But, my life is enough of a mess as it is, and I wouldn’t expect you or anyone else to try and take that on.”

“That’s not it at all. I’m not worried about what happened in your past. I mean, I hate what you had to go through, but it’s never going to scare me off.”

You had no words. No comeback. All you could do was smile. You reached over and grabbed a hold of his hand. “Friends, hold hands, right?”

“Yeah, last time I checked,” he grinned, squeezing your hand. You felt your face heat up under his gaze as you looked away. You tried to weld your lips together, but it was no use. You had a feeling a smile would be plastered on your face all through lunch.

You and Steve settle on getting Mexican at Wade’s Chimichangas truck when you noticed the other truck was an ice cream truck. You stood in line and noticed the guy taking orders was very chatty and looked oddly similar to Ryan Reynolds.

“Next, oh, and what a cute couple you two are,” the Ryan Reynolds look-alike said. “I’m Wade, owner of Wade’s Chimichangas. Oh, and this sugar bear with the mustache behind me is Peter W. He saw my want ad in the paper, and he was an instant hire.” He smiled, but then it quickly turned into a frown. “This is actually the second time I hired him, the first time is when I hired him to be a part of X-force, and he died early on. Then, I time-traveled back in time after stealing this special watch from your universe's Thanos and brought Peter back to life at the end. Oops, spoiler alert,” he shrugged, staring at the empty space beside you.

“I’m sorry,” Steve asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to gauge the situation.

“Sorry,” he smiled. “This--” he twirled his finger in the air “--this is the wrong universe. Well, that universe technically doesn’t exist anymore since Mickey Mouse bought out Fox, and I’m not talking about the cute fox from Fox and the Hound either. No siree, this Fox was more expensive than my favorite shoe company’s net worth.” He shook his head back and forth, chuckling. “It’s going to be crazy fun! My place is safe and secure, but can’t say the same for that Australian Showman.” He nodded but stopped when a realization dawned on him. “Oh wait, dammit, he got out a few years too early. What a shame, he’s gonna miss out on some really big paychecks, but who cares about that guy anyway,” he signed. “Anyways, what can I get you two?”

“I’ll take the Almost Famous Chimichanga with rice,” Steve ordered.

“Oh, being safe and not going with beans, smart move, Captain,” Wade replied with a wink. “And for the lady and canine?” You gave Wade your order and ordered Cosmo a simple taco.

“Cosmo doesn’t need a taco,” Steve added, shaking his head.

“So, no taco for the canine? I am taking copious notes here.” You looked to Wade to see him licking his lips with a pen and small notebook pad in his hand.

“Yes, taco,” you answered, and Cosmo barked.

“Majority wins. Fire up the stove, Peter. It will be a couple of minutes, folks,” Wade announced. “If only there was a superpower to make food. I mean, he or she, I’m not sexist, could solve world hunger with just a flick of their wrist or magic wand.”

“Wow, that guy must be going through something,” Steve uttered loud enough for you to hear as you both moved down the side of the truck to the pickup area.

“Captain, you have no idea,” Wade looked over his shoulder and shot you both a tight smile. “Am I right, Peter?”

“He is,” Peter nodded, placing an order on the serving counter. “Order for the lovely couple and a taco for the gorgeous golden retriever.

“Thanks, Peter.” You pulled your wallet from your purse, but when you looked up, Steve was already handing Peter some cash.

“My treat,” he replied, answering your silent question.

“Next time, it’s on me.”

“Deal,” Steve smirked, getting his change back from Peter.

“Is he a Purebred?” Peter asked, looking down at Cosmo with a smile.

“I’m not sure I rescued him.”

“That’s incredible. My wife, Susan, and I thought about adopting, but she’s been training hard with her personal trainer, Gus, a few times a week, so we weren’t sure if we were ready for a dog. I mean, some of the workouts can last like four hours, but it is doing wonders for her, and it shows.”

“Well, when you both feel ready, give adoption a chance.”

“I will. I’m sorry to keep you from your date with all the questions.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Steve waved it off. “That’s how you keep customers coming back, right?”

“That’s right,” Peter chuckled. “Thanks for choosing Wade’s Chimichangas. Have a good afternoon, folks.”

You grabbed your’s and Cosmo’s baskets, and Steve grabbed his, making your way over to the open benches near the sidewalk. You plopped down with Steve taking the spot next to you, and Cosmo sat right in front of you, wagging his tail and waiting for his taco. You smirked at him, tearing off a piece and giving it to him.

“Are you getting the feeling that Susan is cheating on Peter, too?” Steve asked, taking a bite of his chimichanga.

“Yes, I thought I was the only one thinking that,” you answered, shaking your head. “Poor guy, he seems like a good one, too.”

A comfortable silence fell between you two as you ate. It was tasty, better than you expected it would be; you weren’t sure if it was the seasoning or sauce, but you would be a returning customer. Cosmo whined, staring into your eyes as you tore off another piece and gave it to him.

Steve smirked. “You’re gonna teach him to be a beggar.”

“Don’t listen to your dad. If you want to be a beggar, you be a beggar.” You patted him on the head, and he licked your hand.

“Wow,” Steve mouthed, making you hit him on the arm. He cracked a contagious smile, leaning into you, and you couldn’t help but laugh as you pushed him off you.

“You’re such as ass sometimes.”

“I am one of LA’s finest asses according to Sam,” he replied, forcing you to scoff.

_______

Taking the last bite of your lunch, you glanced at Steve, finishing off his chimichanga. He wiped his lips with his napkin and winked at you. You rolled your eyes, leaning forward and rubbing Cosmo on the head. You didn’t want to go back to work. All you wanted to do was hang out with Steve and Cosmo for the rest of the day. You sighed, looking down at your watch.

“Should we start heading back?” Steve inquired, placing a hand on your forearm. You looked at his hand, a shy smile appearing on your face.

“Uh yeah, we probably should.”

He stood up, offering his hand, which you took without hesitation. He squeezed your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours, sending a warm, comforting sensation flow through your body. You could feel your face grow warm as you stared at Cosmo walking in front of you. You bit your lip, peeking over at Steve, not missing the smirk you were beginning to love appear across his lips.

________

He pulled you to stop in front of your building, letting go of your hand, and you turned to face him. “Thanks for getting lunch with me and for bringing Cosmo. It was nice to meet him.” You smiled down at the dog, wagging his tail with his tongue hanging out.

“I think he enjoyed meeting you, too,” He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “Listen, I don’t know if you’ve heard about this yet, but there is this first responders charity grill out slash softball tournament this weekend. I was wondering if...”

“Yeah,” you interrupted him. “Thor already invited me, and I was planning on going.”

“Cool.” He nodded, clenching his jaw. “But, I was curious if you wanted to be my date?”

You rubbed your lips together, a smile itching its way across your lips. “Did you finally have the nerve to ask me out?” You nudged him with your elbow repeatedly until he cracked a smile.

“Like I said, I didn’t want to pressure you into anything.” He sighed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“No, it’s not that. I’m just surprised you’re already planning a second date, and we aren’t even done with the first one yet.”

His jaw dropped open as quickly as he snapped it shut. If you weren’t watching him, you would have missed it. “I never said this was a date.”

“Yeah, but Cosmo told me it was, so who do you think I’m gonna believe. The guy I have been hanging out with or a dog willing to share all your secrets with me.” You shrugged with both hands in front of you, trying to weigh out your best option.

“Cosmo,” Steve looked down at his dog, shaking his head. “You can’t be telling YN all my secrets.”

“He’s a talker. Aren’t you Cosmo?” You cooed, making him bark in agreement. You smiled, reaching out to scratch his head one last time. You peeked up at Steve, not missing the gentle smile fading from his lips.

“How about it, YN? Do you want to go out on another date with me?”

“Yeah,” you grinned, nodding your head. “I’d like that.”

______

AN: Thanks for reading Part 11! We are over halfway through this story and there is so much more to come! And I am excited to share it with you all! The call about the daughter and father actually was something that happened and became national news a long time ago. I came across it while I was trying to find some 911 type calls/scenarios, and figured Rhomann and Duranna Dey would be a good fit for it. And she finally got to meet Cosmo! He is actually the dog from Guardians of the Galaxy! It is just a small cameo in that movie, but I love throwing in those easter eggs if you haven’t figured that out yet, haha! Did you like the Wade Wilson and Peter W cameo?! I thought it would be an entertaining addition and Wade breaking that fourth wall is always a fun time! The slow burn may finally be coming to an end. Let's just hope this charity softball tournament/grill-out date turns into a success! As always, thanks for reading, and don't forget comments are always welcome!

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