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is0gild · 3 years

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Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Bonus Chapter 5

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 13,151

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

"Come on, Lea, unlock the door," I coaxed gently as I tugged on the car handle a couple times, even though I knew the action would be in vain. "Don't you think it's possible that you're being just a smidge childish?"

"What else is new?" Saïx deadpanned from where he leaned with one hip propped against the hood of his car and boredly scrolled through his phone, not even bothering to look up.

Lea's only response was to glower, razz his tongue and flip his brother the bird before huffily crossing his arms and slouching even further down into the driver's seat.

A testament to what a pillar of maturity he was being at the moment.

Sighing, I bent forward slightly so I could better see him through the window glass. "Need I remind you that you agreed to this?"

"I was tricked!" he harrumphed back, his voice muffled from the other side of the closed door.

My head tipped to one side. "Alright… how exactly were you tricked?"

His head turned to meet my gaze as he drooped his eyelids. "You had a cookie."

I blinked. "...and?"

"And I wanted the cookie."

"...so…?" I prompted again as my brow furrowed.

"So now the cookie's gone, I've changed my mind and wanna go home! Now get on board or get stranded cuz either way, I'm leaving." He jammed the key into the ignition, twisted hard and… nothing. Lea's eyes widened briefly before narrowing as he turned it again. And yet again.

"Did you forget my car requires the key and the code to start the engine, oh brainless one?" Saïx said flatly, eyes still trained on his phone screen.

That's right. Saïx's vehicle had a friggin' keypad built into the center console that required a seven-digit code. And it was a BMW no less. One did really have to wonder what his mystery job was that allowed him to afford such luxuries.

Lea growled, banging his palms against the steering wheel. "God fucking damnit, Saïx! This is exactly why ya shoulda told me the stupid password ages ago!"

He cocked an eyebrow at that. "So you could lock me out of my own automobile and drive away with it? As compelling an argument as that may be, I'm not exactly swayed."

"As compelling an argument as that may be, I'm not exactly swayed," Lea parroted back in a mockingly nasal tone before mashing his hand down hard on the car horn, blasting it and startling Saïx into jumping away from the vehicle and nearly dropping his phone. He shot Lea a dirty look, who simply replied by flashing him a half sneer, half smirk - a "smeerk," if you will.

"Well," I hastily interjected, trying to keep the peace as I once more peered inside Lea's impromptu little sanctuary on four wheels, "since I think we can all agree that it looks like you're stuck here for the time being, perhaps now you'll want to come out? Maybe even go inside the house with us?"

"Mm-mm. Nope. Not going anywhere near that dump," he hitched his chin with a derisive sniff. "My happy ass is gonna stay put right here, thank you very much."

My lips pursed to one side. "...okay… for how long?"

"Forever."

I fixed him with a dull stare. "Forever? Really?"

"Forever," he repeated, his voice firm. But then with a thoughtful frown, he amended, "...or until ya tell me you won't make me go inside. Whichever comes first."

I exchanged a brief look with Saïx. Then we both nodded as we came to an unspoken agreement together. My gaze settled on Lea once more, "Alright. I won't make you go inside."

He squinted at me, eyes suspicious as they darted over to his brother, then back. "You swear?"

"Cross my heart," I used a finger to draw an X over my chest.

Still, he looked unconvinced. A pause, then he rolled down the window a crack, just enough to poke his little finger out as he insisted, "Pinkie promise?"

My lips flapped as I blew out an incredulous little huff, but I hooked my pinkie with his. "I promise I won't make you go inside."

"Well, alright then!" his face immediately brightened and he unlocked the door. I took a step back as it swung open wide and he stepped out, reaching his hands skyward for a whole-body stretch with a satisfied sigh. "Whew! Feels good to be outta that car after all that time on the road, huh? My ass was starting to go numb from all that sitting and- shit motherfuck!"

The last part came out in a hiss when Saïx rushed him and Lea dodged just in the nick of time. "Betrayal! J'accuse!" Lea snapped as he dove for the still open car door, but stumbled just short of it thanks to Saïx catching his ankle in both hands. Not one to go out without a fight, Lea desperately latched one hand to the steering wheel and the other to the door frame, trying with all his might to pull himself back inside the vehicle while Saïx threw his entire body weight into dragging him out of it. Muscles straining, Lea snarled through grit teeth, "You promised!"

"She did. I made no such promise," Saïx replied matter-of-factly. He didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat.

"Don't think you'll get off on a goddamn technicality!" Lea grunted, gaining another inch into the car interior. He attempted a futile kick towards Saïx's face, "Leggo!"

Gnawing on my thumbnail, I now just watched as these two grown ass men basically played tug-of-war… with Lea's leg. And… shoot, it looked like Lea was winning. I had to do something, but what?

He suddenly shot me a tiny glare over his shoulder, "I expect this kinda bullshit from him, but not from y-"

I lunged towards him, grabbed his face with both hands, and pressed my lips firmly to his.

He lost his grip and came flying out of the car, crashing into Saïx who staggered but managed to stay upright. "That's cheating!" Lea huffed indignantly as he tried to scramble back inside the car again, but Saïx got him in a headlock first. He fought to pry himself free and when that proved unsuccessful, his hand suddenly produced the car keys once more, almost seemingly out of thin air. Threateningly tapping the tip of one key to the car's paint job, he spat, "Unhand me, villain, or the Beemer gets it!"

Saïx made a grab for the keys which gave Lea the opening he needed to elbow him in the gut and break free. But Saïx was quick to recover and snagged Lea again before he could get back inside the safety of the BMW. A struggle ensued, one that resulted in Saïx getting Lea in a grapple hold from behind by hooking his arms up under his armpits, back over his shoulders and interlocking his fingers together at the nape of Lea's neck.

Huffing and puffing and subdued for the moment, Lea grumbled a long string of curses under his breath as his brother hauled him around the car and across the front lawn towards the house - a rather nice suburban home, I might add, despite Lea's earlier comment about it being a dump. There was even a rather expensive looking car in the driveway, some sort of convertible that was sleek and black with a plate that read Insomnia RHS-113.

I took a quick glance inside Saïx's car to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything and noticed Saïx's had left behind the bag he'd brought with him. Grabbing it, I closed the driver's door and as I hurried to catch up, I could hear Saïx lecturing, "I did not ruin my sleep schedule and drive for half a day to get us all here just for you to chicken out at the last second and hole up in the car. You're going inside. Deal with it."

Lea turned his head to one side with a tiny scoff, but had no other retort. As we stepped onto the porch, his eyes landed on me. "You! Can't believe ya used your feminine wiles on me for evil. Of all the cheap, dirty, underhanded - dude," that last one had been directed at Saïx, who still had him grappled, "ya mind? You won already, jackass! I'm not going anywhere, jeez!"

Saïx hesitated for a few seconds, his face pinching before finally letting him go. "Thank you," Lea ground out in a tone that was the very antithesis of gratitude as he rolled his shoulders and popped his neck. Then he focused on me once more as Saïx retrieved his bag from me, "Now, where was I...? That's right! Of all the low, crooked, sneaky-"

"I'm sorry," I grimaced as I fidgeted with my braid. "...are you mad at me?"

"You kiddin'? Hell no, I'm proud of ya! Slowly but surely, I'm corrupting you to the ways of the dark side, El! 'Sides, who could get pissed at this adorable widdle face," he cooed, pinching my cheeks and smooching my forehead.

Then he tried to bolt.

It seemed he was hoping the element of surprise would be on his side.

"Gack!"

Unfortunately for him, it was not.

For that'd been the sound of him choking as Saïx snatched him by the scruff of the shirt , causing its collar to dig into his throat. He stumbled to an immediate stop and Saïx let go, folding his arms together and fixing him with an unamused look. Lea just rubbed at the fresh sore spot around his neck and laughed sheepishly. "Uh… wouldja believe I just forgot something in the car?"

Saïx drooped his eyelids. "No."

"Heh. Was worth a shot."

"It really wasn't," Saïx harrumphed as his hands smoothed his hair and swiped the wrinkles out of his clothes from their little kerfuffle. Then, without further ado or preamble, he pressed the doorbell.

A hush fell over us as we all waited. Lea glanced back over his shoulder, furtively side-eyeing the car. Saïx smacked the back of his head with a sharp thwack! "Ow! What the fuck was that for?" Lea snarled, socking him in the arm.

He didn't even flinch, just kept staring hard at the door as he muttered, "Don't even think about it."

"Wha- me? Think? Psh, I would never!"

"Finally… something we can both agree on."

Lea curled his lip with a soft tch, but otherwise fell quiet again… unnaturally quiet. At least for Lea anyway. He looked agitated now, with his eyes downcast and his lips set into a grim line, his posture very rigid and his whole body very still. I frowned and slipped my hand inside his, gently squeezing as I laced our fingers together. He looked over at me, eyes softening and smiling weakly as his grip tightened around mine and stayed that way.

That's when the front door opened.

Lea looked at the new face that greeted us now. "Hey…" he began, then paused, seeming to struggle with the next word. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply before exhaling, then finally forced out a soft, "...Mom."

You read that right.

Mom.

Lea had finally done it. At long last, he'd caved and agreed to see her. And trust me, he really had consented to this reunion, despite what his little tantrum a minute ago might look like to the contrary. Was it weird that I was here too for this? I thought maybe it was, at least a little bit. I mean, somehow I just felt like the first time I met his mother shouldn't also be the first time he was seeing her again in twenty years. Maybe that was just me though. In any case, Lea had kept saying how much he'd wanted me with him for moral support. Somewhat more surprisingly, Saïx had been pretty insistent about me joining them as well. Perhaps he thought my presence might keep Lea more docile and civil towards their mother.

If so, I got the feeling Saïx was about to be in for a rude awakening.

The woman who stood in the doorway before us now was pretty, her silver hair pulled back into a ponytail with long bangs that framed her face and the same vibrant green eyes as Lea and Saïx. She would've had to have been young when she had given birth to these two. Oh gosh, I might even go so far as to guess that she'd still been a teenager when she had Saïx.

Her eyes widened at the sight of Lea and she blinked a couple times. But then a slow half-grin tugged at her lips as she crossed her arms and lazily leaned one shoulder against the door frame. "Well, look who finally decided to give me the time of day."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, averting his gaze with a tiny scowl as he rubbed his shoulder with his free hand, "let's not make a huge fuss outta it."

"Course not, wouldn't dream of it. I-" she cut herself off, looking past him towards the afternoon horizon, bringing up a hand to shade her eyes with. "...wouldja look at that? Why, I do believe that's a pig flying."

"That's it, I'm leaving."

With a snort, she snagged him by the elbow before he could get very far. "Now now, no need for the ruffled feathers, I was just jerking your chain. Now stop camping out on my porch and c'mon, get in here!" It seemed it was not a request for with that, she yanked him inside, forcing me to stumble and follow since our hands were still linked.

"When you mentioned you might be bringing friends with you, Saïx, you never said anything about one of 'em being Axel," the woman good-naturedly accused him as he stepped in behind us, clicking the door shut before accepting a hug from her. From this angle, I could see her ponytail was composed of several smaller, segmented ponytails.

My boyfriend narrowed his eyes at her, "Not Axel. It's Lea now."

Releasing Saïx, she cocked her head at Lea and then hummed a laugh. "Right. Saïx told me something about that. Gotta be one of the cool kids and go by your middle name, huh, Lea?" her fingers bounced in air quotes around the name.

"It's not about being cool, it's- ugh, nevermind," Lea grumbled before shooting his brother a little death glare and muttering, "She didn't even know I was coming?"

"Didn't want to get her hopes up," he replied in his usual cool monotone.

Whatever comeback he might've had to that was swallowed in a grunt as he next suffered (quite visibly, in fact) a hug from her. He did not return the embrace. She didn't seem to mind or even notice. "C'mere, let me have look at you," his mother suddenly demanded as she pulled back and Lea's face scrunched up in displeasure as she grabbed it, tugging him down for closer inspection. After a few seconds of scrutiny, she smirked and declared, "Pretty Boy, mm! Both you and Saïx. You have me to thank for those good genes. And you're both so tall too! Dunno where that comes from, cuz you certainly didn't get it from me. You boys must be eating your Wheaties."

Now that she mentioned it, she was pretty short. About my height, in fact, maybe an inch or two taller. It was hard to be sure exactly in those heels she was wearing. But that did raise an interesting point now…

...how did such big men come from such a tiny woman?

The logistics of it had my mind boggling!

"And who's this cute lil thing?" she was now turning her gaze on me. Then to where my hand was still intertwined with Lea's and her eyes crinkled slyly. "Oh-ho, I see. This is the girlfriend."

I smiled shyly back before shooting Lea a quick, awkward glance. He stepped in to introduce me, "Mom, this is Elsa."

Still feeling rather out of place here, I sucked in a tiny, anxious breath before getting out, "It's so nice to meet you, Mrs-"

"God no, please, none of that 'Mrs' crap," she said dryly before grinning once more. "First name's fine, shortcake. Just call me Aranea. Alright, you're up."

...up? Up for what exac-

I squeaked as I too was suddenly assaulted with a hug. Just as abruptly, she was leaning back just enough to squint her eyes at me and tilt her head.

Ah. I see. My turn to be assessed and appraised like a piece of meat.

Well, I certainly hoped I passed inspection!

After a few tense seconds, one corner of her lips quirked up. "You two are gonna make absolutely gorgeous babies. So when are you gonna get on popping out my grandkids? Wait, don't tell me… there's already a bun in the oven."

"Mom!" Lea snapped, my face erupting into flames as he lunged to get between me and her.

There was most certainly not a bun in the oven! There wasn't so much as… as… as dough! The oven wasn't even, uh... preheating! No, trust me, my "oven" was one hundred and ten percent bunless, thank you very much!

Aranea snorted, "Calm down, was only having a lil fun. Just trying to make up for all those years of motherly teasing I missed out on."

A soft hmph from his throat. "Yeah? Well, who's fault was that?"

Her eyes widened slightly and a heavy silence descended over the cozy foyer we were all currently gathered in. Saïx directed a muted scowl at his brother. It went ignored, Lea idly inspecting his nails now and not looking the least bit sorry.

This visit? Off to a great start. Simply superb.

"Aranea?" a clipped, British accent suddenly came echoing from somewhere else in the house, thankfully shattering the long, uncomfortable lull. "Who was that at the-?" the owner of the voice emerged through one of the archways and the words died on his tongue as his eyes alighted on all of us. He had short, dirty blonde hair that was spiked up and intelligent, green eyes that were sharp behind his sleek, black-rimmed glasses. "Oh. I see you've begun the pleasantries without me. Saïx, my boy," he smiled, extending his hand, "a pleasure as always. Might I inquire as to who your comrades are?"

"The prodigal son returns home at last," Aranea wryly chimed in before Saïx could. "Iggy, it's about time you've met my second eldest knucklehead of a kid Axel and his-"

"Lea, Mom. Lea. Get it memorized!"

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lea," the man cordially stretched a hand out to him now.

He didn't take it. "It's something, alright…" he arched an unimpressed eyebrow, "...Iggy, was it?"

He gave a curt if a bit sheepish chuckle at that. "Ignis, if you would. And who is this lovely companion of yours?"

A beat.

Then I gasped, "Oh!"

It's me.

I'm the lovely companion.

Self-consciously clearing my throat, I supplied, "E-Elsa." I did take his hand when offered, blurting out, "And I'll have you know I'm completely and totally bunless."

...thank you, mouth, for that entirely unnecessary addition to the conversation.

His brow furrowed as he took his hand back. "Well... allow me to see what I can do about that."

Uh…

...was he propositioning me?

"Perhaps I can whip up a few rolls to go with dinner," he suggested, tapping his knuckles to his chin.

Oh.

He meant bun buns. Not-

Ahem. Nevermind.

"So," Lea spoke up once more, folding his arms beneath his chest as he fixed the man with a hard stare. "You're the orthodontist."

"Optometrist, actually," Ignis corrected. "By the by, when was your last eye exam? If you'd like, I could squeeze you in for a quick checkup sometime, free of charge."

A small, contemptuous huff escaped his nostrils as his eyelids drooped. "Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Ignis gave a bemused frown at that, but was saved from having to respond as Aranea inserted herself back into the conversation with, "Iggy, is that…?" She trailed off and the second Ignis glanced away from us to look at her instead, Saïx discreetly elbowed Lea, forcing a tiny oof out of him. Aranea grinned as she took in what Ignis was wearing, "It is. You old softie, you put on the apron I got you."

"I cut quite the dashing figure in it if I do say so myself," he gave a pleased little sniff as he stood a bit straighter and absently fiddled with the neck strap of said apron which had the words Gordon Ramsay is my bitch proudly emblazoned across its breast. That, plus the fact that I was just now noticing that he was carrying a meat mallet in one hand, suggested he'd most likely just come from the kitchen.

"Mm, I'll say," she nodded as she continued to eye him up and down appreciatively. But then her gaze landed on the meat mallet - more specifically, on the little gooey red flecks clinging to it. "Hey, did you start tenderizing the steaks without me? Told you I'd help with that."

"I'm loath to make a lady bloody her own hands," he murmured with a tiny smile, wrapping his fingers around hers and bringing them up to his lips.

Lea made a low noise deep in his throat that was half scoff, half gag. That earned him a firm shoulder check from Saïx while he walked past Lea to step closer to his mother and Ignis. As Saïx engaged the two of them in some polite small talk, Lea's expression twisted sourly and he started muttering something under his breath too quiet for me to make out. Seeing as how the others were preoccupied with their own conversation at the moment, I took the opportunity to once more take his hand in mine and ask gently, "Something you want to get off your chest?"

"Hm?" he distractedly hummed, still with a slight glower as his gaze remained fastened to the other three for a few seconds more. But then he snapped out of it and huffed out a sigh, fingers agitatedly ruffling at his hair. "Aw, nothing. I just don't trust it."

I tipped my head to the right. "Don't trust what?"

"Him," he hissed through his teeth, gesturing with his chin towards Ignis. "The whole fucking posh, namby-pamby Brit orthodontist act. Nice try, pal. Not buying it."

I shook my head with a snort, "He's an optometrist, Lea."

"Exactly! The jerk can't even get his story straight," he harrumphed. "Betcha he doesn't even know the first thing about corrective lenses."

"The man wears glasses," I deadpanned.

"All part o' the cover. Mark my word, that slimy sneak can't be trusted." As if sensing Lea's gaze on him once more, Ignis glanced up with a courteous smile and nod in our direction. "Yeah, keep smirking, you smug bespectacled bastard. I'm onto you," Lea mumbled low enough that only I could hear him, but pointed two fingers at his eyes before redirecting those digits at Ignis, who just blinked before returning his focus to Saïx and whatever it was he was talking about.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, groaning, "You're ridiculous."

Lea looked at me now, banishing the dark look and grinning softly. "Heh… maybe…" Giving my hand a quick squeeze, he then pulled me towards him and brought my arms up to hug his neck before slipping his own arms around my waist. Nuzzling his nose lightly to mine, he conspiratorially whispered, "Let's bail."

My head rocked back at that. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. This is a bust, El, so let's blow this popsicle stand. Slip out the door while their backs are still turned. Lookit what I still got," he removed one hand from my hip, shoving it down into his pocket before producing the car keys with a little jangle.

Only mildly surprised that his brother hadn't managed to recover those in their scuffle out front, I rolled my eyes, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What, ya mean Saïx? Eh, ditch him. Loser can hitchhike his dumb ass home."

I gave him a dull stare. "Still forgetting something else."

His lips pursed to one side as one eye squinted. Then it clicked. "Shit, you're right. Still don't have Saïx's code to start the car engine. Damn, guess that leaves us high and dry. Unless of course, you happen to know the code," he chuckled with a shake of his head.

Biting down on my lower lip, I averted my gaze.

"Wait… do you?" his eyes narrowed suspiciously at me. I wrinkled my nose and still kept my mouth shut. "You do! Crap, why didn't ya say so earlier?"

I gave a noncommittal shrug, still avoiding eye contact. "You never asked."

"Oh, for the love of… why would he trust you with the code and not me, his own brother of all people?"

Now I met his gaze once more, raising one eyebrow. "...maybe because he knows I'd never use it to steal his car while we're hundreds of miles away from home?"

He gave me a flat look. "...okay, just because it's true, doesn't make that any less of a low blow."

"Moonglow pear, you say?" Ignis's voice suddenly picked up, drawing our attention back over to him. It seemed Saïx had just gifted him with that small bag he'd been carrying, which one could reasonably assume was filled with the aforementioned fruit. Ignis had pulled one out and was turning it over in his hand for a closer look. "Yes, I've heard of these and have been meaning to try them." He studied it for a few seconds more, then his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers, "That's it! I've come up with a new recipe!" With that, he bustled back out through the hallway he'd come in through.

Smiling fondly after him, Aranea then glanced towards the rest of us once more and gestured towards a different corridor. "Why don't we continue this somewhere more comfortable like the living room, hm?" She turned to lead the way and Saïx did not hesitate to follow. I cocked my head at Lea in silent question and his face scrunched up in distaste, but then with a grumbling sigh, he released my waist, took my hand and we trailed after them as well.

The living room was big and filled with a homey, tidy clutter. The far wall had a giant sliding glass door that led out onto a wooden deck that overlooked a reasonably well-kept backyard. A massive entertainment unit took up another wall, housing a big screen TV amongst the ordered chaos that filled the rest of its shelves. Across from it were a few armchairs and one long, very comfy looking couch. Said couch was currently occupied.

The two boys looked to be teenagers - highschoolers, by my guess. Neither of them glanced up as we entered the room, just continued to concentrate on their phones as their thumbs tapped and swiped at their screens. The blonde one with freckles was sitting upside down with his knees hooked over the sofa's backrest and seemed extra focused, licking one corner of his lips while his brow furrowed. The other guy with the black tousled hair, black shirt, black jacket, black everything had taken up the rest of the couch by sprawling across it, propping his feet up on the armrest. He was a lot more apathetic as he stared at his own phone screen, even though his thumbs continued to be a blur of activity. Maybe he was just in "the zone."

"Look alive and make room on the sofa, boys. We got company," Aranea told them, coming to a stop next to the coffee table and planting one fist on her hip as she eyed them both.

They neither budged nor took their eyes off their smartphones. The blonde one did however chime in with, "Bah, it's just Saïx. Saïx's not company."

Her eyes narrowed with a flat, "Wanna run that by me again, Prom?"

"Lemme finish! He's not company cuz he's family. Yes!" he whooped the last part with a tiny fist pump as something good had apparently just happened in his phone game. Already, his thumbs were back on the move across his screen as he tacked on, "And family means never having to give up primo sofa real estate."

"Aw, what a sweet, half-hearted attempt at sentiment," Aranea cooed with a bat of her lashes before scoffing. "Nice try, bucko, now scoot."

With a grunt, he flipped over to sit on the couch properly and shifted closer to his armrest to make room, all while still staying fixated on his game - rather the impressive feat, I might add. The other boy however remained exactly where he was. "That goes for you too, Noct," she patted a hand to his shoes.

"In a minute," he mumbled, eyes narrowing slightly on his smartphone now as his thumbs started tapping more furiously.

"Not in a minute, now," she insisted sternly. Still he didn't move so much as an inch, not even bothering to reply this time. Aranea rolled her eyes, "Look, I know you fancy yourself a prince round here and like to lounge about like that couch is your throne and this house is your castle with everything the light touches in it your kingdom. But if you're the prince, that makes me the queen, so what I say goes. That means move your princely ass!" With that, she unceremoniously shoved his feet off the armrest.

"Hey!" he scrambled not to fall off the couch altogether, catching himself and sitting up next to Prom. Gritting his teeth as he looked at his phone again, he then puffed out a sigh of relief, "Whew, still got the Devil of the Cygillan on the line." And just like that, he was sucked back into it.

"Ah, the mortal struggle between man and virtual fish," Prom sniggered, gaze still trained on his own phone.

Aranea scrunched up her nose, "You two playing that silly game again? What's it called… King's Kite?"

"King's Knight," Prom corrected, tongue once again poking out of the corner of his mouth as his thumb mashed at the screen now. "And we were, but then Noct decided to be lame and play his dumb fishing game instead."

"Ugh, lazing about like a couple of couch potatoes all day, doing nothing but staring at your phones for hours on end…" she grumbled, folding her arms together and shaking her head. "This is why neither of you boys have gotten laid yet."

I'll say this for Aranea... she seemed to have a rather, hrm… unique approach to parenting.

Prom frowned, "'Scuse you, I've just been scoping out my prospects, thank you very much."

"More like stalking," Noct snorted, squeezing one eye shut as he rapidly drew circles on his screen with a fingertip.

"Hey now, what Cindy and I have is beautiful and I won't have you cheapening it by making it sound crude and perverted," he shot back with a small hmph.

Aranea quirked an eyebrow. "...and Cindy would be?"

"My Goddess of the Gears," Prom sighed dreamily. Eyes still glued to his game, mind you.

Eyelids drooping, Noct clarified, "She works over at the Hammerhead Fuel and Garage."

Giving the ceiling a thoughtful squint for a few seconds, Aranea then blinked a couple times. "Wait, you talking about the blonde knockout? Oh, Prom, she's gotta be at least a whole second grader older than you and way more woman than you could ever handle."

"Pretty sure she has a thing for Uncle Gladio too," Noct smirked.

Making an indignant noise in his throat, Prom scowled and freed up one of his hands to wave in front of Noct's phone, blocking line of sight to the screen as he spat out, "You shut your whore mouth!"

"Shit, Prom, language!" Aranea snapped. As Noct used an elbow to knock Prom's hand away so he could salvage his game, Aranea puffed out an annoyed breath and turned to face us once more. "Sorry about them. These would be the rugrats… your lil brothers, Ax- Lea," she hastily corrected herself before jerking her thumb over her shoulder towards one, then the other. "Noctis. Prompto."

Right… I remember Lea mentioning something about his mother and her two-point-five kids. Did that mean that there was still another o-

TWHUMP!

The sound of a large throw pillow suddenly smacking Noctis in the face.

Courtesy of a little girl with brown eyes and short, dark hair who'd suddenly popped up out of hiding from behind the sofa armrest. She proceeded to shriek with laughter as she dashed off and made her getaway down a hallway, her cackling echoing off into the distance before a door slammed shut somewhere in the house.

Huh. Guess that'd make her the point-five.

Wide-eyed and clenching his teeth, Noctis snatched up his phone from where he'd dropped it on the carpet after the vicious assault and frantically swiped the screen a few times. Then he glowered, slamming a fist down onto a couch cushion. "My line snapped and he got away. Dammit, Iris, I'm gonna kill you!" he snarled, jumping to his feet and ready to charge after her.

"Hold it!" Aranea ordered and he froze before he could even take a single step. "You leave your sister alone and sit your butt back down, mister."

"But she-"

"Ah-ah!" she waggled a stern finger at him, then pointed down in a silent but firm command.

Growling, he threw himself into his seat once more, slumping down low and crossing his arms. "You all baby her too much, especially Uncle Gladio! She's such a brat!"

"Takes one to know one, eh Noct?" Prompto chuckled. Noctis shoved his shoulder hard and he shoved back before they both settled down and became engrossed in their phones again.

"Well?" Aranea prompted them, planting both fists on her hips now, which I took to indicate she really meant business. "It's not every day you meet your other long lost half-brother. Aren't you two gonna put away the phones long enough to at least say hello to Lea and his lil girlfriend, Elsa?" No response. Her right eye twitched. "Seriously, boys, turn off the phones and stick 'em down your pockets before I stick 'em up somewhere else."

Noctis was the first to comply, tucking his phone away with a tiny eye roll before tossing a hand up in a lazy wave towards us. "Hey. Nice to meet you."

Prompto on the other hand kept his phone out, merely taking a split second to shoot us a quick glance before focusing on the mobile device again with a, "He-" The word however got swallowed in a splutter as he did a double take at me, then hopped up to his feet so fast the phone went flying out of his hands. He fumbled to catch it and hastily pocketed it before stepping closer to me with a big grin and sheepish laugh, "He-he-hello there!" He cleared his throat and smoothed his hair, then continued more confidently, "What's shakin', Miss Breathtakin'? Name's Prompto, perhaps you've heard of me? I'm kinda legendary with the ladies around here." Insert wink and finger guns.

I just stared at him blankly.

What…

...was even happening right now?

A wry snerk from Noctis. "Yeah, legendary for being a totally tongue-tied bonehead around them."

"Shush, man, be cool," Prompto hissed back over his shoulder at his brother. "Just cuz you're already tied down, doesn't mean you hafta always ruin it for the rest of us!"

"Tied d-" Noctis began to echo before cutting himself off with a huff and a tiny glare. "Luna and I are just friends!"

"Who ever said anything about Luna? You're the one who brought her up," he singsonged back with a bounce of his eyebrows.

Snorting, Aranea moved to take a seat in the chair next to the far end of the sofa as she added, "You two lil lovebirds have been practically engaged since you were in diapers."

Prompto declared triumphantly, "Exactly! So zip it, Noct! Now where was I…? Ah, yes." He turned back to me, reaching for my hand to plant a kiss to the back of it with a debonair, "Enchanté."

A groan escaped Aranea as she facepalmed. "Prom, stop hitting on your brother's girlfriend."

"I don't see no ring, which means all's fair in love and-" the words abruptly died on his tongue as he looked past me and his eyes grew round, his face paled, and he gulped. Curious as to what had caused such a reaction, I glanced back myself to discover Lea looming behind me with the darkest look I'd ever seen to grace his face aimed directly at Prompto. "Uh, heh… L-Lea, w-was it? N-Nice to m-make your acquaintance," he squeaked out before darting back to his spot on the couch and using Noctis for protective cover.

Hiding a grin behind her hand, Aranea gestured towards the freshly freed up seating, "You all gonna keep standing in the hallway? Go on, take a seat already."

Lea continued to give Prompto the evil eye as he and I settled into the now empty half of the sofa with me next to Noctis. Saïx took the armchair to Lea's right and with that, a hush descended over the room.

...a very drawn out, very awkward hush.

Now don't get me wrong, I am no stranger when it comes to uncomfortable family gatherings. My parents and I were on very, very tentative speaking terms again and I'd recently been to a handful of uneasy dinners with them where silence had reigned supreme around the dining table. Of course, even before I'd ran out on my own wedding, back when I was still their perfect daughter that always did as she was told, even then the Fryse household wouldn't exactly have been considered warm, friendly and inviting. It was just the way my family had always been - cold and distant.

But this home felt different. Here, the quiet felt unnatural and wrong. This seemed like a place that was normally filled with chatter and laughter, making its absence now very unsettling. Especially with Lea in the room, who practically considered silence his arch nemesis and always felt the need to fill the void with his ramblings. In fact, until this very moment, I'd thought him physically incapable of keeping his mouth shut whenever there was a gap in conversation in desperate need of small talk. And yet there he sat now, slouched in the couch cushions, elbow on armrest and head propped up against his knuckles, lips clenched firmly shut and his pinched expression making it abundantly clear he would rather be anywhere but here right now.

I glanced past him and made eye contact with Saïx. He merely frowned, flicked his gaze meaningfully towards Lea before looking back at me again.

Saïx wasn't going to be the one to speak up first. Afterall, he'd already long ago patched things up with his mother and was on speaking terms with her again. Now it was Lea's turn. However, Lea needed to at least make some small effort on his part.

But I'm not sure exactly what Saïx expected me to do about that.

I hesitated, gnawing on my bottom lip for a few heartbeats. Then I lowered my gaze to where Lea's hand rested atop the cushion between the two of us. Slowly, I covered it with my own and he turned his head to look at me.

Alright, so… I've always heard about couples who are really close developing sort of this, I don't know… relationship telepathy after they've been together long enough, to the point where a single glance between the two of them can communicate an entire conversation. Time to see if that theory held any water.

I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders and fixed him with a determined, steady stare.

Talk to your mother. You hear me? Do it. Do it now.

He watched me blankly for a few seconds. Then one side of his mouth lifted and he gave me a tiny nod.

I blinked.

...did it work?

Had he actually received my otherworldly message?

His hand shifted to instead be the one on top of mine, giving it a gentle squeeze as the other reached over to graze my cheek with his thumb and tuck my bangs behind my ear while he bent to press a kiss to my forehead.

Gah, no, you sweet but oblivious dope!

What, did he think the situation was stressing me out and I'd been seeking comfort?

...which, to be fair, was not an unreasonable assessment.

Puffing out a tiny, irked breath through my nose, I firmly locked gazes with him once more and jerked my head towards Aranea a couple times.

Talk.

To.

Her.

Dork.

More blank staring from Lea. But then it finally seemed to click, at least if the way his face twisted into a petulant grimace could be taken as any sort of clue. I responded by narrowing my eyes at him. He relented with a low sigh and at long last shattered the quiet with a, "So… Mom…" he paused, frowning as he rubbed at the nape of his neck and struggled to come up with something to say. "...how do you… keep yourself busy these days?"

A growling huff erupted from Saïx as he directed a dull look towards Lea. "You should know. I've told you before."

"And I wasn't listening," Lea shot back through his teeth, brutally blunt and not seeming to care. He toned it back a bit however as his eyes settled on his mother once more. "So what… ya do the whole suburban housewife, minivan driving, pep rallies and bakesales running, soccer mom thing now?"

Prompto burst out laughing at that. "This is our mom we're talking about here, right? Please, you know how she is."

Lea glared daggers at him and he blanched, ducking down to hide behind Noctis once again. Looking away, Lea mumbled under his breath, "Oh yeah… know her super well."

"I'm a process server," Aranea piped up and all eyes turned to her. "Ya know… those people who'll find you on the street, hand you legal papers and go, 'You've been served!' I'm pretty damn good at it too. I take care of all the tough cases, you know the type… those squirrelly, shifty-eyed motherfuckers who bolt at the first whiff of trouble, thinking they can outrun me." She smirked now, "Hehe… love it when they try to run."

"Mom's earned a bit of a reputation," Noctis added with a tiny grin. "People call her the Commodore."

Aranea chuckled at that with a smug, "Stop, you'll make me blush."

"Huh," was all Lea said at first, pursing his lips to one side. Don't think he quite knew what to do with this information. "...sounds… fulfilling."

And with that, a crushing silence stifled the room once more.

Okay, so… that'd worked well.

Sort of…

I mean, it'd worked okay.

At the very least, it'd worked.

They'd talked!

...for a grand total of two seconds… but still, that was something, right?

Oh who was I kidding, this was a total trainwreck.

So then… now what?

Luckily, I was saved from having to figure that out by Ignis stepping into the living room just then, dusting his hands together as he announced, "That ought to do it for the moment! Now to let those steaks au poivre cook for a bit. Saïx!" The man in question glanced up at the mention of his name and Ignis went on, "If memory serves, I seem to recall you taking a rather keen interest in observing the night sky. Well, I'm a bit of dabbler myself and have recently acquired a new gadget to fiddle with. A telescope - the Ultros StarSeeker Reflector. It's in my study, would you like to come have a look at it for yourself?"

"The mark VI?" Saïx asked, already rising from his chair.

"The mark VII," he corrected with a smile. "150 millimeter. It's supposed to be the latest. Makes the moon seem so close, you'll think yourself to be standing on it. Boys," he now addressed Noctis and Prompto, "why don't you join us?"

"Already seen it. Pass," Noctis muttered, distracted by his phone once more.

Ignis cleared his throat, smile widening. "I must insist."

Prompto groaned, "Dad, can't we do it later? It's not even dark out."

"Alas, science waits for no man, nor do I. Elsa," his gaze landed on me now, "might I interest you in accompanying us as well?"

It was then that it dawned on me that Ignis was probably trying to give his wife some time alone with her (until as of twenty minutes ago) estranged son. Even as I opened my mouth to reply however, I felt Lea's grip tightening slightly around my hand. I hesitated.

I don't think he wanted me to leave.

Maybe I should have anyway. Maybe just a smidge of tough love was in order. Maybe it would have been for his own good.

However…

"I think I'm good, thank you," I politely declined.

With a small bow of his head, Ignis said, "Very well. Come along, boys!"

Heaving a heavy sigh, Noctis stood up and moved towards him. Prompto sprung up with a chipper, "Just a sec! I wanna snap a picture of this!" He darted past the two of us still seated on the couch, snagging Noctis by the elbow and Saïx by his sleeve and yanking them back over towards Lea. Then he fished out his phone before slinging one arm around Noctis and Saïx, forcing them to huddle in close and hunch down as he crouched to throw his other arm around Lea's shoulders. Awkwardly maneuvering his phone and pointing its camera at the four of them all squished together, he laughed, "Group shot of the four bros from different Joes but all from the same ho! Say cheese!"

As the flash went off, Aranea leaned forward in her armchair, her tone dangerously sweet as she asked, "All from the same what, Prom?"

"Aw, Ma, c'mon, you know I don't mean it! It was just for the sake of the rhyme!" he brushed off as he released Saïx and Noctis, freeing up that hand to tap at his screen and double check that the photo came out well. "Lea, dude, you so did not say cheese. I mean, look at th-" he glanced towards Lea (who he still had his arm around, mind you) and choked mid-word at the withering look he was giving him. Hastily snatching his arm back and jumping away, he turned to the others. "L-Let's go look at stars n' shit! Hell yeah constellations!" Then he all but blurred out of there with Ignis, Saïx and Noctis following behind him at a more relaxed pace.

"Seriously do not like that kid," Lea grumbled low as he scowled after him before looking back at me. More specifically, at my tiny grin I was rubbing my curled fingers over. He cocked an eyebrow, "...what?"

"Oh nothing," I whispered back with a shake of my head, trying to school my expression and failing. "It's just… well, he reminds me a little of you, is all."

He stiffened, looking outright offended. "You gotta be joking. That punk? We're nothing alike."

Said one upbeat, flirty goofball about the other.

My grin twitched wider as I merely shrugged, "If you say so."

Our brief exchange had me almost forgetting it wasn't just the two of us in here. Now as I glanced over towards Aranea, I gave her a timid smile. She smiled back, shifted in her seat and crossed her legs, but said nothing. Lea continued to avoid meeting her eyes, frowning off into space as his knee restlessly jiggled up and down while he held my hand in his lap, his fingers idly fidgeting with mine.

The quiet stretched.

I had to wonder if maybe I should have left with the others. If I weren't here this very second, would they be talking now? Could it have really made a difference? Honestly, I don't think it would have. Lea had already tried to start a conversation once. Sure, it'd been a rather feeble, halfhearted attempt at that, but still the effort had been made. And now he was done. He had no interest in doing it again and seemed perfectly content to go on stewing in silence. As for Aranea, I may have known her for less than an hour now, but even in such a short amount of time I could tell she was not someone who was particularly shy about speaking her mind. If she had something she wanted to say to Lea, I very much doubted my presence would have stopped her in the slightest.

I think the two of them were just… stuck.

In some sort of limbo with zero clue of how to proceed or handle this situation.

...should I try relationship telepathy again?

No, judging by the stubborn set to his jaw, it seemed highly unlikely at this point that any amount of mental nudging or prodding would push Lea into being the first one to speak up.

...but maybe a different target would be slightly more receptive to some subtle psychic persuasion?

I slowly turned my gaze on Aranea once more. With a tiny inhale and exhale, I hitched my chin and squinted.

Here goes nothing.

Speak to your son. Say something. Anything. Just talk.

A brief pause, then I winced.

Uh… please?

Musn't forget manners when trying to pierce the cosmic veil to telepathically coerce your boyfriend's mother!

That is, er… if it's not too much trouble, ma'am?

Gah, what if she thought being called ma'am was insulting?!

N-not ma'am! You're not a ma'am! I meant Aranea- no, too overly familiar… um… Mom? Dear god, no! Commodore? Yes, Commodore!

I almost saluted her for good measure, but thankfully caught myself before I did. That would have been silly!

...as if me attempting to psychically communicate with the woman weren't already silly enough.

Lea was right. I really was a friggin' kook.

Ah well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

Please, just… talk to him, okay? Talk to-

"So, Elsa…"

No, not me! Him! Him! For the love of… what, were our metaphysical wires getting crossed? Ignore me, talk to-

Ugh, forget it, I give up.

Consider my brief and not at all glorious career as a mystical telepath officially over.

She grinned at me as she continued, "...are you still a college student?"

"Oh!" I sat up a little straighter. "No… er, I mean, yes. I mean… rather, I've graduated. But… it wasn't for me. My major, that is. So I went back, and… and now it's a much better fit." A beat. Then I gasped, "Acting! That's my new… that's what I'm doing now! What I, ah… what I went back to college for," I breathed out an awkward little laugh.

Wondering why was I suddenly so nervous?

Oh I don't know… could it be that it was just now really sinking in that this was officially my "Meet The Parents" visit? I was in no way prepared for this! I mean come on, she was supposed to be focusing on Lea, not me! Crud, I just hoped I was making a halfway decent impression so far.

"You wanna be an actor, huh? Get into showbiz?" she nodded encouragingly.

Oh, we were still talking about me? We weren't done?

Fudge.

"Maybe… I think so…" No wait, that wasn't quite right. Lifting my chin and steeling my gaze, I said more firmly, "Yes. It's… something I'm actually quite passionate about. Both singing and acting. It's a childhood dream I hope that perhaps I might one day turn into a reality."

Her eyes crinkled and she nodded again. "Been in any productions?"

"Two. Well… rather, one and a half I suppose… I'm in rehearsals for my second show. It's only community theater mind you, I'm still learning," I tacked on shyly.

It occurred to me that maybe this was her way of reaching out to Lea. I mean, a common tactic for connecting with someone was talking about something they liked. And seeing as how I was his girlfriend, it stood to reason that Lea liked me. So maybe, in a way… talking to me was her trying to score points with Lea?

Gaining a bit of confidence, I went on, "We're putting on Rocky Horror Picture Show, what with Halloween coming up and all. I got the part of Columbia, which is a supporting role but still very exciting!"

"Oooo, Rocky Horror you say? The one with all the tight leather, fishnet stockings, and lacey corsets?" Her eyes shifted slyly over to Lea as she shot him a wink, "Betcha you're a big fan of your girlfriend starring in that."

Lea's face twisted in disgust, "Ugh, Mom, don't be gross about it."

For the record, he was a big fan of it.

A really, really big fan.

She chuckled at his obvious discomfort before her eyes suddenly lit up as a thought seemed to strike her. "Speakin' of Halloween… be right back," she smirked, quickly standing up and disappearing down one of the hallways.

"Quick, now's our chance, let's make a break for it!" Lea leapt up to his feet, but I used the hold I still had on his hand to yank him back down into the cushions next to me. He drooped his eyelids at me. I drooped mine right back. With a huff, he slumped further down into the sofa and straight up sulked.

It wasn't long before Aranea returned, now with a pair of stacked cardboard boxes weighing down her arms. She deposited them onto the coffee table with a heavy thud, blowing off some dust before turning them so we could see there was something written in sharpie on their sides. Aranea shifted the top one branded SAÏX off and settled it down next to the other box that had AXEL scrawled across it. Lea's glower darkened as he spotted that particular label.

Flipping the lid off that one, Aranea began rooting around inside. "Hm, lessee here… blankie?" she muttered, mostly to herself it seemed as she then shook her head and shifted more things around in the box. "No… binkie? No…"

"What are you doing?" Lea asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her.

"What's it look like I'm doing? Going through a few odds and ends I kept from when you were a tyke," she grinned at him before pulling something out and holding it up. "D'aww look… baby's first arson!" In her hands was the charred and blackened remains of some sort of stuffed animal. She cocked her head slightly as she scrutinized the thing, "Think it used to be a rabbit… or maybe a piglet?"

"Tiger!" Lea snapped as he snatched the thing out of her grip. "He was a tiger and his name was-" he suddenly stopped, glaring at the mutilated little plushie for a second. Then he chucked it back into the box, grumbling, "Doesn't matter."

I however reached in to pick it back up for a closer look at it myself, brow furrowing as I turned the roasted to a crisp little feline over in my hands. "...what did you do to this thing?"

"Happened when he was four. Just happily tromped the doll over to the burning fireplace and tossed it in before I even realized what the lil snot was up to," Aranea chuckled wistfully before returning to digging around in the box. Next she was lifting out what looked to be a clay mold of a child's handprints as she snerked, "Can you imagine him ever being this small? Crazy." Then she was frowning at it, lightly scratching a finger at one blackened corner of the plaque as she arched an eyebrow. "Huh. Looks like you scorched this a bit too."

Shrugging, she set it aside before taking another look into the box, her face brightening. "Ah, and here we have Lea's masterpiece collection." She stuck her hands back inside it, this time retrieving a handful of crude drawings on slightly crumpled papers. To me, she said, "Ya know, he was quite the lil arteest! Coulda been the next Picasso if he'd just…" she trailed off, distracted now as something caught her eye on the top drawing. She squinted, "...is that a tree that's on fire?" Flipping to the next sheet, she blinked. Then the next. Then the next. "Yeesh, kiddo, you really had a thing for fire when you were a tot. Maybe I shoulda been more worried." Then she brushed it off with a bat of her hand, "Bah, you turned out fine!"

Rummaging around in the box a bit more, she gave a victorious, "Ah-ha!" before pulling out a thick stack of photos. She took a second to shuffle through a few of them before showing us one, "First day of kindergarten." I took it from her, seeing as Lea showed zero interest in accepting it himself. I couldn't help a small smile as I looked at it. He really had been an adorable child, almost ridiculously so. "Second birthday." I glanced up at her words to see her holding out another photo, which I gladly took as well.

She thumbed through a couple more photos before, "Oh, here we go." Plucking one from the bunch, her fingers gave it a satisfied flick before turning it towards us with a half-grin. "The whole reason I remembered to dig up this box just now: Halloween photos! Didn't he just make the cutest lil ninja assassin?"

He really did.

"Mom," Lea abruptly spoke up, his tone low and even and… something else that made the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stand on edge. "...why do you have all this stuff?"

"Hm?" she hummed absently, already back to flipping through the photos.

There was a pause, then he quietly rephrased, "When did you have time to grab it?"

"Oh, I just-" she cut herself off, posture suddenly snapping straight as she grimaced slightly. Her eyes darted to Lea then quickly looked away. Putting the photos down on the coffee table, she cleared her throat and began again, "I took it all with me when…" Another pause, another frown. "...when I…"

"When you abandoned Saïx and me," he finished for her, the edge to his voice unmistakable now. "So… instead of taking me with you when you flew the coop… you took a box."

Uh oh.

"Lea, that's not…" she began, then stopped, lips pressing into a grim line and face pinching as she stared down at her lap for a second. Then she lifted her gaze once more, opened her mouth to speak but clicked it shut again with a tiny growl in her throat, clearly frustrated with herself for being unable to think of the right thing to say.

Her son on the other hand seemed to be having absolutely zero trouble finding his own words, still with a deadly calm to them. "So... what? After dumping Saïx and me like yesterday's garbage, you took the boxes just so you could put on a show that you ever gave a shit about us?"

She gave him a sharp look, her eyes flashing dangerously. "That isn't fair, I-"

"Fair?!" he was on his feet in the blink of an eye, his hands balling into fists at his sides. Nostrils flaring, his voice began to rise now, "No, what wasn't fair was you deciding you didn't want your goddamn kids anymore and leaving them behind to go off and start your new stupid, perfect life and your new stupid, perfect family filled with perfect little snot-nosed brats given to you by your fucking perfect orthodontist!"

Optometrist. Not orthodontist.

Should I correct him?

I decided against it.

(Rather wisely too, if I do say so myself.)

Standing up as well now, Aranea tried to argue, "It wasn't like that! I-"

"Then please! By all means, tell me what it was like!" he snarled back. Two fingers jabbed at his temple, "I'd simply freaking love to know how you rationalized this all away in that screwed up head of yours so you could sleep at night in your comfy, cushy tempur-fucking-pedic king-sized bed while Saïx and I got chewed up and spat out by the hellhole that is the foster system! Tell me, how the fuck is what you did to us okay?!"

"It wasn't okay! Shit, of course it wasn't and I'd never try to tell you that it was!" she yelled, her breathing heavy now as she lifted her chin slightly. "But… you have to understand, it was… I was still young and-"

Lea barked a cold laugh at that. "Young? Seriously? That's your go-to defense? You wanna talk young, Saïx was eight. For fuck's sake, I was six." He shook his head, sneering, "But no, you're right. You were young, so let's just forget it and continue sitting around getting all bogus nostalgic over a buncha meaningless crap in a box while pretending everything's fine and dandy and like you didn't royally fuck over our whole goddamn lives twenty years ago."

Shoulders tensing, Aranea shot back, "Damn it, if you'd just let me talk-"

"You had your chance to talk!" he shouted over her. "You've been talking nonstop since I walked through the front door and it's all been nothing but bullshit and rubbing my nose in your happy, cozy, picture-fucking-perfect lifestyle!"

"That's not- I never meant to-" she blew out an exasperated huff, pinching the bridge of her nose as she took a second to compose herself. Then, more softly if a bit strained, "Look, obviously I'm no good at this. But I'm trying here."

"Yeah? Well not hard enough," he ground out through his teeth. He took several deep breaths, hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly. When he at last spoke again, his voice was now hushed and thick with unshed tears, "Were you ever even sorry for what you did? Did you ever even have any regrets at all?"

Her eyes widened as her head rocked back. "Of course I had regrets-"

"No, you had a box! Just a dumb box!" he smacked said box off the coffee table, sending it crashing to the floor and spilling its contents across the rug. With that, he stormed over to the sliding glass door, throwing it open and stomping out onto the backyard deck.

As he slammed it shut again behind him, the sharp noise jolted a breath out of me that I hadn't realized I'd been holding. It was only then that I noticed how loud the pounding of my heart was in my ears, how tense my muscles were or how tightly my fingers were clutching at the skirt of my dress. Forcing myself to relax a bit, I released my grip and anxiously brushed out the wrinkles in the fabric as my gaze drifted towards Lea once more.

I could see him out there now, hands angrily ruffling at his hair as he paced back and forth. Honestly, his blow up probably shouldn't have come as any sort of shock. This was something that he'd been carrying with him for years now, an anger that had been building inside for two decades and in desperate need of release. It probably really hadn't even been a question of if he would explode, but when.

A loud scoff drew my attention over to Aranea who was also watching Lea, a little scowl twisting her features. Squaring her shoulders, she started marching over towards the sliding glass door grumbling, "Oh-ho, if you think this is over, you got another thing coming, you lil-"

"Wait," a new voice calmly commanded, freezing her in her tracks. I glanced towards where it'd come from to discover Saïx in the threshold to the hallway, frowning and arms crossed with one shoulder leaned against the inside of the arch. I wondered how long he'd been standing there unnoticed, how much of the fight he'd witnessed. Probably most of it. Pushing himself away from the wall and walking towards her, he reasoned, "You'll probably only set him off again. Allow me. Perhaps I can get him to cool down a bit first before coming back inside to continue your discussion more rationally."

Aranea's face scrunched up at the idea of having to back down for the moment but then she sighed heavily and stepped aside, letting Saïx pass. Soon he was outside with his brother, the door gliding quietly shut in his wake. Aranea stood there for a few seconds more, eyes narrowing as she watched them through the glass before turning away with a tiny hmph. "That knucklehead has more Reno in him than he'll ever know," she muttered sourly under her breath. Then she looked at me. "...excuse me, I… I need a minute." She stalked towards one of the other doors, pausing long enough to add over her shoulder, "Sorry… that you had to see that…"

"No, that's, uh… don't mention it," I said awkwardly, my voice small.

With a curt nod, she made her exit.

Peering outside once more, it unfortunately appeared like Saïx wasn't making any headway in pacifying Lea. Though the closed door muffled it, Lea was quite visibly yelling again as he gestured furiously back at the house. Saïx looked remarkably unruffled as he withstood the tirade and every now and again, I would see his lips move whenever he got a chance to squeeze in a few words, face expressionless as he did so. But if he'd intended for whatever he was saying to be soothing, it seemed to only be having the opposite effect as Lea kept bursting out into more impassioned rants. Though it was hard to tell, there was a slight twitch to Saïx's eye now that hinted at him getting more irked with each new outburst.

Finally, Lea just hotly tossed his hands up and turned his back on Saïx, kicking at the wooden railing of the deck. It seemed Saïx had had enough himself for he too turned away, pushing the glass door aside so he could come back in. As he pulled it closed with more force than necessary, he seethed, "I give up. Possibly you'll have better luck convincing that idiot to get his head out of his ass." Without waiting for my reply, he crossed the room in a muted huff and was gone.

I bit my bottom lip, hesitating for a heartbeat. Then I rose, hands smoothing up and down my dress as I slowly stepped towards the door leading out to the backyard. My hand reached out for the handle, stopping just short for a second as I inhaled and exhaled slowly. Then I grabbed hold, slid it open and stepped outside.

Lea was facing away from me, surveying the backyard as he bent forward slightly with hands braced atop the railing. A light breeze picked up, tugging at his crimson spikes and making them dance. By contrast, his whole body was very still, almost eerily so. His muscles were taut and there was a stiffness to his shoulders that was impossible to miss. His fingers squeezed around the railing to the point of practically turning his knuckles white.

No question about it. He was still very much pissed.

It was almost strange, in a way… I was so used to him always being such a boundless source of energy and joy. I'd only ever seen him get angry one other time and that was when Grandfather had tried to bribe him during that disastrous weekend with my family. Even then, it hadn't lasted long and paled in comparison by far to his temper now. It was odd seeing him like this. Unsettling even. But I understood. I knew Lea's mom had always been a sore spot for him, so I was actually almost kind of amazed things had remained civil for as long as they had.

In a way, it was maybe even a good thing he'd went off like he did. You know… cathartic. Better he have a chance to rant and get all those things he'd probably been wanting to say to her for years off his chest, rather than keeping it all bottled up inside to fester.

But now it was time to pick up the pieces, pull him back together and maybe possibly even get him talking with his mother again, hopefully in a more constructive way.

...but how to do that exactly?

I just stood there in a moment of silent uncertainty, staring at his back as I tugged and twisted at my braid. But the longer I watched Lea, the more my heart squeezed at the sight of him. At how dejected and unhappy he appeared, his raw emotions practically etched into every line of his body. Eventually, my feet made the decision for me and I took an almost instinctual step towards him. Then another, and another one after that.

When I was close enough, my hand seemingly of its own accord reached out to softly touch his back. As soon as my fingertips made contact, his whole body went visibly rigid, even more so than it already had been. I brought my other hand up to join the first and slid them slowly around his middle as I took one final step forward to hug him from behind, resting my cheek against his warm back and closing my eyes as I listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

It took a few seconds, but then I felt the tension in his muscles start to ease as he gradually relaxed into the embrace and my hold around him reassuringly tightened. I had to let go however when he abruptly turned towards me, his arms encircling my waist to hug me fiercely to him. My arms shifted up to wrap around his shoulders instead as he buried his face in my neck, inhaling deeply and exhaling a couple times. I could feel him trembling, but with each steadying breath he took it subsided little by little.

I wasn't quite sure what to say or do beyond holding him and tracing light soothing circles along his back, hoping he found it as comforting as I always had whenever he'd done it for me so many times in the past. I patiently waited and just assumed he'd eventually open up when he was ready.

When he eventually did speak, it was so low and muffled against my throat that I almost didn't hear it. "...sorry, El… if I scared you..."

I shook my head slightly, my fingers shifting up to stroke his hair as I murmured, "Scared? No. A bit startled? Maybe… Concerned? Definitely." I tucked in my bottom lip for a hushed moment, then asked, "...are you okay?"

At first Lea said nothing, his only reply coming in the form of squeezing me more tightly to him. We stayed that way a few seconds more before his hold loosened but didn't let go - just enough for him to straighten up and press his forehead to mine. His gaze was downcast and my chest ached at how miserable he looked. His lips parted once more but instead of answering my question, he grumbled, "What she did was wrong."

"It was," I said calmly with a single small nod.

"She doesn't deserve my forgiveness," he tacked on, still quiet but more firmly now.

I noticed tears brimming at the corner of his eyes. Moving my hands to cup his face, I gently wiped them away with my thumbs as I agreed, "She doesn't."

"Serve her right if I never spoke to her again," he gave a tiny scowl.

Again, I nodded. "It would."

Now his green gaze locked on mine, squinting for a second before he puffed out a heavy, bitter sigh. "...but you think I should talk to her, don't you?"

My eyes lowered briefly and I pursed my lips to one side as I tried to choose my next words carefully. Then I looked back up at him, "I think… that you've had your turn to speak your mind, so maybe... it might be the right thing to do to give her a turn as well."

Lea merely made a noise of derision deep in his throat, glancing away.

I used the hold I still had on his face to gently make him look at me again. "I'm not saying you have to let her off the hook. Nor that you have to see her side of things. Nor even that you have to listen to her really. But I believe letting her speak and say whatever it is she was trying to tell you… maybe it could do some good. For both of you. And then... " I paused with a thoughtful frown. "...well, I'm actually not really sure what then, but... maybe the way forward will be clearer once you've both had a chance to talk. You'll never know until you try. And it's at least worth a try, isn't it?"

His expression softened somewhat, but not completely. "...how very logical, insightful and sensible of you, Doctor Phil."

I made a little snort at that. "Why, thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment." The words had no bite to them and were more so just tiredly teasing. He then fell silent for a moment, seemingly mulling over my advice while still holding me against him, his thumb absently rubbing up and down where it rested against the small of my back. Then his face pinched slightly and he harrumphed. "...she never even said she was sorry for what she did."

"Maybe she would have if you hadn't kept talking over her," I lightly pointed out with a wrinkle of my nose.

He hummed a weak, almost inaudible laugh at that. "There ya go with that logic again." He then heaved another sigh, "...I dunno… I guess maybe I can go back inside and…" he slowly closed his eyes and grimaced, as if even the very idea of his next words turned his stomach. "...give this a shot. Chances are good though it'll just end up being the sequel to the earlier shitshow," he rolled his eyes.

I tugged his head down and got on tiptoe, murmuring against his brow as I pressed my lips to it, "I'd expect nothing less."

As I lowered myself back down onto my heels, Lea brought a hand up to graze his knuckle tenderly along my cheek, giving me that soft look of his that still to this day caused my heart to flip-flop and made it hard to breathe. Then his fingers trailed past along my jawline to cup the back of my neck as he bent down to kiss me, slow and thorough, sending a heat through me that made me melt from the inside out. When he at last pulled away, his voice was husky against my lips as he said, "Thanks, El... for coming with me today. Having you here during… It makes everything a bit easier."

Face hot and feeling a bit breathless, I cleared my throat and smiled shyly. "Happy to, uh… to help… in whatever small way I can."

He grinned, his fingers toying with the tip of my braid as he gazed down at me for a second longer before he planted a quick peck to my lips. Then he was releasing me, taking hold of my hand instead and tangling our fingers together. Blowing out a breath that flapped his lips, he muttered, "Right. Back into the fray for round two now, ding-ding."

"Maybe try not going back into this expecting a fight?" I suggested as I felt a sudden buzz from my phone in my pocket. I went on as I fished it out to check my notifications, "Never know, it could possibly even-" The words however got strangled in my throat as my eyes widened, I nearly dropped my phone and I gasped out, "Baby!"

"Yes, Cuddlebug?" he cooed back.

I blinked at him. "Wha-? No, not you. I meant Rayne."

Lea looked positively scandalized. "You have other Babies besides me?" He clutched a hand to his chest, "The betrayal."

"No, I- That's not- She's not-" I stammered out before giving up with a groan of frustration and then shoved my phone up against his nose, reiterating more desperately, "Baby!"

His brow furrowed as he took it from me, eyes quickly scanning the open text message before both eyebrows shot up his forehead. "Holy shit, Raindrop's gone into labor?! I thought she wasn't s'posed to pop that kid out for another few weeks!"

"Well she's popping it out now!" My spine snapped straight as a thought struck me. "Like… now now! While she's there! And we're here! But we shouldn't be here! We should be there, not here! Definitely not here! We-"

"Shh, it'll be fine, I gotcha," he gently shushed me, one of his hands gripping my shoulder and the other coming up to rest his warm palm against the side of my face. "I'll put the fam drama on pause and we can hit the road ASAP."

"...really?" I asked slowly, uncertainly. "...that would be okay?"

He gave a soft snerk and shrugged. "It's waited twenty years already, I think it'll be fine waiting a lil bit longer. 'Sides, it's not every day our friends are having a baby, we should be there."

I turned my head slightly, giving him some side-eye. "And I'm sure this in no way is you hopping on the first excuse you could get to procrastinate sorting things out with your mother like a mature adult."

"Nah, that's just a bonus!" he chuckled.

I fought a tiny grin. But then it swiftly faded, a crease forming between my eyebrows now as something else occurred to me. "But we're so far away… it took us most of the day to get here!"

"The way I drive, we'll be back in half that," he wickedly smirked, digging the car keys out of his pocket, tossing them up into the air and catching them with a wink. "Just leave it to me! Now c'mon, babydoll, let's say our hasta la vistas then make like a piñata and beat it!"

With that, he took my hand in his again, opened the sliding glass door and we hurried inside.

Author's Note: We've had plenty of Elsa's fam drama by now, figured it was high time for some of Lea's fam drama too xD Plus we all know our fave Fire Boi can have a bit of a temper even if he doesn't let it loose often, so it was fun to finally have a excuse to REALLY show that side of him in this fic! Luckily our ICE Queen was around to COOL our FIRE boi's HOT temper... hehehehehe xD Anyhoo, I knew for a while that I wanted to do a chapter with Lea's mom and her new family, but I was mega stumped on which characters would play the parts. For the longest time, I wasn't sure if I was gonna include any of the FFXV cast in my story (except for the brief reference to Meteor Publishing and Vyv allllllll the way back in chapter 2 as to where Rayne works and who her boss is respectively) but then when this idea came up, it really was too perfect! Aranea is just the right amount of sass and kickass that could totes be a perfect fit for Lea's and Saïx's mom! She even TALKS a lot like Lea with similar speech mannerisms and everything, or so you'll notice if you rewatch her video game cutscenes (as I have multiple times while writing this chapter now lol!). The main struggle was that she has a tendency to be quite flirty in the video game, but seeing as how 4 of the 5 men in this chapter were her SONS, couldn't really have her doing that except for with Iggy xD Hopefully I still managed to capture her personality well enough! And of course, including 3 of the 4 Chocobros was a pleasure to write! Plus, I got to squeeze in SO MANY FFXV references this chapter, it felt ridiculous after a while, but I couldn't help myself xD And bonus: in case it wasn't clear in that one quick sentence that was tossed out, turns out Reno was Lea's biological dad! Which sucks a lil cuz that means Reno is deceased in this AU and I hate to do that to another one of my fave redheads... but ah well! Who knows, maybe he only faked his death all those years ago and he's still out there alive and kicking and wreaking havoc xD

Teeny fun facts: I wrote that Lea's new step dad was an orthodontist waaaaaaay back in ch15 before I even knew Iggy was gonna be his step dad, so when I was rereading that for this chapter, I was all "shiiiit, I can't make Iggy an orthodontist, ew!" xD Optometrist didn't seem THAT much better, but hey, at least the dude wears glasses - that's all ya need to become a licensed optometrist, right? xP At least the whole orthodontist-optometrist thing made for a pretty decent running gag this chapter haha! Also, the telescope was based off a real telescope model I found after some googling, just the original brand was named after some sort of constellation, I forget what (...Orion? maybe?). So I changed THAT to one of the constellations from KH3: Ultros! ...because it was the best sounding one for a telescope - sorry, no Cactuar brand telescopes in this story xP

No clues or hint word/phrase this time for what the next one-shot is gonna be about - given the kinda sorta cliffhanger I left his chapter off on, you can probably guess what blessed event is gonna happen next time xD Don't worry, I'll try to throw in a couple of surprises for you still that you hopefully won't see coming!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

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a-table-of-fics · 3 years

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Oddworld, Conar's Ambition, Chapter 2, Draft 1

[[Thanks to Tumblr updating the post length limit, I can finally put the full draft of Chapter 2 in one big post!]]

Slim was silent in line to Slugbite Motel. The chatter was hopefully decent cover; he didn’t need yet more attention after his outburst. If he kept his head down, he’d be fine, and wouldn’t get any more surplus bruises on top of the regular workday bruises.

He heard chatter all around him, gossip from other Slog Huts, Splinterz, and Flub Fuels.

“Management must be pissed, what with -”

“I can’t believe what Skrag did to me! What got into-”

“- hear about FeeCo?”

“We’re gonna be settin’ some electric fences up tomorrow, anyone know about -”

“ – say Abe’s got to Necrum –“

“ -Sligs must be worried if Abe’s getting’ to their place –“

Any talk of Abe was, of course, in whispers. No one believed him to be a terrorist, really, but everyone knew better than to celebrate. Well, everyone but him, apparently, but still. Slig forces were already pretty antsy right now, and there were cameras everywhere. Besides, it was a long day full of more abuse than normal. Everyone was just ready for bed, so to speak. Sure, it was less a bed and more a closet with a dirt floor and next to no elbow room, but it was a place to sleep, nonetheless.

It was almost his turn in the queue. Slim dug in his pouch for his meal ticket. With any luck, he’d get half a Scrabcake with the somewhat edible slop they served here. He presented the ticket to the Slig clerk Jeandis. Jeandis took one look, rolled his eyes from under his visor, and then slammed the counter to his left, deepening the indentation next to the bell. A Mudokon, wearing a light brown cap with deep red stripes and a similarly-colored loincloth, emerged from the back door, carrying a tray of gruel with him.

The tray had no trace of Scrabcakes, sadly, but it did come with a small can of that drink everyone was talking about – Soulstorm Brew. The green can with that nondescript Glukkon’s face on it was an interesting look, at least, and the somewhat sickly Mudokon in those commercials did look exceedingly happy when Director Phleg gave him a crate of the stuff, as if it was sorely-needed medicine. Slim even saw the server longingly stare at the can he had to give him.

“On the house… buddy,” Jeandis said, his line carefully rehearsed. “You saw the commercials; it’s a freebie!”

“Um, okay, thanks.”

Slim took his dinner tray and a plastic spoon over to find a seat that was open; this was no small feat in a Slugbite Motel. Many Mudokons had long since given up on the prospect, instead sitting on the floor against any given wall. He noticed how everyone was given similar cans of Brew, and a lot of the chatter he came across was already shifting from the recent Abe scare to the Oddsend the new drink was.

He walked through the throngs of fellow Scrubs, the smell of Brew filling the air. It was very strange; a tangy aroma that was also somehow familiar. The chatter grew louder and more animated as time went on, and even Slim was feeling a little less tired from the fumes and infectious cheer.

Still, it was a long day, so he still prepared to just sit down and eat. He found a place next to Ben, and dug in. Well, as much as you could dig in with whatever this was. Some said those were fruit chunks mixed in with the goop, some said they were Elum Chubs, but one thing for certain was they were undercooked. It was well known that this was the least of dinner’s concerns, sadly.

Slim took a few shaky scoops, doing his best to forget the words “gag reflex”. He was able to swallow the muck as usual, but he found himself coughing; it felt like he was eating sawdust under the slimy texture!

“Yeah,” Ben said, sympathetically, “Jeandis’ Special really sucks today, doesn’t it?”

“WHO SAID THAT?!” demanded Jeandis, so loud that everyone on the other side of the cafeteria could clearly hear the greenish-yellow Slig. The din died down as a furious head chef stomped over to the wall where the sound came from. There were at least ten cowering Scrubs under his wrathful glare, and they were all pointing grey or green fingers at each other.

“This is more than you deserve, ya miserable Chippunks! You oughta know I could—Eh?”

He was interrupted by frantic whispers from the server Mudokon, who was quick to rush up to his boss. He lowered his fist, slowly, and his face-tentacles sagged.

“…You oughta know…er…I could getcha another can of Brew to…wash it down…?”

Nine out of ten Mudokons were nodding enthusiastically, and the Scrubs at the surrounding tables cheered.

“Shut up and get in line again if you want another round!”

Almost all the Mudokons immediately shot up and sprinted into line. Some of them trembled excitedly while they waited.

Slim had never seen the cafeteria so alive or enthusiastic before. This Soulstorm Brew stuff must have one hell of a kick. If he drank it now, he’d probably be up all night. Best to save this stuff for when he needed it – no need to come to work tired tomorrow.

Besides, if all else failed, he had a bartering tool now.

With this in mind, he tucked the can he had into his pouch. It wouldn’t be the first time he had to sleep with a dry throat; he knew better than to ask Jeandis for anything else to drink.

His body still ached, and it had been a long day on top of that, so while Jeandis was occupied with his sudden fame, Slim quietly ate up the rest of his “meal” and left. With the “first come, first served” policy of getting a room for the night, he was able to get one right by the cafeteria for once. He might even be able to get breakfast tomorrow!

He dug in his pouch for his ID, and a quick scan gave him the room for the night. As the door closed behind him, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the windowless closet. When he did, he could see all kinds of scratchings on the wall. Short complaints about bosses and a variety of tally marks filled most of it, but there were some other things. There was the occasional crude drawing of a bird, which gave Slim nostalgia over something he never experienced. There were conversations between anonymous Mudokons, about the latest gossip, concerns, and anything else. It was comforting; they watched out for each other and kept each other informed even when they didn’t really know each other.

With his nightly reading done, Slim slumped down to the ground. The dirt here was cool, but nothing he wasn’t used to. With any luck, he wouldn’t wake up to Bolamites crawling over him, but that was a problem for future him. Present him just had to be absorbed by the soft earth, and dream of a better workday, one where Abe saved him from this miserable job and blew up the Slog Hut.

It was all he could do, really.

* * *

It wasn’t even five minutes before he felt a cold breeze, and the light of the hallway made him squeeze his eyes shut more before sitting up. A hand went up to shield his vision, but he was still blinded for a moment while he tried to make out the silhouette. A Slig, for sure, but that hardly narrowed it down. The Pants were pretty basic, being two robotic legs attached to a large ball. However, the giveaway was the mask that obscured this particular guard’s face. It was one of the older visors, like some Sligs still wore, with a single long visor. However, this one covered his scalp, forming an ugly black helmet rather than just a scary red visor. Only Conar had that version, but what was he doing here of all places?

Well, it couldn’t be anything good. Slim shuddered, wondering what he’d have to apologize for to get a manager from work to find him in this motel. But… no beating or gunfire came his way. In fact, Conar looked taken aback. He wasn’t aiming his Blunderbuss anywhere in particular, and his head kept turning either way, as if he wasn’t supposed to be here.

“Well, whaddaya know, Slim,” he said, after a moment. “Funny I’d run into you here…”

Slim blinked, lowering his hands, but remaining where he was.

“So, uh... you wanna get outta shoveling Slog crap?”

Slim opened his mouth to answer, but Conar grabbed his arm, so the Scrub’s confused questions were interrupted by his own yelp.

“Time’s up!” Conar said, hearing the chatter die down in the cafeteria. “We’re leavin’!”

“Oh-okay…”

“And you’re gonna shut yer yap! We ain’t supposed to be doing this, you know!”

With that, the two of them silently beat feet away from the hubbub of the mess hall, kicking up a lot of dirt on their way.

The hall separated into two different ways at the end. Conar knew that to the left was the back door he came from, and was going to drag Slim with him. But Slim had other ideas, nearly pulling Conar out of his Pants as he pulled them both to the right.

Conar adjusted his seat so he could run properly again, then struggled to get out of Slim’s grip.

“What the hell?!” he protested, before realization struck, and he quieted down. “The back way’s the otherhall!”

“Where do you think most’f the Sligs are?” Slim harshly whispered. “Seen at least four Mudokons try that, and they never make it to the parking lot!”

“Oh, and the front door’sgonna be much better? Hah!”

“Dunno,” Slim shrugged. “No one’s tried it.”

Conar was about to say something pretty snippy, but he saw they were close to the lobby. The pair stopped just short, and Conar looked ahead. There wasn’t much to see, past the dozens of bored Mudokons waiting in line to be checked in by a very bored Glukkon receptionist, complete with a very bored Slig there to type the guests’ numbers in.

No one was looking their way, so Conar motioned for Slim to follow, and the two of them walked towards the other exit. They made it about halfway through before the Pud looked up.

“Where do ya think you’re goin?!”

“Ah…” Conar started, before regaining his composure. “Y’see, he was volunteered to work overtime tonight! Just came here to pick ‘im up!”

The Glukkon rose to his full height, which would have been impressive if he had shoulder pads or any non-plaid clothing. His assistant also rose, clicking a pen as violently as one could manage. Both Conar and Slim hunched a little, preparing to put their hands over their heads.

The receptionists walked over, sneering. The Mudokons in the queue muttered, some talking about the scene, others complaining about this new delay between them and dinner.

The Glukkon leaned close, so close Conar could almost read the miniscule nametag.

“We have procedures for this, you know! Guests –“ he said the word like most would say “slurg”, “—are to be signed out before leaving the premises!”

Slim blinked. It was hard to tell if Conar did the same.

“Yeah, er…” Conar said, rubbing his head. “Sorry, sir. I thought you wanted ‘im in line, too.”

“And risk the liability?” the receptionist exclaimed. “No, we have registration protocol for a reason!You security and your..your… unprofessionalism!”

His assistant merely gave Conar a look of resignation before marching back to check the Mudokons in.

“If we were to mix the lines like that, our quotas would go kaput! And this is a fine establishment!”

Conar chose not to bring up the dirt floor or the mold-eaten wallpaper. He was already debating whether or not this endeavor was worth it. Zoning out and wondering about that was far easier than listening to this chump.

“…My brothers and I… investors….”

Conar nodded along, thinking about the future, and the riches that would be in store for him. Maybe he could force Zeb to work for him. Of course, something like that would come after a little bit of begging for mercy. But what to spend the well-earned Moolah on? Maybe he’d get himself a nice, classy suit, with premium Slig Pants, armor, and a nice, big gun with all the works…

“…So, I’d really appreciate it if you’d show some class and go to the other desk!”

“Yes, sir!” Conar nodded, moving over to the empty desk. The Glukkon waddled over to the other side, and started controlling some machinery with his shoes.

“Name?”

“Slim.”

Tap, tap, tap.

“…Not found in our records.”

“Can’t you just add ‘im?”

“We just went over this! There are procedures! It will not be as simple as your mind! I can’t just add a Mudokon who is already in the--”

As Conar prepared to sigh, Slim stepped forward.

“Sorry sir,” he said, putting on his best Gluk-pleasing face (that is, a weak smile politely begging for mercy), “He must not’ve read my ID. Do you need my number?”

The receptionist laughed, looking down at Conar while nodding. He kept chuckling at the absurdity of this Slig’s ineptitude as he worked the pedals, searching for Slim by number. He finally stopped adding to Conar’s humiliation, catching his breath while reading what came onto his black-and-white monitor.

“Right, right, you’re all set to leave. Can’t be too careful this day and age, with all those escapees… Anyway, give him a few corporate-approved smacks to keep him in line, would you?”

Connar nodded, a little too hastily. After a moment to ensure no signature or receipt was needed, he turned and poked Slim with his blunderbuss.

“Alright, get movin’. We’re goin’ to work, now!”

Conar couldn’t believe it; he was expecting a tense escape, maybe an amazing shootout. But no; he was walking through the front door, with a Mudokon openly in tow. He even waved at a couple of the guards on his way out. He looked up at Slim, who kept himself hunched and shivering in a clearly practiced manner. The two of them marched in silence for a while, with Conar occasionally tapping the muzzle of his gun against Slim’s back for effect.

“You’re welcome,” Slim finally said, once they were closer to the Slog Huts again, and well out of earshot.

“What, you expectin’ thanks?” Conar asked, laughing at the audacity. “I was the one bustin’ ya out, y’know!”

Slim gave a smug grin, leaning against the wall as he did so.

“Oh, really? You go out the back with a Mudokon like you wanted, they’d be throwing your lead-filled ass into the recycler faster than you can say—”

He tried making that noise he heard many Sligs shout, but it sounded more like his lungs were playing tug-of-war.

“Yeah, well, you seemed pretty comfy in that filthy closet.”

“Ha, yeah, thanks,” Slim laughed, looking around for a moment. “So uh, why didja get me out of there anyway?”

“Right, yeah,” Conar said, clearing his throat. “So, you’re gonna help me take Zeb down a peg. If that Abe guy can take down RuptureFarms, I figure you can help me get his Moolah and ruin ‘im!”

Slim’s smile faded, and he looked at Conar like the Slig grew legs on the spot.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Nah,” Conar shook his head. “This should be easy; we go in, hold ‘im at gunpoint, and—”

“And just how,” Slim asked, leaning forward until he was face to face with Conar, “do you expect us to ‘go in’? Do you even know where his office is?”

Conar’s smug grin faltered.

“Eh--? I…”

“To say nothin’ about the security he’s probably got! You got the news just like I did; they’re scared. They probably got security tighter than Jeandis’ skull there! Didja think any of this—”

He was cut off by a blunderbuss muzzle under his chin. So it was going to be certain death or immediate death, he saw.

“…G-got it. So, what’s the plan, boss?”

#oddworld #oddworld conar's ambition #oddworld fic #chapter 2 #draft 1 #oddworld conars ambition full chapter

2 notes · View notes

fangirl-ramblings · 4 years

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Their First Time [18+]

📷 Picture by @the-neigh-sayer

Pairing: John Marston x Lilly Mae James ( @lilly-and-alice )

Summary: Lilly has been running with the Van der Linde Gang for a while. During that time, her relationship with John has been hard to define. Practically the same age as each other, a rocky friendship of sorts has developed between them; which has not been helped by John's seeming indifference towards her in the beginning.

That all changed a few nights previously when John took the opportunity to kiss Lilly

I'm gifting this story my wonderful friend, the lovely @gangofgunslingers for her birthday as a huge thank you for being one of John x Lilly's biggest fans and constantly inspiring & motivating me (and wanting to kick my ass) to try finish all my stories. (But most importantly - it’s because ilysm and I hope you have a wonderful day 😘😘😘)

Also huge thank you to @sad-sweet-cowboah & @verai-marcel who took the time beta read this story and give me some excellent advice.

Requested tags: @amina-celestial & @cupofhana (If you also want to be tagged in anything I write, or no longer want to be tagged, just send me a message)

Unrequested tags: For my remaining John hoes @theunholyoutlaw @the-neigh-sayer & @redeadepression (because we need more John content in our lives - even if it is my poor attempt at something)

~* Tumblr Masterlist | Stories on AO3 *~

“Hey sugar, you look like you’re having a fine old time tonight.”

“Why thank you, kind sir,” Lilly slurred, smiling at the stranger who spoke to her. “I am having a fine old time tonight! For, indeed, it is my birthday and I am celebrating with my friend!” She gestured wildly to where she last saw John, who had been talking to the barkeeper. A look of confusion crossed her face as she struggled to find him in the sea of people that had suddenly developed around the bar.

“Well a very happy birthday to you Miss, but it looks like your so-called 'friend' has upped and left you.” The stranger leaned in, whispering in her ear, as he placed a firm hand on her backside. “How about we go someplace private and celebrate together instead?”

Looking down towards his hand, it took a few seconds for Lilly to realise what the man was implying to her. “Erm, no thank you,” she replied, grabbing the man’s wrist and removing it from her person, before looking around the packed saloon, yelling "Marston? Where you at, you damned fool?"

While she was distracted, she felt a sharp tug at her own wrist. The man had grabbed hold and was now pulling her towards the door. “Oh, I wasn’t asking sweetheart, now move yourself!” he barked at her.

Anger spiked immediately and Lilly was quick to attempt to remove herself from the situation. She swiftly grabbed an empty beer bottle from a nearby table and raised it high. However, before she had a chance to smash it over the man's head, she felt another arm wrap tightly around her waist, pulling her from her pursuer’s grasp.

“Hey! You got a problem with my lady?” A raspy voice asked, appearing from seemingly nowhere. Lilly glanced at the familiar face that was now beside her, pulling her ever closer to him.

“Your lady?” Both Lilly and her antagoniser questioned, looking John up and down.

“As if she'd even look twice at you, ya greasy streak of piss. You can’t be much older than 18, if that!” The older man snarled as he cast his eye over young Marston, who now had his hand upon the revolver resting in his gun belt. “No, what she really needs is a real man, not a jumped up little boy who thinks he’s playin’ Cowboys & Injuns.”

Lilly closed her eyes, envisioning John's anger over those comments. She waited for the quick firing of bullets she knew he was capable of. However, she was surprised to hear nothing but silence. As she tentatively reopened her eyes, she looked down to find both of John’s hands firmly on her waist, pulling her against him, before gently placing his lips against hers in such a tender way that she didn't realise John Marston was actually capable of.

Not knowing whether it was the drink or the kiss that was making her feel intoxicated, she allowed herself to reply by allowing the tip of her tongue to brush against his whiskey stained lips, practically insisting that he should let her in.

The kiss itself was over within seconds, but it seemed to the pair of them that time had stood still, igniting something deep in both of them, something they had tried so hard to previously ignore and now would change their friendship forever.

Breaking away from each other to catch their breath, Lilly and John placed their foreheads against each other's. They took a brief moment to stare into each other's eyes, attempting to make sense of what was happening between them.

"Thanks for saving me,” she breathlessly whispered, noticing out the corner of her eye that the man had moved to the other side of the bar to try his luck with some other poor, unsuspecting girl. “But did you really need to kiss me to prove a point?”

“It was either that or shoot him, and Dutch did ask us to stay outta trouble, so...” he replied, with a smirk plastered on his face, his hands still holding onto her hips. “Anyways, did you need to try and stick your tongue down my throat?”

Not knowing whether she was caught up in the moment, felt embarrassed by his comment, or just flushed from the effects of the alcohol, Lilly found herself breaking away from the embrace and headed towards the door. "I think...I think I need some fresh air."

***

Lilly stumbled through the swinging doors, stopping for a moment to breathe in and savour the freshness of the night air. Taking a deep breath, she made her way down the small dirt path at the side of the saloon. Placing her back against the wooden wall and closing her eyes, she tried to make sense of everything: Could it be that she truly enjoyed this kiss, and the one they shared a few nights ago? Were the butterflies that appeared in her stomach at his mere touch a new feeling, or was it something she'd unconsciously tried to repress? Maybe these feelings had gone on even longer than she originally thought. She was always disappointed to find John had left camp without her and she couldn't deny that her heart leaped with joy every time he returned.

The sound of John's raspy laugh brought her back out of her daydream.

“So you finished celebratin' your birthday yet?” he asked, leaning against the side of the saloon with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He casually struck a match against the wall to light it.

“For now at least,” she replied, leaning in the empty space next to him. Pausing for a second she turned to face him, “Hey can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what about?” He replied, staring straight ahead, outstretching his hand to offer her his cigarette.

“What is this?" Lilly questioned, taking a drag before handing it back to him.

"It's a cigarette." John teased, though it was clear he knew full well what she truly meant.

"No dumbass! What is *this* happening between us?” she gestured, waving her hands wildly in the empty space in between them.

“I thought that was obvious,” he chuckled, exhaling a puff of smoke in that calm, collected manner of his.

Struggling to take her eyes off him, Lilly leaned back, resting her head against the woodwork. “It's just...well...I've been running with you guys for a while now, and you hardly ever used to speak to me and all of a sudden, you keep kissing me?”

"What? You don't like me kissin' ya?"

"Well yeah, I do like it. But..." Before she could finish her sentence, John had flicked his cigarette to the floor. He moved quickly to face her, one hand resting next to her head on the wall, the other one back on her hip. His thumb began to rub circles on a patch of exposed skin, and he pulled her body closer to him.

"But what?" He whispered into her ear; his breath so close she could practically taste the whiskey and tobacco.

Staring into his eyes, Lilly no longer had the words to answer him. She instead leaned forward to kiss him, her tongue prodding through his already parted lips. John took the opportunity to suck gently on her tongue as one hand moved to palm her breast. His other hand moved gently over her body, feeling every curve and groaning as he watched her succumb to his touch.

He smirked, immensely enjoying the soft moans that escaped from her mouth into his. Her hips rolled subconsciously against him, grinding against his growing erection. Her jeans soon felt loosened as he unbuckled them. She groaned into his ear as he slid his hand in and moved a finger along her already wet folds.

"Nice to see I have this effect on you." he smirked. He observed her expression as he thumbed her sensitive nub before moving a finger inside of her core.

Burying her head against his shoulder as she arched her hips to his touch, Lilly couldn't help but cry out a breathless, "Oh…God."

Holding Lilly's jaw with his other hand, he rasped into her ear, "You never struck me as being so needy for my touch," he brushed a thumb against her lips, which she eagerly took into her mouth. "Yet here you are, takin’ everything I'm givin’ you."

Lilly nodded, finding herself unable to speak. Her face contorted with pleasure as he quickened his pace with his other hand, curling his fingers against her sweet spot. Grabbing a tight hold of his arm, Lilly dug her nails in as the crest of her first wave quickly built up and washed over her.

As she eased down from her high, John moved his hand away, prompting her to whine from the loss of contact. She caught her breath and watched in anticipation as John started to unbuckle his own trousers. His rock hard erection sprang free and he moved his hand over the shaft, coating it with a mix of her slick and his own precum.

With John helping her out of her jeans, Lilly was not used to the strange sensation of the cool night air nip at her exposed flesh. The heat of her core quickly returned upon catching the pure lust in John’s eyes, him staring at her as if she were the most gorgeous being he’d ever set his sights on.

Moving in closer to her, he carefully positioned himself at her entrance. "You ready for me?" he asked.

Nodding sheepishly, Lilly pulled him into a short and sweet kiss, gingerly placing her hands on his shoulders. John eased her up against the wall and placed a hand on her thigh, lifting her leg up to rest on his waist. He slowly pushed into her, watching her face for any signs of discomfort. As her body grew accustomed to him, he began to thrust at a steady pace. Her hands moved to his backside, pushing him closer and deeper within her with each thrust.

John firmly placed his hand under her chin, pulling her mouth closer to his own. Her hot breath breezed against his cheek as she moaned, her body tingling in pleasure from how deep he’d reached inside her. Nipping at her bottom lip, Lilly couldn't help but groan his name into his mouth. Her hands moved under his shirt to claw at his back.

“Feelin’ okay?” John whispered, his nimble fingers unlacing her blouse. With her breasts exposed to his hungry gaze, he brought his mouth against her supple flesh. His tongue and teeth toyed and grazed against her hardened nipple, only heightening her ecstasy.

“Mmm...better than...okay….I…..I…..” Unable to finish the sentence, Lilly’s body began to shake and tighten around him, tugging at his hair as she attempted to keep herself quiet. With another climax on the rise, John quickly moved to muffle her screams by covering her mouth with his hand. He continued to thrust deep into her, helping her ride out the ever heightening wave of pleasure.

He wasn’t too far behind, only short moments passing before he quickly pulled out and spilt himself onto the floor. He panted heavily and leaned his head against her shoulder, the night air filled with their breathless sighs.

Lilly was the first to speak, "Wow!" she exclaimed, simply at a loss for other words. She leaned against the wall, dragging her tired fingers through his hair.

John placed soft kisses along her collarbone before he tucked himself back into his trousers. A small look of concern crossed his face, and he muttered, "Sorry."

"For what?"

"I practically forced myself on you just then...but it's just…I've wanted you ever since I first laid eyes on you."

Lilly smiled at him, grabbing her jeans to pull them back on. "You didn't force yourself on me. I kissed you this time, remember?" As she laced her blouse back up, she noted the look of confusion John had etched across his face. A giggle escaped her. "I obviously wanted it too. It just took me a bit longer to realise my feelings towards you."

Her reassurance seemed to do the trick as a smile appeared on John’s lips. “I’m glad to hear you say that, didn’t want you thinkin’ that this had to be a one off”

Placing a gentle kiss on his cheek, she linked his arm and walked back with him onto the main street. "Come on, I think I’m done with my birthday drinks. But what say we continue celebrating over at the hotel?"

#fangirl writes #nsft #red dead redemption 2 #john marston x original female character #rdr2 fanfic #my oc: Lilly Mae James

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darks-ink · 4 years

Text

Absurdism Chapter 15

Vlad makes mistakes, and then makes some more mistakes, and then rounds it off by making even more mistakes.

Rating: Teen/K+ (a lil swearing, because teenagers, man) Warnings: - Genre: Family, Hurt/Comfort Additional Tags: Sibling Bonding, Family Bonding, Alternate Universe - Halfa Jazz AU, Jazz makes friends

[AO3] [FFN] [more Absurdism on Tumblr] First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

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Chapter 15: Reign Storm

Jazz walked into the kitchen and stopped dead when she saw him. Danny grinned, waving at her.

Next to him, the other Danny also grinned and waved.

“Why,” Jazz groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Couldn’t I have gotten a normal brother?”

The other Danny gasped dramatically. “A normal brother? In this family?”

“Did you two plan this out?” She dropped her hand to narrow her eyes at them. Danny was pretty sure that she was trying to figure out which Danny was which. “Because this is bullying. I’m feeling very bullied right here.”

“Take it up with Sidney, then.” Danny, still grinning, took a bite of his sandwich. He should’ve had lunch sooner, but in his defense, he totally forgot. Until the actual Fenton kids were returning from school, that was. “He’s the local expert on fixing bullies.”

“This isn’t bullying, anyway.” His human counterpart rattled his fingers on the glass he held as he spoke. “This is just sibling fun.”

Jazz huffed, chagrined. “Phantom, I’m glad you’re here, but sometimes I wish you weren’t.”

“Amen.” Other Danny raised his glass.

“Same,” Danny agreed, raising his sandwich.

She narrowed her eyes even further, sparks of gold visible in the teal of her eyes.

Danny flashed his own eyes green, and Jazz relaxed a little. Ah. She really hadn’t been able to tell them apart.

“So you two really didn’t plan this out?” She finally entered the kitchen proper, pausing next to the table where they both were.

“Just a coincidence,” Danny assured her.

Other Danny nodded, then gestured over at him. “This one forgot to eat lunch until he saw me come home.”

“My day-night rhythm is in shambles.” Danny shrugged, taking another bite of his food. Just because this dimension’s Fentons insisted he come stay with them didn’t mean it fixed everything automatically. “It already was before I came here, though.”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that before.” Jazz hummed, thoughtfully. “Something about being practically nocturnal.”

“You wouldn’t believe how many ghosts attack at night.” Danny clicked his tongue, chastising. “You’re gonna have your hands full when I leave.”

If he ever left.

“And you will have to get used to being the little brother again,” she jibed, equally willing to ignore the possibility that he might never leave. “Did you two leave me any food?”

Danny stuffed the last bite of sandwich into his mouth. Other Danny grinned and said, “Nah, unless you want the Frankenwienies.”

“You two are the worst.”

He opened his mouth to joke back, but felt his core stir in his chest. Far, far stronger than usual; more of a heave than a whir.

Based on Jazz’ startled expression, she felt it too.

Blue vapor misted from both their mouths, and Danny quickly sorted through his memories. What could possibly…

Oh no.

He threw out his arms as he shifted into his ghost form, a green shield forming around the three of them before the light had even faded away. The other two made noises of protest, but fell silent when the first ghosts started zipping past them.

No one said anything when the few ghosts made way for a whole stream of them. Humanoid, animals, every type of ghost flew past them, including familiar faces. One or two even bashed against the shield as they flew past, but were clearly unwilling to stick around to try and get at Jazz.

Good. At least she wouldn’t have to suffer through that gang-up like he had.

“What’s going on?” Jazz asked. Her hands were shaking, but Danny wasn’t sure if it was fear or just jitters from her core. “Why are all these ghosts here?”

“They’re fleeing the Ghost Zone.” He kept the shield steady, even as the flow lessened. “The Ghost King is awake.”

“The what?” Other Danny was staring at him, wide-eyed. “Ghosts have a king?!”

“Sort of. He’s been asleep for ages, locked in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep.” Finally, the stream of ghosts seemed to stop, and Danny let down his shield. He didn’t shift back. “He is… extremely powerful, and a harsh king. The other ghosts are afraid of him, so they’re fleeing to the human world, where they don’t have to deal with him. Or so they think.”

“I really don’t like the sound of that,” Jazz grumbled. Her shivers had lessened already. Probably just the shock of her ghost sense, then. “Is he gonna come here?”

Danny grimaced. “Not… necessarily. He doesn’t care about the human world.”

“But?” Jazz prodded. “Come on, I can tell you’re leaving details out.”

“But,” he repeated, before sighing. “He’ll be after one of his relics, which increases a ghost’s power. It’s called the Ring of Rage.”

“How did he get out, anyway?” his human counterpart asked. “If he was locked up for so long. Did someone free him?”

“Vlad, of course, who else?” Danny sighed, running a hand through his hair. He really wasn’t looking forward to doing this all again. Last time it had nearly killed him. Yes, he was stronger now, he’d probably be okay, but still. “And he knows Pariah is after the Ring, so he’s gonna bring it here and pass it off to some unsuspecting target, like his pet ghost hunter.”

Jazz’ eyes grew wide. “Valerie. She’s in danger!”

“Not until Vlad leaves and gives her the ring,” he dismissed. Paused. Cast out his ghost sense to try and track down Vlad’s minimal presence in human form. “Uh. Is Vlad still here?”

Jazz hurried back to the doorway. “Valerie is gone too!”

“Well, crap.” Oh, and he didn’t know where those two had gone, either… but he did know where the first big showdown was happening. “Come on, we’d better get going. Pariah is gonna send an army of ghosts here, and I know where he’s gonna open the portal.”

She nodded, immediately shifting into her own ghost form. No hesitation. “Let’s go.”

“Stay safe,” human Danny demanded. “Both of you. Stay safe, please?”

Danny nodded back. “I’ll make sure of it.” He stepped forward, paused. “And, um. In case Vlad is back before us… he may or may not believe we are the same person.”

“Phantom,” other Danny sighed, loudly, exasperatedly. “Again?”

He shrugged, putting on an innocent face. “What? It’s just the logical conclusion here! Anyway we’d better get going, bye!”

Jazz followed him up. “Did you really have to do that?”

“No, but this way he’ll have something besides us to worry about.” He leveled out, slowing down a notch so Jazz could keep up. “We’ll be fine.”

He would make sure of that.

---

The fight was a mess, chaotic to no end. Danny lost track of Jazz quickly, darting between Pariah’s skeletal minions. He would just have to trust that she could take care of herself. Vlad and Valerie also disappeared into the mass. It was just him, and the ghosts directly around him.

He caught a flash of green, his eye immediately drawn towards it. The Fright Knight, the ghost’s first appearance in this world. Or, more accurately, the flash of green of his swinging sword.

“Don’t get hit by it!” he yelled at Valerie, already rushing towards her.

“Thought that that was kinda obvious!” She dodged the next swing, the green metal carving a deep slice in her hoverboard. “Hey, jerk! Do you know how expensive this tech is?!”

“It is worthless in comparison to the ring,” Fright Knight snarled back. He lunged towards her.

Danny grabbed the ghost by the armor, bodily dragging him away from Valerie. “That’s enough outta you, pal.”

“The ring?” Valerie repeated, blankly. “They want a ring?”

Fright Knight swung his sword down at Danny, and he rushed to form a shield to catch it. “Yeah, they’re after Pariah’s Ring of Rage.”

“Oh,” Valerie said. Danny heard the click of a weapon assembling. “Well, I’ll take care of that, then.”

“Wait, what are you—” The weapon fired, and he twisted around to look. God dammit, Valerie, launching the thing on a missile doesn’t help!

The pressure against his shield disappeared, and a quick glance back confirmed that the Fright Knight had summoned his mount and was going after the missile. Danny needed to get there first, but he couldn’t be seen taking it.

It had been months since he last used this power, but… He split apart, meeting the bright green eyes of his duplicate.

“You know what to do,” he said to it, and it nodded back. It shimmered, disappearing from sight, but Danny could still feel it as it raced after Fright Knight. He would just have to hope that all that speed training would pay off.

“Damn, Phantom.” Valerie whistled, impressed. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

He blasted one of the skeletons away from her, cursing the distraction of his duplicate. This was not an ideal situation for this. “I don’t use them, usually. Splits my attention.”

“Gotcha.” She cocked her gun, turning her attention back to the fight as well. “Now what?”

“My duplicate is gonna grab the ring, make sure that Fright Knight loses track of it.” An ice-ray stopped a large swatch of ghosts that were coming in their direction. “Shooting it on a missile is a short-term solution, and we do not want them to actually get their hands on the Ring.”

His duplicate had caught up with the missile, snatching the Ring before Fright Knight could notice. Danny instructed it to flee, to hide the thing in a place where Fright Knight wouldn’t be able to detect it.

“Wow, I heard the capitalization on that.” Valerie snorted, blasted a few more skeletons apart. “Why is it so important?”

“It greatly increases the power of a ghost wearing it.” He swept a disc of ectoplasm at some of the ghostly skeletons, watching the explosion scatter them. His duplicate had made it back to FentonWorks unnoticed, stuffing the Ring into a Thermos. Clever. With its job finished, it dissipated. “Pariah wants it because it’ll make him the strongest ghost in the Ghost Zone.”

He could see her mask crinkle as she made a face. “And how bad is that?”

“Well, I had to use a suit that increased by power hundred-fold just to match him, so…” He could see her fretting, now. “Don’t worry, my duplicate snatched it and hid the Ring. They won’t find it.”

“Good.” The ghosts around them stalled, all of a sudden, and she drew closer to him, warily. “I don’t get it. Why did my weapons supplier have that thing?”

“Long story.” Danny angled his head upwards, saw the Fright Knight coming down again. Had he given up the search so quickly?

“You know my weapons supplier?” Valerie asked, skeptically. She had caught sight of Fright Knight as well. “Oh, there’s that guy again.”

The Fright Knight dismounted, the clanking of his armored boots loud in the sudden silence. Over the still skeletons, Danny finally caught sight of Jazz and Vlad; they were on opposite ends of the field, both having apparently decided to move to the edges of the fight instead of staying in the center like him and Valerie.

“By the authority vested in me by my Lord and Liege,” Fright Knight started, raising his sword. Green flames engulfed it suddenly. Danny felt his heart clench, but there was no stopping it.

“I claim this town now and forever under the weather of Lord Pariah, King of All Ghosts!” And Fright Knight drove the sword down, sinking it into the ground. A wave of ectoplasm emanated from it, a secondary beam shooting straight up.

“Stay back, and stay calm,” Danny told Valerie, not taking his eyes off of Fright Knight. “He’s not going to attack.”

She nodded, but the tense line of her shoulders told him she wasn’t happy with it.

The beam of ectoplasm spread out, forming a dome around their whole city. Jazz shot over the motionless ghosts, joining up with him and Valerie. “What’s he doing?”

“Right now? Upping the amount of ectoplasm we have in our air.” Danny let his eyes wander back to Vlad, but the man made no attempt to join up with them. “And he’s not gonna do anything else, either, except give us his demands.”

Fright Knight turned to look towards them. Danny stepped forward as well, Valerie and Jazz staying behind.

The ghost angled his head, but took the hint—Danny was the leader. “The sword has sunk, your die now cast. The sword removed shall signal fast. Make reappear,” he gestured at their group, “the ring thou hast. Or your next day shall be your last.”

And without another word, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“That sounded… dramatic.” Valerie was clearly eyeing up the skeletons. “What about those?”

“They’re not gonna do anything for now,” Danny dismissed. “Pariah wants us to hand over the ring, he’s not gonna attack us until his terms run out.”

“Where is the Ring, anyway?” Jazz frowned at the skeletons, but turned to face him for his answer. “Why did they stop looking for it?”

“We hid it.” He shot a meaningful look at the skeletons below, and Jazz nodded in understanding. “You head back home, I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”

She nodded again, golden eyes darting between him and Valerie. “Gotcha. I’ll meet you there.”

“What was that about?” Valerie asked, skeptically, as Jazz left them. “Why not just tell her?”

“I didn’t want to risk the skeletons being able to listen in.” He shrugged, casting out his ghost sense. Vlad had also left, at some point. “And I wanted to talk to you about your weapons supplier, Vlad.”

“What about him?” Her posture was stiff, tense.

Danny rolled his eyes. “You don’t think that it’s weird that the Vlad Masters gave this kind of weaponry to a fourteen-year old? That he gave a powerful ghost artifact to you, knowing what—or who—was after it?”

“Ugh.” She sighed, shoulders slumping down. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. You gonna tell me he’s evil, now?”

“And also a half-ghost.” He grinned at her incredulous look. “That vampire-looking guy that was here with us? Vlad Plasmius, half-ghost. He’s been half-ghost for two decades, but he’s not as powerful as me, and Jazz will outpace him as well, when her core matures.”

She hummed. “And he’s no good?”

“And he’s no good,” Danny confirmed. “Told me—and Jazz, in this universe—to our face that he wanted to kill our dad and marry our mom. Most ghosts aren’t obsession-driven like people think, but Vlad? Absolutely.”

“Yikes.” She shook her head. “Now I’m gonna think of that every time I see my weapons. Big creep who refuses to deal with his own shit, got it. Anything else I gotta know?”

“Maybe get your gear checked out. I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him.” He frowned, one finger tapping on his cheek. “I know that your identity is a big deal, and I respect that, but the Fentons are probably your best bet. Well, after this.”

“Thanks for the head’s-up, anyway.” She turned her head, presumably to look at the dome above them. “Now what?”

“I’m gonna head back towards FentonWorks. You’re welcome to come along. Would probably comfort your dad, too, to know that you’re in the safest place in Amity Park.”

She nodded, shifting to follow him. “What kind of world do we live in where FentonWorks is the safest place in Amity?”

That startled a laugh out of him as they set off.

---

Danny stretched, hovering over one of the cluttered lab tables. His parents—or their counterparts from this universe—were hard at work on the Ecto-Skeleton, Vlad standing nearby. Not helping of course, God forbid. Just watching.

He was keeping an eye on Danny, but that was okay. Danny was keeping an eye on Vlad as well.

Once or twice, the man tried sneaking closer to him. Tried talking to him without anyone noticing. It hadn’t been very successful, not with Jack and Maddie in the lab. And hadn’t that been a surprise to Vlad? Finding Danny in his ghost form in the lab, his parents perfectly fine with that?

Jack sighed, interrupting Danny’s thoughts. “Let’s take a break, folks. Get some lunch.”

“I think I’ll keep working,” Vlad said, eyes on Danny the whole time. “I’m not hungry.”

Maddie threw him a skeptical look. “If you’re sure, Vlad. What about you, sweetie?”

Oh, he was so glad that his parents were playing along. Not using his name meant that Vlad had no idea of their knowledge.

“I’m good, thanks.” He flapped a hand. “You guys go get lunch, and Vlad and I will keep working.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but nodded. With Jack right behind her, she left the lab.

“They know, don’t they?” Vlad turned back to him, meeting his eyes. “That’s why they are so nice to you. They’re afraid of giving away your secret to me.”

Well, no point in denying. He shrugged at Vlad. “They were already nice before they figured it out.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Vlad sneered. “But here you are, spending ages in your ghost form. Why not shift back?”

“Why would I? It’s not like my ghost form is hurting me.” He drifted closer to the suit, until he was above clear space again. “Or do you dislike it, Vladdie?”

“Don’t call me that,” Vlad hissed back, his eyes flaring red for a brief moment. Ooh, temper, Vlad. “It doesn’t matter, anyhow. The invasion will get worse when no one finds the ring they want.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Yes, because you’re not at fault for any of this, are you? Come on, man.”

“I don’t have the ring, if that’s what you are suggesting.”

“Yeah, because you gave it away to the Red Huntress.” He sighed, twisting until he was in a standing position, matching Vlad’s eye level. “Come on, I know exactly what’s going on. Just tell me why you thought it was a good idea to release a ghost of Pariah’s caliber, just to snatch a powerful artifact.”

Vlad flinched back, eyes narrowed. “How do you know about any of this?”

“Because people think I’m stupid when I’m not.” He grinned at Vlad, cocky. “What are you gonna do about it, Vladdie? Gonna tell my secret to my parents? Or, wait, what if they know already?”

“You little—” Vlad’s eyes flared red again, almost immediately followed by the dark-light rings that signaled his transformation. The other half-ghost didn’t wait a moment, lunging instantly.

Danny formed a shield, pushing Vlad away from the battle suit. “What are you really trying to achieve, man? You lost the Ring, you have no chance of getting the Crown, not while Pariah has it. Now what?”

“The suit will have to do,” Vlad hissed back, hands clenching. “But for now, I’m willing to settle for introducing your face to the floor.”

A bolt of green ectoplasm whistled past Vlad’s ear. Danny followed it back to its origin, finding the entire Fenton family at the bottom of the stairs.

“You talk too much,” Maddie said, almost complaintively. The glint in her eyes was angry.

“What?” Vlad’s eye clearly caught on Danny Fenton standing with his family. Vlad turned back towards him. “What’s…”

“You’ve been outplayed, Vladdie.” Danny shot an ice beam, freezing the older half-ghost to the wall. “Sorry, pal, but they heard everything.”

Pink flames formed around Vlad’s fists, and he started wriggling out of the ice. “No! I will not—”

“We know everything, Vlad.” Jack stepped forward, a disappointed frown on his face. “We’re sorry for the accident in college, for hurting you. But it’s not our fault that we weren’t allowed to visit you. It’s not our fault that you broke contact.”

“Being angry with us is one thing,” Maddie chimed in. “But attacking our children over it? Wanting to kill one of us? That’s too much, Vlad. You cannot honestly think that that’s okay.”

Vlad snarled, the ice around him cracking. “Oh, please. Like you know anything!”

“They know more than you do.” Jazz quirked an unimpressed eyebrow at Vlad. “They know everything, Vlad.”

“But we also believe in second chances.” Jack curled an arm around Maddie, keeping his eyes on Vlad. “We need to finish the Ecto-Skeleton, and we’ll need to fight that big ghost afterwards. Are you with us, or not?”

The ice cracked, Vlad almost completely free. “And what will you do if I refuse to fight with you?” he hissed, aura flaring bright. “Will you—”

The blue vortex of a Thermos interrupted him, wrapping him up entirely. Danny Fenton grinned, a close match to Danny’s own cocky grin. Other Danny capped the Thermos. “Now what?”

“We’ll have to discuss it later.” Maddie took the Thermos, carefully placing it aside. “For now, he can wait in there.” She sighed, clicked her tongue. “I can’t believe that man.”

“Thanks for telling us, Phantom.” Jack heaved a sigh. “And for helping us catch him.”

“Hopefully he’ll be more receptive to a stern talking-to than mine.” Danny floated closer towards them. “How’s progress on the battle suit?”

Maddie sighed, taking one last glance at the Thermos before turning to the suit. “It’s almost finished. If you two had any allies to gather, this might be a good moment for it.”

“Gotcha.” He nodded, and Jazz stepped up next to him. “Jazz, can you handle Sidney and Valerie? I’ll go get the others.”

“We have other allies?” she asked, one eyebrow raised skeptically. “But, sure.”

Light flashed as she shifted to her ghost form, drifting up. “I’ll be right back, then.”

“I might be a bit longer,” he admitted, both to her and to her parents. “I have some actual tracking down to do.”

Jazz nodded, flying off, and Danny quickly did the same. Some of these ghosts, he could find; he knew where they had been in his own universe. But others…

Well, he’d try his best, at least.

---

Jazz sighed, impatiently, watching over the people gathered in the lab. Both Sidney and Valerie had been reluctant to mingle, but had eventually caved to her insistence. Now Sidney was hovering next to Danny, Sam, and Tucker, talking about… modern schooling? And bullying? Hm. Well, at least they were getting along?

Valerie, on the other hand, had cornered Jack and Maddie, and was discussing ghost weaponry and gadgets.

Finally, though, Jazz’ ghost sense went off. She thought she could recognize Phantom’s signature, but she wasn’t sure… and it was far too strong.

But no, there he was. Phantom phased through the ceiling, followed by the allies he’d gathered. She counted… seven ghosts. Seven?! What the—

Phantom, floating above the rest of them, grinned. Threw his arms wide to gesture at the ghosts floating behind him. “Sorry it took a bit! Had to track down and convince all of these guys.”

Jazz went through the crowd, mentally. On the far left was a ghost she didn’t recognize; metal, humanoid, with green eyes and a matching flame mohawk. Next to him was Ember, followed by the Box Ghost, Lunch Lady, and then Desiree, and Dora on the furthest end, her amulet glowing brightly.

Another ghost she didn’t recognize floated up closer to Phantom. Big and bulky, a humanoid body-shape but with a wolf-like face, paws, and even a tail. The entire ghost was covered in thick black fur, and it had some dangerous looking claws on its front paws.

“Most of these are familiar faces, but I’ll introduce everyone anyway.” Phantom gestured at the ghost on the far left. “This is Skulker, Ghost Zone’s greatest hunter. Then there’s Ember, grand musician. The Box Ghost, self-explanatory. Lunch Lady, a killer cook. Desiree, wish-granter, and finally Dora, princess of Aragon.” He patted the ghost next to him on the arm. “And finally, this is Wulf! He only speaks a little English, mostly Esperanto.”

“You speak Esperanto?” Tucker asked, elbowing Danny. “Since when?”

“Since I befriended Wulf and realized I had no way of communicating,” Phantom retorted, rolling his eyes. “You folks wanna do an introductory round as well, or what?”

Jazz rolled her eyes, stepping forward. “I’m Specter, half-ghost. That’s Sidney, full ghost,” she pointed at him, and he raised a hand, clearly shy. “Next to him on the left is Danny, my brother. On Danny’s left is Sam, and furthest right is Tucker. They’re taking care of flight and small guns.”

She gestured at Valerie, who had stepped away from the adults. “That’s the Red Huntress, some of you might be familiar with her. She’s one of the local ghost hunters; she’ll be main fighter among the humans. Next to her are Jack and Maddie, my parents. They’re also ghost hunters, and they’ll be taking the big guns. Any questions?”

“Yeah, I got one.” Ember’s eyes narrowed, her hair flickering like a flame. “Why do the humans have specific roles when we don’t?”

“Uh.” Jazz made a face. “Honestly, we had no clue who Phantom was bringing. Also, you all know your skills best. The humans, we had to equip, but you guys can all work alone.”

Ember hummed, apparently satisfied with that.

Skulker, meanwhile, seemed to be suspiciously looking between Phantom and Danny. When Phantom noticed, however, he grinned widely at Skulker—all teeth and no humor. That was enough to throw the ghost off, who promptly pretended he hadn’t been doing that.

There was a story there, and Jazz wished that they had the time to go into it.

Something sniffed next to her, and she started. Jerked around to see Wulf next to her—and how had she missed a ghost of his size moving?

“Amika,” the ghost greeted her, before continuing in Esperanto.

“He’s pleased to make your acquaintance!” Tucker yelled, hurrying closer so he could help translating.

“Oh, uh.” She offered her hand to him. “Nice to meet you, too. Are you…” She ran over possible situations in her head. “Are you the ghost Phantom rescued in the Ghost Zone?”

Tucker spoke, presumably translating it. Wulf nodded, immediately.

“Apparently they are close friends back home, and…” Tucker paused, quietly talking back and forth with Wulf. “I guess Phantom asked Wulf to keep an eye on you, when he goes home?”

She blinked up at the large ghost and his bright green hoodie. Wulf’s tail wagged, slowly, hesitantly.

“I’m going to have to look up a course in Esperanto, then,” she said, grinning slowly.

They were unfortunately forced to end the conversation there, as Phantom cleared his throat. He was now standing on top of the finished Ecto-Skeleton.

With everyone’s attention drawn, Phantom spoke up. “So, everyone knows the plan?”

A general murmur of acknowledgment sounded.

“Good! Let’s get ready to go, then!” He underlined the statement by uncapping a Thermos; Jazz stiffened, expecting it to be Vlad’s, but no ghost came out. Instead Phantom shook out… a ring.

Or, no. The Ring, based on the gasps of all the other ghosts.

Phantom stuck it onto his finger, frowning down at it. Then, with a shrug, he phased into the Ecto-Skeleton, activating it.

“Is that safe?” Jazz asked, although she wasn’t sure who she was asking. Phantom must’ve heard her, though, because he shrugged—and the suit shrugged along.

“Safe enough,” he said dismissively. “The suit alone is too draining. It almost killed me in my own timeline, and I’m not risking that again.”

Phantom’s off-hand mention of his origin was… baffling. It also startled every ghost in the room except for Wulf. Well, now they were in for a quite talk, weren’t they?

But Phantom must’ve realized, because he grinned at the slew of ghosts. “How about this, folks. We take down Pariah, and then I’ll tell you guys all about it! And no one will be able to claim a role as Pariah’s Bane, because I’m not a local. Yeah?”

“Dipstick, you’re something else.” Ember shook her head, clicked her tongue, then nodded. “What are we waiting for, folks? Let’s go!”

The other ghosts cheered—or something close it, anyhow—all raising their fists. Phantom led them into the Ghost Zone, and Jazz only belatedly remembered that she was supposed to stay close to him. Quickly, she darted through the Portal as well.

Inside, the Ghost Zone was… vast. An enormous expanse of black, swirled through with green. It felt lighter than Earth. Not necessarily in a gravity way, but more… It was hard to explain.

“First time in the Zone, right?” Phantom asked, suddenly next to her. He grinned understandingly. “There’s more ambient ectoplasm, so you’re probably feeling that. I would offer to show you around, when this is all over, but…” He shrugged, making a face. “I’m not very good at navigating.”

Oh, yeah. That was how he’d gotten into her universe in the first place, wasn’t it? She’d almost forgotten. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

The Portal’s surface parted, and the cylindrical shape of the Specter Speeder burst through. Danny waved at her through the glass, with Sam behind the wheel and Tucker in the co-pilot seat. Not a moment later, Valerie flew through as well, her hoverboard loud in the silence of the Ghost Zone.

“Looks like we’re all here,” Phantom declared, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Specter and I will go at the front. Once we’re there, you guys will be in charge of clearing the way.”

“We know!” Valerie yelled back. “Let’s just go and get this over with!”

“I agree with the human hunter!” Plane-like wings folded open from Skulker’s back. “Go, whelp, and we’ll follow.”

Phantom rolled his eyes but did as said, taking lead. Jazz sped after him, forced to keep more of a distance than usual thanks to the Ecto-Skeleton.

Pariah’s castle is easy enough to recognize, a floating structure with the land in front of it filled with ghostly skeletons. Jazz lined up next to Phantom when he stopped, the others all coming to a halt in front of them.

“Showtime.” Ember cracked her knuckles, then swung her guitar to the front. “Let’s go, everybody!”

Ember’s dive was followed by the Box Ghost and Lunch Lady, side-by-side. Sidney and Desiree went right after them, Desiree’s hands glowing green. Valerie dove next, weaponry charging, and Skulker drew even with her, panels sliding open to reveal his own guns.

Dora shifted into a dragon, roaring, and Jazz could feel the sound reverberating in her bones. Wulf answered it with a howl, and the two plunged towards the ground as well.

Last but not least, the Specter Speeder swept forward, staying high where the ghosts went low. The doors on either side opened, Jack and Maddie leaning out, heavy weaponry in their hands. The built-in guns started charging as well—Danny’s work.

She and Phantom stayed behind, watching the skeleton army get eviscerated. Before long, even the larger guards at the door were cleared out—or otherwise drawn away—and Phantom nodded at her. “Road’s clear. You got the key?”

“Yep.” She patted the pocket of her belt that held it. “You take care of Pariah, and I’ll make sure he won’t get out again.”

“Good. Let’s show him what we’re made of.” Phantom dove before she could answer, so fast that Jazz couldn’t even keep up. But that was okay—he was supposed to keep Pariah’s attention.

By the time she made it to Pariah’s throne room, Phantom had already engaged the ghost in a fight. And, wow. For some reason she’d imagined Pariah to be, y’know, mostly human sized. Not this massive bulking ghost, with twisting horns and a crown made of literal flames. Yikes. She was kind of glad she wasn’t the one fighting.

Phantom split himself, three duplicates joining him. All four versions of him shot ecto-blasts at Pariah, and the ghost was pushed back.

“You miserable pest,” Pariah grumbled, shaking off the hit. “You think you can stand up to me?”

“Ha!” All of the Phantoms grinned, viciously, but only one continued speaking. “I know I can stand up to you! I am Danny Phantom, half-ghost hero from another dimension. Pariah’s Bane!”

That caught the full ghost off-guard, because he blinked. The moment of surprise was enough. Two of the duplicates grabbed Pariah’s arms, and the third pushed against his chest.

Pariah seemed to struggle, but the final Phantom shot an ecto-blast at his feet. Pariah stumbled, almost tripping, and the three duplicates shoved.

The fourth Phantom shot forward as well, sweeping around the Sarcophagus. After a moment of consideration, Jazz followed him.

Phantom’s duplicates gave another shove, and Pariah knocked against the back of the Sarcophagus. The moment he crossed the threshold, Phantom himself pushed against the door, shutting it.

Jazz darted around him, the key already in her hand. It slid into the lock easily, and she twisted it.

It clicked shut.

The three duplicates dissipated instantly, and Phantom sunk to the ground, Ecto-Skeleton and all. It disengaged, the top clicking open, and he cheered weakly. “Whoo, we won!”

“We won!” she cheered back, flying over to him. “Are you okay?”

“I need a nap,” he confessed, slumping against her. “But we won!”

#danny phantom #dp fanfic #phanfic #phanfiction #dp fanfiction #danny fenton #jazz fenton #jazz phantom #halfa jazz au #dark writes #absurdism

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ancientwastedlores · 4 years

Text

The Support System (Ch: 6)

SUMMARY: The Avengers have managed to collect all the infinity stones across the universe, and are currently keeping them in far corners of the world, only for research and to see if they can improve the planet and its people. Reader is a researcher with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, as well as a field agent. Loki is currently serving time for his actions in New York City in 2012.

A/N: Find this chapter on AO3 here. This chapter is mostly soft Loki and some badass Y/N.

AO3: The Support System Tumblr: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Warnings: N/A Audience: general.

______________________________________________________________

CHAPTER 6:

It’s very obvious to the rest of the Avengers that Loki only started watching Doctor Who with you so he’d get to spend the night in your bed. You know it too, but understand that he would spend it in anybody else’s room but his, because being alone at night haunts him. If someone else wanted to something about it, they would, and if they don’t, they don’t get to give their opinion about it.

And they know you aren’t about to listen either, so they keep shut.

The rest of the week passes like usual, with Loki sleeping in your bed and Tony playing concerned father and quippy teen at the same time. Then arrives the morning when you have to leave.

You wake up and don’t find Loki next to you as usual. You take advantage of the space and stretch, moaning loudly. You feel like you’ve cracked every single joint in your body, and sit up. You keep sitting, making a mental list of the things you need to prepare before leaving.

The dealers were expected at the secret venue at 7 in the evening, but Tony, being Tony, insisted the team get there a full 12 hours earlier. Natasha rolled her eyes and tried to convince Tony that two hours would be enough, but he wouldn’t budge.

The cars would leave at 6 AM. You look at clock and see you have a full hour before leaving.

The door opens, and Loki enters with a tray.

‘What! Aww, Loki’ you laugh. ‘I thought you could use a breakfast in bed before heading out’ he grins as he walks to your bed, ‘I made it myself’ he exclaims proudly, placing the tray on your lap.

Well, there was no doubt about that. It was a plate full of fruits, a bowl of cornflakes, and some toasted bread. You were looking forward to digging into some pancakes and bacon before heading out to a gruelling mission, but the excitement in his eyes makes you abandon the thought completely.

You smile and ask him to sit and share the food. He obliges.

‘So you’re coming round to the idea of me going’ you tease. ‘What’s the matter, find another Doctor Who fan?’

He looks severely offended and you immediately regret saying it. ‘I was only joking. Thank you for doing this, it’s lovely’.

His expression softens, and then he reaches into his pocket.

‘I know you’ll be fine, but I did take the liberty of an extra precaution’ he produces a small rectangular object, no larger than a fingernail. It’s silver, and has odd markings on it that glow green, and attached to a chain.

You start to protest because amulets are absolutely the kind of thing you’re against, when he clutches your arm. ‘Please’ he pleads. ‘It makes no difference to you, since you don’t believe in it, but for my peace of mind?’

‘Loki, if I wear that, and something does happen, you’ll blame yourself for the amulet not working properly’. ‘No, I promise, quite the opposite…’ he unclasps the chain, ‘I’ll know I did everything I could, and you died because you did something stupid’.

You laugh. ‘Fair enough. You promise you won’t start beating yourself up?’

‘I swear on my honour’ he says, putting the chain around your neck. You tuck the amulet under your shirt, knowing if Natasha and Clint ever saw it, they would never let you live it down. You talk for a while longer while finishing up your breakfast, and then Loki leaves so you can change.

‘Good luck, kiddo’ Tony slaps your arm. ‘Give ‘em hell’. ‘Thank you’ you give Tony a small salute before getting into the car with Maria Hill, Clint, Natasha, and Sam Wilson.

T-3 hours to the expected time of arrival of the dealers. You’re leading a group of ten agents, and everyone is already in position. You’re sitting, leaning against the wall with your group, circling a finger over your bullet proof vest which hides the amulet Loki gave you.

Ridiculous, you think. But nice. You smile.

‘What is it?’ an agent asks, seeing your smile. ‘What? Nothing. Shush’ you say.

Natasha’s voice comes on the earpiece: ‘If anyone tells Tony this, they’re fired, but the convoy is here’.

You smile, knowing Tony would gloat for ages if anyone told him the convoy reached earlier than expected.

‘Alright gang, up up’ you stand up, and help a few up since they’re carrying heavy guns. ‘Look sharp, and if you find something weird, for god’s sake, don’t touch it. We got Thor for that’.

You put your helmet on and take a deep breath, waiting for instructions.

You hear the dealers come in, boxes being dragged across the floor, clicks of guns and clanging of metals.

‘Where’s the Vibranium?’ a voice comes. Someone mumbles something in another language.

‘He’s saying there’s another truck coming’ Natasha’s voice comes. ‘Nobody move until every single one of them is in the room and the door is shut’.

You nod at the rest of your team to ask if they understand. They nod back.

You return your eyes to the group that has just entered. You look up, just to scope the room, and spot a figure move.

‘Yo’ you whisper as low as you can, ‘did anyone see that?’ ‘What the hell is that’ Clint’s voice comes over the ear piece. ‘Oh, if that is who I think it is…’ Sam’s voice comes. ‘Ssshh’ you hiss. ‘Wait’. ‘Did you just shush me, don’t ever…’ ‘Ssshhh!!' you, Clint, and Nat say in unison.

It’s a grave situation, but you can’t stop yourself smiling before returning your attention to the back of the room. The tall figure is still moving, shooting something that makes no noise.

‘For god’s sake’ you hear Sam’s disgusted voice. ‘It’s the spider kid’.

You inwardly groan. You thought Tony would have told him to stay away.

‘Tell me he isn’t our responsibility, please’ Sam says. ‘If you want to die at Tony’s hands, sure’ you say. ‘Stark put a comms system in his suit, someone tell Stark to get him out’. ‘We aren’t carrying cell phones. And we don’t know how he got in in the first place’ Nat says. ‘Let it just play out’.

You sigh.

You wait a while longer, and the ‘other’ truck arrives. After all the contents are loaded in the room, there’s a spat about payment, and then the truck guys clear off. The one you assume is the leader shuts the doors and walks over to one of the crates with a crowbar.

‘Hold it…’ Nat says.

You stretch an arm out to inform your team to stay as well.

You quickly glance back up, the figure is no longer on the roof. You dread that he’ll announce his presence at the wrong time.

And he does.

‘Anything here for me?’ you hear Peter shout. The dealers all cock their guns and turn around to point it at him. ‘NOW’ Nat shouts over the comms.

You put your arm down and your team moves out, guns pointed at the dealers. From the right, Clint’s team enters. From the left, Natasha’s. Thor is on the balcony-like structure upstairs, looking over the whole congregation. Maria and Sam come from the North side. You have them surrounded.

‘Whoa, no way, you guys came!’ Peter exclaims. ‘Get outta here, kid’ you yell. ‘No way, let me help, I can help’.

You roll your eyes.

‘Ay, what the hell is going on’ one of the men say. ‘Put your weapons down’ Nat shouts. ‘Turn over everything you have’. ‘Yeah, that’s not happening’ the man laughs, removing a cylindrical object and throwing it on the ground, creating a force field around his own group, also trapping Peter.

You look up at Thor. He’s already swinging his hammer and aiming it at the force field; it hits its mark and the shield breaks so your team can move in.

A fight ensues, with you managing to dodge most of the attacks, while also grabbing onto some of the new tech the dealers have left lying around to use it.

‘This is so cool!’ Peter yells, swinging from wall to wall, pinning dealers to the walls with his webs. Okay, maybe he is helping a little.

You manage to get every single one of them, either knocked out or pinned to the wall. Sam celebrates by slyly putting some of the new guns in his holster. You laugh and yell that you can see him, and he yells back ‘You see NOTHING’.

Peter is just gushing over what just happened. ‘I didn’t know you guys were coming, this is so cool, I’ve always wanted to be part of a strike team!’ ‘Peter…’ you start. ‘And, and look at this gear, wow can I try that gun, I swear I’ll be careful…’

You take off your helmet. ‘PETER’.

‘Oh’

He sees your face. ‘Oh h-hey I didn’t know it was you, hi’.

You sigh, remembering his crush on you. ‘You’re in way over your head’. ‘Mr. Stark says the same thing, you know, I’m much more capable…’ ‘Thank you for your help’ you say sternly. ‘I’ll inform Mr. Stark you did a great job today. But you have to go now’.

His eyes twinkle. ‘You’ll tell him I did good? Will you tell me what he says? Do you have my number? You can just text me what he says…’

‘Peter, honey, Tony has your number’. ‘RIGHT. Yes, he does. Okay. Bye!’ he shoots a web to the ceiling and goes out of the broken skylight you hadn’t noticed before.

Everyone else is putting weapons back in crates, while the Avengers are talking at the middle of the room. You walk over to them. ‘Hey’.

‘How’d you get him to leave’ Sam asks. ‘I just said he did good’ you shrug. ‘We’re sure these guys haven’t made any calls?’

Clint holds up a little device. ‘Blocks out any outgoing and incoming calls within a 2km radius’ he grins.

Stark’s trucks arrive and the men get out to help load the crates in. Natasha and Hill oversee the operation, while Sam and Thor are in some conversation, and Clint helps you aid the wounded S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

While you bandage a woman’s arm, Clint walks over to borrow a pair of scissors. You hand it to him, and kneels down next to you.

‘Blink twice if you need help’ he says. ‘Excuse me?’ ‘You and Loki’. You sigh, frustrated. ‘We’re friends’. ‘I’ve been under his control. It’s easy to not understand the difference’. ‘Clint, he doesn’t have any way of controlling me, okay?’ ‘You just look badly beat up’.

You finish bandaging the woman and she thanks you. You smile at her and stand up. ‘I appreciate your concern, I really do. And thank you for asking. But there really is nothing to worry about. I decided to give him a chance, and I think all of you should too’ you pat him on the back and walk towards where the trucks are.

‘Hey, the last of the crates are loaded, I’m just calling Stark’ Hill informs you. You nod and she leaves, her phone in hand. ‘Off to Dubai, then. It’s a long ass flight’ Nat says. ‘When are we leaving? I hope we land at night, it’s beautiful’ you say, remembering your time there ‘I think we can manage that’ she grins.

After the driver calls something out to her in Russian, she responds and hits the side of the truck next to her twice. The engines start and the line of trucks head out to the Avengers Tower.

‘We follow through; can you get the team into the cars?’

You nod and rush back in, ‘Ya’ll got five minutes, get your asses in those cars’ you call out. ‘Anyone who needs medical attention, yell’.

One person from the corner of the room yells.

You turn to Natasha. ‘I’ll take him to the Tower and drop him off, get a new guy, and meet you at the jet’. ‘You sure?’ ‘Yeah. Save me a good window seat’. ‘You got it’ she smiles and sits in the car.

The rest of the group files in, and you’re left with a large black BMW. You haven’t driven in a while, but the car has sirens, so you hope people will just get out of your way. ‘Okay mate, what’s your name’ you ask, as you pick him up. ‘Paul’ he chokes out. ‘Paul. Well, Paul, have you ever been inside the Avengers Tower?’

He shakes his head.

‘You’re in for the pampering of your life, if you manage to stay with me till the ride there, Paul’ you help him into the backseat of the car, and buckle him in. You run to the drivers’ side, get in, and flip the sirens on, driving at top speed to the Avengers Tower.

You make a call while rushing through the streets of New York. Over the bluetooth - ‘Hello?’ ‘Tony! Okay, I’m bringing over Paul, he was hurt badly in the fight…’ ‘Yup, Nat told me, med crew is already at reception’. ‘Excellent, I also need you to keep a S.H.I.E.L.D agent ready for me to take as a replacement’. ‘Also downstairs waiting, with full gear’. You just love this man. ‘You’re awesome, Stark’. ‘I know, kid. See you soon’ he hangs up.

You pull up to the entrance of the tower and the med crew rushes to help Paul out of your backseat, which is covered in blood.

Fortunately, Tony also has another car waiting for you.

This man is on another level, you think, chuckling.

‘Take care Paul!’ you yell. He gives you a thumbs up.

The new recruit comes up to you. ‘Hi, I’m Sean’ ‘Hello, Sean. Get in, we’ll talk’

He gets into the new car and you’re about to get in as well when you hear your name called out and turn around. It’s Loki.

‘Hi! I have to leave…’ He comes up to you and gives you a hug. ‘I forgot to give you a hug before you leave’ he holds you tight. ‘Oh’… you smile against his chest and hug him back. You’ve removed your bullet proof vest now, so it’s just a shirt. Loki can feel the amulet through it, that’s how tight he’s hugging you. ‘Take care’ he says, and lets go.

You grin and turn to get into the passenger side, then shut the door. Off to Dubai, then.

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Feedback and requests welcome :) <3 Thanks for reading!

#loki #loki marvel #loki x you #loki x reader #tom hiddleston x you #marvel avengers #avengers fanfiction #loki fandom #reader insert #fan fiction series #the support system

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neokollection · 5 years

Text

S.S. Compilation ㅡ Their S/O Has Small Breasts & Is Insecure (M)

NCT 127

‘Their girlfriend have small boobs and she is insecure about that so she doesn't want to show them her boobs?’

Pls listen to Versace On The Floor [I think it’s pretty fitting of their reactions as well, they’re so sweet] also, Jaehyun recommends it as a DJ lol READ-MORE is on, but it don’t work on mobile, complain to tumblr, not me

A/N: I said I was gonna do short stories [but some people lowkey write reactions like this soo...]

This is domestic af-

** A LIL BIT MATURE RATED, CAN’T LIE **

Taeil:

His hands found their way beneath your loose crewneck sweater, his icy fingertips making you squirm as they brushed along your warm skin. He let out a muffled chuckle against your lips and you let out a muffled groan in response, turning your head away from his in an attempt to distance his intoxicating lips. In response a smile graced his features as he tickled your sides.

“Stop!” you wailed, body convulsing with giggles.

Halting, he let his hands wander higher as he leant closer, brushing the wire of your bra. You attempted to sit up in response, your hand going to the front of your sweater to push his hands away. Confused, he removed his hands, wondering if he’d overstepped the boundary perhaps.

“You don’t want to?”

You could feel him snuggly tucked between your legs and let your thighs squeeze around his hip softly.

“I-I do...”

He could sense a nervousness in you and dropped his chin to rest in the valley of your breasts.

“They’re just small,” you fought off, casting your gaze elsewhere.

His hands went to your shoulders as he lifted himself from you slightly, pressing a soft smooch to each of your covered breasts.

“What do you mean? They’re perfect-”

Johnny:

A shadow fell over you, causing you to lift your sunglasses and fold the page in your book.

“Hello?” you mocked, looking up with a small grin to meet Johnny’s gaze.

Your gaze fell from his messy, wet hair to his toned chest and abdomen.

“Hello~” you corrected, your voice coming out as a coy flirt.

He grabbed your ankles, causing you to yelp as he drug you down the wicker pool chair.

“Johnny!” you cried, dropping your book off the side as you attempted to hold onto the sides of the chair.

He let out a melodic laugh in response, fighting to collect you into his arms as you struggled against him. You let out a shriek as he tossed you into the pool, kicking to come back to the surface.

“You're such a dick,” you hollered, wiping your hair from your face.

He hopped in in response, splashing you obnoxiously. His hands were on you in a matter of seconds.

“Take this off,” he tried, tugging at your oversized t-shirt from below the surface.

Without even waiting for a response, he was tugging it up.

“H-Hey!” you complained, still letting him do as he pleased.

His arms encircled your waist and you felt a blush rise to your cheeks as he was face to face with your chest, clad in only a bikini top.

“I wanted to keep that on-” you began, interrupted as his plump lips left a chaste kiss on your skin.

“Why would you ever want to do that?”

His gaze fleeted from your face to your chest, causing you to bring your hands to cover your modesty.

“Don’t look at them,” you whined.

He let out a soft chuckle, thinking you were undeniably adorable.

“Why not?” he teased.

“They’re small...”

“So?”

It wasn’t the answer you were expecting, but it did add a level of comfort to know they didn’t faze him.

“I like them~” he mused, burying his face into the side of your chest you didn’t cover.

Taeyong:

You wondered if Taeyong could hear your heart beating out of your rib cage by his close proximity. It was the first time he’d ever laid his head upon your chest. You were sure your face was burning up and for a brief moment were glad his eyes were trained on the TV. You tried to sit up slyly and shrug your shoulders to gently transfer him from your chest to lower. His arms hugged you tighter, a soft whine of protest leaving him as he held his spot.

“It’s comfortable,” he informed, not wanting to move.

“There’s nothing there to make it comfortable,” you teased, roasting yourself.

“Yea there is,” he argued, moving to rest his chin in the valley of your breasts as a pout formed on his lips.

“If you say so,” you murmured, refocusing on the television.

You had to hold in whatever noise was going to erupt as he nuzzled into your chest animatedly, letting just a muffled chortle escape as your hands went to his hair to cease his movements.

Yuta:

The bed dipped suddenly, nearly causing you to mess up your shot; you were playing pool against Mark on your phone.

“What’re you doing?”

A familiar voice questioned followed by the sound of the crisp sheets rustling as he wiggled closer. You could feel when his presence was directly behind you, his chin propping up on your shoulder like a puppy. You hummed in response to his question, too invested in the moment. He tossed a leg over your own, using one hand to prop himself up on his elbow as he watched from behind, his other being draped over your waist. Once your turn was over his leg and arm in unison attempted to drag you closer into his spooning embrace.

“Why aren’t you paying attention to me?” he murmured, snuggling into your hair with a deep inhale.

“I give you plenty of attention,” you remarked.

You let out a soft gasp as his hand draped over you naughtily reached up to squeeze one of your breasts in response to your lie.

“Play with me,” he chortled, “Or better yet, let me play with you-”

“Pervert-”

“So what if I am? Can it be helped when my girl is you?”

His hand squeezed once more.

“What’s that supposed to mean...?”

“You’re cute and sexy, the most beautiful lady of the land,” he oozed, “How can I help myself-”

You brushed his hand from your chest.

“Stop saying such cheesy things.”

He easily transitioned onto all fours, pulling you beneath him like a predator snatching prey.

“I mean it,” he challenged.

Doyoung:

Neither of you were quite sure how one thing had led to another or how you were in your undergarments on Doyoung’s bed with his figure looming over your own, shirt unbuttoned.

His movements were gentle and calculative, your thighs buffered his hips gently as his lips caressed your neck, he kept one hand in your hair as his other moved to your hips, smoothing it’s way upward. It felt as if your head was spinning, your body in flames of excitement, but also trembling due to the cool AC. You barely registered Doyoung’s hand pulling down the cup of your bra until you felt the cool sensation of air upon your hardening bud. Your hand covered his own, moving the fabric back into place. Noticing the change, Doyoung drew back, his ever-curious eyes growing wide.

“Can I keep it on?”

Referring to your bra, he glanced down.

“If you want,” he mused, “Are you shy?”

The last question came out a tad coy and he smiled slightly, “You don’t need to be shy with me-”

“Um, I-”

“You’re perfect,” he muttered, his lips moving back to your jaw as his hand slid to your waist.

Jaehyun:

“Do you think an Oak coffee table with silver or bronze trim would be better?”

You flipped through the pages of the IKEA pamphlet, trying to picture each item in your living room.

“Jaehyun?”

You could have sworn he was sitting on the loveseat right behind you. A pair of long legs wrapped around your own, pulling you into his lap unceremoniously.

“Excuse me,” you tried, “I asked you a question Yoonoh-” [punny hah]

“Silver,” he answered simply, smiling down at you.

You turned to face him in his lap, making yourself comfortable as you opened the pamphlet between the two of you, pointing to the image you had in mind. He hummed in response, as helpful as ever.

“You don’t care do you?”

“Yes I do,” he crooned, taking the pamphlet from you and tossing it aside, “I want you to be happy.”

You squished his cheeks before cupping his face cutely. He pulled you closer and you felt so small in his lap suddenly with your cheeks burning up as you felt the front of his jeans beneath you.

“Hey-” you warned, your fingers weaving into his hair to assert control as he let his forehead drop to the valley of your breasts.

He pressed his cheek to your shirt as he hugged you before glancing upward toward you.

“You’re not wearing a bra, are you?”

His teasing dimple showcased itself. The two of you shared a silent moment of watching one another as you felt a blush creep to your face. He was unusually clingy, burying his face in your neck next as he left soft kisses peppered.

“Let me see,” he teased, his fingers sneaking beneath your shirt to brush along your waist.

“N-No.”

He pulled away immediately, worried he’d crossed the line.

“It’s something I’m a bit insecure about...” you admitted, always able to be honest with him.

“When you’re ready let me help-”

“Help?”

He looked at you through your lashes and you regretted sounding dumb, able to catch onto what he meant.

He would praise the fuck outta you fuhf

Win:

beep, dingalinga ding dong. The washer had finished its cycle, chiming a soft melody in the distance.

Having curled up with several blankets on the couch, you were fast asleep, your cold medicine left untouched on the coffee table.

Turning down the volume of the movie playing on the TV, Sicheng cast you a glance before standing, going to inquire about the sounds. When you felt his presence leave you let out a quiet hum, listening to the sound of socks shuffling on the tiled floor. It wasn’t until you heard the washer door click open with a beep that you were pushing the blankets from yourself in a hurry.

“I’ll do it!”

You had a load in full of the dark panties and bras you’d been putting off all week to wash with your other dark load.

When you wove through the kitchen to the washer you saw him, squatted and removing your clothes into a nearby basket.

“Go lay back down,” he complained.

“I-I can do it,” you argued, squatting beside him, feeling your mind go blank as he pulled out a pair of lacy red panties before reaching back in for one of your bras.

He swatted your hand away as you reached in as well, a very offended look on his face. He stood, pulling you up before plopping his hands on your shoulders, driving you back to your spot on the sofa.

“Stay,” he reprimanded.

“But!”

“I can do it,” he assured, “I can take care of you,” he added.

You know he wasn’t attempting to be cute, but his small pout was utterly adorable.

“It’s embarrassing for you to see I’m a __ cup!” you burst with a whine.

He pounced on you partly out of embarrassment as he covered your mouth, giggling foolishly as his ears tinged red.

“It’s fine.”

Jungwoo:

“What about this one?” Jungwoo asked softly, holding up a lilac dress by the hanger as his eyes raked over it.

“It’s pretty,” you admired, touching the fabric between your fingers as you thought for a moment, “Don’t you think the neck line is kind of low...?”

“You don’t like it?”

“I do, I just-”

You weren’t sure how to answer him, he seemed so earnest and you were too embarrassed to spell out you had no chest for that kind of dress.

“It’s sexy,” he beamed, “You’ll look really sexy-”

He was an unconventional boyfriend, one who’d pushed you to dress a bit flirtier than you were used to, not caring about the eyes it would attract on you.

“Try it on!” he urged, pushing you toward the fitting rooms.

Curious yourself, you tried it on, frowning at your reflection in the mirror as the deep V cut seemed to be unflattering.

“Are you done?”

There was a knock on your door from an impatient boyfriend and you gave a hum.

“I don’t like it-”

“Let me see-”

Without even waiting, he pushing in, closing the door slowly behind him as he looked over your reflection.

“Why don’t you like it?!”

“Here... It’s just...” you mentioned, referring to the V-cut.

“It looks good,” he pouted, “Maybe it’s too sexy,” he chuckled, lowering his voice.

He closed the fabric of the V-cut with his hands like a curtain, smiling childishly.

“I should leave,” he chuckled, “They’ll think we’re doing something naughty-”

He seemed to be totally oblivious to your predicament, perhaps your chest wasn’t as noticeably small as you thought.

Mark:

Palming himself gently, he removed his hand from beneath the sheets with a sigh, quickly typing a reply back.

‘You’re so hot’

You felt your temperature rise with his praise. Your conversation from earlier had taken a turn to the other end of the spectrum, the two of you taking advantage of the sexual tension. A few texts later and some photos were exchanged. Mark’s a classic mirror selfies with a messy bedhead and orange boxers. Yours a little more on the hot side, a mirror pic of just a towel around you, the fog on the mirror having vanished as you’d dried your hair between texts.

‘Show me more?’

He was borderline desperate, texting again.

‘What do you want to see?’ you teased.

‘You know :( ’

You fought back a smile at how cute he still was. You took a few minutes to think, trying different poses and running your hand through your hair. Settling on one, you dropped your towel, turning around with a hand to cover your breasts as you sent him a provocative booty shot. Instantly, you got a reply of praise.

‘Wut about my girls up top?’

He wasn’t sure how far he could push his luck, but he’d try to get as much as he could.

‘Your girls?’

You had to hold in a snort at how corny he sounded.

‘*our girls’ he corrected.

‘They’re smol...’

You weren’t sure what else to add, but you were in a dilemma.

‘Babe-’ he began, ‘I’ve seen you enough times clothed to know they’re not that small’

You thought for a moment as you looked in the mirror before your phone buzzed again.

‘Ur so fackin cute and you have the body of a goddess, i swear.’

‘Don’t overreact Mark’

‘I’m not :/ let me love u’

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rosa-berberifolia · 5 years

Text

The Man at the Bar|Mortal Kombat x Reader|Kenshi x Reader

A/N: a sort of AU where everybody’s kids also go to university along with being in the SF

Be Warned: nothing here, but maybe in another part

Word Count: give or take 1900

---------------

You sat in the club room for the anthropology students at your university as you usually did after classes. It was your favourite place to go after your lessons and labs to unwind before starting on all of your readings and homework. You were just strolling through Tumblr on your phone when two of your friends from Roman Combat Methods and Strategies came into the room.

“Hey, Y/n!” greeted Takeda and Jacqui as they came into the room hand in hand. The amount of cuteness that radiated off of them gave you micro-aggression. But you loved these two and so you tried to suppress your anger. Unbenounced to you, Takeda heard your ‘Fuck you and your happiness!’ loud and clear. And, being one of your best friends and wanting nothing but for you to be happy as well, the wheels of a plan started turning in his head.

“There’s a party tonight, Y/n.” He notified you as he and Jacqui sat down in the seat across the table from you.

“Oh yeah! Count me out.” You said rather dead pan. You weren’t into parties or crowds. They made you anxious until you started drinking. But since you didn't really like the taste of alcohol you didn't really drink. And therefore you never really unwound.

“Yeah, c’mon Y/n!” Jacqui started. You had been friends with Jacqui first, and since you met she had been trying to get you to come to parties with no avail. “This one won’t be that big. You should come! Please?!” She dragged the last word extra long. She and Takeda exchanged mischievous looks with each other which you missed, nose already into your readings for class. “It’s Takeda’s birthday!” Jacqui lied.

“Yeah,” Takeda added. “And I’ll accept your attendance at the party as an apology for not saying anything to me all day even though I told you about it last week.”

Your eyes shot up to Takeda who was giving you a pouty look that was making you feel guilty. Did he tell you? You didn't remember him telling you. Did he tell you and you completely forgot? You thought yourself a terrible friend. So you sighed and put your papers down. You hung your head back in defeat.

“Ugh!” You groaned. “Fine. I’ll go to your dumb party.”

“Great!” Takeda said a little too loudly. He lowered his volume, “Great, because there’s gonna be someone there I want you to meet.”

“WHAT?!” You exclaimed, not caring who might have heard.

“Ah! Too late! You already agreed!” Jacqui said pointing at you. You huffed and dramatically tossed the papers in your hand at the couple.

“Guess I’d better go groom then.” You complained as you got up and packed your bag to go home and shower, shave, and everything else you thought you ought to do before meeting a potential date. “Text me the deets.” You said as you walked out the door. As soon as you left Takeda filled Jacqui in on the details of his plan.

///

The getting ready part wasn't as stressful as it usually was. And since you got a new pair of spanx recently to wear under your dress and a pair of shoes a while ago that you hadn’t had occasion to wear, you walked into the party feeling pretty great about yourself. You looked around to see Takeda, Jacqui, and Cassie talking together and you went to join them.

“Y/n?!” Cassie yelled over the music. “I thought you didn’t do parties.”

“I was coerced.” You yelled back.

“We are glad that you came!” Jacqui said giving you a hug.

“So tell me about this mystery gent...lady?” You eyed Jacqui and then Takeda.

“Gent.” Takeda answered. “Now there’s a couple of things that you should know beforehand.” He said as he put his hand on the small of your back and lead you towards the bar.

“Okay...” You said slowly obviously wary of his next words.

“One: he’s blind.” Takeda said stopping a few feet away from the bar. There were three people at the bar and one was a woman. One of the men was tall and lanky, with light hair and eyes, and a face that wasn’t not attractive, but he definitely wasn’t your type. ‘Please don’t be him.’ You thought to yourself. The other man’s face you couldn’t see, partly because he was facing away from you, and partly because he had a bandanna tied around his eyes. But he wore a red t-shirt with black jeans, and you could tell that he had muscles hiding under his clothes. You were very glad that that was obviously the man.

“Well, that’s not so bad.” You said in response to his first warning.

“Yeah, well, number two is a doozy.” Takeda started looking at you with a cautious face.

“What?” You asked with a deep and sharp voice.

“He’s my dad.”

“Nope. NOPE! No!” You started to to turn to walk away.

“Wait wait wait wait!” Takeda stopped you by holding your arms. “Please, Y/n?! He’s really cool and chill. I know he needs someone just like you need someone.”

“Who said I need someone?” You challenged crossing your arms over your chest.

“I do. I heard-saw, I saw the look of disdain you get whenever Jacqui and I enter the room and I know its because you’re lonely. Just give this a chance. Please!” Takeda tried to convince you. You just looked at him sternly and shook your head. He decided to switch tactics. “I noticed you didn’t bring me a present for my birthday.” He said eyeing you. Your expression immediately told him that he better not dare think of making you feel guilty about it, but he went along anyway. “Just talk to him for one drink?” He pouted and gave you his puppy dog eyes and you were a goner.

“Fuck you, Takeda. One drink.” You agreed reluctantly.

“Yes! Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!” He turned you and pushed you back to the bar.

“But you have to introduce us.” You demanded quietly.

“Sure sure.” He said quietly back before the two of you got to the bar. “Hey!” Takeda said loudly getting his dad’s attention. He turned to face Takeda and yourself.

“Takeda.” He greeted calmly and then you saw his head cock. “Who is your friend?” He knew you were there? You were barely even breathing. He couldn’t have heard you.

“This is Y/n.” Takeda introduced you. “Y/n, Kenshi. Kenshi, Y/n.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/n.” Kenshi said extending a hand out to shake. You took it and shook it once before drawing back.

“You as well.” You greeted. There was an awkward silence before anyone spoke.

“Would you like a drink, Y/n?” Kenshi offered. You looked back at Takeda who gave you a pointed look. And so you gulped and answered.

“I’d love one, thank you.” You said hesitantly. Kenshi turned back to the bar and raised his hand to get the bartenders attention.

“Oh, look, Jacqui is calling me over. I’ll leave you kids to it.” Takeda said rushed. You looked over and Jacqui was in deep conversation with Cassie. ‘You fucking liar.’ You thought to yourself.

You were about to tell the bartender your drink order when Kenshi said it without you. “Whisky sour.” And you were shocked that he had guessed your favourite drink without you telling him anything.

“Yeah,” You said surprised, “How did you know?”

Kenshi smiled, “Lucky guess.” You couldn’t help but chuckle. The bartender mixed your drink and handed it to you. “So you study with Takeda and Jacqui?” You nodded.

“Yeah.” You answered. “What do you do?”

“I work with special forces.” Kenshi said. “Do you have an area of focus?”

“Ancient War.” You told him.

“Yeah?” He asked with his eyebrows raised in amazement. “I know a thing or two about that.”

And then the two of you spent the better part of fifteen minutes taking about ancient Asian fighting styles. Then you ordered another drink, and the two of you started talking about your other interests, both surprised to find out that you actually have more in common than either of you thought. After your second drink Cassie had come up to the two of you.

Cassie and you attended a lot of extra-curricular talks that the professors would give. After these talks there was always a luncheon were the person giving the talk and the attendees could meet. A lot of the time, guys that came to these talks would hit on one of you (usually Cassie). So you would come up to Cassie and ask her if she had a tampon. If the attention from the guy was unwanted, Cassie would say yes, and then the two would get the hell outta Dodge.

“Hey, Mr. Takahashi. Y/n,” She interrupted the conversation the two of you were having, and you both looked at her. “Y/n, do you have a tampon?” She asked eyeing you carefully. You looked back at Kenshi, then to Cassie. You were actually having a really nice time with him. So you shook your head.

“No, sorry, I don’t think so.” You admitted. Cassie smirked at you and gave you a wink.

“Okay, I’ll ask Jacqui.” She said and turned to leave.

///

The party was winding down and the people were all but gone. You and Kenshi were still seated at the bar talking away, and Takeda, Jacqui, and Cassie were watching you two in astonishment. It appeared as though Takeda’s plan had worked.

“Last call guys.” The bartender informed. You and Kenshi nodded at him.

“I actually had a really nice time tonight.” You said. Kenshi lifted an eyebrow questioningly at you.

“Actually?” he smirked faking offense with his tone.

“I mean, I don’t generally come to parties let alone have a good time at one.” You clarified.

“What made you come to this one?” he asked you.

“Well it was Takeda’s birthday so-” You started to explain but when Kenshi’s head cocked and face contorted with askance you stopped. “It’s not his birthday is it?”

Kenshi bit his lip and shook his head, “No.”

“Fucker.” You said quietly but he heard you and laughed. “Well regardless, I had a very nice time with you.”

“I had a great time with you too.” Kenshi smiled at you and you couldn't help but smile back. “Maybe we could do this again sometime? Outside of a bar setting.” He proposed. You blushed and looked down at the ground.

“I’d like that.” You agreed your smile increasing ten fold.

“Over dinner, perhaps?”

“That sounds great.”

Takeda, Jacqui, and Cassie watched the two of you talking. But it was when when Kenshi passed you his phone, you put your contact information in it, and then handed it back to him, the both of you smiling like idiots, that the three kids looked at each other in astonishment.

“Did you guys set this up?” Cassie asked. Takeda and Jacqui high-fived giving her the answer. The sound of it though got your and Kenshi’s attention. You just shook your head at them, but when it was just Takeda looking at you you mouthed two words to him: Thank you.

#mortal kombat x reader #mortal kombat #mortal kombat imagine #kenshi #kenshi x reader #kenshi imagine #takeda #takeda x reader #takeda imagine #jacqui briggs #jacqui briggs imagine #jacqui briggs x reader #cassie cage #cassie cage x reader #cassie cage imagine

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mxlti-vxrse · 5 years

Text

You’re My Mission | b.b

Warnings: ignoring the mcu timeline, minimum violence, bad writing

Genre: Fluff

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader, Steve Rogers x Sister! Reader

Moving all my old imagines from Wattpad onto Tumblr so I can organize my books :P

Not My GIF

As the newly recruited SHIELD agent walked through the underground base, she smiled at her friend, Peggy Carter. After her brother and best friend died in the war, she wanted to help fight the bad guys, so she joined forces with Peggy Carter and built SHIELD up from the ground together. They became sisters on the way.

You joined Peggy Carter down the corridor to her left as you both turned on your heels. "Any news?" You asked. She nodded.

"We have sources that have reported seeing someone sneak into their farm and sneaking about. He has been keeping dangerous equipment for us in his barn and he was afraid that someone would steal them. That's where we come in." She told you, her accent rushing out the information.

"That's where I come in you mean." You raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." She shot you a look while your grinned innocently.

"Suit up Agent (L/N)."

~•~

You looked at the barn as you stood next to the owner of said barn. He was explaining some things he saw about the man and the equipment he was keeping.

He was keeping some temperamental guns and bombs hidden form the enemy. He told you that he saw a metal arm and long brown hair.

You had both decided that you would stay hidden out in the barn while he stayed in his home. You were hoping to, at least, see his face.

At around three in the morning you heard the barn door creak open. You glanced over from where you stayed hidden from behind a box.

He had a metal arm and long brown hair just like the man said, but it appeared that he had a black mask covering his lower face.

Just as he walked past you you jumped out and aimed your gun at him. His head snapped towards you. You narrowed your eyes at him, noticing the familiar structure of his upper face, but you ignored it.

"Put your weapons down." His eyes glared at you harshly.

"You're my mission." He growled, stepping forward and smacking the gun out of your hand before you could blink. Your eyes widened in surprise as he pushed you against the wall.

You gasped for air, managing to kick him in the chest. You took a deep breath as he got back up, not phased at all. He grabbed your wrist and you twisted it behind his back, pushing him to the ground so you were straddling his back. He flipped you both around so that he was straddling you.

You ripped your hand away from his and immediately ripped off his mask.

You gasped in surprise. "Bucky, oh my god." You stared at his face is complete shock.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" With that, his metal fist hit you straight in the nose.

~•~

Peggy rushed through the underground base in a rush. "Where is she?" She demanded to Howard.

"She never came back from her mission, but don't worry we'll find her." Howard promised her.

"We better.” She bit her lip in worry as she walked towards the files. As she flipped through them she paused, seeing Steve’s and Bucky’s. She missed her friends dearly, she realized with a sad look on her face.

"I'll find you, (Y/N)." She promised to herself.

~•~

Bucky watched with a blank look on her face as the new girl that he brought in was tortured. He saw the head scientist frown as she spat blood at his feet, mumbling something that he couldn't here.

She seemed so familiar to him and he couldn't deny the feeling he got when she mumbled that name.

He decided that he would question her about it later.

Around four hours of torture later, you were thrown into a cell. You slouched against the wall as your breathe was uneven and labored.

Bucky walked up to your cell and looked down at you with curious eyes.

"Hey Bucky." You murmured softly. He walked into your cell.

"Why do you call me that?"

"Cause that's your name." You smiled softly.

"I don't have a name." He murmured at you. Your eyes softened as you realized how bad this was.

"Yes you do. Your name is James Buchanan Barnes, you grew up in Brooklyn with me and Steve Rogers before you supposedly died in the army saving your country." You lifted your hand up to touch the scar on his neck.

He subconsciously leaned into your touch. You smiled and gazed over his face.

"I'm gonna get you outta here and we're gonna get your memories back, okay?" You smiled softly at him. He nodded, somehow already trusting you.

~•~

You snuck into the experimentation room, the gun cold against your waist. Over the months that you had gained their trust, you had gained access to their biggest plans.

You and Bucky had gotten even closer, gaining a little more than a friendship. But you didn't want to act on anything since he was still clueless about his past.

Right now you were getting the serum that would get him his memories back. You put the key into the cabinet and quickly stuffed the bottles of serum into your waist band. You closed and locked the cabinet quickly. You sighed in relief before jogging back to your and Bucky's room. You stuffed the bottles under the mattress before anyone could see.

The next step was contacting the SHIELD base. You were going to get Bucky home again. He belonged at SHIELD.

~•~

Peggy was sitting at her desk when someone rushed into the room.

"Agent Carter, we've got something on Agent (L/N)."

Peggy ran into the control room, seeing everybody rushing around. She spotted Howard in the corner and rushed over.

"What have we got, Stark?" She asked.

"It seems that Agent (L/N) has sent us coordinates to a hydra base not to far from the farm." He said, taking a swig of his drink.

"What are we waiting for?"

~•~

You dragged Bucky behind you as you ran through the base, towards the roof. You hoped that they had gotten your message, seeing as if they didn't you would be captured and your cover blown.

Bucky shot at a few Hydra soldiers behind you, keeping an eye on you as you shot a flair into the sky, a hopeful look in your eyes.

"(Y/N)." He called to you, shooting a hydra agent without even looking at him.

"Yeah?" You asked. He opened his mouth to answer but was cut off when you raised a gun to his face.

"What are you-?" He questioned, shocked.

"Don't move." You demanded, moving the gun and shooting someone behind him.

"What were you saying?" You grinned. He grinned back in relief.

"Where are you taking me?" As soon as he asked the the sound of a plane getting closer was heard.

"Home." You smiled warmly at the ex hydra agent.

~•~

~two years later~

You leaned your head on Bucky's soldier as you sat next to each other on your bed in your new house.

"Only one more mission until our vacation." He murmured into your hair.

You hummed, leaning into his side where you fit comfortably. He grinned down at you with a loving look in his eyes.

After you were taken to SHIELD headquarters, Bucky was interviewed and then a month later was made a SHIELD agent. Ever since then you had gone on missions together, and even formed a relationship together.

Everything was going great. Until they found him.

It was the year 1944, and Captain America was found.

You and Bucky rushed down to headquarters as soon as you heard the news. Once you got there you saw a block of ice as thick as the length of your arm. You gasped at the piece with wide eyes before gripping Bucky's sleeve tightly in your arm.

"Bucky." You whispered.

"Yeah doll?" He asked quietly.

"What are we gonna do?" You whimpered slightly. The sight of your brother in the ice block made your blood turn to ice.

"We're gonna be there for him, just like you were there for me." He whispered into your ear.

"Thank you." You kissed his check before walking over to Howard Stark.

"So, how are we going to do this Howard?" You questioned the taller man.

"Well, we could do it naturally, or get a bunch of heaters, or we can put it in the machine." He listed off the options.

"Which one is better for his health?" You asked quietly, touching the ice.

"The machine." He answered, glancing over at you as you avoided his gaze.

"Then let's get to it Stark." You gave him a soft grin.

"I would forget my last name if it wasn't for you and Barnes over there." He mumbled grumpily as he got the men to push the block into the machine.

You waited anxiously at Peggy and Bucky's side as Howard turned the machine on.

It took only a few minutes for the machine to be powered off. You held your breath as the door opened slowly, your soaking wet brother stepping out of it. You gasped quietly as multiple women rushed over with blankets.

It made you chuckle when Peggy pushed past all of them with an even bigger one. "I've been waiting for that dance." She murmured.

He grinned and hugged her tightly, his gaze catching yours over her shoulder.

He let go of her and rushed over to you, picking you up and swinging you around. "I thought I'd never see you again." You cried.

"I'm here sis, I'm here." He smiled into your hair. All the feelings of losing him came back to you as you cried into his already soaked uniform. You sniffled and pulled away, wiping at your face.

"You made me cry, loser." You mumbled lamely. He chuckled at the old nickname.

"I'm sorry, sis." He said, using your old nickname. You grinned and pushed him towards Bucky.

Bucky smiled at that and Steve turned towards him with wide eyes.

"I thought you died?" He stuttered out.

"I didn't, but I could say the same to you punk." Bucky smirked.

"Jerk." Steve chuckled, pulling him into hug.

You smiled at them with tears in your eyes as Peggy walked over to you.

"It's nice, being back together like this." She admitted, her eyes glued to Steve as him and Bucky talked.

Bucky looked over at you and smiled happily.You smiled back and looked around as everyone rushed to greet the newly awoken Captain America.

You looked back at Peggy who was doing the same thing as you.

You rested your hand on your stomach as you thought to yourself.

"Yes, yes it is."

#why did i even write this #god i hate myself #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers #peggy carter #howard stark #steve rogers x reader #peggy carter x reader #howard stark x reader #avengers x reader #marvel x reader

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somedayonbroadway · 5 years

Text

The Call

Chapter 2

A/N: Hi friends! Sorry about the long wait on this pic for my Tumblr followers! I have seen all of your guys’ comments on “The Resistance.” I am going to be honest, I don't think I ever had any intention of continuing that fic. I did not think it would really get a reaction, much less a reaction that passionate. But I am excited to announce that I will be continuing that story and there will be a tag list! If you’d like to be on it, head on over to that post and reblog/comment with a note telling me to place you on it! Thank you all so much!

Anyways, here is a completely different story. Hope you all enjoy!

It was all over the news. Everywhere. Benjamin Neilson, allegedly kidnapped; taken right out of his own bedroom in the middle of the night. Anyone with any information was supposed to come forward. To save this boy's life.

David hadn't slept the night before. This was his doing. One stupid mistake might've cost this little boy his life.

"Hey, Davey... Smalls told me what happened last night n'... just let me know you're alright, okay? I know that this's gotta be hard but... talkin' about it might help..."

David had chucked his phone across the room when he'd gotten Jack's voicemail that morning. Everyone new. This was his fault.

It was hard to get out of bed that morning. It was hard to face the facts. That was all real. It had actually happened. And now, a sixteen year old was most likely fighting for his life in the hands of a complete stranger. He'd been a target and David didn't know why and he didn't know how to make it stop.

And he couldn't stop hearing about his failure.

It was part of the job. He knew it was. There would be bad calls sometimes. Sometimes, bad things happened. And he couldn't control them. But this seemed to be the one that was pushing him over the edge.

"L.A. county police continue their search for missing teen Benjamin Neilson, who was allegedly abducted from his home in Hancock Park last night. L.A.P.D. sources say the lack of witnesses and evidence in the case are frustrating the effort. Neilson family issued a statement late last night..." The stereo in his old car was too loud. He slammed his hand over the button that would shut it off.

He only missed four times. The heel of his hand hurt after that. He was sure there would be a bruise.

The second he'd walked into his place of work, he couldn't feel anything but anxiety. Phones were ringing everywhere. People were talking quickly and furiously and trying so hard to be the one thing standing between the caller and death itself.

His desk seemed so far away all of the sudden. There was an odd kind of feeling in his chest as he forced himself to take a step forward. He couldn't bring himself to appreciate the place he had loved so much just yesterday. It was stressful for sure. But that didn't mean it wasn't completely necessary.

As he passed by Smalls, the young woman turned to him, just having finished up he last call. "Hey there, Mouth," she called in her always seemingly sarcastic tone. David hated that Jack's nickname for him had caught on. Sure, he liked to argue with the other man, but seriously, that was the best he could do?

"Hey, Smallsie," he forced out, just as he reached his desk.

He was supposed to sit down now. That's what came next. But he couldn't move. He could only stare. The screams still bounced around in his brain, taunting him.

Smalls still had not taken another call. "Ya gonna be okay, Davey?" she asked. It was odd to hear this kind of concern from such a tough, suck it up kind of woman.

All David could do was nod, mutely. Suddenly, it felt as though he couldn't speak. But he forced himself down to the chair, scooting himself forward and letting his hands hover over his spacebar. He had to click it to let the computer know he was ready for a call. But his hands were still trembling. He wasn't sure they'd ever stopped.

He tried to take a breath. Tried to steady himself. He did this everyday. This was normal. This was what happened everyday. There were some bad calls. There always would be.

He hit the spacebar.

"911, what's your emergency?"

The scream that met his ear made David flinch.

Panic courses through David's veins. Someone was dying. He was going to get someone killed. He froze. His lips were glued together. He couldn't speak. He could hardly breathe.

"Get someone here! Please! Please get someone here!" The man was trying like hell to snap out of it. It was like the entire weight of the world was suddenly rest on his shoulders. "Please! Please send help!"

The man completely froze up. All he could hear was Benjamin's panicked cry before the call was ended.

"Hello?! Are you there?" a woman cried over the phone. "There is a bat in my daughter's bedroom! Please get somebody!"

Immediately, some kind of relief fell over David. He could handle this. It was going to be okay. "Yeah... yeah, I'm here," he assured as he typed things out on his computer. "I'm sending you animal control. They'll be there soon, okay?"

The woman gasped a view times, seeming to calm down. "Okay... Thank you..." and just like that, she hung up. David couldn't help but sag in relief.

This was bad. Really bad. He's frozen. Right there. In the midst of a call he'd just stopped. "Pull it together, Jacobs," he hissed at himself, sure that no one else could hear him. "You got it... you're fine..." He blinked the tears from his eyes as he forced his fingers to click down on the spacebar once again.

"Goddamn it! What'd I do now?"

At the familiar voice, David felt himself smile a bit. This, he could handle. "Hey, Mr. Kloppman. How ya doin'?" he asked, glad for the familiar distraction.

"Not good, kiddo! They put me in jail again..." The operator was content to let the man ramble about his misfortune. It was fine. The small issue was nice. It wasn't an emergency. David was okay.

Until he spun around and caught sight of the giant screen displaying the news.

He stood up quick, ripping the headset off as he recognized the boy's picture on the screen. Benjamin Neilson. Missing Teen Found Dead.

It was like a train wreck. He fought like hell to look away but he couldn't. He could only watch helplessly as the helicopter's cameraman got a shot of the body being dug out of the ground. The entirety of the kid's body was blurred. Because he had no clothes on. The picture wasn't clear. Details wouldn't be released that easily.

But David's imagination was running wild. So he did too.

Anything to just get out of there for a minutes. This was his fault. That child was dead and it was his fault.

"Everyone's lookin' for ya down there..."

Jack's voice hardly brought David out of his daze. He could hardly look up from the city below them. Somehow, he'd made it up to the roof of the building. Somehow he'd sat on the ledge, letting his feet dangle above Manhattan. Somehow, it had been two hours. And the man could hardly bring himself to care.

His best friend sat beside him, watching him simply nod, still speechless. "You know they can't run that place without you, yeah?" he asked, pointing back inside where he was supposed to be. David did not respond. He just sat silently with his legs swinging over the big city. "Davey... talk ta me. Why're ya beating yourself up over this? You've had bad calls before..." Jack sighed, though his tone was sympathetic and light. He was just trying to understand.

But David hardly understood himself. He'd had bad calls before. Jack was right. But this one... it was the one that seemed to trump them all. "You know my dad was a cop, right? Before he... um..." Jack nodded, not wanting the other man to go into much, knowing how painful it was to speak of the accident. The one that was the reason David had been tasked with providing for his family since he was just sixteen. "Well... he told me once that the hardest part about bein' a cop was knowin' that you might be the only thing standing between someone living and someone dyin'..."

Jack nodded. That much was true. It was something he thought about everyday.

"And once ya can't shoulder it no more... it's time ta get out..." David finished, taking in a deep breath. He wondered what would've happened if someone else had gotten Benjamin's call. If he hadn't made that stupid mistake, maybe the kid would still be alive.

It was clear there was nothing Jack could say to change the man's mind. He knew this man. They'd been friends for a while. And he had been damn good at what he did. But if he thought this was the right step, there was no way he wasn't taking it. "So that's it, huh?" he questioned. "Just like that David Jacobs is outta the game?"

All David could do was shrug. "I dunno... yes? It's just... that kid-"

Quickly slinging an arm around the other man's shoulders, Jack shook his head, silently telling him not to continue. It wasn't his fault. He wasn't the one that had taken that little boy to his death. "Look... I just need ya ta know that you got me, yeah? Always..."

David nodded, looking out over the big city again. One that carried on even though a little boy that had once thrived in it was gone.

"Always," he agreed, lifting up his left hand. Jack shook it immediately. David couldn't help but be grateful he'd grown out of the spit shake that Jack had always done throughout high school.

David didn't go to dinner that night to meet Jack's boys. David had gone to a bar, gotten blackout drunk and fallen asleep hanging off of Jack while he practically dragged him to an Uber. He'd just wanted to forget.

But those words still played over and over in his brain.

"It's already done."

And now it was over for David. The words and an ear shattering scream proved to be his undoing. David couldn't shoulder it anymore.

David Jacobs was out of the game.

#newsies #angst #the call #chapter 2 #David jacobs #jack kelly #katherine plumber #smalls

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fangirlfiction · 6 years

Text

Out of Time [3]

iii. the grim reaper

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Summary: 550 days after Bucky Barnes shipped out from Brooklyn, he gets reunited with his girl on a battlefield in Azzano.

Warnings: Lots of blood, death, injuries, and explosions. Very battle heavy. Also there’s some language in there.

A/N: Part 3 has arrived, and it’s an angsty one! Thank you to my angel Attie for correcting my grammar (@barnesrogersvstheworld) and for being the legit best bff in the world. Please let me know what you think about this chapter! I did a lot of battle related research to try and write a realistic depiction of WWII. Hopefully I did it some justice. Check my endnote for more information.

eta: the masterlist for the series will be in the comments until tumblr fixes the link issues.

October 8, 1943

You reach into the truck and grab a bag of supplies before turning and tossing it to Attie, who turns and tosses it down the line. You repeat the process, unloading the truck as quickly as possible, under orders to get the medical tent up before the wounded arrive. You are closing the back doors of the truck when a runner for one of the officers comes running your way, yelling. “Chief nurse, I need the chief nurse!”

You turn and yell out, “I’m here!”

He salutes you, and launches into his message, still breathless from the run. “The 107th is nearby and in need of medical supplies. Captain Taylor asked you to prepare a truck to be taken out.”

“The 107th?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Your breath stutters and you ask, “Who’s taking the supplies?”

“One of the ambulance drivers, ma’am.”

You shake your head. “I’ll do it.”

The runner looks at you in confusion. “Ma’am? Are you sure?”

“Yes. Tell Captain Taylor I’ll personally deliver the supplies.”

“Yes ma’am.” He salutes you before running off to deliver your message.

The sound of explosions grows louder as you near the drop off point for the medical supplies, and you can hear the cries of injured men as they become victims of the war. You pull the jeep to a stop at the designated drop off zone, eyes searching the trees for the soldier who was supposed to meet you. You hear a rustling in the trees in front of you, and you pull out your sidearm, aiming at the sound. Just as you’re about to shoot, a soldier bursts through the tree line, frantically whispering, “Reaper, reaper, reaper.”

Recognizing the code, you sigh in relief and reply, “Grim.”

He lowers his weapon and you lower yours before hopping out of the jeep and nodding at him in greeting. He eyes your uniform and asks, “You a nurse?”

You nod your head as you pull the packs of supplies from the back, “I’m the chief nurse.”

“We’ve been under heavy fire for a week, and our medic got killed two days ago, leaving us with untreated wounded. No one will evac them out. Do you think you could take a look at a few of them?”

You toss him a bag of supplies and reply, “Of course.” You gesture towards the path he took to get here. “Lead the way.”

You follow behind the soldier quietly, weapon drawn and on alert. As the sounds of the front grows closer, you ask, “Do you know Sergeant James Barnes?”

The soldier turns to look at you. “Bucky? Yeah, I know him.” He glances at you again, scrutinizing your features. “You’re not Red, are you?”

You smile. “I am.”

The soldier laughs in disbelief. “No way, He’s gonna be happy to see you.”

“So, he’s alive? He’s okay?”

The soldier laughs again. “Yeah, he’s okay. Never shuts up about you though.”

You smile and the soldier adds, “I’m Gabriel Jones, but everyone calls me Gabe.”

“Nice to meet you, Gabe.”

More explosions ring out in front of you, so close that you can feel it in the ground beneath your feet. Gabe stops walking and explains, “I’m gonna take you to the fox hole where we left most the wounded, see what you can do there. I’ll go find Barnes and the others and bring them to you.”

You nod and follow Gabe through the trees and onto the battlefield, bobbing and weaving between fox holes and missing chunks of blown up land. He finally stops by a fox hole and you slide into it, immediately busying yourself with the wounded. Gabe runs off with an “I’ll be back.”

You bandage the wounds of the men, giving morphine to the most severe cases, saving the rest for any others you might come across. You just finished bandaging a bullet hole on a soldier’s calf when you hear an explosion and an immediate cry for a medic. You peek over the edge of the fox hole, locating the source of the cry not far from where you are. The man’s screams are broken, loud. You know he is suffering.

You turn to the soldier next to you. “If Gabe Jones or Sergeant Barnes comes looking for me, tell him that I’m going to the foxhole right there.” You gesture to it and he nods.

Taking a deep breath, you climb out of the foxhole and onto the surface, immediately jumping to your feet and running to the sound of the soldier’s cries. Just as you reach the edge of the hole, a grenade lands inside, killing the soldier instantly. The force of the explosion sends you flying through the air and onto the ground, ears ringing loudly as you gaze up at the twilight sky.

You feel, rather than see, someone dragging you backwards and into a foxhole. You close your eyes and squeeze them tight, trying to bring your vision back into focus. When you open them, Bucky’s face appears in your view, and you watch his mouth move as you wait to hear sound. His words finally break through the ringing in your ears and you hear him yelling, “Talk to me! Are you okay?”

You smile and pull him into a hug, squeezing him tightly. You pull back and answer, “Yes, I’m okay!”

He looks at you in shock. “You scared the shit outta me! What are you doing here? Where’s your helmet?”

“I was delivering supplies. Didn’t know I’d need it.”

Bucky pulls the helmet off his head and drops it onto your own, fastening the straps beneath your chin. He mutters, “I gotta get you out of here. We gotta get out of here.”

He turns to Gabe and a man you don’t know, discussing strategy. They seem to decide on something because Bucky turns back to you. “Stay here. Do not move from this hole, even if someone calls for a medic.”

“But Bucky, I-“

“Promise me!”

Your face softens at the panic in his voice. “I promise.”

He grabs the front of your uniform and pulls you in for a desperate kiss. “I’ll be back.”

And before you can even protest, all 3 men are gone.

You lean back in the foxhole, watching the bright white flare twist up in the sky, passing over the moon. The soundtrack of passing time consisted of explosions and bullets whizzing through the air, accented by the screams of the wounded. Suddenly, 3 figures leap over your head and into the foxhole with you, each landing with a quiet thud. Bucky flings himself against the edge of the shelter, turning his body to face you. “Are you okay?”

You nod and one of the men yells, “There’s gotta be at least 5 mortar companies out there!”

Bucky yells back, “Radio B company, tell em we need cover!”

Gabe pulls the radio from off his back, smoke rising from the device. “That might be tough!”

The unknown man yells, “Bucky, behind you!”

Bucky and the man both shoot over the edge of the foxhole, before Bucky turns and yells, “Here they come!”

You grab a forgotten gun from the ground near your feet and situate yourself next to Bucky, firing alongside him and taking out the enemy. You all pause when you see blue rays of lights shooting across the battlefield, disintegrating the men that once stood there. You all rise from the foxhole slowly, eyes fixed on the horizon in shock as a tank rolls over the hill and slowly levels its weapon with your location, Bucky grabs you and yanks you down as he yells, “Duck!”

There’s a loud explosion and dirt rains down on you and the other men, before there is only silence. Bucky pulls your gun from your hand and tosses it to the side, urging the others to do the same. You all hold your hands up in surrender as a group of soldiers in all black outfits appear at the edge of the foxhole, weapons leveled at you.

The enemy soldier closest to you gestures with his gun, “Move.”

You all stand slowly and crawl from the shelter and onto the battle scarred surface. The soldiers keep you there, as a uniformed man emerges from the tank and strides over to you. Bucky pulls you behind him, placing himself between you and the new arrival, an action that doesn’t go unnoticed. The man in uniform gestures to you, “Bring her with us, but separate her from the others.”

Bucky plants himself in front of you and yells over his shoulder, “Run, go!”

“No! I’m not leaving you!”

Bucky pushes you away and urges, “Go get help! Go!”

Two of the enemy soldiers descend upon you, and you start to scramble backwards, tears streaming down your face. They each grab one of your arms and you start to flail and kick in protest, trying to get away from them. You can hear Bucky yelling your name, desperation heavy in his voice. You both fight against your captors, trying to reach each other, when the sound of a gun cocking freezes you both in place.

You look over at the man in uniform, his gun in his hand, aimed at Bucky. “One more move, and he’s dead.”

You whimper but stay frozen. He turns to the guards, “Shock them.”

White hot electricity courses through you before everything goes black.

endnote: The Battle of Azzano, youtube

taglist: @slender--spirit ⋆ @amoonagedaydreamer ⋆ @kppopolym ⋆ @kypriot ⋆ @stiles-is-my-only-defense ⋆ @misplacedorphan ⋆ @thetimidsarcasticcat ⋆ @kaylaphantomhive ⋆ @mcu-owns-my-ass ⋆ @americasmarauders ⋆ @supernaturallover2002 ⋆ @thequirkypeach ⋆ @ilovethewayyourheartbeats ⋆ @ailynalonso15 ⋆ @littlelunaticfringe ⋆ @pandabearisaunicorn ⋆ @lokilvrr ⋆ @maddie-laufeyson ⋆ @gloriousbanananana ⋆ @zoayyy ⋆ @mrsdeanwinchester19 ⋆ @aesthetic-avaline ⋆ @grimmlytimelord ⋆ @kat-lives ⋆ @scarlettsoldier ⋆ @slytherinqueenie ⋆ @annielovebug22 ⋆ @sergeantliz⋆ @vampklauslover ⋆ @sweetlydecaf ⋆ @thewaythewildthingslive ⋆ @mxgicmoonz ⋆ @softthanos ⋆ @sthorkronstrangy ⋆ @kiss-the-baguette ⋆ @learning-howto-be-myselfx3

wouldnt let me tag

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes fluff #bucky x reader #wwii bucky barnes #out of time #fangirlfiction

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ask-anyone-from-the-tick · 5 years

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Bellow the cut are my spoilery thoughts after watching season 2 of the Tick

I’m kind of glad Dot turned out to have a super power because being the only hero with no powers is sort of Arthur’s whole thing. I also like that she didn’t outshine Overkill and just step over him, but still looks up to him a bit and appreciates his approval. They feel like equals, and he’s still an awkward turtle socially.

THEY WERE SO CUDDLY AND AWKWARD ON THE COUCH, Overkill is def the kind of guy who can’t move if there’s a pet on his lap. He’s so soft I can’t...

I LOVE that we get to see more of Joan and her relationship to her family, she’s awesome and I love and support her. She’s just doing her best, and I hope those lobster babies come to visit.

Superian and Larry’s relationship continues to baffle me just a bit. Larry seems to just be a willing servant to cater to his whims I guess. I kinda hoped they were more buddy buddy than that. Apparently it makes Superian feel better to toss him way up and catch him lawl

The way Hobbs reacted when Tick broke the arm wrestling machine thing makes me wonder if Tick is actually the strongest superhero in the world, maybe second only to Superian ??? Or at least the strongest ever registered with AEGIS.

I really, REALLY like Sage. He’s fantastic. He’s also really attractive, is it just me? DAT VOICE THO. [take me on a wild nipple ride! jk omg I’m sorry]

That twin woman who was impressed with Arthur’s nerdy organization came off as REALLY OBVIOUSLY flirting with him, and his reaction was to just shrug it off like he wasn’t in to her, even though she was gorgeous, and Tick immediately picked up on it that she was flirting and got DEFENSIVE AS HELL like she was taking Arthur away and I just-- that’s pretty gay guys. That’s really... wow. And then she comes back and continues to hit on Arthur and he never once acts like he’s in to her, I don’t... I don’t know what to say but if Arthur suddenly starts pining over her in season 3 out of no where I’m gonna kms [not because he’s not gay but because it’s pretty clear he’s not interested in this woman. Don’t establish this and then force romance after we’ve seen there’s none.] Also when Arthur was picking out fancy clothes Tick had REALLY specific fashion descriptions and opinions on what looked good on him. He was like enjoying Arthur modeling clothes ajdlfdjas

Someone needs to draw Overkill being lovingly rescued by dolphins STAT

I honestly, unironically, think Edgelord’s entire look is cool and he’s very handsome. I think he looks like if Johnny Depp and Adam Driver had a baby.

SUPERIAN FEARS THE TUMBLRS. We’re his kryptonite.

Dangerboat... plane... whatever he is, kinda deserved a little more attention toward the last half of the season. The episode centered around him was the most emotional and it brought everyone together more, I really dug that. It made me cry. ALSO WE STAN MICHAEL, HE WAS TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD. I’m so proud of Arthur for seeing Dangerboat more as a person and making an effort to connect to him as a friend. <3 good job Arthur-- at the same time--

I HATE they way Arthur acted like Dot has a specific thing she should or shouldn’t be that was out of character. It’s like the writers wanted the female character to undergo some sort of oppression to rise up against, some form of misogyny from her male family member that she had to point out. You shouldn’t have to tear down a good character because he’s male, to make the female look good. If misogyny was gonna come out of Arthur, let it come out another way other than “this isn’t want you’re supposed to do” like mother fucker, she’s been taking care of you your whole life, she’s done martial arts training, she’s a paramedic, she is way more qualified than you. He’s the last person to talk that way to anyone and it’s pissing me the fuck off. He’s the one struggling with mental illness and no phyical ability to fight anyone, it makes no sense.

Arthur’s actor Griffin Newman, he just does such a fantastic job. The whole undercover scene was so perfectly on pitch, like... just the right level of second hand embarrassment and pride came outta me. He was so close to blowing it because he’s an anxious person by nature, but he pulled it off and came off more as just an awkward criminal with tons of money that was just believably nerdy. I loved it, it was so funny. Please give him all the awards. And that scene where Tick is on one side of Lint, way too close to her, and Arthur is on the other, and they just work her forking nerves was so hysterical. I died. I think they need to play up that comedic chemistry more often because Tick and Arthur bounce off each other really well when they’re not busy trying to solve serious problems.

Ok so the whole human furniture thing caught my eye immediately. The pose we are first introduced to is an infamaously disturbing pose by a real life serial killer who ate people and posed their bodies in weird positions and used them for sex and I forget what else. Anyway I tried to brush that off as coincidence, but then later on Dot and Overkill go to where they think this Duke guy’s lair is, and his house looks exactly like John Podesta’s house that had a statue of that EXACT same serial killer’s victim in that pose, and podesta’s walls were covered in creepy pedo art of little girls and drowning women. And the walls of Duke’s lair were covered in creepy human furniture art. I mean there are all kinds of parodies this season that are in your face, but I don’t think anyone who didn’t follow pizzagate carefully would catch this one.

Speaking of parodies OMFG I lost it when Superian reenacted that Superman scene where he’s like “Can you read my mind?” as he’s dragging the screaming guy across the night sky.

Ugh, I’m so sad that Tick and Arthur don’t get to keep those precious baby lobsters, and where did they get all the cute toys?? I wanna think Joan picked those up for them. Kawaii lobster voice: “Joaaan!” Tick is such a good dad... A family can be a giant Tick man, a moth boy, a hobo, a mimaw, and a bunch of singing lobsters. "SHE'S THE MOTHER OF OUR CHILDREN!" Tick drinks respect woman lobster mom juice.

I think I don’t know what to make of the reverse Green Goblin twist going on with Ms. Lint. The creepy voice is telling her to become a hero I guess, but not really? I think the joke is we think it’s telling her to be a hero, but really it’s teaching her to be a better villain LMAO

I’m glad kevin has a power and he was welcomed to come help even before said power was revealed.-- woah wait where tf is Karamozov?? I gotta tweet his actor he loves this show and he wasn’t in this season ???

I don’t blame Dot for being upset they want to defrost The Terror, but at the same time due process is a thing. I don’t know how that would work in a society full of super powers though. Because the moment you defrost him he’s going to find a way to escape. He’s the oldest, and the worst super villain of all time. This is why I’m ok with the death penalty and killing villains lol

I was expecting Walter to be some sort of MK Ultra sleeper agent, but the plot twist was, that’s what Overkill would become I guess. And Lobstercules. OH BTW I think she’s voiced by the same actress who played Captain Liberty in the old Tick sitcom! “Walter isn’t Walter? My feet don’t feel so good.” Aw Tick

Ty Rathbone drinks respect mothers juice.

Acting agent commander doctor agent Hobbs, honestly I suspected he was the main villain like the moment he was headed toward Lobstercules because something about the lighting and the camera work seemed to telegraph that.

I bet the reason Ty Rathbone feeds his black hole heart monster mice, is because it requires frequent blood sacrifice and that's the smallest sacrifice he can think of that he can quickly just put in there and placate it and go on with his day. I don’t know if he’ll be season 3′s villain or if it’s the aliens that just came back to reclaim Superian.

Which btw, I called that shit from season 1 episode 1. Superian showed up crash landing inside Big Bismuth which is the only thing that could trap him. He was a prisoner, probably because he did some bad shit, and he told Arthur he helps humanity because he just wants to be a good person. Like he wasn’t one before and now he wants to try to be one.

I want to talk about these, nearly involuntary dance parties Overkill rewards himself with... but I uh... I still can’t compute that that’s actual canon. That that’s a thing Overkill and Dangerboat enjoy together and he... he can’t seem to control himself when the music plays... And also that Dot AND Overkill both know how to floss dance... I just... wow...

Oh and that hug with Overkill made me an emotional mess, he just... he really needed that, thank you Dot.

This concludes my rant and ramble.

#the tick #the tick s2 spoilers #the tick 2017 #season 2 #ooc #thoughts

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the-angry-pixie · 5 years

Text

You taste so good on my tongue

Below the “Read More” is a NSFW story submitted by one of my Anons who was a little too shy to post it themselves. Putting it behind a read more so that if NSFW Byeler isn’t your thing - you don’t have to read. Enjoy :)

(This isn’t my best work, but hey it’s something in the dry well that is “NSFW Byeler” lol. ALSO THEY’RE AGED UP OBVIOUSLY, IN THEIR EARLY 20’s CAUSE COLLEGE) (It’s a damn shame I can’t share the pic as it’s the only reason why I got inspiration to write this in the first place. The guy really does look like an older Will ready to go to pound town for his man smh, fuck you tumblr)

“Will- wait, hold up!” Mike called out. Why was Will running so fast. And so far for that matter. They must have been a couple minutes away from where the gang was currently parked. When hey finally caught up with his boyfriend, Mike was damn near out of breath. His hands pushed up against his now bent knees, trying to fill his lungs back with all the air they lost. “Just…Why…Did you…Run off like that.” Mike looked up to the beautiful sight of a secluded grassy plain beyond the forest they had just ran through. His eyes then fell upon his boyfriend’s face, he was smiling. That beautiful smile Mike loves so much. But wait, he’s happy, so what gives? “Damn it, Byers I seriously thought something bad was happening.” The bright eyed brunette walked towards him. “I even thought some deranged killer was behind us for a second, not cool. I’ve seriously ran more in these few minutes than I have in all the gym classes I’ve taken. I mean, Will, come come on-” Will shut Mike up with a sudden. deep and passionate kiss on the lips.

“Anyone ever tell you, you complain a lot?” Will said after breaking the kiss

“All the time, yeah” The both laughed. Now that Mike had caught his breath and had the chance to take in his surroundings in full, he found this little place to be quite nice. It was quiet. Peaceful even. But before Mike could take in anymore of the surroundings, Will was already kissing him again. This time more fiercely than before. Will was pushing him back and usually it’d be up against their bedroom walls, but there was nothing of the sort out here in the wilderness. Mike wanted to question what exactly had gotten into Will- Wait, no he didn’t. He didn’t want to question it at all. At least not anymore. When Will pushed Mike as far as he could go, the smaller boy’s hand found it’s way onto the front of Mike’s jeans, cupping Mike’s semi-hard dick. Mike was a little caught off guard by this, seeing as they were in the middle of nowhere and their friends were parked not even ten minutes away from here. Mike broke the kiss “Mmm- Uh, Will, out here? Now?”

Will stepped back to look up into Mike’s eyes “Yeah. Right here. Right now. We’ll be staying in the same cabin as the others at the resort, we might not get a chance like this to be alone-”

“Well we’re not really alone now, I mean the guys could walk outta nowhere at-”

“Just shut up and kiss me, Wheeler”

“Um, ok” was all the taller boy could muster.

Will was shy. Timid. Even when it’s just the gang, he’s still a little quiet. But when it’s just him and Will. Alone. Getting down to business? Yeah that’s when this entirely different person comes out. Mike had no qualms with any of this of course. He loved how frisky Will got on certain days. How risky he made things sometimes. Mike wasn’t submissive or a push-over or anything like that, but when Will got like this, he always found himself just going along with what was happening. It got him excited. It got him hard.

And so the battle between tongues, hands and body movements began. The two of them not giving an inch. Mike could feel Will’s hard cock rub against his, even though they were both wearing pretty thick jeans. It was actually starting to hurt with how little room he had in his pants. Mike once again had to break their sexy shenanigans “Wait, did you bring a condom, cause I left my wallet in-”

“Yeah. Right here” Will said while rummaging around in his back pants pocket. Mike could hear the rustling of the condom packet as Will struggled to pull it from his pocket. Eventually the smaller achieved his goal.

Mike eyed the small squared packet, then locked eyes with Will. He didn’t know what, but there was just something hungry in Will’s eyes that made Mike gulp with anticipation. “So, do you wanna? Or should I-” But again, for like the hundredth time today, Will cut Mike off. But it wasn’t with words this time. Oh no, no words were needed. Not this time.

Will turned his back to Mike and without hesitation dragged his jeans down to just above his ankles. His underwear too. The sun was shining directly on Will, illuminating his beautiful bare, pale skin, all for Mike to take witness. He didn’t know if it was God or some other higher force, but he thanked someone for this moment. “I want you to fuck me, Mike, okay?” The way Will said those words…Their meaning and context was full of hot, blooded affection, but the way Will said them. Well he made them sound innocent! It was just one of those things Will was able to pull off. Mike being the love-struck idiot he is, was using his dick instead of brain, because he too pulled his jeans and underwear down to his ankles, but this was before walking over to Will, so he kind of had to shimmy over, being careful not to fall. He was insanely hard. His head had already accumulated some precum. God the things Will was able to do to him.

Will held the condom over his ass cheeks for Mike to take. Of course he grabbed it almost instantly. But then a thought occurred “Wait, Will. Are you sure you wanna do this, I mean, no lube and all…”

Will giggled at that. Giggled like Mike had just shouted out the wrong answer in class when they were kids. “We don’t need lube”

“Oooo-kay? Bu-”

“Just use your tongue” There it was again. Something so dirty. So sex fueled, but when those words left Will’s lips it sounded nothing but innocent. Mike gulped once again. And just like before, Mike didn’t, wouldn’t question it. He got onto his knees, not caring if small patches of dirt would surface on his knees. Will was already using one hand to spread his right cheek, so Mike spread the left and immediately went to town.

“Fuck!” Will cried out. Pure ecstasy in his voice. Mike didn’t always go down on Will (like this), but when he did, he absolutely loved the sounds Will made. The moans and whimpers of someone who was being driven to the brink with just his tongue. Mike wondered in that moment why he didn’t do it more to be honest. But now wasn’t the time to be thinking. He just wanted to listen to Will’s sex-filled screams in the middle of nowhere. Mike’s tongue slid past the tight rings of muscles and went in and out. Mike really enjoyed the taste of Will. The taste of lips, his tongue, his cock, balls, ass and hole, all of him. His hole had that salty taste to it, just like his balls, but not as salty as cum. He didn’t even know why he was thinking this, he just told himself not to, but then again, the only thing on his mind right now was Will. Mike was throwing his face back then forward in one quick motion, repeating this over and over again. “Aw- Shit, Mike, use your fingers, use them quick, I want you as soon as possible. Want you inside me”

“Mmmph” Mike replied back, seeing as he was still busy pleasing Will with his tongue. Mike didn’t actually take his tongue out, he just began by adding one finger. Will moaned out loud. Not that he was hiding his moans.

“Alright, Mike. Come on. Now. I want you now”

Mike pulled back, his tongue and finger slipping from Will’s beautiful pink hole “Will, you sure? I don’t think you’re full-”

“I don’t care, Mike. Please, just please give it to me. Fuck me, please” How in the holy hell could Mike ever say no to that?

“Alright, hold still…spread your ass…” Mike hurried to rip the packet of the condom. And so it began.

__________

“What the fuck took you both so long, we were starting to get worried” Dustin shouted, clueless as ever.

Lucas didn’t say anything, only giving Will and Mike his “Now? Really?” look. Eyes squinted for maximum sass

Max was shaking her head as if she was disappointed, but she was laughing because she knew what was up.

“Did you two have fun with the sex?” El asked, completely serious. Then everyone broke out laughing, excluding El and Dusting.

“Wait what do you mean- Oh no, no, no. You two are gonna have sex then get back into MY car?” Will and Mike buckled back up, Dustin taking off, rambling as he drove, eyeing Mike and Will through his rear view mirror every now and then.

——-

Again, not my writing. Simply submitted for me to share. I can’t take credit for any of the above deliciousness. ;)

#submission #byeler #stranger things

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a-splash-of-stucky · 6 years

Text

darkened corridors and shadowy corners

Read it on AO3

Square Filled: Semi-Public Sex Ship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers Rating: E Major Tags: Top Steve, Bottom Bucky, Anal Sex, Exhibitionism Word Count: 3316 Summary:

Bucky Barnes hates gala dinners and Steve Rogers has an exhibitionist streak.

Created for @mcukinkbingo

Notes: Posting this fic today in celebration of two things. Firstly, I’ve hit 4000 (!!!) followers on my tumblr, so consider this my thank-you present to all of you. I seriously don’t know why y’all follow me, but I’m grateful nonetheless.

Secondly, it’s a special someone’s 36th birthday tomorrow, and I feel like that’s an appropriate occasion to put this fic up.

Inspiration for Steve’s tux: [x]

Stucky Masterlist

Bucky’s come to the conclusion that he hates gala dinners.

He has many reasons as to why this is the case.

For starters, they’re filled to the brim with people he has no interest in talking to. They also involve him having to listen to a ridiculous amount of insincere and unnervingly similar speeches. Plus, he has to wear ridiculously constrictive penguin suit, the food is horrendous (at best), and he can’t even get drunk on the fancy-ass champagne.

He’d much rather be back home with Steve, cuddled up on the sofa or on their bed, watching something on Netflix and eating spring rolls from the Chinese place near their apartment.

Bucky snags a flute of champagne from the tray of a passing waiter, just to give his hands something to hold. He spies a familiar head of blonde hair at the foot of the grand staircase and decides to make his way over to Steve. Bucky tucks his metal hand into his pocket and sips on his drink leisurely as he threads his way through the crowd of bodies.

Steve is talking to an elderly couple, his expression open and attentive as he listens to them.

He looks gorgeous tonight, all dolled up in a navy-blue suit that hugs his shoulders and nips in at that unfairly trim waist. The black lapel of his jacket is a nice little detail, and it ties in with the black bowtie he wears. His suit pants draw emphasis to the musculature of his thighs – Bucky wouldn’t mind feeling those thighs wrapped around him, right now. Anything’d be better than milling around doing nothing. Beneath the jacket, Steve wears a crisp white shirt, the buttons straining – just a little – against his broad pecs.

As if sensing Bucky’s gaze on him, Steve’s eyes flick over to Bucky, a silent question in them. Bucky raises his glass to him, before downing the rest of his champagne in one gulp. Steve presses his lips into a thin line, like he’s trying to suppress a smile. He turns his attention back to the couple in front of him.

Bucky stifles a laugh. No matter what pleasant and charming expression might be on Steve’s face, Bucky knows that internally, his boyfriend is dying of boredom, just as bad as Bucky is. There are few things they hate more than going to these so-called ‘charity’ gala dinners.

Bucky snorts. If the guests in attendance really did have charity-based reasons for their presence, they sure as hell aren’t dressing like it. You’d think that people concerned about kids dying of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa wouldn’t show up to an event like this with their Rolex watches and their necks dripping in precious jewels. Besides, if this charity was actually serious about using their funds for the greater good, then they wouldn’t have hired out this fancy-ass mansion, with its antique furniture, marble floors and crystal chandeliers.

The only reason that he and Steve are here at all is because of Pepper. The organiser of the event is apparently a dear friend of hers, and they’d asked Pepper to be their guest speaker for the night. A last-minute commitment had prevented Pepper from attending, and so, not wanting to disappoint her friend entirely, Pepper had asked Steve to make a speech in her stead. Steve — being Steve — had of course said yes, but had insisted that Bucky be made to come too, because they have a rule about gala dinners: either they suffer together, or they don’t suffer at all.

Finally, after what feels like a decade later, Steve manages to excuse himself from the elderly couple. He strides over to Bucky, who is leaning against a side-table, twirling his empty champagne flute between his fingers.

“You seem popular, tonight,” Bucky comments, as Steve stands beside him, leaning his back against the wall.

Steve sighs heavily, pushing his fringe away from his forehead with the tips of his fingers. “This is a fucking joke,” he grumbles, “That lady—ugh.”

“What’d she say?” Bucky asks

“Some bullshit about all Africans being dumb and lazy, which is why they ain’t gettin’ any richer,” Steve rants. “I mean—I should’a known that was comin’ when she said that Africa was a country, but still.”

“Why the fuck’s she at this charity event then?” Bucky asks incredulously.

“I don’t fucking know!” Steve hisses, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “I just—ugh. I hate goin’ to these things, remind me not to be nice anymore.”

“Steve,” Bucky drawls, “You’re the biggest asshole I’ve ever met. Just let more people see that side of you and they’ll stop askin’ you for favours real fast, pal.”

Steve barks out a surprised, slightly hysterical laugh, one that makes his entire body shake. He turns, pressing his forehead to Bucky’s shoulder as he catches his breath.

“You’re somethin’ else, Buck,” he murmurs.

“I’m bored outta my mind, is what I am,” Bucky says.

Steve hums sympathetically, curling his hand around Bucky’s bicep to give it an affectionate squeeze. “I know, sweetheart,” he sighs, as he straightens up. “But for what it’s worth, I’m real glad you said yes to this.”

“You better get me a real good thank you present for comin’ with you,” Bucky says, jabbing Steve in the chest to emphasise his point.

Steve grabs hold of Bucky’s wrist, preventing him from pulling his hand away. His head is cocked to one side and his eyes are narrowed in thought. Bucky tenses up instinctively.

“What?” he asks, immediately worried. “What is it?”

“Baby, you’re a genius,” Steve whispers, looking at him with bright, sparkling eyes.

“I’m a what now?” Bucky says, confused.

Steve’s lips curl into a slow, devilish smile as he tugs Bucky closer. He leans in close, pressing his lips to the shell of Bucky’s ear. “You’re bored. I’m bored. We got another hour ‘fore I gotta get ready for my speech. What’s say I give you your thank-you present now?”

Bucky reacts in several ways. His eyes widen, his heart skips a beat, his lungs forget how to breathe and most importantly, his cock perks up in interest.

“Jesus,” he croaks.

“Nah, s’just me,” Steve jokes.

Bucky punches him in the arm. With his metal fist.

Dumb punk should know better.

“Hey!” Steve protests, “I’m serious, you want it or not?”

Bucky shakes his head in disbelief, before leaning in closer, until he can smell the woody scent of Steve’s cologne.

“D’you even need to ask that question?” Bucky asks breathily, “M’all yours, baby.”

Steve curses under his breath as he laces their fingers together. No sooner has Bucky set his champagne flute on the table does Steve drag him off. They walk through the crowd with purposeful strides, though it takes everything in Bucky not to sprint through the halls like a giddy nymph. He and Steve get a few curious stares, but no one stops them, and they don’t seem to arouse anyone’s suspicions.

Bucky realises that Steve is pulling him in the direction of the cloakroom, which: okay, he’s down with that. But, instead of turning left towards the aforementioned room, Steve turns right, taking Bucky down a narrow, dimly-lit corridor. They pass a few doors, all marked with either ‘No Entry’ or ‘Staff Only’ signs. Luckily for them, there’s no one around. Steve takes a couple of left turns before abruptly fisting his hands in Bucky’s jacket and crowding him up against a wall.

The kiss they share is hot and dirty, with Steve shoving his tongue into Bucky’s mouth as his fingers tangle through Bucky’s hair, loosening his ponytail. Bucky moans, cock swelling in his pants as Steve grinds their hips together.

“Gotta be quiet for me, Buck,” Steve whispers, as he peppers feather-light kisses down Bucky’s neck. “Don’t want anyone to catch us, do we?”

“Fuck, Stevie,” Bucky whimpers, eyes screwing shut at the thought.

Oh, the press’d have a field day with something like that. The whole world would go into a frenzy, with every single news outlet publishing some atrocious, punny headline. He can imagine the beating they’d take from the PR team if someone were to see them going at it like a pair of rabbits.

“What d’you want, baby, what d’you want?” Steve whispers, his breath hot and wet against Bucky’s throat. “Want me to suck your dick? Want me to eat you out? Want my cock inside you?”

Bucky clings to Steve’s shoulders helplessly, each idea making his stomach flip with arousal. “Yes,” he pants, “Yeah, I want it.”

Steve chuckles darkly, the sound low and husky against Bucky’s ear. “Which one, Buck?”

“All of it,” Bucky replies, turning to press his lips to Steve’s throat. “I want all of it.”

“Can’t baby, we don’t got enough time,” Steve says and damn it, how can he sound so hot and so sincerely apologetic at the same time?

Bucky growls in frustration, catching Steve’s skin between his teeth. “Fine,” he grumbles, “Then slick me up and get your cock inside me right fucking now.”

Steve huffs out a laugh. “Whatever you want, sweetheart,” he says, shifting back slightly.

There’s a grin on his face that is equal parts sappy and devilish and honestly? Bucky’s body doesn’t know how to respond to that. His heart is overflowing with fondness, but at the same time, his dick is throbbing in anticipation.

When Steve pulls out a packet of lube from his back pocket, Bucky quirks an eyebrow in surprise.

“Were you plannin’ on this, Stevie?” he asks, a sly smirk on his lips.

Steve shrugs his shoulders. It might be dark, but Bucky can see the beginnings of a flush on his cheekbones. “Well, I was kinda planning for it to happen in the car on the way home, or somethin’, but this works too,” he mumbles.

Bucky laughs softly, tugging him in for another kiss. It starts off soft and sweet but soon crosses the line into filthier territory, as Steve slides his thigh between Bucky’s legs and presses it against his trapped cock.

“Turn around,” Steve husks, not bothering to break the kiss.

Bucky turns to face the wall and Steve presses up behind him, a hot, comforting weight at his back. Two pairs of fumbling hands manage to undo his belt and fly; his pants and boxers get shoved partway down his thighs. When the cool air blows over his exposed ass, Bucky shivers.

There’s something so sinfully delicious about sneaking around like this. He’s never thought of himself as an exhibitionist, but there’s just something about getting it on in darkened corridors and shadowy corners that makes his blood run hot. If someone were to see them right now, what would they think? Steve’s good-boy image would be shattered entirely, and Bucky would be known as Captain America’s slut – which, to be honest, is something he’d be quite proud about.

He hears the crinkle of Steve ripping the lube packet open, which is all the warning he gets before he feels two slick fingers rubbing against his hole. Bucky grunts, spreading his legs as far as he can with them still trapped in his pants. Steve eases one finger in gently but quickly, twisting it around to slick up Bucky’s insides. Once Bucky’s relaxed enough to take another, he works the second one in, spreading them apart and twisting his wrist around to loosen Bucky’s channel. Bucky has his bottom lip between his teeth to muffle his moans and cries of pleasure.

“Steve,” he pants shakily, “Baby, c’mon, m’ready, get in me, c’mon.”

“Fuck,” Steve mutters, “Yeah, okay, just lemme—”

Steve tears open a condom packet and slides the rubber onto his length. Rationally, Bucky knows that using a condom makes clean-up a lot easier, but he much prefers Steve going bare inside him. Plus, the thought of having Steve’s come dripping out of his ass for the rest of the night? His own dirty little secret? That lights a fire inside him.

Maybe that’s something they’ll save for another time.

Bucky whimpers when he feels the hot, blunt pressure of Steve’s dick nudging at his entrance. “C’mon, c’mon,” he chants, pressing his forehead to the wall.

Steve spears him open, working his cock into Bucky with short, sharp thrusts. He has a death-grip on Bucky’s hips, fingers digging in hard enough that if Bucky were a normal person, Steve would probably break his bones.

“Shit,” Steve says reverently, “Buck – ah, oh, you feel so good.”

Bucky groans in agreement, unable to come up with something more coherent as his response. His lungs have seized up, unable to draw in a full breath as his system is overcome with pleasure. Steve’s cock inside him is rubbing all of the right spots, stretching him to the brink of his limits – Bucky is teetering on the border of pain and pleasure as his body struggles to rearrange itself around Steve’s girth.

“Fuck, you’re so fuckin’ huge,” he moans, exhaling harshly through his nose. Distantly, he feels Steve shaking with breathless laughter.

“Want you so bad, baby, you feel so good,” Steve says, hunching over to press a kiss to the side of Bucky’s head. Bucky hums in response.

“Fuck me, c’mon,” he says, “Give it to me good, Stevie.”

Steve growls. He laces his fingers through Bucky’s hair and yanks his head back, forcing Bucky to arch his back slightly. Bucky whimpers, a bolt of desire shooting to his groin.

“Yes,” he hisses, gritting his teeth as Steve starts to snap his hips in earnest. The plates in Bucky’s metal arm whirr and click as pleasure crawls up and down his spine.

“Goddamn, baby,” Steve puffs, his free hand on Bucky’s ass cheek, spreading him open. “Wish you could see, you’re takin’ me so damn good.”

“Steve,” Bucky moans, knees going weak at the possessiveness of Steve’s tone.

His head is spinning with pleasure as Steve’s clock plunges into him again and again, brushing against his prostate each time. Bucky claws and scrabbles at the wall, his fingers seeking purchase to ground himself against the force of Steve’s thrusts. He’s doing his best to suppress his noises of pleasure, but the occasional choked-off moan or breathless whimper still manages to escape.

So lost is Bucky in his own pleasure that he doesn’t hear the ladies until they’re almost on top of them.

Thankfully, Steve is more aware of his surroundings than Bucky is, so he stills as soon as he hears voices, one hand coming around to clamp over Bucky’s mouth. Bucky stiffens, his eyes going wide when he registers the clacking of stilettos against the wooden floor.

He strains his ears, trying to discern how many people there are – and why the hell they’re walking in this direction.

“Shelly!” a shrill voice calls, “Where’re you going?”

“To the bathroom!” someone replies, probably this Shelly person. It’s a woman’s voice. She’s disturbingly close, perhaps only fifteen feet from Bucky and Steve’s position.

Bucky is about to turn around and tell Steve to pull out when he feels a large, callused hand wrap around his leaking cock. He inhales sharply as Steve strokes him from root to tip.

“The bathroom’s this way, babes,” laughs the first voice.

Bucky wriggles in Steve’s grip, trying to shove him off. Steve only presses in closer and tightens his fist around Bucky, twisting his hand up and down his shaft. Bucky’s harsh breathing is muffled by Steve’s palm, and there’s a coppery tang in his mouth – he must’ve bitten his lip hard enough to draw blood.

“Are you sure? I saw a sign pointing this way,” says the second voice. Fuck, she’s even closer now.

Steve still isn’t letting up. He continues to jerk Bucky off with maddeningly slow motions, flicking his thumb over the slick head of his cock on every upstroke. It’s a miracle that his erection hasn’t wilted from the panic, honestly. Bucky’s knees buckle when Steve teases his nail into his slit, swirling a blob of pre-come around.

“Shelly, c’mon,” says the first voice. Heels click on the floor as the voice’s owner walks closer. “I don’t think it’s in here, look at all these doors – c’mon, we’ll go out and ask someone, yeah?”

Shelly groans in frustration, just as Steve grinds his hips into Bucky’s ass, the head of his cock dragging over Bucky’s prostate. Against his will, a whimper bubbles out of Bucky’s throat.

“Did you hear that?” Shelly asks. Bucky wants to scream �� she’s around the corner to where they are.

“Shelly, c’mon,” the first voice whines. “It’s creepy, I don’t like it.”

Shelly sighs. “Okay, okay, let’s go.”

As their voices fade into the distance, the tension dissipates from Bucky’s body, bleeding out as he exhales in relief. When Steve takes his hand away from Bucky’s mouth, he immediately twists around to glare at his boyfriend over his shoulder.

“You fucking asshole,” he growls.

Steve grins maniacally in response. “That was amazing,” he says giddily.

Bucky rolls his eyes. “Warn a guy before you indulge in your exhibitionist fantasies,” he grumbles.

“Aw, baby, don’t be sore at me,” Steve croons, his fist jerking Bucky’s cock hard and fast as he resumes the movements of his hips. “C’mon, lemme make it up to ya’, make you feel good, yeah?”

Bucky makes an unintelligible noise in reply. He braces his forearms against the wall and fucks himself onto Steve’s cock, timing his movements to Steve’s thrusts. Steve grunts, tightening his grip on Bucky’s waist with one hand. His other fist flies over Bucky’s cock, making lewd squelching noises.

“Stevie,” Bucky whines breathlessly, toes curling in pleasure, “Oh—don’t stop, please.”

“Gonna come, Buck?” Steve asks darkly, hips pumping with renewed vigour.

“Yeah,” Bucky moans, “Yeah, yes—oh, yes, you feel so good, oh m’god—I’m gonna—”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Steve husks, “Let go, Buck.”

“Steve, fuck—fuck,” Bucky gasps, thumping his fist against the wall.

The pleasure building at the base of his cock explodes without warning as spurts of come shoot from the tip of his dick. Some of it hits the wall, but most of his release trickles over Steve’s fingers. Bucky bites down on his lips, muffling his screams of pleasure. His eyes are screwed shut and his pulse is roaring in his ears. His head is spinning with pleasure — it all feels so goddamn good.

Steve follows soon after, cursing under his breath as his hips rut against Bucky’s ass. With one final thrust, he slumps forward, pressing his forehead to the space between Bucky’s shoulders as he rides out his climax. His hips make jerky grinding motions as his dick shoots off into the condom.

As their heartbeats struggle to return to a normal pace, Steve slips out of Bucky’s ass and pulls off the condom, tying it closed and wrapping it in some tissue that he whips out of his pocket. He cleans off his dick and spunk-covered hand, then reaches around to clean off Bucky’s cock.

What a gentleman.

Spending the next couple of hours with dried come on the inside of his pants wouldn’t be that great, so Bucky is grateful for Steve’s preparedness.

As Steve tucks himself away, Bucky pulls his boxers and pants back up, before fixing his jacket and straightening his tie. They’ll both need to stop by a bathroom to freshen up before they re-enter the main hall, but they look presentable enough that at first glance, no one will wonder what they’ve been up to.

Bucky grasps Steve’s lapel and yanks him close, planting a filthy kiss on his lips. “You’re a fucking punk,” he says heatedly.

Steve chuckles fondly, one hand curling around Bucky’s bicep. “I know,” he says simply. “And you love me for it.”

“You’re gonna pay for that later,” Bucky warns him.

Steve flashes him a dark smile. “I’m countin’ on it.”

#mcukinkbingo #mcu kink bingo #stucky #steve rogers x bucky barnes #steve x bucky #stevebucky #starbuck #wintershield #stucky fanfiction #stevebucky fanfic #wintershield fanfic #my writing #darkened corridors and shadowy corners

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