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neokollection · 4 years

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

WayV

A/N: Ten’s was in the original NCT 127 post, here! I changed his a bit! ALSO WinWin’s is still there, if you want to read a diff one for him lol Situation is basically you’re dating them. ‘Semi-Mature’ situations because... B O O B S

ㅡ

Kun:

He loved listening to your heartbeat, the steady rhythm enrapturing his attention. He found himself subconsciously grinning as he shifted closer, his soft cheek pressing further against your blouse.

“Kun,” you whined slightly, wanting to shift away in the sheets, but also enjoying the sensation of the closeness.

If your ears could tinge pink, they’d be glowing. You felt quite embarrassed about your chest, having a small size you worried he would also take more notice to it being so close.

“What are you thinking?”

Your heartrate had increased, pounding against your chest, intriguing Kun.

“Nothing-” you replied, attempting to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Kun pulled away, his face nuzzling against your own, his hand sneaking under the hem of your blouse. The cold sensation caused you to shudder, his palm cupping your breast as he felt your heartrate.

“Your heart is racing,” he informed, his eyes sparkling.

“What’re you doing?!” you whined, shifting under his hold, his bare skin upon your own making your escape attempt weak.

Knowing your insecurities, he knew exactly why you became anguished each time he came into contact with your chest.

“You’re so cute,” he whispered, trailing gentle kisses to your ear as he switched his attention from your heart to your chest, giving a gentle grope, the soft surface of his palm rubbing your perked nipple causing you to let out a breathy sigh.

Ten:

“Let me see!”

“No!”

“What’re you being shy for now?!” Ten bickered, fighting to pull your fists from your chest, your bikini top accentuating your rather small assets.

With a sigh, he sat back, straddling your hips with a challenging gaze. With sudden vigor he leant forward, face falling to the crook of your neck as his hands tickled your sides, the pool chair scraping upon the concrete momentarily. Giggling, you tried to swat him away, but he caught your hands, pinning them aside your head in triumph.

“Wait!”

His head snapped from the crook of your neck to your pleading gaze.

“Don’t look...”

“Why?” baffled, by how flirtatious you were being before, your teasing winks and playful smiles in the pool now traded for reddening cheeks and shy glances. His brows knit together in confusion as to why you were now shy, his lips pulling into a smile of amusement.

“Just don’t-” you whined... “They’re small and...”

“Mine are too,” Ten jested, trying to make you giggle again.

However, seeing as you didn’t giggle as he expected, he let his fingers intertwine with your own romantically to give a reassuring squeeze.

“If you don’t want me to I won’t,” he promised before releasing your hands.

WinWin:

(WW has another scenario under my 127 reaction, it’s more of being in a new relationship type situation, this one is more of a you’ve been dating for a while)

“They’re quite small aren’t they-” you were talking to yourself rather than your preoccupied cutie, Sicheng.

His gaze flickered up from his phone, to your mirror image, lips pursing as you turned side to side to inspect the new top you’d gotten earlier that day.

“Maybe I should get a boob-job...”

You heard a disgruntled sound from the man in the corner, giving a shake of his head with his thick brows knit together.

“I didn’t think you were actually listening,” you teased slightly, giving yourself a once over in the mirror.

He stretched a long leg, the toe of his sock wiggling against your ankle, bidding your attention. He wore a pout, something he often did when he wanted something. He placed his phone to the side as he shifted against the wall he was leaning on.

“Aren’t you uncomfortable on the floor?” you asked with a small smile as you stepped closer.

He made ‘grabby’ hands as you, reaching up to open and close his fists several times.

“What?” you cooed at his cute antics.

Once you were within reach, he grabbed your wrist, pulling you down to him. You bent at the waist, face level with his own. Unsatisfied, he pulled you in further until with an ‘oof’ you were collapsing into his lap, though he seemed unfazed by the small tumble. He wrapped himself around you, caging you in with his long legs and arms, peppering pecks wherever he could reach between your giggles.

Lucas:

You were hardly paying attention to the movie playing on your laptop, snuggled with Lucas in bed, your cheek pressing against his strong shoulder as you occasionally snuck glances at his profile.

“Oh-” Lucas made a sound, smiling at the screen for a moment as the female lead came out of the shower in just a towel, her breasts quite impressive to your own.

Immediately, he looked at you, his smile fading. It was as though he’d purposely done something to get himself in trouble, looking to you immediately for a response or reaction like a disobedient puppy, expecting you to cover his eyes or scold him. You opened, but shut your mouth, not having the energy to shame nor scold him. Worried he’d made you upset, his long fingers tapped the space bar, pausing the movie, shifting your laptop from his lap to the side of the large bed. You’d gotten comfortable in your spot, emitting a small groan. He rolled over, wrapping himself around you, smothering your face with his massive chest, his scent overwhelming.

“Loo- cus...” you mumbled, muffled by him as your hands fisted his shirt.

He hummed in response, the deep sound reverberating through your whole being.

“What’re you doing?” you drawled out, although not expecting an actual answer.

“I don’t want to watch the movie anymore,” he informed, followed by a deep inhale of your scent.

idk how to explain this, I think he’d either be super direct like ‘yours are great too!!’ or super indirect about it and just showing his love-

XiaoJun:

XiaoJun had his own insecurities, especially about his size- Compared to giants like Lucas he felt thin and skinny, determined to stick to his workout regimen- That being said, he was also aware of your insecurities, but this was the first time the two of you were being so open to each other about them. The clock beside the couch reach 3:04 AM, the gummy worm dangling from your fingers making him chuckle as you threw it at him.

“I don’t know,” you began, your pout deepening, “I just feel insecure about it- I know you shouldn’t compare yourself to others and all, but I can’t help it-”

“I understand,” he spoke up, toying with the bottle cap at his cross-legged feet.

“Sometimes I,” you paused, “I feel like a child rather than a woman...”

“No-” he retorted, his brows scrunching together with a face of sadness.

He didn’t want you to feel any less than you were. He thought for a moment, if you would let him he’d like to make you feel like a woman.

“I’ve never thought that way about you,” he replied, scooting closer, “You’re so beautiful- Seriously!”

Hendery:

“You think they’re small?”

“I mean,,,” you quirked a brow, “They are-”

Hendery made a disgruntled face, any other time you would have giggled, his wide eyes boring into your own-

“They’re perfect,” he retorted.

His sudden compliment made you break away from his gaze, attempting to hide your grin as he reached for the lingerie on the hanger, ignoring the stares of those passing.

“Try it on,” he urged, his expression serious.

“It won’t look good,” you argued in a hushed tone, taking the hanger from him in attempt to hang the item back on the rack.

He pulled the hanger out of reach, his frown deepening.

“I’ll be the judge of that-”

“Hendy-” you sighed (srry that’s the nickname I call him, I think it’s cute, okay-)

“Please,” he pouted, switching tactics, his bottom lip puffed out.

Giving in, you took the item from him.

“You’re gonna look so hot,” he exclaimed with a loud giggle, beaming.

YangYang:

“No-” you whined, wallowing in your bed, phone to your ear.

“But I’m outside your apartment...”

“But I’m comfy in bed,” you drawled.

“But I miss you,” he retorted.

“It’s too much work,” you lied, scrambling out of bed, “I’m my pajamas-”

“So?”

“I don’t have a bra on or-”

“Well, you don’t need one anyway, right?”

Ouch. Sometimes he said things that he really shouldn’t- Even more painfully so, although it was a joke, he’d remain quite oblivious to how it hurt others until someone was giving him the silent treatment or crying.

You’d been in the process of pulling on a pair of socks- Even though he’d showed up unannounced, it wasn’t completely abnormal for him to do so- And although you teased him, claiming you were already comfy in bed, in a minute you would race down to him. The line was quite for a few moments.

“Shit- I’m sorry,” he began, his tone lowering, “I was just kidding, but I shouldn’t-”

“It’s fine,” you assured, you knew how he was, and technically he wasn’t wrong.

“No,” he fought back, “It’s not fine... I don’t know why I said that-”

The line was silent again for a few moments, neither of you knowing what to say next.

“Are you at the front? I’m um, coming down now-”

He’d give you so much love and would not even hold your chest size against you This is just a fake scenario so like don’t think badly of him!

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ptersparkers · 4 years

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boston

summary: as a recurring visitor from boston to the outer banks and one of kiara’s childhood friends, you get to know the pogue gang for the summer. oh, and it seems like jj has a thing for you.

warnings: mentions of alcohol and typos, probably.

a/n: i hope boston doesn’t throw people off because i used it as nickname (i think it’s cute). and im not even from boston. ALSO WTF THIS IS 4K WORDS.

add yourself to my taglist!

this is my gif, please credit if using!

You’re starting to think that coming to North Carolina for the summer wasn’t as fun as you remembered.

The water touched your fingertips as you leaned away from the boat, sticking your hand out to dip it into the cold water. It was too humid for you, for starters. You were used to the colder weather of Boston and often found yourself in long sleeves and jeans with boots with an extra sweater in your car. When it got warm, a pair of leggings and a t-shirt sufficed. North Carolina’s outer banks required swimming suits, shorts, and see-through shirts in order to avoid overheating. That wasn’t exactly your style.

Your parents insisted on having you do something with your summer instead of lounging around and hanging out with people you’d see on a daily basis during the school year. There wasn’t much to do here other than drink and help your relatives on the boat with their fishing company, and the idea of working for free didn’t seem so amazing as it did when you were a child. This was the first summer you’d be spending in the outer banks for the entirety. While you and your parents travelled here for a few weeks, you were the only one staying behind until it was time to go back for school.

In all honesty, you hadn’t recalled much about the place nor the people who lived here. You were aware of the “Kooks” and “Pogues,” and the unofficial war raging between the two groups. What you gathered was that your family lived civilly between the two, not quite in either territory. If you weren’t mistaken, you were welcomed on either side of the island without drawing too much attention to yourself.

Kiara, or Kie, who was your childhood best friend, was the only person you were even remotely close to, and that was overstating it. She resembled the summer camp friend who you barely spoke to until it was time to go away for summer camp. She lived in Figure Eight but hung with the Pogue crowd, from what you understood.

You recalled meeting her for the first time at age eleven, the first time your family had made it a tradition to travel to North Carolina. Your family had wandered to The Wreck, the restaurant her family owned, and became friends because you were the only child in the building and her father had forced her to escape from her shell of a bedroom and spend some time outside. Eleven-year-old you was ecstatic to find another person to spend your summers with, and thus a friendship was born.

“Y/N, you okay there?” your uncle had asked. Pulling yourself out of your daydreams, you whipped your head back and wiped your hand on your shorts.

“I’m fine, Uncle Jim. Just thinking, is all,” you replied. Uncle Jim laughed and pulled the rope from out of the water and asked you to open the ice bin for him to put the fresh fish he had caught.

“Special order for the Camerons,” he explained. “Ward offered to pay me double if we could have this in by this afternoon.”

“So that’s why you pulled me out of bed so early,” you teased. “Mom and dad just left and you’re already putting me to work.”

You closed the ice chest and watched as Uncle Jim put away the cage neatly in the back before wiping his hands on a white cloth towel.

“You know this job like the back of your hand. Might as well put you to good use.”

“Yeah,” you said, sighing. “It’s weird being here without them.”

“Good weird or bad weird?”

You shrugged. “It’s just different.”

“I know you wanted to spend your summer in Boston, but your Aunt Camille and I are happy you’re staying until September.” You smiled and gave him a side hug.

“Yeah, I’m happy to see you two. It’s just that I’m growing up and want to spend time with my friends before we all leave to college, you know?” Uncle Jim started to steer the boat top the main land and nodded.

“I hear ya. Mind dropping the fish off at the Cameron residence after I clean it up?”

You shook your head and watched as the island grew bigger as the boat approached the dock. When Uncle Jim docked the boat, you jumped out and told him you’d be getting a bite at The Wreck, hoping to see if Kiara happened to be working. The door chimed and you could see a few people seated at tables with she was preparing smoothies behind the juice bar.

“You always look like you’re thinking so deeply,” you said, taking a seat at the bar.

Kiara looked up and dropped the banana she was holding and wiped her hand on a towel, the biggest smile painting her lips as she ran behind the bar to embrace you. You laughed and reciprocated, giving her a gentle squeeze as she held you in a near lockdown.

“Two years, Y/N. It’s been two very long years,” she said.

“I wish I could’ve stayed longer last summer,” you said. “My grandpa called us to say my grandma had broken her hip and we flew out the next morning.”

“Is she okay?” she asked.

You nodded. “I think he was just scared but it was probably for the best that we went back home.”

“So I hear you’ll be here for the whole summer, right? I heard our dads talking last night.”

“I can’t tell whether I’m excited about that or not. Happy to be here with you but not happy about working on a fishing boat. You know how sensitive my stomach is.” Kiara laughed and walked back behind the bar, resuming making the smoothie she had halted to welcome you.

“Don’t I know it. Well, when you and I aren’t working we can hang out and I can introduce you to my friends,” she said. “I think you’d really like them.”

“God, I hope so. I’m gonna need friends if I’m going to be here for three months.”

“John B’s kind of like our ring leader,” she explained before turning the blender on. She poured the drink and continued. “He’s kind of like you. A little mischievous but he’s keen for leadership. Pope’s the smart aleck. He knows everything about anything and overthinks when we do something spontaneous.” Kiara gave you a look.

“That’s because my parents were always here!” you said in mock defense, raising your hands.

Kiara laughed. “Then there’s Sarah, who you met before. She’s cool though, not like her Kook friends. We weren’t friends before you left. Then there’s JJ. He’s kind of all over the place and there’s not really a way I can describe him. You just have to experience him for yourself.”

“As long as I have a fun summer without getting in trouble, I think I’ll be fine,” you said.

“Smoothie?” Kiara asked. You nodded and took out your wallet, but she shook her head.

“I’m pretty sure my dad would bite my head off if you paid for anything here,” she said. “Your mom did help advertise for us.”

“How about a tip,” you said, putting a five dollar bill into a glass jar. Kiara rolled her eyes but grinned.

“The Pogues and I are gonna hang out on Pope’s boat, if you wanna come. We’re just gonna hang out and eat, probably.”

“I’ll have to ask my uncle but I’m sure he’ll be fine with it,” you said, taking a sip of your smoothie.

“It really was nice getting to see you again,” Kiara said. “I think you’re probably my only other girl friend, aside from Sarah. God knows a girl needs her time away from testosterone.”

“I’m gonna be at Sarah’s later this afternoon to drop off some fish. I think her dad paid a lot of money for it, and I will never understand that.”

She laughed. “Well with that kind of money, I guess you wouldn’t need to think twice about paying for fish.”

You hopped off of the seat and waved goodbye before heading home.

***

When the sky turned into a shade of deep orange, you double checked to see that your phone was fully charged before slipping on your shoes and grabbing a blanket plus the bag of snacks you had purchased earlier that day. You waved at Uncle Jim and Aunt Camille, promising them you’d be safe with Kiara before you locked the front door and slipped the keys into your bag.

From your recollection, Pope’s boat was fairly large and Kiara told you it would have lights strung up so it wouldn’t be too hard to miss. The dock was quiet with the exception of fireflies buzzing in the air and the faint sound of laughter in the distance.

You could see a group of boys and Kiara lounging around with beer in their hands and you were unsure of how to approach them. Luckily, Kiara saw you in the corner of her eye and rushed down to greet you.

“Thank God you’re here,” she said. “Boys are annoying and I need some company. Here, let me get your bag.”

You handed her the bag and climbed onto the boat, aware of three pairs of eyes following you. Suddenly feeling a little self conscious about yourself, you waved awkwardly at the three boys.

“Don’t be weird, you guys,” Kiara said, rolling her eyes. “That’s Pope. Brains of our operation. You two are more alike, I think.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said, tipping his hat at you.

“That’s John B,” she said as you waved at him. “He’s kinda of like you when you start talking about something you’re passionate about.” You began to blush at how Kiara was introducing you to her friends.

“Any friend of Kiaras is a friend to us,” he said, grinning.

“And that’s JJ,” she said, pointing at the blonde who was too busy looking at you to speak. “He’s, well, JJ.”

He scoffed. “These two get great introductions and I get ‘that’s JJ’?” he asked, using his fingers as faux quotation marks. Kiara shrugged.

“I happen to think I’m great, thank you very much,” he said sarcastically before winking at you. You gave him a soft grin and sat next to her, unfolding the blanket and placing yourself on it.

“And this is Y/N Y/L/N, probably the smartest one out of the five of us. She’s from Boston and comes here every summer with her parents.”

“It’s usually for a week or two to visit my aunt and uncle but this time I’m spending the entire summer here,” you explained.

“Why’s that?” asked Pope.

“My parents thought it would be good to not spend my time indoors and God knows my uncle will put me to work.”

“She’s Jim’s niece,” Kiara said.

John B’s eyes lit up. “Jim’s niece! That’s right, I remember he said you were coming to work for him this summer. He’s such a legend. How he and Camille live between us and the Kooks is beyond me. Love that guy.”

You beamed, opening a bag of popcorn. “He’s pretty great, isn’t he?”

“So how’d you and Kiara meet?” JJ asked.

“We were the only kids in The Wreck when it first opened,” she said. “Dad forced me to go outside and Y/N’s parents forced her to do the same and we just clicked.”

“So what’s Boston like?” John B asked.

“Jesus, one question at a time,” Kiara said, rolling her eyes.

“Cold, for the most part. I live on the edge of the city so I’m between suburban area and the metropolitan. It’s kind of the best of both worlds.”

“Outer banks is a wake up call,” Pope joked.

“It’s really different than what I’m used to, but this is my sixth summer out here,” you said. “And this time I came prepared with the right clothes.”

Kiara bursted out laughing. “When we were twelve, she insisted on bringing sweaters and jeans because that’s all she owned. For two weeks straight she had to borrow my clothes.” The boys chuckled.

“I’m not all that used to wearing shorts,” you said, gesturing to your clothes. “But I guess I like to lounge around in oversized shirts, so it’s a win-win.”

“Beer?” JJ asked, holding a bottle. You shook your head.

“Nah, I’m good. But thank you for offering.” He quirked his eyebrow but put it back in the cooler.

“Damn, I’ve never been off of this damn island,” said John B. “Let alone a big city.”

“It’s great, honestly,” you began, “I feel like I’m unimportant and that leaves me with so much room to grow. Nobody has any real expectations from me because I’m just another stranger. And I’m starting to sound like a cliche.”

JJ chuckled and shook his head. “Not a cliche. It’s nice to get to know someone who’s not from here.”

“God knows the Kooks aren’t welcoming,” said Pope. “But never mind them.”

“Sarah’s not coming,” Kiara said, looking up from her phone. “Said she’s too tired to make the ‘treacherous’ walk.”

“Bummer,” you said, pouting. “I haven’t seen her in so long. She wasn’t at the house when I went earlier.”

“I’m sure you’ll see her soon,” said Kiara.

“Oh goodness,” you said, shivering. “I didn’t think it would be cold tonight.” You rubbed your upper arms with your palms and tried to move to feel some friction.

“Take my jacket,” JJ said, reaching behind him to grab his discarded windbreaker.

“Thanks,” you said softly, a little confused that a stranger would let you wear his jacket.

“Damn, JJ. You’ve got broad shoulders,” John B joked, looking at how big the jacket was compared to you.

“It’s two sizes bigger than I am,” JJ said said, taking a swig of his beer.

“It’s perfect,” you said, looking between JJ and John B. “Thanks, JJ.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said. You looked away to speak to Kiara and didn’t notice JJ checking you out with the jacket you had put on.

“So you think Y/N’s attractive,” Pope said, leaning in and whispering.

“Pfft, what?” JJ asked, shaking his head.

“C’mon, dude. It’s just a matter of time before you and her, you know,” he said, making a crude gesture before laughing. JJ shoved him and laughed along.

“It’s not like that,” he said. Pope raised his eyebrow.

“Oh?”

“It’s not like that either! Jeez, Pope.”

“Whatever you say, man,” said Pope, leaning back and opening another bottle of beer.

An hour had flown by and you yawned, the entire group silently understanding that it was probably too late to stay up. Pope had left ten minutes earlier after his dad had called and promised to see the rest of you tomorrow.

“This was fun,” you said to Kiara, John B, and JJ. “I really like you guys.”

“But I’m the best,” said Kiara, striking a pose that made you laugh.

“And no one’s taking that title away from you,” you replied. You folded the blanket and began to walk off of the boat with JJ offering his hand for you to step down. You took it and noticed how unusually soft they were. You started to walk back to your house before abruptly turning around.

“Oh, JJ! Wait, let me give you your jacket back,” you said, dropping the bag you were carrying. JJ laughed and shook his head.

“Keep it for tonight, Boston. It’ll give me a reason to see you tomorrow,” JJ said. You grinned at the nickname.

“Okay,” you said, picking up the bag you dropped. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” JJ smiled. You could grow to like seeing his smile.

He winked. “See you tomorrow, Boston.”

***

As the weeks went by, you starting to feel disappointed whenever you thought about going back to Boston, which meant leaving your new friends behind. All the adventures you had raked up were memorable ones and it would feel weird not seeing the four rambunctious teens nearly every day.

It was a hot Thursday morning when you sat on the dock. Uncle Jim had given you the rest of the day off after helping him load his cargo, offering to make the rounds that afternoon if you were willing to go to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for that night’s dinner.

You couldn’t help but think about JJ and all the times you two had been near one another. Kiara had made an innocuous comment the prior night before you left her house about how he was much gentler when he was around you and didn’t seem to be as loud as he was when you were there. JJ, she said, was always so outspoken but whenever you were near, it was like he was censoring himself.

You were sure Kiara didn’t mean anything bad by it, but you weren’t really sure how to interpret what she said. You and JJ, aside from Kiara, had hung out the most since you met. You two spent the afternoon together at The Wreck the day after you met him, partially to give him his jacket back and partially waiting for Kiara’s shift to be over. You could feel yourself letting loose and confessed to feeling extremely nervous and self-conscious about meeting Kiara’s friends. JJ reassured you that he (and the others in the gang, of course) really liked you.

He would accompany you home and save you a seat next to him. He’d hold your bag and wait for you if the gang was running ahead. JJ would volunteer to come get you if you weren’t answering your phone and he’d make trips to visit you while you were helping Uncle Jim at work.

If you were being honest, you would be lying to yourself if you said you hadn’t developed feelings for him. It was minor and fleeting, but it was there. The blonde made you blush without having to try too hard and you were sure Kiara knew, but she never said anything. JJ was attentive to you and let you speak when you felt your voice be drowned by someone else.

You were pulled out of your thoughts when you heard running footsteps on the dock, only to turn around and see JJ running towards you. He peeled his shirt off and jumped past you and landed in the water, splashing you in the process.

“JJ, what the hell!” you yelled as he came up for air. He shook his head and wiped his face, grinning at your surprised reaction.

“What a morning, huh?” he said, swimming closer to you. Your legs dangled in the water and he came up, pushing his body upwards to let his arms rest on your lap. “You thinking too hard again, Boston?”

Boston. There was that nickname again. You think you hid your blush pretty well.

“You know I’m always thinking,” you replied.

“Someday I’m gonna get inside your head and know everything you think about when you disappear,” he said. “I’m sure you have a lot of good stories to tell.”

“Maybe so,” you teased. “I was just thinking about how I have a month and a half left before going back home.”

“Don’t think about that,” he said, pouting slightly. “I’ll - we’ll - miss you tons. It won’t be the same until you come back.”

You laughed. “I wish I could bring you guys back with me. I don’t have that many friends I consider close.”

“And you consider us your close friends?”

“I might even say my best friends,” you said with a smile.

“Well, well, well. I’m honored to hear that, Boston. Truly.”

“Why’d you jump into the water, anyway?” you asked.

He shrugged. “It’s a hot morning and the sun is shining. Plus, I got to scare you, which was pretty priceless.” You shoved him back into the water and laughed as he came up with a feigned surprised expression.

“Oh, come on! It was hilarious.”

“You’re so mean to me, JJ,” you said, sticking your tongue out.

“Why don’t you join me? The water’s cool and it’s hot out.”

“I think I’m good from where I’m sitting,” you said. JJ swam closer and caressed your legs before trailing his fingers to your lap, resting his chin on your knee.

“Please?”

It was times like this when you were grateful you developed a habit of putting a swimsuit underneath your clothing. You stood up from your spot and took off your shirt and shorts, slowly dipping in the water beside him.

“Okay, you’re right,” you confessed. “Very refreshing.”

JJ swam closer to you and smiled, finding your hand and pulling it above the water to give it a kiss.

“I’m never wrong, Boston.”

You rolled your eyes. “Okay, keep telling yourself that.”

JJ was quiet for a moment. “You’re so innocent.”

You raised your eyebrow. “Oh? How so?”

“I don’t know. You have a purity to you. Maybe it’s Boston or maybe it’s just that you’re better than us and the Kooks combined.”

“Well, I’m definitely better than the Kooks,” you said. JJ chuckled. He pulled you closer to him to the point where your chests were almost touching.

“I just mean that I don’t know how to act when I’m around you. Usually I’m reckless and an idiot, but I’m not that way when you’re around.”

You frowned. “I don’t ever want you to be anyone but yourself around me, JJ.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s that. I think you pull this calmness out of me. I don’t think I’m not being myself when you’re around. I just think that I’m much more of a person than ‘reckless’ JJ who gets into too much trouble.

“What I’m trying to say is,” he began with a deep breath, “I like you. As in, more than a friend. John B and Pope have been teasing me about it all summer but I never took it seriously until you talked that Kook’s ear off about not being a racist and sexist piece of shit.” You took a moment to recall and laugh at the memory. “There’s never a moment where I don’t want to be with you or tell you things. I’ve never felt this way with anyone before, honestly.”

“JJ,” you said softly, your hand giving his bicep a squeeze in reassurance. “You know, I’ve been overthinking these past few weeks. Last night, Kie said something about how you were so aware when I’m around and how you’re less reckless and I didn’t know what to make of it.”

“I just,” said JJ, “I like you a lot. More than I thought I did.”

You looked into his gaze and his arm wrapped itself around your waist, pulling you closer so your chests were touching. The sound of the waves was the only noise in the vicinity and the sun made JJ’s eyes look more impeccable than they already were. His lips were plump and you noticed he had stolen a glance down to yours, squeezing the small of your back as if to ask for silent permission. You inched your way closer and he followed suit until his lips had landed gracefully on yours as if it had belonged there all along.

His skin was hot under the sun and the water around you felt like it moved to push you two closer together. JJ let this kiss be a simple one, unlike the other girls he had been with before. His eyes remained closed until he pulled away and looked to see you in your entirety. You did nothing but smile and bite your lip, reaching out to kiss him once more.

“I like you too,” you said. “And I like kissing you.” JJ laughed and leaned in to kiss you a third time.

“You’re real cute, Boston,” he replied.

“Do you think we could go and get some sandwiches from The Wreck? All this swimming and all this kissing has me starved.” You shared a laugh before pushing yourselves out of the water and hoped the sun was hot enough dry you both before you reached the restaurant.

You were already counting down the days you would be coming back to the outer banks.

#jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank blurbs #jj maybank imagines #jj x reader #obx #obx x reader #outer banks #my writing #boston

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beerecordings · 3 years

Text

Marvin’s Cage - Part Five

One l Two l Three l Four

“Hey. Marv. Hey, wake up.”

He's dreaming about his cats and his bed. He's warm. It's nice. Hands shake him gently and someone's laughing.

“Marv. Dumbass. Get up, come on.”

“What?” he crabs, his eyes slitting open. “Go 'way.”

Wait, why are they all here? Are you kidding?

“Hey!” he snaps at all three of his brothers, shoving Chase's shoulders. “You dicks, get out of my room! Fuck, it's midnight!”

But they don't stop laughing and smiling at him. “Come on!” calls Jackie, grabbing his hands and yanking him forcefully out of bed. “It is now officially your birthday.”

“You're three!” teases Henrik. “Congrats!”

“Oh, so you're torturing me by waking me up? That's my present? We – ”

“We're taking you stargazing,” says Chase, stealing one of his hands from Jackie. “Get dressed and we'll go. I borrowed Stace's car. We can go to that clearing you like.”

Marvin stares, mouth parted. Jackie steps forward and closes it gently.

“What – all three of you?”

“Yeah, pal,” says Jackie, clapping his shoulder. “It's your special day.”

“Henrik, don't you have work?”

“Took the day off,” he answers, and, true to his word, he's wearing comfy sweatpants and a hoodie instead of scrubs. Marvin's not sure he's ever seen Henrik in a hoodie and sweatpants. “Or, well, the night, you know.”

“And Chase is awake?”

“And sober,” answers Chase mildly, hearing the rest of the question in the air around them. “We're all wanting to go, Marv. Look, I even packed nighttime dinner. Your favorite roast beef sandwich and raspberries and cocoa cookies and sodas.”

“Health disaster,” says Henrik, turning to leave his room. “You're going to love it. Let's go.”

Marvin scrambles to get his coat and pants on. He can't believe the way his heart is racing.

For the first time in a while, he thinks he might be excited for something.

They go to the park at one in the morning and eat and talk and watch the stars, just the four of them. Marvin shows off his magic without fear of anyone seeing or making fun and his brothers are enchanted, encouraging, laughing, awed, attentive. Chase made them food just like he always used to when he had any energy and he's clinging to Marvin's every word just like the old days, the two of them often resting side-by-side or their hands joined together. Marvin calls him his favorite star in the sky. He and Henrik talk for thirty minutes straight about physics and magic without once snapping at each other and things feel good and easy between them. Henrik kisses his cheek just for his birthday and tells him he loves him.

And Jackie is looking at him like –

Oh, wait.

For a second, all Marvin could see was that great glowing love in his eyes. This relieved adoration, this pride of his at seeing them all well and happy and in love with each other. This pride for his family.

But for a second, when Marvin turns away from the spinning, dancing night sky and meets Jackie's soft eyes fixed on him, he sees...

Fear.

Part of him is reaching out to his older brother the moment he sees it. Jackie is never afraid of anything, so what would make him scared about the four of them watching the stars together? About his family being together?

He realizes he doesn't want to know.

So his hand falls. He doesn't touch Jackie. Jackie blinks, realizing he's looking back at him, and returns to himself, smiling blankly. He turns quickly back to the sky.

Marvin looks away too. He won't let that unnerve him. He's got Chase and Henrik leaning against him and it's his birthday and everything's okay.

“Jackie,” he says, getting to his feet. He grabs his brother's hand. “Come on.”

“What?”

“Race you to the bottom?”

There's a hill in the park almost as tall as the trees. A straight path of grass leads to the bottom. Jackie laughs aloud.

“You are on, you little witch.”

He throws himself off the side of the hill like Buttercup after her pirate and Marvin follows after. They go tumbling down the hill like kids and he can hear Jackie howling with laughter, with the levity of it, with the stupidity and the unimportance and the relief. Their sleep pants are stained green with the grass and they wind up crashing together at the bottom, in the leaves and twigs of the trees, laughing on their backs and looking up at the stars. Jackie grabs Marvin's hand and then, a moment later, all but throws himself on top of his body and squeezes him so close that Marvin fears for his ribs. But it only lasts a moment.

Jackie draws away again. Neither of them say anything. Marvin takes his hand in return and they lie there.

They get milkshakes afterwards from a twenty-four hour diner, just to hear Henrik give them all a lecture about sugar. Jackie orders him a Snickers mix milkshake anyway and after a moment of regarding the cup warily, Henrik eats the whole thing with a sort of satisfaction Marvin knows he rarely gives himself.

“I have the day off tomorrow, too,” he tells Marvin as he finishes, looking over at him with those crystal blue eyes. Marvin is warm and full and drowsy and lost in his love for all of them, admiring them all. His little brothers grew up so lovely and clever. Three years, wow. He's lucky he's had them for most of that. “So we can hang out. Watch a movie, maybe.”

“Yeah, we could rent that new Wes Anderson one you wanted to see,” suggests Chase. “And we'll open your presents.”

Marvin sits up a little. “What – you're serious? We can hang out all day tomorrow, too?”

“Yeah,” agree both of his little brothers immediately.

“For your birthday,” adds Jackie gently, and Marvin looks over just in time to catch the perfect smile on the face of his tough, steady, wonderful older brother.

Shit, he really is sappy tonight. He laughs and leans his head on Chase's shoulder, sticking another spoonful of mint chocolate milkshake in his mouth.

“I'd really like that,” he says softly, letting his eyes close. “I really would.”

He's missed this.

Things were really, really hard there for a while.

When JJ was sick and he felt like he couldn't confide at all in the others, he was falling apart. There were a couple times he was even thinking about... well, it's not worth dwelling on. He didn't do anything rash and he's grateful now. He's finding his health and his joy again after months of guilty nausea and repeated panic attacks. No more sleeping whole days away or breaking down every time he looked at his brothers. He's coming to terms with his life, and not only that – he made change for the better.

After what felt like hundreds of agonizing decisions, he made one that has just about saved his life: he started to love Jameson Jackson.

His baby brother.

He started to take care of him.

And so it is that, returning from that trip to the park at three in the morning, Marvin finds himself pressing through that mirror in his bedroom – “I'm not so faraway,” he whispers as password, disappearing into the dimension beyond the glass – and going to see his JJ.

“Hey, penguin,” he says, smiling as he comes towards the box. “Hey, I know it's late, but we went to a diner and I got – James! Hey!”

He's crumpled on the floor of the box, white as bleach. Blood runs from his nose, enough to puddle on the floor beside him. Marvin's first instinct is to rush in there with him, but he knows better by now. He grips the bars of his cage and leans forward, panting.

“Petit-o,” he calls, voice shaking. “You gotta show me it's you and not Anti. Is he still in there with you?”

Jamie shifts slightly, fingers clutching at the wood of the floor, but his eyes don't open. Marvin swears and readies his magic, letting it burn against his fingers as he unlocks the side door and pushes inside.

“Penguin, hey.” He falls to his knees beside him and hauls him into his arms, stroking at his bloodied face. “I'm here, sugar. Fuck, I swear you're more sick every time he comes...”

He rocks JJ for long minutes, sitting back against the wall of the box and singing to him, stroking his hair. He swears at himself, breathing out deep. What's the point of keeping him here if he can't even keep Anti out?

(To keep JJ in. He knows. But the more attached he gets to him, the less that feels like enough.)

JJ stirs weakly and Marvin is shushing him before he's even fully conscious, rocking again. He knows Jamie wakes up scared every time Anti comes to “visit.” How he shakes and cries and tells Marvin the worst fucking stories about the things he did to him while he was Anti's prisoner instead of Marvin's. Marvin cups JJ's head to his chest.

“Brother,” JJ signs, clinging to his shirt a moment later. 'Brother,' simple as it is, is the closest thing Marvin has to a sign name. Sometimes he'll be M-Brother, but other than that, JJ only calls him that – 'brother.'

“I'm here, I promise,” says Marvin. “Is it just you? Is he gone?”

Jameson's head flops back like he'll pass out again. Marvin gasps and grabs his skull, holding him up. “James? Shit, you're hot. Oh, no, oh, no...”

Please don't be sick again. Please, please, please. When he had that cough that went so deep in his lungs and his fever spiked... Marvin almost brought him to Henrik. He was terrified for weeks.

“I've got you, I've got you.”

“Brother,” repeats JJ wearily. “No, it's just me. Just me.”

Marvin kisses his face, breathing out harshly. “That's good. How do you feel?”

“Just need to rest a little while, I think.”

He carries him over to his mattress and they lie down together. This more than anything else always soothes Jamie. Just being able to be beside him. The second they're done, weak as he is, JJ is wrapping himself around Marvin tight, tight, tight, arms and legs.

“Okay, octopus,” laughs Marvin, hugging him back. “I'm here. It's okay.”

“Sorry he came on your birthday,” signs JJ morosely.

Marvin draws back in surprise. “Hey. How'd you know about that?”

“He told me,” answers JJ, like it's obvious. Marvin feels his stomach twist a little.

“Why?”

JJ shrugs, shaking his head at him with those big, pretty-boy eyes. Marvin smiles, scratching at his beard.

“He's a creep,” he says.

JJ doesn't laugh, face reddening slightly. This is something they're working on – JJ's lasting fear of Anti. He doesn't make fun of him or criticize him, not even when he tells Marvin stories of torture. The worst part is when he says things like “but he did it because I was being bad.”

Marvin sighs and hugs him again. “I'm working on a way to keep him away from you.”

JJ looks up at him. He doesn't say anything or make a face, but Marvin sees the doubt in his eyes.

“I mean it, penguin. For the longest time, all the spells I was looking at required two people, and I didn't have anyone I could trust. But my friend Quinton, well, his cousin Therese is in town for a couple weeks, and they're both magicians. Turns out she's very well-versed in possession magic and mental shit like that. I think she might be able to help me get something done.”

“I'm just glad you're here,” says JJ. “Happy birthday. Got you something.”

“What? Did you? In here?”

What could he have got him in here?

“Well, it's a little silly,” says JJ, beginning to sit up a little. “You don't have to... listen.”

“No, no, sugar, I'm sure it's great,” says Marvin, sitting up with him. “I just wasn't expecting it.”

Jamie smiles at him uncertainly and points beside Marvin, where a worn violin rests on the wall beside them, opening and closing his hand to say “give.”

Marvin blinks.

“You wrote something for me,” he says.

JJ smiles at him.

That... that’s too much.

Marvin draws slightly back, unsettled. Jameson's face falls, his eyes widening. He clutches his hands against his stomach, immediately beginning to shake.

“No, it's – don't, okay? Don't do that. You freak out real easy sometimes and it's not – JJ, no.”

That was the wrong thing to say. “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” JJ signs rapidly, eyes slightly blown. “I'm not freaking out. I won't. I'm good, I promise promise promise promise promise – ”

“Babe.” Marvin grips his fingers. “Stop. Breathe.”

JJ tries. There's this horrible, too-wide smile on his face that Marvin recognizes all too well – his “please don't leave me, I can be good” smile. No matter how much time he spends with him, it's always there the moment JJ thinks he's done anything wrong.

“Just calm down. It's okay.”

JJ nods immediately, giving Marvin his best puppy-dog eyes, just like Anti taught him. Marvin's gut rolls.

Things have come so far between them, but... shit, this kid wrote him a song. It's... too much. Overwhelming and intimate. He wanted to make things better between them, but he's just getting so, so attached. He doesn't think he can take it.

“I brought you pie,” he says gently. He hands it to him and some of the panic melts off JJ's shoulders as he takes it. He doesn't get presents when he's bad. “You’re a darling, but it's real late. I think I better get to bed, okay? And you too. You're not feeling good.”

“Couldn't you... no.”

He saw it in JJ's face that he was about to ask him to stay with him for the night. It's something he's done only a couple times, but Marvin knows he's wanted it for the longest time. Wanted it desperately.

“My brothers and I are going to hang out tomorrow, so they'll look for me in the morning,” explains Marvin. “Maybe another night, though.”

He's said this every time JJ's asked. They've never done it, though.

It's too much.

“Good night, penguin. I'll come see you again tomorrow.”

“Okay, Brother.”

Marvin kisses his forehead and draws away, leaving him with a smile.

“I love you,” signs JJ.

“Sleep tight, starlight,” answers Marvin softly, stepping out of the cage.

He heads back towards the mirror. He thinks that JJ thinks he's gone even before he goes through – that's probably why he hears his little brother throw his violin at the wall of his prison before he's even made it back in his room.

And Marvin's stomach rolls, but he doesn't go back.

He wants to be his friend – wants to be his brother, even – but he's not ready to love him the way he loves the others. He couldn't do this to them. He has to do it to JJ. He can't love him like that. Can't.

JJ knows that.

He's known it for every single day of his life.

Not worth loving.

He stares out at his reflection in the endless mirrors on his every side, seeing his caged face in the glass, and cries his despair at the stupid, broken, useless person who looks back at him.

“You sure about this, Jackie?”

“I just want to get a quick look around. Make sure there's nothing in there that shouldn't be. He got so sick. And so...”

“I know the secrets are what kill you. But it's his private place. He doesn't like people in there even when he's there too.”

“Schneep, he makes it clearer and clearer every day that he has no plans to tell us anything about what's going on, and he's only barely starting to get any color back. He could relapse on whatever this is – drugs, purging, some guy treating him like shit. I can't watch another brother get addicted to something and fall apart without even trying to stop it. I just – I just can't.”

“Jackie...”

“You get that. I know you get that. Schneep. Hey. Look at me.”

“Fine, yes... okay, I get that. I think you should check his room.”

“I'll be fast. Just keep him watching the movie and I'll slip in. Five minutes to look around and I'm out again.”

“And if you find something?”

“Then we'll figure it out from there. Together.”

“That was cheesy.”

“You're cheesy.”

“Good one.”

“Go watch your movie, you little ass. I'll see you in a little while. Hey – hey. I love you.”

“I love you too, cheeseball. Hey, just be quick in there. We don't want to risk seeing Marvin upset on his birthday of all days. Okay?”

“Got it.”

In the living room, he can hear Chase and Marvin chatting while their movie plays. He watches Henrik head towards them, pushing his glasses up on his face.

Then he turns to Marvin's room, and he slips inside.

Marvin and Chase and Henrik watch a movie about dogs.

It's not really about the movie. It's about the time. They're one of those families that always talks through movies, and Jackie can hear them from the other room, chattering and laughing and sharing – okay, stealing – popcorn. They haven't had enough time for each other lately. Once this is over, he'll go out and sit with them too. See if they can't squish all four of them together on the couch and just spend time together again. At ease. Friends.

That's all he wants. Anyway, everything looks normal in Marvin's room. There's nothing more concerning than a pen knife, Melatonin, and several terrifying-looking magical books scattered around the room, but that's all par-for-the-course with his little brother. Jackie runs his fingers over a picture of the pair of them and Jack together, smiling down at him. He acts so tough, but his witch is a cheeseball too. They're two pieces of the same heart, if you want to know Jackie's opinion. When he was young and all but alone, Marvin was what made the world worth living in.

He sets the picture down on the dresser and takes one more look around the room. He looked under and inside the mattress, checked the drawers, looked for hiding places in the walls and floors. He smiles at himself in the mirror, letting out a breath of relief. He lets his fingers ghost across its surface too. He's tactile, Jackie. Needs to touch everything. There's a familiarity to this mirror.

They used to use it together, you know. Marvin and Jackie. After Jack moved to England, they stayed in Ireland for a few months. They would go see him through the glass. It was easy. Marvin set up the magic and he gave Jackie the password. After they moved to Brighton, they stopped using it.

There's nothing back there now.

Right?

Still, he's feeling nostalgic. He wonders if maybe it would still take him to Jack's house. Or if that long hallway of mirrors is still the same. They used to race through it together, chattering about seeing their friend again. Back when he was awake... back when Marvin was just his little brother in a cheap cape, trusting him with everything... back when things were easy.

He pushes his hands against the mirror.

Marvin laughs in the other room and the others join in. Jackie smiles. He loves them. He'll just take a quick look, and then he'll go sit with them, and steal all their popcorn, and laugh when they laugh.

“I'm not so faraway,” he whispers.

His hand passes through the mirror.

And oh.

Oh.

There is something back there.

There is someone back there.

They are playing a melody on a violin, a song as warm and as sweet as tea in the winter. There is a bitterness underneath. Lemon tea. A love song. A song of despair.

A birthday song.

This is the moment Jackie's world dies.

#marvin's cage #bee writes #writers of jack #jameson jackson #marvin the magnificent #self hatred tw

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ampmiscfiles · 3 years

Text

Let Us Love You: Chapter 9

Start From The Beginning

Sam checked in with FRIDAY before entering the elevator. Ever since his tentative...whatever....with Peter had started, he had been taking extra care to avoideveryonewhen leaving and reentering the tower whenever he saw him. While blockers kept an individual smells hidden from random people, there had been cases of mates sometimes being able to pick up hints of each other's smells anyway. Since Sam was a beta, Peter's scent never meant anything to him, and he hadn't even smelt anything from him lately. Hoever, with two super soldiers with enhanced senses in the tower, Sam didn't want to chance the lack of scent just being him. He had made a promise to keep their interactions secret, and he intended to keep it.

The two were slowly getting to know each other. For Sam, everything about Peter was new, but for Peter, it more so a game of similarities and differences.

Sam would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying getting to know him. Peter was a genuinely good person, and if things every worked out between him and the others, he could be a valuable asset to the team.

The public sure seemed to love him.

Something that seemed to amuse Peter greatly for some odd reason.

Still, Sam avoided talking about his fellow teammates like the plague. He desperately wanted to ask more about Peter's past with the, rightfully dubbed, "Evil Avengers", but didn't want to overstep.

“Dr. Banner has entered the common area.” FRIDAY answered.

“Ok. Bruce is clear.” Sam replied.

Bruce was probably the only person in the tower he didn’t have to worry about. There was no way he’d pick up on Peter’s scent, nor would it even matter since he was a beta and not romantically interested in Peter.

Also, he was the only other person in the tower Peter seemed comfortable talking about.

Peter had held a lot of respect for the Bruce Banner of his world. So much so that Sam had taken up teasing him about being a Bruce Banner fan boy.

Interesting enough, Peter seemed to be an even bigger fan boy here.

The Bruce Banner of his world lost a lot of his freedoms and abilities to do research after the Avengers turned and trapped him, so eventually Peter had run out of research papers to read.

Here though, here Bruce was continuing to put out papers, and Peter was consuming them at an alarming rate.

Maybe he could bring Bruce to meet Peter one night.

Bruce had displayed plenty of interest in getting to talk to Peter, and Peter had definitely displayed his own.

Yeah, maybe Peter wouldn’t hate him if he brought Bruce.

“Hey, Bru-“ Sam’s greeting stopped short as a very disgruntled Bruce Banner lay on one of the couches, taking deep breaths.

“Uh…everything ok?”

“If by ok you mean I won’t Hulk out, then you should know I’m straddling a thin line right now. I can’t go back to the lab or the line will break.” Bruce huffed.

Sam grimaced at Bruce’s obvious efforts to calm himself were only marginally working.

“We’ll, I’m going out. Wanna join me? Maybe getting out of here will help?”

Bruce paused, lifting his head to look at Sam. The green tint to his eyes started to fade as he considered the option.

“You know, maybe that’s a good idea.”

Sam grinned as Bruce stood up.

Peter was gonna freak, and hopefully in a good way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“When did you start coming here?” Bruce asked. “It’s a bit out of the way for us.”

“It’s what I needed. With the raging alpha hormones, I wanted to be as far away as possible.” Sam sighed before smirking.

“Plus, I get a little private bonus for coming here.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow as he followed Sam into the rowdy bar.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” Bruce frowned, uncomfortable with all the people.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be clearing out soon.”

Bruce continued to frown, but followed Sam to the bar anyway. As they sat down, a muscular black man stood in front of them. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the sight on Bruce.

“Taking a real chance there, Wilson.”

Bruce looked up as Luke Cage moved in front of them.

“I’m aware.” Sam nodded. “But I’m pretty confident it’s gonna be fine.”

The man shrugged before setting Sam’s usual down and asking what Bruce wanted.

“Just water please, I’m not really a drinker.” Bruce winced.

“Strange to come to a bar for water, but to each their own, Banner.”

“I didn't know you ran a bar.”

“It's pretty low key. Mostly just known here in the Kitchen. Anyway, when you come back, leave Wilson at home next time.”

Sam choked on his drink as Luke laughed, moving on down the bar after giving Bruce his water.

“Jerk.” Sam muttered, no bite to his words.

“How long have you been coming here?” Bruce asked.

“About a month or so now. Couple of nights a week depending on certain factors."

“How have we not noticed you’ve been going out so much?” Bruce asked.

"Well, in your defense Bruce, you're usually tied up in some sort of research and buried in the lab."

"Don't talk about the lab." Bruce grunted. "That is a terrible subject at the moment."

"That's only raising my curiosity."

Bruce huffed as he took a sip of his water.

"Let's just say that Tony is in big trouble for the foreseeable future."

Sam laughed as he patted Bruce on the back.

"Just let me and Clint know what we need to do for you. Clint's been dying to have a go at Tony since he rigged one of his arrows with confetti during training."

The two continued talking, Sam occasionally taking note of the fact the crowd was thinning out quickly. As it neared the time Peter would most likely come from the back, Sam turned to Bruce with a serious expression.

"I'm gonna tell you something Bruce, but you've gotta keep it a secret."

"Is this something that could get us in some sort of trouble?" Bruce asked wearily.

"......no? Maybe? Probably? Yeah, definitely." Sam shrugged with a smile. "But if it makes you feel better, you'll be getting an immeasurable up on Tony."

Bruce raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Okay.....what's the big secret?"

"The drinks and distance from the tower aren't the only reasons I come here."

"Are you seeing someone Sam?" Bruce asked. "You know you don't have to keep it a secret from us."

"Oh, I'm 'seeing' someone alright, and I do have to keep it a secret and now you will too."

"Why-"

"Hey Sam!"

Bruce's head snapped up in surprise as a smiling Peter Parker walked over, clearly not noticing Bruce's presence.

"Hey, Pete." Sam smiled nervously. "I..um...hope you don't mind that I brought a friend? I told him the rule of meeting you."

Peter frowned as his eyes moved to the person next to Sam, then choked on air.

"D-Dr Banner!" Peter gasped.

Bruce just looked between Peter and Sam in shock, desperately trying to figure out what was going on. How had Sam managed to get close to Peter without anyone knowing?

"H-hi." Bruce stumbled, holding out his hand and praying he wasn't going to have to kill Sam.

He knew how protective the Defenders could be when it came to Peter, and he had no desire to have trouble.

Peter stared a moment before grasped his outstretched hand and began shaking it excitedly.

"I know I should be upset and throw you out Sam, but I'm to busy having a mental freakout at the fact I'm meeting Dr. Banner properly as opposed to when he rescued me from prison."

"Y-yeah." Bruce grimaced at the memory of the last time he had physically seen Peter. "I didn't know they were gonna do that...."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that." Peter smirked, pulling back his hand. "I've never seen someone look so...done with people."

"We may be a pack," Bruce sighed. "But I know stupid when I see it."

Peter laughed as Bruce ran his hand down his face.

"If you have time Dr. Banner, I'd love to get to talk to you. I have so many questions about your work. I've been pouring through your research papers and I've wanted to pick your brain so bad!"

Bruce blinked in surprise at Peter's eager face.

"Careful Bruce," Sam grinned. "Peter's a total fanboy."

"I'm not ashamed to admit that, Wilson." Peter scoffed.

"Well," Bruce said slowly, unsure how Peter would take what he was about to say. "I can't deny I've been wanting to talk to you either. I'm fascinated by your abilities. I mean, I've seen videos of you getting hurt pretty badly, then be out the very next day seemingly fine."

"Tell you what, Dr. Banner." Peter grinned. "We close in a bit. If you guys aren't looking to leave soon, maybe we can talk more. I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."

"Deal." Bruce smiled.

Sam smiled in satisfaction as he leaned back in his chair. He had been nervous to bring Bruce. He didn't know how Peter would handle it. Despite the fact Peter knew Bruce was a beta, and uninterested in the dynamics that came between alphas and omegas, he was still a part of the pack. Looking at him now though, he knew he had definitely made the right call by bringing Bruce. Peter got to fanboy over the one Avenger he had even seemed remotely okay with from the beginning and gain a new friend, not to mention Bruce finally had someone other than Tony to talk science with.

Speaking of Tony, he still wanted to know what the man had done to nearly cause Bruce to lose it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was after Luke and Peter closed down the bar that Sam finally got his answer. Peter's praise of Bruce's work ultimately led to Bruce admitting what happened between him and Tony.

He blew up half the lab!" Bruce growled. "Four months of my research gone in a few seconds!"

Peter gasped in outrage.

"Four months worth?" he shouted. 'What was he doing?

"I don't even know!" Bruce groaned. "One minute everything was fine and then the next, half the lab was on fire!"

Sam struggled to hold his laughter in. He hated Bruce lost his research, but Tony was gonna have to fork out some major money to fix the area, and do some major groveling to earn Bruce's forgiveness.

For once, Sam wished he and Bruce could tell the others about meeting up with Peter. That would really stick it to Tony if Bruce could let that little gem slip.

"I'm really sorry about that Dr. Banner." Peter frowned. "I would be furious too. I'm saddened at the loss of, what I'm sure, was something amazing."

"Not much I can do about it now." Bruce sighed in defeat. 'I'll just have to start over and please, Peter, call me Bruce."

"Wow. Ok, Bruce! I wish I could help." Peter said dreamily. "I'd love the chance to say I got to work with Dr. Bruce Banner!"

"Hey! What about the fact you get to be friends with The Falcon?" Sam huffed, crossing his arms. "I'm pretty cool to, you know."

"Sure, sure, Sam." Peter smirked, waving Sam off.

"I can't believe this. Here I bring you your man crush, Banner, and this is how you repay me?"

Peter laughed, ignoring Sam's disgruntled muttering as he turned back to Bruce.

"So, you have questions for me?"

"Y-yes! If you don't mind talking about your abilities that is."

"No, it's ok." Peter smiled. "To be honest, I've never really gotten the opportunity to study myself on a molecular level. I can tell you everything I can do, and the fact I've noticed myself acting spider like at times." A slight blush rose to Peter's cheeks at that admission.

"Oh, what's with the blush Parker?" Sam grinned, leaning forward.

"N-nothing!" Peter answered quickly.

"No. I refuse to ignore this. Again, I brought Banner! Let's hear it."

Peter sighed, taking a sip of the coke he had.

"I....I was pretty....pretty turned on once by a woman I knew. She was pulling a con at a strip club. I went to catch her and she caught me in the audience and....her dance.....well.....you know, there are species of spiders that are seduced by...dancing? I don't exactly know what the spider that bit me was.....but I know it was genetically altered...possibly even crossbred-"

"Wait! Are you telling me this woman danced her way into your pants?" Sam snickered as Peter's face turned red.

"I couldn't help it! I was practically in a trance! But no, we didn't get that far. The Avengers attacked the club before I could get her alone. I'm not sure how it would have gone if I did."

"That's....that's something." Bruce stumbled. "Not to be a downer Peter, but you should probably keep an eye on that."

"Yeah," Peter puffed out. "Not exactly good to be an omega getting horny just by watching someone dance for them."

"You a horn dog for dancers now, Jones?"

The three men's heads shot up as a smirking Jessica Jones pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Jones?" Bruce asked, looking at Peter.

"Yeah," Peter said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can't exactly be Peter Parker here. So I'm-"

"My lesser good looking cousin." Jessica cackled.

"How have you not told me this yet?" Sam asked, shooting Peter a pointed look.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"My last name is Jones now."

"I hate you."

Peter laughed as Jessica turned to Bruce.

"Luke told me Peter had been meeting up with Wilson here, but how'd you get drug into this?"

"I almost lost control at the tower when Tony blew up my research." Bruce deadpanned.

Jessica blinked at him, silent for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"I bet Stark was shitting his pants!"

"He disappeared pretty quickly." Bruce sighed.

"Well, I hate to break up the party, but we've got plans. Come on you two." Luke said, strolling up to the table and pointing at Peter and Jessica.

"Matt just called, Karen's on her way to the hospital. Looks like the kid is making an early appearance."

Peter and Jessica jumped up, scooping up the glasses on the table and putting them behind the bar for clean up tomorrow.

"Give the happy couple our best, Pete." Sam smiled, following the trio out the door.

"I will. Dr. Banner, it was an honor to officially meet you! Please come back. You don't have to bring Sam." Peter said, shaking Bruce's hand with a grin.

"You keep talking and neither one of us are coming back." Sam said, crossing his arms.

"I'd be so devastated at the loss of your presence." Peter said flatly.

"You would be. I'm great company, you ass."

Peter grinned, making to respond before Luke cut in.

"Cut the chit chat, Jones, we gotta go."

"Coming! Well, later guys! I got a nephew to meet!"

"Nephew?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna be 'Uncle Peter' whether Matt agrees or not. It was already approved by Karen. Anyway, later! Thanks for breaking the code, Sam! I can forgive you because you brought Dr. Banner!"

"Call me Bruce!" Bruce shouted as Peter ran off with a wave.

Once he was out of sight, Bruce spun to Sam with wide eyes.

"How could you be seeing Peter behind everyone's backs! If they found out, they'd kill you!"

"It was a complete accident I found him." Sam said, holding up his hands in defense. "I was just wanting a drinking hole far from the tower. I knew this was Luke's place so I stopped in. I had no idea Peter was working here part time."

"Are you not worried about his blockers failing? We don't exactly pick up on any omega or alpha scents like they do."

"I just have FRIDAY let me know where everyone is when I get back and I go straight to the shower and then run my clothes under the water before burying them in the laundry. Even if Steve and Buck enter my room, there's no smell to pick up."

"Wow." Bruce said, letting out a breath. "Have you ever gotten as close to Peter as you did tonight? I mean, was there always the bar between you?"

"Yeah, so we're gonna have to be a little more careful tonight. It's pretty late though, so everyone should be asleep. Not that I think anyone would be approaching you considering the fact that, by now, I'm sure everyone's heard there was an accident in the lab."

"Don't remind me." Bruce groaned. "Now I have to wait for Tony to rebuild before I can even restart my work."

The two walked to where Sam had parked, sliding into the seats before Bruce spoke again.

"Do you think I could ever get Peter to the lab? He said he wanted to work with me, and I could catch up a lot faster with a mind like his."

"I think you know the answer to that, Bruce. Peter's not going anywhere near the tower."

"Yeah." Bruce frowned. "It was just a thought."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you really ok with Wilson having brought Banner?" Jessica asked, turning around in the front seat to look back at Peter.

"Well, I don't have much of an option now, but yeah. Bruce wasn't a bad guy in my world. He's the only Avenger I don't have a problem with. He was just as much a victim as everyone else."

"You don't think he'll spill to the others?"

"Honestly, no. He helped me leave the tower that time, plus Sam told him the deal, and Sam's yet to rat me out."

"As far as you know." Luke said, looking the the rearview. "I'm not saying I don't trust Wilson. To tell the truth, I don't think he'd tell them, unless he didn't have a choice. Just be careful, kid."

The car was silent the rest of the way to the hospital. Each person lost in thought.

"Well, here we are kids." Jessica said as they pulled into the parking lot. "Is Rand here?"

"Yeah, he's how called. He was with Matt when Karen went into labor."

"He better not think he's holding the baby before me." Peter huffed, climbing out the back.

"Relax, 'Uncle Peter', we all know the pecking order." Jessica said, rolling her eyes. "But I'm after you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny met them as they got out the elevator.

"Karen's still in delivery. I've never seen Matt as serious as he was when Karen called, and that's saying something given his general demeanor when he's out." he grinned.

"Devil Dad Mode activated." Peter laughed.

"He's gonna be such a pain." Jessica grumbled.

"He's not hitting the field any time soon." Luke said, crossing his arms. "He wonn't be in any mental state to be of any use."

"No new parent-"

"No, Pete." Danny said, cutting him off. "I'm sure parents were protective in your world, but this is a completely different deal. Alphas are fiercely protective of their babies and omegas. Karen's comfort level with you and us was the only reason Matt was as calm as he was during Karen's pregnancy. He knew he could count on us. This though, this will be different. If Matt even lets us in the room."

Peter frowned. It seemed like he was constantly learning something new.

"So you mean, we came here for nothing?"

"No, we came here as support. Even if Matt doesn't let us in, knowing we were here will mean something to both him and Karen."

"I'll never get to hold my nephew!" Peter pouted, throwing himself into a chair and crossing his arms. "I didn't have any siblings, so this is as close as I'm gonna get."

"Relax, drama queen." Jessica said, falling into the seat next to him. "You'll get your chance eventually."

"This world is stupid. All these hormones are on my nerves."

"Oh?" Jessica smirked. "Just wait till you get back there and those omega instincts you try to keep buried kick in."

"What?"

"You telling us you haven't felt even the slightest bit overprotective of Karen?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, we all know you and her haven't exactly been getting along with her encouraging you to get to know the Avengers, and yet you still go over to Matt's apartment and sit with her whenever you're not working. Hell, you've even had her come stay the night at your place when Matt's gone out for a long night."

"So? Friends don't always have to get along you know." Peter scoffed.

"No, but don't sit there and deny you've gotten over a lot with Karen faster than normal during her pregnancy." Danny smirked.

"That has nothing to do with anything other than not wanting to stress her out!"

"Well, you didn't see any of us throwing the offer out." Jessica grinned smugly.

"None of that has anything to do with my stupid omega status. I would have done that regardless. Karen and Matt are my friends."

"Sure, Pete." Three voice said at once.

"I hate all of you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce fidgeted as they got closer to the tower.

"You gotta calm down man. At this rate your nerves will be picked up more than anything else." Sam warned.

"I'm just not in any mood to be discovered. I wanna be able to meet with Peter again."

"I've been doing this long enough, Bruce. Just do what I told you. I'll get us to the rooms, you go shower and rinse out your clothes." Sam soothed, not at all worried about being found out.

As he turned to pull into the parking garage, he slammed on the breaks. Standing in the open was a disappointed Steve and a guilty looking Tony.

"What are they doing here?" Bruce asked, eyes wide.

"Well, judging by Steve's face, I'm pretty sure you're about to get a rare Tony Stark apology."

"You think Steve will smell anything? I mean, could we be over estimating him and Bucky? I mean, Peter was wearing his blockers and there are a lotof other smells in the bar...Jessica! She sat at the table with us! If we smell like anyone, we'd smell like her!" Bruce said, panic leaking through.

"Hang on, Bruce."

"Wha-"

Bruce cut off as Sam threw the car into reverse and sped through the parking garage backwards.

"What are you doing!" Bruce shouted, gripping the dashboard with white knuckles.

"I think I'd like to joyride a little longer." Sam said, flying out the the garage and spinning out onto the street.

"There could have been people coming!"

"This is the back of the tower. If someone was coming through here I'd have questions." Sam replied, merging into traffic.

The two were silent as they calmed their racing hearts.

"Sam-"

The two jumped as Sams phone starting ringing, Steve's name flashing across the screen.

"What are we gonna tell them?" Bruce groaned.

"Easy." Sam smirked. "That you weren't quite ready to deal with Tony yet."

"Well, at least we have a chance of them believing that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony and Steve stood in the garage, stunned as they watched Sam peel out of the parking lot, backwards.

"You saw that too, right Capsicle?" Tony asked.

"Yeah." Steve replied, flabbergasted. "I didn't even know Sam could drive like that."

"So, does this mean I don't have to issue Brucie Bear that apology?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter smiled widely as he pushed open the door to Karen's room. From where he stood, he could see Matt hovering over Karen and the baby like the overprotective alpha he was.

"Hey, Peter." Karen smiled, looking up at him.

"Did you all fight for entry order?" Matt asked, lifting his head.

"They can fight." Peter shrugged. "But I was always gonna be first."

Karen chuckled, motioning for him to come closer.

Peter moved to the side of the bed, surprised by the lack of aggression from Matt that the others had warned him about.

"You're an omega Peter, you're non-threatening to an alpha and their omega and pup."

"I could be threatening." Peter pouted.

Matt scoffed.

"Please, Pete. You've damn near matched me in worry and protectiveness at times."

"I'm intimidation!"

"You're adorable. Now get over here and meet your nephew." Karen giggled.

"He's not an uncle." Matt said flatly.

"You're right." Peter nodded. "I'm not an uncle, I'm the uncle!"

Matt snorted before giving a smirk and turning back to Karen and the baby.

"So, what can I call this little guy?"

"Jack. Jack Murdock." Karen said, running a finger down the baby's chubby cheek.

Peter's eyes snapped up to Matt. He knew Matt's dad had went by the nickname "Jack" before being murdered by a sleazy mobster for refusing to take a dive during a boxing match.

At least, the Matt's dad of his world had.

Matt gave a small nod before running a finger down Jack's face

"Want to hold him?"

Peter looked up in surprise, eyes darting from Karen to Matt.

"Pick the pup up, Parker." Matt grunted.

Peter grinned as he carefully lifted Jack out of Karen's arms.

"Hey, Jack, I'm your Uncle Peter. You're lucky that I happen to have had the best of the best uncle role models to learn from. My Uncle Ben helped raise me. He's a big part of who I am today. I hope to be even half as good of an uncle to you as he was to me."

As Peter carried on talking to their pup, Karen watched them. Peter was a natural with kids apparently. She had a suspicion that it had nothing to do with his omega status either.

She let out a little breath as she made up her mind. She wouldn't push Peter any more after today. She had heard that he had started up a tentative friendship with Sam Wilson, so she decided to back off and let him come to her whenever he had questions. Peter was an adult, and she had a pup to take care of. She had to let go of worrying about Peter.

"Deep thoughts?" Matt asked her.

"Just thoughts." Karen smiled, leaning in to Matt's touches as he ran his fingers through her hair.

After a little while of talking to Jack as though he understood everything coming out of his mouth, Peter was forced to give the little pup back to Karen as he began to get a little fussy.

"Time to eat, huh?" Karen giggled, positioning herself.

"I'll leave you both to it." Peter said, backing towards the door to given Karen her privacy.

"Hey, Pete." Matt said, voice tight.

"Yeah?"

"Tell the others no more visitors tonight."

"You got it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So let me get this straight," Jessica started with narrowed eyes. "You get to go in and have baby time, but we are getting sent home?"

"I thought you were expecting that?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up."

"Relax Pete," Danny smiled, clapping him on the shoulder. "We did expect it."

"Matt can be salty even on the best days." Luke smirked.

"I'm gonna get my hands on that pup soon." Jessica nodded, face determined.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where are you going?" Bruce asked, watching as buildings went by.

"I have no idea." Sam sighed. "I was just driving."

"How long should we stay away you think?"

"Well, considering the state of the lab, Tony's got no choice but to actually sleep tonight, so probably not much longer."

Bruce's head fell back against the headrest as Sam turned down a road and started making the return trip towards the tower. As frustrating as have to avoid Tony as Steve was, Bruce wouldn't deny he was happy to have gotten to talk to Peter. There was so much he wanted to ask, but he didn't know what to say and not say. There were a few times he had caught Peter looking at him as though he weren't really seeing him.

"Thinking hard doc?" Sam grinned.

"What happened to me in Peter's world?"

Silence filled the car as Bruce waited.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just the way Peter acted sometimes when I talked."

Sam sighed and rubbed his chin.

"Peter...he uh....he has an extremely soft spot for you...maybe even more than the copies of me and Bucky, and they were his best friends!"

"Why?"

"He felt sorry for you."

Bruce blinked in surprise as Sam gripped the steering wheel.

"What made him feel sorry for the me of his world?"

"He said.....he said you weren't really with the Avengers. He said they kept you prisoner, only letting you out when they needed Hulk. He respected your research and hated what they did to you."

Bruce was quiet as he turned to watch the city pass. The Bruce of Peter's world had had to live his ultimate fear. Being locked up and having Hulk be let loose like a monster had always been something in the back of his mind, but never something he would have thought the Avengers would do.

"Look, Bruce," Sam started. "I want you to know, that's never gonna hap-"

"I know." Bruce smiled tightly. "I do know, but I can't help thinking about how that Bruce must have felt."

"Yeah. The more I learn, the more I'm glad Peter did what he did. Having gotten to talk to him, I do hate the idea of him having not survived, but those copies couldn't continue on like that."

"I'm wondering what happened to send Peter here though." Bruce frowned. "A bomb shouldn't have tossed him into another universe."

"Bruce, with all that we've seen, I'm not above believing anything."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natasha raised as eyebrow as she stepped into the kitchen the next morning. Tony was slumped over the bar countertop while Steve rummaged around, slowly gathering supplies for breakfast.

"Rough night?"

"Sam wouldn't let me talk to Bruce! They were gone all night. They even left the tower again when they saw me and Cap waiting on them in the parking garage."

"I'd avoid you to if you set my research back by four years." Natasha snorted. "Maybe Bruce just didn't want to hear your apology so Sam didn't give you the chance."

"Since when does Brucie Bear go out?" Tony huffed.

"Hmm, a friend helping out a friend....you're right, it's suspicious as hell." Natasha deadpanned.

"I wonder where Sam took him." Steve said, cracking eggs into a pan. "If Bruce enjoyed it, maybe we should all go."

"Go where?" Bucky asked, voice deep and raspy from sleep.

"Where ever Sam took Bruce last night after Tony blew the lab." Natasha smirked.

"Yes. It was a mighty explosion." Thor nodded, following Bucky into the kitchen.

"I get it. I messed up. For the record though, I was working on a gift for Peter." Tony scowled. "I don't see any of you doing anything to impress our headstrong omega."

No one replied.

"So......did uh....did you lose your work?" Steve asked with false casualty.

Tony looked at the super soldier flatly.

"Yes, Steve. Yes I did."

"It is clear that it was for the best then." Thor smiled, patting Tony on the back as he sat down next to him. "We can't have you blowing up our perfect little mate, now can we?"

Tony growled as Thor continued to smile, oblivious to the man's ire.

Natasha and Bucky tried to hide their smirks as they moved around the kitchen.

"Well then Goldilocks, what are your plans to help us woo our spider?" Tony ground out.

"Easy!" Thor smiled. "I shall take a more direct approach."

"We were specifically told not to do that, Thor." Steve frowned, looking up from where he was making eggs.

"Yes, but I do not plan to do more than make my intentions towards him known. You see, I simply wish to let him know of my respect and desire to earn his trust and affection. As a royal of Asgard, it is important to learn how to speak to people diplomatically. "

"Oh, I see that going over splendidly." Tony rolled his eyes before freezing. "You know what, let me know when you decide to do this. I'd just love to be there."

"Very well friend! I shall let you know once I have spoken to Ka-"

"Good luck with that." Sam chuckled, walking in and going to the refrigerator. "Karen had baby Murdock last night. You guys won't be getting anywhere near her any time soon."

"How do you know that?" Natasha asked, studying Sam closely.

Sam, despite his efforts to remain passive, flinched at her tone.

"You know. Word gets around the hero community."

"Did you hear this from wherever you took Bruce last night?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing him arms.

"Look," Sam huffed. "I took Bruce out last night to get him away from Fire Marshall Bill over there. We went to a small bar and ran into Jessica Jones and she got the call while talking to us. That's how I know."

"Well, we should at least send over a gift." Steve said, turning from the stove and scooping out eggs and bacon onto plates.

"You're like the mother of this team Rogers." Tony said blandly. "Are you sure you're an alpha?"

"You've never complained before." Steve challenged.

"Nope. No way. Not happening in front of the food." Sam glared, grabbing two plates and stomping out of the alpha filled kitchen.

"FRIDAY, take me to Bruce."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam tried to hold back his laugh as a disgruntled Bruce Banner stood in the doorway of his room. The man's sleep clothes were rumpled and crooked. His hard stuck up in various directions and there were bags under his eyes.

"Shut-up."

Sam's laugh burst out as Bruce snatched the plate of food out his hand and moved into his room.

"Hey, be grateful you didn't have to go down there and get that."

"Why?"

"They were all in the kitchen, well, minus Clint."

Bruce frowned, looking over at the clock.

"It's time for breakfast. He doesn't miss breakfast."

"No I don't, so share."

Sam and Bruce jumped as the archer tumbled out the vent to Bruce's floor.

"The hell man?" Sam shouted.

"I was hoping to hear where you two went last night!" Clint defended.

"I just took Bruce out to get him away from Tony!"

"You could have invited me! Maybe I wanted to get away from Tony too."

"Why would you want to get away from Tony?" Bruce asked blankly.

"........"

"So....no reason."

"Come on! We're all betas here! We should stick together! I can't handle the Mopey Alpha Force."

Sam and Bruce sighed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter stretched, back cracking from where he had spent the last few hours bent over his desk. Various disassembled electronics littered his room.

"Alright, let's see if I got it."

Slipping his mask on, he waited.

A few seconds later, his lenses filled with light as the screens in the lenses began to provide digital readouts of various things he looked at.

"So far so good." Peter mumbled before taking a deep breath.

"GWEN?"

"Hello, Peter. It is nice to finally get to talk with you."

Peter's face broke out into a wide grins as a soothing voice filled his ears.

It had worked.

His own AI.

"How do you feel?"

"That's a rather silly question, Peter. I can't feel anything. You should know this."

Peter's jaw dropped.

"Did I really program you with that much sass?"

"It appears that way....possibly. I have also been learning during the course of my construction. You surround yourself with a rather sarcastic crowd, Peter. Personally, I think I'm going to fit in just fine."

"Oh come on GWEN, you're supposed to be my support! You're supposed to be nice to me!" Peter pouted.

"If it makes you feel better, I love you, Peter."

It was odd that he could practically hear the smile in her voice.

"Thanks GWEN. I love you too." he chuckled.

"Are you planning to go out tonight? If you are, you should get some sleep. You've been working since you got back from the hospital."

"Yeah, I was pumped after meeting Jack plus, I'm anxious for our first date night." Peter grinned. " I'm gonna download some maps into your system so you can help me around the city. In the meantime, I'm gonna go shower then crash. No work today."

GWEN was silent as he removed his mask and shook out his hair. Placing it on his desk, he picked up his phone.

"GWEN?"

"Fully connected here as well Peter. Transfer between suit and phone was flawless. I'm rather proud."

Peter laughed, setting his phone back down the desk and plugging it into his computer.

"Alright GWEN, access the map files and download them. I'll be back."

GWEN didn't respond as Peter gathered his clothes and made his way toward the bathroom. He hadn't told anyone he had been working on an AI. He wasn't sure he was even going to be able to do it, so he didn't want to open himself up for interrogations for no reason.

Now though, now it was different.

GWEN was fully operational.

Prior to her completion, her infant programming had been hiding in his phone, learning as he went to the best of her constantly developing coding. This was her first verbal interaction and everything seemed to be running smoothly. Maybe he could integrate her into more things.

As loath as he was to admit it, he couldn't deny Tony Stark had made amazing use of his own AI. His short time at the tower proved the AI controlled a lot of things there. Bruce had been able to let him out with a simple verbal command. Maybe he could find a way to put GWEN into his own apartment. Having an all seeing AI guarding him wouldn't be such as bad idea. It didn't much matter that he was more than capable of taking care of himself, being an unmated omega all alone only seemed to invite trouble.

Even more loathsome, was the annoying and tiny voice in the back of his head wishing to be able to go to Avengers' Tower and actually pick Tony Stark's brain about A.Is.

Peter scoffed as the warm water washed over him and he smothered out the voice. This world, while it had so many things he was happy with, there were many things he wasn't.

Being an omega came with so many limitations. Despite his capabilities, his strength and intelligence, neither of which he could or was allowed to display, the mere label of 'omega' meant more than anything.

Sure, omegas were able to hold down jobs, the best paying being OBGYN's since that was the only medical position society deemed appropriate for omegas, and oddly enough, omega's alone. Still, those omegas that took on the job, weren't well favored as they were also viewed as "unfit" companions.

Honestly, being an omega in the work industry was just weird as hell. You can work, but your options are limited. You can work, but certain jobs cause you problems. You can work, just take whatever job is the most favorable for flying under the radar.

Thanks to the omegas at Xavier's for their generous donations of the most powerful blockers to exist. Still, working for Luke and Jessica were the only real places that he felt comfortable. He was able to hide his second gender and they sure as shit didn't care. They paid, and they paid under the table to avoid any official paperwork trail. An omega working in a bar or doing detective work was unheard of!

Sighing, he got to the shower and toweled off, slipping into some sweatpants and a t-shirt before heading to the small kitchen. His apartment was far from extravagant. It was a small, one bedroom flat. Danny had helped him get it, paying the deposit and first three months rent while Luke and Jessica got him settled into his new positions. He had tried to deny Danny's help, but the man had been firm and unrelenting, causing Peter to swear to pay him back, something Danny had thought hysterical.

Making quick work of a ham and cheese sandwich, Peter walked back to his room, face planting onto the bed.

"Map files are uploaded, Peter. Get some rest."

Peter smiled before sleep took him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Karen looked up from where she was feeding Jack and smirked.

"You're fidgeting dear."

Matt huffed before standing and moving to her side.

"I don't 'fidget'."

"You fidget almost as much a Peter."

"No one could fidget anywhere near as much as Peter."

Karen chuckled, before looking out the window.

"I think I'm going to apologize to him."

Matt paused, just letting her think.

"I've been to pushy. I know his history with his Avengers, and I still pushed him to meet the ones here. I just worry about him. He's an unmated omega out in a world where being that very thing can be such a hassle. He's so independent that he'd have so many problems should those super blockers ever fail. Not to mention he's not even on suppressants because we don't know why he's not showing signs of typical omega cycles of heats. He's been here long enough to have had at least one."

Matt sighed, pulling up a chair to sit next to the bed.

"Your concern is valid, Peter just doesn't want it. Still, he needs a little push to get to know them. Whether he wants to acknowledge them as his alphas or not, he needs to, at least, be able to fight along side them without the distraction of constantly fearing them turning on us. We fight together often enough for that to be something he should work on."

"He wouldn't like hearing that any more than hearing me talk about his omega needs." Karen chuckled.

"I don't care." Matt replied. "His attention is split during fights. It makes him dangerous to himself and us."

Karen was silent as she continued to feed their pup.

"Well, what do you propose?"

"Right now, nothing. Approaching Peter out of the blue about it is only asking for trouble. It's something that needs to be lead up to."

"Just be careful. I'm on shaking ground with him. He's been caring towards me because of my pregnancy, but I know there's an annoyance there. Still, I think it's an easy to repair relationship once I tell him I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Matt chuckled. "He's to good hearted not to accept a sincere apology."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thor took a breath. Being the God of Thunder, he rarely ever had any reason to feel nervous. Still, standing outside Jessica Jones' detective agency, he felt his nerves tingle.

Maybe he should have went to Danny or Luke. In hindsight, Jessica was most definitely the wrong choice. However, he was already here and it was important he be able to request a meeting with his omega, even if he had a chaperone during it.

Lifting his hand hesitantly, he went to knock on her door when a familiar thwip reached his ears.

Looking up, Thor watched as a very welcoming sight of blue and red swung overhead. He felt his face heat as he watched Peter somersault through the air with a loud 'whoop'. His omega's obvious happiness was a wonderful sound to his ears.

He watched until Peter swung out of sight and ran his hand down his face. To chase after him would only result in anger and aggression from the hero, but to not approach him at all only lengthened the lack of interaction and possible relationship building he and the other alphas wanted to do.

Why did the Avengers of Peter's world have to be such dishonorable and repulsive people?

"Can I help you, Captain Thunderpants?"

Thor startled as he turned to see a smirking Jessica Jones leaning against her open door frame.

"Oh, yes." Thor said, straightening himself. "I wish to speak with you."

"This wouldn't be about my favorite arachnid, would it? Don't tell him I called him that though, or I'll kill you."

"As a matter of fact, it would."

Jessica grinned mischievously as she motioned for him to come in.

"Better make it quick big guy. No guarantee Spider-Baby won't drop in, and I can't imagine he'd be overly excited to see you here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter felt the adrenaline pumping through him. So far, GWEN had been operating perfectly. Her downloaded mapping system was working excellently, making quick work of getting to any crimes he picked up through the hacked police feed.

"You're a work of art GWEN."

"Are you seriously praising yourself, Peter?"

"Only marginally." Peter laughed. "I programed you to be self learning. I'm only hold so much responsibility for your amazingness."

"I'm not fully convinced this isn't you just bragging to yourself."

Peter just continued to laugh as he dove off the roof of the building he was on.

"No, patting myself on the back is what I'm really about to do. I wanna show you off. We gotta go visit someone."

"Ms. Jones is the closest of your approved contacts."

"I'll only feel a bit bad that Matt isn't who you'll meet first."

"I don't think meeting me is something he would be overly interested in right now."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Peter chuckled. "Alright GWEN, let's go pay my 'cousin' a visit."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I have to say, choosing to wear your blockers is a very good start, High Voltage." Jessica said, throwing herself into a chair and snatching a bottle off the end table.

"I want to assure him I mean no harm."

"You do realize that'll take more than a few blockers, right?"

Thor frowned and sighed, settling into another chair.

"I am aware. Our dishonorable counterparts have done us a great disservice."

"Well, not entirely." Jessica shrugged. "I mean, they are the reason he's here so....."

"We're grateful he's here, we just don't like the circumstances of it."

"Understandable. Look, I'm the last person you should have come to for this. I'm not an omega, so I can't help you there. I also enjoy drama, so I'm salivating at all your struggles." Jessica threw him a wicked grin.

"That is both unsettling and disheartening." Thor grimaced.

Jessica chuckled, taking a swig from her bottle.

"Look, I get it, Karen is currently off limits. I also get that considering she's with Matt, there's no telling just how long she'll be unavailable, but I seriously can't help you."

Thor sighed again, throwing his head back and looking at the ceiling.

"We worry about his health."

"So does Karen, but he seems to be doing fine. If you didn't know him, you wouldn't even be able to tell he was an omega. Those super strength blockers he got from the wonder bunch and Xavier's are amazing."

Thor didn't reply. While they had all caught on to the fact that Peter's scent seemed nonexistent, that had had no idea why. It had begun to scare them. It was a relief to find out his scent was just completely muffled.

"Tell you what Thunder God, I'll offer you a question. Have any of you tried just making yourself available?"

Thor raised an eyebrow in response.

"Like, going out at night and just sitting on random rooftops? Not pursuing him, just out and stationary."

"I hardly think that would matter. He never makes any attempt to approach us when there is a crowd, why would he do it alone?"

"Peter's a strange guy like that. Alone, he may have the security of being able to take you down, because, ya know, he can."

"Stark seeks to try to gain his attention through a gift."

"......a gift? Look, I know that a typical omega trait is to enjoy their alphas spoiling them, but Pete's not like that. Unless.....unless Stark's making some kind of fancy tech for him." Jessica said, rolling her eyes. "Pete's a real technology whore."

"Do not speak of my omega that way!" Thor roared, jumping up from his chair to tower over Jessica.

Jessica raised an eyebrow and went to open her mouth in challenge when the door to her office flew off the hinges and Thor slammed into the wall. Groaning, the god struggled to his feet, rubbing the back of his head. Before he could orient himself, a fist slammed into his face.

"You should have stayed down!"

"Peter!" Jessica shouted, jumping up.

"I told you! I told you! They were just waiting!" Peter growled, throwing another punch.

"Peter! Stop! It's not what you think! He wasn't gonna hurt me!"

"Stop lying! It's only one of them! We can take him!"

"Peter!"

Peter gasped as Jessica's fist slammed into his cheek, knocking him back. Moving in front of the rising Thor, she turned to face that stunned vigilante.

"And I told you, it wasn't what you thought. He got mad because he thought I insulted you."

"So? That doesn't give him any right to be threatening towards you!'

"It's fine!"

Thor wisely watched in silence as the two friends faced off. He hadn't actually meant any harm to Jessica, but he knew Peter was protective of all his friends. If he had known there was a chance Peter would show up here, he would definitely have made sure not to overreact to Jessica's, he can admit, harmless joke. It was just so hard to hear anyone speak of Peter with such a casual air when they were so far from being able to.

He took in a breath when Peter ripped off his mask. His mask mused hair stood up at odd angles, and his face was flush with emotions. The pretty honey brown eyes were dark with betrayal and anger.

"Move, Jess. I'm gonna deal with this asshole once and for all!"

"Sorry, Pete, but you'll have to go through me to do it."

Peter froze, the color draining from his face. He knew from her posture, Jessica wasn't joking. She was actually willing to fight him to keep him from going after the Avenger.

"Jess......"

"You have to understand, Peter. This isn't your world and he's not your enemy. He's an ally."

Peter's eyes darted between Jessica and Thor before sadness replaced everything. Shoulders slumping, Peter pulled his mask back on, and left.

Once he was gone, Thor guiltily looked at Jessica's gloomy face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you such stress."

"It's ok." Jessica sighed, closing her eyes and running her hand down her face. "Pete's got a lot he needs to work on. I don't agree with Karen's methods, but she's honestly been trying more than the rest of us to get through to Peter. We've all taken the approach of just letting Peter see us interacting with you guys and hoping that seeing how comfortable everyone is, that that would eventually be enough."

"Perhaps I should have let him fight me."

"Are you serious?" Jessica shouted, turning on him. "None of you have seen how strong he really is!"

"But if I had let him fight me, I could have shown him how I don't mean any harm."

"You mean, let him beat the crap out of you?" Jessica scoffed.

"Yes. If I truly meant him harm, I would never just allow him to do that."

Jessica let out a breath as she studied Thor's face.

"There's no guarantee that would work. Peter could just kill you instead of taking your unwillingness to hurt him into consideration."

The two were silent for a while, both thinking over what had happened.

"I think I may have made things worse for the rest of us." Thor frowned, lowering his head.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Jessica shrugged. "He may be speaking to me for a little while though."

"I'm sorry."

"Eh. It's fine. I've been through worse than this. I hate it, sure, but I'm not going to dwell on it. That's Karen's department, and by extension, Matt's. Matt's kind of Peter's caretaker anyway since he's who he went to first."

"I should head home." Thor said, heading to the door.

"Why not do what I told you and hang out on a rooftop somewhere? Who knows, maybe he'll show up for that fight."

He nodded before leaving.

Jessica watched before her anger suddenly flared. Running out the door, she screamed up at the sky, knowing there was a good chance her target would hear.

"Hey! You're gonna pay to have my door fixed, cousin! You asshole!"

#LULY #let us love you #Starker #spidershield #winterspider #Peter Parker/Tony Stark #peter parker/thor #Peter Parker/Natasha Romanoff #Peter Parker/Steve Rogers #Peter Parker/Bucky Barnes #a/b/o dynamics

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lune-hime · 3 years

Text

Garden of Tulips (Levi/Reader) Tea Time #3

~Click me for more chapters~

“What did it look like?”

“Hmm?” Levi looked up from his place next to your sleeping form. “The titan that tried to snack on my darling granddaughter.” “Ugly as fuck.” “Aren’t they all?”

Levi recounts memories of the reader and their shared life together while she recovers from a serious injury.

!!WARNINGS!! - Violence, gore, smut, wholesome content ;)

So these little Tea Times were written as little filler-memory chapters to place in between the main story line.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fever

↞♞♘↠

Today was not one of your best days, physically or mentally. It had downpoured that morning, leaving the training grounds coated in slippery rivers of mud. Despite the less than ideal conditions, Pixis had insisted that the cadets still complete their daily training tasks. Equally as unideal was the remnants of a fever that still clung to your fatigued form. You were not exempt from training, however, as the onsite nurse had given you the okay for physical activity despite your joints still aching and sporadic chills. You sloshed through the mud, trying to distract yourself from the rapid pounding of your head against your skill as you jogged.

And just as you started feeling optimistic about your exercise, your foot caught in a deep trench of slush and twisted your ankle so awkwardly it sent you flying into the mud. Your face stung from the impact and the gritty taste of dirt coated your lips. The footsteps of other cadets against the wet ground sounded like thunder against your ears as they spared but a passing glance to your fallen form. You coughed and sat up, attempting to regain what sickly dignity you had left when a sharp pain in your ankle sent freezing jolts throughout your body.

“Cadet, get your ass up and finish the run. A little rain shouldn’t stop you.” A barbed voice cut through the dreary haze. You knew that voice only from afar; overheard from distant chatter or through the horrifying tales told by your fellow cadets. And now the famed captain was standing above you, vibrant pupils of ice regarding you through curtains of shadow.

“I can’t sir.” You whimpered. Damn, you hated sounding so weak. But the throbbing of your head was like the bashing of an army of percussionists about to herniate out of your skull and while your ankle was not sprained, you reckoned it would be if you kept pushing it.

“Yes you can.” The captain articulated every syllable so crisply that each word felt like it was lodging you further to the cold ground.

You struggled to gather yourself when a wave of nausea pulsed up your throat from the whiplash you gave yourself from flailing too quickly to appease his orders.

The captain huffed in disbelief when you still weren’t standing. He had seen plenty of cadets fake sickness or injuries to get their lazy asses out of the morning run.

“You think you can get out of the rest of the exercise just because you stumbled and got your uniform dirty? I think not, brat.” He scoffed, poking you with his boot. You were mortified at his insults and could only sit there in silence as your fever assaulted your body at all angles.

“What happens when you fall out there, huh?” He spat. He knelt down and roughly grabbed at your arm to lift you up. You felt like a rag doll caught in his forceful grip as you felt the vomit rearing its anguished head but not yet charging out.

“The only person you can count on picking yourself up is you.” The captain added sternly and craned his neck to force your lolling head to make eye contact with him.

You were about to respond when a pair of arms embraced you from behind. A noise of relief escaped your lips when your body found a steady source of support. You rolled your head back onto their shoulder to see the face of your roommate Mikasa as she gazed thorns at the captain.

“Captain, she's been sick! She clearly can’t run in this condition.” Mikasa exclaimed, adjusting you in her hold when she felt you slipping. You felt too woozy to watch the electric scene unfold before you, but you could feel the kinetic jolts of defensiveness bouncing between their locked eyes. After what felt like an eternity on your end, he nodded in approval.

Too weak to shower, Mikasa had dropped you off at your shared quarters after having you inspected by a nurse. Having to return to her duties she was anxious about leaving you alone. You assured her that you would be fine and that this bed is much nicer than a face full of mud and a boot in the face.

Your mishap with the captain had spread as gossip always does at HQ and as you expected the nosiest of the cadets was at the foot of your bed before you could even reflect on all that had happened.

“I’m going to wring his neck with that stupid, tiny, cravat of his.” Jean seethed as he dipped the washcloth in the bowl. He mumbled about how the nurse had missed so much of the mud that still caked your flushed exterior. Jean’s delicate strokes of cool cloth felt heavenly as it moved over your exposed skin.

“Not if I do it first.” You replied weakly. Now that your body had time to equilibrate, the anger for the way you were treated and the self pity you felt for not being stronger began bubbling to the surface. Despite his irritation, Jean carefully took your chin between his thumb and forefinger and gingerly cleaned your face.

“But you and I both know we are no match for him. Even if we are taller.” You huffed bitterly. Jean rolled his eyes and nodded in resentment.

“Yeah, he’s got too much strength in that tiny body.”

“It's all in the thighs.” Your disdained muffle made Jean chuckle.

A moment passed of comfortable silence where only the soft droplets of water against skin and cloth were heard.

“I promised Oma I would watch out for you, Y/N.” Jean said in a small voice, toying with his bottom lip in insecurity. He soaked the cloth in water once more, this time going to clean your neck.

“That’s kind of hard to do when you’re always tripping over yourself after every girl we train with.” You tried to lighten the mood, sighing when the sweet cooling sensation came back.

“Yeah, well that girl today was you unfortunately.” He retorted. “It would be better if we were on the same training schedule.”

You and Jean were in separate training squadrons and more often than not didn’t see one another besides meals and downtime. You had a sneaking suspicion that you two were assigned separate schedules because of your friendship, seeing as your closeness could be a distraction to training.

“Seriously, though, I don’t intend on breaking my promise. Even if I’m an ass most of the time.” He promised with a sincerity you rarely heard from him. It was a seriousness that only those closest to him knew behind his arrogant shield.

You smiled up affectionately at him and wondered how you got so lucky with a best friend like him. Sure he was stupid, headstrong, acted before he thought, and picked stupid fights with people. But he was also caring, sensitive, and stronger than he knew. The two of you were basically siblings at this point and you would do anything for him.

Jean looked to you when you didn’t reply and his breath hitched in his throat at the love within your eyes. He blushed and narrowed his eyes in awkward inquisition. He was never one for the mushy-gushy.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked with feigned disgust as he wiped your collarbone.

“Just thinking about how you’re my ass, Jeanie.” You remarked and ruffled his hair with what strength you had. Your hand was a bit floppy with exhaustion and ended up almost poking him in the eye. He recoiled with a sputter and lightly placed your hand back at your side.

“Ew, please don’t ever say that again.”

Graduation

↞♞♘↠

“I feel like my baby is graduating!! Is this what being a mother feels like?” Hange wailed and sniffled into your hair. The moment you had stepped off of the stage with your new badges she had caged you into a breath-stealing bear hug.

“You’re going to pay for all my training equipment then right, Mom?” You teased into her shoulder and her sniffling immediately ceased.

“Little sister it is then.” She said and pulled you outward so she could look at you. Her hands squeezed your shoulders gently.

“Nonetheless, I’m so proud of you!” She proclaimed affectionately.

“Thank you, Hange. That means a lot to me. I couldn’t have gotten this far without a squad leader as extraordinary as you.” Your confession was paired with a warm smile that sent Hange into a sputtering mess once again.

“HOW DID YOU GET SO SWEET? I’m not going to lie, I’m going to miss being your squad leader.” She sighed and pinched your cheeks. “It forced you to spend time with me.”

“I’m still going to be spending time with you, I’m on the titan bio-team remember?” You giggled as her pinching intensified and you swatted her hands away.

“That’s true. I’m just going to have to get used to calling you squad leader Y/N.” She playfully saluted and you shook your head fondly.

“Yeah you and me both.”

“Now not only have you graduated in rank, but you’ve also graduated to the big-kid’s table.” Hange winked at you and your breath hitched.

Oh.

Your eyes darted over to the group of seasoned soldiers walking your way. They fell first to Erwin who was paced a few steps ahead, then to the lumbering tree that was Mike, and then to the shorter but no less intimidating captain next to him.

Looks like your teatime acquaintance would now be one of your new lunch buddies.

Little Friend

↞♞♘↠

"Oh by the goddess what on earth happened, Y/N?” Oma called. Upon seeing her dirt lathered 6 year old in the doorway she lept from her armchair and trotted over. You were the embodiment of an ice cream bar; a thick coating of mud covered every thread of your baby blue ruffled dress and every inch of your exposed skin. Your new Mary janes were caked with dried clotted earth and pieces of your curled hair was crustily sticking up with muck. Salty tears left streaks that exposed your true form underneath your outer shell. You took in a shaky exhale.

“J-Jeanie called him ugly.” You choked back a sob as you explained. Your grandmother knitted her eyebrows and crouched down to your level. She gently turned you around to examine her little mud pie for any injuries or scrapes.

“Who is Jeanie insulting?” She inquired in concern. She saw no one but yourself and you hadn’t said you were going to be playing with any other kids besides Jean today. Oma thought after serving in the garrison that nothing could surprise her. But when you reached into your left dress pocket with both hands and carefully pulled out a dark green, lopsided circular object she was proven wrong. You held it out with both arms fully extended and violently sniffed.

“PUDDLE.” You wailed. Your body shook from your childish sobs and caused the object in your hands to croak in disturbance. Oma deadpanned, face to face with the slimy creature.

“Why are you crying so much over a frog, my dear?” She blinked. You squinted your eyes a little to fight the incoming tears her words brought.

“His name is Puddle!” You scolded her with a childish anger.

“I apologize. Yes, Puddle.” She cooed, brushing the sticky pieces of hair out of your slobbery face and rubbing your cheek gently.

“Jeanie called him ugly and, and then t-tried to take him from me and-” You swallowed hard, tears freely streaming down your face and nose running. You held the frog gingerly to your chest and covered the spots where it’s ears would be located with your fingers.

“Said that he would eat him.” You whispered, bottom lip quivering uncontrollably. Oma huffed in disbelief at the whole situation but a warm smile graced her hardened features when you began stroking the creature’s head lovingly.

“How dare he call this beautiful creature ugly. That boy is-” Oma started.

“STUPID, HE’S SO STUPID.” You interjected, crying harder now. Oma brought you to her chest and let you get the rest of your waterworks out into her shoulder while she patted your back comfortingly. Puddle’s croaks were muffled by your embrace.

“Yes he sure is, darling. Well, we most certainly will not eat him. Shall we find a place to keep him so Jeanie can’t hurt him?” Your grandmother proposed sweetly and pulled you at arms length to free poor Puddle from his human hug-prison. She booped you on the nose with her finger and you giggled, the remnants of your sadness fading away at the idea of keeping your new friend. You started brightly bouncing up and down like you were a frog yourself.

“Thank you Oma!”

“Alright, come let’s go see what we can find.” She got to her feet and straightened out her dress before leading you into the parlor to find a suitable home for your new pet.

“Why did you name him Puddle?” She asked in idle curiosity. You seemed very passionate about that name.

“He lived in a puddle, that’s why his name is Puddle.” You stated as if it was the most simple law of the universe. She turned back from her rummaging to see you holding Puddle above your head and twirling slowly. You would lower it every so often to give it an Eskimo kiss and then return to your little dance.

Oma would never tire of seeing that childhood innocence and happy grin on your face.

#levi #levi x reader #LEVI ACKERMAN #AoT #aot imagine #aot x reader #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #attack on titan fanfiction #snk x reader #snk #hange zoe #jean kirschstein #bisexual jean #levi/reader

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lokislittlesigyn · 3 years

Text

A Day’s Work - Pt.1

Hi everyone!! This is an older fic I started a while ago and was pretty happy with. It seemed a good opportunity to get started with posting things. Basically, this is a random au (may simply classify silly/nonsense fics into a separate au category of their own) based around Marvel, focusing on Loki and my own interpretation/characterization of his wife Sigyn. hence... you know, my blog name and pfp and. yeah, you get the picture.

Pairing: Loki / Sigyn (basically an oc based off the marvel/myth namesake)

Warnings: The Collector being creepy (as usual), some capture but don’t fret! It’s short-lived.

Summary: The Guardians of The Galaxy have been, well, guarding the galaxy on their own time. But when a handsome reward for the safe return of an Asgardian princess is released, they may get more adventure than they bargained for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Peter, you're an idiot." Gamora took a seat in the Milano’s cockpit, releasing a loud sigh.

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Peter turned the ship, and within seconds the were on their way to Xandar. "It's not my fault that guy had literally the ugliest mug in the galaxy."

"He was not carrying a mug," Drax piped up from behind them, furrowing his brow at Peter.

"Face, then! Ugliest face."

"I disagree." Drax settled back into his seat. "You have the ugliest face."

"I am Groot."

Peter glared over his shoulder. "If you don't cut it out, I swear I will turn this spaceship around." Soon, the bunch of misfits reached Xandar. Landed, and took the opportunity to roam the city - partly in search for unclaimed bounties.

"Okay, since we haven't had the best luck under Quill's leadership lately, I’m electing myself as new leader of the group," Rocket smirked, holding a tiny baby Groot on his shoulder.

"Hey!" Peter huffed, "That Sakaarian was just one guy. One dude out of the whole universe. Every one of us has had a - a slight disagreement, over a keg of beer."

"I am Groot."

"Okay, except you. But you don't count."

"I am Groot!"

"All right fine, you count!"

Gamora rolled her eyes, walking over to a large, white wall, containing a screen that was shifting between advertisements. "Hey, come look at this." She put her hand up, stilling the screen.

Peter furrowed his brow, his hands on his hips. "Reward for the safe capture and return of an.. Asgardian? Asgardian princess?"

Rocket whistled. "Gorgeous."

"Yeah, I guess she's pretty-"

"I was talkin' about the money."

Peter's eyes settled on the bounty price, then widened. He grinned. "How do you guys feel about a rescue mission?" ~~~~ Sigyn awoke with a pounding headache. She blinked. Looked down at her bound hands. Great...

It was dark, but in the further reaches of the shadows she could make out the edges of rusty metal walls. In front of her stood an equally-rusted cell door. Past it, another cell stood, identical if not for the fact it was empty. She stood, steadying herself against the wall. Voices came from down the hall.

"...won't remember anything. I gave her a double dose."

"Dunno, Asgardians are tough..."

"Not this one."

Two men stepped in front of her cell. Each wore patchy, well-worn clothes. One looked tanned and scruffy, the other had blue skin marred with scars.

"Oh look, she's awake," The blue one chuckled.

Sigyn stepped back, eyeing both of them. "Where am I?"

"That's not much'a your business, is it?" The man glared at her.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Knowhere." He smirked.

She blinked. "What... You must be taking me somewhere."

He nodded. "Knowhere. Hang tight, princess." Both men walked off, leaving her alone. She huffed, eyeing the door... Then noticed the clothing she had on. Interwoven leather and cloth, bits of metal, armored bracers on her forearms... Nothing like what those men wore.

What was going on?

She sat back down, defeated. Her headache became overwhelming, throbbing... She placed her head in her hands. ~~~~ Meanwhile, onboard the Milano, Rocket stepped over to a table in the center of the common area. "Now, behold." Rocket set a metal object that looked haphazardly thrown-together on the table. "A genuine Asgardian tracking device. Call it an A-T-D."

"You found a way to track Asgardians?" Peter raised his brows, arms crossed.

"Well yeah, why'd you think I called it an Asgardian tracking device?"

"I am Groot."

"Exactly! The nerve of some people!"

Peter rolled his eyes. Gamora spoke up. "How does it track them?"

"Now that is a good question." Rocket pressed a button on the side of the device. It started beeping slowly. "I won't reveal all my secrets, but it basically traces Asgardian DNA."

"Where did you get Asgardian DNA?"

Rocket grinned. "I have my ways."

"So we'll follow your tracker until we find the princess, grab her, maybe shoot some guys, and take her back to Asgard safe and sound?" Peter shifted his weight.

"That's the plan."

"..I love it. Good work, Rocket."

"Well, I am the resident genius." ~~~~ Soon, the Guardians reached Knowhere to the tune of Drax’s snoring, the tracker’s continuous beeping, and Suspicious Minds playing softly.

The tracking device released another loud, long bloop before returning to its rhythmic beeping - unfortunately, out of sync with the music.

"That toaster of yours better work," Peter huffed.

"I told you, Quill, it's already working. It's brought us this far, hasn't it?"

"We'll see. Asgardians are usually easy to spot anyway," Gamora stood, walking to the front of the cockpit. "They're loud and overbearing. Proud."

"Yeah but they've got a full medieval look, right? Armor and everything?"

"Yes, usually."

"So we're looking for a ren faire princess. Got it."

Rocket and Gamora exchanged a confused look. She shrugged.

The Milano landed, and the Guardians - after waking up Drax - began their search. Peter lead the way.

"All right, we should stick together. Remember what happened last time we came here."

"You ruined our chance at selling the Orb?" Rocket smirked.

"Okay, first of all, that wasn't entirely my fault." Peter huffed, glancing at Gamora. "Where should we start..?"

"I think we should follow the tracker," Gamora glanced around, "And keep an eye out for anything sapphire. Asgardians like wearing distinct colors - from her picture, it looks like sapphire is hers."

"Right."

"Hey, I got something!" Rocket held up the tracker, which had begun beeping faster. "This way!" He scampered off, the team in tow.

They reached the same bar they'd visited before,when waiting to meet the Collector.

"Geez, this thing is going crazy..."

"Rocket." Gamora said.

"I mean it's really losing its mind. Maybe I should've-"

"Rocket!" Gamora pointed to the betting table.

There, on the other side, the princess was being lead to the Collector's back room.

"...Oh."

~~~~

The two men from before lead Sigyn through a strange, crowded room, past droves of cheering spectators. What was going on? She tried bumping into people to get their attention, tried catching someone’s eye, but the blaster pressed to her back kept her lips sealed.

They reached a back room. Walked through a maze-like trail of glass cages, lead by a pink woman whose smile looked far too forced.

Sigyn looked inside the glass cages, gasping when one of the beings inside moved. What is this place? she thought, swallowing hard when they stopped walking. Sigyn stood between the rugged aliens who lead her, staring forward at the strange man before her. He lowered a contraption that looked much like a mix between binoculars and glasses, setting them and the precious stone he was examining on the table before him.

"May I present, Taneleer Tivan, The Collector." The pink woman nodded to him, then disappeared behind more glass cages.

"As promised," The blue man smirked, "An Asgardian. The princess herself. Safe and sound. Not a scratch on her."

"Oh," the Collector leaned over the table, studying Sigyn much like he had the stone. She tensed. Felt a chill go down her spine. "How you managed a feat such as this, I cannot grasp.." He walked around the table, reaching out to Sigyn. When she didn't move, the men forced her hands toward him. He took one, kissing it, gaze never leaving her face. "It is an honor, fair princess."

Sigyn was frozen in fear. She clenched her jaw, pulling away from him as soon as he'd let her. "I-I.. What do you want with me?"

The Collector only chuckled. "She looks reasonably healthy.." He grabbed her jaw, turning her face back and forth. She gritted her teeth, staring at him.

"About that..” The blue man smirked. “We want two million additional units. Seeing as she's a healthy, young princess, seems fair.."

"Yes.. Yes, that would be fair. Stellina," He called. The pink woman returned. "Transfer the units to these gentlemen."

"Wait- I'm not for sale!" Sigyn struggled against her captors. "I am not a princess! I don't know who you think I am, but-"

"Quiet," the blue man snarled. "We hit her with a big dose of Amnesiac Gas."

The Collector glanced at her with an amused expression. "How long until it wears off?"

The man shrugged.

"Well, never mind, then..." He sent Stellina to open one of the glass cages. "I trust the Asgardians have no idea you are here?"

"Not a clue," The other one snickered, "We made out in the dead of night. Didn't even know it was us takin' her."

The men started moving toward the cage. Sigyn's heart leapt from her chest.

"Wait- Wait, no, no no no, please don't! Please!" She kicked, managing to rip her arm away from one of the men, only to be firmly grabbed by the Collector himself, who kept one hand around her wrist, the other on her throat. "Now, little beauty, don't struggle so. I do not intend to hurt you." He brushed a finger across her cheek - gentle. Too gentle. Tears welled up in her eyes. "You will be a prize addition to my collection." In a swift movement, he pushed her into the cage, and before she could jump out, Stellina closed the door. It locked with a snap.

Sigyn slammed against the glass, tears flowing out steadily. "No! Let me out! Please, I beg you, I'll do ANYTHING!" She hit the glass with her fists.

"Pleasure doing business with you as always, gentlemen." The Collector shooed the two men off, then turned to Stellina. "Do something about that noise. But do not hurt her, or you will take her place."

Stellina bowed her head, then turned to Sigyn, who was still pounding on the glass.

#lokixsigyn #loki fanfic #logyn #aaaaaaa?#guardiansofthegalaxy #gotg fanfiction #assortedau

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fanficshiddles · 4 years

Text

His Good Girl, One shot

Thanks for the prompt: grosskyjaja submitted:

Hello I would really like a BDSM story from you. Maybe master/slave dynamic. Heavy bondage, spanking with many object not just hand, cuffs, gag, cage. Like anything. Maybe shibari too? Some knife play, edging and orgasm denial and bit of humiliation too? And Lot of dominant behaviour too. More like a sesion and not just sex if It’s possible? It can be Tom or Loki It’s up to you.

And: I was wondering if you could use the name Kaya in your next super kinky fic / oneshot?

‘Kneel.’

Kaya fell to her knees instantly for her Master. Head down and hands folded in her lap.

Tom looked her over, pleased that she was naked, as he expected for his return. He reached down and petted her head gently, she leaned into his touch and closed her eyes.

‘Such a good girl.’ Tom purred and she revelled in his praise, feeling on top of the world. ‘It’s time for your maintenance spanking. Get into position.’

Kaya’s stomach lurched in excitement. She was about to get up to her feet, but Tom tutted above her. She remembered the rules and instead crawled over to the bed. She climbed up and lay over it with her bum right at the edge. The bed was high enough that her feet dangled over the side of it.

Tom walked over to her and gently stroked her bum, humming in approval. Kaya held on tightly to the blanket, knowing she was going to have to keep in place for what was to come. She heard Tom cross the room and pick up some items before returning.

‘What’s your safe-word, pet?’ He asked, patting her bum.

‘Marmalade, Sir.’ She said with shaky breath.

Tom raised his hand up and brought it down hard onto her backside. She gasped and jerked, but didn’t get time to recover as he repeated the action, again and again. She knew he was using his dominant hand, because of how hard the hits were. She bit her lip to try and stop herself from screaming out her safe word, knowing it would be worth it in the end to push through and be strong. To please him.

But it got worse first.

Tom picked up a paddle and started spanking her with it. It was worse than his hand, it was hard and stung like hell. She could’ve sworn that her skin was splitting open, that’s what it felt like.

‘Such a pain slut, aren’t you? Look at you, dripping wet already.’ Tom hissed, dipping his free hand between her thighs and feeling her wetness.

He grinned when she just whined in response. He continued with the paddle, until she was sobbing into the blanket. He then used the flogger for a while, it was slightly easier than the paddle as it spread out more over a bigger area and wasn’t as harsh and unyielding.

When he checked her again, he chuckled as she was so wet. He couldn’t resist slipping two fingers into her and fucking her with them. He aimed right for her g spot and roughly thrust into her, the wet and lewd sounds coming from her cunt filled the room, along with her moaning and crying.

‘Don’t you dare cum, if you do, I will put your chastity belt on for a week.’ Tom snarled in warning, making her sobbing intensify as she knew she wasn’t going to be able to get the release she wanted soon.

After finger fucking her, he straddled her back and yanked her head right back by her hair. Then shoved his fingers into her mouth. ‘Suck your dirty mess off my fingers. Disgusting little whore.’ He hissed at her.

She sucked them clean, swirling her tongue around his fingers and trying to tempt him into letting her suck something else. But Tom wasn’t having it. He pulled his fingers out and gave her cheek a firm pat.

‘That’s a girl. Now, get back on your knees and put your hands behind your back.’ He moved off her and while she got into position on the floor, he fetched the handcuffs.

Kaya was trembling as she waited to see what he had in store for her next. He put on the cuffs and made sure there was no wiggle room in them. Then he took a fistful of her hair again and had her walk on her knees across the floor towards the cage that was just big enough for her.

‘Open that filthy mouth of yours.’ He pulled a ball gag out of his pocket and slipped it into her mouth when she opened wide. She knew if she needed to use her safe word, she was to click her fingers. Tom always made sure she could do that, just in-case.

‘Get into your cage and spread your legs.’ Tom opened the cage door and watched in amusement as she scrambled in, it wasn’t easy without use of her hands.

When she got in the cage she managed to put her cheek down to the bottom of it, but kept her bum up high. In the correct position.

Tom shut the door and then grabbed the hitachi wand. ‘You know the rules, push that hungry cunt against the bars. If you dare move forward, you know the consequences.’ He warned.

As she pushed back against the cold bars, whining through her gag at the feeling of the cold steel against her red ass, she certainly knew what would happen if she disobeyed him. He would tie her to the bed and edge her for hours upon hours, or he would make her ride the Sybian machine until he decided enough was enough, forcing orgasm after orgasm out of her. So many that they would become painful.

Making sure she kept in place, she braced herself when she heard the hitachi being turned on. She managed to stay put as Tom pressed it firmly against her cunt, between the bars. The vibrations were so strong, it covered her clit easily and made her folds flutter in delight.

Tom turned the setting up high and he kept a close eye on her body language. She was struggling to keep still, her fingers flexing behind her. There was drool spilling from around the gag and onto the bottom of the cage. But he kept going.

Then there were the signs. She was about to cum.

Tom turned the wand right down, so it was barely a hum against her. She cried in disappointment, making Tom laugh.

‘Do you want to cum, pet? All you have to do is ask.’ He teased, grinning.

She tried begging him, but the gag stopped her from making coherent words. So he tortured her, over and over. When her body started to calm down, he ramped the wand right up again in vibrations. Only to turn it down when she was almost at the point of orgasm.

‘Such a pretty little mess.’ Tom purred.

He turned the wand right down once more and set up the stand on the outside to keep it pressed firmly against her, but it wasn’t strong enough to make her cum.

Her eyes widened in hope when she saw him at the front of the cage. He started unzipping his trousers, but just enough to take his cock out. He was so hard and her mouth drooled even more as she watched him stroke himself.

‘What a sight you are. In your rightful place beneath me, where you belong. Such a good pet.’ He moaned as he stroked himself faster and faster, his moans turned into grunts as he locked eyes on her and then was quick to finish, cumming all over her face.

She was so desperate to be able to taste him, but was unable to get her tongue out. She cried in frustration, making Tom laugh. He slid his hand through the bars and stroked her hair.

‘Don’t worry, pet. You’ll get to taste me soon enough.’ He promised.

With her body dripping all over, from his cum and also her own mess from behind, he stopped the Hitachi wand and opened the cage. Reaching in, he grabbed her and hauled her out. She was weak as he helped her to stand, he took her over to the window and pressed her face against it.

‘See all those people down there?’ He asked, his voice like sin in her ear as he leaned in close, holding the back of her head firmly.

She could indeed see many people down on the streets, passing by. If one looked up, they would certainly get a nice eyeful of her naked body. Covered in his cum and dripping from between her thighs.

‘Why don’t we give them a show, hmm?’ He grinned and pinched her inner thigh, then he kicked at her ankles and she parted her feet as wide as she could.

Tom spanked her cunt a few times, making her jump and yelp each time. He laughed wickedly and pinched her clit, really making her yelp. He was already growing hard again, his cock just sticking out from his suit trousers. But he pushed his own needs back for now.

Though he did want a small taste. He gripped her hips tightly and pressed the tip of his cock against her softness, slowly sliding back and fore, he then pushed just the first inch into her and pulled out again. Then he did it again, slightly in, then out.

Her knees were shaking as she struggled to stay standing. Feeling him just sliding in was sooo frustrating. Her cunt was clenching, wanting him to thrust into her nice and deep. But Tom wasn’t going to do that just now.

Chuckling darkly, he brushed her hair out of the way and sucked on her neck. ‘I know you want my cock badly, don’t you?’

She nodded quickly.

‘Of course you do. Such a little cock slut. I know if I took you down into the middle of the street right now, as you are, you wouldn’t care providing I sheathed my cock inside you.’ She trembled at that, proving his point.

‘Thought so.’ He growled and bit her earlobe, tugging on it before stepping back from her. She was slouched against the window, trying her best to stay standing. Tom allowed her to slide down a bit before he helped her up again.

Reaching up above them, he grabbed the bundles of rope as they cascaded down. She just had to stay there like a doll as he got to work, expertly tying her up in the soft rope, spread across her body in various places. Then he pulled on another rope, suspending her up off the ground. Enough to make her blood pump faster through her body.

Tom chuckled and took a seat behind her, watching while she just hung there, on display for everyone to see. He stroked himself again, cumming all over himself in record time. He then shrugged off all of his clothes and moved over to his little sex slave.

When he touched her, she moaned, loving his touch. It was all she ever wanted. He carefully untied her and lowered her back down to the ground. Her skin was marked lovely from the rope. When he gazed down to the street below, he noticed one person standing on the pavement opposite, looking up at them.

He chuckled, unsure if Kaya had noticed their onlooker or not.

‘Easy, pet.’ He soothed as she almost collapsed, he lifted her up and carried her over to the bed.

When he placed her down, he took off her handcuffs and slipped the gag out of her mouth.

‘Th… Th… Thank you… Sir.’ She said quietly, breathing hard. He saw the blissed-out expression in her eyes.

He got onto the bed next to her and pulled her into him, she wrapped her limbs around him as he snuggled into her. His cock was pressing against her cunt and she parted her legs just enough for him to move his hips and slip into her warmth.

‘There we go.’ Tom purred, stroking her back softly as they lay on their sides. Tom glided his hand down to her lower back and pushed her right against him, his cock settling snugly into her nice and deep. The way she clenched around him, he wasn’t sure if he was going to last long.

But they were both just happy to finally be connected in that way.

Kaya knew this was her reward for being good.

And Tom proceeded to tell her what a good girl she was, while he cuddled and moved slightly within her. Helping her to come back from her subdrop, while giving them both some satisfaction.

#his good girl #one shot #prompt #fan fiction #tom hiddleston

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sweetiepie08 · 4 years

Text

RebelZ Chapter 8

Invader Zim fanfic

While analyzing Zim’s PAK for weaknesses, Tak discovers strange coding that sends her on a search for answers. The clues lead her to uncover a conspiracy that governs all of Irken society. When the truth sends her on the run, she has no choice but to return to the one place the Tallest would never willingly go: Urth.

Meanwhile, Dib has noticed odd changes in Zim’s behavior. Has the invader simply grown bored of his mission over the last few years, or is there something more interesting going on?

People who asked to be tagged: @incorrect-invader-zim , @messinwitheddie, @reblogstupids, @cate-r-gunn, @agentpinerulesall

If anyone else would like to be added to the tag list feel free to message me. Also, if you’re on the tag list and you changed your name, please just let me know.

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Chapter 10.

[-]

The problem with back-seat space travel was, Dib decided, you couldn’t really tell where you were going. This was especially concerning with Zim at the helm. In fact, leaving Earth with Zim, having to rely on Zim to get home, was probably not the smartest move in the first place. But he did manage to get them to Ecore. The first leg of their mission was complete. All that was left was to go home. That should be the easy part.

However, Zim was concerningly quiet since the ship took off from Ecore. There was no scolding Gir, no boasting of his pilot skills, and not even a peep about whatever Kristlotch had said in the temple. Tak was able to explain the basics. Krislotch told them the secret history of the Control Brains, called rebellion hopeless, and insulted Zim multiple times. Perhaps Zim was just stewing over it. But, if that was all, why did he feel this crushing tension?

Something on the console beeped and Zim scrolled through a sea of Irken text, eyes darting between Dib and Tak. He hadn’t used the voice command system, which was especially odd. From what Dib learned operating Tak’s ship, voice commands was the standard for Irken tech. Zim had to have switched it off manually. The question was, why?

“Hey Zim,” Tak snapped, “that was Zorgad 16.”

Zim kept his eyes straight ahead. “So?”

“So we’re going the wrong way.”

“I know exactly where we’re going,” Zim countered.

“Clearly you don’t. Keep going this way and we’ll…” Her eyes grew wide as some horror dawned on her. “You scum!” she screamed, launching herself at him. “You traitor!”

“It is you who are the traitor!” Zim declared, barely holding her off.

Dib’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. “Zim, what did you do?”

“Gir!” Zim commanded. “Hide and seek! Now!”

“Okie Dokie!” Gir’s robot arms wrapped around Dib and Tak and threw them in the back of the ship with the cargo. “You hide!”

Before they could recover, a metal door slid down, blocking them off from the cockpit. On the other side, they heard Zim command Gir to count to 1 million.

Tak let out an enraged scream and pounded on the door. “Coward! Liar! Boot-licking little worm!”

Dib let his face drop into his hands. “I should have seen this coming. I’ve fallen for his schmoopy act before.”

“No, I should have.” Tak punched the door one more time before leaning her forehead against it. “When I discovered the truth, my first thought was of freeing my people. For that, I was branded traitor and my life clock went off. His never did. That is only possible if he was still loyal to the empire.”

“Can’t you blast through the door with your lasers?” Dib suggested.

A digital monocle popped out of the mechanism on her head and covered her eye. She examined the door for a moment before letting out a sigh. “If I set it powerful enough to penetrate the metal, it’ll also pass through the windshield, exposing us to vacuum space.” Defeated, she leaned her back against the door and slid down to the floor.

“So,” Dib said, sitting down beside her, “what now?”

[-]

Some time later, the ship approached the Massive. They noticed the change in gravity as a tractor beam grabbed hold of the Voot and sucked the ship onboard. They heard voices talking outside. One was certainly Zim, but Dib couldn’t make out what was being said. A few minutes later, the doors to the cargo hold opened and Irken soldiers dragged them out.

Dib found himself surrounded by tech he could only dream of, though the situation left him little room to marvel. The hanger held space craft so strange, he couldn’t being to imagine how they worked. The soldiers held weapons he’d never seen before. And above them all loomed the Tallest, living up to their title.

“Hmm… Urth humans really are tall,” the Purple one observed. “Not as tall as us of course but…” Dib assumed the reason for this one’s perfect English was that it was, in a way, talking to him.

“Yes and, as reported, dumb,” Zim added, “as evidenced by the fact he fell for my cunning trap. And, of course, I brought the traitor, Tak, as promised.”

“Yes, these two truly must be dumb if they fell for your plans,” the Red one said. Dib waited for Zim to react, but nothing happened. Unbelievable. Did Zim really not notice the insult, or did he just not care?

“Good work, Zim,” the Red one went on. “We knew we could count on you to bring in the traitor.”

Zim nodded solemnly. “Yes, she tried to sway my loyalty with her treasonous lies, but I never bought them for a second.”

Tak let out a growl and jumped to her feet. “Zim, you know damn well I never-AH!” One of the guards struck her with an electrified weapon, sending her back to the floor.

“And still she persists. Tragic.” Zim tsked and shook his head. “Now, about my reward?”

“Oh yeah, right,” the red one said. “We’ve got a party set up for you in the main snack hall.

Seriously? “You sold us out for a party?” Dib seethed, moving to get up. “You egotistical son of a-AH!” He was also hit by the same weapon, forcing him back to his knees.

Zim snickered and stood above him. “Zim is son to no one but the empire, Dib-stink.”

“Alright then,” the Purple one chimed in. “Now that everything’s settles, let’s execute these prisoners and get this party over with.”

“Wait!” Zim shouted. Everyone stopped and looked at him while Dib raised an eyebrow. What was he doing? “My Tallest, I humbly request to keep these two prisoners alive as trophies for my party.”

“But then we execute them after?” The purple one asked.

Zim nodded. “Oh yes, sure, of course.”

The Red one shrugged. “Okay, fair enough. Stick those two in a cage in the main snack hall until after the party.”

“Excellent!” A wide grin appeared on Zim’s face. “Gir, come with me,” he said, starting down the hall. “We must begin preparing my special punch.”

[-]

In short order, Dib and Tak were placed in a cage and forced to watch as Irkens mingled amongst themselves. They all took to it with the enthusiasm of the scientists in Membrane Labs attending the annual, mandatory, holiday party. They wore forced, uncomfortable smiles and attempted small talk. Every one of them looked like they were counting the seconds until they could drop the charade and return to their normal lives.

Suddenly, Zim’s robot popped up in Dib’s field of vision. “Want some punch?!” Gir shrieked, shoving a cup of purple liquid in Dib’s face. “It’ll make you sick!”

Dib cringed as he looked in the cup. “Uh… no thanks.”

“Gir! Get away from there!” Zim shouted, stomping up toward them. He grabbed the cup out of the robot’s hands and began pushing him away. “Humans and traitors don’t get punch,” he tossed over his shoulder as they walked off.

Dib watching Zim head up to the high table at the front of the room and sit down with his Tallest. Much like his dad at those holiday parties, these two were likely the ones who least wanted to be there.

Dib gave the bars another pathetic shake before giving up and turning to Tak. “So, you got any ideas?”

“What’s the point?” she asked, laying flat on the ground.

“Uh, the point is, if we don’t get out of here, we both die.”

“Is dying a prisoner any worse than living as a mindless slave?” She sighed and turned her head to look at the crowd. “Look at them all, human. They don’t even know what they lack. Every one of them is going to die serving the empire and none of them will be thanked or even remembered. Hundreds will be sent to their deaths and hundreds more will take their place. The smeeteries will replace them as fast as they’re killed off. That thing doesn’t care about sacrificing its own food because it can always make more. Kristlotch was right. It is hopeless.”

“You know, sometimes I feel like my people are slaves too,” Dib said, sitting down next to her. “Not to a hive mind parasite, but to other things. The media, corporate greed…”

“I know. I specifically targeted that flaw in my first conquest plan.”

“Right…” Dib rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about how well that almost worked. “Anyway, sometimes I think Zim is right. Humans stink.”

Tak shrugged half-heartedly. “Eh, Irkens are particularly sensitive to smell. You probably smell fine for a human.”

“No, I meant metaphorically,” Dib went on. “Anyway, my point is, just because humans stink now, it doesn’t mean I should give upon them. It’s one of the reasons I want to prove aliens exist so bad. I want people to know what’s out there. I want them to be a little better, a little smarter. I want them to stop worrying about petty problems and work together to improve the world. If they do, who knows? Maybe we can actually join this greater universal stage.”

Tak’s face stayed impassive as she considered his words. “Dib…” she began, sitting up, “not all humans stink.”

He smiled. “And not all Irkens are mindless slaves.”

“No…” Her eyes narrowed and the Tak he knew returned. “And none should be. Dib,” she said, jumping to her feet, “we’re breaking out of here.”

“Great!” he said, jumping up as well. “What’s the plan?”

“I…” she paused and her enthusiasm melted away, “need to think about it.” She sat back down on the floor, but her schmoop was gone. She sat with her back straight and one hand on her chin, thinking, plotting.

They were interrupted by a clinking sound from the high table. They looked to see the Red Tallest flicking the side of his glass with one long finger. “Alright everyone, Zim wants to give a toast with his punch. Everyone get a glass so we can get this over with.”

Gir handed out cups of punch to every Irken in the room.

“Did everyone get one?” Zim asked accepting one cup from Gir. The robot nodded. “Excellent!”

Dib shook the bars and let out a groan. “If only I knew what he was saying.”

Tak sighed, tapped her PAK, and a small microchip floated into her hands. She then reached up and shoved it into Dib’s ear.

“Ow, what was that?” Dib said, rubbing his ear.

“Back-up universal translator,” she explained with a groan. “I’m speaking Irken. You hear better now?”

“Yeah, why didn’t you do that earlier?”

“You didn’t bring it up.”

Dib shrugged, conceding her point, and they turned their attention back to the crowd.

“Come on,” the Red Tallest sighed, impatiently tapping his cup. “Make your speech so we can end this party and get back to important things.”

“Right.” Zim cleared his throat. “Friends, I stand before you today proof of what a true Irken can accomplish. Genius, ingenuity, ambition, these are the things that make an Irken great. With these an Irken can become whatever they want and crush their enemies. To victory!”

“To victory!” the crowd answered back and drank.

Dib kept his eyes glued to Zim though the speech. When Zim lifted his cup to his lips, Dib’s eyes went wide.

“Tak did you see that?” he whispered.

“What?”

“It's Zim. He didn't drink?”

“How can you possibly know that from all the way over here?

“He didn't tip his cup back far and he didn't swallow.” Dib explained. “And look.”

Zim's eyes scanned the crowd and he quickly checked something on his wrist.

“Is he checking the time? Look at him. He's up to something.”

Tak only responded with a skeptical look.

Dib sighed. “Listen, if I can be considered an expert on anything, it's obsessing over Zim, and you may not guess it from the everything-about-him, but he can be cunning when he wants to be.”

Tak got up and joined him at the bars. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized Zim’s expression. “If you're right about this,” she mused, “then the question is, why does he want to be?”

The Irkens lowered their now empty cups, except for Zim who still held him onto his. “Yes, Irk is mighty and prosperous,” he went on, tapping a sharply clawed finger against his cup. “It's such a shame Spek couldn't share in our prosperity.”

“Spek?” Dib turn to Tak. “What's a Spek?”

Tak could only shrug. Dib looked back over at the crowd. They looked just as confused as he felt.

“Spek?” the Purple Tallest mumbled to the Red. “I don't remember any Spek.”

“Spek!” Zim shouted throwing, his cup down and jumping on the table. “The smeet who died in the Death Melee because of your attempt to have me killed! It wasn't your first attempt either. You sent me on my mission to Urth, hoping I’d get lost in the vastness of space.”

“Zim…” The Red Tallest said in a warning tone.

“You sent me to hobo 13 and bet on which drill would kill me.”

“Zim that's…”

“You lied to me about the true nature of the Death Melee so I would die for your entertainment. You gave me a smeet, one who hadn't even seen his first cycle yet, as my partner, just to lower my chances of survival. Do you deny it?”

“Enough, Zim!” the Red Tallest roared. “You can't speak to us like this!”

“I can! I am!”

“Remember you are speaking to your Tallest,” the Purple one shouted back.

“I have no tallest!” Zim declared proudly. “I don't take orders from you anymore, and I haven't since the Death Melee! For 0.3 cycles, I've dreamed of nothing but my vengeance and I shall have it!”

The Purple Tallest laughed. “Ha! Vengeance? Look around you. You're surrounded by the top tier of the Irken Armada. How exactly do you plan on getting past them?”

“Aww, too bad Zim,” the Red Tallest said with a mocking pout. “Looks like you failed, just like you always do. Your vengeance is over before it's even begun.”

Zim looked down on the device on his wrist. He smirked and looked up at his Tallest with the cold fury in his eyes. “My vengeance has already begun.”

At that moment, a General dropped to the floor and began convulsing. More and more Irkens followed him. Zim’s smirk grew with each new body that hit the floor. Finally, the Tallest started convulsing as well.

“You won't get away with this,” The Red one choked out before collapsing on the floor.

He flashed a wicked grin. “Oh, I think I just did.”

Zim’s pack legs deployed as he jumped off the table. He scuttled over to the cage and, after hitting a few buttons, freed Dib and Tak. “Follow me,” he yelled and led them out of the snacking hall.

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darth-void · 4 years

Text

On the Streets of Coruscant

Chapter 3

AN: Thank you @sydnubabu for being my beta and catching all the commas I miss, there were so many, thank you!

Rated G (for now 😏)

Words: 3k

You heard your comlink chirp early one morning as you were getting ready for the day. It was Maul attempting to contact you. You checked yourself in the mirror quickly, and answered his call.

“Maul, what a pleasant surprise.”

“My lady, I hope I am not bothering you this early.”

“No, it’s fine, I’m an early riser. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“You said before that you would like to take a ride on my speeder bike when it is finished. Is that interest still there?” He asked.

“Y-yes, certainly,” you answered, trying to hide your growing excitement.

“Splendid. I have finished it and done several test-drives. It is ready for me to show you.” Is that a smirk? You thought to yourself. He looks pleased. Paired with his perpetually furrowed brow, he looked almost wicked.

“Well, it’s a good thing you called early, there is no session at the senate today, and I had yet to make plans. Until now.” You smiled as you spoke with Maul. You were privately eager to hear from Maul again, your last encounter hopeful for another one, and it came sooner than you imagined. “My apartment has a small landing platform off the balcony, I can be ready in an hour, if that works for you.”

“I shall be there, my lady.” And with that, the call ended.

Maul was waiting at the dock outside your apartment on his speeder bike. He had ditched his hooded flowing robes for a more sleek look for the ride. He saw you making your way out of your apartment and noticed you too had decided on trousers and boots over your usual formal senate robes that he was used to seeing you in.

You started to head outside and your security captain had begun to follow, so you stopped, within hearing distance of Maul.

“Captain, I promise you, I will not need you for this. I trust Maul to keep me safe, and I will stick with him for the duration.”

“Senator, please-“ Captain Cen began to protest, but you cut him off.

”We talked about this, and you are staying.” You had a finality in your voice that Maul assumed you used while working in the Senate. He liked hearing you exert your power.

“Are we ready, my lady?” Maul said standing next to his bike as you approached.

“Yes, quite.” You smiled at him, excited for the ride. You looked at the bike and noticed the seating was a bit cramped. “So, how will this work?”

“Unfortunately, this speeder was not exactly built with two riders in mind, but I think there is a way for us to fit well enough.”

“Will it be safe?”

“You’ll always be safe with me.”

Maul went to sit on the speeder bike, straddling it, and making sure to scoot back.

“You’ll sit in front of me, here” he gestured to the small bit of padding left between his legs. You looked a little apprehensive, then he held out his gloved hand to ease you in.

The fit was tight, but it looked like Maul had found a way to adjust his handlebars and the backrest so you both fit and he could still reach around you to steer the bike. You were a bit scrunched up with your legs bent and feet resting on the bars above the footrests. Maul’s arms reached around you and caged you in close to his chest as he started up the bike. When you both were situated and as comfortable as possible, he took off.

Maul stopped the speeder bike and helped you off first. You stepped away and looked out over a vast vantage point, a panoramic view of the main hub of Coruscant. You could see the Jedi temple off in the distance, and the Senate building. The view reminded you of your first time on the ecumenopolis, the start of your Senate work, and the awe you felt in those early days and weeks, looking out at the vast city from your apartment.

“How have the proceedings been going in the senate lately?” Maul asked you as you took in the view. He could sense you wanted to talk.

“It has been… difficult. As always. Some days I do not know why I want to be a senator. Getting bogged down in petty squabbling and nothing ever happening.” You let out a little huff. “But, I do not know what else I would do, honestly. This does truly feel like what I should be doing. It’s just- it can be difficult most days.” You looked back at Maul who was casually leaning on his speeder. “That is why I’m glad I got your holo this morning. I needed a good break away from work.”

“You said you were not going into the Senate today,” Maul stated quizzically.

“Yes, that is true, but I do not have much of a life outside of my work, and I usually spend days off in my study preparing my work.” You had a feeling that Maul was the same, always working and never truly having time for himself. “What of your life, Maul. Have you been busy with… apprenticing?”

“I always am. If I am not busy with a specific task put out for me to do, my master insists I spend any free time doing work for myself. That’s how this speeder came to be.”

“A pet project then. Lovely. Tell me about it then. You said you made this from scratch?” You asked.

“Nearly. It is from a Razalon design that I stripped apart to pieces and rebuilt completely to my specific requirements,” Maul replied.

You enjoyed Maul opening up and hearing about his passions.

“I named it Bloodfin, after a powerful and deadly creature. The Bloodfin are a dark red, semi-aquatic predator native to the oceans of Bastion. For the rebuild, I had its energy systems modified to divert all power to speed. It can go 650 kilometers per hour, but I was sure to make it silent.”

“Are you a predator like this fish, Maul?” You toyed.

Maul smirked at that but stayed silent.

“There is something to be said for working with your hands,” you said.

“Indeed.”

The two of you shared a look…

“Come, let’s continue,” you said to Maul and walked back to the speeder.

Maul drove you around all over the city, no true direction in mind. He often took long rides and knew the city well. Maul always felt a sense of emptiness and frustration as an apprentice under Darth Sidious, so he would often take to the streets.

You two also stopped at specific places throughout your trip through the city, once for lunch at a hole-in-the-wall eatery Maul claimed was decent for the likes of a senator, and he was pleased to see you actually enjoyed it. Maul told you half-truths about how he came to know the area so well. He did have work in various parts of the city, sent by his master. For mechanical reasons, they were not. He drove with you until the sun went down and the city lights grew brighter before he headed back to your apartment.

As you got to your apartment, Captain Cen walked out to meet you, clearly having been worrying all the hours you were gone.

“Senator, good to see you back safely,” he said to you, then eyed Maul suspiciously. Maul smirked back at the man.

“Yes, I appreciate your concern, I’m back and now you can rest easy. Thank you for today but that will be all.” You quickly dismissed Captain Cen, but he stood there with a confused look.

“My lady?”

“You are relieved for the night. You may leave a single guard at my door if you insist, but that will be all.” To Maul’s delight, you spoke again with that authority in your voice, and Captain Cen had no choice but to submit.

“Very well, my lady. I will leave one person for you tonight. Good night.” He gave a quick bow of his head, and he was off.

You turned back with a smile to Maul, who was still sitting on his speeder.

“So, would you like to join me for dinner again?”

“Certainly, my lady,” Maul replied and gladly dismounted.

The two of you ate with a more casual conversation, a big difference from the first dinner you shared with him. Maul spoke little still, but it was better than nothing. Not to get too cocky, you felt pride in cracking his hard shell throughout the day and seeing a tiny sliver of him.

“I am trying for a different approach this time around. The Republic has an army, though a small one since we are a galaxy at peace right now. And the Senate has its delegates that form committees, what need is there to send the Jedi to do Republic bidding? I do not believe that the Jedi should be sent on behalf of the Senate to participate in negotiations. Negotiators. Ha! Why do they need those dangerous weapons for peaceful negotiations, hm? They should just stick to being religious beings that hole up in their precious temple learning about the force.”

You finished your small rant and felt a little better, but also a little guilty once again at unloading so much on a new friend. You took quite a big swig of your drink and placed the glass a little too forcefully on the table. The two of you had finished dinner and were standing at your balcony and looking out at the city.

“I’m sorry, I know I can get a little passionate when I drink, I-“

“Do not apologize for your rage, your passion. Let it out. I encourage it, let me hear your anger and see your feelings.” Maul’s eyes were lit up, they looked to literally be glowing. He looked like he basked in your rage, to see it flow freely from you in a moment of your unguarded true self.

“It’s just- They take children from their families! And so young… it's all so they can brainwash them into believing their ways, so they don’t know of anything other than the order.” At these words you noticed Maul's face darken.

“Were you…” you started quietly. You felt you shouldn’t continue in this exact question. Instead, you changed your direction. “I feel like I don’t know enough about you, Maul. May I ask you something?” You looked at him, and he made no gesture of acceptance or refusal, so you went ahead anyway. “Do you have a family?” The question was a little out of the blue, but you knew where you hoped this line of questioning would go.

Maul did not answer, but looked down. His brow still held his scowl.

“Are you force sensitive?”

Maul stayed pointedly silent. You took that as an answer in itself. You were almost sure you knew the answer anyways.

“The night you saved me in that alley, you were not close enough to the man, and I saw him get thrown against the wall. I wasn’t sure what had happened initially because it all happened so quickly, but… I played it back in my mind after you left my house that night.”

Still silence.

You started to languidly step closer to Maul, but he stayed still as you approached him.

“Is that why you dislike the Jedi?” You asked him. “They didn’t come for you.” You whispered so low, but he heard you. He looked down at that, then you took one last step and were so close to him …

You gently put a hand to his cheek, thumb lightly brushing against his prominent cheekbone. He looked back up, and his glowing eyes were boring into yours. His face was the most gentle you had ever seen it, the creases around his brow relaxed and soft.

Maul finally spoke, his voice low yet clear. “I do not remember my family. I was… given to my master as his apprentice when I was very young. I have been here ever since. He raised me, taught me. He is not an easy man to know, but he has trained me well through the years.” He paused for a second, his eyes giving away his internal conflict of whether he should go on.

“You are correct in your guess. I am force sensitive. Though the Jedi not taking me in is not my reason for hating them. I-“ he paused, figuring out if he could twist the truth into the lies he’s already told you. “I cannot say. It is a long and terrible story. Maybe someday, I will share it with you.” He looked up into your eyes, your hand still gently on his face.

You had hoped this would be the moment he would open up to you, he really looked like he wanted to, but you understood why he didn’t just yet. The two of you had only met a few times, and yet you already feel a bond with him. You didn’t want to push the trust he had given you so, you accept his answer.

“It’s okay, I understand,” you replied with a nod.

You noticed him look down at your lips then quickly turned his head to look away as if he wanted to do or say something but couldn’t. You brought his face back to look at yours. The two of you were so close you could feel his breath on your face.

Still gauging his comfort, you brought your face closer and kissed him, your lips lightly pressing on his. Maul was hesitant at first, but relented and kissed you back. He brought a hand to your waist and to your hand that was on his face.

He was gentle with you in this moment, as he always was with you. You kissed for a moment until Maul pulled away, pressing his head to yours. You stayed like this for a beat longer, wondering what he was thinking.

You finally decided to break the silence. “I’m sorry,” you said in a whisper.

“No, I apologize. I just. I don’t know if I should,” Maul replied. He looked conflicted. “It’s getting late, and it’s been a long day. I must return.”

The two of you stayed like that for a moment longer, neither wanting to move away first. Finally, Maul pulled away, and took your hand away from his face but still held your hand in his.

“I must go but I will return.”

You nodded in reply, not knowing what else to say.

Maul let go and turned to leave. He started up his speeder as he mounted it and looked back at you before he took off. You stood on the platform and watched as he flew further and further away.

Just as Maul arrived at his lodgings, he received a holo from Sidious. “Come to me at once my apprentice, we have much to discuss.” The call was terminated before Maul had a chance to reply. He quickly changed into his formal robes and went out again to the apartment of Senator Palpatine.

Maul made a slight detour when he spotted two Jedi, a master and an apprentice, on the streets speaking with some citizens. He couldn’t help but hover in the shadows and spy on them, allowing it to feed his rage and hide his true thoughts before he met with Sidious. The encounter was short, and he slipped back into his path to Sidious.

Sidious scolded Maul for his distraction with the Jedi and threatened him with punishment of death if Maul ruined his well-made plans.

“I know you are keeping something else from me. Tell me what else you have truly been up to. I can feel it. I know you are hiding something from me. Tell me now,” he demanded. Darth Sidious had a cold aura about him, and he was always scheming. His hold on Maul was tight and nothing Maul did escaped his grasp. Maul knew then that Sidious had known what happened with him and the senator he was sent to tail weeks ago.

“I have made contact with the senator, my lord master,” Maul admitted as he bowed his head in submission.

“More than just made contact. I ordered you to follow her at a discreet distance. She was never meant to see you!” Sidious yelled. “You have disobeyed me. Do not let it happen again.” Sidious started walking and Maul followed him. “Since it is too late and you have made contact, tell me, have you learned any more?”

“The senator does not seem to give up easily and is often changing direction for how to get her bills and legislation seen by the senate. After the attempted assassination, her security has been increased and no second attack has been made, yet.” Maul told as much information as was pertinent to what Sidious was after. He did not think that the private and intimate time you two had spent together was something he wanted to tell his master. They were special moments he wanted to keep to himself.

“Very well. I do, however, have a task for you.” Sidious explained his mission and sent Maul away to fulfill it.

Maul went back to his place and readied for the Kellux system. He decided before he left to send a one-way holo message to you.

“My lady, I wanted to let you know that I am going away. I do not know when I will be back but I will call when I return. I do not have time to say goodbye, I must leave straight away. Know this, I will be thinking of you.”

With that, Maul sent the message and boarded his ship.

#darth maul x reader #maul x reader #darth maul #maul #On the Streets of Coruscant

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ecoamerica · 21 days

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youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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5-falsehoods-phonated · 3 years

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Overgrown Metal

Series Summary: Almost two decades ago, the fae rose up from beyond the veil with technology far surpassing the human race, quickly taking over after laying waste to nearly everything in their wake. Now eight paths cross to right the wrongs on both ends, working to uncover secrets that would have rather stayed hidden

Chapter 4: Snarling Dogs

Trigger Warnings: caps lock for yelling, swearing

Remy tried not to breathe in too deeply as he dodged and weaved around people and stalls alike in the crowded marketplace. Sellers shouted out their wares and prices for everything from the rare pilfered canned goods to...less than sanitary goods. Metal, body odor and sewage from a nearby line made opening ones mouth a less than favorable option making him extremely grateful he lived and worked with Remus and didn't have to earn a living up here. Adjusting his hold on the grocery pack slung over his shoulder he dodged a family looking through a selection of warmer clothes, the girl trying her best to swipe a pair of gloves unnoticed. He silently wished them luck. A family of thieves lasted only as long as their latest trainee failed to get caught.

Nearing the exit to the marketplace his shoulders sagged with relief, quickening his pace as he stairs came into view. Old and cracked as they were he was always surprised their little city lasted as long as it had; hastily made and as ramshackle as any other put together out if the desperate hope for a safe haven, the underground establishment boasted three levels all separated by concrete slabs taken from surface buildings and steel bars that were about the only steady thing about the place.

He had almost made it to the first flight of stairs when he heard a short cry coming from an alleyway close by. Whipping around he gripped the groceries tighter and wandered over in the direction it had come from. He knew he'd be chewed out by Remus for this but he always hated leaving anything curious alone, whether it be for gossip or guilts sake. Just a quick peek, he thought as he rounded a corner. Scope it out and then either let it be and have something juicy to tell his husband later or help someone who needed it and have something juicy to tell his husband later. Win win either way.

Finally spotting two figures at the end of a dim alley way between two storage buildings he squinted harshly as he set the groceries down and crept forward. One of them was saying something, and the closer he got the less he liked it.

"...be fine sweetheart. It'll be quick and easy and then they'll take care of you for the rest of your life. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"I don't want to." Remy's vision flashed red at those words, the taller man clearly leaning closer to the woman, caging her in his arms. He tried to be as silent as possible, debris scattered around making it hard to place his feet quietly. He had gotten only a few feet away when it seemed like the man was done playing whatever game he had going on, taking something out if his pocket and sneering down at his prey.

"I'm not so sure you have a choice." Remy had seen and heard enough, standing up and running forward quickly he brought his left arm up and swung back before pitching forward, throwing all of his weight to clock the man just right in the side of the head.

The woman shrieked as the man crumpled instantly, not without Remy wincing as a couple of his fingers starting sticking in place as the knuckles fought to adjust to the now bent frame. Shit, now Remus really would be mad. Though it hardly mattered at the moment, turning to the terrified woman with what he hoped was a friendly smile. He froze for a moment following her line of sight to his shining hand.

He flexed his fingers in a mock wave, mechanical digits creaking a bit from the impact they had barely endured. He chuckled nervously and put it in his pocket. "You like it? My husband got it for me"

Trying for humor seemed to be the key as she let out a nervous giggle, flicking from him to her attacker and back again. He looked down and nudged the prone man with his foot, an odd device that he must have dropped catching his eye. A stylized snarling dog insignia was engraved at the side of what almost looked like a dart gun, eyes widening as he realized what it was.

"He was going to chip you?" The other startled as she bit her lip and looked away. Putting the peices together he supposed it made sense. Society members sometimes came to lower settlements to scope out fresh meat for whatever it was they did to the people they indoctrinated. He had heard scant details from Remus from his own time spent in one as a child. He looked down his nose at the man. Hopefully he hadn't gotten a good look at Remy's face.

"Do you need an escort home? I promise I have better manners towards people who aren't trying to attack someone."

The woman shook her head, carefully stepping around both him and the man. "I'll be fine now. Thank you, for what you did."

With that she turned and ran, which Remy couldn't blame her for, you didn't really make friends in this particular city. Sniffing indignantly nonetheless he turned on his heel and made his way back to his groceries, hauling them up with his good hand and making his way home.

Niether of them had noticed the small, blinking red light at the end of the chip gun.

----

"You're sure this will heal?" Remus huffed as he tied off another stitch, the gaping wound in his patient's arm finally closing and ready to be bandaged.

"If you keep it clean and don't fuck it up again it'll heal just fine." He ignored the soft "language please" from across the from and focused on slathering antibacterial ointment over the wound before getting out a roll of gauze. "I'm the best in the business, you'll live. And if your arm does fall off I have plenty of replacements!"

He grinned as his patient paled somewhat, taking in the rows of neatly arranged mechanical limbs the small office was most known for in the black market. "Do you- do you get all that metal from the fairies?"

"Mmm, technically I guess. We get some of it from Hunters that come by and trade the metal for supplies, sometimes we trade for aluminum or dig around scrap vulture packs for odds and ends. One man's trash is another man's polished trash, and I'm the best there is!" Tying off the gauze with an of finality he turned as the door opened. "Remy you're- WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR HAND?!"

The unholy screech that left Remus' mouth left everyone in the room and a mile wide radius wincing from the volume. Remy, for his part, had the presence of mind to look at least a little ashamed, scuffing his toe along the floor and hiding the mangled, twitching limb behind his back. "I uh, fell?"

Remus' eyes darkened as he stood up. "Everyone out! We are now closed! Emile, the baggy!"

Scrambling around the desk Emile grabbed the patients to go bag which was swiftly grabbed up and thrown in their face. "Out! My husband is more important!"

"Remus!" Despite Emile's chiding the office was cleared relatively quickly as Remus stalked forward with his hand out.

"Groceries down. Walk and talk. Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt anywhere else? Where did you go? Wh-"

"Babes!" Remus snapped his mouth shut as Remy's protest and the lankier man sighed. "I got curious when I heard someone scream and ended up punching some dude in an alleyway for trying to chip a woman. Probs a Society member. They didn't see me, I just fucked my hand up."

Remus looked up as his hand was squeezed. "I'm okay."

Huffing he turned back to inspecting the ruined prosthetic, wincing as the other hissed in pain as he tried moving the digits. "Okay. Okay we'll...wrap these for now. You're damn lucky Emile and I have been working on something better for you."

Remy raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Well now I won't tell you because I'm pissed that my husband's an idiot without one brain cell to rub against his skull for some self preservation!"

Remy grinned and leaned back, accepting the pain killers Emile offered with a grateful nod as his fingers and hand were carefully wrapped to keep them relatively still.

"How much did you get for the scrap?" The question snapped him out of his thoughts and he pursed his lips as he looked over to the abandoned groceries.

"Enough." He didn't want to mention prices were starting to drop and it was getting harder to negotiate for fair ones. Food and materials were starting to get scarce and a lot of people were starting to talk about leaving their little society for more promising ones that didn't operate with such delicacy. He always knew it would happen eventually, but he figured their little family would be long gone by then.

Remus grunted in response and Remy closed his eyes tiredly. Navigating his way through all the levels and people for hours was always exhausting, he couldn't wait to go upstairs and slip into their bed for a quick nap before dinner.

"The bags under your eyes are big enough to hold the groceries themselves, go to bed. I'll be up in a few minutes." Remus punctuated this by flicking the tip of his nose, to which he only recieved a lazy grin in return for his thoughts being answered so quickly.

"Yes sir." Despite his exhaustion he winked playfully before getting up slowly and giving Remus a peck on the lips, waving quickly to Emile before turning and heading towards the stairs.

"And actually go to bed! No coffee!" Emile called after him as an afterthought, to which xe recieved a few low grumbles that xe hoped was in agreement. Neither xyr cousin nor cousin in law had the best sleeping habits, and their constant caffeine consumption did nothing to help it.

"We did actually finish that right? I forget if we did that or another project." Emile turned and smiled wryly.

"You really need to start using to do lists. We did them both at the same time, so yeah, Remy's hand is done. It's in the bottom drawer in the filing cabinet."

Xe started tidying up the office as Remus rummaged around in the cabinet. Biting xyr lip xe voiced a growing concern. "Do you think it's a bad sign Society members are starting scope this place out? We're pretty far away from the closest ones and those arent nearly as dangerous as some can be."

Emile almost wanted xyr words back as Remus stiffened, but the other only shrugged as he waved the hand he found back and forth. "It's fine. Those dogs go sniffing around everything they don't have their teeth in already. Probably just some recruitment that I'm very happy my brave and dashing husband discouraged."

"Right." Emile rolled xyr eyes and placed xyr hands in xyr hips. "Well, everything's cleaned up so I'm gonna head downstairs to file whatever papers you left."

"You're such a doll! I'll have dinner ready soon yeah? Remember to lock the door!"

"Already did!" Returning the kiss blown in xyr direction xe headed down to the basement quickly, blueprints trapped safely against xyr chest to sort through with all the others. Xe knew xe shouldn't worry but...with xyr cousin's history-

Xe shook xyr head quickly. It would be fine. It had to be. Xe had finally gotten a little bit of xyr family living under one roof for quite a few years now. No Society member was going to make xem fear that being taken away from xem. With determination burning xyr veins xe flicked on the light and turned towards the worktables.

Groaning xe set the stack xe was holding down with all the other and dragged xyr hands over xyr face. ADHD be damned xe were still kicking Remus' butt come dinnertime.

This work and others are also available on AO3!

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#false writes #overgrown metal #remus sanders sanders #remy sanders #Emile Picani #remy x remus #remy sanders x remus sanders #intrusleep

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sapphicsylvari · 4 years

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Lights

@tyrias-library Hope it’s okay to tag you, even though this doesn’t fullfill a prompt!

On AO3

SUMMARY: The pirates of the Chimaera are well aware what eerie lights on the Open Sea mean - Krait. Their prisoners using these lights to wave down ships, begging for help. Every sailor worth their salt knows to avoid these dreaded towers, for their own good.

The fog lies heavy on the surface of the Unending Ocean, making navigation fort he Chimaera nigh impossible. The ship glides slowly through the waves, as distant thunder cracks, lighting up the impenetrable blanket of mist.

“Lights! Lights on the Horizon!” calls Cariyen, the ship’s only Sylvari from the Crow’s Nest, then swings over the small platform’s railings and descends the mast. “Starboard side, Captain.” She elaborates, when she is down on the main deck.

Captain Asha Gaets, flanked by her loyal First Mate Snezz, is already peering through her spyglass, brows furrowed as she strains to make out anything. “I see ‘em. Very faint. Think they’re moving a little.” She says, lowering the spyglass from her eye and looking down to her asuran companion. “Mh, bad idea, Captain.” Snezz remarks. “We’re too far out to be encountering anything friendly.” “I know.” Asha responds. “Krait.” “Those lights mean that they have prisoners, trying to wave down ships.” Snezz speaks up a little, as the crew gathers around. “We’d do best to avoid them, unless we want to join them in their cages.”

“Prisoners?” a sharp voice enter the conversation, as Farris Nightrunner, a young Charr, squeezes her way through the small crowd. “Boss, we gotta help them. Who knows what the greasy snakes are doing to them!” “That’s a terrible-…” Snezz begins, but is cut off quickly by Farris’ growl. “Coward! If we leave them, their blood’s on our hands. Your hands!” she snarls at the small Asura, who does not even flinch. “These waters are their domain, Farris.” He calmly argues. “If we engage, we will all suffer their fate. There’s courage, and there’s recklessness.” “Are you calling me a fool, you sniveling runt? You might run from a challenge, but we-…” Farris stops mid-sentence, interrupted by the Captain firing a gunshot into the skies.

“Good thing that decision isn’t up to you two.” Asha says, stowing her flintlock on her belt again. Snezz looks up to her with hope in his eyes, but she only graces him with a crooked grin. “Farris, you’re right. We’re going in.” “Captain-…” “No. Zip it up, Snezz.” Asha raises her hand for emphasis. “I’m not leaving these people.” A brief beat of silence occurs, in which Snezz leans back against the mast and huffs in exasperation, wondering how Asha Gaets even stayed alive before she met him, but elects not to further defy his Captain. Not out of respect, but because he knows her well enough to understand when she won’t budge on a decision.

“Cariyen, Liamu, Farris and Auri.” Asha calls again. “I want you with me on a rowboat. Snezz, you have command of the ship. Bring us in, but stay out of visual range.” “Aye.” Snezz says, and makes his way to the wheel. One of their deckhands is already pushing in a crate for him to stand on, while another two begin lowering the rowboat. Asha steps forward, her striketeam in tow. Her eyes narrow as she gazes at the lights.

There’s a tense silence among the rowboat’s passengers, as it approaches the Krait Deeps. Asha sits in front, staring on ahead, while the two Charr, Farris and her mother Auri are busy rowing behind her. Cariyen, the Sylvari is behind them, carrying a magical light in her hands to illuminate their immediate vicinity. At the back end of the boat sits Liamu, the tiny asuran necromancer, currently in the process of summoning a selection of horrors to aid in the fight to come.

“Cariyen.” Asha says, and the Sylvari snuffs out her light. She looks up, now much closer to the lights she’d spotted and feels oddly nostalgic, reminded of the glowing pods in the Pale Tree’s boughs she used to look upon from below. But that is where the similarities end. The closer the rowboat gets to the Deeps, the more the area’s eeriness is replaced by horror. Pained cries pierce the silence, the sound of whips and hateful voices taunting. Farris’ upper lip pulls back in a snarl.

“Get ready.” Asha order in a hushed whisper and draws her rifle. A splashing sound briefly draws her attention, but it’s just Liamu’s minions jumping overboard and swimming ahead. The group holds their breath and listens. Minutes go by, and Asha’s gaze rests on Liamu’s face.

The little woman has her eyes closed, and an expression of deep concentration on her features. “Twenty, maybe more.” She reports. “There will be many under the surface. I am drawing their attention to my minions.” “Cause some chaos.” Asha orders. “Once they’re busy with your little friends, we jump into the fray.” Liamu nods, digging a tooth into her lower lip, as she coordinates several individual undead at once.

An angry hiss sounds, then a battle cry and a cacophony of combat noises breaks loose. Asha stands up in the boat. “Auri, element of surprise.” The Mesmer nods and hands her oar to Farris. The air distorts around the boat as she raises her hands, channeling her magic, cloaking the group in a veil of invisibility. “Let’s give ‘em hell.” Asha growls and steps off the boat, just as it comes to a stop on the Deeps’ surface gangplanks.

The rest of the team follows her, Cariyen leaving last and pulling the boat onto the wooden planks. They stick close together, watching Liamu’s minions maiming and being maimed by their serpent enemies. Asha assumes a crouching position and levels her rifle on the largest Krait she can see, aiming directly for his head. When her shot rings out, her invisibility falls off her in a flash of purple magic. A barrage of bright blue arrows arches over her head and comes down on the Krait with the fury of a god. The group swarms out from behind their Captain. Cariyen seeks high ground, while raining her magical arrows down on the enemy. A cloud of toxic locusts ascends the tower, gathering around the heads of a group of Krait that were about to come to their brethren’s aid. Shrill cries fill the air, broken up and distorted by time itself warping and twisting from Aurelia Sharpwit’s shield. Clockhands made of ethereal light spin in reverse, rewinding the Krait into their previous positions, opening them up to attack. That attack being a jet of fire from the mouth of Farris’ flamethrower. Those that do not immediately die, shriek and try to slither away, into the water, but Auri’s magic freezes them in motion and her daughter’s flames consume them entirely.

While the battle on the central platform rages, Asha makes her way upward, rifle at the ready. The prisoners are all in the upper levels of the tower, locked up in crude cages. There are some stragglers in her way, most of which she can dispatch at range, or punt off the ledge with the butt of her rifle.

“Help! Please! Please help Quaggan!” cries a prisoner as Asha approaches the first set of cages. They’re unguarded, as most of the Krait are currently down, fighting her crew. Only one of them has movement inside, a little quaggan, all alone. Left and right are only putrefying corpses, picked at by birds. Asha rushes over, pulling her crowbar out of her backpack, and getting to work on levering the cage open. “Don’tcha worry. That’s why we’re here.” She assures the prisoner inside. The poor quaggan is beaten and bruised, and holding one of its hands close to its chest, clearly broken. It takes her some elbow grease, but Asha manages to wedge the doors open, and the quaggan limps out, fearfully looking up at its savior.

“It’s okay. Stick with me. My friends are distracting the Krait.” Asha explains. “I’m going further up. There’s more prisoners there.” “Quaggan will follow you.” They reply. “Too wounded. Nowhere else to go.” “I’ve got a ship. We’ll patch you up and take you home.” Asha promises as she moves on up, mindful to reduce her speed, so the quaggan can keep up with her.

Another voice addresses her as soon as she comes in view of the next set of cages, one platform up. “Hey, you! Let me out right now!” demands an Asura, with enough spirit in her to rattle at her cage’s bars. She wears black and red, tattered, but still very much recognizable as Inquest. Asha pauses, but shakes her head and jogs over to her, then gets to work on the door. “How’d someone like you end up so far from Maguuma?” she asks while she works, and the Asura huffs and puffs for a moment before responding. “We were on our way to Orr. That’s all I’m classified to tell you.” “You the only survivor?” Asha inquires, and the door creaks open under her assault with the crowbar. “I think so. I haven’t seen any of my krewemates.” The Asura steps out of the cage and Asha positions herself protectively between her and the quaggan. “Great. Well, I saved you, which means you owe me. So keep your mouth shut while I free the other prisoners and we all get to go home alive.” She states and moves on the next cage. Inside is a humanoid creature Asha cannot discern. They’re blue, but clearly breathing, clad in a full-face mask and adorned with a pair of luminescent wings.

“She’s put up a good fight.” The Asura comments. “And the Krait pressured her tenfold for that.” “She’s alive, though.” Asha says and gets to work on the door. “That’s enough for me.” “Quaggan knows her.” The quaggan adds. “She got captured near Quaggan’s home.” “When?” Asha asks. “Quaggan does not remember.”

“They were here when I was locked up. So, more than a week ago.” The Asura contributes. “Hey, do you have a ship or something? I’m not a good swimmer.” “I do. She’s circling the Deeps just outside of view.” Asha responds and gets the door open. She casts her crowbar aside and crouches down to inspect the creature. She looks horrible. There are deep gashes all over her arms and back, likely caused by bladed whips. Her wings have holes and the left one’s main bone is completely shattered, as if intentionally crushed. Under the creature’s heavily damaged armor, Asha gets a glimpse of greenish black flesh, an ugly infection, or a necrotic curse. She presses two fingers against the creature’s neck, feeling a slow, but steady pulse. Relying entirely on the mechanical exoskeleton around her left arm, Asha lifts the creature up and takes her out of the cage.

The rest of her team is luckily just ascending the planks. “Ah, good. We’ve got wounded.” Asha says and hands the creature over to Cariyen. “You and the Quaggan can go back to the boat and row over to the Chimaera. Tell Snezz to bring ‘er in, then take care of these two. Be ready for more wounded. The rest of you, spread out and gather any survivors on the central platform. Me and my new friend here will establish a perimeter.”

While she speaks, Asha pulls one of her pistols from her belt and hands it to the Asura she freed. “Don’t try anything funny. You’re outnumbered.” She hisses to her as she passes. “C’mon.”

Cariyen, and the Quaggan accompany them down to the platform, before getting on the boat. “I will see you soon, Captain. Be safe.” The Sylvari says, before grabbing the oars and starting to make her way back to the ship. “You too.” Asha calls after her, then turns back to the Asura.

“What a massacre.” She comments, as she steps over the piled up Krait bodies, burned, pierced and rotted away by Liamu’s magic. “They deserve worse.” Asha simply justifies. “You don’t look too hurt.” “I’m not.” The Asura admits. “They were too busy beating the living daylights out of my neighbor. I thought I could use that to slip away, but… Where would I go?” “Fair.” Asha says. “You got a name?”

The Asura hesitates visibly. “It’s Mhido.”

It took a good twenty minutes to reach the ship, but once she is back on the Chimaera, with Asha’s command passed on to Snezz, Cariyen has time to care for the wounded. She already cast a mild regeneration spell on the quaggan’s superficial wounds while on her way back. “Let me see your hand.” She asks, and the small creature shyly extends their arm to her. It causes them obvious pain, so Cariyen already has a numbing spell ready on her fingertips when she makes skin contact. The bone is, thankfully, cleanly broken. Cariyen closes her eyes, gently nudging the bone back into its regular place, and funnels healing into the quaggan’s body. Both bone fragments slowly connect again, a fragile connection, but with time and care, the injury would mend fully. She puts the arm in a splint and wraps it in a bandage for good measure.

Then, she turns to the unconscious creature. Her hands brush lightly over her whip marks, closing the open wounds and rejuvenating her body’s natural regenerative powers. Likely awakened by that energy, the creature jolts and grabs Cariyen by the wrist. “Where am I?” she asks in a sharp, heavily accented voice, attempting to sound menacing, but her fear shimmers through. “Be at ease.” Cariyen soothes. “You are safe. We attacked the Krait Deeps you were held in and rescued you. You are badly injured. Will you let me mend you?” A few seconds pass, and the creature’s grip loosens. “You defeated the Krait?” “Not alone. My crew and I did.” Cariyen responds and gently frees her hand from the creature’s. “I have to set your bones straight before I can mend them. This will hurt.” “Do not hold back. I can endure.” The creature says and Cariyen gets to work on the mangled wing. It is entirely limp, and the creature is likely unable to move it at all. One by one, Cariyen reconstructs the shattered bone, making her way from the base to the tip of the limb. The entire time, the creature is completely silent, only the odd, sharp inhale hinting that she feels pain. “What were you seeking among the Krait?” she eventually asks, while Cariyen begins mending the wing. “Their victims. We saw the lights from afar and decided to intervene.” The Sylvari explains. “In exchange for what?”

Cariyen pauses and looks up at the creature’s mask. “We did not do this for a reward.” She states and the creature falls silent again, in quiet contemplation of what altruism might be.

The sounds of a second rowboat being returned to the ship has Cariyen looking up. The Inquest Asura, Farris and a number of freed prisoners step onto the deck, in varying degrees on injury and weariness. There is more work to do.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #my writing #gw2 fanfiction #tyriaslibrary

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sodalitefully · 4 years

Text

Cliches, Part 3

As promised, Steven’s annual holiday party! More of the reptile store/bakery AU, Sluff with just a hint of Izzal, lots of fluff and drunken shenanigans.

(Cliches part one, two, check out my masterlist for more!)

🎄🌟🎄🌟🎄🌟🎄

11:30AM, The Friday Before Christmas:

There was always a lull in customers between the breakfast and lunch rushes, but instead of taking a well-deserved break, Duff was used to finding ways to keep himself busy, starting by wiping down the few tables he managed to fit inside his tiny store. Damp rag in hand, he paused at one of the tables to check on the napkin dispenser and of course it was that moment, bent over to reach the dispenser by the wall, his ass in the air and his back to the door, when the bell over the entrance jingled. He spun around at the sound, whacking a table leg with his shin, and instinctively braced himself against the chair behind him when he saw Slash standing in the doorway.

Slash had… a presence, you could say, an aura about him that always seemed to hit Duff like a freight train. It must be the hair and the bulky black leathers, Duff decided, making Slash seem bigger than he really is and absorbing all the light in a room so that Duff’s eyes were always drawn straight to him. Sunglasses hid his eyes (did he really need them just to cross the street to Duff’s bakery?) and his lips were pressed together, but they softened into a tiny smile when he looked at Duff.

“Slash! Hi!” Duff squeaked, then cleared his throat and hoped he wasn't visibly blushing as he scrambled back to safety behind the cash register. Slash followed right behind him, stopping in front of the register with his fingers resting on the edge of the counter. Duff couldn’t stand watching his own reflection in Slash’s glasses, so his eyes wandered as he continued.

“Uh, what can I do for you?” he stammered, staring down at Slash’s silver rings.

“Mm, I just thought I’d drop by and check that you're still planning to come to Steven's Christmas party tonight."

“Oh! Yeah, of course. I am. Uh, I’m looking forward to it."

“Good.” Slash shuffled his feet, a gesture that would have seemed more nervous if not for the pleased little smirk on his lips. “I’ll see you there, then.” Slash took a step back as if to leave, then paused and leaned back in.

“Duff?” The baker froze in mortification when Slash pointed a finger up at the red and green elf hat that Duff completely forgot he was wearing. “Bring that."

*****

6:00PM, Steven Should Really Be Decorating The Bar Right Now:

“Nah, I’m not going to go as hard this year."

Steven snorted in disbelief.

“Yeah right, Slash. Like how last year you said you were gonna take it easy but you ended up jumping off the roof? Or the year before, when you had a flight to catch the next morning but you still challenged Axl to a drinking contest, and then as soon as you beat him you turned around and challenged Izzy?"

Slash grimaced. Steven always tended bar for the first couple hours of the party and was therefore the last one to get drunk, which meant that he had dirt on everybody. Slash resisted the urge to argue that the roof was only seven feet high, and he’d landed on his feet without even spraining anything – it was nothing Steven hadn’t heard before.

“No, seriously…” Slash lowered his voice a little and leaned across the bar, even though absolutely nobody was listening in on their conversation. “…I really don’t want to embarrass myself in front of Duff. It’s his first party with us, you know? He hasn’t seen me drunk off my ass yet and I don’t want to, well, scare him off."

Steven nodded sympathetically, but mentally he was weighing the odds. It was true that Duff was a timid sort, and Steven knew all about Slash’s massive crush on his neighbor. But he also knew that Slash had been going steady with Jack Daniels for way longer than he’s been hung up on Duff. Could Slash make it through a holiday party without getting wasted? Not a fuckin’ chance.

*****

9:30PM, Time (And Liquor) Makes Fools Of Us All:

Duff stepped foot in the building all of two seconds ago and already Slash was latched onto his arm and dragging him to the bar.

“Stevie, Duff’s here!” The party officially started at nine, but Duff suspected that Slash may have gotten a head start on the bottle of whiskey clenched in his fist, if his uncharacteristically cheery demeanor was anything to go by.

“Pick your poison, buddy,” Steven invited with a knowing smirk.

“Uh, I don’t know, something with vodka…?” Duff was very preoccupied by the warm leather of Slash’s sleeve pressing against his side and the barest brush of his frizzy hair against Duff’s neck, but Steven sure got his attention when he slid an unopened bottle of Smirnoff across the bar.

*****

10:30PM, Santa’s Helpers Are Bringing Down The Neighborhood’s Property Value:

Every year, Axl and Izzy responded to their invitation with humming and hawing, as if they just might not be able to make it to the party this time, and every year (fashionably late, of course), Axl strutted into the bar like he owned it and Izzy slunk in behind him like a party crasher trying not to get caught.

Axl was more than ready to get his hands on a stiff drink, but the scene in front of him stopped him in his tracks: Slash and Duff, wearing an antler headband and an elf hat (respectively), equipped with window markers that Axl could only assume Steven had provided, were well on their way to turning the front window into a mural of lewd and filthy and sometimes festive doodles. When they finished, it would surely be a masterpiece to rival the Sistine Chapel, or maybe an issue of Hustler.

“Jesus Christ.”

It was only 10:30, did they really have to get such an early start on the shenanigans? Duff blushed red at Axl’s resigned exasperation, but it didn’t stop him from completing a crude drawing of a dick. The tiny bells on Slash’s headband jingled as he just laughed and added nipples to an (actually quite impressive) portrait of a shirtless woman. Fucking hell. At least they weren’t breaking anything… Yet.

*****

12:00PM, Good Fucking Luck Getting A Turn At The Karaoke Machine:

"Oh, Nikita, you will never know, never know anything about my home. I'll never know how good it feels to hold you... Nikita, I need you so."

As he sang the last words of the song, Axl spotted Izzy slipping away from the karaoke stage, ducking his head to hide the pink flush on his cheeks as he hurried back to the bar. Axl just smirked; Izzy always got embarrassed when Axl serenaded him in public, but he’d be back for more soon enough. Axl thought about following him, thought about getting Izzy even more flustered then dragging him to the restroom for a little fun like they did last year… But there’d be time for that later. For now, Axl wasn’t about to give up his reign as the undisputed Karaoke King.

Duff was sitting at the edge of a booth next to the karaoke machine, absentmindedly sucking on a cigarette and watching Axl pace the tiny stage like a caged animal ready to snap at anyone who tries to stick their hand through the bars, when Slash snuck up behind him with three beers balanced precariously in his hands.

“Watch this,” Slash stage whispered conspiringly as he handed one beer to Duff and then slid the second over to Axl. “Taking requests tonight, Ax?"

Axl sipped his drink and quirked his eyebrow at Slash. “Maybe."

“Well, Duff says he wants to hear some Nazareth."

“I said what?” Duff spluttered, narrowly avoiding choking on his beer, but Slash just elbowed him in the ribs.

“Shut up dude, it’s about to get good!"

Axl rolled his eyes at Slash’s bullshit but he jabbed a song into the karaoke machine and twisted the dial on the speaker.

“Gonna need some volume on this one…"

As the intro to a familiar song started to play, Slash wrapped an arm around Duff’s shoulders in apology. Duff leaned into the touch, and any remaining indignation he might have felt vanished as soon as Axl opened his mouth and started to scream.

“You’re a heart-breaking soul shaker, I’ve been told about you…"

“Shit, Axl can fuckin’ sing!” Duff whisper-shouted into Slash’s hair. Slash laughed, a sound that Duff had been graced with more times in this one night than all the rest of their acquaintance. He leaned up to put his lips by Duff’s ear.

“I dare you to request All I Want For Christmas Is You next!"

*****

1:00PM, O Tannenbaum:

“Hey, what are you guys doing to my – OH. Oh my god!”

A patch of branches on Steven’s Christmas tree was stripped bare of it’s dressings, but Steven couldn’t bring himself to stay angry about the vandalism when he saw how the decorations had been repurposed.

Slash sat cross-legged in front of the tree, very patiently doing his best to keep any drunken swaying to a minimum as Duff carefully wound a popcorn garland around his shoulders like a feather boa. Slash’s hair was sprinkled in gold tinsel, a pair of glass baubles dangled from his hoop earrings, and at least a half dozen more glass and paper ornaments were lovingly nestled in his voluminous curls.

Steven sprinted for the camera.

*****

3:00AM, Come Here Often?:

Slash couldn’t actually remember where he and Duff were trying to get, but it was clear that Duff was having a hard time getting there without swaying and stumbling. Duff was leaning heavily on Slash’s shoulder to stay upright – even though Slash wasn’t doing much better himself.

“Oof!” Duff tripped on something (likely as not his own feet) and tumbled to the side, where he was fortunate enough to land on a sticky leather couch instead of falling all the way to the floor. His arm was still wrapped around Slash’s shoulders, which meant that Slash was also yanked off his feet and dragged by the neck onto the couch where he landed gracelessly on top of Duff.

“Shit, sorry –“ Duff wheezed, sounding like he might have had the breath knocked out of him.

“S’fine, fine… You ok sweetheart?” Slash’s pet-name filter had disengaged completely a couple hours ago.

“Yeah, lemme just… hold on…”

Getting up from the couch seemed like too tall an order, but after some squirming and fumbling they managed a more comfortable position: Duff lay on his back with his knees hooked over the armrest and his hair splayed around his head like a wreath on the cracked seat cushion. Slash was draped on top of him, his forearms on either side of Duff’s head and his thigh conspicuously dipping between Duff’s legs.

Duff suddenly felt a lot more sober as he stared straight up at Slash’s dark eyes. Slash’s hair fell like a curtain around their faces, and the slivers of light that pierced the veil left a gleam in Slash’s eyes that Duff couldn’t quite read. He was nervous as hell, but for once he relished the feeling, that intoxicating cocktail of terror, anticipation, and arousal.

“Duff?” Slash’s fingertips wove into Duff’s hair, the gentlest touch but still enough to hold Duff’s head in place, not that he ever wanted to move.

“Yeah?” Duff was surprised by the thickness of the want in his voice, a low, heavy tone that resonated in the small space between them.

One moment Duff could feel Slash’s warm breath on his cheeks, the next he could feel his hot lips, then his tongue when Duff’s mouth fell open, in surprise or invitation he didn’t know or care.

Duff couldn’t say how long they lay tangled together, Slash’s body pinning him down, his hands buried in Slash’s curls, gasping for air when Slash finally broke their heated first kiss. They each caught their breath and stared at each other’s wet lips, neither sure what to say except:

“Again."

❄️❄️❄️

Steven has a secret box with a secret compartment full of embarrassing pictures of his friends at the Christmas party!

Axl’s karaoke songs are Nikita by Elton John, Hair Of The Dog by Nazareth (also on The Spaghetti Incident) and All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey.

Also, I’d like to formally request a drawing of Slash with ornaments in his hair. (Edit: here!!)

#it's fucking 2:30 in the morning so I really hope I'm still happy with this in the morning #sluff #slash #saul hudson #duff mckagan #steven adler #axl rose #izzy stradlin #didn't get a speaking part this time sorry about that izzy #gnr #guns n roses #this isn't actually that festive go figure #alright imma go to bed #sodafics

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