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jazjelspen · 3 months

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my angel baby [part 2]

(alastor w/ angel daughter reader)

[caution: NOT PROOFREAD oh and angst hehe]

(notes: alastor joins charlie and vaggie in heaven to convince them about the hazbin hotel. angel reader physically resembles a fawn. )

[tags: @luujjvi @c-lunette @mokisano @ghostdoodlen @wildfire153 @anonymousewrites @bewitchedbymadness @thisbitchreallyneedssleep @22carolina08 @original-person]

[remember if you want to keep in touch with a particular series I write, let me know in comments or messages you want to be tagged! you will only be tagged once unless specified that you want to be tagged till the end of a particular series!]

(also once again, apologies if alastor’s last name isn’t actually altruist qwq it’ll stick till the end of this fic but I’ll try not to mention it as much)

For the first time in years, you feared being in heaven.

Not that you felt unsafe, just that you felt incredibly uncomfortable seeing your serial killer dad who's now a demon be invited to be in the place where light and goodness is it's main foundation.. even reassuring yourself that it was temporary didn't calm you down when you were flying away from him. For your own sake you even avoided where the welcoming was happening.

Ahh but.. it also didn't help that he was following you around after the show without you knowing.

After the angels had performed their song to welcome in the princess of hell, her apparent partner, and-- him.. everyone sort of went their separate ways and the visitors from below started to relax in their new yet temporary places of stay. You felt a bit of relief when you assumed Alastor would also be setting himself in to relax as well.

During heaven's performance you decided to take a breather at a local coffee shop, one where you thankfully always had a spot there where you could hide away from the huge windows of the cafe.

Although right after that, unbeknownst to you at the time, Alastor was looking for you, but obviously pretended as if he was looking for a good bite to eat.. unfortunately for him he had to behave and he couldn't eat a living walking thing until after they came back home.

Oh how bummed out he was.

You were in a far corner inside the shop, as mentioned before anyone that was able to look in through the windows wouldn't be able to see you since you were out of view. Drinking your favorite beverage that the shop offered and eating a filling snack to relax your body and mind. Safe to say you were now more in touch with your feelings and weren't overly panicked as you once were.

'Why is he here.. is he an advisor to the princess? a companion?.. some kind of servant?.. she's really young though, perhaps she's ward to him or something.. but she has her.. dad.. and I'm sure he must be alive still.. ' You thought, different theories and ideas passing by in and out your head trying to make sense of the situation.

'perhaps.. he's here to see me?..' you hoped, then scolded yourself right after,

'nono.. I can't be wanting that.. sure he raised you but he's a monster. he killed you, _____. get a grip..' you sighed deeply while massaging your temples in frustration 'even if he seemed to not.. have meant to do that. he tried to kill someone else anyway, that poor man could've died instead of you.' you tried to reason with yourself, coming to a single conclusion in the end.

Eyes glued to your drink. staring at it with intensity.

"I regret nothing." you claimed to yourself in a low mumble, not enough for anyone close to hear.

Ahh.. but you did miss him very much.. the version of him that you grew up with at least.

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You were in your warm and humble home with your father. It was a fairly cold night with rain dropping onto the roof of your home yet the warmth of the house seemed to make the cold seem almost cozy to you.

Your small footsteps could be heard running around the house, as your little seven year old self ran around you seemed to be giggling uncontrollably with a peculiar circular item in your hand.

"No running in the house _____, remember what I told you." Alastor exclaimed in slight irritation as he could hear you from afar while he was cleaning up the table from the dinner you two just had, he started slightly missing the times when you didn't know how to walk and when you simply just blabbered baby nonsense.. he definitely doesn't miss the sleepless nights of baby crying though.

You huffed and puffed as you then plopped the item on the sofa, it was a disk, a record. You then climbed yourself up and once your little body landed on the cushions you then picked yourself up once more to then grab the disk and turn to the small table right beside the sofa where a large phonograph rested on.

"Papa!" you exclaimed, "Papa! Music music!.." you pleaded, your little voice begging to once again turn on the music playing machine.

Alastor faintly chuckled at your little demands, amusing how such a small thing dares to command but nonetheless he found it silly at how you tried. "Yes yes my dear, I'll be right there." He then set the last few dirty dishes away to be cleaned soon since he couldn't say no to listening to some tunes before bed.

You smiled brightly as your little feet playfully tapped on the cushions, almost jumping. Noticing your developing excitement Alastor hurried over to you.

"Ah-ah-ahh, no jumping on the sofa my dear. I'm excited as well but I can't have you break your little head open, that'd be no fun at all!" Well.. that and he didn't wanna ruin his cushions, but nonetheless he cared for your wellbeing the most even if he wasn't fond of admitting it.

His hands gently took the disk from your hands, carefully setting the disk on the phonograph to have it play your favorite tunes. Once you two heard the amazing first few notes of jazz was when Alastor settled down beside you on the sofa and you started clapping in delight.

Alastor looked at you almost fondly, letting out a small huff of delight at your reactions. Your innocence seemed to be something that contained him from wanting to continue his murder spree, although his bloodlust always wins in the end, he seems to always willingly pause his life for you.

Plus, he loves jazz just as much as you do.. why would he miss out on this?

Your fit of giggles dwindled down but didn't stop, in a sudden burst of energy you jumped off the sofa and then started dancing similarly yet obviously a bit more goofy to how you've seen couples and single dancers dance in the nights of Mardi Gras or just parties your father took you when he would be invited. Your little dance moves seemed to be fiddled with confidence yet they were so off from what you were trying to attempt, nonetheless you were happy, and that's what Alastor secretly liked to see.

"Dance with me papa dance with me!" you pleaded again, your smaller hands grabbing his larger one and tugging at it, trying to get him to stand up.

"_____ darling no tugging, besides I just sat down my dear and I'm exhausted." He sighed, his constant smile always present yet he was visibly a bit tired from the day he had.

But oh how you persisted, and how darn adorable you were as a kid. "But papaaa!.. pretty please! I wanna dance how you and that singing lady did the last time we went on those big loud places!"

"Parties, dear." he corrected you, but let out a long sigh and got up. Because no matter how tired he was or how annoyed he seemed to be he didn't mind keeping you happy.

So that's what he did, he danced with you. Swinging you, twirling you around to the melody and the beat, your cheers of glee and uncontrollable laughter motived him to keep up with your excitement. Not only that but your smile, genuine and pure, it was what he needed to get himself to match your energy. Jazz music was what always connected you two and it always brought you together no matter what.

At the end of the song Alastor ended it by gently throwing you up in the air and catching you, letting you get your last giggles out. You both laughed together, your bond ever growing stronger. You truly did tame this bloodthirsty killer without even trying or knowing, of course you were too young to know.

Once the giggle frenzy ended you both finished your dancing with a long sigh, the phonograph ending it's segment. You then suddenly yawned and rested your head in the crook of his neck over his shoulder, snuggling for warmth and for a sudden need to sleep.

"Seems like my little fawn needs sleep now, almost past your bedtime young lady." Normally he'd scold you a bit more strictly as he usually did, but seeing as how you were basically ready to fall into a pile of dreams he just felt no need to do that.

"Sorries papa.. I forgot.." your little words muffled by your face hidden in his neck.

Alastor was never one for being touched, let alone hugged or snuggled. Oh but he had no right to complain, he's had you this close since you were a baby.. to him this just felt normal now.

Of course no one but you could be this close to him, you're his little girl after all.

"No need to worry, my dear." He stopped in front of your bedroom, carefully opening the door with a creak following after. With careful footsteps he walked towards your bed, pulling the blanket away to then gently place you on your cozy sheets with care.

Alastor gently moved any misplaced hairs away from your face as he then pulled your soft and warm blanket up to your neck. Your sleeping face reassuring him.

"Sweet dreams sweetheart." His usual smile softening a bit more before backing away and slowly heading towards the door of your room, lingering for a few extra seconds to take one last look at you before slowly closing the door and heading off to bed himself.

After the click of the door closing can be heard, you mumbled "Goodnight papa.." with a smile, even if in the end Alastor didn't get to hear it.

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You missed him, dearly.

A weight fell on your chest, your eyes begging to form tears. You missed when you had that childhood innocence, when you didn't know what he was capable of, when he was nothing but a saint to you.

It still hurt after all these years, you thought he was a good man.. a bit strict, blunt, a bit too true to himself and definitely peculiar but.. the Alastor that raised you would never do that. Until you were obviously proven otherwise.

Oh but I guess you were too into your reminiscing that you didn't notice the background gasps and small shrieks of surprise and fear, and you didn't yet feel the eventual stares and eerie presence right in front of you.

"What don't you regret, my dear?"

You choked on your drink in surprise almost spitting it out,

that fucking radio voice again.

For heaven's sake how did he find you?? He couldn't have seen you through the windows. Did he follow you??.. did you just not notice.. Oh geez maybe getting used to having your guard down during all your years in heaven definitely didn't help with this situation.

You continued coughing on your drink, even punching your chest a bit to get that last good cough out. The radio demon pulled the chair in front of you to sit across from you, not waiting to ask permission.

To him he didn't need to, he's your father after all.

Once you calmed down you immediately avoided eye contact, only giving him a once second glance to confirm it was him in hopes your ears were playing a trick on you-- they weren't.

"How.. how'd you find me.." you mumbled in slight fear.

"Oh how would I not! Sweetheart I'm your father of course, as your father I must have those parental instincts.. I always know where you are!" he exclaimed, seemingly proud of this.

"I'm guessing those 'parental instincts' didn't kick in when you stabbed me, huh." you spat with attitude, unafraid to be rude to him with so much sin he's committed.

A sharp static sound came from him, as if in slight shock at the disrespect and comeback you gave. "Watch the attitude young lady, you're still an Altruist you know."

You scoffed, hating at how indifferent you felt about your last name.

"Not by blood though.."

"I raised you, don't forget that." he spat back, starting to get irritated.

"And because of that I owe you?"

"Yes, yes indeed! Smart girl you are."

You scoffed at his response, finally getting the guts to look at him in the face. His appearance frightened you, disgusted you even.

Is this truly the man that raised you?

"As a matter of fact, I actually don't." you crossed your arms in annoyance and a huff. Your eyes couldn't help but to slowly drift to off to the people behind him and you see fellow angels you know continue to stare in awe or fear, of course at Alastor. With all eyes on you and mostly him it made you feel a little embarrassed. You cowered down a bit and your wings went over your head and shoulders a bit as if to hide you behind a 'curtain' of sorts.

Alastor obviously noticed this, but could care less about the stares.

You sighed, "Look, Alasto--"

"I think you mean to call me 'father'." he interrupted as he obviously seemed a bit sassy about it. "Even 'dad' is just simply fine and dandy with me!"

"No, I can't," you frowned, wishing you could "I won't. Not after what you did to me, to that man that night, and to every other poor soul you hurt."

Your face slowly scrunched up in disgust "You don't deserve my forgiveness, my mercy."

In embarrassment and feeling tears want to shed you grabbed your drink and got up to walk out, before you could get past Alastor though he grabbed your wrist harshly.

"Uh-- hey.. let go--"

"I didn't mean to do what I did, my dove." His voice turned into a weird version of gentle, almost uncharacteristically gentle. "I never intended to take your life away."

He sounded genuine.

Could he?.. Would he?..

Maybe, just maybe--

"No." you spat, "Maybe you didn't mean to hurt me, but you definitely meant to hurt others. That's something I can't forgive and I'm sure your victims wouldn't neither." you glared at him, setting your foot down. "I refuse to call you my father, not until I know that you repent for your sins but knowing you I highly doubt that." You snatched your wrist away and for a slight second you stopped caring about what others thought when they'd see this "Besides, you killed me two weeks after I turned eighteen.. don't even include the years that passed since the 30s and present time so clearly you can't control me anymore old man."

But Alastor wouldn't go down that fast nor easily.

His sharp smile widened, you felt immense dread.

"Oh little one, no matter how far you are or how much you try to disown me you are forever connected to me. I made you who you are and you can try to run and fly off however long you want but in the end you're tied to me whether you like it or not. Even in death."

He seemed deathly serious with his statements so much so that you could've sworn you could see his shadow giggling and smirking in a way that seemed even worse and more than evil.

Your breath quietly hitched in fear in noticing this to the point where it even forced you to take a step back. He let out a sinister chuckle before you couldn't help but speed out of the shop and flew out.

You couldn't handle him, he was shameless when showing this side of him.. how could he be this shameless and normal?? How could he act like this and be proud about it? He killed people and doesn't regret it, you being the only exception just didn't feel right and it wasn't fair!

Not to you.

He may have been able to silently control you and vaguely manipulate you to believe he was anything but a bad person back when you were alive and young but now your eyes are wide open and so is your heart.

You have such a bad feeling about this whole thing, he was up to no good he just couldn't be-- he had to be using the princess as an excuse to do something shitty.

Good thing you had plenty of connections, if you just played your cards right...

Hey.. wasn't there something about a court meeting happening soon?

On the other hand Alastor stayed sitting there still chucking devilishly, his intentions and true feelings smeared and unclear.

With a snap of his fingers a cup of black coffee appeared and he began drinking it with a sense of casual glee and eyes closed in delight. Until he felt eyes on him, two nearby to be exact. He opened one eye to look at the angels staring at him and they both seemed like more biblically accurate angels, both having one eye and all. The radio demon shot them an evil grin.

"Oh adolescents these days, rebellious aren't they." He cackled before going back to drinking his coffee, the angels creeped out by his interaction soon scurried away from him.

The fear. He enjoyed it, just not really from you.

(thank you all who asked for part 2!! of course I had to deliver since you all really wanted it and honestly I love adding flashbacks to memories Alastor and the reader had when they were alive, makes their ending on earth just that more painful (as if it wasn't clear I love angst). Honestly I don't mind making more parts for this! If the demand is consistent and you guys still want to keep up with it I have a few ideas to keep this going! Once again thank you so much for reading!! Now I must finish writing for other stories lolllll!)

(p.s: i highly recommend listening to any mitski song while reading this I think it fits well especially with the flashback scene hehe)

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fancyfeathers · 4 months

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Hunter being Hunted (Yandere Capitano x reader) (Normalized Yandere AU)

From my yandere harbingers series that you can read the introduction post here

This is about the hunter, Capitano’s darling, featuring the medic, Dottore’s darling. Sorta of how they met.

You ran as fast as you could, not daring to look back. It did not take long for people at camp to notice your gone, you could hear their shouts telling them to notify Lord Capitano at once of your disappearance. You were to be assigned to a rather dangerous mission, you knew the outcome of this task would end rather horribly for you. Then when you went to the captain’s tent to drop off a report, you saw it…

letters…

letters about you…

that would place you under his custody when you were discharged, a severe injury would do the trick.

You did not waste a moment before planning your escape which leads you to where you are now. Running in the woods, as fast as you can. The landscape was unfamiliar to you but you did not have time to stop and process it, they would catch you otherwise, and if they did Archons knows what would happen.

“Find them at once!”

That voice shook you, even at the distance it was, it was so loud, and you knew it so well. Lord Capitano.

Your legs started running faster at the sound of his voice. Then you could hear the footsteps of other Fatui getting closer, you wouldn’t be able to get away in time, maybe you should just lay down and accept your fate…

A hand grabbing you by your forearm makes it feel like your fate is sealed, but then you feel yourself being pulled into the hallowed trunk of a tree, the entrance covered by vines. You were about to scream but a hand covers your mouth. You look to see your savior and you see a young woman, around her mid twenties, dressed in what would seem to be a nomadic medic clothes. Your eyes remained glued together in silence. You could hear the Fatui rushing past your hiding spot, along with shouting, then through the vines you can see the familiar helmeted figure of your captain. By some miracle he doesn’t notice you despite being within arms reach.

It feels like an eternity before he finally leaves and moves on to search elsewhere and even longer before the two of you step out of the tree and you can get a good look at the woman, she seemed quite flustered herself.

“T-thank you, miss… you saved me.” You said to her and she only nodded.

“Don’t mention it, you should’ve get out of here before they come around here again.” She answered as she gathered her things that were hiding in a nearby bush, apparently she was hiding out here. She glanced over her shoulder at you with a smirk. “Good luck, ex-Fatui.”

”What about you ma’am? Where are you going?”

She paused in her tracks at your words, before she’s turned around back at you, reaching into her pocket and handing you a letter. You opened it and your heart sank, you knew the handwriting, you recognized it from Capitano’s letters. It was Dottore’s, the second harbinger. It was blackmail, but despite that it was written like it was from an old friend or a lover…

This woman was in the same situation as you…

“Miss, you cannot be serious about it.” You said, following after her as she walked.

“He stole my research, I need it back.” She answered, continuing on her way, determined as ever. “It’s my life’s work.”

“What’s good is your work if you give up your life?”

She paused in her tracks ahain, the only sounds being the distance shouting of Fatui soldiers and the sounds of the nocturnal wildlife. She turned around to face you, walking towards you. Her hands took the letter from yours and stares down at it. She takes a heavy breath.

“You better be right, soldier boy.” She replied and with that she ripped the letter in half. She grabbed you by the wrist and started leading you away from the shouts of the soldiers. “Come on, I’ll keep you safe if you keep me safe.”

#yandere harbingers #yandere genshin #yandere genshin imagines #yandere genshin impact #yandere genshin x reader #yandere capitano x reader #yandere capitano #yandere dottore

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vanwritesfan-fiction · 4 months

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Travis Kelce: “I’m tired of always fighting!”

Travis knew tired. There wasn't a day where he didn't come home from practice sore and worse for wear, but eleven years into his career, he had come to love the feeling.

Lately, it felt a lot different. This exhaustion was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. It was the kind that sunk into your bones and settled there, each muscle aching, his head pounding, a sense of dread in his heart. It had nothing to do with football, and everything to do with the fact that lately, he felt you slipping away with each passing day.

It started off small, a few disagreements here and there, but you always seemed to work it out. Both of you were incredibly headstrong and didn’t know how to back down from a fight, but the love you had for each other always outweighed the need to win. Slowly but surely, the fights became bigger, and the moments of silence became days of silence as the two of you couldn’t find things to say to each other that didn’t start an argument. It didn’t even matter what the fights were about, they were unimportant compared to the fact that your marriage wasn’t working out and no amount of groveling, kicking, and screaming was going to change that.

For the third time this week, he was sleeping in the guest bedroom. It felt unfamiliar and cold, the empty space where you would lay a blaring reminder of your relationship, or lack thereof. Still, he felt that wave of fatigue wash over him, his eyelids heavy as he started to drift off to sleep.

His breath had just started to find a steady rhythm when he heard a large thud across the hall. His eyes shot open as he listened again, hearing a much larger crash that he was sure was coming from your shared bedroom. He followed the path of light teeming from the crack left open at the door.

You were in the closet tearing down any hanger you could get your hands on, piles of clothing laid out on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Travis’ gruff voice startled you, but you didn’t turn around. You didn’t want him to see the tear stains running down your cheeks. “Organizing the closet”, you finally uttered out, biting at your bottom lip to stop another crying spell.

“Baby, its 2am. Go back to bed.” You felt his heavy footsteps behind you, so you stepped forward, creating more distance between the two of you. “I’m not tired.” You let out a quiet sigh, but Travis could see your ribcage expand and contract with a shake. “Sorry I woke you.” You went back to the task at hand, pulling all of your coats off their hangers and tossing them to the ground.

“Babe-“

“Just stop, stop calling me that”, you bit out. “Just go back to bed. I’ll try to be quieter.” You quickly wiped the tear that fell from your eye. The pet name used to make your heart swell, but now it just felt condescending. Travis let out a sharp breath before turning out of the room. He made it a couple of steps before he realized that he was doing what he always did- walking away in the name of avoiding conflict, but so far, the only thing it did was make things more difficult. You were still in the same spot when he returned. He watched your shoulders shake as you quietly sobbed, a lump building in his throat.

“Y/N, just stop. We need to talk.”

“Talk about what?” You tossed a pile across the room. “Talk about how we can’t stand the sight of each other? How we can’t speak to each other without fighting? I’m tired of always fighting! I’ve had enough, Travis.” Your arms felt heavy like lead, but still you pushed on.

“Y/N, stop!” Travis’ booming voiced echoed in the now empty room. You did as he said, stopping in your tracks, but only for a second. “I can’t stop. I need to keep moving, keep busy, so I can stop thinking about how fuckin’ difficult this has been for one fuckin’ second, okay?”

“Babe, C’mere.”

You couldn’t explain how badly you wanted to run to him, but your feet wouldn’t move. The only thing you seemed to be able to do lately was cry, so you let the tears flow freely, tasting the saltiness of your tears as they pooled in the corner of your mouth. “Baby, please, come here.” When you didn’t move, Travis closed the distance between you quickly, wrapping you up in his arms. He felt the wet spots pool on his shirt as you sobbed against his chest, collapsing into his hold.

“I’m sorry, I’m tired of fighting too”, he whispered into your hair, slowly rocking you back and forth.

“I don’t know what to do, Travis”, you admitted when you could finally take in a full breath. “I know, but we’ll figure out a way to fix this. We’ll do counseling, whatever it takes.” He just let you cry, knowing it was what you needed after all this time. When he felt you begin to settle down, he pulled you in for a tighter hug.

“Baby, look at me.” You slowly lifted your head as Travis cupped your cheeks in his large hands. His calloused fingers felt rough against your cheeks as he wiped away the wetness collected in your lashes.

“No matter what happens, I love you so much. That has never and will never change, okay? I will never give up on us.” You shook your head, taking in a shaky breath. He pulled you in for a gentle kiss, before pulling you into his body again, and for the first time, Travis didn’t feel that dread in his heart.

#travis kelce #travis kelce fanfiction #travis kelce fanfic #traviskelce #travis kelce imagine

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wolfjackle-creates · 2 months

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Bad Reveal AU Chapter 2 Part 2

As promised! Here's the compilation of every snippet I've written for the 1000 follower ask game. I added an additional 300 words to the end to round out the scene.

Story Summary: Danny loves the Waynes, loves living with them. After the GIW, after his parents, he never thought he'd be able to have this again. A family, a home.

Then he overhears a conversation.

The Waynes aren't just the Waynes. They're the Bats, part of the Justice League. And the Justice League works with the US Government. The same government that runs the Ghost Investigation Ward.

It was all a lie.

AO3 link

Tumblr Links: Chapter 1, Previous

Word Count: 2.6k

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Three days later and they were all ready to tear their hair out. Barbara had found nothing new on the Fenton parents, even after Tim and Bruce joined her in the search. Apparently everything about the Fentons had been hidden behind the best digital security they had ever seen. Everything except the basics. And the firewalls were so good that they were almost invisible which is why no one had noticed them before.

Danny’s room lacked any sort of clue. They opened every drawer and went through everything they could find, only for nothing even slightly unusual to turn up. Definitely nothing like the bizarre energy weapon he’d used.

Jason had asked around as Red Hood to see if he could find any leads on the weapon. But every rumor lead to a dead end.

They could find nothing that might lead them to the people who wanted to hurt Danny. And Danny never came home.

Dick was currently in Danny’s room, again, trying to find anything. He was under the bed searching for hidden compartments in the frame or box spring when sharp footsteps sounded in the hall. A moment later, Alfred cleared his throat from the doorway.

“Master Dick! I believe you were instructed to leave the cave so you could rest.”

Dick pushed himself out from under the bed and sat so he was leaning against the bed frame. He flashed a dazzling smile. “Sorry, Alfred. I just had the idea to check the bed frame for any hidden messages or compartments. Wouldn’t have been able to sleep without doing it.”

Alfred sniffed. “We have already been over every inch of this room. You will not find anything new and you know this.”

Dick sighed, letting the smile drop away, and rubbed his face. He looked down at the carpet as he picked at it. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep. I just keep seeing his face. He was certain we were going to hurt him, Alfred. My own brother. How could I have failed him so badly?”

Alfred’s shoes came into view as he walked further into the room and sat next to Dick. “You haven’t failed him, Master Dick. And you know that. His fears were his own; based on experiences from before he ever joined this family. And we did not know there were problems to address. But we do now and I have full faith that you will solve this and bring Master Danny back home.”

“I wish I had your optimism, Alfred.”

“Then I shall just have to have enough for the both of us. Now, if you insist on being useful, Titus could use his afternoon walk. Normally Master Bruce or I take care of it…”

“But with B injured and the house full, you’ve got enough to handle. I’ll take care of it, Alfred.”

“Thank you, my boy. Now, help an old man up.”

Dick laughed; it wasn’t sincere, not truly, but he knew it’d make Alfred feel better. “Don’t even pretend you can’t get up on your own.” But he still did as requested and helped Alfred to his feet.

“When you’re my age, you will know what troubles I face.”

“Sure, Alfred. Now, where is Titus right now?”

Ten minutes later, Dick was outside in the late spring sun throwing a tennis ball for Titus. The dog was delighted with the game.

He rather felt like it should be raining or overcast or something. Not a balmy spring day with birds singing and bees buzzing in the clover. Danny was still missing; it shouldn’t be a nice day.

His next throw went much farther than he planned, and Titus bounded away.

Dick groaned and collapsed to the ground. He threw an arm over his eyes as he bit back his tears. Everyone was relying on him to hold it together. Damian was on a hair trigger and he was the only one who could keep him in line consistently; Tim was sunk deep into his research and barely surfacing for another energy drink every few hours; Jason and Bruce couldn’t be around each other for more than ten minutes without someone starting to yell. Duke was spending more and more time on patrol trying to find any information on the meta angle.

And all of them came to him to complain about the others. His family needed him. He couldn’t fall apart.

When a shadow fell over his face, he cracked open an eye expecting to see a cloud covering the sun. Instead he screamed and jumped to his feet as he came face-to-face with Clark.

“Warn a guy next time!”

Clark, the bastard, just laughed at him. “Hey, Dick. Didn’t expect to find you here.”

Before he could reply, Titus returned, ball clenched proudly in his mouth. “Good boy,” said Dick as he petted him. “Ready to go back inside?” To Clark, he said, “Most of us are staying at the manor right now. What brings you here?”

“We’re worried. Bruce called in saying he had an injury that would prevent field work for a few weeks. At the same time, Tim told Kon he’d be unavailable for Young Justice missions until further notice. And Damian canceled a sleepover with Jon with no explanation. So I made two of Ma’s pies and decided to come over for a visit. What’s going on?”

Dick sighed. “Danny’s gone. He discovered who we were.” He let out a hysterical laugh. “And apparently thinks that because we work with the US government it means we were just pretending to like him to gather information so we could turn him over to someone who would hold him against his will and torture him.”

Clark landed and pulled him into a hug. Dick clung on tightly. “Why does he think that?”

Dick shrugged and, reluctantly, pulled away. “Apparently his parents betrayed him once already. I think…” Dick closed his eyes and whistled sharply. “Come, Titus.” He held onto Titus’s collar and began walking away from Clark towards the manor. “We think he already has experience being held and tortured. And that it was his parents fault.”

Clark’s sharp inhale proved his horror at such a thought.

“Yeah. So now Danny’s gone and we have no idea how to search for him. Did B tell you he’s a meta? We knew he had some powers, but clearly we missed some because now we suspect invisibility, density shifting, and flight. So we’re trying to find the people who want to hurt him. But we keep hitting walls!” Titus whined when his grip tightened too much. Dick winced and let go immediately to pet the dog. “Sorry, Titus. You’re such a good boy.”

Clark draped an arm around his shoulders. “Well, why don’t you take me to the cave and you can go over everything you know. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes will help.”

Dick shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt. And maybe seeing you will remind Bruce he knows how to do more than grunt when people ask him a question.”

Clark winced. “That bad, huh?”

“Worse, if I’m honest. Danny shot him with an energy weapon before density shifting out of the cave. So now his newest kid is missing and he’s too injured to go out and search for him.”

Clark let out a low whistle. “Yep. That’ll do it.”

Dick pulled out his phone and opened the group chat. A quick text ensured everyone who was around would make their way to the cave. “I’ve told everyone to meet us in the cave. We’ll swing by the kitchen to get some plates and cutlery for the pie. Thanks for that, by the way.”

Clark ruffled his hair. “You know me, I’m too midwestern to show up anywhere unannounced without food.”

Dick gave a half smile, unable to muster up anything warmer.

Clark tried to keep up a stream of small talk as they swung by the kitchens to gather the plates. But Dick just couldn’t keep up with it. His mind was just too far away, on a young boy with blue eyes who loved hugs and had fit into the family so smoothly.

When they got to the cave, Tim didn’t even look up at the sound of the elevator doors opening. Dick followed his lead and ignored him, instead going straight to Bruce.

“You’ve got a visitor, B!”

Bruce only grunted and didn’t look up from his laptop.

Clark hid a smile. “I’m sure Alfred raised you better than that, Bruce.”

“Indeed I did,” declared Alfred with a sniff from where he was making notes in Bruce’s medical chart.

Bruce’s head whipped up at the sound of Clark’s voice and Dick bit his lip to keep from laughing. “Clark? What are you doing here?”

“Been worried about you and the kids, so I made some pie and decided to come on over. Kon and Jon are both waiting for updates as well.”

Apparently the appearance of Clark and Kon’s name was enough to finally drag Tim from the batcomputer for the first time in days. “Is Kon okay?”

Clark gave him a fond smile. “He’s fine, lad. It’s you—all of you—we’re worried about.”

Bruce looked away. “It’s Danny.”

Clark nodded and sat on the foot of the bed. “Dick’s told me a little. Let’s wait for the others to join us and you can all tell me everything.”

Dick checked his phone. “Babs said my text woke her up and don’t start discussions without her.”

Clark looked at him sharply. “Barbara is here, too? You really meant it when you said everyone’s been staying here, didn’t you?”

Dick shrugged. “Yeah, well, it’s Danny.”

Tim laughed mirthlessly. “Yeah, he’s the only one who all of us like pretty much all the time.”

Clark frowned as he looked around at the people gathered, but didn’t say anything.

Alfred bustled in with a chair. “If some of you would help me set up chairs for everyone? We might as well be comfortable as we talk and eat.”

“Of course, Alfred,” said Clark, seeming relieved. “Be happy to help.”

Honestly, with how many people were there, it only took a minute. Jason and Stephanie arrived just as they were finishing up.

“Duke messaged me,” said Jason. “He’s on his way back from patrol.”

“Damian?” asked Dick.

“I am here, Richard,” said the boy as he walked into the medbay. “I apologize for my tardiness. I was with Alfred the cat and didn’t notice your message immediately.”

Dick went to his side and ruffled his hair. He ignored Damian’s glare with years of practice. “Glad you could make it. Come on, let’s get you a slice of pie.”

“I’ll start slicing,” said Clark.

By the time the pie was sliced and everyone had a piece, Barbara had arrived.

“Where is Duke?” asked Bruce.

Tim pulled up the tracking information on his laptop. “Looks like he’s only twenty minutes out.”

“He’d’ve said something if he’d learned anything new,” said Jason. “I say we just start sharing now. He’ll be back before we get through it all.”

“Agreed,” said Bruce.

Clark nodded and looked around the room. Dick just knew he was cataloging how exhausted they all looked. “What can you tell me about what happened?”

“Daniel lost his mind and attacked Father,” said Damian.

“Listen here, Demon Brat,” argued Jason, “you know damn well that’s not what happened.”

And when Tim backed up Jason, it became a shouting match. Dick buried his face in his hands. A headache was forming and he knew if he tried to intervene, he’d just make it worse right now.

“Enough!” said Alfred when it became clear the others wouldn’t calm down on their own. “We will go over it one at a time. Master Richard, you may start.”

So Dick gave all the information he knew. When one of the others indicated they wanted to add more, he let them. Alfred made sure no one overstepped. Duke arrived partway through and described what he saw when Danny disappeared and used his powers.

When everyone was finally satisfied they’d shared everything they knew, Barbara pulled out a tablet to show Clark the footage of the confrontation in the cave.

“And you don’t know where he got that weapon?” asked Clark after he watched it twice.

“No clue,” said Tim. “We’ve searched his room a dozen times since then, but there’s nothing even remotely like it.”

Jason nodded. “And I’ve been asking around. No one I can find has ever heard of one like it.”

Alfred added, “Even I was unaware he was in possession of such an object.”

Clark hummed as he replayed the last few seconds of the video where Danny density shifted through the stone. “He brought it with him when he left.”

“You’ve thought of something,” said Bruce.

“Could he have hidden the weapon inside something? Like a wall or the floor?”

Bruce hummed as he thought. “Is that even possible?”

Dick shrugged. “We know very little about what he can and can’t do.”

“Want me to take a look at his room with my X-ray vision?” asked Clark.

Bruce nodded. “Please.” No one commented on the begging tone in his voice.

And for the first time in days, Dick felt hope rising in his chest.

“And do we have any idea what he meant by Jason being in trouble, too?”

Jason shrugged. “Probably has something to do with how I died. I’m apparently the only one who can sense Danny’s empathy, too. And I mean supernatural empathy, not the normal person kind.”

Bruce agreed. “I found the most information on Amity Park when I found my way to supernatural message boards. Zatana is looking into some things for me as well. But it always leads back to ghosts. Though why Jason alone is of interest when others in the family have also died is uncertain.”

“I see. Well, I suppose we’ll find out when you get him home. Who wants to show me Danny’s room? We might as well start there.”

Of course, no one was willing to sit this one out. The biggest argument arose when Bruce insisted on pushing himself to his feet. He refused the wheelchair Alfred tried to insist he use, but a raised eyebrow and pursed lips did get him to take the crutches.

Dick and Jason exchanged a smirk at the scene. Alfred always got his way.

So, the entire group made their way out of the cave and through the halls of Wayne Manor until Clark stopped in the doorway to Danny’s room.

He let out a low whistle. “Whatever his powers are, he can definitely hide things in other objects. He’s left a lot behind.”

“Can you tell what they are?” asked Bruce.

Clark shrugged. “Some of them. There’s another item that looks like that blaster he had. Some…rope? I think? A tool box in the floor. A case that’s probably lead-lined. And a lot of stuff that I just can’t identify. I mean, a random cylindrical object. Some rectangles, maybe external hard-drives?”

Damian stepped forward, gripping the handle of his katana. “Then we will smash the walls to see what he is hiding.”

Dick rushed forward to put an arm around Damian’s shoulders and stop him from doing anything.

“Indeed not, Master Damian.” Alfred gave the boy a level look. “We want Master Danny to have a home to return to. And what sort of welcome would he feel if he came back to a destroyed room? Master Bruce, Mr. Kent, I am aware you have other collegues who can density shift. Could one of them be prevailed upon to come and remove the items?”

Damian scowled and kicked at the floor. Dick bit back his smile. The kid really did care about their missing brother, whatever he said.

Clark nodded. “I’ll call J’onn, Alfred.”

-----

Several of you guessed this is where I was going to take it the minute I introduced Clark. Didn't see anyone mention J'onn, though. (But that might be because I was sharing such small segments, so fewer people were speculating.) Let me know what you think!

I've finally gotten around to making a Subscription Post for this fic, so follow that if you want notifications!

@hailsatanacab also started a fill for this prompt that I absolutely adore, so check that out here! (It hurts, it hurts so good.)

#dpxdc #too many characters to list #no one is handling things well #and clark is concerned #so he shows up with pie #and an offer to help #and they get their first real lead #the first in days #(or they will once j'onn arrives)

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dumbkiri · 6 months

Text

𝕆𝕦𝕣 𝕎𝕒𝕣

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ: ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀʟʟ

[Name] Jaeger was present for the fall of Shiganshina. She saved many lives of the mass, but couldn't save her own mother. Despite all that, she was charged for abandonment by a Garrison official named Woerman.

ʟᴇᴠɪ ᴀᴄᴋᴇʀᴍᴀɴ x ꜰᴇᴍ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Leave a request in my inbox, comment down below for more! I'm going through some and editing as we speak. Series do come first though!

Dear Eren,

In a week’s time, I will be heading outside the walls. When I do I have to tell you the story about Captain Levi and how he saved me from five titans! One day, I’ll make sure to introduce you to him, wouldn’t that be amazing? Would I be the best sibling then?

Anyways that’s not why I am addressing you. I got a very angry letter from mom saying that you wanted to join the Scouts and follow in my footsteps. She warned me that if I don’t stop those “reckless” ideas from forming she would personally drag me off my horse by my ear the next time she sees me to give me a lecture. Surely my ears would fall off for two different reasons!

So little brother, what makes you want to join the Scouts? Aren’t my stories of the outside world enough for you? It’s beautiful out there,but Eren, you do not want to venture outside the walls. Not now. The way it is, you won’t be able to survive.

Titans are exceptional beings that are made and subjected to eating humans. You do not want to see that, I promise you. I have seen plenty of my comrades die in front of me. And I know you have seen the men and women come back with gruesome injuries before. Most don’t make it back home.

I apologize if this scares you, but that’s the point. The world is a cruel and scary place. You know nothing about it and I’m trying my best to keep you hopeful. But titans are ten times bigger and stronger than you all.

I know what that helpless feeling feels like. I almost lost my life until Captain Levi saved me from an awful death. You don’t want to see what a titan can do to a person you love.

With that being said, Eren, you should enjoy the peace in your life right now. Hug mom more often, treat Mikasa nicer, fight harder for Armin and dad? Well you know how he can be sometimes.

He loves us though. He loves all of us, that’s why he keeps fighting. It’s why I keep fighting. I will do everything in my power to keep my family safe this time that includes little Mikasa.

I’ll see you soon, Eren. Give mom a big hug for me, will you? And tell her that I love her too.

Sincerely, [Name] Jaeger

This was Eren’s fifth time rereading the letter his older sister sent him. And today was the day he, along with his mother and Mikasa, were going to send [Name] off with a good luck goodbye. He was going to see her again! This was really the only time he got to spend with her. Before she was sent out of the walls to go exploring.

But something was different today. There was a knock at the door and his mother approached it with a giant smile on her face and a pep to her step. He slightly pouted wondering why she was like that when not even a minute ago she had scolded him about joining the Survey Corps again.

Then his eyes widened in surprise when he saw who exactly was at the door. His smile is uncontainable just like his mother’s. “[Name]! You’re home!” He shouted happily as he ran to his sister and jumped into her awaiting hug.

“Eren, it’s nice to see you again,” Her voice was just a tad bit softer than their mother’s. Her arms squeezed him in a tight hug as she laughed about his struggle to breathe through it all.

“He couldn’t even wait for me to greet you,” Carla sighed and [Name] dropped Eren on the floor as she went to hug her mom. The women laughed about something [Name] had said and Eren blushed when his sister teased him about his excitement for seeing her.

Then a question popped into his head, “Shouldn’t you be gone already? The bells should be ringing any time soon! What if you-”

[Name] looked down at Eren with a gentle smile on her face, “Calm down, Eren. I was given the day off today to speak with Commander Pixis about…politics. Really boring stuff, I tell you.” Eren could see that his sister was just trying to change the subject.

“Oh yeah! I promised Hanji and Levi that I would introduce my kid siblings to them on their way out! Say that you two wanna tag along!” [Name] shouted enthusiastically, her hands on her hips with a proud stance. She knew her brother would be stoked to see his idol and his reaction proved to be correct.

“No way, really! I can meet Captain Levi!” Eren shouted back with the same amount of glee in his voice. His sister nodded her head and gestured outside where a big black horse was standing in a prideful manner waiting for his rider.

Mikasa awed at the sight of the horse before quickly reverting back to her state of neutrality. This was noticed by both of her female guardians and Carla, despite being against the idea of her son joining the Scouts, allowed for this to happen.

“Be safe out there and listen to [Name], got it?” She asked the children with a stern voice and both of them nodded their heads.

[Name] gave a quick kiss on her mom’s cheek and bid her farewell saying, “We’ll be back before supper! I missed your cooking so much!”

Carla laughed and waved her kids off, “Don’t worry, I’ll make plenty for you to take back to your friends too.” The woman closed the door and [Name] laid her hands on the small backs of her siblings. She led them to the calm and quiet horse that patiently waited.

“Let’s do this, yeah?”

Eren watched as [Name] effortlessly picked up Mikasa and sat her in front of the horse’s back with her hands gripping tightly on the silver colored mane. Then [Name] swung herself onto the saddle with a huff steadying Mikasa so she wouldn’t fall.

Eren stepped closer to the black horse and set his hand on the strong hip, petting it softly. “He’s very pretty, [Name],” Eren complimented and the horse trotted in place with a proud neigh. He looked at his sister who extended her hand out to him, “Reaper says thank you for the compliment.”

He knew his sister was strong, but to pull his weight on top of the horse was cool. She used to be so weak back then, but the military must have changed her strength. He was placed behind his sister with his hands clenching on her brown jacket that had the Survey Corps emblem on the back.

“Alright, kids! Hold on tight! Reaper will lose you in the dust if you fall!” [Name] joked lightheartedly and pulled the reins for her horse to go running to where the citizens meet up with the Scouts.

This had to be the best day for Eren, he thought.

……

Hanji was patiently waiting. At least, that’s what she thought she was doing. But her legs couldn’t stop shaking from anticipation. She couldn’t possibly wait to be introduced to her best friend’s siblings! She casually looked to her right and saw her comrade, Levi Ackerman, looking around the crowd that formed on the sides of the path.

His eyes flicked from person to person as if he was waiting to see a specific person.

She wanted to tease him, but first she had to pull him in.

“Aww, I’m gonna miss [Name] on this expedition!” Hanji pouted as she hung her head back in exasperation. Then she straightened out her back and she shouted ahead of her comrades, “Hey Erwin! Why did you let [Name] have to speak to Commander Pixis! It literally could’ve been anyone else in this regiment!”

“Shut it, four-eyes. You’re already giving me a headache.”

Hanji looked to the right and saw Levi giving her a glare already. She smiled and pulled her horse to get closer to Levi’s. “Come on, I know you feel the same, Levi. I know you were looking at the crowd to see the familiar [h.color] hair and beautiful [e.color] eyes. I noticed how close the two of you have been-”

“You’re annoying as ever,” Levi grumbled looking away with a scoff of irritation.

Hanji opened her mouth to retort, but she heard her name being called out with excitement. She whipped her body around as best as she could and saw a woman waving at her with a giant smile.

“Hange~! Levi~!”

Her energetic voice was loud as ever and it brought a smile to the crazy scientist’s face. Then Hanji focused on the kid [Name] brought with her. There was a little girl with long black hair sitting in front of her with stone cold eyes.

Hange recalled that her younger sister went through a lot of trauma as a kid, but they didn’t know how much. The little girl’s eyes reminded them of Levi’s.

The citizens made way for the giant horse [Name] rode on and Reaper casually walked in between Hange’s and Levi’s horses. Upon meeting, the two black horses nudged their faces against each other as their greeting while the humans greeted each other.

“[Name]! I thought you would never come! Both Levi and I were searching for you!” Hange shouted and immediately took notice of hands holding onto [Name]’s vest. “Oh and who is this?”

Hange leaned backwards and saw a boy with brown hair and very pretty teal eyes look at her with a certain shyness in them.

“Hange, Levi, this is my little brother, Eren! Levi, he’s your biggest fan!” [Name] gleamed and pulled a nervous Eren to the front, his bottom resting on her left thigh while Mikasa rested on the right one.

The boy and the man were face to face with each other. Levi being taller on his horse was glaring down at Eren with his neutral look on his face.

“H-hello…sir, I mean, captain!” Eren stuttered out then shoved his face into [Name]’s chest with a quaking smile. Mikasa noticed that Eren was a bit out of his comfort zone and she glared at Levi for the stare he directed at Eren.

Hange laughed and jeered, “Geez, Levi, would it kill you to smile? Hey, Eren, I heard you wanted to join the Scouts!”

This made Eren pick his head up and with a smile, he nodded his head, “Yes, I do! I want to see what’s beyond the walls!” His smile went away and with gloom, said, “These stuffy walls…we’re just like cattle stuck in here waiting for the titans to pick us off.”

“Oh,” Hange said softly and looked at [Name] for some continuation.

“Yeah, Eren, is determined to join the ranks. But mom is strictly against the idea for obvious reasons,” [Name] drawled out and she moved onto the next topic.

“Anyways, this is our sister, Mikasa Ackerman. She is very protective of our Eren which should be my job, but hey! Can’t always be there!” [Name] laughed and Levi caught on to her last name.

“Ackerman?” His eyes lingered on the foreign girl and she nodded her head slowly. They both had the same last name, but didn’t know who connected them to each other.

[Name] watched Levi carefully waiting for more of a reaction than the one of curiosity. Then she continued, “These two love to get into fights with other children. Mikasa is super strong and fast while Eren is very determined! He never knows when to quit!”

Levi hummed in response and focused on the task ahead. He had to get his head back into the game of this cruel world. It was a good thing [Name] wasn’t joining them today. Hanji was right about them getting closer in a relationship.

He didn’t want a distraction on the field and this mission prolongs his feelings for the woman. But when he glanced at her from the side, holding those children in her arms protectively with a smile on her face while talking to Hanji made him question his life with her.

Could they- No, could anyone in the Scouts have a family knowing that they could die outside the walls and never come back? Was it possible to protect one another from the titans?

He couldn’t even protect his friends. Isabel barely made it with [Name]’s help. Even he didn’t know how the two of them survived the abnormal titan.

“[Name] tells me about the outside all the time, but really! How is it?” Eren asked with enthusiasm that broke through his shy shell. Hange laughed at his question and opened her mouth to respond, but Levi beat her to it with his soft voice.

“It’s beautiful out there.”

This silenced the three loud people as they looked at him with shocked expressions. But Eren was the first to break the silence as his hands clenched in anticipation, “It really is, isn’t it? I want to see it! I want to see it all!”

Levi’s eyes widened for a fraction seeing the pretty eyes that belonged to Eren remind him of Isabel. Even his attitude that [Name] spoke of reminded him of the red haired woman.

“Just be patient, Eren,” [Name] said with a gentle voice and a certain sadness in her eyes. Hange and Levi knew that look all too well. [Name] had a point in saying that the boy needed patience. Not everyone was willing to sacrifice their life just to see what was beyond the walls. She wanted to keep his innocence in place.

Levi looked from [Name]’s face over to her brother, he said, “You’re sister is right, brat. Enjoy the life you have now before you dedicate it to the Scouts.”

Then the five of them shot their heads forward when Erwin began his speech for the next expedition. Levi and Hanji shifted in their saddle while [Name] put her siblings back into their respective places.

Levi heard [Name] whisper to her siblings, “That is Commander Erwin, he’s very motivational. Do you guys wanna feel the rush of riding beside the Scouts?”

“Yes, I do!” Eren whispered with excitement and Levi rolled his eyes. This kid was a different breed for sure.

“Okay, hold on tight and make sure to give Hanji and Levi the best “see you later”.”

See you later? Not a goodbye.

Levi looked ahead with a newfound motive. That’s right, he’s coming back to see her smile. To hear her imaginative stories of the outside wall that were lucrative to speak of.

The gates opened up and everyone began riding out to their mission. The five of them rode next to each other for another 30 seconds until [Name] stopped her horse at the entrance. He kept his eyes forward while hearing the voice of Eren Jaeger shouting at them.

His voice was surprisingly louder than the horses running.

“Hanji! Levi! We’ll see you later! Mom has the best food waiting for you!”

Hanji turned around with a smile on her face as she waved at them, her horse continuing to make the distance bigger,

“See ya guys later! I can’t wait to taste it!”

Levi split off from Hanji and his squad followed closely behind him. He already said his ‘see you later’ to [Name] earlier. But he must admit that Eren’s was a bit better with that childlike excitement in his voice.

Little did he know, Levi would come back hearing that the town his friend lived in with her family was destroyed by titans. The terrifying news the bearer held was enough to make him charge straight into Shiganshina to see the destruction.

……

“A fucking hole made by a Titan that was bigger than the walls breached?” Levi questioned angrily, not believing a single word the messengers relay to them.

He stood among Erwin Smith and Hange Zoe along with their respective squad mates.

“Y-yessir! It came down with a single strike of lightning and it peered over the wall! Then it just kicked a hole in and titans started coming through!”

Erwin Smith hummed and stepped up, “What about the Scout that was left behind. She was ordered to speak with Commander Pixis about the Garrison Regiment.”

The lead messenger nodded his head, “Y-yeah, of course! You’re talking about [Name] Jaeger! She granted the civilians of Shiganshina a lot of time by killing the first titans that came through! But then…”

The messenger stopped and thought about his words. The silence was enough to stop the heart of Hange as she grabbed the soldier by the shoulders, “Hey, don’t stop in the middle of explaining like that! She’s not dead!”

The soldier said a small ‘okay’ then resumed his sentence, “But then her family was in danger. She abandoned her post and left to save them. I heard that her mother was terribly injured and her kid siblings just weren’t strong enough to help her…I-I don’t know the whole story. But she’s being held accountable for abandonment.”

“How much time did she grant the civilians?”

Erwin’s question stunted the man and his blue eyes were hauntingly glaring at the messenger.

“H-huh?”

“He asked how much time did she give the people to escape? How many shitty titans did she kill by herself?” Levi reiterated in his own words.

The lead messenger looked back at his colleague and they brought out a piece of paper. Their eyes scanning over the account of witnesses and Garrison soldiers about the woman who wore wings on her back.

“[Name] Jaeger gave a whole seven minutes and 19 seconds of time to run away. She proceeded to kill 27 titans by herself and assisted the Garrison soldiers with many more. Yet she abandoned her post and left an abnormal Titan to burst through the interior wall which she could have stopped.”

The Scouts were silent with the account.

Levi huffed out in annoyance, “You’re telling me, she helped the Garrison soldiers fight and reduced the amount of lives lost only for you guys to put the blame on her for another abnormal Titan bashing in? Isn’t it the job of the Garrison to help evacuate citizens? Why wasn’t anyone helping her family?”

“No disrespect to you all, but you guys weren’t there. The silence that engulfed Shiganshina…the cries of terror after the hole was created…the titans walking- The fear was enough to stun us!”

“Not enough to stun [Name] Jaeger,” Erwin spoke up with his naturally deep voice, “it seems to me she was the only one who responded accordingly to an attack. She’s not a Garrison Soldier, but she did the job of one. Explain to me why that is.” He demanded the shorter man before him and the messenger shook his head.

“I’m not sure why,” The man said quietly nervously looking at the intense eyes Erwin had that made him submit to an actual answer, “M-maybe because she’s braver than me, okay! Maybe I was afraid of losing my life! She’s used to seeing titans, she’s a Scout for crying out loud and one of the best! I’m just a messenger, I never fought a real titan and she has that experience!”

“She was amazing out there,” The second messenger, the one with the witness statements, said out loud for the scouts to hear. The female continued on with a certain spark in her eyes, “[Name] Jaeger had killed so easily that it looked like anyone could do it. She gave me the confidence to kill two titans by myself even with my heart racing in fear. But when I stopped, she didn’t, she continued onward and she thanked me…me for helping her out even though I only killed two.”

Hanji smiled softly and said, “Yeah, that’s what she does best. She lets you know that you did good even if you don’t think the same of yourself. But please, tell me why the Garrison is charging her for abandonment, but none of you are facing the same consequence.”

The female looked at her partner and she sighed, “Captain Woermann is the one charging her because he believes she could have stopped the second titan from blowing another hole.”

Erwin hummed and asked the woman, “Do you think he’s right?”

“No,” she shook her head, “ the cannons did nothing to stop the second titan. It had armor all over his body. I’m one hundred percent sure that her blades couldn’t have pierced through the plates at all.”

The topic changed immediately when Levi asked an important question that can change the charges against his friend, “Was anyone with her when she tried to save her family?”

The woman’s eyes widened and she nodded her head, “Y-yeah, actually, it was Hannes.”

The male messenger rolled his eyes and scoffed, catching the attention of the scouts.

“What’s with that reaction,” Levi questioned, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

“Hannes is a drunk,” the man replied with a sneer, “all he did early in the day was drink with his buddies. That man can’t guard shit and-”

“Good,” Erwin smiled and looked at Levi and Hanji, “that’s good. We can use his story to get [Name] out of her trial without any punishments given.”

#x reader #x female reader #attack on titan #anime imagine #eren yeager #levi ackerman x reader

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kitty-tea · 17 days

Note

Can you write a smut story with cedric where the reader is shy, introvert and not very bold (the complete opposite personality of the reader from your other cedric story) and cedric is a gentlemanly soft dom?

I'm going through a edric obsession rn and I read your other story. It was really good and well written, but I'm nothing like the reader in it, so I couldn't relate to it 🥲.

New girl

Link to masterlist

Cedric Diggory x Muggle!reader

Summary: Cedric notices a new girl in town.

Hi sorry this is so late I started this story shortly after receiving the request in my inbox but then I kept having to rewrite and re-edit every time because I wasn’t happy with how my story was turning out, but I’m finally done!

I thought it’d be interesting to write a fanfic about Cedric with a Muggle!reader since I’ve never read any before

Warnings: NSFW, smut, oral sex, nipple play, pet names, shy!reader, might contain typos, p in v sex, all characters are of age, 18+ only!

After telling his parents his plans for the day, Cedric headed out to the same familiar coffee shop in town he’d gone to since before he could remember. He expected nothing but the same tables, chairs, customers, and workers when he walked into the cafe. What he wasn’t expecting was a new employee, you.

He could see you wiping the counter, too focused on your task to notice him until he said hello. You let out a gasp. Apparently, you were one to get startled easily. You had on a black Henley top paired with matching black leggings, and your hair was in a bun that was as big as the cinnamon rolls in the pastry case with some hair left framing your blushing face.

“H-Hi, how can I help you?” Cedric thought that little tremble in your voice complemented so well with this adorable shyness you were displaying.

“I’ll take a latte and a slice of peach pie. For here.” He said, sounding cool and confident.

After you rang up his order, he took a seat not far from the counter. It was a small cafe, with enough room for only about five tables to be lined up. With there being no other customers inside, he was able to savor the silence that was occasionally broken by the sounds you made with your footsteps as you worked behind the counter.

As you brought out his food and drink, you gave him what looked to be a half smile, but it wasn’t a type of rude or lazy half-smile. It was more of a customer service smile that you weren’t trying to overdo.

“Here you go sir,” you set the plate and cup down, careful not to mess up the heart that was crafted onto the latte. Cedric thought that you did a lovely job on it, and he wanted to let you know.

“Thank you. It’s a lovely heart by the way.” He smiled.

“Oh, I’ve only just started working here a few weeks ago.” You fidgeted with your sleeves and the hem of your little apron around your waist.

“You must be new in town.” He guessed, more like stated.

“How did you know?”

“I’ve lived here my whole life. I don’t meet new people everyday.” He said. “My name’s Cedric, what’s yours?”

As quickly as you looked into his eyes and told him your name, your eyes went back to where they were looking at originally.

“Thanks again,” He tried making eye contact with you to ease you up, but it apparently had the opposite effect as you kept looking down and nodded before retreating to the counter.

Cedric was used to girls at school throwing themselves at him and following him around like a lost puppy. Now it was his turn to be the lost puppy.

Cedric told himself that he wasn’t technically stalking you since he liked to go to that particular cafe since before you started working there. It was his little routine during the summer holidays for him to sometimes walk over there and get breakfast. It also happened that he noticed that you were there almost every weekday for the opening shift.

It caught him by surprise when he was taking a late afternoon walk around town and he saw you coming out of the cafe after it was scheduled to close. You huffed as your purse fell from your shoulder. Before you could bend down to pick it up, Cedric had it in his hand, ready to hand it over to you.

“Thank you.” You said as your eyes met his. “It’s Cedric, right?”

“Yeah, you remembered my name.” He let the corners of his eyes crinkle in its own way of smiling. “You just got done closing?” He asked, pointing to the sign that said “closed” just because he loved to awkwardly point out the obvious in front of a pretty girl.

“I had to cover for someone today. Normally, I work the opening shift.” You were still holding onto that habit of occasionally looking down while in his presence.

“I see.” He nodded. He had to come up with another question to keep you talking. “How do you like it here?”

“It’s nice and quiet. Although I’ve seen some strange families around here.” Strange families? He knew exactly which strange families you were referring to because he was a part of one of them.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with people who are different. They’re what makes this town unique.” You said quickly, as if you were worried you insulted his hometown.

“Yeah, I pretty much grew up with this entire town, I know what you mean.” Cedric said. He then reminded himself that he got so distracted by talking to you that he forgot that you had to get home. “Sorry if I’m holding you up. It was nice talking to you. I’m sure you have to get home.”

“It’s okay. I was actually going to the park.”

“Me too.” No he wasn’t. “Maybe we can go there together?”

“Really? I wouldn’t want to impose.” You looked down at your worn out shoes.

On the short walk to the park, you and Cedric talked and got to know each other. He told you all about his life except for the part about him being a wizard and how he used to attend a magical boarding school while you told him about how you and your parents moved here from a big city after you had finished school.

As the first sign of sundown became visible, you and Cedric said your goodbyes to each other, but before you could leave, he asked you, “Would you like to go out with me sometime this week? Like on a date?” He assumed from your conversation with him that you had no current boyfriend, so the chances of you saying yes were increased. Unless, he was wrong and some other guy had asked you out already which he would feel down about if it were true.

“Are you sure you want to go out with me?” You started fidgeting with your sleeves, blushing.

“Absolutely.” He brushed a strand of hair out of your face, making you look up at him. He wanted to melt as soon as you made eye contact with him, showing the sparkle in your eyes.

“What time do you get off work?” Cedric asked.

“At one.” You said.

“Perfect. I’ll meet you there tomorrow.” He cupped your cheek in his large hand and placed a light kiss there.

As he was laying in bed, Cedric looked out at the dark ceiling above him. The last thing he remembered before closing his eyes was that he was thinking about your beautiful smile and how couldn’t wait to see it again.

A couple months had passed in his new relationship and Cedric dreaded having to be subjected to his parents’ questioning about how he was going to tell you he was a wizard, or if he’d already told you which was why he didn’t bother telling them he was seeing someone. He knew when the time was right, he’d tell you everything you needed to know about him. You had given him no reason to feel as if you’d judge him no matter what. He was lucky you weren’t one of those nosey girls to pester him about meeting his family or ask of any secrets he might be hiding.

The day did come when he felt ready to tell his parents that he was seeing a Muggle. Of course they knew he was seeing someone. It’s a parent’s job to know everything about their kids, so it was inevitable that they’d want to meet you.

It was on one of your days off that Cedric invited you to lunch in his home with his parents.

He had warned you his parents were a bit unusual themselves, but you assured him not to worry. What he didn’t tell you was that they were the way they were because they were wizards who weren’t very knowledgeable about Muggles.

As soon as you hopped off your bike in front of Cedric’s house, you noticed the lack of cars in the driveway, something you weren’t used to seeing in front of other homes, but you brushed it off.

You were happy meeting his parents was without a hitch. Mr. and Mrs. Diggory told you what a delight you were to have around as well as saying you seemed like the right girl for Cedric.

After his parents left to go attend to magical business (not that you needed to know what it was) Cedric was alone with you in his bedroom.

“What’s this, Cedric?” You asked as you pointed to a Mooncalf plushie he forgot to hide in his closet. His eyes widened even more than the plushie’s as realization sunk into him.

“It’s… just something I drew as a kid and my parents made it into a toy.” He came up with that excuse.

“It’s so adorable! I love how big its eyes are! Can I hold it please?” You begged. He didn’t see any harm in it. It wasn’t like you stumbled upon the real thing.

Once he nodded in approval, your smile widened as you grabbed the toy off the bookshelf and wrapped your arms around it.

“Aww, I wish this was a real animal, don’t you?” Cedric thought you looked adorable when you were mesmerized like you were at that moment.

Of course they’re real. They’re magical creatures called Mooncalves. He wanted to tell you.

“But you’re real. And way cuter than that thing.” He took the plushie out of your hands as he placed it back into its proper place before stepping forward and encircling his hands around your waist. You blushed at the close proximity of your faces before the both of you felt your lips being pulled to each other’s.

As you continued making out with Cedric, you started to feel a dull ache between your thighs that only got stronger.

It was only when he heard a soft moan come out of your mouth that he pulled away and looked at your flushed face.

“Do you want to take this further?” He asked, searching all over your face for any sign of discomfort. It wasn’t that you were uncomfortable, you were shy and unsure of how to proceed with what was going on, but you still felt like you could trust Cedric.

After giving him consent by nodding your head, he led you to his bed where your back hit the soft mattress. A tiny whimper escaped you as you felt what you assumed was his erection bumping against your clit through the thin cotton of your shorts, sending a powerful, tingling sensation throughout your body.

“Does that feel good, Sweetheart?” Cedric’s deep voice brought you back from your pleasure-induced mini-trance. “I can give you more.”

“O-Okay.” Your response came out as a choked out whisper. Cedric was a patient person. He took his time admiring how sweet you looked as he slid each piece of clothing off your body until he unhooked your bra, which made you instinctively cover yourself.

“Don’t hide yourself from me, please.” His voice sounded like a gentle plea as he pried your arms off your chest. “You’re beautiful. I want to give them the love they deserve.” He cupped his large hand around one of your breasts, giving it a light squeeze.

You let your eyelids close as he continued massaging both of your breasts, giving them equal attention until you felt something warm and wet around one of your hardened nipples. The sensation of your nipple being sucked on felt too good for you to keep quiet.

The sweet little noises coming out of your pretty mouth did nothing to soothe the painful erection restricted in Cedric’s clothes. He needed more, and he could sense you did too.

With a plop, his mouth left your nipple, and you opened your eyes, a noise between a breathless sigh and a moan leaving you.

“How about I take off my clothes? Would that make you feel better?” Cedric asked as he ran the back of his pointer finger over your heated cheek. You nodded.

How could he say no to your cute face with your lips pouted looking like you were ready to suck on his cock?

You watched him like he was the most exciting thing in the world as he stripped off his T-shirt and jeans, revealing his muscles. He gave you a brief smile before hooking his fingers beneath the band of his underwear and pulling them down.

You couldn’t stop yourself from gasping, your eyes going wider than they’d ever been, making Cedric smirk at the effect he had on you.

He intertwined his fingers through your hair as he used his other hand to guide your face upwards until you were in a kneeling position with his dick in front of your face, less than an inch away from your lips.

“Come on, Sweetheart, let me see those pretty lips suck me off.” You let another soft gasp escape you as he put his thumb on your bottom lip slowly prying your mouth open.

He couldn’t comprehend how he so badly wanted to just lose it right there and shove his dick straight into your warm mouth and feel your throat closing and gagging around him. That wasn’t going to happen now because he reminded himself that he had to be patient with you and let you adjust and get comfortable, something he was also willing to do, reveling in your innocence and shyness.

“That’s it, good girl.” He praised you as you reached out with your tongue to lick the tip before wrapping your lips around it completely. “Just like that. You can go deeper if you’re ready.”

The feeling of having a cock inside your mouth was completely new to you, but it wasn’t unpleasant. You took a few experimental licks before deciding you enjoyed how the round tip felt on your tongue. You were curious and excited to find out how the rest of him would feel, so you wasted no time in running your tongue along the entire length, eliciting a deep groan from him.

“Was that good?” Your voice squeaked out, the loud plop of your lips disconnecting from him bringing him out of his thoughts.

“It was perfect.” Even though he didn’t get to cum, Cedric told himself it was okay. Maybe next time. He had already made up his mind about wanting to do this with you again.

“Why don’t I take a turn and make you feel good this time?” He ran his fingers through your hair before letting them trail along your neck before pushing you back towards the pillow you previously propped up against.

“I can take these off.” His thumb circled along the front of your panties before feeling your clit through the cotton. “I really want to see all of you.”

You were quickly starting to get dizzy from the pleasure of having Cedric rubbing the swollen, aching nub between your legs. The only thing on your mind at that moment was how good it felt to have that soft pressure on that sensitive area.

Cedric couldn’t get enough of staring at the blissed out expression on your face. He knew he was experienced enough with his fingers to be able to make you cum just from that if he wanted to.

Instead, he pulled his fingers away just before tugging your panties down, letting the delicate material glide along your soft thighs before tossing them in the same pile as your other clothes.

Before you could think about closing your legs, Cedric grabbed one of your ankles and maneuvered it so that his torso was between your thighs.

One look was all it took to know your pussy was already wet and eager for him to insert something into it. He could start small with one finger and add more until he stretched you out good enough before you were ready.

“How does this feel?” He asked you as he inserted his pointer finger into your hole.

“I want more… please?” It took him by surprise to hear how needy, but small your voice sounded, but he was more than eager and willing to fulfill your wants, so he added a second finger and curled it upwards.

That was when your eyes widened and your mouth started to twitch around a high-pitched whimper.

“Right there! Please!” You pleaded for him to give you more of that pleasurable sensation with his fingers, but unfortunately he pulled away, making you gasp at the new emptiness.

“Is this all for me?” Cedric asked as he brought his fingers to your face. Your wet and sticky juices coated them, its shine and gloss thick, making his fingers almost look like a sweet treat. It might as well have been just that for Cedric, having popped them into his mouth. You watched in awe as he licked off every drop of your arousal from his fingers without breaking eye contact with you.

“Darling, I think it’s time both of us give each other pleasure.” He smiled at you as he leaned forward, using one arm to prop himself up as he nudged the tip of his hard cock against your folds.

“Don’t you agree?” His deep voice whispered through your ear, making you melt as you lazily nodded along.

Holding onto the soft flesh of your hips, Cedric sheathed himself inside of you.

“Oh bloody hell, you feel so good.” He grunted as he felt your walls squeezing around him. “You’re doing so well.”

With his encouragement, you were prompted to become more responsive as you started to pant and moan louder with each thrust that became quicker. That was when you felt a pressure inside you start to build up.

To make that pressure even more intense, Cedric started rubbing your clit in circles. Your body was so close to convulsing around his dick at this point. It couldn’t have been more than ten seconds that you had shut your eyes as the pleasure overtook your entire body, and you saw stars behind your eyelids.

“Oh my God… Cedric!” You gasped. “I just finished…” You ended the sentence with a whisper.

“I’m almost there too, Angel.” He said to you with that same hushed tone as he continued to thrust into you with the same deep but measured pace as before until he gripped the pillow next to your head. A loud grunt left his throat as he bit his lip.

As if he had momentarily lost control of himself and regained it, he slipped out of you before he stroked himself one last time.

You looked down at your breasts and stomach where he had spilled himself and then up above you where he was catching his breath.

He let his head hang low above your shoulder, while your fingers glided over his back once. He returned the action except this time his agile fingers started at your cheek then your neck and shoulder before ending at the curve of your waist. He continued this a handful of times, seeing as how it seemed to soothe you, compelling your eyelids to shut slowly.

When a couple of minutes had passed without a peep from you and Cedric was absolutely sure you were asleep, he dug his wand out from his bedside drawer before casting a spell, cleaning the both of you up before tucking you under the blanket and joining you with his arm around you.

#fanfic #harry potter fanfiction #reader insert #fem!reader #fanfiction #harry potter #hp fanfic #smut #smutty fanfiction #cedric diggory x reader #cedric diggory x you #cedric diggory #tumblr fic #hp fandom #au fanfiction #muggle reader #hp fic #dirty fanfiction

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mswyrr · 9 months

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more on michelin stars

I genuinely think it's going to be an important plot point in s3 re: why exactly Sydney wants a star and why *one* specifically. I went and researched and discovered something I used in my fic, which is that one Michelin star restaurants are excellent cuisine that normal people can still afford. And that connected, for me, to what Sydney had told Marcus about how going out was so special when she was a kid and she wanted to share that kind of amazing thing with people:

We didn't really like eat out a lot growing up, so when we did, it felt special even if it wasn't.... I wanna cook for people and make them happy and give them the best bacon on Earth (1x08)

I'm so hopeful/convinced that the research they have with, like, Matty (the chef who plays Fak) right there on set, means the writers know that about what one star places can be like. And that it's meant to be part of this - more humane vision of excellence for Sydney, where their spot is AMAZING, but it's not a cruel kitchen culture, it's not only for the rich.

For her, it’s *part* of her vision, where she says:

“I think this place could be so different from all the other places we've been at. But, in order for that to be true, we need to run things different.“ (1x03)

But Carmy sees a star and all it means (all he’s ever known it to mean) as a repudiation of that kind of humanity. You say the word "star" and immediately Carmy goes "fuck stars" (2x01) as pure self-defense - because stars are just pain and suffering to him. They're NYC chef and everything that mess became.

He's so traumatized by the whole thing he doesn't think to ask the right questions: why do you want one? What is your vision for it? Why do you specifically want *one* instead of two or three? What timeline do you have in mind for getting there and how can we strategize on this together?

Instead, because he wants so desperately to please her, despite that instinctive, self-defensive "fuck stars" he relents and asks - okay, are you sure? Are you positive this is what you want? Really?? It's terrible. It's just dread and fear and throwing up every day before work. You really want me to give you this?

(I’ll give you anything you want)

He never asks the right questions. Just assuming the level of pain which is his only experience of this is what the thing IS--playing into that theme about how people only know what they're taught, only know what they are given, and if we are given pain and patterns of it it is so hard to even imagine things can be different and, when you can imagine it, still so hard to actually get there.

(It’s not a coincidence that the ASL sign is one of the few positive, healthy examples of kitchen culture Carmy witnessed - we only know what we’re taught, and it can be hard work to even figure out what “not shitty” IS let alone doing it)

So he's assuming all of that and it's like - if she's his CDC, does she want him to push her as hard as he was pushed? Push himself that hard again? He doesn't want to do either of those things. But that's all he knows. And she keeps saying this is what she wants. And he wants to give her everything she wants.

(In the same conversation she kept saying yes, this is what I want, she expressed admiration for the designer chef outfit he later buys her as a gift - he wants to give her everything she wants, even when it seems like a terrible idea he’s torn about)

I think this misunderstanding is intentional and it’s going to come out in S3. A one star restaurant fits so perfectly with what we know of Sydney’s goals and love for her work! And Carmy not able to even conceive of something better because of the patterns he’s stuck in and finding his way to her vision makes sense for him.

I think Carmy figuring out how this work can be joyful and humane is going to be a huge part of S3. Sydney not becoming lost in the high stress environment, not following in younger!Carmy's footsteps living a life of pure drive and dread, and Carmy finding that for the first time.

I do think that, given where they both end in 2x10, there’s going to be a period of conflict and a real bunch of issues for both of them - but with themes and ideas like this seeded into the story there’s so many ways to make s3 start out in a bad way and then really end in joy in a beautiful way?

#the bear #sydney adamu #carmen berzatto #sydcarmy #carmen x sydney #the bear meta #my meta #annnnd i'm back to my point that #this show would be utterly miserable and not enjoyable for me personally to watch #without sydney #because like.... she keeps having vision in ways #that this partnership needs #on his own he can't see the way to climb out of the dark hole he's lived his whole life in #and (Sorry i am quoting this verse in a strictly literary sense not preaching LOL) 'where there is no vision the people perish'#the show without sydney (as some reddit assholes seem to want...) is a short season about one guy's awful breakdown that time he tried to #bury his grief in fixing up the family restaurant #and had a breakdown after max 6 months #and then nat sold the place for them both #for both their wellbeing #to like - keep ONE brother alive #looking at it in fairy tale terms #(not my expertise but lemme try for a sec)#the restaurant is also the family #and they're under a kind of curse?#curse of the past #the awful patterns #carmy is under a curse #and sydney is the person #who is able to walk in #and break that

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lovelynim · 1 year

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Kaveh’s key

Genshin Impact - Alhaitham x Kaveh (feat. Mehrak)

A/N: I got a little too obsessed with Kaveh being able to use telekinesis. That’s the plot behind this one.

Summary: Kaveh decides to use Mehrak’s help to teach Alhaitham a lesson for stealing his keys.

Word count: 1305 words.

Alhaitham and Kaveh walked inside the house, but in two completely different moods. While the scribe had a rather calm expression, and even a little drained from his work day, his roommate was clearly upset, making the sound of his heavy footsteps echo through the house as he went to the kitchen to search for something to drink.

Because Alhaitham ended up taking both keys (for the third time that week), Kaveh had to wait outside their house for at least an hour, waiting for the other man to get back from work and allow them both to go in.

Kaveh wasn’t sure what was making him more angry: the wait, the fact that it was becoming a common occurrence or how unbothered Alhaitham looked, not showing the slight concern for his roommate.

“Could you at least pretend you care?” Kaveh whined out loud, staring at Alhaitham’s direction. The scribe was comfortably sitting on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, and with a book on his hands. Kaveh clenched his teeth. “I’m talking to you, you idiot.”

But there was no response. Alhaitham simply turned the page, barely taking his eyes out of the book as Kaveh only got even more upset.

“Alhaitham!”

“Yes, Kaveh? I’m listening,” the scribe snapped back, clearly uninterested. Kaveh placed his cup down and he crossed his arms, pouting.

“You can be such a pain to deal with sometimes. Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“Hm…” Alhaitham muttered, placing the book down on his lap and slightly lifting his chin, as if thinking about his next words. “Yes. Be more careful and don’t forget your keys next time,” he said, tilting his head to the side to look at Kaveh with a sly smirk.

“I didn’t forget them!” Kaveh roared, slamming his hands over the kitchen’s table. “You took both keys with you! Again!”

“Then be more careful and place them somewhere else, it’s not my fault they got entangled,” Alhaitham muttered, turning another page and continuing to read.

He was really getting on Kaveh’s nerves.

“Why can’t you pay more attention when you leave the house?! And it took you an eternity to get back home! Do you know how much time I spent outside for you?!”

Alhaitham sighed. Kaveh was being loud enough to disturb his reading and, now, he was getting annoyed as well. He had no energy to argue with his roommate and just wanted to finish his reading… Maybe it would be better to just agree with Kaveh, he thought.

“Alright, Kaveh, I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful tomorrow,” the scribe sighed, noticing how his words made his roommate go silent.

Taking it as a good sign, Alhaitham picked up his book again and resumed reading. However, in Kaveh’s end, those words didn’t land so well. The blonde clenched his hands, thinking about throwing the cup in front of him right at Alhaitham’s head. But once he looked at his own hands, he was struck by a different idea.

Giving Mehrak a subtle look, Kaveh nodded at his suitcase and it already knew that the architect had something in mind.

He walked around the living room, as if going to his bedroom, but stopped behind the couch. “You asked for this,” he warned Alhaitham, who simply lifted his eyes from the book and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“What do you me-” before he could finish, he felt something around his wrists. Two yellow rings made out of energy. Mehrak’s energy. The scribe got even more confused and was about to turn back to look at Kaveh when his roommate spoke again.

“Up,” the blonde spoke, placing one hand over his waist while he swiped his finger up, waiting for Mehrak to follow his command. With that simple move, the rings went up, holding Alhaitham’s hand above his head.

The scribe felt blood rush to his cheeks, tainting them with a faint shade of pink. He tried to pull his arms down, but Mehrak’s energy kept holding them firmly. No matter how much he twisted his hands, it wouldn’t move a single inch.

“It’s not going to work like that, you know, especially since keeping you in place doesn’t demand a lot of energy from Mehrak.”

“What?” Alhaitham gasped, sitting back on the couch as he had no option but to accept that his arms were restrained. “Then tell it to let me go,” he hissed, managing to look over his shoulder and glare at Kaveh with the corner of his eyes.

“Not until you apologize.”

“I already did it.”

“Sure,” Kaveh chuckled, walking towards the scribe and making him shiver in anticipation, “do as you please.” He muttered and Alhaitham could hear the grin in his voice.

Kaveh placed his hands over each of his roommate’s bare triceps, lazily tracing up and down over them. Just from that simple touch, Alhaitham could already feel his heartbeat increase. He greeted his teeth, stiffening his body as he tried to hold back his laugh while an awkward smile took place in his lips. “K-Kaveheh- St-hng… s-stohop it.”

The change in his voice tone didn’t go unnoticed. The blonde grinned, lightly moving the tip of his fingers in circles right above the middle of Alhaitham’s underarms. “Not so tough now, eh? You almost sound like a nice guy speaking like this,” he teased, amusing himself with his friend’s squirming.

“T-Thihihs childihish! S-stop it, Kahahaveh!” Alhaitham protested, twisting his torso side to side as much as the energy rings allowed him to.

“And so is your stubbornness.” The architect snapped back, lowering his hands a little just to drag the tip of his nails up the scribe’s outstretched armpits.

Alhaitham choked with his laughter, banging his heels against the floor beneath him, finally giving in to ticklish sensations. “AHAhaha, K-KavehehEHeh!! QuihiHIHihit it, pleheHEhease!” He cackled, trying to bury his blushing face into his arms with no avail. The scribe pressed his hands into fists as Kaveh’s nails moved freely over his skin, tickling each muscle with a precision that was sending Alhaitham up the walls.

“Begging won’t take you anywhere, you insufferable idiot,” Kaveh taunted, adding just enough pressure to his touch to send Alhaitham into another wave of hysterical laughter. “Are you sorry?!” He yelled, trying to make his roommate hear his words over the loud pleads and chortles.

“YEHEHES- AhahAHaha, j-juhuhust stahAHA- W-wahahait!!” Alhaitham giggled, letting out an embarrassing squeal when Kaveh decided to pinch the skin right above his underarm. His other hand, however, explored each inch of sensitive skin on the other side, wiggling his fingers mercilessly into the middle of his hollow.

“Nuh-uh, not so fast. What are you sorry for?” Kaveh knew he was being petty, but he also believed Alhaitham deserved that. Regardless, he wasn’t stopping the tickling.

“F-for tahAHAhaking yo- ahAHAHAhah,” he pressed his eyes close as hard as he could, feeling like he was melting into a puddle of laughter over the couch when Kaveh’s hands went a little lower, tickling all the way up from his ribs to his arms. “For tahAHahaking y-yohou kehEHEHeys!!”

“See? It wasn’t this hard to put some sincerity into your words, was it?” Kaveh grinned, pleased with what he just heard. Taking his hands away, he snapped his fingers, releasing the scribe from Mehrak’s hold. “I’ll take a shower and go to bed, I had a really rough day, you know?”

“Ah-ahah.. f-fuck you, Kaveh,” Alhaitham muttered, laying his head back into the cushions as he tried to catch his breath, feeling the electric aftershocks running all the way across his torso.

“Good night for you too, Haitham,” he giggled, deciding to spare the scribe from another tease. He probably learnt his lesson and, if he didn’t, Kaveh could always count with Mehrak to give him a little reminder.

#genshin impact #genshin impact tickling #kaveh #alhaitham #kavetham #lee!alhaitham #ticklish!alhaitham #ler!kaveh #tickle fic

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crowleysgirl67 · 5 months

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Touches

Author: @crowleysgirl67

Word Count: 2256

Parings/Characters: Bucky x Reader (Eventual), Avengers team, Nat x Steve,

Warnings: AU ish i guess, show warnings, idk

A/N: Thanks for reading!

Steve had brought Bucky to the tower. It was awkward as you all stood there as he introduced him and Bucky kept avoiding looking anyone in the eye. You were tired of the awkwardness so you stepped forward.

“I’m (Y/N). It’s a pleasure to meet you Sargent Barnes. I hope we can all make you feel welcome and comfortable here.” you extended your hand to him as you emphasized the all as you gave Tony a look. He wasn’t sure about him and was still pissed about the Winter Soldier killing his parents.

He grumbled under his breath but stayed silent.

“(Y/N) your glov…” Nat started but it was too late as Bucky took your hand in a firm shake as he introduced himself. You sucked in a deep breath as his memories filled your head and you dropped to your knees. You’d seen some horrible shit in people's memories before but none had made you drop to your knees in agony the way Bucky's memories were.

“What’s happening? What’d I do?” Bucky asked, concerned he’d done something wrong.

“She has powers, she can know everything about a person just by skin to skin contact. There’s more but no one knows the extent of them.” Steve replied grimly. He’d known whatever happened to his best friend had been bad but he was unaware of just how bad it was. He’d seen you work before, brought in when the bad guys weren’t giving up information, or they were withholding more than what little they were giving up. Some made you grimace but nothing had you on the floor like you were now.

Bucky looked taken aback and horrified. Steve pulled him back away from you as Nat barked orders for everyone to give you breathing room. It was several minutes before you were able to regain composure.

“(Y/N) are you alright?” Nat asked, kneeling besides you.

“Yeah. Yeah I’m ok.” you rasp as you make your way to standing up.

Nat took hold of your elbow and helped you up. You shot her a grateful smile as you felt drained and not as steady on your feet.

“What the hell was that?” Tony demands “That’s never happened before.”

“I don’t have enough energy to deal with this right now. We can discuss it later.” you brushed his question off.

Tony looked like he wanted to argue but he knew better. “Fine. But you’re going to the med bay to get checked out.” The two of you stared at each other.

“Ugh, fine but only because I’m too tired for this shit.” you relented.

***

Steve showed Bucky around the compound and the room he’d be staying in.

“I’ll let you get settled. My room is down the next hall if you need me.” Steve pats him on the back.

“Thanks,” he replied, stepping into the room. It was a room, a bed with a bathroom attached and some closet space. A tv hung on the wall across from the bed. He left the door open as he pushed further into the room. He flicked the bathroom light on and looked around. It was a nice bathroom with a shower and a separate freestanding tub. He turned the light out and went back into the main part of the room, footsteps from the hall catching his attention.

Thinking it was Steve again he stepped out of the room and just about into you.

“Sorry.” he said, taking a step back.

“Not your fault.” you replied. “I should watch where I’m going. I’m not used to people in this hall.”

He looked you over before replying. You seemed better than you had been earlier. “What do you mean?”

“My rooms the next one over. Nobody else is in this hall. Well I guess now you are.”

He gives you a puzzled look, “Why hasn’t anyone else been here?”

“Mostly cuz Tony is worried my powers could do something. While I mostly have control they can still be unpredictable even to me. He doesn’t say anything to me but I can feel his hesitation and see his thoughts.” you head toward your room as Bucky follows.

“What is it that you can do exactly? If you don’t mind me asking. Steve said you get people's memories by skin contact.” He was curious, naturally. All the shit he’d been through, things he’d never wish on another person had been thrown onto you.

You beckoned him in as he hesitated in your doorway. He was still hesitant but stepped further into the room as you sat on the bench at the foot of your bed to take off your shoes.

“Have a seat.” you gestured to the chair in the corner. “What do you want to know?”

He took a seat, “The memories, do you get all of them?”

“Yes, any memories a person has I get with a touch. Their thoughts, feelings, things like that. In rare cases if the emotions are intense enough I will in essence experience what they went through.”

“Did you… Were mine one of those times?” he licked his lips.

“Yes.” you weren’t going to lie to him. “But don’t feel bad. You didn’t know what was going to happen. I should have been more careful about having my gloves on with someone new around.”

“I’m sorry.” He felt guilty in a way, like sure it wasn’t his fault but it was still the fucked up shit in his head.

“It isn’t your fault James.” you say softly.

He swallowed and ignored the rush of feeling that came with the sound of his name from your lips, “Is it contact via your hands only or does any skin contact trigger you?”

“Any. It's why I don't wear clothing that reveals skin. Long sleeves only if I'm out in public.”

“What makes here so different?” he asked, noting you in a tank top and leggings.

“Prolonged contact with everyone. Once I've touched a person I already have everything about them. If I touch them again even accidentally the only new information I receive is their memories, thoughts, feelings etc.. from between the last time I touched them and the new touch. Enough exposure and I don’t need touch to be in tune with them. I sense their feelings and can, if I focus, see their thoughts without touching them.”

“So downstairs earlier, staring with Stark. You were assessing him?” Bucky took an educated guess based on what you’ve told him so far.

You let out a surprised laugh, “Yeah, yeah I guess I was.”

***

Over the next few months you formed a close relationship with Bucky. He trusted you because you knew the truth about what happened to him, albeit in an unexpected manner. You hadn’t had skin contact again since the first time, so his rising crush on you had seemed to escape your freaky sense gaze.

“Barnes.” Tony greeted as he walked into the common area. “Have you seen (Y/N)?”

“Stark.” he returned the greeting. “No I haven’t she said something about helping Nat with some project, I don’t know.”

“If you see her let her know I need to see her.” he walked away and Bucky shook his head. You had an odd relationship with Stark and he was never sure what to make of it. You didn’t seem to be in a romantic relationship, and if you were it wasn’t obvious. If he was honest he really didn’t want to think about the possibility of you being in a romantic relationship if it wasn’t with him. He knew the rabbit hole he would go in with thoughts like that so he got up to go in search of you. He tried the usual haunts, your bedroom, the gym. The lab was an obvious no since Stark was looking for you and that’s where he usually was.

Taking a chance that maybe Steve would know where you were he went down the hall where his bedroom along with Nats was. Giggling from Natashas room had him skipping Steves and making his way down to hers.

“That’s actually pretty cool. When did these pop up?” It was Nat speaking, the cracked door was enough for him to hear the conversation clearly.

“They’ve been here awhile. I just hadn’t had any real reason to try to strengthen them.” this time it was you who spoke.

“That reason wouldn’t happen to be a tall hunk of a man would it?” Nat teased. Bucky heard a thump and a muffled “Hey” from Natasha.

“Shut up Nat.”

“Fine, but only if you show me more of that. Can you do it for others?”

“I don’t know. I can try. Where’s Steve? I’m sure he’ll let me use him as a guinea pig.”

“Whoa no wait come back!” Nat exclaimed.

The door to the room flung open as your giggling figure ran out and straight into Bucky.

“Oof,” you grunted and wrapped your hands around strong biceps as you caught yourself.

“Shit (Y/N)! Are you alright?” He put his hands on your hips to steady you.

“I’m fine. What are you doing out here?”

“Looking for you. Stark wants to see you.”

“He can wait. Where’s Steve? I wanna show him something cool with Nat.” you grin up at him, excitedly.

“Don’t you dare (Y/N)! I’ll tell him about your crush!” Nat appears in the doorway.

“What crush?” Bucky questions looking down at you.

“Her crush on you.” Nat smirks as you blush, aware of the fact Bucky had yet to release your hips, and you your grip on him.

“Thanks a lot Nat! I’m totally showing Steve now.”

“You have a crush on me?” he was shocked but also excited at the prospect you liked him back.

“Yes.” you bit your lip, a habit he noticed you did when nervous.

“Well then I really think you should use your power on me again Supergirl.” he wet his lips. He was ever so aware that you were about to get every little detail about what he thought of you.

You lowered your hand down to his exposed forearm, gently coming to rest your bare hand against his skin. Your eyes widen as you blush more.

Nat chuckling breaks your spell and the red in your cheeks darkens as you remember you have an audience.

“To be continued.” you whisper up at him.

“Agreed.” a playful smile graced his face. “Now what was it you needed Steve for?”

“Nat and Steve sittin’ in a tree.” you start taunting, giggling. Nat lunged at you and you evaded her by hiding behind Bucky.

“What’s going on?” Steves voice rang through the hall.

An evil grin spread across your face as you dart in his direction.

“Run supergirl I got you covered.” Bucky laughs as he grabs hold of Nat.

“Don’t you dare (Y/N)!” She screeches.

Steve has a perplexed look as he takes in the sight of whatever this was as he approaches.

“I can do a cool new thing. Care to be my test subject?” you bounce on the balls of your feet, excitedly. “It won't hurt, promise. Nat and I tried it earlier.”

“No! We just tried you, showing me your feelings! You haven’t tried transference of someone else's feelings!”

“No better time to try!” you grabbed Steve's hand and pulled him over to Nat and took her hand. Your eyes flashed gold as you focused on Steve first. He liked Nat but let his feelings of not belonging in this time and his intense crush on Peggy get in his way. You took his liking of Nat and brought it forward, focusing you held your breath as you moved it to Nat. Her soft inhale let you know it worked, you let her feel them a few moments before pulling back. You repeated the process of showing Steve her emotions, before releasing their hands and stepping back.

Bucky had released his hold on her and moved to your side, draping his arm around your waist. Nat and Steve stared at each other processing what just happened.

“Let’s give them some space.” he said, pulling you back down the hall. You made your way down to your own hall. “So what was that?”

“I was able to show their feelings for each other to them. So Steve felt that Nat liked him and vice versa.”

“Nat mentioned something about you showing her your feelings?”

You nod, “Do you maybe wanna try that?” you ask shyly.

“Only if you want to, doll.” he squeezed your hand gently.

“Come on.” you pulled him into your room and got comfortable on the bed. You pat the bed beside you and he sat down. Taking his hands in yours you begin the process of showing him your feelings for him. You were so focused that him pulling you in for a kiss surprised you. The connection was lost as you squeaked in surprise.

His lips were warm and slightly chapped as they pressed against yours. Your arms snaked their way around his neck as he deepened the kiss. The kiss lasted for what felt like hours, before he pulled back and rested his forehead against yours.

“Wow.” you smiled and he chuckled.

“I’d like to take you out on a proper date.”

“I’d like that, and you may. But first I want you to do all those dirty thoughts to me.” you giggle as he groans low in his throat.

“As you wish, my supergirl.” he kisses you again.

#bucky barnes x reader #james buchanan barnes #marvel fanfiction #marvel #marvel reader insert

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luna-andra · 2 months

Text

The Shadows Return | Simon 'Ghost' Riley x OC Retired AU | Chapter 7: Candlelight

Summary: Ghost spends the night

Author's note: Before I do anything more, a special thank you to @onomatobooyah for mentioning my fic to someone else! When I got the notification that I was tagged in a comment I thought "Oh boy another p*rn bot" and cried for a good 5 minutes when I realized what it was 😭

word count: 4.4k

If this is the first time you're seeing this, Chapter 1 is here. You can find the rest on my masterlist!

Content Warning: slow burn, eventual smut, 18+, fluff, mentions of mental health, mild violence

Ghost stood under the stream of lukewarm water coming from the showerhead above his tilted head. Anymore cold and he might as well stand outside beneath the endless rain. He could hear a staccato cadence of footsteps climbing the stairs while he peeled off his rain-drenched clothes that clung to his skin, followed by the thud of a door closing. He felt confined in a house that provided ample distance and space for the both of them and her furry companion. Still, being able to hear her movements on the second floor made him feel like he was still too close.

-----

Andra came out of her own shower shivering. She had read that ice-cold shock baths help regulate the nervous system and, in some cases, improve a person’s anxiety levels. Well, she didn’t have a tub of ice to submerge herself in, so a shower on the coldest setting she could handle would have to do.

Still, the crewneck two sizes too big felt too tight against her skin, her sweatpants stuck to her legs and her toes felt numb from the cold. She sat at the edge of her bed for a few minutes while she warmed up and towel dried her hair. The swipe of Sammy’s tongue against Andra’s hand startled her out of her frazzled thoughts, and she gave Sammy a loving rub to the underside of her maw.

“Crap.” Andra realized Ghost’s jacket was leaving a damp spot on her duvet to the right of her. She got up, abandoning the towel on her chaise lounge and decided to take it downstairs to let it dry on the coat rack by the front door.

The stairs creaked with two different patterns of feet as she walked down in a pair of fuzzy, black socks, just in time to catch Ghost walking out of the bathroom.

There’s no way it went unnoticed with how her eyes practically did a pat down like she was airport security. He had more tattoos on his right leg, a sight only possible due to his basketball shorts. His gray PT shirt with the name ‘RILEY’ across his shoulder blades was just as tight on him as the sopping wet shirt he had on beforehand, all accompanied with his trademark skull balaclava.

Say something, for the love of all gods. “Was the water pressure okay?” Andra was ready for lightning to take her out. If a god exists, it’ll strike me down now.

His eyes squinted from a grin. “Solid.” Ghost reached out for the jacket draped over her arm. “I can take that for you.”

Andra looked down at it before handing it over. “I was going to hang it up so it could dry. Oh, did you happen to put your wet clothes in the wash? It’s behind the sliding door in the bathroom.” She was rambling at this point to diffuse the nerves knotting her stomach.

Ghost looked to the darkened bathroom. “No, I’ll go ahead and do that.”

“I’ll warm up some water on the kettle and grab us some food.” Andra walked past him and headed for the kitchen, Sammy in tow. Ghost’s heavy footsteps made his announcement, joining her in the kitchen. “Do you have any dietary restrictions? I have leftover pot roast from yesterday with some white rice.”

“No, I’ll have what you’re havin’.” Ghost opened the refrigerator door. “Is it this container?” He pointed to the big plastic Tupperware container on the second shelf.

Andra glanced over. “Oh yeah, don’t worry about it, you can sit down and give your feet a rest.”

“Let me do something, doll.” Ghost shut the fridge door and started searching cabinets. There he goes again calling her that; a heat simmered in her lower belly from the way he said it. Andra crouched down to the cabinet in front of her and pulled out a pot. “Here, you can reheat it in here.”

The two of them prepared the leftover meal together, working in tandem as Ghost explores the layout of the kitchen. He opened a cupboard and let out a breathy chuckle. “You have every kind of tea imaginable in here.”

“I like having variety.” Andra reaches for the box labeled with the flavor honey vanilla chamomile. “Take your pick.”

With the kettle boiling, Andra retrieves two mugs, plopping her tea bag in one of them with the string hanging off the side. Ghost reaches for the kettle before she can and pours for both of them.

He was close enough for Andra to detect the scent of his bodywash. The kitchen had never felt smaller before.

“Storm’s bad enough out there to cause a power outage.” Ghost broke the palpable silence as he peered out the window above the kitchen sink. There was still a lightning show going on out there.

Andra started pulling out bowls and utensils for the food. “If it does, I have plenty of candles in the hallway closet.” She brought over the servings of pot roast to the little dinette set in the nook beside the kitchen. They sat down together across from one another, the sound of torrential rain waterfalling on the farmhouse overtaking the silence. It was enough to create its own background noise, like a sleep soundtrack Andra sometimes listens to.

At the same time, the two of them stretched out their legs beneath the table, and upon feeling one another, Ghost jolted back in retreat as if she was a bolt of lightning. They exchanged glances, their eyes communicating a non-verbal apology.

Andra shamefully watched Ghost fist the fabric of his balaclava at his neck and bring it up over his mouth, stopping at the tip of his nose. She had caught a glimpse of his face earlier in the day, but now she was taking in the features that have always been hidden from her.

Wholly chiseled jawline, batman… Andra dipped her head in an attempt to focus on the food in front of her, but her eyes flicked back up while he started to dig in. The parts of his face she could see had a five o-clock shadow of stubble ready to grow, will most likely be there by the morning, his chin was dimpled – gods, save her – and a white scar slashed through the right side of his mouth. There was another scar on the side of his left cheek that disappeared underneath the fabric of his mask.

Andra was no better than a Victorian-age man peeping his first ankle. No one’s facial movements and features have been so interesting before until now. She had to memorize what she could see in fear that it would be the first and last time she’d ever see any part of him again.

“Did you learn how to cook on your own?” Ghost asked, seemingly oblivious to Andra’s ogling eyes.

His timbre voice made Andra drop her spoon in her bowl with a clang as she looked away. The first instinct screamed at her to ask about his scars, but she was thankful for the opportunity to veer her thoughts away from anything other than his marble-carved jawline. “My grandmother when she was still alive, and my dad, and whatever recipes I find online.” Her jittery fingers recovered her fork from the bowl. “Do you cook?”

Ghost wipes his mouth with a napkin, muffling a laugh. “Hardly. I cook simple meals just to meet macros and protein intake, so it’s nice tasting something with flavor for once.”

Andra thought of something else as she swallowed her last bite. “You spent a lot of time in the chow hall, I’m assuming, when you were active duty?”

He sat up straight with a head tilt as his gaze focused elsewhere, recalling years and years of memories. “When I first joined the Royal Air Force, yeah. Then I trained to join the SAS boys, and when I was assigned to task forces, we would take turns cooking meals every evening. Soap - Johnny can’t cook for shit,” Andra smiled like she already knew that, “Gaz was the better one out of all of us.”

Her eyebrow twitched at the name; she heard Johnny talk about Gaz before, but it wasn’t coming to her. “Do you keep in touch with anyone else other than Johnny?”

“Yeah, a few of us catch up a few times outta the year when our schedules align.” His relaxed posture had Andra softly smiling. His legs had stretched out once more, accepting the gentle brush against her foot, then her leg.

She was doing something right today, and it was chasing away her own butterflies and the anxiety the storm had initially created. The thunder wasn’t as frequent, but the rain continued to trickle down the nearest window Andra could see.

Sammy was laying right beside Ghost’s chair, resting her empty head on her paws in a peaceful snooze.

The moment the both of them got up to start cleaning up, she got up as well and wagged her tail in hopes that she would be getting scraps. Ghost looked to Andra, mask concealing him once more, and reached out for her bowl. “I’m cleanin’ up.”

Ghost said it like a declaration that she was not going to change, so she bashfully handed her dish over. “Alright, baby, there’s a little bit left for you.” She scraped the bottom of the pot into Sammy’s dog bowl, her tail smacking Andra’s foot with rapid speed as she sat patiently. “Go ahead.”

Sammy helped herself while Andra brought the last dirty dish to the sink where Ghost was scrubbing at the bowls and tea mugs. The evening was still young; Andra racked her mind for an idea of what they should do with the rest of their time before going to sleep.

After cleaning up, they all relocated to the living room. Ghost paced leisurely around the walkways of the room. He was observing the Halloween decorations adorning the walls, the shelves, and the coffee table. “You’re ready for the holiday, I see.”

“Where people decorate for Christmas right at the beginning of November, I decorate for Halloween on August first.” It was Andra’s tradition, one that she never had the pleasure of showing to others since there weren’t opportunities for hosting at her house. “I hit the costume stores as soon as they open every year, and whatever I find is added to my obscene amount of Halloween decorations I have.”

Ghost picked up the skull-shaped amethyst crystal on one of the shelves, weighing it in his palm. “You could take someone out with this, Christ.” Ghost gently placed it back down and walked back to where he left his bag sitting beside the couch. He picked it up and started rummaging through it. “I threw our books in here before running inside.

Andra’s eyes lit up and accepted the book Ghost chose from his warm hands. “I’m glad you did! I wanted to start reading it tonight.” In truth, she couldn’t think of anything better than buddy reading with Ghost. Yeah, her weekend evenings were a riot.

Ghost sat on one end of the couch, Sammy sat beside him and did two twirls before plopping down. Andra took up the opposite side, curling her legs beneath her and placed a torch light she pulled out of a utility drawer from the kitchen in case the lights did happen to go out. She opened the book up to the author’s note page.

Changes were made to the text in order to protect the work of a unit which continues to play a key role in the fight against terrorism.

“Oh shit.” Andra whispered to herself. Ghost picked an anecdotal story. She looked at the front cover once more to see the author’s name to keep it in the forefront of her thoughts while she reads.

Ghost shifted on the couch cushions, making himself comfortable as he held the book in one hand, his thumb splaying the pages apart. The fabric of his mask made it difficult for Andra to get a peek at his expression, but from what she could tell he was settling into the read as much as she was about to.

They read for what felt like a few hours. Andra shifted every now and then to try and find a new position to get comfortable, as all readers do. Ghost was as still as a statue, the only movement from him was the flip of a page every few minutes. Andra tried peering over to see where he was in the story, only catching a glimpse of the page number if she squinted ever so. A furry German Shepherd was keeping her from getting any closer. Sammy even had the audacity to perch her head on Ghost’s thigh.

Girl, if you only knew how lucky you are.

It’s like her canine companion knew her thoughts; her tail started to tickle Andra’s arm with its little flutters.

With Ghost’s free hand, he rubbed Sammy’s coat along her side before resting his arm on the back of the couch, his hand sitting right behind Andra’s head.

She rolled her lips between her teeth and inhaled through her nose. What were the last three paragraphs about? She retained nothing, even though she swore she read the same sentence three times over.

VRRT-VRRT. Andra’s phone vibrated against the wooden top of the coffee table. Her face immediately heated when she saw who the message was from. On a social media messenger no less since anyone overseas could only communicate with her that way.

Isabella: Andrew made bail, we don’t need your help.

Andra couldn’t roll her eyes hard enough. Her eyes traveled to the time in the upper lefthand corner of the screen. “Hey, it’s already eight.” She turned her head to look at Ghost, and Sammy crawled off the couch with a big stretch. “I usually go to bed in the next thirty minutes, want me to set up the pullout couch for you?”

Ghost was about to dog ear the page he left off on, but Andra quickly handed him one of her bookmarks that sat on her coffee table for instances like these. She knew this would come in handy. He slid the bookmark between the pages and set the book on top of hers. “Sure, I’ll move the table aside.”

Andra got up and shuffled to the hallway closet to retrieve the spare pillow and blanket for her guests. She could hear the scuffing movement of the coffee table being moved across the floor. As she was closing the door, Ghost came to retrieve the items in her hands when the lights began to flicker. Then completely went out.

A flash of lightning lit up the entire house for half a second.

The shatter of breaking glass was loud in her ears.

It had both of them dropping to the floor, a hand muffled the scream Andra let out. Sammy barked in a panic, rushing to Andra and Ghost. She breathed heavily from her nose, her chest rising and falling in rapid succession. The onset of hyperventilation.

Ghost’s soft shushes got through to her, his hand moved from her mouth and brushed her hair. “Stay here.”

Andra could feel an absence in front of her; Ghost wasn’t there anymore, but Sammy was beside her, licking her to calm both of them down.

She could hear the sound of a zipper being pulled, the rustle of Ghost removing something from his bag. A weapon? A gun? It made the most sense in her mind. Another flash of lightning went off, long enough for her to see Ghost crouched in front of the couch, a pistol in one hand and a torch crossed over in the other. A soldier – no, a warrior - taking stance like he’s never forgotten his days and nights in service.

A wave of security washed over her. She was coming down from the fear and anxiety, her mind beginning to rationalize that she was safe from whatever had happened.

Was there something out there? No, it was just the force of lightning that broke the window, wasn’t it? She was in the safety of her farmhouse, where no one could possibly get to them. The road was obstructed by a fallen tree.

The light of Ghost’s torch startled her. His pistol was pointed downwards to the ground, finger away from the trigger. “A rock broke through your kitchen window.”

A rock? Andra got up onto her feet, the closer she got to Ghost the clearer she could see him. His shirt was a darker shade of gray, as if it got wet. He went outside. Shit… she didn’t even hear his movements, or the door opening.

“How big of a rock are we talking about?” Ghost led her to the kitchen. It had to be pretty fucking big for it to have –

Wholly shit.

It was about as big as half of a brick. The kind of rock that people throw into windows with notes attached to them to let them know they were on someone’s list. Her eyes bugged wide.

“The storm picked that up?” Andra was trying to rationalize it in her head. Or maybe a strike of lighting hit the ground and sent it flying into her window…

Ghost shook his head. “There’s no way. It’s got weight to it.” He stepped around the broken glass and kicked it, sending it sliding across the tiled floor. It hit the wall beside the back door a little harder than she expected.

She let out a nervous scoff. “No one would be crazy enough to be out in this storm just to be pulling pranks, especially all the way out here. Even so, the road’s blocked.”

His silence brought her no reassurance. He started to look for something to patch up the window, the torch sitting on the table facing up to light up the room. He pulled out one of her kitchen trash bags and used a pocketknife to cut down its seams. “That won’t stop someone from getting out here.”

Andra wished he had just stayed quiet instead. “What are you trying to say?” Her heart was racing in her chest, and her fingertips tingled.

“Let’s get this covered first.” Ghost avoided her question and held the cut out bag up to the window. “We need to tape this.”

“Okay.” Andra pulled the roll of duct tape out of the utility drawer and started to unravel piece after piece. Once the makeshift cover was secured over the broken window, Andra started sweeping up the broken glass. It was a miracle none of the shards punctured her socks, still, to play it safe she discarded the pair into the bin with the dustpan of broken glass.

Andra lit a few candles in the living room to give them some light. Ghost sat there with his elbows resting on his knees, his eyes reflecting a storm as ravenous as the one outside.

“Why do you think someone threw a rock into my window?” Andra sat on the edge of the coffee table.

He finally looked to her. “That day we went into the woods, I spotted a group’s worth of footprints off the beaten path we were on.”

She waited for him to continue his explanation, but it didn’t stop her from theorizing scenarios.

Ghost’s hands clenched into fists. “And lately, a car with stolen license plates have been driving down the road several times in the past few months.”

Her insides went cold, she was glad she was already sitting down. “Wait, you knew about this for months and now you’ve decided to tell me?”

His eyes softened with guilt. “I had every intention of telling you about the first incident at a later time, I just never got the chance –“

“Because you cut me off.”

The silence was so loud, she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. “Yeah.”

Anger and something like betrayal was churning in her chest. It had her gnawing on the inside of her cheeks. She didn’t want to be angry with him, not after she just got him back. Her tongue swiped her lower lip to get rid of the dryness bothering her. “Do you suspect someone is after me? Or you?” She failed to hold back the implicating tone in her voice.

Andra was afraid to look away from Ghost’s stare, afraid that he was going to detect her fear. He was good, and it didn’t surprise her. Ghost straightened himself and rolled his shoulders, giving him an intimidating appearance. “Are you worried that someone might be after you?”

Fuck. Her mouth opened then closed once more before answering. “There were people who had beef with me, but they wouldn’t go out of their way to track me down.”

Andra felt like throwing up. It wasn’t a lie, she wouldn’t lie to Ghost. But what about him? He wasn’t being very forthcoming with her, either. In fact, he evaded her question and turned it back around on her. “I asked if you think someone was after you, and you didn’t answer.”

Now it was his turn to freeze up on her. His shoulders became tense. “I don’t know.”

Her eyebrows went up. “You don’t know?”

“No.”

Andra flinched. Regret glazed his eyes for how bitter that answer came out. Ghost sighed, bowing his head to avoid her wounded gaze. It wasn’t the first time she’s heard him shut down the conversation before, the first time being about his family. There was a wall between them when it came to his past, but his was far thicker and higher than hers.

She had no right pushing him for answers while she concealed her own secrets as well.

“I’ll be gone first thing in the morning.”

Her heart ached. No, not again. He was distancing himself, but this time it was from pre-conceived notions that the both of them had no clue was true. She didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to respond. Her words were stuck in her throat. So, she swallowed with a head nod and went upstairs.

-----

Andra snoozed her alarm twice. Sleep evaded her for majority of the night, and when she thought it finally came, the power came back on around three in the morning. With a disgruntled groan, she turned the lights off and laid in the dark of her room.

Now she was struggling to get out of bed with hardly any rest. She had to get ready; Johnny already sent his usual ‘on the way’ message, so he was going to be met with the obstacle of the fallen tree. She had thrown on a black and white flannel and an unwashed pair of jeans, brushed her teeth and threw her hair up in a tie.

The living room was empty by the time she came downstairs. The foldout couch was put away, the blanket folded neatly with the pillow sitting on top. She checked to see if the makeshift cover on the kitchen window held up through the night, and it did. She made a mental note to herself to call her insurance. Should she make a police report as well? It was probably a good idea to see if there were any signs of a person being out there first.

Ghost stuck to his word and was out of the house first thing.

-----

Something was off with Andra, Johnny could detect it in the way she forced a smile every time she talked to a customer. It faded once no one was around. She was quiet with him and shook her head with an unsatisfied sound coming from her when she checked her phone.

“You’re off today, lass.” Johnny started. “I figured after the evening you had with company, you would be a wee bit chipper.”

“I guess Ghost didn’t tell you what happened.” She slipped her phone in her back pocket and sat in her foldout chair.

Johnny leaned against the table and crossed his arms. “No.”

She was avoiding his eyes. “The day at Lyme Park was really good. Everything was super nice until a rock went and shattered my window in the kitchen.”

His head tipped up and his eyes shut for a moment. “And he panicked, I’m assuming.”

“Well, we both did.” Andra explained. “It was kind of weird how the power went out and then the rock came through the window. But he texted me just now to let me know he called up someone to go repair it and he foot the bill for me.”

Johnny nodded his head. “Typical Simon.”

Andra rubbed her forehead in frustration. “Now I feel like he’s trying to push me away again because he thinks someone did it rather than some freak accident-“

“Wait, he told you that?” Johnny stood up straight, his hands falling to his sides.

“In so many words, yeah. Then he told me that someone has been through the woods of my property, and there’s been a vehicle with mismatched plates driving down our road.”

Johnny turned away from her and pretended to prep paper bags. “That’s a new one…”

There was a beat of silence before Andra grabbed his arm to turn him back to her. “You knew about the first incident?” Oh shit, she wasn’t happy about that.

He grimaced. “Sorry, lass. He did tell me to keep a lookout when I am there and when I’m with you at the market.”

She threw her hands up in disbelief, this time she gave him her back. “Unbelievable, you men.”

“Simon didn’t want you scared about something that might not be an issue,” Johnny tried to justify. “His PTSD tends to send him into overdrive at things like this.”

“Now there’s been a new incident to add onto the list, though.” Andra started to pack up her stall now that it was noon.

Johnny grabbed the chair in her hand to make her take pause to look at him. “These coincidences aren’t incidents, we have no proof of someone bothering either you or Simon. Don’t let his anxiety get to you, it’s gonna be fine.”

Her sad eyes locked onto him, telling him that she was just as shaken up as Simon probably is. And he wanted to know what has haunted her for her to remain that way.

----------

And that is the end of Act 1! Thank you to everyone that has stuck around with me so far, and thank you to my new readers that took a chance on my fic as well! I'm going to be taking a brief break from writing to avoid burning myself out again, it won't be as long as the last time. I do intend on posting a filler chapter like I was contemplating, but I do want to give myself some time away from the keyboard and enjoy other things.

I'll be seeing y'all again soon <3

#simon ghost riley #simon riley x oc #call of duty #call of duty mw2 #cod mw2 #ghost cod #john soap mactavish #soap mactavish #mwii #retired au #simon ghost riley x oc #ghost x oc #simon riley #cod fanfiction #cod fanfiction fluff #cod fanfic #slow burn

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bunting27 · 1 year

Note

heyy congrats on 100 followers! I was thinking this 🪐 “is this the part where you kick me out?” prompt for jamie drysdale? Where they get into a fight and the reader had a toxic ex so she immedietly jumps to conclusions and it all end in fluff?

go ✏︎ j. drysdale

bunting 27's 100 follower celly !

a/n: changed it up a tiny bit, enjoy :)

prompts: “is this the part where you kick me out?”

warnings: language

wc: 0.5k

✏︎

“how did it even happen, how stu- jesus christ, y/n” jamie ran his hand through his hair, halting his movements for a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose and shake his head.

“i just walked into it, jame. m’ sorry” she was standing in the corner of the kitchen while he was knelt on the floor, picking up shards of a ceramic vase that a late relative had made for his mom. she gave it to him when he got his own place as a housewarming gift, and y/n had stumbled into it and shattered it irreparably.

he didn’t respond to her apology, only swept up the remaining mess and shoved it into the trash can, slamming the cupboard door it was kept behind.

she jumped at the noise, tears stinging the corners of her eyes and she couldn’t tell if she should hug him and apologize again or just shut up and go away before he lost his cool.

he went to go get the vacuum from the other room and she had hardly moved from where she was when it fell, too shocked and worried to do anything.

she wanted to try and fix it, the vase, how jamie was feeling, everything. she wanted to be able to fix everything. but she couldn’t

“is this the part where you kick me out?” jamie’s head jerked up, looking up at her from where he was vacuuming on the floor with furrowed eyebrows.

“and you would go where?” he was right, her parents didn’t live in california and she didn’t have any friends close enough to let her stay over on a whim, so he was stuck with her.

“i’ll find someplace if you want me to leave” she whispered, cracking the knuckles of her hands from anxiety and looking at him expectantly.

“fuck, y/n. i’m not kicking you out cause you broke a vase. just- i’m just a little stressed, alright?” his tone was aggravated, so she chose not to ask any further, just nod quietly and leave him be.

she went to their room, shut the door as quietly as she could and curled up in a ball on their bed.

she heard the vacuum come back on, and then shut off, and then jamie’s footsteps come up to their door.

“angel? i’m coming in, yeah?” she didn’t respond, only sat up in bed and brought her knees up to her chest while looking at the door.

he came in and sat on the bed next to her, running a hand through her hair and kissing her forehead. “he kicked you out? when you were with him?” she looked up at him through her eyelashes and nodded, wiping under her nose.

“i overreacted, baby. m’ sorry. i’ve been pissed off about not being able to play and i took it out on you. accidents happen. vase wouldn’t have lasted long here with trevor around, anyways” she smiled sadly, wrapping both of her arms around one of jamie’s and pressing her face into his shoulder.

“i love you, angel” he pulled her into his lap and rubbed her back gently, soothing her as he could tell she was still shaken.

“love you too, jame. i’m sorry about your mom’s vase” he shook his head and kissed her on her temple.

“i know, baby”

#jamie drysdale #jamie drysdale x reader #j drysdale #nhl blurb #hockey blurb #anaheim ducks #bunting27's 100 follower celly

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thatwildnya · 1 year

Text

Chapter 1: pov you've been adopted by a strange bird man who put you in a barely functioning house during a typhoon and now you find yourself rooming with a giant bat and his fox son what a great start to this story

TW: none. i think.

chatters: Wild panicked on what to call this chapter please bear with him and be nice pls. also everything this is subject to change

Lilia: vampire bat (obviously)

Silver: arctic fox

The floorboards creaked as you walked through the door. Dust and cobwebs covering everything in sight as if trying to swallow the furniture. There was a lot of cleaning to be done, and you were not looking forward to it.

Covering your nose with your sleeve, you walk into the living room thinking about what your newly adopted uncle had said.

“I have so graciously cleaned the master bed, bath, and kitchen for you so you can rest as soon as you arrive. Everything is in working condition. However the water only works in your bathroom, and all other maintenance won’t be able to come until the storm is over. Don’t forget to light the fireplace to keep warm at night. Your neighbors have agreed to allow you to come over and charge any electronic devices as needed. Here’s a credit card, use it to only buy the essentials! There’s plenty of premade meals that you can just eat straight away or heat up real quick. Just call me if you need anything! I’ll be off then, see you!”

Then he’d driven off. At least he left you food and a lantern.

You followed footsteps on the dust covered floor, assuming they’d lead you to the bedroom. If not you might be looking for a while, this place was huge. You remember he’d mentioned it used to be some kind of dorm.

Finding your room, you went to one of the windows to peer out. You grimace seeing the state of the yard, you were not looking forward to cleaning it either.

A scuffling sound caught your attention. Head whipping around, you notice the blankets on the bed were messy. Did your uncle not bother to fold them? The answer came a second later as a snout poked out from under the bed.

A white fox kit peeked out at you, quickly popping back into hiding seeing you had spotted it.

Slowly you set down your bags and get on your knees to take a look at the little animal. It had backed into a corner, trying to make itself look small. It stared back with pretty blue purplish eyes, ears flat against its head.

The little guy must have found its way in here to hide from the storm that was forecasted to start tonight. The clouds had been forming all day, and the rain should start any minute now.

Sitting back up, you open a backpack to fish out one of those premade sandwich boxes found at grocery stores. Opening it up you tore the sandwich in two, placing the bigger half on the lid, and slid it towards the little fur baby. Its ears perked, raising its head. Its nose twitched, the smell of turkey making its tummy growl.

“It needs it more than I do.” you thought watching the fox kit creep closer, unable to resist the temptation of food. What happened next was unexpected.

The fox poofed into a young boy with cute fox ears, below his torso was replaced with a fox body instead of legs. He reached out, pulling his meal under the bed for him to enjoy.

“Huh. He’s a centaur.” you thought, watching the silver hair boy gobbling up his half with gusto. Was he abandoned? He knew how to use his hands well for his age. Or maybe he picked it up from watching humans.

Once finished he licked mustard off his fingers. Ew, good thing you waited for him to eat first. Mustard was gross. His eyes turned back to you, unabashedly staring at the other half. You almost laughed at the stare, he was adorable.

“You can have it,” his eyes lit up, yep definitely abandoned he could understand you, “but you have to come get it yourself.” he didn’t hesitate. Crawling out he got up and walked perfectly towards you without wobbling from the difference in upper and lower body, further setting in stone that he was abandoned and hadn’t just picked up things he knew about society by simply watching.

He sat in front of you, holding out his hands politely. You hand over the rest, smiling when he thanked you. Unable to resist, you give his hand a pat. His tail wags, ears drooping slightly as he munched happily.

~~~~~~

Why was this bed so big. There was a name for this kind of bed, alaskan emperor or something? Well, whatever the name was, it was massive. You take a seat on it. This was the most comfortable bed you had ever felt in your life. Flopping back, you feel your body sink into the cloudy mattress. The fox centaur you’d befriended hopped on next to you. He rolled around, suddenly energetic. You smile, watching him go about his zoomies.

He jumped on your belly. You grunted at the sudden weight on you.

He’s grinning down at you, tail a tornado of white behind him. He wants to play. And you want to play, but the energy just isn’t there. So you try to calm him down. Reaching up you massage his ears, hoping he’d calm down with some petting. However this doesn’t help in the slightest. Instead he turns his head and playfully bites your fingers.

Being a child he doesn’t always realize how easy it is to hurt others. He hasn’t lost all of his baby teeth yet and were still very sharp. You let out an “ah!” feeling the pointy teeth nick your finger, leaving you with a tiny cut.

“Silver, you need to be careful. Humans don’t have skin as tough as mine.” a voice chuckled overhead. You freeze. Gazing slowly turning upward, you see bright red eyes gazing down from the ceiling. You’re frozen in place until the huge creature drops down. You sat up so fast your new friend was nearly sent flying.

It stood up, the humanoid half resting it’s forearms on its big leathery black wings. It was so big it wasn’t able to stand at full height, and its hair so long it pooled to the ground. A grin showing off sharp fangs morphed across its face seeing your shocked pikachu face.

“Good evening,” the creature greeted, walking forward on its wings to stand in front of you “are you the new owner?”

~~~~~~

The fae’s name was Lilia, he was a vampire bat centaur. The little foxboy was his adopted son Silver, an arctic fox centaur. According to Lilia they’d settled down here to use this place as a temporary home until the stormy weather went away. Lilia didn’t want his son to get sick from the coming rain so he’d found this place for them to hide away. He had thought it was abandoned until your uncle had suddenly come to clean up. They were originally going to just stay hidden in a different room but he hadn’t expected you to arrive so soon.

The whole time Lilia was explaining their situation Silver was still hyper. He had popped back into his fox form, having reached his limit, and was currently playing footsies with your hand, occasionally hopping around on the huge ass bed behind you. You still weren’t over how big it was.

“If it isn’t too much trouble, I hope you’ll allow us to stay for the time being. We’ll be gone as soon as the weather clears up.” The fae smiled as Silver climbed into your lap a final time, curling up. It was time for bed, he was all tuckered out. “Silver seems to really like you too, he’ll keep you company if you’ll allow it.”

“Stay as long as you want.” you say, gently moving Silver off your lap, “this place is too big for me. I’m only here because I got lucky. I don’t care what you do so long you don’t cause trouble.” Lilia tilts his head at you, eyes gleaming as he watches you get up and walk to the large fireplace on the other side of the room.

Taking a match out of the box left by your uncle, you lit and tossed it onto the wood. To your surprise the fire was a dirty white instead of the usual red and orange. Your uncle had enchanted the wood to never burn away. That explained why there weren't any other logs nearby.

You hear the floorboards creak. Lilia had returned to hanging from the ceiling. Now that you knew he was up there, you had a feeling of uneasiness. Fae centaur were known to be very aggressive if not handled properly, and it was a huge risk to bring in any wild born ones into a household. You constantly glanced up at him. His eyes never left you, unblinking as he observed you undress and prepare for bed. He grinned whenever he noticed you looking at him, waving at you with a wing.

Crawling into your enormous bed, you realize you won’t be able to sleep. The fireplace was too far for the warmth to reach you. The rain had started by now so even if you bundled yourself up as much as possible you would still be cold. With a sigh you grab a pillow and the blankets, leaving the warmest for Silver. You did your best to make a nest next to the fire. The wooden floor would definitely make your body sore come morning. You curl up in your makeshift bed, trying to get comfy.

~~~~~~

From the ceiling the fae observed you, watching you leave his son the warmest blanket despite him not having any need for it. He watched you toss and turn for a couple hours before finally drifting off to sleep.

He shook his head, silly human. Centaurs are much more equipped to survive in the wild than humans. Quietly dropping down, he gathered you in his arms and used his magic to levitate the blankets back to the bed.

“Hm, this won’t do…” he thought, he was much too big for the bed. The frame would break under his weight. Setting you down, he uses his magic to become smaller.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve taken this form.” Lilia thinks, picking up Silver in his arms. Carefully he envelopes you in both his wings. Your head ends up on his furry belly, Silver snuggled under your chin.

Lilia strokes your head, smiling when you bury your face further into his second stomach. You poor child, thrown away for simply being magicless. There was no need to worry, he’ll make sure you’re watched over from now on.

#twisted wonderland #twst #wild's writing #twst silver #twst lilia #lilia vanrouge #twst centaur au #crowley is lucky mc didn't call cps on him #next chapter introduces two more friends

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zooophagous · 7 months

Text

Strauss marched stiffly behind his companion. No, companion was far too friendly a word. She needed a different descriptor. He mentally combed through what English his racing mind could cling to. She was something more of a jailor, or perhaps a carnivorous bird of prey, more of a captor.

If there was an English word for someone who captured another and forced them to commit violence, he couldn’t find it in his lexicon. He had an idea, however, that he may fit the definition of “hostage.”

He had tried to imagine himself more of a shepherd, or a “sheep dog,” a chaperone or someone who could perhaps persuade Frau Pietra not to behave badly- at least while he was with her. How foolish to imagine this was a sheep, and not a wolf.

Sylvain’s psychic prowess did not, as far as he knew, extend to the wholesale reading of minds. She didn’t really need to. Her confident posture and the sense of direction with which she was leading him gave the sense that she already knew very well what he was thinking.

“I hope this walking is working up your appetite.” She called glibly back at her shadow. “I know it’s working for me.”

“I am not hungry.” He replied glumly.

“Yes you are. I can hear your gut growling at you. We are going to find something, and you WILL eat.”

“Where are we going?”

“To find a worthwhile target.” She muttered. “Don’t you worry, Herr Strauss. I know you. I know you’re picky. Too picky to take just anyone. I’ll have you know I hand picked a vile, nasty little son of a bitch who’s evaded justice for quite some time. Just for you. I know that’s your MO.”

“What is MO?”

“Modus Operandi. The mode in which you operate.”

“Is that how you think I operate? Picking off alleged villains to slake my thirst and spare my conscience?”

“Am I wrong?” She looked over her shoulder at him. “We both already know your history. You really gonna try and deny it?”

“If you truly knew anything about me, you’d know I subsist on charity.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Not murder.”

“Don’t sell yourself too short. You also subsisted on medical malpractice and on soldiers and prostitutes. A crook isn’t much different.”

“I do what I have to, Frau Pietra. I am not always proud of it. I do not need to do this.”

“Oh no, you do. Just not for your usual reason. I went through the trouble and you’re going to follow through.”

“Where are you even taking me? You still haven’t told me.”

“You can see it from here.” She pointed at the skyline of the city. It wasn’t an impressive skyline, but part of it stood proud against the dingy orangish clouds of the light polluted sky. A black, barbed spire, the pointed shape of which was nearly reminiscent of the stakes found hanging in the halls of the Van Helsing Institute.

“The cathedral?”

“Got it in one, chief.” She smirked. “What’s the matter, scared of a little crucifix and holy water? I don’t know how much you’ve bothered testing it, but that doesn’t work.” Her face grew dark. “Ask me how I know.”

“God would have to care for that to be real, and he does not.” Strauss replied softly.

“There is no God.” She snapped. “For at least one poor asshole, we’re going to prove it.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You won’t.”

Strauss crossed his arms protectively over his torso. His mind raced while his footsteps deliberately dragged, trying to buy precious moments to think. The looming silhouette of the cathedral only grew larger with every step.

Maybe he could make a break for it. No, she could find him. Unless he ditched the watch, but then Artemis wouldn’t be able to find him either. Maybe he could tackle her. And be publicly rent limb from limb. Also less than ideal. But, to save a human life perhaps? He wasn’t sure his altruism stretched so far as to sacrifice his own life for a stranger who meant nothing to him. As bleak as it sounded, perhaps it was better the stranger than himself. What an awful way to think, though, and one he was sure would disappoint Artemis if she could hear it.

His internal monologue had failed to illuminate the correct way to proceed. What was worse- it also had failed to buy any time. The pair of vampires walked abreast down the sidewalk to the tall form of the church that stood lit up in warm light against a starless sky.

Sylvain stepped into the lawn of the holy place, undeterred by the watchful gaze of a marble statue of Mary that glowered down at them. She stalked around the side of the building, away from the main doors, with a purpose that indicated she knew exactly where to go.

“This way.”

Strauss obediently trailed behind, stooping low to try and hide in whatever shadows he could afford with his height. Sylvain found her spot by the wall, and, placing her hands against the bricks, began to climb.

Her claws deftly found whatever thin holds the bricks could offer her, and she scaled it fearlessly to the second floor. A little window glowed from within- some poor soul working late in the office wing. She peeked into the lit room and tapped ever so gently at the window pane, catching the attention of the occupant. Even from his position on the ground, Strauss could see her face twist into a cruel smile. She curled her finger in a beckoning motion. She was a difficult request to resist.

A man appeared at the window. He had no sooner opened it when Sylvain shot her claw into the opening and seized him by his shirt and yanked him off his feet. She clung to the wall with one claw, and turned outward to hold the terrified, whimpering target with the other.

She dropped him.

Strauss ducked forward and caught the dead weight of the half-hypnotized prey item roughly. He stumbled onto his knee, and spilled the stranger onto the yard. The man scurried backwards away from his savior. Sylvain dropped down in front of him and landed squarely on her feet. She reached for him once again and dragged her prey to a standing position.

“Keep your Goddamn mouth shut or I’ll rip your scalp off.” She growled to the terrified man. She could have spared threats, her psychic sway was more than enough to keep him quiet, and he was too scared to challenge her.

“This is your worthy target?” Strauss snarked at her. “An elderly priest? I have no love for Catholicism, but I thought you had a bit more… suitable fare.” He almost sounded disappointed as he quietly mocked her. “The only thing going for him is that I suppose he’s technically supposed to be a virgin.”

“Not just a priest, Lu. What you have here is one Father Gregor White. He’s a bit new at this parish, aren’t you Greg?”

“What does that have to do with it?”

“Nothing. It’s just that before he was moved here a year and a half ago, he was in South Carolina for four years. And then in New Jersey before that for two. Seems to have a hard time staying put, doesn’t he?”

“And?”

“You can’t be this dense, Lu. What big important high profile reason might the church have for sending a priest away to a new parish? Do you think perhaps they had a few complaints?”

She stressed the last word sharply. Gregor feebly muttered a stuttered response of “it’s not true!” before receiving a kick in the ribs for his protests.

Strauss winced with empathy and stepped forward to separate the two. Sylvain pointedly stuck herself between them.

“What, this one not good enough for you? After all the trouble I went through to really pick out a good one?”

Strauss glanced down at the glassy eyed and lost looking priest.

“I recognize him. The day I escaped, I had no shirt. I fell from a roof, and he gave me his jacket.”

“Oh, so that little act of kindness covers a multitude of sins?”

“No. But I still have little interest in killing him.”

“Why not. Did you go soft? Did Ursula defang you? Or maybe she just neutered you.”

“I simply refuse to bite when there isn’t a need to.”

“You’ve killed pedophiles before.”

“Yes, and that killing is what got me hunted down and captured in the first place. I lost my home and my freedom and my entire life was permanently upended. I would be an idiot not to think of consequences now.”

“Should have known better. Practically gift wrapped a hot meal for you and you turn your nose up at it like a spoiled lap dog. I was told you were a tiger. Now I can’t tell if I see stripes on you or just the outlines of your ribs. Do you think you can survive on altruism? Would you starve to death to let this scum live?”

“I have survived on altruism for over two hundred years. You have barely survived five, and have done so by living on the periphery of humanity like a kicked dog. Abandoning my harmlessness and hunting humanity is what nearly got me killed.”

He stepped towards her with his teeth bared. “Go ahead then, if it’s that important to you that he dies, you do it. That seems to be your “modus operandi,” as you so aptly put it. Why bother making it mine? Clearly you’re the superior hunter here. Show me! Show me how it’s done!”

“This isn’t about me, Lu.”

“Then tell me straight up. Why does it matter so much that I be the one to spill blood here?”

“Because I’m fucking TIRED of you denying your nature.”

She shoved him hard in the chest. Strauss stood firm and didn’t move. Sylvain stumbled backwards a step from her own force.

“You and I both know you’ve got a hungry mean streak deep as the sea beneath that meek little facade, Strauss. You won’t control it if you don’t fucking acknowledge it, don’t you get that? Maybe you could get away with that in that stupid fucking hole in the ground but that’s long gone. Now you’re HERE. Here and pretending you aren’t one bad day from ending everyone around you.”

“I believe you’re projecting, Frau Pietra. I may have bitten, yes, under duress. But I am not the one leaving spent corpses in the park like a drunk leaving a trail of broken bottles.”

“What the Hell are you talking about?” She tilted her head to one side. “You think I kill people? You think I’m stupid enough to pick off people in the town Ursula Harker comes to get coffee every day? Do you honestly think that little of me?”

“If you don’t even hunt, why the Hell should I?!”

“I already told you this isn’t about me. Honestly Lu, you want the truth? It’s not about you either.”

“Then what is it about?”

“It’s about HER!”

Sylvain yelled in his face. “It’s about Artie, ok? You happy?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Of fucking course you don’t. You don’t understand fucking anything. Or at least you’re real good at playing dumb. I told Artie, I fucking warned her not to keep messing around with vampires. I BEGGED her to quit. I didn’t want what happened to me to happen to her.”

Gregor tried to crawl away, only to be snatched by his shirt collar and flung against the wall.

“I was the best hunter they ever had. Maybe even more so than Ursula. If I could fuck up and get turned into… THIS then it could happen to anyone. It wasn’t worth it to keep the Institute open. But no. She was just like you. Weak. Too weak to make a hard choice. Too weak to finish me off when she had the chance. And even losing her eye wasn’t enough to teach her a lesson. After losing me, she goes and gets you. You! A half feral grave dweller, who had just skinned a man alive.”

She laughed bitterly as she ranted.

“Getting you out of there and letting you loose is what you deserve, I’ll give you that. But it wasn’t about you. I had to get you away from her. I had to get vampires, including myself, away from my girlfriend before she got herself fucking killed. Now here I am handing you freedom, and you’re too stupid to take it and run.”

“Ex girlfriend.”

“Excuse me?”

“Artemis is your ex girlfriend. Not your girlfriend. I don’t think you can rightfully call her yours after you took out her eye.”

“What’s it to you if she’s my girlfriend or not? Are you jealous or something?”

“Artemis is my friend. Is it not natural to want to protect your friend from a former lover who injured them?”

“Please. She isn’t your friend. She’s your OWNER if anything. She doesn’t care about you beyond her project.”

“I know for a fact that isn’t true.” He replied a bit more slyly than he should have.

“What do you mean by that?” Sylvain asked suspiciously.

Strauss was silent.

She abandoned her assault on the priest and turned now to Strauss. She grabbed him by the throat with sudden ferocity.

“I SAID what do you mean by that?”

Strauss stared wide eyed in shock at her. He was instantly aware that she was exerting her will on him. Quite a bold move, to try that on another vampire. He had only a split second to decide whether or not to fight it. Such a distraction would probably get her mind off of ‘hunting,’ but only at his own expense. While his mind grappled for a foothold, his mouth was already bending to her will.

“I know because I love her.”

Sylvain laughed cruelly in his face. “You love her! That’s rich! I knew you had Stockholm syndrome but woooow Lu. This is pathetic even for you. You really think she reciprocates?”

“Yes. Considering how many times we’ve slept together.”

Oops.

Strauss clamped his claw over his mouth. Too little too late. Sylvain stared him down with a hard incredulous stare. She was in apparent shock, and for a moment was silent, though the heat of her anger rising out out a noise at a frequency only vampires could hear.

“You… and Artie.”

Strauss shot a look to the priest, who was now slowly rising to his feet and trying to slip away. He hoped the look conveyed “you’re welcome and get out quickly,” but that was a lot for such a stoic face to say. He made hard eye contact with Sylvain.

“Yes.”

She struck him. She struck him again. One two in rapid succession across the face. Hot pain seared his cheek from the rip of skin under her claws. She made to swing again. He caught her arm and swung her bodily into the wall. She stopped stunned for a moment.

Her eyes were wide and her breathing heavy and ragged. A deep growling voice choked out of her between desperate angry breaths.

“I’ll kill you. I’m going to wait for her to show up and I’ll kill you right the fuck in front of her.”

“She isn’t showing up.”

Strauss pulled the smart watch from his pocket and crushed it in his fist.

Sylvain descended on him with a shriek. She jumped and caught him in her claws and sank her teeth into his neck.

Strauss felt her many rows of sharp teeth pop through the skin like a man biting an apple. He returned the favor sinking his own teeth into her neck and shoulder. Vampire blood was some rare delicacy. Metallic and viscous but cold. Difficult to consume.

He didn’t have long to play sommelier. Her hand was on his face, trying to find an eye with her claws. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her off of himself. She clung to him and left long blood trails down his body with her claws.

He held her aloft by the scalp, she dangled and hissed and spit like a feral cat. He slammed her head first into the brick. She fell into a crumpled heap, but shot out a leg and caught him squarely in the groin. He doubled over and she jumped him once again, raining blows on his back and head.

He flung himself to the ground, using his superior size to pin her. She kicked and fought beneath him and threatened to split his hide and spill his guts. He got up and backed away from her. Strips of skin and pulled hair hung from him in bloody tatters.

Sylvain did not get up. She groaned and grunted, and writhed on the ground as if in terrible pain. Dark hair began to appear around her face and her arms.

Time to go.

Strauss turned and broke into a run away from the church and down a dark alley. Sylvain’s cries of pain echoed behind him, soon replaced by a mighty rush of wind that bore down faster than he could run.

An immense bat, larger than any eagle, swooped low and swiped him with its sharp clawed feet. He fell to the ground on his stomach. Before he could think, it was there again, piercing his body with claws like meat hooks.

She ascended into the sky with her captive. Straight up and out, over the city, and gaining altitude quickly.

The faint tears in Strauss’ eyes began to congeal into frost as she bore him higher and higher into the dingy clouds. Thick mist surrounded him, blinding and confusing. He didn’t need to breathe but the air still felt cold and thin and hurt his chest.

She brought him to her zenith, outside of the city, alone in the dark ove a desolate barren field.

She dropped him.

Strauss fell like a stone. The rush of cold wind cut through his clothes and froze his hands and feet into stiff useless shapes. He fought with his shirt, desperate to maintain composure to escape it and focus. The cold dampened the pain of transformation. Newly sprouted black fur flew in the wind and offered no protection from it.

He fell out the bottom of the cloud and saw the earth growing larger beneath him. He bit his lip and forced his frozen fingertips to spread. The earth was closer. He willed his torn skin to right itself enough to form a wing membrane. Closer still. He beat his arms in a frail attempt to catch the wind. Closer. He righted himself and positioned his keel even with the earth. Now below the height of the tall cathedral spire. Impact imminent.

Twenty feet before becoming a bat-shaped crater, his wings took, and he flew. Up and up and away quickly, but not quickly enough. Sylvain shrieked at him once again and slashed at his back from above. He went straight up back into the clouds to lose her.

She was on him still. He turned to face her. The two great bats flew at each other hard and fast and clipped into each other like jousting knights, each trying to break the other’s wing. Sylvain turned in a wide loop and flew at him with her jaws wide. Strauss ducked and swiped at her with his clawed feet, catching a stray piece of her leftover clothing.

The two spiraled downward, the centripetal force swung them wide in a useless circle as their altitude plummeted. It was a game of chicken now, who would let go first. It wasn’t a game he could win. Sylvain hung on and became a dead weight, content to crash and take her opponent down with her.

The earth was approaching rapidly again, but this time Strauss had no time to change trajectory. He let go of Sylvain and she was flung afield. He braced his wings out like a parachute to slow his fall. Too late. He made contact with the earth and bounced, and bounced again, and skidded roughly through the dry hard sticks of a former corn field.

His skin had given up the ghost. Holes decorated his wings like bloody stars. He shrank painfully back into his now naked human form. He was spent. He began to crawl away on his hands and knees, only to have the nude form of Sylvain appear before him, glowering down at him with fire in her eyes.

“I should kill you. I should rip your dick off. I should give your head to Artie as a Christmas present.”

“Then do it.” He grunted in defiance.

“No.” She grinned, and let out a choked laugh. “Don’t need to. Sun will be up soon, and you don’t have so much as a shirt.” She looked around, pleased with herself.

“You know what, Lu? I’m not even mad you broke the watch anymore. Artie can have you. If she can fucking find you.”

She turned and walked off, her proportions growing weirder with every step until finally she was fully winged and flying off once again, leaving Strauss mercifully alone in the dirt.

Or perhaps unmercifully. Strauss shakily found his feet and took a few wincing steps before falling to his knees in exhaustion once more. He repeated this process, though unsure of where he was actually going.

This field was a wide gape of treeless expanse. Beyond it, a gravel road, and more field beyond that. The faint rosy fingers of dawn began to claw at the horizon. Strauss forced himself to stand. The ache of fear produced a low whine in his chest. He needed rest, rest he couldn’t afford.

Shaky step gave way to shaky step. The air was growing warmer now. Larks, singing beautifully, heralded the break of morning. At last the bloody red sun crested on the horizon and bathed the field in awful color.

Strauss tried to run, to even jog, but his battered body was at its limit. The light became warm, and soon after, became uncomfortable. Itching gave way to burning. Strauss hunched over, covering his face with one hand and his genitals with the other and turned his back to the sun and began walking as quickly as he could in a blind straight line. Whatever he ran into would have to be shelter.

A wetness began to trickle down his back. Sweat? No. Blisters had begun to form on his burned skin, and the largest of them had already burst. New blisters formed swiftly beneath the old, and in minutes had burst anew, rapidly spilling the water in his already dehydrated form.

The pain had nearly stopped now, his skin ruined to the point of numbness. Dead strips of it clung to him like snakeskin. He hazarded a glance up, un-shielding his eyes for a moment to get his bearings. The light painfully blinded him, and as he blinked through the dancing green after image he saw nothing. Nowhere to run to, and nowhere to hide.

His knees gave out again. This time, for good. He would not be standing back up. He gripped the dirt with his now stinging, red hands and braced for the end. Insects and birds assaulted the field in a cacophony of annoying noises. He would not even die in peace.

Another animal was in the field, at the periphery of his blurred vision he saw a small brown shape. It was a mouse.

A wild field mouse stopped just short of his hand. It looked at him with blank black eyes, then turned back to the dry dirt of the field. It began to dig in the loose dry soil, and was gone.

Strauss watched it go, and shifted the loose earth beneath his claws a moment. He gathered his failing strength and furiously began to dig.

#wayward souls #writing #writeblr

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lumifly · 2 years

Text

→ Imagine: Critical Hit! You’ve been critically injured, how will they react, and more importantly, will you survive?

✦ Characters: Kaeya, Itto, and of course Y/N! ✦ Possible Triggers: Angst, Blood, Mentions of grief and death. ✦I live for angst my friends >:) I’ll write more fluff soon though to ease the pain <3 ✦Part 2 will be linked here when done, it will likely have Diluc, Albedo, and Childe!

✦Kaeya

You were a capable, quick witted knight so when you had asked Kaeya to join his squadron, he didn’t hesitate to allow you to join his ranks. Blending nicely with your peers, it had been a smooth transition into a strong section of the knights.

There was only one tiny problem, you were quick to jump into dangerous situations if you thought that Kaeya needed your help. When asked why you did this, you always answered something about loyalty and that you’d do the same for anyone else, but it was clear that you were literally putting your life at risk for a man who hadn’t returned your advances yet.

Truly, Kaeya had planned to talk to you about this, to warn you about your behavior. To look at your sweet, determined eyes and explained that he’s easily able to hold his own in battle and that you didn’t need to go to such lengths to protect him, but that chance never seemed to come up yet. Perhaps he had avoided it? He had to admit, it was always a bit cute to but in the heat of a battle and hear frantic footsteps followed by a shout, “Just wait on me Kaeya, I’ll help you!”

Yet, those thoughts were the last thing on his mind right now, his frame leaned against the bar of Angel's Share, a wonderfully crafted ale in front of him. While he was supposed to be reporting for duty right now, he knew that nobody would complain if he was an hour or so late. He lifted the glass, taking a few sips and was about the order another before the door to the tavern was slammed open, the wooden hinges creaking a bit.

“Sir!” An obviously distressed knight was out of breath as he approached the Cavalry Captain, “we’ve been looking for you for ages!” he spoke in a frantic tone, causing Kaeya to immediately put his drink down and place more than enough Mora on the bar to cover his tab.

“Am I that important suddenly?” he tried to muse over their worries, but the lower-ranked knight was quick to continue. “We were worried because we got a ransom letter demanding mora for your return from captivity.” Well, obviously Kaeya wasn't in captivity.

Kaeya couldn’t help but shrug a little, seeming to not understand why this was such a big deal until he seemed to connect the dots, “Archons, [Y/N] went didn’t she?”

All it took was a breathless nod from the knight for Kaeya to spring into action.

Whenever you heard the news you couldn’t believe it, Kaeya had always talked about how strong he was! But somehow he had been captured and taken as leverage by the Fatui? Your ears didn’t want to believe what they were being told, but the letter in front of you and your pounding heart didn’t want to leave anything up to fate.

That's why, whenever Jean desperately tried to smooth over your worries and compel you to stay within headquarters, you were quick to turn around and leave. It's not that you didn't respect her, you really did, but you cared for Kaeya more and if you were the only one going to save him then, so be it.

The fight had been going on for far too long now, you were tired beyond belief, you had originally tried talking to them like a diplomat but whenever you didn't offer any mora words fell upon deaf ears. Really, you did enjoy a good fight, but you weren't sure if this would be considered one.

A mirror maiden was enjoying trapping you within her ice while an electrohammer vanguard and a pyroslinger bracer seemed to take turns inflicting you with their designated elements. To be honest, it hurt like living hell, and with each step you took, it felt like your body was burning.

They refused to tell you where Kaeya was, possibly if your judgment was better you would've abandoned the personal rescue mission. Yet, in the back of your mind, you thought about Kaeya getting the same treatment as you, and that thought alone was enough to allow you to block their relentless attacks.

"Where is he!? Just tell me please!" You parried successfully as you asked, but there was a falter in your steps for a moment, stumbling back against the dirt some of it kicking up into your eyes. The larger vanguard took this opportunity, landing a critical hit on you and the hammer sending pulses of electricity through your veins as your body fell to the ground.

Your eyelids were fluttering violently and it felt like you didn't have much control of your body, you didn't know why you felt warm and wet but you did as your body lay on the dirt. You were desperate to push yourself up but you couldn't muster the strength.

The scuffling of feet and desperate yelling were causing your ears to ring, forcing your eyes to open you looked through the haze at Kaeya himself defeating them rather quickly, though it seems he sustained injuries as well.

You thought you had only closed your eyes for a moment, but when you opened them again, his face was in front of yours, an icy orb gazing worriedly at you. "Kaeya," your voice was barely above a whisper, and whenever you spoke it hurt something inside your chest.

"I'm..I'm so glad you're safe," this single sentence caused tears to flow from Kaeya as he overlooked your body, he was desperately trying to mend your wounds but he was only trained on fighting, not healing. "Stop talking! Barbara, Jean, and some other knights should be here soon, they can help you better than me!"

His words were desperate as he clung to your hand, sneakily having a finger kept on your wrist to feel your fleeting pulse. He was scared, the guilt coursing through his veins leaving him almost numb in his brain as he stared at the near corpse of you on the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry [Y/N]."

You gave him a weak smile, shaking your head though the pain seemed unbearable as you did, "You have nothing to be sorry for, love," you gave a small sigh as your eyes seemed to focus on the background before closing. Kaeya's heart racing, he shook your shoulders, desperately calling your name over and over.

When Barbara and Jean arrived Kaeya was inconsolable, his words spitting at them like venom.

"What do you mean you can't do anything? Jean, help her!"

Jean sighed softly, placing a hand on Kaeya's shoulder, "Kaeya, she's already dead."

✦Itto

It was no lie that there were tensions between people and oni, stereotypes were strong and some people just refused to let go of prejudice. Whenever you first were open about your relationship, people had openly asked you why and if he had coerced you in some way which you had taken great offense to.

You tried desperately to convince them that Itto was actually a great man who treated you better than most humans had, but there was still a belief that in some way you had been forced into this relationship.

Itto honestly didn't seem to care much, he simply laughed off most things, but if anyone were to ever say anything to insult you it was like they had committed the worst crime in the universe.

Somehow, you hadn't noticed the growingly dark intentions behind some of the human's words, saying that they didn't want 'half-breeds' within their world in the coming future thanks to you.

This is what had led to your current situation, taken from your home in the middle of the night, being tied up, and brought to a hidden chasm in the depts of Inazuma.

Your neighbors had watched as you were dragged from your home, kicking and screaming. They couldn't help but feel sympathetic to your struggles, their love had too be questioned, albeit not to this extent. This is why, whenever they made their way to Itto, they were quick to explain the situation to the man who loved you.

"They what?!" his voice was booming, his hair was standing on ends with stress as he looked at the two humans in front of him, confused as to why they didn't help you but he didn't bother to ask. "Where is she?"

Your struggles were harsh and as you were dragged down, you bit at the hand of your captors, causing them to yelp before retailing with a harsh slap against your previously untainted cheek.

"We wouldn't have to do this if you didn't get involved with him," they chided as you were momentarily freed from the ropes that had kept you imprisoned. "Stop struggling," a burly man grasped your arm as he forced you towards a wooden totem in the corner of the room.

"Then don't do this!" your confusion about the situation only caused your struggles to be more frantic as you desperately tried to free yourself from his grasp.

As you were tied to the pole, your mind was running wild with scenarios, your anxiety growing with each passing second. That's why, whenever your captors approached you with cans of fire starter and a match you were horrified, "No, no, do not do this please," you begged them as they poured the stinking liquid over you and the pole.

They didn't say anything, simply believing that they were doing the right thing as they lit the match and then evacuated immediately, knowing that if the fire didn't kill you then the smoke certainly would.

Screams of agony were echoing from the cave entrance as your captors disappeared into the night. Your clothes were getting charred along with the heat emitting towards your skin at a rapid pace. Once the fire started to creep along your skin, you couldn't help but continuously cry out, your tears doing nothing to ease the flames as they ate away at your skin.

Itto was sprinting into the cave, your screaming only quickening his pace. The smoke was thick and he could smell burning flesh, whenever he reached the opening he saw the wall of fire that surrounded you. Self-preservation wasn't a word in his dictionary as he made his way to you, sprinting and jumping through the flames before grabbing your now slumped-over frame.

"[Y/N]?" He slapped lightly at your face, realizing that you had probably passed out from the pain, he was quick to pick you up, "C'mon, I've gotta get you outta here," he knew you couldn't hear him, but he was desperate to provide any comfort to you. Coughing from the thick smoke and sprinting out of the cave, not caring about the burns that now were all over his exposed skin.

He was quick to rush you back into town into your parent's home where they had been waiting, you were still out cold and your pulse was fleeting as he examined where your clothes had melted into your skin. He was scared to touch you, to hurt you in any way, but for now, you were alive and in front of him.

Your parents were frantic with trying to contact the right people and by some stroke of luck, Kokomi was within the area and could provide her services.

Throughout the night, both she and Itto provided intensive care to you, multiple times you were on the brink of death and they had to desperately pull you back off the ledge. Once stabilized, you would regain consciousness and whimper in pain, trying desperately to speak but from inhaling the spoke it burnt to talk, simply only being able to say Itto's name.

He would shush you softly, pushing back the hair from your face and offering water that Kokomi had nearly sprinted, tripping over herself to get.

"I'm here hun, I made it in time."

#genshin imagines #genshin x you #genshin x reader #genshin impact #arataki itto #genshin kaeya #itto x reader #kaeya x reader #genshin fanfic #kaeya alberich

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secret-cyborg · 4 months

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One Step Forward

Often, the utter lack of a coherent timeline in the 2001 series makes me sob on the inside. This time, however, it allows me to play fast and loose with what did and didn’t happen between the initial destruction of Black Ghost’s base and the Greek gods appearing. You know, in amongst the psychic dogs and the dinosaurs :’)

Specifically: I’m playing around with the team living together and living separate from each other/returning to their home countries and suggesting that it was less of a “we stayed together for a while, went our separate ways and then the next threat to the world brought us together” and more of a back and forth drifting as each tried to find their feet, and we viewers just weren’t shown all the times the whole team or a large number of the team were together in the house. (A fact my found family self will forever be sour about. :P)

At the risk of the author’s note becoming longer than the actual fic, I’ll end this by saying only: happy holidays, @lasquadra. I hope that this brings you a little bit of joy and feels for your faves, whom I tried my best to do justice to!

Warnings: Mild language and moderate discussions of war and child soldiers. Also one brief mention about death.

————————–

It was a mark of his growing maturity, 002 thought, that he made it a whole fifteen minutes before he spun right on his heel to glare back at 008. The other man was further back than 002 had expected; the ground was cracking with the cold and had made 008’s footsteps louder than 002 was used to.

The tiny revelation changed nothing. 002 still scowled heavily as he demanded, “Are you following me?”

In response, 008 only gave him that smile that was a little bit gentle, a little bit fond, and a whole lot amused, if one knew how to find the smirk that was camouflaged in plain sight. 002 knew how to find it.

“I’m also heading in this direction,” he responded, calm to 002’s irritated.

“You’re heading in this exact direction.” 002 let the scepticism bleed into his tone. He wasn’t, after all, headed anywhere in particular, which made 008 following him even more of an unlikely coincidence. “At the exact same time as me. When you didn’t show any signs of wanting to move all morning.”

The smile on 008’s face became more obviously a smirk as he continued to make his way down the path, a rather hefty bundle wrapped in a blanket tucked under his left arm. But his tone was still (deceptively) mild when he paused a foot from 002 to ask, “Are you rejecting my company?”

It was such an unexpected question that 002 felt himself drawing back a little as though from a blow, eyes widening slightly as his stomach constricted. Despite the teasing, 008 was being sincere; that much was obvious, and that was what had really caused the blow to land the way that it did. Instinct bubbled up, telling him to be dismissive and cruel. Telling him to wound 008 with words so that, when 002 walked away, 008 wouldn’t be able to follow.

But that instinct was a worn one. It belonged to a teenager who no longer existed; who had lived in a time that had been snugly put to bed by the rest of the world. He was no longer the guy who ruthlessly cut away vulnerability and genuine care, seeing them as switchblades hidden up a sleeve, ready to be plunged into soft, vital flesh at any given opportunity. And he was, he realised, not even the weapon Black Ghost had tried to force him to be.

The little huff of dark amusement that escaped him was more for the sudden realisation that he’d started referring to his people by their numbers in his head again. And that he’d done the same for himself. They’d been trying, conscientiously, as of late. He’d been trying. And 008 — Pyunma. Pyunma was so very obviously also trying, in that sneak-attack, open-hearted way of his.

“No,” Jet answered, clipped and terse and then regretting his tone a moment later. The regret made him ask, slightly less gruffly, “Where are you headed?” as the two began to walk side-by-side.

“I’m doing a favour for a friend.”

“Because zero— because Joe isn’t around to do it?” Jet scoffed.

“Something like that,” Pyunma said, but Jet knew him well enough by then in all the ways necessary for combat to hear the hesitancy. The sudden thrum of caution-tension in his voice. He was wary, now.

What Jet didn’t know was why he was wary. Was it digging into his personal affairs? Was it the — admittedly, a little mean-spirited — dig at how everybody had made Joe their delivery person? Was it simply Jet’s attitude? The uncertainty made his gut sour. The desire to make Pyunma happy to be in his presence made him recoil with inner disgust at having such a desire. And the irritation that had driven him to the cold for a walk to clear his head rose to tidal wave proportions, washing his rational thought with anger. Because anger was a good emotion to cover other emotions; thick and strong and protective.

“This is why we shouldn’t live together,” he bit out, ignoring the part of him that was throwing up his hands in exasperation at himself. “We should all just cut ties until we need to be a team. Hell! We barely work as a team. We cobbled together fighting together but… we don’t get along. It’s ridiculous.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets, fuming, and noticed only a few beats later that he’d picked up speed, and that Pyunma was keeping pace with him. Jet hunched his shoulders and scowled even deeper and hated feeling the way he was feeling. He didn’t necessarily want to be this spitting wet cat of a person, especially not after the recent trip to America really had felt like it had… not miraculously healed something inside of him. But it had shaken something loose. Or, perhaps, it was more accurate to say that it had shaken something into place so that it no longer rattled along the confusing mix of metal and bones that he consisted of.

“I— Hm.” Pyunma cut himself off.

After they’d walked for nearly a full minute in silence, Jet sighed. “What? What were you going to say?”

“I think,” Pyunma said, slowly, as though testing out where he was putting each word in case it landed on a hidden mine, “That we have a bit of a skewed view of what family should be like, you and I.” Jet couldn’t help the little noise of surprise that left him. It was the second time in under ten minutes that Pyunma had utterly blindsided him. Pyunma glanced at him with a reassuring smile. “We used to listen to radio shows. American ones. Maybe not any you know, in particular, but I’m sure the general idea of them hasn’t changed at all.” Pyunma turned a distant sort of smile to the sky as they walked, eyes locked in memory. “We used to all crowd around the one wireless that was available and listen so closely people were slapped if they breathed too loudly. They were all about… you know. Funny, bumbling mom and dad. Witty kids. Always getting into such silly situations. And we’d laugh about it afterwards. Silly Americans. Dumb Americans, worrying about such stupid things and getting themselves into such stupid messes. But… I wanted it. We all did, I think. Not just for the lifestyle, and because the problems seemed so easy, but because of the possibility of family that was offered to us. Normal families, we were taught, never fought. Not about anything… let alone for their lives in wars.”

Jet, honestly, didn’t know what to say to that. Normal families don’t fight had turned, near-instantly, into a piece of shrapnel that was worming its way through all the vital organs in his chest, and searing like molten larva through his veins.

“I’ve never… put it into those words before,” he said, voice quiet and distant as he struggled. But Pyunma was right. Without him realising it, Jet had always subconsciously had a rosy image of what family was supposed to be. And it had been the utterly sanitised, brutally plastic opposite of all he’d experienced. “Well, what the hell does that have to do with anything?” he said, trying to snap. But there was no venom in his voice.

“We’re learning conflict,” Pyunma said, simply. “Us as a… team.” He meant family. But Jet was glad he hadn’t used the word, because it felt far too heavy and sharp to handle, just yet. “Just because we’re finding our feet and negotiating and unlearning some lies… many lies…” Another smile in Jet’s direction. This one was a little forced, but it was forced with courage and determination and hope. “It doesn’t mean we won’t work. Give us time.”

“I—” Jet grabbed hold of the sentence he didn’t actually want to say, and pulverised it between his grinding teeth. “Everything is just… really pissing me off,” he admitted, tightly.

“Because caring hurts,” Pyunma said, more gentle than he’d been so far. “That… or it’s jet lag.”

It took only a second for the play on words to hit, and then Jet cursed at him and flipped him the middle finger, and Pyunma laughed. The laughter made some of the sharp ache in Jet’s throat lessen; enough for him to find himself smirking, faintly, as they continued on their journey. He realised, a moment later, that he was now technically following Pyunma, who did appear to have an actual destination. Jet didn’t mind following.

“I… really did miss you guys when I was away,” he admitted, softly. Because Pyunma deserved some vulnerability and honesty after his help.

“Do you think that was something bad?” It was both a tease and a serious question.

Jet countered with a question of his own: “Do I think Black Ghost… put something in us to make us care about each other?” He snorted as Pyunma let out a noise of disbelief. “I somehow really doubt it.”

“So then it’s just plain old humanity keeping its hold on us.”

“That’s what worries me,” Jet admitted, still quiet. Pyunma slowed and turned almost fully to watch him, surprise and curiosity clear in his expression. Jet heaved a sigh and flung his head back to look at the sky. It was obscured, partially, by trees, either rich with their possession of gold-brown leaves or plaintively reaching bare branches skywards, ever straining. “Back when I was… Before. Before Black Ghost, when I was fully human… the gang I was in… I would have died for any of those people. Actually, dying for them would have been the nicest thing I would have done. I haven’t bought the Black Ghost insanity that humans are just destructive monsters but… but. I’ve learned to… be cautious. About humanity.”

“I understand,” Pyunma said, and Jet had known he would. The certainty had been what had driven him to say anything in the first place. “I really get it.” Growing up in a war zone and making your family out of child soldiers and whomever was still alive would give a person that kind of perspective.

“Not everybody does. Everybody else on the team, I mean.” Jet sent a stone thudding across their path, viciously satisfied at the clang that sounded when something metal in his leg hit the rock.

“No,” Pyunma agreed. “We have some people on our team who… almost literally died lonely and alone.” Jet thought about Chang and GB… and then stopped, because the burn was simultaneously ice cold and boiling hot. “And it… well. Not only it; a lot of things make us all see things differently. And deal with ourselves differently. And get angry differently.” Pyunma raised a pointed eyebrow, making sure Jet noticed it before adding, “Like Albert.”

Jet stopped walking. “What do you mean?” he demanded, instantly bristling and defensive.

Pyunma raised his free hand. “You don’t need to be Fran to hear you two,” he said, blunt but still strangely gentle.

“So you were following me?” he demanded, hotly.

“I did have an errand to run, but there was no time set to it. After you left… I thought you might want to talk.” Jet scoffed. “It’s okay if you don’t. We have time, Jet.” Pyunma slowly, with clear intention of his movements, placed his free hand on Jet’s shoulder and squeezed. “You and Albert are trying. We know that. And that’s why the rest of us don’t get involved. Time.” Pyunma gave him a tiny little shake. “You and me and Joe and Albert… we had families of war before. We just had different types of war. And that’s what makes this so uniquely hard for us. The others… don’t get that. But they’re willing to learn. Willing to give time.”

“Do you all just sit there and talk about us behind our backs?” he snarled, shrugging off Pyunma’s hand. And then he felt foolish for his reaction, because Pyunma just gave him the most deadpan look known to man. Jet sighed in a low growl and ran his hands through his hair. “Yeah. Yeah. Fine. Sorry. Just… he drives me mad.” Jet swallowed. Pyunma let him think; let the silence and the stillness swirl around them. It struck him, belatedly, that Pyunma had used the word family, this time. Not directly but… the implication was an ember inside Jet’s blood.

“Come on,” Pyunma said, eventually, and started walking again. He didn’t push Jet for anything else, and Jet used the continuing silence to try and make some sense of his swirling thoughts.

“You said Joe,” he realised out loud. Pyunma let out a questioning noise. “You said Joe also grew up in a family of war.”

“An orphanage is a kind of war, too,” Pyunma said, quietly. “Maybe not recognisable at first but… The same uncertainty, the same strive for survival and a desperate future you barely dare to hope for but cannot let go of…” Hesitation trailed the sentence to nothing. “I don’t know what he’s told you, and I don’t want to betray confidence.”

“Yeah.” Jet cleared his throat. “Enough. He’s told me…” Understanding dawned as the first reach of the steeple loomed before them. “The errand’s for Joe.” Because everybody else used Joe as the errand boy.

“They’ve rebuilt the church, and the orphanage is, apparently, back to functioning again. With some of the same staff. So he can’t… it isn’t wise for him to show his face there again. I offered to deliver what he wanted to give.” Pyunma sighed. “We cover each other’s weaknesses, Jet,” he murmured, finally sounding less-than-light. “We’re gonna be together… for a long time, it seems. We didn’t get to choose much, but we get to choose what we make of what we’ve got. How much of ourselves we’re willing to lay down for one another. It’s not… giving up on who we are or were. It’s development of self.”

“You sound like G-Junior,” Jet said, because smiling and teasing about it was the easier option. Or, no: the easiest would still have been anger. This was… this was the one he wanted to make easiest.

Pyunma laughed at him, some of the ease returning. “He has been a huge help for a lot of things,” he said, warmly. And then, teasing and also not, he added, “Don’t give up on us. Not just yet. Okay?”

Jet locked his arms behind his head. “I’m not going into that church with you,” he warned, and Pyunma snorted. “But… also… yeah. Somebody has to keep GB and Chang from murdering each other, and if it has to be Fran all the time… she’ll be the one murdering. And… hell. Joe is a walking…” He shook his head. “If I’d met him back when I was in a gang, he’d have been an easy mark,” he admitted. “Kid has zero street smarts.” Another reminder, painful-fond, that if one stacked up all the years people had been frozen for, Joe was the youngest of them all.

“And Albert?” Pyunma asked, slyly. Back to being an undercover little mischief sower.

“Albert needs a kick in the ass,” Jet growled.

“Good thing we have many feet between all the rest of us,” Pyunma said, mock-sagely.

“Ha. Send up a prayer, or whatever.” Jet stopped in his tracks, letting Pyunma, who was sniggering slightly, continue. “I’ll… be here. When you’re done.”

“I know,” Pyunma called over his shoulder, and there was an identifiable something in his tone that let Jet lean casually against a street light pole and watch the world without hurry, insides no longer raging.

#secretcyborg2023 #fanfction #cyborg 009 #anon gift submission

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