#it just upsets me that no matter how mature or calm i was this knowledge that i wasnt stupid never ever stopped him from just taking

[berrieluv]

Loved doll face honey! Do you think you could do something similar with both James and Lily? Maybe where they both find out of something? Only if you're okay with that

Heeey, I'm so glad you liked it, DollFface Honey has been the hardest thing for me to write because my knowledge of the english language really lacks of sexual words, on the other hand I've never write about fem!character x fem!reader in an explicit way but i'll try, hope I fill the expectations <3

Lily Potter x James Potter x Fem!Reader.

TW. overstimulation? fingering, penetration, threesome, breeding kink, size kink, daddy kink, dirty talk, open marriage, i really don't know what else. pleaaaase leave a comment, you have no idea of how happy they make me :c

The spouses manipulator.

Lily was fine with James sleeping with other people. She was doing it as well, and at that point, so far from monogamy, getting upset would only be hypocrite.

Lily could share her husband, and as far as James is concerned, he could share his wife as well, but there was something about you that felt just wrong to share. Remus knew that, Lily was sure, and even thought Lily was way too smart to know between Remus and you was something going on, he was mature enough to accept Lupin and her sharing the same girl. But when it came to sharing with James, something about it felt not right.

Not because James couldn't touch anyone else besides her, but because with three people tainting you at the time –leaving Sirius out of the picture, because to Sirius' liking, the three adults were far to know about him and you– it was just a short matter of time before you were completely in lost of your innocence.

"Baby, you need to choose. Me or Lily?"

James was standing in front of you, his naked torso in all display and his big muscles flexing with his crossed arms. Lily was pulling up the sleeves of her satin blouse and looking at you with a smile, confident of what your answer would be.

"Both?"

"No, pretty girl. You can't have both" James said, leaning down to you and taking your face with his two big hands "Daddy or mommy?"

You already had too many daddies, one less couldn't hurt.

"Mommy?"

Lily smiles in silence, James looks at her in surprise and slightly offended.

"Baby, you're letting daddy go?" At his words, a pout takes over your facial expression and your eyes start to water. Sure you didn't want to let your daddy James go, so you shake your head. "See? Baby wants daddy" He says, looking at Lily.

"What about mommy, baby?"

"Want' mommy too"

Lily clicks her tongue and comes closer to you, pulling James out of your physical space and kissing your lips.

"What about mommy and daddy help you out, pretty thing?" You look at her in a confused way only to gasp when her hand is making circles on your clit covered with your underwear. "Baby, you're so wet" Lily says, earning a big crying "no" from you, who were taught by James that was an indicator of sickness. "Don't worry, mommy would make it better"

Lily looks at James with challenging eyes, and for him, his wife has never been hotter than in that exact moment, about to fuck a teenager to show him who was better when it came to sex.

Her fingers put aside your panties, quickly making it into you, in response you moan at Lily lack of delicacy. Your eyes get distracted by her hands and you look down, eager to see what she's doing down there with you. At the movement, Lily grabs a fist full of your hair and pulls it, forcing you to look up while her fingers fuck you in amazing ways you thought could never be possible by any other than Remus' cock. Lily wanted your eyes on you, seeing how teary they were getting, loving to see how wrecked you could get by only her fingers.

Her hand gets away from you, owning a cry and an expectant look. In all the calm there possibly can be, Lily takes two of her fingers to her mouth and licks them, patiently, taking her time as if you weren't a full moaning mess in front of her. Her free hand gets on your inner thigh, opening your legs for her to have a better access to you, your underwear is glued to your pussy thanks to your wetness, but it doesn't seem like an impediment for Lily, if so, it serves her right, pulling the fabric of the panties every time so to make you whimper when it slash your needy and wet cunt.

Your moans are music for Lily and James' ears –the last one in full rock hard mood, but sitting straight, only looking at you and planing on how many ways he'll rail you to prove his wife he's a better fucker–. Your hips move back and forth, needing to feel Lily's touch. Your erected nipples making their appearance through the thin fabric of your shirt.

"Awh, are you horny, little thing? Hoe around mommy's soft fingers as much as you please. You look so fucking pretty, almost angelic. Your pretty little pussy being all stretched out around my long fingers"

Lily smiles when she hears your final loud moan, knowing she already made you cum, fingering all of it inside of you again, and taking her fingers to her mouth, licking them "You did so good for mommy, baby girl"

And with that, her face is now rising, getting a little higher than where yours is, lifting up your chin with her fingers making you look at her, she opens your mouth with her thumb and spits.

Now was James turn.

He smiles while walking to you, before he could touch Lily, she walks away and sits on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs ready to see how you take James.

"Don't you worry baby. That was nothing compare to what I have prepare for you"

He grins at you and take your face, kissing your lips and taking your body as if it was a feather.

Now your back is turned to him and your tits bang with the chair back, James loses no time with your underwear and takes it apart. He takes his belt off, the sound itself making your pussy wet again, he takes his time on taking his jeans off and before he could start, he makes sure your position on the table is good to not make you fall.

His cock thrust into you, his big hands are now on your hips and moving them to his, your tits are bouncing and blaming the chair, causing Lily's view to turn on a show.

James slows his movements, knowing it turns you even more when you think he's stopping and then he surprises you by going faster. One thing about james was that –unlike Sirius and Remus– he loved smacking your ass in such a gentle way. He liked the sound the palm of his hand made in contact with your ass and not so much the pain in cold cause in you.

"You're enjoying this, bunny? Do you like daddy's cock fucking you so hard?" He asks with a soft voice, almost romantic. He grabs your arms and lifts your upper body from the chair, making you feel his dick deeper in you. At the feeling of James thick thighs, you tried to rub yourself in them.

Above all of the others, James would have something that drove you absolutely crazy that the other could never have; his strong thighs. A result from many years of exercise and discipline.

At that point, James is doing all the work for you. It was was easy for him to handle you comparing the size difference, your hands hanged on his thighs skin, trying to have a support.

James' hands are quick to grab your shirt, making you lift your arms so he can take it off, and as soon as he takes the clothing off your body leans back again in the chair, his hands trying to get yours yo hold onto something, making your moans grow bigger and louder. His hands keep smacking your ass and as the seconds pass your arms feel weaker.

Your already worked up pussy is begging for James to keep going, clenching around his cock and milking it with every thrust. James is eager to please you as he understands your body language, while your moans seem tired and your little voice is begging him to stop and take it easy, you know your body is asking for something else.

"Daddy, no more"

"No more? But daddy's being so nice to you, baby princess. He's treating your pretty pussy so well and it it's being so nice to me, I can tell she wants this" In the moment you close your eyes, a sign of your tiredness, James quickly grabs your neck, holding your back close to his chest and his lips extremely near to your ears "Pussy's being such a good girl, isn't she" You moan and nod, opening your mouth to say something but being completely shut by the violent entrance of James fingers "But this pretty mouth is being bad" He pouts in a fake way and bites your ear "Such a bratty mouth, baby. Better keep it quiet if you want your pussy to get her reward for being good. Wouldn't be fair if she gets noting, would it?"

You shake your head "Good girl. Show your body who's in charge"

James free hand goes straight to your clit, rubbing circles in it and making your belly tickle. James' thrusts faster as he senses you coming outdone by the sound of your moans, finally his cum is being load in you, completely filling your tight pussy but he keeps his movements, not pretending to stop until you finish.

"What a bad daddy" Lily says. She knows her husband like the palm of her hand, there's no way she couldn't recognize his orgasm face because she has seen it too many times "Comes in you before you can finish. Mommy would never do that, baby"

You look up at her and Lily smiles, taking your chin and letting you suck on her thumb.

"You have been such a good girl, haven't you, princess?" You smile and nod while you feel James cock getting out of you and letting his cum drip from your pussy "Look at you, all used and covered in cum. You, baby, look like the prettiest girl in the world. But mommy's not done with you yet"

Lily's smile is easily the prettiest thing on the word, but Lily's smirk could turn on every single sexual person on earth. She takes your hand in a gentle way and walks to the bed with you.

Lily takes her blouse off, only thing covering her now is her bottom lingerie; "Ride mommy's thigh, baby"

Fuck, James thought; That was his move.

There wasn't a thing on earth Lily wasn't willing to do to win. And when she saw you, hungrily trying to hump on James thick thighs she knew she had to steal it from him.

You quickly obeyed her instructions, but before you could sit, looking at her, Lily turned you the other way around. If she was going to win, James was going to watch you getting ruined by his sweet little flower.

"Tell daddy how it feels, baby"

"S'so'so good" You manage to breath out. James grin grows bigger and Lily sends him a deadly glance when she sees him coming close.

"Don't even think about it"

"What? Baby seems to need daddy's cock, don't you baby"

You innocently nod, your shiny eyes giving away your desperation. James rubs his cock a little, only taking him a few seconds to get it hard again and then he looses no time on thrusting into you.

In the heat of the moment, and being full by jealousy, Lily's hand make its way to your clit, violently rubbing in as he sees James moving your hips back and forth for his cock to go deeper, causing you to also rub yourself faster on Lily's thighs.

There was a few seconds where Lily thought sharing you with his husband couldn't be that bad. But she was far too gone on the dispute to give in.

"You're so desperate for daddy's cock, aren't you? Don't worry darling, when I end you you won't be able to walk. You better start thinking what you'll tell Remus, pathetic whore"

And Lily gives up, knowing it would be funnier to be on James' side.

"You're a filthy little slut for mommy and daddy, aren't you, princess?" You nod moaning "Your only desire is to be bred and filled by mommy's thick cock. Don't you worry baby, daddy's cock makes wonders. Soon you'll be all round and full with his babies"

James lets out a gutural groan, your sweating body in the middle of the both of them, being violently fucked by his cock and being also please by Lily's skilled fingers. You're crying and whimpering, turning him on more.

"Gonna feel you up and breed you right here, baby. On mommy's bed just as she says, just like the little whore you are"

Lily smiles and pulls your hair to have your head resting on her shoulder, you whimper at the lack of her fingers in your clit but as soon as you complain she has her lips on your neck and her hand back on stimulating you.

"What do you think Remus would say of his innocent and pure step-sister being all breed by his best friend's seed. All full of his best friend's husband's cum, hum?" James thrust one time, slow and deep into you, making your insides feel hot, when he pulls out Lily is holding your hips to keep James' cum inside while he looks for something.

"Don't let it out, darling" She says when she sees your pussy clenching and letting a blast of sperm out "Mommy and daddy would get mad if you keep doing that"

"Can't hold it, mommy. S' too much"

You groan in discomfort at James plugging you. "Problem solve, princess"

You better start thinking on what you'll tell Remus.

#james potter imagine #james potter smut #james potter fic #james potter fanfiction #james potter x reader #james potter x y/n #james potter drabble #lily evans x reader #james x lily #lily evans fanfic #lily evans fanfiction #lily evans smut #lily evans imagine #lily evans x fem!reader #lily evans x y/n #lily evans x james potter #the marauders x reader #the marauders imagine #the marauders fic #the marauders fanfiction #the marauders smut

[couldntbedamned]

I Feel Your Love, And I Feel it Burn - Masterlist

A little AU I have where Stephen and Peter are in a relationship with a consensual and negotiated domestic discipline dynamic. There are rules and expectations that are agreed upon by the both of them (not sexual in nature), as well as certain punishments (again, not sexual in nature) for breaking those rules.

Series General Tags/Warnings: Adult Peter Parker, Established Relationship, Relationship Discussions, Healthy Relationships, Domestic Discipline, Punishments, Corner Time, Non-Sexual Spanking, Aftercare, Non-Sexual Intimacy

Please be sure to read the associated tags/warning for each fic and exercise your best judgment in determining if a fic is for you. YOU are responsible for the content you chose to read.

1. You Kiss Your Sorcerer With That Mouth? - During a mission, Spider-Man lets some choice words for Dr. Doom slip. Stephen's less than pleased at Peter's disregard for how he's supposed to conduct himself as Spider-Man when he's in the public eye. He gives Peter some time to think about what he's done, and has a creative way to ensure Peter thinks twice before doing it again. (Mature, Complete)

2. Help Me Up, Let's Keep On Running - Peter and Stephen have several rules set up in their dynamic. The two biggest? That Peter will look after his health and wellbeing, and that they will always be honest with each other. 

Peter manages to break both of them in one fell swoop, and Stephen is none too pleased. 

Discussions are had, actions lead to consequences, and Peter emerges from the experience secure in the knowledge that Stephen will do whatever it takes to make sure he's cared for and loved. (Mature, Complete)

3. I Can See The Man That I Fell For Fighting - It was supposed to be a quick in and out job. Just into the study to grab his book he’d left in there by accident the night before, and then out before Stephen even knew he was up and about. Harmless.

It wasn’t his fault that Cloak decided it needed to follow him around like some overly nosy puppy. Or that Cloak decided it needed to join him in the study as he looked for his book. Or that Cloak had decided to apparently “guard” something in the study in way that just screamed suspicious and naturally piqued Peter’s curiosity. 

In and out, no harm done. But when it became clear that Peter was overstaying his welcome in the space, Cloak had also felt the need to snitch. 

He’d really, really fucked up. (Mature, Complete)

4. This Back's Not Going to Break So Easily  (Part 1) (Part 2) - When Peter comes to Stephen upset and insisting he needs to be punished, Stephen knows something's wrong. Given a chance to calm down and feel safe, Peter explains what happened while he was at the Tower working in the labs and interrupted by Harley. Stephen reassures Peter that he did nothing wrong and does his best to comfort him.

Also featured: Stephen confronting Tony and Harley like a boss, Peter and Stephen's love, trust, and mutual respect for each other, lots of fluffy/dirty teasing, and pizza. (Explicit, Complete)

5. And I Let the Knots of Time Come Undone - After breaking one of their established rules, Stephen finds himself at Peter's service for the day. Tasked with his least favorite chores, Stephen tries to maintain his sanity and make it through, all while reluctantly admitting to himself that all things considered, he's getting off easy.

If only he could get rid of that damn bell... (Mature, Complete)

6. Our Road Gets Better With Every Bend - Peter's getting ready for his junior year at Columbia. But before he goes back to school, there's the matter of his 21st birthday to deal with. Which is inevitably going to affect The Rules he and Stephen have. And what should be a nice night out for Peter's birthday takes a bit of a detour when a former acquaintance from Peter's freshman year unexpectedly runs into the happy couple.

Stephen's not jealous. No, not one bit. (Explicit, Complete)

7. Maybe If I Hold You Close, Baby We Could Just Let Go - While the idea of accompanying Stephen to the high-brow fundraisers and charity galas seemed glamorous at first, Peter found the reality turned out to be much more disappointing. Everyone looks down their nose at him; people are forever swarming Stephen and flirting with him; and Peter usually finds himself alone, bored, counting the time until they can leave. However, he keeps attending in the hopes that he'll finally get a chance to dance with Stephen like he'd imagined.

One night he gets to dance with a surprising friend, which may finally lead to a bit of happiness at the damned events going forward.

Or Stephen might take issue, if another friend doesn't take it upon herself to give him a clue. (Mature, Complete)

8. I'm Counting On A New Beginning, A Reason For Living - Peter's been in a bad mood and his recent stretch of bad luck isn't helping matters. Stephen hasn't been able to get through to him, and even when Peter takes his punishments for acting out, something's off. Worried about his partner, Stephen tries to think of what it is he might have done wrong. Upset, Peter pulls away.

It takes a bad set of prototype arrows, saving someone's life, a friend snitching, a stern Dr. Palmer taking control of a situation, a very un-teamlike spying session, and an uncomfortable discussion or two before Stephen and Peter are back on the same page. (Mature, Complete)

9. Man, What Are You Doing Here? - He only had one final left to take... and then he was done with everything until the fall semester of his final year as an undergraduate. Since his final wasn’t until Thursday afternoon, he didn’t see the harm in going out with some friends to celebrate and cute loose on Tuesday evening.

Would he have chosen a bar? No. He wasn’t supposed to drink on school nights and honestly, he preferred going to the movies or a show. But he was in college and honestly, it wasn’t like it needed to be a big deal.

And it wasn’t like Stephen needed to know. (Mature, Complete)

10. Cold Comes From the East Side (Part 1) (Part 2) - Peter breaks one of the rules in a spectacular way and suffers the consequences. It's rare for Stephen to actually be angry with him, but given the circumstances, Peter supposes the anger is more than earned. It's a hell of a situation for the pair of them and Peter wonders if they'll actually make it through. (Mature, Work in Progress) Updated 16 January 2023

#spiderstrange #spideystrange #peter parker x stephen strange #stephen strange x peter parker #domestic discipline #couldntbedamned fic #i feel your love and i feel it burn

[kinetic-elaboration]

May 16: MSCL 1x14 On the Wagon

I came into this ep feeling like it was going to be a really heavy episode and then I noticed which one comes after. So, not that bad.

Rayanne to me is such a sad character and I get more sad about her the older I get, because, as I've mentioned, it's hard not to see her as a child that, a real adult, would like to protect. So many people in this ep are trying to help her, but they lack the ability to make a significant enough difference, for various reasons.

Rickie is just a kid, too, and the only thing he really knows how to do is be an enabler. He's not really trying to change Rayanne's trajectory, just manipulate as much around her as possible to keep her as stable as possible. Patty truly wants to help, but as she's not Rayanne's mom, her hands are tied by just, as Graham says, the unspoken rules of parenting. She may have established herself as the person the kids can come to for help no matter what, but she's the Crisis Call, not the first call.

The guidance counselor seems to be doing some good--Rayanne likes her because she's sensitive, and I do feel like it's probably because of this minor form of therapy that Rayanne has stayed sober for 33 days and learned to avoid certain triggers, like drinking to calm nerves or when she's upset (although--was this ever really her issue?). But again, the guidance counselor has only limited power both because of her skill set (she is not a real therapist) and her place in Rayanne's life--an 'optional' person after 30 days.

Amber of course is just a big child herself. She's committed to acknowledging only the good and the easy: she is appetizers and raw cookie dough, never fully balanced meals and vegetables. She's fine if it's time to be encouraging or exciting but she absolutely does not allow discussion of anything difficult or sad, like Rayanne's father, or her overdose. So of course Rayanne has never learned a vocabulary to talk about those things. Even though, like Jordan, I think she desperately wants to.

And Angela... I think Angela could help Rayanne, could maybe the person who ties all her different possible resources together, her entryway to the Chase household and a model of a more stable life perhaps. But I think she's pulled away from Rayanne because she is scared and out of her depth. When Rayanne is fun and adventurous and wacky and knowledgeable, that's easy. That's what Angela wanted to be around. But when Rayanne is at her worst, she is really hard. The reasons that Patty wanted Angela not to hang out with Rayanne are exactly the same reasons Angela is now drawing back from Rayanne. She's not being a good friend and she admits it, but I think it's an understandable (subconscious) reaction to what she saw in Other People's Mothers.

It's hard for me to imagine Rayanne as a functional adult, but I also dearly want to see her grow into a functional adult. I want to see her really sober up, really embrace therapy (she wants to talk! she wants t be listened to by someone sensitive! she needs a neutral party to unpack, you know... all this!!), gain independence and purpose in life. She is a fiercely loyal friend who is at her best when she's defending, protecting, or helping others. And she can be an extrovert without also self-harming or being reckless or callous or (accidentally) cruel. Other People's Mothers made it seem like Rayanne was running from something--the party so intense that there is always something happening and you never have to think. We know she lacks the ability to discern a time from a good time. We know she has an unhealthy relationship toward sex and, imo, she's a closet bi lady or lesbian.

But what if she grew up? What if she came to terms with all of this stuff and matured?

Other thoughts: Jordan and Angela are actually friends now. Love that for them. I really think she's the first person he has in his life that he can just talk to about things, and it's nice to see him become comfortable with that. Angela as well--now that she sees him as just a regular human instead of a symbol or an unattainable dream, they can just be normal together.

The Jordan/Angela/Rayanne love triangle is so weird... They're all in a feather bed together. Jordan and Rayanne both in love with Angela, competing for her, unsubtly but unknowingly. And eventually they'll sleep together, probably both imagining that they're with her.

#the year 2023 #2023: fandom thoughts #2023: my so called life

[honey-milk-depresso]

Obey Me Opposites Attract (1)

Lucifer:

It’ll be that you are full of flaws, low self esteem, forgiving and merciful,

and Lucifer is flawless, high as fck self esteem, unforgiving and unmerciful.

Like a strict dad and a forgiving mother.

Like-

h u h-

Conversations sometimes go like this:

“That scumbag Mammon, I’m gonna-”

“Calm down, Lucifer, I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

He’s somehow always calm around you.

And you somehow manage to calm him down easily

It’s a mystery and miracle to be honest-

So many people wonder why he would ever bother and fuss about you.

You were... mostly plain, you didn’t stand out, and you don’t really have much in you.

Your grades were average, performances were average-

You are basically average in the majority’s eyes.

But Lucifer thought differently otherwise.

How tf do you even not KILL Mammon? Or Levi? Or anyone?

How do you have that much of mercy??

Sometimes he reprimand you of letting people go so easily,

but once others see that you forgive them, 

I think they’d feel guilty if they do it again to upset you.

You’re kind hearted, unlike Lucifer,

and seeing you upset will break your heart. So they won’t cause the same trouble again at best.

And Lucifer was like “Wait, there was no murder involved??”

So, he’s thankful to have you around.

And he finds comfort in you.

Best to make sure those people once at fault don’t do their wrongs again,

if they made you sad, Lucifer will exterminate them.

Just for you :)

“Lucifer, no-”

Mammon:

If Mammon is greedy, a slack, immature, sensitive, empathetic and egoistic,

Then you are generous (if necessary), hardworking, mature, insensitive, coldhearted and humble. (somehow-)

He would be always trying to go to every gambling corner, and you’d be the one to drag him away from it.

Basically just dragging him away from danger, which he’s somehow always attracted to it.

At first, he’s always whiny and complaining about it, to which you gave him a glare and coldly ask him to be quiet, to which he promptly shut up afterwards,

it’s apparent that you two had a soft spot for each other.

Well, in different ways.

Mammon acts all haughty and stuff in front of you, saying he doesn’t need your help, or he’s doing it because he “felt like it”,

but really, Mammon’s just really protective over you,

and he knows he’s not good at helping or solving a problem at all, 

but he knows your human, and that the problems he’s dealing with most of the time, could get you killed if you weren’t careful, so he doesn’t want you helping him.

You on the other hand, always tell him cruel truths, coldly ask him to go back, because you’re worried about him too,

and you don’t want him to get hurt.

So you ask him to get out of the place or to shut up so he wouldn’t get into further trouble.

You actually help him in his tasks, since you’re hardworking and he’s a slack,

and though you have always told him to do it,

which he would cuz you’re pretty intimidating-

you end up helping him because you do love him.

And he feels sorta guilty for you doing all his work, so he helps you out-

I say you two are a tsundere couple- in different ways :3

Leviathan:

You’d be outgoing, confident, contented, optimistic and a social butterfly,

Levi would be reclusive, insecure, envious, pessimistic and a closet shut in.

Unlike with Lucifer, where you’re the loser (I’m sorry-) and the other is seemingly perfect in every way,

it’s the opposite.

You’re the one seemingly perfect in every way, while Levi is the loser-

huh-

Levi calls you the biggest normie he’s ever met,

and he was at first, super jealous of you.

you make friends so easily, and everyone seemed to like you since day 1,

and how could you be so grateful for everything?!

Won’t you feel upset if everybody else got the world, and you only get a grain of sand??

but little did he know, you were also kind of jealous of him, too.

That was because you couldn’t really survive on yourself without people wih you,

or the fact that you were a lot more dependent on other people,

not so much like Levi,

he does quite a lot by himself,

and he’s pretty independent too.

And Levi was shocked as frick-

You??

Jealous of him???

He became a blushing mess of embarrassment,

he doesn’t know how to react.

Your relationship is something like this:

“LEVI *pulling him by the leg* GET OUT OF YOUR ROOM, YOU NEED FRESH AIR-”

“FRESH AIR WON’T HELP ME, STOP PULLING ME AND LET ME BACK IN MY CASTLE-”

Yep-

But, he’s happy you actually look up to him,

and because you’ve always pushed him out of his comfort zone,

he’s a lot more confident than he used to be, so he’s thankful for you.

“What? No- I- I- okay fine yes, I like you, too... in a way..”

Satan:

Satan is a bookworm, practical, short fused, calm at times and overthinks too much,

You are, well, not a bookworm, more fond of video games, focusing more on emotional intelligence, more calmer and patient than Satan, and underthinking.

Satan actually thought you’ll get along more with Levi,

since you both are pretty hardcore when it comes to gaming.

Apparently not.

Now he’s rambling to you about a book he’s read, while you played on your game consoles while showing him an epic kill.

Pretty funny huh?

Like Lucifer, you tend to be the one calming Satan down, and he appreciates it.

And you help him understand the emotional side of things, allowing him to understand other people’s feelings and how to deal with them,

and you helped him get along with Lucifer after so many centuries.

He’s gotten a lot better in managing his anger because of you.

And he helps you not make a bad choice, get killed, and help you get out of the situation with his quick thinking.

He thinks too much, so you help him calm down and stuff, not to

ya know,

overthink SO MUCH-

And he helps you to actually process your thoughts.

He engulfs you with a bunch of knowledge he knows to impress you,

and while you love gaming,

you know when to stop

and just listen to him ramble-

before you start geeking about a game to him,

and while he doesn’t know anything,

he’ll just listen.

It’s you after all he wants to listen to, and that’s all that matters <3

#obey me #obey me x reader #obey me x reader headcanon #obey me headcanon #obey me headcanons #obey me x reader headcanons #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me lucifer x reader #obey me mammon x reader #obey me leviathan x reader #obey me levi x reader #obey me satan x reader #leviathan #lucifer #mammon #satan

[sunnyville36]

Mamihlapinatapai {part 2}

Thank you all so sooo much for the kind feedback on part 1! Part 2 is coming at you now! 💜

Need to catch up? {overview} {part 1}

Pairing: Bang Chan x Female Reader

Themes: royal au, medieval au, court intrigue, arranged marriage, original characters, mutual pining, slow burn

Warnings: injuries, mentions of death/war/murder, emotionally abusive parents

Rating: Mature

Word count: 4.5k

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mamihlapinatapai - (noun, Yagán origin) a silent acknowledgement and understanding between two people, who are both wishing or thinking the same thing (and are both unwilling to initiate)

A Summer’s Ball  |  Kingdom of Gu, present day

The next few days were just as tumultuous as the first, Chan and Korenna slowly progressing from treating each other with complete silence, to short-lived bickering, to finally being able to hold a civil conversation for at least a few minutes.  You escorted them to more ceremony preparation meetings, then to councils with the foreign affairs ministers, the historians, the priests, each one stressing how this union would be a stepping stone in your two kingdoms’ relations and they should think of it as a huge honor.  You couldn’t help but feel sorry for the both of them, being reminded over and over how their lives were simply a means to an end, to be controlled at the whim of their fathers’ aspirations.

A turning point finally came when the three of you visited the city surrounding the palace grounds, the prince refusing to miss his weekly visit to the village market.  Chan loved to interact with his people, to support their businesses, to hear their grievances, to show he cared.  You followed behind the two of them as you walked through the plaza lined with stalls, Chan waving to each of the merchants, Korenna watching him with a mix of reservation and admiration.

“Your people seem to be thriving.  I wish I could say the same about our villages.”

You eyed Chan, knew he was forcing himself to hold back a biting remark, likely about how if Lajor’s people were currently suffering, it was the monarchy’s fault.  He finally came up with a question, trying his best to keep the conversation going.

“Have you brought up your concerns to your father?”

“I’ve tried, but he doesn’t want to listen to anything I have to say.  All he cares about is what he thinks is right, no matter who suffers for it.”

Chan nodded solemnly, “I can understand that.”

Korenna gave him a somber look and appeared to have something more she wanted to say, but was promptly dragged off by a small child wanting to show her his father’s bakery stall.

You nudged Chan’s arm.  “See, she’s not so bad, Your Highness.  If you give her a chance.”

He started in the direction of the princess, turning to walk backwards and smile at you with his arms out in a lighthearted shrug, “If you say so.”

***

That evening the king was hosting a ball, to celebrate the engagement of the prince.  You’d helped Chan dress, his midnight blue velvet ensemble and dark hair set off against the silver crown he wore making him look more like a deity of the moon than an earthly prince.  Then you had gone to assist Korenna.  You couldn’t deny how beautiful she looked as you watched her from across the room, her champagne colored gown and perfectly curled blonde hair standing out against the relatively muted colors worn by the other attendees.  She was standing away from Chan, talking amongst a group of noblemen’s wives and other high powered ladies, but her eyes never strayed far from his back as he talked with Minho and some other knights around a wooden table in the corner.

“You look quite stunning tonight, Y/n.  Purple is definitely your color,” came a deep voice on your left, and you turned to see Prince Felix approaching you, his small frame clothed in a breathtaking deep red suit.  The younger brother of Prince Minho, Felix had the sunniest personality of anyone you’d ever met, quite contrasting to his voice but in perfect harmony with the bright smile he flashed as he reached your side.  It had been several months since you’d last seen him, his studies as apprentice to your kingdom’s Chief Healer taking him to the academy in the highlands far away from the city.

“Prince Felix!” you exclaimed, arms reaching to pull him into a quick hug.  “I could say the same for you; that red suits you perfectly, Your Grace.”

Felix laughed, releasing you from his hold.  You and he had been close friends since childhood, ever since, at the age of 5, he’d stepped on the hem of your skirt and you’d pushed him into a mud puddle, causing guards to rush over and attempt to have you arrested.  His mother and the queen had stepped in, calming the guards as you remorsefully reached out your hand to help him up only to be pulled down into the mud next to him, the both of you dissolving into fits of laughter.

“I’ve missed the city.  And it seems the city has missed me for all the excitement it’s spun up in my absence.”  His eyes followed your gaze to where Korenna had made her way over to Chan, and watched as she led him out to the quiet balcony overlooking the gardens.  “How are you taking all of this?”

“I’m fine, Your Grace.  What reason would I have not to celebrate such a momentous occasion?”

Felix fixed you with a knowing look, but dropped the subject, content to stand with you at the edge of the dance floor.

“Y/n, I thought I told you not to let Christopher and the princess out of your sight,” came King Bang’s voice from behind you.  “The last thing we need is for them to get into one of their verbal sparring matches with the whole court present.”

You turned, lowering your head to the king.  “Of course, Your Majesty.”

You left Felix next to the king, his expression turned to one of distaste at his new company, and walked quietly out onto the balcony where the couple was talking.

They were standing closer together than you had ever seen them, leaning forward against the railing’s edge.  They seemed to be deep in conversation, Korenna actually reaching her hand up to place it on Chan’s back.  It didn’t feel right watching them without their knowledge, so you cleared your throat loudly, causing both their heads to snap up.  Chan looked slightly embarrassed, his head tilting forward, but Korenna’s expression was almost unreadable.  She stood staring at you for a few  seconds, then pursed her lips, nodded her head to Chan, and walked back into the main ballroom as you approached him.

“I apologize, Your Highness, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Trust me, Y/n, you didn’t,” came Chan’s tired reply.  You wanted to know if she had upset him, to know how you could comfort him.

“What were you discussing?”

A soft song started to make its way out from the half-open door.  Chan looked up at you, completely ignoring your question.

“Dance with me?”

Several seconds went by in silence.  He reached out his hand, eyes imploring you to say something, to say yes.

This was dangerous.  You couldn’t think of a worse position to be caught in, dancing with a betrothed man far above your stature.  But you also couldn’t think of a way to say no to him.

You took his hand and he pulled you flush against him immediately.  You tried to resist the urge to place your head on his chest, but the feeling of being in his arms was too much, made you feel so safe.  So you laid your cheek there and felt a low hum come up through his chest.  It was quiet for a while, the two of you simply swaying back and forth, not doing any particular dance.  You felt his head rise from where it had been resting on top of your head.

“I’ve always thought you were beautiful, but you look gorgeous tonight Y/n.”

“You told me that earlier, Your Highness.”

“I know.  I wanted to tell you again.”

Then he placed his head back down and you continued to spin in slow circles until the song ended.  He brought your movements to a stop, taking your hand and kissing the top of it as he leaned forward in an exaggerated bow, “Thank you for the dance, my lady.”

You looked at him with a small smile.  “You’re welcome, Your Highness.”

He returned your smile, turned, and walked back towards the party.  You felt your chest tighten, feeling a little too much like your dance had been his way of saying goodbye.

Thinly Veiled Threats  |  Kingdom of Gu, 6 years ago

“Watch out!”

You turned towards the direction of the voice just in time to see Chan break through the wooden fence in front of you, thrown off his horse by the force of the lance he just took to the chest.

The prince had just turned seventeen, which made him eligible to compete in the annual Four Kingdom Competition, where knights, lords, and even royalty from the continent’s four greatest kingdoms met to determine who among them would be crowned victor in a series of strength tests.  His father had of course insisted he enter on his first eligible year, which had led to the activity you were currently engaged in, training a boy who was used to classrooms, libraries, and diplomacy lessons the intricacies of hand to hand combat.  The tasks ranged from archery to sword fighting, wrestling to jousting, and while Chan knew his way around a broadsword and shield, it was clear that the latter of those was not going to be Chan’s strong suit.

You walked calmly towards where he sat on the ground, knowing he would only be more embarrassed by any attempts to rush to his aide.  He was sitting up, so you could tell he wasn’t badly injured, but his right hand still stretched across his abdomen to clutch at his left side.  He’d been hit there at least three times now, and if you had to guess, what was once a bad bruise was more likely a patch of broken skin at this point.

Voices floated around you as you pushed your way through the small crowd that had gathered around him, many asking the prince if he was alright or giving unsolicited advice on how to avoid the outcome he seemed to be cursed with.  You picked up on the voice of a squire, one who served the boy who had knocked Chan down most recently, as he nudged the side of the older boy’s arm.

“You could have gone a little easier on him, you know.  His mother just died.”

Great.  Just what you needed; a physically and emotionally wounded Chan.

“Alright, give him some room everyone.  His Highness is fine; go back to your own practicing.”  You shooed away the stragglers and knelt so Chan could wrap his free arm around your neck, hoisting him up and slowly making your way to the infirmary tent.  Leaning him against the side of a cot, you reached for the clean cloth and distilled vodka; this was going to hurt like a bitch, but Chan could take it.

“You’re pulling back too much and too early, it leaves your side vulnerable,” you said, carefully easing off his ripped tunic so you could tend to his wound.

He stayed silent for a few moments, fingers gripping harshly against your shoulder as you cleaned the cut and wrapped a bandage around his midsection.

“I…,” he trailed off, seeming to struggle to find the words he was looking for.  “I’m a coward.  I’m a failure and a coward and everyone knew it except me, until just now.”

His words knocked the wind out of you.  You knew he was ashamed (entirely unnecessarily) when he couldn’t hold back the tears at his mother’s funeral while his father maintained his perfectly stoic expression (that heartless bastard), knew he was self-conscious about his fighting abilities, but you’d never heard him express that insecurity so directly before.

“Your Highness,” you spoke softly but forcefully, hands cupping his face to make him look you in the eye, “you are one of the bravest men I know.  You have one of the hardest burdens a person can bear on your shoulders, have had it since you were born, and you carry it with grace and dignity and compassion.  You inspire me and countless others every day with your strength and generosity.  You are not a coward.”

He looked back at you, and suddenly you felt yourself being engulfed in his embrace, his legs parting to pull you close to him.  He wrapped his arms tightly around your chest, his head pressing into the crook of your neck.  Slowly you brought your hands up and began to rub small circles on his bare back.  This was the most emotion he’d shown since that night you stood beside his mother’s bed, watching as he held her hand and whispered all the things he wanted to tell her one last time.  You were a little overwhelmed, but mostly happy, happy that maybe he was feeling again.  Eventually you heard his quiet voice next to your ear, “Thank you, Y/n.”

Then he released you from his hold, donned his shirt, and walked back to the jousting pitch.  You watched him go, until a deliberate cough came from behind you, shattering your reverie.

“I suppose he’s lucky to have you.”  The words spilled from the king’s mouth, his signature gravelly voice seeming to chase all other sound from the tent.

“My apologies, Your Majesty, I hadn’t noticed you were here,” you spoke, bending into a curtsey.

“It seems it is quite easy for the two of you not to notice others when you think you are alone.”

You blinked, unsure of where the king was going with his remarks.  He sidled up to you, close enough you could hear him at a whisper.

“I may have owed your family a debt, but that has been repaid ten-fold.  I know my son, know he would never be led astray of his responsibilities unless you gave credence to those thoughts in his head, fed his intimate physical desires.  So do not delude yourself into thinking you can take him from me, little servant girl.  And if he ever does come to me, asking me to set aside our laws, our traditions, so he can marry you, I’ll know what you have done, and you will never see the light of day again.  Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Satisfied with your response, he left you there, his words staining your mind like the bloody cloth you clutched in your hands.

The Hunt  |  Kingdom of Gu, present day

How he managed to get his father to agree to this you had no idea.  But Chan always was very convincing when he needed to be.

You were preparing for a day’s long hunt.  In all honesty it was an excellent idea; it would give Chan space to be himself after having been shut inside the palace for two weeks, preparing for his impending nuptials.  Normally this was one of your favorite activities to do with Chan and the knights; getting to ride, to spend time in the woods, maybe use your bow.  But the one condition of the king’s agreement had been that Korenna was going too.

She’d been different with you, with everyone really, since that night on the balcony, avoiding attempts to make small talk and speaking harshly when she made requests.  You didn’t want your relationship with her to turn sour, seeing as you’d soon be serving her for the rest of her life (and yours), so you held your tongue and pressed on with your duties.

Chan’s black courser and your chestnut palfrey were saddled, and you were in the midst of preparing a well-tempered white mare for the princess.

“Good morning, Y/n.”

You looked up, seeing the dark head of hair and upside down smirk belonging to Prince Minho smiling down at you as he leaned over your kneeling frame.  “Good morning, Your Grace.”

You were not as close to Minho as you were to Felix, but you had always gotten along well, your similar sense of humor and affinity for archery solidifying your friendship.

He offered his hand to pull you up, which you accepted.  “I’m glad you will be joining us on this outing, Y/n.  I’m not sure I could handle Chan and Korenna on my own, even with 5 other knights to accompany me.”

You hummed in agreement, finishing attaching the bridle around the mare’s head.  “I’m not sure you could either, Your Grace.”

Minho let out his signature high pitched laugh as the rest of your party approached, and the two of you maneuvered to the front of the pack as you set off towards the nearby woods.  You all rode in silence for a while, riding not typically being an activity that required much talking, until you heard Korenna speak from her position next to Chan in the middle of your group.

“So, who is the best at the strength tasks of the Four Kingdom Competition?”

A strange question to ask so out of the blue, but you supposed it was somewhat relevant to the situation at hand.

“His Highness is an excellent swordsman,” you replied, looking back slightly in their direction.

“Sir Jeongin has given us all a run for our money in the wrestling ring,” you heard a voice from the back say.  He must be one of the other knights in your party.

Chan replied next, “Minho is a skilled horseman, beats me in the joust nearly every time.”

Minho’s eyebrows rose up at that, smirking as he rounded out the answers, “And Y/n here is an expert marksman.  She’s the best I’ve ever seen with a bow.”

You thanked him mentally, hoping he could read it in the look on your face.  You weren’t about to boast about your own talents to the princess, but it was nice to know that she was now aware you weren’t just some lovesick girl who followed the prince around, that you actually took your responsibilities seriously.

“Really?  And who taught you about archery, Y/n?”  You thought you heard a touch of menace in her normally high pitched voice, but brushed it off.

“I’ve had many teachers, Your Grace, but the first was my father.”

“How very… non-traditional.  Where is your father now?  I’d love to meet him.”

You saw Chan and Minho tense in their saddles, well aware of what your answer would be.

“He died, Your Grace.”

“Oh,” said Korenna, her voice noticeably softer now, “I apologize for bringing up a sore subject.”

“It’s alright, Your Grace,” you replied.  “It was a long time ago.  You couldn’t have known.”

An uncomfortable silence fell on the group then, but luckily your first planned stop was not far ahead.  A small grove of trees surrounding a clearing was where you usually began the hunt, splitting off in different directions and meeting back there before sundown.  But because you had the princess with you today, it was a more laid back affair, and you’d planned to have a picnic of sorts before you continued in earnest.

Everyone set about unpacking the sacks that carried your meal for the day.  You uncorked your canteen, taking a sip before heaving an exasperated sigh.

You’d forgotten to bring extra water for the horses.

You called over to Chan, where he stood spreading out a blanket for Korenna to sit on.

“Your Highness, I’m going to the creek to get water for the horses.”

Chan looked up and you could see the smile on his face from where you stood across the grove.  “I’ll go with you!” he said happily, only to have his arm tugged back by the princess next to him.

“You are not a servant, Chan.  I’m sure Y/n can go by herself.”

Your loud conversation had caught the attention of the rest of the group, who were all looking over at you in interest.  You were surprised by her bluntness, but she did have a point.  “Her Grace is right, I don’t need you to accompany me, Your Highness.  I simply wanted to tell you where I was going.”

Chan gave a side glare at Korenna, but agreed.  “Fine, but you shouldn’t go alone.  Sir Jeongin - “

A tall boy, clad in the red, black, and gold uniform of your knights, walked over to the prince.   He was no more than eighteen, must have only just taken his oath.  You remembered his name from the earlier conversation about the strength tests, impressed he was making a name for himself so early.

“ - please accompany Y/n to the stream to fetch water for the horses.”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

So the two of you set off, leaving the rest to their meals.  You didn’t really need a knight for protection, but your heart warmed at the gesture of Chan not wanting you to go alone.  You arrived at the bank of the creek and began filling some extra pouches you had brought with water.

“It’s so much quieter here,” Jeongin commented absentmindedly.

Despite the sound of the water running, you agreed it did seem calmer here than in the grove you came from.  As you knelt by the edge of the stream, you noticed large patches of grass surrounding some nearby trees had been pressed down.  Curious, you walked over to the area, observing the singed ground and muddy boot prints on the rocks, telltale signs of human presence.  You hadn’t run into anyone else on your walk over, but maybe there were some others out riding today.  Raising your head, you called to your companion, “Sir Jeongin!  Were there any other hunting parties out today?”

“Not that I know of, Miss,” Jeongin replied, his expression revealing he was rather confused by your question.

You looked around again, and that was when you noticed the torn piece of blue fabric latched to a jagged branch on a nearby tree.  Your blood ran cold and you grabbed Jeongin’s arm, breaking into a run.

“We need to get back to them.  Now.”

You’d made it about half way back to the grove when you heard a scream, you and Jeongin sprinting to reach the clearing.  But when you arrived, the scene was entirely not what you expected.

Your mind had immediately gone to the Lajorans when you spotted that piece of cloth on the tree.  But here you stood, watching men clad in your own colors raise their swords to clash with the group of knights who’d accompanied you and the royals.  Your eyes frantically searched among the chaos, looking for Chan, but before you could spot him you noticed Korenna, hiding alone behind a large rock at the edge of the treeline.  You pulled Jeongin back behind a tree, gesturing in her direction.

“Do you see the princess over there?  You’re going to grab her, get on a horse, and ride back to the palace now.”

Jeongin was looking at you with wide, scared eyes; his mouth was open, not making a sound.

You shook his shoulder.  “Sir Jeongin, do you understand me?  Do not look back at us, just take the princess and get her to safety.  I need you to do this.”

Your words seemed to finally reach him, and he set his mouth in a straight line.  “Yes, I can do that.”

“Good.  Go.  And don’t look back.”

He left your spot behind the tree and you turned back to the action in the grove, still trying to find the prince.  Finally your eyes landed on two men standing back to back, swords flying as they blocked the attack of about 6 different men.

Chan and Minho.

You started towards them, reaching for your own sword, when you spotted someone perched in a tree right outside the circle of men.  The attackers started to pull back from around the two princes, and you could see exactly who the archer had in his line of sight.

You screamed his name, sprinting to cross the clearing and threw your body in front of him, arms outstretched.

You felt a sharp pain in your left shoulder as you fell against Chan’s chest, his arms coming up to catch you.

“Y/n!  Y/n!”

Trumpets were blaring from the direction of the castle as Minho dragged Chan back, still desperately clutching you in his arms.  The attackers were dispersing and you heard the sound of a voice saying “Chris”; it took a moment for you to realize it was your own.

“I’m here, Y/n, I’m here.  Just hold on please.  You’re going to be okay, just please hold on.”

The last thing you saw were his eyes as your vision went black.

Of Flower Buds and Roots  |  Kingdom of Gu, 16 years ago

“Mother, when will they be here?”

You were standing in the open-air courtyard at the front of the palace, your mother’s hands on your shoulders.  The two of you had moved to the palace a few years ago, when your mother had gotten a job as a servant there after the war ended.  Today, you were told, would be the day you were to start your position there, as personal attendant to the young crown prince.

“I’m sure soon darling.  Remember we never rush royalty.”

As you waited, your eye was caught by a small boy standing with a large scary looking man.  He looked to be about your age and was holding a tiny bouquet of wildflowers in his hand.  The man seemed to be trying to take them away, but the boy clutched them to his chest.  A woman who you thought you’d seen before approached them, glaring at the man, who backed away from the boy as she took his hand.  Then, they started walking towards you.

Your mother tightened her grip on your shoulders, bending into a curtsey and pushing you down with her.  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”

“The pleasure is ours,” came the queen’s pleasant voice.  She knelt down between you and the boy.

“You must be Y/n.  This is my son Christopher, the prince.  You will serve as his attendant.”

You stared at the boy, his eyes even with yours, hair mussed and shirt covered in dirt.

“He doesn’t look like a prince.  He looks like me”

“Y/n!” your mother gasped, the queen chuckling slightly and calming your mother with a hand on her arm.

“You’re right, he might not look like one yet.  But it’s going to be your job to help him become one.  Do you think you can do that?”

You pondered her question and finally said, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

She smiled and stepped aside, placing her hands on Chan’s back and pushing him forward.

“Hi Y/n!” the boy said excitedly.  “My name’s Chris.  Or Chan.  Either’s fine!  I brought you these flowers!  I thought they might look pretty in your hair.”

He extended his tiny fist holding the flowers and you took one from the bunch, pulling back your hair and putting the flower behind your ear.

Chan’s face immediately lit up in the brightest smile you’d ever seen, his eyes crinkling cutely.  “I was right!”

From that moment on, you decided there was nothing you wouldn’t do to see that smile on his face.

{part 3}

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[sergeantbuckybarnes]

serendipity // bucky barnes

PART TWO

Summary: You end up stuck in 1942 without a way to come back, but when you meet the young and charming version of Bucky Barnes, do you really want to go back to the present?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word count: 1.9k

Warnings: mentions of cheating, reader is a bitch, sad bucky, angst, fluff, lack of ‘40s knowledge

A/N: As always, please remember English is not my first language. Also, thanks to @coffee-books-music​ for proofreading this!

divider by @firefly-graphics​

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Red. Everything went red. Your vision blurred as a flame curled in the pit of your stomach. You enter the building with a firm step, walking through the hallways, anger building inside you, trying to take over the sadness you didn’t want to feel. Your phone vibrated in the pocket of your jeans, you reach for it only to see the name of your sister on the screen. Memories weighed down on you, but you would not allow yourself to break down anymore. Instead, your heart turned ice cold and slunk into the shadows as your brain took complete control. You screamed in frustration and threw the phone against the nearest wall. How dare she call you? You took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

“Are you okay?” a voice called from behind you. You turned to face a man you had never seen before. He was tall, with long dark hair for his shoulders and piercing steel-blue eyes. His face changed once he saw you, going from worried to shocked.

“Y/N?” he asked cautiously, his voice was so soft, with a hidden hope you didn’t catch on.

“Do I know you?” you asked, not really caring for him, but getting annoyed for how he was looking at you.

“Is it really you?” he asked again, not believing what his eyes were seeing. Maybe so much brainwashing had really messed with him.

“Look dude, it’s really not a good time,” you wanted to leave, but he grabbed your arm, not forcefully, but with enough force for you not to have the chance to leave. You yanked your arm from his grasp and realized that where his left arm was supposed to be, there was, instead, a metal arm. Who the fuck was this guy?

“Don’t touch me,” you rebuked. Waves of fury rolled off you as the blood rose to your cheeks. The term anger barely even touched the tip of the volcano that you so clearly were in that moment.

He took a step back, not wanting to upset you even more, but he could not help himself, he needed to know if it was really you. He wished it was really you.

“Y/N, Bucky? What’s going on here?” the voice of Steve Rogers flooded your ears, and you let out a sigh of relief.

“Ask your friend,” you said before giving a not-so-friendly glare to the guy before picking the pieces of your phone and making your way to your room, leaving the men behind you.

You groaned in frustration against the pillow. You were such a bitch when you met him. There were times when your brain fries up. It was no excuse you know; you owned your behavior. It was like a trigger flicked inside you. Your emotions turned cold, fearful, anxious... You back away, flee or strike out at someone. Those are the moments where you’re not proud of who you are. You fail to be the warrior you were always told you were born to be. Instead, you show the frightened child within, damaged and afraid, the one still hiding from the monsters under the bed. You knew these are things you have to work on. You had spent so much time caring for others, pouring out love without measure, yet never receiving it in return. So like a stupid child, you hold out for love.

Now you understand why Bucky acted so weird around you that day in the compound. He remembered you. He remembered you from that night in the dance hall. But… how could he? It hadn’t happened yet. Well, technically yes, but at the same time, no.

“What are you thinking about?” Wanda pulled out from your thoughts, you turned your head to look at her.

“Nothing,” you lied.

“Y/N, we’ve known each other for a long time, I can tell when you’re lying.”

After a few minutes in silence you finally speak up, “I was thinking about the first day I met Bucky,” the tone of your voice betraying you.

“Y/N, you just find out your fiancé cheated on you with your sister. It’s normal you acted the way you did. You were angry.”

“And what about the other times?” you sat up and faced your best friend. “I had been nothing but mean to him.”

That morning you woke up later than usual so when you entered the kitchen, the breakfast was long gone. You groaned, you really needed a coffee.

“Sorry kiddo,” Tony patted your back before leaving the room. Sam and Steve made their way to the gym. Wanda and Nat were chatting on the counter, and the new guy was standing a few steps away from them looking at you. Again.

“Do you have some problem with me?” you asked annoyed, alarming the girls of your presence. They turned to look at you. “You are always staring at me.”

“S-sorry,” he muttered, tearing his gaze away from you. You rolled your eyes and made your way to your friends. “Here,” he offered you a mug of coffee. “It’s still warm.”

You looked at him confused, “You always drink a cup of coffee in the mornings, so when I noticed you weren’t coming anytime soon, I poured one for you in case you would come out later,” Nat and Wanda shared a smile on their faces, melting at how sweet the former winter soldier was being.

Your reaction was very different, though. “I want nothing from you,” and you left the kitchen, leaving the guy with a heartbreaking look on his face, and a shocking one on both of your friends’.

“You can do nothing to change the past, what has happened has happened. But you can change from now on.”

“You think I still have time?”

“You’ll have to try”

You had hurt Bucky so much; you took out all the anger you felt inside you on him. It was unfair. No matter how badly you treated him, he always sent a smile your way, he had been nothing but nice to you. You were a horrible person.

Everyone had their reasons for being how they were. Some people get past their troubles and grow mature, others get stuck in a sort of basic mode of fear and reactions, loving responses becoming absent or portioned out for personal gain. You were the latter type.

This had been the ninth time you checked to see if Wanda was really asleep. You felt like you were sixteen again and you were sneaking out of your house to meet your boyfriend. But you needed to go to the dance hall, needed to see if he would still be there.

You made the pillows form the shape of your body and covered them with the duvet, and you tiptoed out the room.

You walked through the Brooklyn streets one more time, those streets, so familiar but at the same time, so different to you. You spotted the dance hall you were in last night. The night where you met Bucky, and you danced with him…. you kissed him. Immediately, you felt the heat rising to your cheeks when you remembered the feeling of his soft lips on yours. You. brushed your thumb across your lips and a smile crept its way across your face.

You searched through the club, looking for the soldier. What if he wasn’t here tonight? What if he had already met someone else, and he’s dancing with them? You disliked the pit that formed in your stomach when your head was clouded with the thought of Bucky with someone else, holding them the same way that he had held you, showing them that beautiful smile of his….. his lips on someone else’s.

“Looking for someone, doll?” you turned around at the sound of his voice, even though you hastily left last night with no explanation, he didn’t seem mad about it, his face still plastered the same smile.

“H-hi.”

“You’re going shy on me now, doll?” he asked, “What happened the previous night? Never had a dame running away from me so fast,” he joked.

You chuckled lightly, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, no worries,”

The same song that you danced to last night started playing, your eyes caught a few couples starting moving to the music. When you turned to look at Bucky again, he had his head tilted to one side and a hopeful smile playing on his lips.

You stretched out your arm to him, “Shall we?”

He didn’t think twice and took your hand in his. “So, what made you come back?” he asked. His hands were on your hips and your arms wrapped loosely around his neck, just like last night while you swayed to the music.

“I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to dance to our song one more time.” you were feeling pretty bold, and you liked it, and by the grin forming on Bucky’s face, you were sure he liked it too.

“Our song?”

You hummed. “That’s our song. So you can’t dance it with anyone else,” you replied, “Just me.”

He chuckled, “I have no problem with that, doll.”

As you both kept swaying to the music, you leaned towards his body and let your head rest on his chest. You felt the way his heartbeat quickened and smiled, knowing you were the cause for it. All of your thoughts stopped. It was like your heart took over your head when you were with him. You realized that you never felt this way when you were in Jake’s arms.

You wanted a love that was passionate and determined, fire with earth, yet was also a serenity soul that you could dwell in forever. When the song finally ended, you felt his intense gaze on you, and your insecurity took over, “Is everything okay?” you asked looking at him.

“If I kissed you now, would you run away from me again?”

You laughed, and shook your head, “No, not again.”

“Promise? Because my heart wouldn’t be able to handle it again.”

You looked into his blue eyes, and you cursed yourself for not realizing before how beautiful his eyes were… every piece of him was beautiful. He was a masterpiece. You didn’t answer his question, but instead, you stood on your tiptoes and closed the gap between the two of you before he could say anything else.

“I’m telling you, it’s her.” Bucky was losing his nerves to the disbelief of his best friend.

“Buck, it’s been over 80 years, there’s no way it’s her.”

You were the exact same replica of the woman that stole his heart back in 1942 in that dance hall. It was you. He was sure about that. No matter how crazy it would have sounded.

If he and Steve were still here, why couldn’t you be too?

“Alright, then why didn't she recognize you?” Steve wasn’t trying to be mean, he knew his friend really loved that girl since the second she bumped into him. But he also knew that the chances of it being the same person were slim. Maybe you were her granddaughter. But that wasn’t an option Bucky could consider.

“I don’t know,” the soldier didn’t have an explanation for that. Maybe they had brainwashed you the same way they did with him and you forgot about your past… about him? If that was the case, he would try his best to make you remember. “But I will not lose her again.”

He wouldn’t give up on you. Not again.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes one shot #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan imagine #bucky barnes #sebastian stan

[knchins]

Kuroshiro - Chapter Five

Summary: Hayami and Suguru were teenagers in love until the day came when he decided to turn his back on the sorcery world and become a curse user, which left his best friend Satoru to pick up the pieces.

Pairing: Geto x Fem OC x Gojo

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Word Count: 5.2k

Warnings: Major manga spoilers, mentions of PTSD, mentions of insecurity, blindfold usage, biting, unsafe sex, some light spanking, begging, dirty talk, light degradation, vaginal sex, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, cream pies....yes its yet another smut chapter lol

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Chapter Five - Staying Young

“Two spicy eel rolls please,” Haya said to the waiter as she glanced over the menu, “and two milk teas as well.” She handed the menu back to the young man after he gave them a small nod and left.

“I know this place doesn’t have the novelty of a conveyor belt, but the sushi is much better in my opinion.” She said to Miyu who was distractedly looking at the iPhone Haya had purchased for her months prior. “It’s quieter too.”

Miyu nodded, enjoying the more relaxed atmosphere than that of the place that Itadori loved to go to. She was thankful that her mother seemed to understand her a little better than the boy she was hopelessly enamored with.

Briefly, Haya’s mind went to Gojo, wondering why she sensed him nearby. They were currently not on speaking terms again. Not only did she believe that she was too quick to forgive him for lying about Itadori, but he had also gone behind her back in trying to play matchmaker with his student and her daughter.

Gojo had attempted to distract her while Yuuji and Miyu went out together without her knowledge. When she realized what he was up to, Haya was furious. Her mother-hen mode activated as she refused to let Miyu go. It had taken her two days to calm down and finally agree after much moping from Miyu.

She wanted to say that Miyu was too young to date, but she had been that age when she first started dating Suguru. Though she didn’t think that Itadori had any ill intentions, he was still a teenage boy that was under the influence of once womanizer Gojo Satoru.

Currently, they were out shopping for a new outfit for Miyu to wear on her date with Yuuji, though Haya was still uneasy about it. She still didn’t think it was a good idea for Aruna and Sukuna to be together, not only that but Yuuji had a target on his back again. She worried about something happening to either of them while they were out by themselves. It didn’t matter how strong either of them had become, they were still children.

“Are you really okay with me going out with Yuuji?” Miyu said quietly, worried that her mother would go on another tirade at the question. It wasn’t as if Haya had been particularly upset with her, but she still perceived any anger as being directed at herself. Haya told her it was a trauma response, that she used to struggle with it too when she was a kid. Though she hadn’t divulged to the teen what her trauma had been exactly.

Haya refrained from letting out the big sigh that was now stuck inside of her. “Yes,” She said, forcing a smile. “I’m sorry I overreacted the other day. I just didn’t like that Gojo went behind my back with something like that. He knew how I’d react but did it anyway. I know you hadn’t planned any of it, Itadori confessed that he had blindsided you and apologized to me. I wasn’t mad that you were going out on a date.”

That was only mostly true. Anger probably wasn’t the right word to describe the feeling Haya had felt when she found out that Miyu wanted to take Yuuji. It was more like sorrow. While she hadn’t been her mother for very long, it still was somewhat sad to see signs of her growing up already. If she wasn’t careful, Haya might get baby fever again. Not that anything ever came of it. The only person she’d ever feel comfortable procreating with was also Japan’s biggest asshole.

She was almost certain that Miyu would be the only child she’d ever have. She didn’t necessarily want a child out of wedlock and getting Gojo to propose would have taken a miracle. Though she fully admitted that she didn’t even deserve a proposal. Especially not after the Shibuya incident.

Miyu had a small smile on her face, pleased by her mother’s answer. “But you’re still not talking to Gojo-sensei?” She asked, feeling a little guilty still that she played some part in them being broken up again. Though Fushiguro had assured her that this happened all the time and that they’d be back together soon.

“No, I’m sick of him lying to me or trying to hide things behind my back.” She said.”I actually have a date tonight with someone else.” The date was with an old fling, no one particularly interesting. But if it would make Gojo jealous then that’s all she really cared about. “

Miyu’s smile turned into a frown. “I don’t understand, mom…Don’t you love him? Did you just stop because you broke up?”

Haya looked as if Miyu’s words slapped her in the face. Sushi nearly fell from her chopsticks as she had been bringing it up to her mouth to eat. She cleared her throat awkwardly and set her food down, “Of course, I-” She cut herself off. Did she love him? That seemed like such a silly question, of course, she should love him.

She sighed and sat back in her seat. “I love Satoru very much.” She conceded, “but sometimes the person you love and the person you’re meant to be with aren’t one and the same.” She looked somberly down at her half-eaten meal. Tears welled in the back of her eyes but she swallowed thickly to will them down. She had never cried in front of Miyu before and didn’t plan on starting now.

Her answer only left Miyu even more confused. She only had a rudimentary idea of how romantic relationships worked, and something as complex as what went on between her mother and Gojo was well beyond her limited knowledge. It wasn’t as if she’d ever had much interest in boys before Yuuji and her previous parents hadn’t been great role models for what love was.

Come to think of it, her current parent wasn’t a great role model for that either.

“I guess I just don’t understand.” She admitted before taking another bite. “This sushi is very good, I wish it was a little spicier though.”

Haya let out a sigh of relief at the subject change, “Of course, I forget how much you love spicy food. Maybe next time we can ask for more wasabi.” Miyu smiled back at her and nodded.

They finished their meal in silence, Haya thinking over what she had told Miyu. Why she was still hung up on Suguru even after his death, she didn’t know. Perhaps she was still obsessed with the idea of how great they could have been together if he had never left her. He’d never come back to the sorcerers’ side. He’d never repent for betraying them. He was gone and he was never coming back.

Perhaps it was the lack of proper burial that had her still hanging on so tightly. The worry that his soul wasn’t at rest. That he had morphed into some new curse out there, lurking and hurting innocent people. He should have been cremated. It didn’t matter to her what atrocities he had committed, he was still her first love.

They walked to a nearby department store. “Did you want a dress or a skirt and blouse?” Haya asked, looking over the new arrivals section. “Oh this is cute,” She pulled out a long dress with an extremely high slit on both sides. “It would show off those great legs of yours.”

Miyu wasn’t convinced. Her self-esteem had improved somewhat since arriving in Japan, but she still didn’t think she was very attractive or that her body was something boys would look at. “I don’t know, maybe something a little less…mature?”

“You’re right.” Haya said, grabbing one in her size, “I’ll just wear it to my date tonight.” She had a cheeky grin on her face as Miyu let out a light laugh, shaking her head.

The teen’s eyes wandered to a two-tiered floral chiffon skirt. She went over to it, feeling the fabric as she looked it over. “What about this?”

“Adorable.” Haya said with a smile, “and look, here’s a top that would look cute with it.” She pointed to a nearby loose-fitted white tank top with lace trim.

Miyu looked it over, grabbing on in her size and comparing the two side by side. “With those white ankle boots, you got me?” She asked, picturing the outfit in her head. Yua said she’d curl my hair for me…”

“I think we have our outfit,” Haya said with a proud grin. “Would you like to try it on first?”

She nodded and went into the dressing room as Haya moved to the intimates section to look through the underwear in case there was anything that caught her eye. She saw a pair of pink cotton ones that nearly matched the ones she wore on her first night with Gojo. A small smile graced her face at the memory. She had caught a bad cold from running through the rain to get to his dorm, hers had been on the other side with the other girl dorms. The pathway between the two wasn’t totally covered from the raging storm overhead.

Gojo had teased her at first, but he had also brought her soup and tissues to help her feel better. She could have asked for anything and he would have gotten it for her. Though when she really thought of it, hadn’t he always been like that? While she very rarely used the credit card he had given her, he still never asked for it back any time they broke up.

Something in her heart stirred as she thought about their countless arguments and apologies. The idea that it was her fault he couldn’t be happy ran rampant as she tried to quell tears that yearned to fall once more. Going on that date tonight would just be another mistake, she decided. She wasn’t setting a good example for Miyu either which made her feel even worse.

She put the dress back on the rack and grabbed a pair of the pink underwear in her size. She paid for it before Miyu could come back and see what she had gotten, not knowing how she was going to explain why she was getting them.

A few moments later, Miyu came out after having tried on both articles of clothing. She seemed happy if not nervous. “They fit great,” She said, “I think I will go with this.” She set the clothes on the counter to be rung up as she gave her mom a confused look, “What about the dress you were going to get?”

Haya smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I decided not to go on that date tonight. I’d worry about you the entire time so I’d rather be at the school where I can be available if you need me.”

Miyu nodded, wondering what the real reason was as to why she chose not to go. “Is this about Gojo-sensei?” She asked, knowing her mother wasn’t quite telling the truth.

“Yes and no.” She said, trying to shrug off the question. “I do still think we would benefit from some time apart. But making him think I’ve moved on is probably not a good idea. As you said, feelings don’t just stop because two people break up.”

It was Miyu’s turn to smile now. “Okay, mom. I guess we should be getting back so I have time to get ready.”

Haya nodded and paid for her new clothes. “Alright…do I need to have the sex talk with you?”

“Mom!”

While Miyu got ready for her date, Hayami decided to put the fear of the gods into Itadori. While she allowed Miyu to opt-out of some sex ed, she wasn’t about to let him go without talking to him first. She knocked on his door, “Itadori, open up. I need to have a talk with you.”

Yuuji opened the door, a worried look on his face as he scratched the back of his head, “oh, sensei…is this about training next week?” Gojo was going to be leaving for an assignment soon and she’d be taking over for him while he was gone.

“No, this is about my daughter.” She clarified. “Can I come in?”

He stepped to the side, suddenly feeling panicked. He hoped she wasn’t about to tell him that the date was off. He had planned the best he could with the help of Gojo and Fushiguro (though Megumi wasn’t very helpful, he was still a somewhat okay sounding board).

Once inside Haya let out a frustrated sigh, she wasn’t upset with him she just didn’t expect Miyu to be dating this soon. It was safe to say she wasn’t prepared for how to handle a teenager in the dating scene. Her biggest fear was that history would repeat itself. Miyu would fall deeply in love with Itadori only for him to be killed. She was praying that tonight would be a disaster and she’d stay as far away from the boy as possible.

“What are your intentions with my daughter?” She asked, “I’ll know if you’re lying so don’t even bother trying.”

Yuuji swallowed thickly, “I really like Miyu.” He said softly, his mouth going dry. “I just want to see her happy. Her smile is so pretty but she rarely shows it. I want to change that.”

Haya was warmed by that answer, more so than she thought she’d be. He truly did seem genuine and she knew that he wasn’t typically one to be dishonest. “If you have sex with her, I’ll castrate you.” She said rather bluntly. “Touch her in any way and you’ll be back in the morgue with Shoko.”

His face was beet red as he felt like he was going to faint at her directness. “I-I’m not!” He stammered, trying to find his words. “I don’t plan on doing that…I mean I do plan on it one day but uh…not right now, not with Miyu. Not that I wouldn’t like to with her but um we’re both kinda young and she’d have to want to and-”

She held up her hand to cease his rambling. “Good answer.” She said, reaching up to pat him on the head in a teasing manner. “She doesn’t like loud, crowded places. The quieter the better. She shuts down when she gets overwhelmed and when that happens just get her away from everyone else so she can decompress. Maybe even bring her back here. If she starts to really panic then call me and I’ll talk her through it.”

Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, “and if you get into any danger, run. Don’t try to save anyone. Run and call me or Gojo. We’ll come to take care of it, okay?”

He blinked, unsure what kind of danger they might be in. “You mean like curses?”

“Yes, curses, curse users, anyone trying to bring you harm. Don’t engage. I don’t want either of you to get hurt, okay?” She said firmly and he nodded to show his understanding.

A smile spread across Yuuji’s face and he nodded, realizing that she was just being so aggressive because she was worried. “You’re a really good mom, sensei.”

It was Haya’s turn to turn red as she cleared her throat. No one had ever told her that before and to hear it made her heart swell with joy. Still, she didn’t want Itadori to know that words could have such an effect on her. “Thank you, Yuuji. Be careful and have fun.”

“We will don’t worry!” He said, waving as she started to leave. “But I have another question if that’s okay.”

She paused and looked back at him, “What is it?”

“Do you think it’s okay for Sukuna and Aruna to…you know, be close to one another?” He asked tentatively. Sukuna always had something to say in his head about Aruna or Miyu, none of it good. It was usually something sleazy or sexual. It seemed the king of curses had quite the imagination.

“No,” Haya answered honestly, “but if being with you makes Miyu happy, then I suppose it’s alright.” She started to walk again. “Bring her back by midnight!”

Yuuji nodded and closed the door after she walked out, his nerves for how the date was going to go started to rise again. What if Miyu decided she didn’t like him? Or what if she got mad again about him pretending to be dead? What if she wanted to do something that Haya-sensei just told him that they couldn’t do. He let out a groan before going into his attached bathroom to shower and get ready.

Haya went back to her room, taking the long way to avoid passing by Gojo’s. Speaking to Yuuji just made her more sure that she had been wrong to get so upset with him. While she could oftentimes admit to herself that she was mistaken, admitting that to someone else was a totally different story. She hated apologizing even more than Gojo did.

She decided she’d apologize without words, using the pair of underwear she had bought while out with Miyu. He always did love to see her in lingerie and while plain pink cotton underwear wasn't sexy to most, she had a feeling the nostalgia would make him happy and hopefully horny.

Once in her room, she took out her phone and sent him a text, asking him to come by her room at eight o’clock so they could talk about what happened. A few moments later she received a reply from Gojo stating that he’d be there. Afterward, she canceled her date with the other guy, not wanting to simply ghost him. He responded by asking if they could simply reschedule but she firmly told him no.

She was out of his league anyway.

On the other side of campus, Gojo had been working out in the school gym. He was honestly surprised to receive the text from his now-ex-girlfriend. While Haya could be quite predictable at times, there were other instances when he really had no idea what she was going to do. That seemed to be happening more and more since she brought Miyu back from America.

He thought she was overprotective of the teen and that she should just let Miyu live her life and make mistakes just as they had when they were her age. It was clear Haya wanted better for Miyu than for herself, and sometimes Gojo wondered just how far she’d go to make sure that happened. She had her father breathing down her neck about Itadori. If he were to find out his granddaughter was a vessel too? He was sure it would simply break her.

Regardless of their different views on parenting, he was glad to see that she had come around sooner rather than later. Normally she remained distant until after he came back from an away mission. That just seemed to be how it worked out. He was leaving in a couple of days to handle things in another part of Japan. Haya knew because Yaga had asked her to step in as a teacher.

He finished his reps at the weight bench before getting up and going into the showers to wash up. Maybe if he was extra lucky she’d be wearing something sexy when he came over. He knew he’d be pushing his luck he if instigated sex, but his balls were going blue just from the short time they’d been apart. He thanked the gods that they had compatible sex drives, other women he had dated had a hard time keeping up.

Once he had washed off, he put on a clean set of clothes and went back to his room to find some work to do before his meetup with Hayami later that night.

At eight o’clock sharp, Gojo knocked on the door to Haya’s dorm. He could smell the scent of food from inside, figuring she had gotten take out for them to share. He was thankful that he had decided not to eat, his stomach rumbling at the aroma wafting into the hallway.

The door opened and his jaw dropped at the sight of his sometimes lover dressed in nothing but an oversized white button-up shirt (that he was sure had been his at some point) and no pants on. He couldn’t see her underwear this time since she wasn’t soaked to the bone with rainwater.

He stepped in and immediately slammed the door behind him, being more forceful than he meant to. He felt a pang of guilt when he saw her jump but relieved it by pulling her into him for a desperately passionate kiss.

Haya obediently opened her mouth for his roving tongue, the two fighting for dominance even though they both knew he’d win. He picked her up and practically tossed her onto the bed, seeing a flash of pink panties underneath the white top. “Satoru, wait,” Haya panted, out of breath from the kiss still. “We’re supposed to talk first.”

“I forgive you.” He said bluntly before kissing her again, ripping the shirt open and sending flat pearl buttons scattering across the room. Haya made a muffled sound of protest as his tongue swept into her mouth once more. Her weak attempts to push him away began to stop as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

The kissing continued until Gojo sat up, having at some point pushed her down onto her back and took off his blindfold. He looked down at his blushing first love, seeing her erect nipples peaking on her heaving chest. He finally got a better look at the underwear she had been wearing and while it wasn’t exactly the same it was a damn near match.

He took off his shirt in one fluid motion, tossing it to the ground unceremoniously. Suddenly he realized he didn’t take his shoes off at the door and kicked them off as well. Haya laid still, curiously watching him. She could see the gears turning in his head, trying to figure out what he should do next.

His bright blue eyes pinned her down once more before he grabbed the blindfold from beside her and gently wrapped it around her eyes. Haya did a sharp inhale, taking in his fragrant scent that wafted around her. He tied the fabric around the back of her head, causing her to smile lightly.

“It’s been a while since we’ve done this.” She teased, having been blindfolded before by Gojo whenever he was feeling particularly frisky. He merely chuckled in response as he stood up briefly to take off his pants. As he did so, Haya sat up to take off the remnants of the shirt he had definitely ruined.

She felt herself getting roughly pushed back onto the bed, his lips capturing hers briefly before making their way down her neck and shoulder. His hands wandered up and down her sides before settling on her breasts, squeezing and massaging them in his large hands. Haya’s full focus was on every touch, every peck of his lips or nip of his teeth, The sensations making her wetter by the second as she rubbed her thighs together for some kind of relief.

“Desperate?” He asked into her ear, his warm breath tickling the delicate hairs around it. She merely whined in response, tugging at his boxers instead of verbally agreeing. He let out another low laugh that sent tingles down her spine as she grabbed his cock to shut him up.

Gojo let out a groan, rutting into her fist as he bit down on her breast roughly in payback. Haya let out a sharp hiss, her grip on him tightening slightly. She could feel him throbbing in her palm. “You got it up quickly.” She taunted and he pulled away from her abruptly.

“Don’t make me tie you up to, brat.” He said, spanking her outer thigh playfully. Haya merely chuckled in response as she fumbled around to find his chest, running her fingers along the contour of his abs.

His tongue flicked at her nipples, earning tiny whimpers of protest as she held onto his shoulders lightly. His mouth moved down more as his fingers hooked around the elastic band of her underwear and took them off in a swift motion as Haya lifted her hips.

He spread her legs before latching on to the inside her thigh, biting again and sucking roughly to create a purple flowering bruise on the delicate skin. Haya let out a small moan of pain at his sharp teeth as she attempted to close her legs, only to be held open by his strong grip. He repeated his marking process on the other thigh, this one a little lower so if she were to wear shorts it would be visible. Haya attempted to protest but was immediately shut up by his lips on her swollen clit.

Gojo pulled away and she whimpered a quiet beg for him to touch her. “Bad girls don’t get warm-ups.” He said in a teasing tone as she heard him reaching for a condom in her bedside drawer.

“It’s a safe day.” She muttered, feeling her face heat up with embarrassment. Gojo blinked in surprise. She must be really feeling sorry if she was allowing him to forgo a condom. He closed the drawer again, not wanting her to change her mind. It wasn’t like he enjoyed wearing them, he’d rather fuck her without one every time. She hated the way birth control made her feel, the emotional highs and lows it gave her, so she decided to not take any after years of trying to find one that worked.

Besides, Gojo thought to himself, he’d need an heir one day anyway. And who better to carry that child than the person he loved? Not that he’d ever tell her any of that.

He took off his boxers before flipping her over onto her stomach. Haya obediently lifted her hips up so that she was on her knees while her upper torso remained on the mattress. Gojo pumped his hard cock a few times, spreading the pre-cum along his shaft for additional lubrication. Though if he knew his girlfriend (were they dating again?) then she would be drenched enough to not need it.

He rubbed his tip along her slit, causing her to whine at him for teasing her more. He raised his hand before smacking her ass playfully before slowly inserting himself into her. They both moaned together as Haya’s walls clamped down around him. He muttered a praise at how tight she was, earning himself another clench as he pushed in to the hilt, resting there for a moment as he reveled in how warm and soft she was on the inside.

Haya wiggled her hips in an attempt to get him to move. He smacked her ass once more and she let out a small cry. “‘Toru,” She said, sounding breathless already. The lack of sight was causing her to feel more sensitive than usual, her sole concentration on him stretching her out and filling her up.

“What is it, princess?” He asked, giving a shallow thrust before stopping again. “You want my cock that badly?”

“Yes,” She admitted, growing more and more frustrated by the second. “I’m not your personal cock warmer.” Though she tried to sound demanding, her voice came out in a pathetic tone.

Gojo was smirking, the didn’t bother to disguise the smugness from his voice. “I think you are by the way you’re whining for me to fuck you.” He gave another thrust and she moaned weakly, pushing back against him as much as she could. “I’ll move if you say it.”

Haya clenched her teeth, knowing what he meant. “I’m your cock warmer.” She muttered, not wanting to say it any louder in fear someone may hear her even though that was highly unlikely.

“Hm? What was that? I didn’t hear you.” He said, pretending to start to pull out.

“I’m Gojo’s cock warmer, now please just-” He snapped his hips against her roughly and she moaned loudly instead of finishing her plea. He started to move at a fast and relentless rhythm just like she wanted.

Haya had forgotten her rising anger and annoyance with him immediately. The position allowed for his cock to rub that perfectly placed spot inside of her and the pace had her fingers curling around the blanket beneath her in ecstasy. She was whimpering as his blunt hails dug into the flesh of her hips.

Gojo titled his head back, eyes closed as he reveled in how amazing sex could feel. He briefly wondered how mad she’d be if he came inside her, only to realize that he didn’t really care about the consequences if he did.

Gojo leaned over and bit down on her neck, leaving another hickey as he rammed into her as hard as he could. The tension that had been growing inside Haya finally snapped and she came with a rush of endorphins and a cry of his name. Her muscles spasmed, limbs shaking as she saw bright white stars cloud the darkness of her vision.

He held up her hips, not stopping until he felt her stop twitching. He pulled out and flipped her over onto her back before re-inserting himself into her once more. He increased his pace as her nails dug into his back and shoulders, the bloody marks healing almost instantly, leaving only red dots behind to show that there had been anything there in the first place. He was littered in them as she desperately tried to find some relief for the sheer amount of stimulation she was still receiving.

Her thoughts when numb, nothing coherent passing as all she could think about was his dick inside her, moving at that insane pace that only he seemed to be able to achieve. Gojo took one of her legs and raised it so that her ankle was on his shoulder, hitting a new depth and angle as he did so.

“F-Fuck,” Haya managed to say, the only thing that made sense besides the other cacophony of sounds that had been coming from her mouth. He loved how he could render her into this state so easily. Then again, he could do that with practically any woman he slept with.

It just felt so much better when it was with her.

It wasn’t long before she came for a second time, this one weaker than the previous one as she whimpered. The blindfold began to dampen with her tears as she didn’t think she could handle any more stimuli. Gojo could tell she was breaking and quickly allowed himself to come to his end, pressing himself in as far as he could as he released into her.

Haya was on cloud nine, unable to perceive that he’d cum inside her until he pulled out and she felt the rush of liquid pour out of her. She made a disgusted face at the sensation as Gojo lifted up the blindfold to give her a warm smile and a tired kiss.

He laid down next to her, too worn out from both his workout earlier and fucking her to bother cleaning them both up. At least not right away. Suddenly he heard Haya gasp and he nearly jumped up to look at her.

“We forgot the food!” She said in a shocked voice and all he could do was laugh.

Interlude Five coming Sunday (4/3) Miyu and Yua get ready for Miyu's date. Miyu decides to play matchmaker.

#gojo x oc #gojo satoru #satoru gojo #jjk x oc #gojo imagine #gojo smut #gojo x oc x geto #jjk #jjk smut #jujutsu kaisen #jjk fanfiction #jjk ocs #itadori yuji #itadori yuji x oc #KSseries #kuroishi hayami #hana miyu

[depressing-debbie]

Are you still doing the fluff alphabet? If so, could you do Levi?? Thank you 😘

Absolutely! Fluff alphabet masterlist is here

School may be crashing and burning but at least I’ve got time to write :) lmao

I wrote this at 3 AM and I refuse to edit, so enjoy <3

Fluff Alphabet: Levi

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

I honestly don’t think the activity matters to him. He likes to stay home a lot because it’s easier, and because he feels more comfortable somewhere private. Big fancy dates aren’t super common because he views expensive romantic dinners and such as a cliche that he’s too old and mature for, but if it’s something his s/o would be excited about, he’d be secretly excited to indulge sometimes. He’d also probably enjoy museums and art galleries. But again, for the most part, he just wants to spend time with them, it doesn’t matter where.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Levi’s definitely not an appearance-oriented person. Don’t get me wrong, he thinks his s/o is stunning, and he makes sure they know it. But that’s not what he admires about them, their connection is so much deeper than that. He genuinely sees them for who they are and not what they look like, which is why they’re just so beautiful to him, if that makes sense. 

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

He probably panicked the first time he saw his s/o struggling. He’s not the most in tune with his emotions, so he especially doesn’t know how to help others with this kind of thing. But I feel like his protective instincts would kick in and he would actually be really comforting. Most likely, he’d just sit by his s/o’s side silently and make his presence known until they were feeling well enough to talk. At which point he hears them out and offers some advice, of course with the perfect amount of sarcasm and shit jokes to cheer them up a bit. And he’d probably ask them later what they would prefer he do in that situation if it happens again, which of course he would remember in the future.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

This is a point of internal conflict for Levi, for sure. After everything he’s been through, again, he’s become pretty emotionally closed off. He can’t really depend on anything or anyone staying in his life for too long because they never have. So it would really take a while before Levi can really start to picture his future with his s/o. Even then, he would feel a bit guilty for allowing himself to indulge in those dreams. But at the end of the day, he just dreams about some sort of stability with his s/o some day. He doesn’t really care about the details, he just wants to know that they’re going to be together, and that they can develop some kind of routine and stability that he never really had in the past.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

It’s definitely equal. Levi shares any decision-making with his s/o, and he’d definitely prefer that they do the same, just because that makes their partnership stronger. Because they are very much a team.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Levi does tend to have a bit of a temper, but it’s not something that he would ever want to bring into his relationship. He doesn’t let either of them fight over something petty just because it’s not worth it. And with a more serious disagreement, he’d try hard to start a genuine discussion about it. Things happen, though, so they obviously get in fights sometimes. Levi can be kind of rude when he gets really frustrated, which is why he tries to avoid it. But he’d never actually say something to hurt his s/o, even when they’re both upset. Usually, even the rare argument calms down enough to be settled rationally.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

He is so incredibly grateful for his s/o; he sees and appreciates everything they do for him, and he makes sure it’s known. Explicitly saying something like that makes him a bit uncomfortable, so he finds other ways to silently show his gratitude. He makes sure his s/o’s favorite mug is always clean, and he makes them his favorite blend of tea whenever he sees that they’re stressed out. Just little things that he does to make sure they know he’s thinking about them.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

There are pretty much no secrets in the relationship. The past is a little complicated; there are a few stories that Levi probably will never be able to share (or at least, it will take a very long time), and his s/o is more than entitled to keep secrets about their past that they just cannot share. But other than that, it’s an open book. Levi wouldn’t see any reason to lie about most things, unless it’s about keeping his s/o safe, and it would make him really uncomfortable to know that his s/o keeps secrets. Not that there are no boundaries, it’s just that he wouldn’t want to pour his heart out and be vulnerable just to find out that the other person doesn’t trust him as much.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

I think Levi’s s/o probably helps him a lot, actually. He’s been emotionally closed off for a long time, and being in a relationship with trust and a deep connection would help him to open up a bit and be more vulnerable. He also just lets himself be a bit happier and more optimistic with his s/o, so his life is just a bit easier in general.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

He’d never admit it out loud, but he actually does get pretty jealous. It’s mostly just self esteem issues, not a lack of trust at all. He trusts them more than enough to know that they’re not going to secretly abandon him, so of course he’d never make a big deal out of it (although I think it goes without saying that if someone is hitting on his s/o or something in public and they look remotely uncomfortable, he would go absolutely batshit) But, still, sometimes he can’t help feeling sometimes like he’s not enough for them. He tries to hide it, but it’s pretty obvious that he’s sulking when he’s upset, so his s/o would most likely spot it immediately. And all he would really need is a gentle reminder that he IS enough for them.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Alright I’m conflicted on this one. I’m just gonna say it, his first kiss with his s/o was kind of just not that great. He wouldn’t DARE not ask for proper consent, HOWEVER he ended up asking like three times just to make sure it was alright, which made it a teensy bit awkward. Once he finally gave in, he just gave them the teensiest little kiss and that was it for like two weeks. He’s not really great with physical touch so it takes a while for him to get comfortable. His s/o would probably have to take over from there or else they’d never kiss again, but once he gets comfortable, he does fine.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

It’s during something incredibly mundane, probably just a car drive or a regular movie night. He’s going about his day when he realizes he loves them, and he’ll be damned if he’s gonna stew on that knowledge for another two weeks just because he’s too nervous. So in the middle of a movie or just like halfway home from the store, he just blurts out “hey, I love you”. It’s completely by surprise, but it’s not like it’s particularly early or far into the relationship, so it makes sense. From then on, he wouldn’t be the type of person to say it all the time (I mean, come on, his s/o should know by now, it’d just be stupid). But he also wouldn’t hold himself back from saying it when he’s feeling particularly grateful for his s/o one day. And hearing them say it back would definitely make him blush just the slightest bit every time.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

Levi would be absolutely terrified to get married. BUT that’s not to say that he wouldn’t want to. It would take some considering, sure, but especially if it’s something he knows his s/o wants, he’s all in. He’d probably propose in a similar way to how he first said he loves them, except at least just a bit more planned out. It wouldn’t be a cliche grand proposal with doves and rose petals and champagne, that would drive him crazy. Most likely, he surprises them with a homemade dinner, sets the table with candles, and hands them the ring. He’d put on a confident face, but he’s panicking for sure. He’s not really a marriage-y person, so he’s not going to be buying those matching couple towels that have like “mr ackerman” and his s/o’s name on them, and he’s most definitely not giving in to those cheesy weird nicknames (”hubby” makes him glare so hard). But he would love the perceived sense of stability, commitment, and routine that go along with marriage.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Just their name, for the most part. Maybe “love” or “sweetheart”, but he always says that most nicknames are just too cliche. I mean, only lovestruck 20 year olds call each other “babe”, and that is most certainly not their relationship. But, honestly he wouldn’t mind if his s/o gave him one of those cheesy names... not that he’d ever let on to that, of course, but if they happen to figure it out one day... he wouldn’t be mad. Mostly he just loves to hear his name in their voice, so they call each other by their names. 

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

The token stoic expression Levi keeps in public isn’t going away just because he’s in love. To an outside eye, absolutely nothing is different. But even in public, his s/o can probably tell. Maybe it’s something about the way his eyes are just slightly warmer, slightly brighter. Maybe it’s because he’s just the slightest bit more willing to talk and hold a conversation when they’re by his side. But when they’re alone, he finally lets down that stone expression, and he’s like a whole different person. It doesn’t happen often, but on days where he’s just absolutely lovestruck, he walks around his house smiling, holding his s/o’s hand, maybe even curling up on the sofa together to nap. On those days, he just kind of lets himself be happy. 

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Levi’s definitely not a fan of PDA. The relationship isn’t a secret by any means, but he’s also not broadcasting it for the entire world to see. The people close to him know, and that’s plenty. He doesn’t like PDA partly because it’s too vulnerable, but also just because it’s kind of gross and unnecessary to him.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

This man has the best memory of anyone you’ll ever meet. It’s honestly a bit unsettling, but he remembers everything his s/o says, and he’ll find a way to bring it up like months later. Sometimes it’s as simple as remembering their favorite food and bringing it to them when they’re stressed out. But it could even be so crazy as them saying in a random conversation in July that they hate when mashed potatoes aren’t totally mashed, and boom, at Thanksgiving that year, they find him mashing the potatoes a little extra just to make sure. (Don’t ask how I came up with that example, my brain is weird.) His mind is a steel trap, and he uses it to his advantage.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Cliche romance irritates him so much, he avoids it at all costs, so he’s mostly creative in that sense. He has an eye for picking out ways to make his s/o happy, and even though he doesn’t consider himself particularly romantic, he actually really is.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Absolutely! Levi wants nothing more than to help his s/o achieve whatever they’re working towards, and he’s completely supportive. Anything he can do, any help or emotional support he can offer them, he’s more than willing. 

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

I don’t think he’s AGAINST trying new things, but he really just prefers a routine. Again, it makes him happy to have that connection of stability with his s/o, and he feels so much more comfortable knowing he can depend on that.

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

He’s very empathetic. He might struggle sometimes with understanding, just because it’s not very likely that he and his s/o have had similar experiences in life, but he knows them like the back of his hand. What he lacks in immediate understanding, he makes up for in conversations about any issues and an ability to read their expressions really really well.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Honestly, if Levi is in a long term relationship with someone, they’re one of the most important parts of his life. He doesn’t make superficial connections, and he especially doesn’t open up to people he doesn’t care deeply about, so it’s safe to say that he values his s/o greatly. 

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

He buys his s/o flowers once a week. It’s just a little tradition that makes him happy, and he likes seeing that it makes his s/o happy, so he’s kept it going. If they don’t like flowers, then maybe it’s a little trinket they collect, or a cookie from their favorite bakery. But regardless, he hasn’t missed a week since they’ve been together, it’s really important to him.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

He’s not necessarily an overly affectionate person. There are occasional days where it really just hits him how lucky he is, and he just wants to hold his s/o for a while and not go do anything that day. But for the most part, he’s not clingy in any means, and his s/o would have to initiate most cuddling. He’ll let them know if he’s really not in the mood, but he usually doesn’t mind (because let’s face it he’s a teensy bit touch starved). But yeah, he shows his affection in different ways for the most part.

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

It’s not really an issue for him. He’s always been an independent person, so even after he lets himself trust that his s/o isn’t leaving him, he’s not going to be that level of dependent on their presence. He probably would have to fill up his schedule a bit more, though, just so he didn’t have too much down time to get all sad and miss them. He’d also probably clean everything in his sight to calm down until they return.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

He’s zealous for sure, he isn’t about to let go of a relationship that means this much to him just because he wasn’t willing to put in the work. He’d do as much as he could to make it work. 

#attack on titan #attack on titan headcanons #aot headcanons #aot #shingeki no kyojin #snk #shingeki no kyojin headcanons #snk headcanons #levi #levi ackerman #fluff alphabet #levi fluff

[dragonsareourfuture]

Death Note As Unus Annus Quotes

I still haven’t been able to cope with Unus Annus being gone, so I’ve decided to compile a list of quotes from various videos and use them for Death Note incorrect quotes because idk why not. I had a ton of fun doing this and I hope it shows! Some of these aren’t the exact quotes word for word but I can’t exactly go back to find them now. ⚠️Warning for mature language.

Misa: you think I can fit my thicc ass through there!?

•

Mello: if I lube myself up I’ll slip right through hell and get into heaven

•

Near: I can’t.

Mello: I know, I know. You’ve got that condition where you’re...a bitch.

•

L: stab right here.

Matsuda: right here?

L: yes.

Matsuda: *stabs right there*

L: What the- why’d you stab next to my face that’s a horrible idea!

Matsuda: Ryuzaki, I don’t know I— I’m so sorry!

Light: I think you’re gaslighting him, L...

L: I didn’t think he’d actually do it.

•

*at L’s funeral*

Light: L was a humble — eh, humble? I don’t think we’d call him humble. L, he was a man. A strong man. Strong willed and strong bodied. What he lacked in intelligence he made up for with his charm, his smile, and his ... okay penis.

L, inside the coffin: ??????

•

Light: you’re not mad at anything?

L: no

Light: why?

L “Light-Kun is my first ever friend” Lawliet: well, because I got to spend the entire day with you ^-^

Light:

Light, internally: I am mad every time I hear your voice.

•

Near: *reading* “people can rarely upset you”

Near: yeah I would agree-

Mello: FUCK YOU.

Near:

Mello: are you upset?

Near: no.

•

Matt: I don’t like it when you use knives so aggressively! That is NOT a good idea!

Mello: no, you cut away from the body and then it’s safe...cut away from MY body, at least.

Matt: OH MY GOD

Mello: What?

Matt: you’re gonna fucking stab me!

Mello: why would I stab you?

Matt: because you’re an idiot!

Mello:....I am not an idiot. I am college educated.

•

Mello: So I’ve won once...and you’ve won twice?

Near: yes.

Mello: but I’ll come back for you

Near: it is statistically unlikely

Mello: “iT iS sTaTiStiCaLly uNLiKeLy”

•

Mello: I always feel like it’s fight o’clock

•

Light: are you making an accusation?

L: no...are you getting defensive for no reason?

•

Roger: how do you act in problematic situations?

Mello:

Mello: I remain calm—

All of Wammy’s: *distant laughter*

•

L: I’m not gonna do that, because I’m smart...but you’re an idiot. I think you should do it.

Matsuda: oh, no...

L: I’m just kidding-

Matsuda: No, you’ve got a point!

•

The entire Task Force @ Matsuda : bitch.

Matsuda: I’m just trying to strike up a conversation-

The entire Task Force: bitch.

Matsuda: I’m not gonna listen to you if you’re just gonna belittle me and be a big bully-

The entire Task Force: BITCH—

•

Light: I get the sense that they’re not talking to me because they sense how much more powerful I am than you.

L: I think they just like me more.

Light: why would that be a thing? Nobody likes you.

•

Matt: GAMERS ARE VERY MATURE!

•

Tiny Mello: what’s that?

Roger: this is a chalk line.

Tiny Mello: a what?

Roger: chalk line.

Tiny Mello: ch...chocolate!

Roger: chalk line.

Tiny Mello: Chompus!

•

Misa: I’m gonna die beautiful! Do you know what that’s like? No, you don’t. You have the luxury of being ugly.

L: Mhmm

•

Matt: are you a happy bimbo?

Mello: I AM AN ANGRY BIMBO!!!!

•

Matsuda : *exists*

L: oh my god, even when you’re quiet you’re mostly annoying.

Matsuda : what are you talking about? I was completely silent-

L: get the fuck out.

•

Matt: *asks Near a question*

Mello: why don’t you ask ME? Why would I not know? Piece of SHIT.

Mello: I am a man with an extensive wealth of knowledge and you are not taking advantage of me while I’m STILL HERE.

Mello: *flips hair dramatically* GOD

•

Beyond, dreamily: I forget what happens when you’re on fire...

•

Light: What’s my most incredible feature?

L: the bags below your eyes aren’t that big so that shows you get a good amount of sleep.

Light:.....wow, thanks man.

•

Beyond: a lot of people have this dream of dying in their old age, passing away in their sleep, very peacefully.

L: yep.

Beyond: what a basic bitch death.

•

Misa, finally snapping: you know what really grinds my gears?

Light, very uninterested: what

Misa: you! Because whenever I try to give you a friendly “hey, now” you say “don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!” Well you know sometimes maybe I wanna be touched! Maybe I wanna be touched, Light!

•

Near: it’s a little loose...

Matt: what, they didn’t sell a child’s size?

Near:

Near: hey—

•

(Matsuda, taking his mandatory polygraph test)

Chief Yagami: so this machine is borrowed—

Matsuda: oh my gosh, somebody else’s lies are in here!?

•

This isn’t Unus Annus, I just really wanted to add it here—

Chief Yagami: Who broke it? I’m not mad, I just wanna know.

Light: ....I did, I broke it, dad—

Chief Yagami: No, son you didn’t. Matsuda?

Matsuda: don’t look at me! Look at Aizawa!

Aizawa: what!? I didn’t break it!

Matsuda: Huh. Weird. How’d you even know it was broken?

Aizawa: because it’s sitting right in front of us and it’s broken!

Matsuda: Suspicious.

Aizawa: No, it’s not!

L: if it matters, probably not, but Misa was the last one to use it.

Misa: Liar! I don’t even drink that crap!

L: Really? Then what were you doing by the coffee cart earlier?

Misa: I use the wooden stirrers to push back my cuticles! Everyone knows that, Ryuzaki!

Light: lets not fight, I broke it. Let me pay for it, dad.

Chief Yagami: No. who broke it?

Aizawa: Chief....Mogi’s been awfully quiet-

Mogi: REALLY?

Aizawa: yeah, really!

Everyone: *screaming*

Chief Yagami: I broke it. It burned my hand so I punched it. I predict in ten minutes from now they’ll be at each other’s throats with war paint on their faces and a pig head on a stick...good. It was getting a little chummy around here.

#incorrect death note quotes #death note #incorrect quotes #source: unus annus #source: parks and rec #Mello death note #Matt death note #near death note #l death note #mihael keehl #Mail jeevas #Nate river #l lawliet #light yagami #touta matsuda #misa amane #roger ruvie #soichiro yagami #shuichi aizawa #unus annus

[percabeth4life]

Chiron Dionysus

Chiron/Dionysus

Physical Age

Both are kinda middle aged, like 40s I think.

No imbalance there

Mental Maturity

Khiron is very mature and sure of himself. He has a large base of knowledge and the skills to put that knowledge into use. He’s a quick thinker and very clever, but tends to stick strictly to laws and refuses to deviate from what he thinks. He isn’t really one to change his opinion and leans towards doing what’s the safest in any given situation. He’s very much stern on the whole “listen to the Gods” and doesn’t deviate from what he thinks they want.

Dionysus is very knowledgeable but simply chooses to not use it. His flippancy hides a lot of his experience but he shows it on occasion, and uses it. He uses his powers casually and knowing of what they make people think, and when feeling grief shows his calmer more analytical side. He is more than capable of noticing when things are off and dealing with them and despite his appearance is very dangerous.

No imbalance here

Emotional Maturity

Khiron is very calm and in control of his emotions, but he’s not so good at helping others with theirs. He’s very much “it’s all fine” even when it’s not. He doesn’t really seem to know how to handle things beyond perpetual calm, so it’s what he tends to default to. He is able to put emotions aside easily but isn’t good at handling them otherwise, though he is more than able to take a stand even when afraid.

Dionysus is kinda struggling emotionally it seems. He grieves for his family, he hates being at the camp, he’s locked away from Olympus and overall is just kinda depressed. He needs a hug and to not be punished so harshly. He is capable of putting his emotions aside for serious matters, but not necessarily what mortals deem serious. He is pretty casual otherwise, and when angry is driven by it.

A slight imbalance for Khiron just due to how Dionysus is struggling rn

Power imbalance

Dionysus is a God with technicality authority over Khiron, but also Khiron seems to be his warden almost in the camp so I think it balances out.

Not Imbalance here

Overall,

They’re pretty balanced in terms of maturity relationship wise. I think that there’s a bit of bitterness there with Dionysus being trapped in camp and Khiron making sure he keeps to the rules but otherwise they seem chill. Dionysus doesn’t even smite him when Khiron upsets him, though that might just be because he’s immortal and it wouldn’t help at all.

Send me an ask about a relationship

#anon asks #life answers #relationship asks #khiron/dionysus #chiron/dionysus #pjo chiron #pjo khiron #pjo dionysus #pjo #percy jackson

[cxmetery-gates]

DEFYING THE ODDS - LOKI LAUFEYSON

CHAPTER ONE: THE ARRIVAL

SUMMARY: Odin is faced with uncertainty surrounding a young woman who fell from the heavens and has no memory of where she came from. WORD COUNT: 4k NOTES: Make sure you read the prologue! Soooo there is a lot of Norse mythology going to be tied into this series! My information will be coming from “The Viking Spirit” by Daniel McCoy and his website Norse Mythology for Smart People. Thank you all for reading!! WARNINGS: none that I know of!

MASTERLIST

FROM THE CHAOS AND VOID of Ginnungagap came the beginning of everything. Where silence and darkness once existed, the beginning saw the creation of the giant Ymir from the fires of Muspelheim and the ice from Nifelheim, and from him, the Aesir were born. The universe was given a breath of life. It was said that all that will ever be was formed in the great beginning, the seeds of all life would sprout and flourish the cosmos until Ragnarök returned the universe back into the dark and silent abyss.

But so it seemed the void had one last creation.

As if falling from the darkness of Ginnungagap itself, a mysterious figure clad in obsidian armor fell from the cosmos, landing on the home of the Aesir: Asgard. It did not take a healer to note the height should have killed anyone, perhaps to the degree in which there would be no body to find. However, after washing upon the shore where Asgard's fiercest and strongest knights waited, they were all but surprised to find the being was a young woman.

Now, on the ninth day of her comatose state, Odin once again finds himself at the girl's bedside. While it is unclear when or if she will wake, the ruler of the Aesir still found himself in the hospital at least once a day. After all, the young woman's arrival was the hottest topic throughout Yggdrasil, the cosmic nexus of the Nine Realms.

No conclusion had been made yet and all the citizens across Yggdrasil who had heard the story were begging the Allfather for answers. Many already had their opinions laid out, arguing that she was a sign of the cosmos planning something great. However, many were on the side that she forebodes the coming of the end. There were assumptions that the empty black hole that opened in Asgard's sky was the darkness itself, teasing the arrival of Ragnarök. Either interpretation was a well enough argument in its own right, but they all faced the same dilemma: no one knew anything. Waiting was all anyone could do as the young woman lies on a cot with a steady breath and flushed cheeks.

"She's in perfect condition," the head nurse disclosed to Odin, her eyes wide in contemplation. When the Einherjar Guards first carried her to the medic bay, the girl appeared dead, the color drained from her face and her lips a soft blue hue. There were spots of dried blood on her armor and on the inside from where the sea did not rub away hard enough. "The only mark on her body is an old scar. There is nothing proving she fell at all. Not even a scratch." Odin hoped the crimson stains were not a bad omen.

Royal advisors were tasked to search all records pointing towards a prophecy or another occurrence of someone falling from the heavens and coming out unscathed in the process. Nine days and eight nights later, no answers were found. Odin hoped to find a vision from his father and father before him from their resting places in Valhalla, but there was nothing but silence from the gods. Odin even scoped guidance from Mimir, but the head merely told the Allfather time will reveal all secrets. The only option left was speculation, and that was not enough to calm an entire system of realms.

To attempt to quench the cries, a pair of spellbound chains loop around the girl's wrists and to the sides of the cot. Good intentions or not, the Allfather would not put his realm at risk by judging a book by its cover.

The Allfather sits and reads from his youngest son's book. A book of magical adventures, the history of the Aesir, and possible tellings of the Norns. When he was a young boy, his father gave him the same book and even after reading cover-to-cover more times than the number of stars in the sky, Odin still digs into every detail he comes across. The god swears that he has heard a story of a girl falling from the sky once before⁠— and he remembers what occurred after. But, as if the universe wanted to tease the Allfather, there was nothing he could find. Despite the dead ends, Odin is determined and would stop at nothing in his search for answers.

Unfortunately, it seemed not even the cost of Odin's eye would grant him knowledge this time.

With a sigh, Odin closes the book and places it on the bedside table. The thud was strong enough to wake a sleeping giant, and yet, the girl did not move. Not even a flinch.

"I should have guessed I would find you here."

The feminine voice from behind Odin is soft, easing his tightly wound nerves and racing questions. He barely looks over his shoulder as her hand comes to rest upon his arm, offering a squeeze that the Allfather relaxes into. "It is a king's duty to ensure the safety of his realm."

A smile reveals itself on the queen's lips. Frigga leans down to speak closer to her husband. "It is a king's duty to attend his sons' lessons that he promised."

Odin feels his head loll backwards slightly. With all the wonderment and questions, the promise to practice sword sparring with his sons slipped his mind. A great part of him feels upset with himself as he pictures his two sons waiting for nothing. "There is always tomorrow," the Allfather replies.

"Yes, there is," Frigga agrees, slinking her hand down to intertwine her fingers with his. "Come. Supper will grow cold if we wait any longer. Your boys miss you."

The Allfather lets his stare rest upon the girl's face. Her features are light but matured with dark hair and lashes to match. The curve of her nose speaks for innocence, but the cut of her jaw screams the opposite. Odin remembers the scar the nurse had mentioned. Letting his eye wander to the cracked skin right below her collarbone from where it peeks out beyond her temporary linen dress, Odin wonders how she became the bearer to such a mark. Despite not seeing the old wound in its entirety, he believed the head nurse when she proclaimed the falling entity was not some girl, but a warrior. No ordinary girl earns a scar like that from an accident (or falls from the sky, for that matter). Glancing over to the mighty and intimidating sword and the ensemble of armor, Odin has no reason to argue.

Another day and night, another weight added to the situation. By the fifth day, Odin began to grow anxious and, as his wife tugs on his hand for the second time now, approaching the ninth night, he feels nothing but frustration. Part of him thinks the girl will never wake, left for eternity as a mysterious sleeping beauty.

With a nod, Odin rises to his feet, Frigga sending a loving gaze as their arms interlock. The couple barely takes two steps before Odin spots the medic who was pausing her movements to bow. "Send word if she wakes."

The nurse's eyes flash to the girl then to the Allfather. Her mouth suddenly hangs open and she makes a double take. "I do not think I will need to send a messenger, Allfather..."

Turning their heads, Odin and Frigga find their guest with her eyes fluttering open.

Odin turns to Frigga to speak, but she beats him with words and a nod. "I will explain to Thor and Loki, then return. Stay; food may be brought up later." Squeezing her hand reassuringly, Frigga then departs from the medical bay, a look of apprehension very clear on her features.

The girl says nothing as she looks at the old man clad in golden fabric. When her eyes meet his, surprised to find the man has one eye socket covered with a thin piece of golden metal— and almost reaches up to see if she had only one like the man before her— all she does is swallow. She then notices the cuffs attached to her wrists. Her eyes become wide, wild with emotions she has never felt before. In an instant, she finds panic soaring through her veins, a new feeling she isn't quite fond of.

"Would you like me to fetch a guard?" the nurse asks.

Studying the girl, Odin decides to shake his head. "I think I will be alright. But perhaps the guards standing outside should be alerted, just in case."

The nurse nods her head, sends the girl on the cot one last look, then parts down the hall, walking with a purpose until she exits. Waiting for the taps of footsteps to disappear, Odin remains standing at the girl's bedside. When he concludes they are alone, Odin allows his body to fully turn, finding his chair a few feet away. Slowly and cautiously, he grips the back and brings it closer, then lowers himself into the seat. The girl grips the thin sheets, wrists growing irritated from the metal bindings.

"What is your name, dear?" Odin asks with his tone laced in amiability. He hopes not to spook her with his booming voice or his golden eye patch.

Her dark eyes dart from examining his face to the room in which she finds herself. Odin takes notice that her eyes are closer to a pitch black than brown. He isn't sure whether to be unsettled or intrigued.

The young woman takes in the room, noting everything from the floor panel to the texture of her sheets. She makes the deduction that she is in a hospital, seeing a cabinet lined with jars of ointment and utensils and lines of empty, identical cots. The girl has barely a moment to remember how and why she finds herself in such a place when her eyes flicker back to the man. The older man before her reigns superiority, for he bears golden textiles, intricate designs bedded into the front and large pads on his shoulders that deem attention. A king, she decides. The old man who might possibly be a ruler is offering her a moment to gather her thoughts, no pressure to answer quickly. A small feeling of gratitude enters her thoughts. She could have woken up in a place much, much worse.

After her examination, she looks back to the man's eye. A tongue pokes from out of her mouth and wets her dry lips before answering. "My name is Valdis Starborn."

Valdis Starborn, Odin considers. How entirely fitting. A strange name for an equally strange girl. In all his years, he has never met another Aesir with such a name, however it tastes familiar. A spark of recognition exists, but Odin finds no such idea as to why. "Valdis, do you know how you got here?"

The girl looks down in thought, brows pinching together. A roar of cries, a heated pain, and then nothing. As soon as the images flashed before her eyes, they were gone like the wind carrying smoke. Valdis reaches for the blips of memory to return, but all she's left with is confusion and emptiness. Nothing. She remembers nothing.

Valdis shakes her head slowly. "No, I do not." She swallows a lump in her throat realizing she does not know how she got to this room, nor anything else. Valdis searches through her thoughts to find her head void of any memory. "I do not know how or why I am here, but I also do not know where I come from. I fear my memories are... Gone."

Odin raises his chin, studying her puzzled expression. Not the answer he was hoping for, but at least she had a name. It was something among the sea of questions. "Do you know where you are?"

"No," Valdis answers quietly. "But, if I had to make a guess, somewhere nice. I expected a dungeon as my welcoming."

A slight twitch to the lips meets Odin as Valdis smiles sheepishly. "This is Asgard, the home of the Aesir and peacekeepers to the galaxy, and I am Odin, the Allfather. It is my duty to maintain balance in the cosmos, which includes sorting out the mysteries that the universe creates, such as yourself."

Valdis's eyebrows pinch. "Allfather?" She ponders out loud. Odin watches the girl carefully as her dark eyes leave him only to focus downwards, head tipped slightly in thought. "Allfather..."

"You speak as if something is coming back to you."

Looking back up, Valdis says, "'Allfather' sounds familiar. I feel like I have heard it before, but..." Her voice trails into silence, unable to locate the words or memories that have sparked some kind of recognition.

"Perhaps a sign that your memory will return," Odin hopes, eyeing her suspiciously.

The sound of heeled shoes on marble reaches both sets of ears, and Odin stands, turning to find Frigga coming to his side. Her smile is kind and warm, maintaining itself when she takes careful steps towards the young woman on the bed. Valdis cannot help but mirror the gentle expression.

"Valdis," Odin addresses, his arm outstretched towards her before angling to direct her attention to the new presence. "I am honored to introduce you to my wife and queen of Asgard, Frigga."

Memorizing the girl's name, Frigga passes in front of her husband. "How are you, dear girl?" Frigga asks, taking another step before lowering down to sit on the bed at Valdis's feet. "You fell from so high. We've all been worried about your health."

"'We?'" Valdis questions. Her heart spikes as she wonders what Frigga speaks of. With her memory wiped, it comes to Valdis's attention that not only does she not know where she came from or why she is on Asgard, but she is just as clueless as to how she ended up in a hospital in the first place. "Wait... I fell?"

Frigga's smile falters some, now understanding the downturn of Odin's expression. "Do you not remember?"

Valdis shakes her head, a new wave of rose-colored embarrassment coating her pale cheeks.

Only nodding once, Frigga does not let her worried sentiment show itself so clearly. Instead, the queen looks to her husband, continuing her words. "I hope my husband has not frightened you, little star. He has a habit." With this comment, the queen sends a wink to Valdis, who feels herself smiling.

Valdis notes that while the Allfather seems wise and just with a headstrong, powerful ambiance, the queen radiates a sunny glow, a tenderness that touches all. There is a balance to their chemistry, easily evening out what tension Valdis had in her thoughts. "No, the Allfather has been kind, my queen."

"You may call me Frigga, sweet one." The queen lets herself think for barely a second before letting her words play out loud. "Would you allow me to try something, Valdis? I would like to see if I can help with your lost memories."

Barely a pause ensues before Valdis lets out short exhale that sounds like a laugh. "It's not like I have much to lose at this point, do I?" It appears it was Valdis's turn to encourage a smile.

Lifting both her hands, Frigga extends her arms out towards Valdis. With no other warning, the queen cups Valdis's jaw gently. Before the young woman could react, a warm heat penetrates her skin and a faint, golden glow could be seen from under her eye. Valdis did nothing but stare questioningly at the woman before her. As quick as the touch was, Frigga withdrew her hands, sending a stare to her husband.

"Nothing," Odin remarks but with conviction in his tone.

Standing, Frigga speaks to Odin. "Seiðr did not work. Either a stronger force is baring all of us or she truly has no memory."

Valdis listens idly, knowing this is when her fate will be decided. She isn't sure where she would go or what she would do if the rulers before her were to cast her out. Maybe they would keep her locked away in the dungeons with criminals. Or maybe they'd send her somewhere else, somewhere less lavish than Asgard and cruel to oddities such as herself. No matter the case, Valdis only knows what has happened since she opened her eyes minutes ago, nothing more. She is not aware of any other realm, nor king, nor law. If Odin did not trust her, Valdis would have no fathomable idea what to do. The king must realize this, especially after what his queen just told him. Valdis still sticks out for hope, so much so that she feels as though she is pushing her pleas into the king and queen's minds.

"She has nowhere to go, Odin," Frigga continues, sending Valdis a small, tight-lipped smile before her eyes widen, quickly turning back to her husband. "Allow me to take her under my wing. Perhaps we can work to uncover her memories with time."

Odin takes a long look to his wife before focusing his attention back on Valdis, a hopeful look upon her face. It would not be the first time Frigga would become a mother to a child she did not conceive, but Odin cannot help but feel vastly more concerned this time around. No one knows who or what Valdis is, not even the girl herself, allegedly.

"She will be no trouble," Frigga insists. The queen glances over to Valdis. "Will she?"

Valdis was quick to shake her head. "No, of course not, my lady. I want to uncover the truth as much as you do."

The dungeons would be too dangerous for a woman like her and the cot she lies on will be needed eventually. Frigga is a powerful sorceress, one of the most talented the Aesir have ever come across, if not the best of them all. No one has deceived her yet, and this fact was set to stay for eternity. Such a creature as Valdis would not have the powers to break this record, but the preexisting confusion shrouding Odin's mind remains. Perhaps she can best his wife, or perhaps not. There would be rules to be made and there would be concern around Valdis's mystery, but what better sorceress to delve into the mysterious fallen entity?

Odin straightens his back as he turns from the yearnful eyes of Frigga, setting his stern gaze upon the girl in bed. Her eyes shone of the same buoyancy as Frigga. "You may not be safe here," Odin says, his voice steady and heavy with urgency. "Asgard is home to the best warriors, but that does not guarantee your safety. If you are running, they will find you eventually, and I will not risk my people if you show not to be as innocent as you seem."

Valdis nods. "I do not think anyone is after me, Allfather."

"But you do not know that for sure."

Valdis swallows. "Yes."

Odin lets out a long breath, sending his gaze to rest upon Frigga. His wife's stare is still set upon him with a plea, a loving care that Odin fell for millennia ago. There is no bone in Frigga's body that would allow her to turn away someone in need. It's what makes her a wonderful queen, a perfect soulmate to her sagacious husband. He knows that keeping the girl would possibly become a path for trouble. There will be others like Frigga who are interested in Valdis, but many may not have as innocent intentions.

With his chin poised, Odin turns to Valdis, taking several steps forwards until he is right beside the girl. For a moment, both Frigga and Vadis fear the worst. "You will temporarily live in the guests' wing and will be accompanied by a pair of guards everywhere you go. If your memory returns by the next moon, you shall have the option to leave. If you are still without your past, I would encourage you to stay."

It seemed as though the universe let out a sigh of relief as Odin spoke. From the corner of her eye, Valdis could spot Frigga wearing a gracious grin.

"However," Odin continued. "If there is any sign that you come with dark intentions or you do anything to harm this realm or the next, you will be imprisoned for the rest of eternity. Is this clear?"

There is no hesitation as Valdis nods her head. "Yes, Allfather."

"Good." With a simple wave of his hand, the two cuffs around Valdis's wrists unlock, the rounded pieces once rubbing against her skin now clicking backwards in on itself until the golden bands and chain disappear entirely.

"Come, Valdis," Frigga says, her hands holding out for the dark-haired girl to take. "We will head to your temporary quarters until a permanent one has been arranged." Holding her arms out, Frigga helps Valdis rise to her feet, her stature and built fully shown. She stands just a few inches shorter than the queen, but something about her shoulders and straight spine makes Frigga look small in comparison. Opposite to Valdis's meek disposition, the exterior of her shell is strong and battle-ready. This does not pass by Odin, his observant eye catching every movement made.

Frigga helps Valdis into a robe as Odin turns away. He eyes the armor on the table, as well as the bladed sword, staring in awe at the craftsmanship. If Odin had to make a guess, not even the skilled dwarves of Nidavellir could have fashioned such beautiful designs. In fact, the Allfather has never come across the kind in all his thousands of years. The designs are fluid yet sharp, demanding and large yet smooth and delicate, the points and edges telling all to beware while enticing enough to desire a closer look. The sword was no different, the steel and obsidian mashing together tastefully. Unlike any sword he has seen, the hilt extends out and up, several smaller blades pointed in the direction of an enemy. There was nothing but peril that radiates from the ensemble, and yet, Odin could not help but gape in admiration. How odd such a timid creature would be the owner of such an array of danger-exuding armor?

So many questions raised in Odin's mind at the examination, and it seemed as though more were raised with each day. In the nine days since her arrival, all one could do was question. The Allfather believes he is not the only one who finds himself in the realm of curiosity. No doubt there were others who were just as interested in the girl who fell from space, perhaps some having the answers Odin desperately craves. And some may just do anything to have Valdis Starborn.

"Valdis," Odin calls, shifting his eye from her armor to the two women taking their leave. Both look in his direction fluidly. Valdis stands with wide eyes, ready for what he may aim at her. As if she has been here before. "The way you arrived on Asgard is no ordinary occurrence. There are talks of you wielding a power strong enough to rip Yggdrasil apart, or worse. Many will want to meet you, and many will want to use you. Keep this in mind; it may save your life."

The girl who fell from the cosmos offers a single nod before allowing Frigga to escort her out of the room, leaving Odin to his thoughts. Undoubtedly, there would be more questions to be raised in the next few days, but perhaps Mimir's answer would be met. The vibrations of primordial fire and ice that created all seemed to have fashioned something not yet seen before and it was up to the Allfather to unravel questions into answers. A blessing, a curse, or something the universe was not ready for, all anyone could do now was wait.

Time will eventually give Odin his answers. However, part of him fears what those will be.

#defying the odds #chapter 1 #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki x y/n #loki x oc #loki angst #valdis starborn #loki #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #loki god of mischief #loki god of lies #loki layfeyson x reader #loki laufeyson x ofc #loki romance #tom hiddleston

[theangriestpea]

The Killing Type | One

Summary: Just when Lavender thought things were going great with Sweet Pea, a new girl comes back to turn to turn their entire relationship upside down. Now they have to navigate a world of drug dealers, rival gangs, and co-parenting. Sequel to Mercy Killing. <ao3> <masterlist> 

Rating: Mature // Explicit

Pairings: Sweet Pea x OC // eventual Jughead Jones x OC

Warnings: referenced teen pregnancy, referenced sexual assault, cheating/lying, PTSD  

Word Count: 5k+

A/N: I cannot believe I wrote this is such a short amount of time, omg. As stated on the final chapter of Mercy Killing, this is a sequel to both Mercy Killing and @the-gargoyle-queen​‘s fic Young Gods. The timelines for both are a little screwed up to make them converge. We begin this series at the end of sophomore year with no time between Mercy Killing chapter 16 and Chapter 1 of The Killing Type, and one year after Young Gods. Try not to focus too much on the lack of continuity for the sake of future plot. I think Lily is a bit OOC in this chapter....I made her into an uber bitch and she's not.

Chapter One - A Mercy Killing 

Lavender stared at Jughead, not at all understanding what he meant by forgiving Sweet Pea. What had he done this time? Of course the two fought more often than not over petty things but they made up hours, sometimes minutes later. It was just their dynamic. “Who is she?” She pressed as he looked at his buzzing phone again.

“Lily is Sweet Pea’s ex but I think he should really be the one to tell you all of it.” He said, his anxiety starting to show with his tone of voice. Lav made a face that he couldn't quite tell what it meant. “Listen, just try to get his side of things before exploding on him, okay?”

She stiffened, not liking his accusation of her tendency to react dramatically to any inconvenience no matter how minor. “Why did no one tell me about her? All this time and I’ve literally never even heard her name before. I don’t understand what the big deal is!” Her voice started to edge on the side of frantic as panic began to flood through her. Who was this girl and why did no one mention her?

Jughead sighed. “It’s complicated, Lav. Sweet Pea told us not to mention her around him. We all agreed that it would be better for you and him if you just didn’t know what went down between them.”

“So, everyone collectively decided that I, Sweet Pea’s girlfriend, didn’t need to know about someone who was obviously very important to him? Why is he hiding her from me, does he still have feelings for her or something?” She asked, her tone turning accusatory. Jughead put his hands up to try and calm her down, but instead she stood. “Whatever, Jug. I’m going home. Have fun talking to your new best friend.”

“She’s not-!” Before he could finish she had slammed the door behind her. Jughead sighed and sunk down into the old couch. Things were about to get a lot more complicated.

Lavender made a bee-line for her trailer as fast as her short legs would carry her. She was fuming at the thought that everyone kept some big secret from her, and worse of all she was dying to know what it was. She sent a quick text to Sweet Pea, demanding he come over to “come clean” when he was done with his job. Sweet Pea, being ever the oblivious asshole, had no idea what he needed to come clean about but figured the purple haired girl would fill him in when he got there.

Hours later, once Sweet Pea was done running bike parts to Centerville, he walked into the Rhodes trailer having no idea what shit storm was about to be thrown at him.

First of all, he found his girlfriend curled up on the couch in a state of drunkenness that he hadn’t seen her in in many months. Immediately he thought something had happened, she had a PTSD episode or someone made threats. In an instant he was by her side, her thin shoulders in his hands to get her to look at him.

“Who is she?” Lav slurred, eyes red from crying. Every worst case scenario had gone through her head. Was he cheating on her? Did he have some other life that she had no clue about and he was keeping it from her? How could this girl that she knew nothing about cause her so much grief?

Sweet Pea’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Who is who?” He asked, having no inkling of what in the world she was talking about. “Why did you drink so much?”

“Lily Owens.” Lav spat hotly, “Who is she?!” Her voice began to raise with notes of hysteria. She was so worked up and heartbroken and she had no idea why.

His blood ran cold as he stared at her. He had hoped that he could have approached the subject of his ex eventually, when the time was right. But Lavender was so god damn sensitive that he didn’t think that time would ever come. The insecurity she felt after the attack by the Ghoulies was so great that sometimes he felt trapped in that even talking to a girl she didn’t know had her upset.

They had a long talk about it once and she agreed to get it handled in therapy. And she did get better but there were times when he knew she just couldn’t help it. They had broken her so thoroughly that it was going to take time. He sighed softly, trying not to show how aggravated he was. “She’s my ex, Shanna. I was going to wait to tell you this but...She’s coming back to town in a few days and she needs a place to stay...with our daughter.”

“Your what?” Lav asked, somehow finding the fact that he had a child with another woman was way worse than him cheating on her. “You had a kid and never thought to tell me?!” Fresh tears came to her eyes and quickly fell down her face that was flushed pink from inebriation. “Don’t you think that was something I’d need to know?”

He flinched, feeling the hurt roll off of her in waves. “This is exactly why I didn’t tell you. I knew you’d overreact!”

“Overreact?!” She yelled, her voice finally raising. “Are you fucking kidding me?! You kept a whole ass family secret from me, Sweet Pea! Get out. Just get OUT.”

His eyes narrowed as he stood, releasing his grip from her. “You always do this! You always fly off of the goddamn handle over every little thing. So I have a daughter, so what? I’ve never even met her! Lily ran off pregnant and had her without me there, so yeah I don’t bring it up because I’d rather not think about being a dad at sixteen! You’re not the only fucked up person in this relationship!”

She stared at him with stunned silence and he knew he had gone too far, as he always did. Sweet Pea just huffed angrily before turning and leaving in a manner exactly as she had from the Jones trailer earlier that day.

The next two days, Lavender spoke to no one. Not Jughead, Not Fangs, and especially not Sweet Pea. He hadn’t even bothered to text or to call as she was always the one to give in first. Still, the fact that he wasn’t even trying to patch things up between them only served to hurt her more.

Fangs had left her small apologetic presents at her doorstep. Flowers, snack cakes, chocolate, even a bottle of her favorite rum. While she accepted the gifts, she still refused to speak to him. His messages were all left on read.

Jughead and Toni had both sent only one apology text, while both seemed pretty heartfelt, they were also denied any kind of answer from her. It was only after an hour and a half long intense therapy session did she decide to try and make up with all of them. Her therapist had helped her realize that Sweet Pea was put in a difficult position from the start of their relationship with her trauma and intense insecurity. In the end, she concluded that he wasn’t purposefully trying to hurt her. He was trying to save her. It just ended up blowing up in his face.

She had picked up a carton of Marlboros for him and was walking up to his trailer. She didn’t notice whether or not his bike was on the side of the house, and dismissed the beaten up car parked on the street as a neighbor’s. It could have easily been someone else’s. Or maybe his dad was finally out of rehab?

Knowing that he was possibly still upset with her, she chose not to use her key to walk in. Instead she knocked on the door in her usual fashion and waited, cigarettes in hand. What she didn’t expect (but totally should have) was for a teenage girl to open the door.

She was shorter than Lav by about an inch, brunette, and absolutely stunning. Lavender's heart fell into her stomach. “O-Oh,” She stuttered, “I thought-”

“He’s not home.” The girl said in a somewhat flat tone. She had learned all about the person in front of her from Jughead. He filled her in on all of Sweet Pea’s doings while she was gone. “But you can come in and wait for him. He’ll be back in a few minutes.”

The door opened wider and Lavender looked inside, noticing that now the trailer was littered with baby clothes, toys, and assorted things necessary to take care of a child. The scene made it all too clear to Lavender that Lily, who she assumed opened the door, was now living with Sweet Pea. Suddenly she was breaking all over again and the progress she made in therapy was virtually gone.

“I should go.” Lavender mumbled, unsure of where she fell in this new hierarchy. “Can you just tell him that I came by? I need to talk to him.”

“You’re Lavender, right?” Lily asked and she nodded in response. “I’m Lily. I think we should talk. Come in, it’ll be easier than standing out here. Daisy is asleep so don’t worry about her.”

Lav did not at all feel comfortable talking to her, but the backfiring of a nearby car put her so on edge that she had no choice but to hide inside. She felt idiotic by being set off at a time like this. The intense need to hide somewhere where she felt safe overrode her discomfort with the situation at hand.

Lily seemed to have some knowledge of what was going through the other girl’s head. She noticed her jump and frantically check her surroundings at the loud sound. Jughead and mentioned her PTSD and that Lily should tread carefully for the time being. After knowing what happened with the Ghoulies, Lily ultimately felt pity for Lavender and not contempt...Though if she were completely honest, there was a little of that too.

It was clear to Lily that Lavender was very disoriented by the sudden amount of baby things around the living room, as well as an open suitcase that had all of Lily’s belongings in them.

The current girlfriend sat down on the chair that Sweet Pea fell asleep in way too often and sunk down into the cushions as if she were trying to disappear from sight. Lily took a seat on the couch, wondering if the awkwardness was going to go away any time soon.

“So you live here?” Lav finally asked, nearly flinching under the look Lily gave her. The question seemed much too obvious, of course she was living here. She had nowhere else to go.

“Yes.” Lily said, her voice a little more curt than she initially intended. “We needed a place to stay since my mom stayed in Toledo. Sweet Pea said it was okay. Is there a problem with that?”

“No! Not at all.” Lavender said quickly, wishing she had turned and ran when she had the chance. “Sweet Pea just didn’t tell me…”

Lily huffed, of course he didn’t. “We need to talk about that.” Of course, she still had residual feelings for the serpent. He was the father of her child. And the way he had ended things were so messed up. Plus he had said when she came back they could start all over. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen now.

“I get that you’re his girlfriend now. I mean, I never expected him to pick a Northsider over…” She stopped, seeing the hurt expression on Lavender’s face brought on a wave of guilt. “You really had no idea about me, did you?”

“No…” Lav said, her voice so soft that Lily almost didn’t hear it. “We never talked about past relationships. Look, I really need to go. Can you just give these to him for me?” She asked, motioning towards the carton of cigarettes in her lap.

“When did you start dating?” She asked, her tone serious.

“Three months ago but we hooked up the July before that….” Lav admitted, not wanting to withhold anything.

“July?” Lily asked and Lav sensed the anger in her voice. “I knew he was cheating on me. I knew it.” She hissed under her breath, not meaning for Lav to actually hear her.

Pain ripped through Lavender’s chest. He had still been in a relationship with Lily that night? She felt like she was going to throw up. She abruptly stood. “I-I’m sorry, I…” She didn’t know what she could say to make any of this better.

“I’m not blaming you.” Lily quickly said after a small sigh. “You didn’t know….How could you have known that I was about to give birth to his daughter? Of course he’s so fucking selfish he didn’t even say anything about it to either of us.”

Lav was holding back tears to the best of her ability. The thought of being the other woman, even for just one night, made her want to lock herself up and drink herself into oblivion. Really she only stayed away from the unhealthy coping mechanism when Sweet Pea was around. Right now, it didn’t seem as if he’d have time to be around for very long. He had a baby to take care of.

“I’m sorry,” She apologized again, really just having no idea how to handle this situation. She backed towards the door, reaching for the handle when it swung open. Sweet Pea was there, looking as tired as ever. A confused look crossed his face when he saw the tears threatening to fall from Lavender’s eyes.

“Shanna?” He asked, not knowing what Lily had done to make her upset...if she had done anything. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to apologize but.” She was too upset to be angry at anyone other than herself. “I need to go home. I got you some cigarettes...here.” She shoved them into his hands before nimbly squeezing past him and running off.

Sweet Pea looked down at the carton before looking up at Lily. “What did you do ?” He asked, his voice threatening to raise.

“You slept with her before you broke up with me.” Lily said, her voice low but angry. “You didn’t end things until August. You said, you said we could start over if I came back, Sweet Pea. You promised me that we would try for Daisy.”

He felt utterly lost. He had loved Lily so much but her leaving had him feeling so alone that he needed something . His dad had started his first stint in rehab and had been in and out since. He was so completely alone with no one to hold at night. Initially he had felt terrible about it but the guilt went away because in the end she had left him when she said she never would.

“You left, Lily. What did you expect?” He asked, his voice icy. “You abandoned me like everyone else did. How did you think I could continue to love you after that?” Her hand reared back and slapped him hard across the face, the sound bouncing off the walls of the trailer. And deep down he knew that he deserved nothing less.

Lavender returned to her trailer, attempting to put herself back together. She had truly wanted to work things out with Sweet Pea and didn’t have the strength to curse him to hell when she saw him. And the look on his face when he saw her. Past his confusion was definite regret. The softness of his eyes made her want nothing more than to be held by him. She wasn’t sure if that was ever going to happen now.

She eyed the bottle of rum on her kitchen counter and she knew that she should resist it’s calls. Did she really want to wake up with a hangover tomorrow? It seemed better than feeling heartbroken at his point.

As she reached for it, she heard a knock on her door. Lav let out a sigh of relief to have been stopped before she drowned herself yet again. She went to the door to see her boyfriend standing there, looking equal parts pissed off and broken down. His left cheek was bright red and starting to bruise and she knew that Lily must have hit him.

She said nothing as she opened the door for him and he walked in, hands clenched into fists. He was clearly agitated but not at her. That was evident enough in him not screaming at her when she opened the door. He saw the bottle of alcohol sitting out in the open and made a straight line to it.

Lav felt as if she were about to cry again, this time for him. Because like her, Sweet Pea also had a habit of hitting the bottle when he felt like the lowest of the low. Of course, she was still very much heart broken by his actions before but seeing him in pain was a whole new kind of ache. It was one that she found herself hating more.

“Wait,” She called out just as he grabbed the bottle by the neck. “Pea, can we talk first? I promise not to yell at you…” Her voice showed her weakness, but she didn’t really mind since he was the one hearing it.

Sweet Pea let out a tired sigh and nodded. He carried the bottle to the couch and sat down with a heavy thud, keeping the rum in hand as if in case of emergency. Lav gently sat down next to him, turned sideways on the seat to face him fully. “Can you just...explain to me what’s going on?”

“I fucked up.” Sweet Pea said, scowling at himself, “again.”

She knew his biggest fear right now was her leaving him. While she thought she had abandonment issues, his own were far worse. “Just tell me what happened.” She said, her voice gentle to show that her being upset wasn’t as important as what was going on with him currently.

“I loved her, you know? I didn’t mean for her to get pregnant.” Sweet Pea said, his voice extremely quiet. He very rarely opened up like this. And him doing it sober was a first. “Then she left. She left like everyone else leaves. And you’re probably going to leave too because I always mess everything up. I don’t know how to be a good boyfriend or baby daddy or whatever. I’m just a teenager. I just don’t know.”

Lav put a hand on his leg, moving closer to him as a few stray tears escaped her eyes. “I’m not leaving you. I just want to know everything. That’s it. I’m sorry I blew up on you the other day. I should have let you have a chance to explain. It seems that I don’t know how to be a good girlfriend either…”

He let out another sigh as he set the bottle down on the table in front of him and pulled her into his arms. He hated for anyone to see him like this, but he hated being alone even more.

He buried his face into her blonde roots and just breathed in the scent of her vanilla shampoo. Lav nuzzled her face into his chest, listening to him breathe. "I told her I'd try, Shanna. Before you. Before everything. I promised her."

Lavender squeezed her eyes shut, having no idea why she was going to say what she was about to. "If you have to," she couldn't even say it. "I understand, Sweet Pea. It's okay. I'll be okay."

That wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he appreciated her willingness all the same. "Can I stay here tonight? One last time?"

She couldn't stop the silent tears from coming and in truth she didn't want to. "Of course, Pea. One last time."

The next morning, Lavender awoke to find herself alone in her bed. The spot where Sweet Pea had slept the night before was still warm. She sighed softly, not having the emotional energy to even cry over the loss of their intimate relationship. Could they even function as friends? They weren’t friends before they started dating, so how could she expect them to be after? She had no idea what she was going to do without him by her side almost every night. Perhaps it was time to talk to Fangs again.

She called him over after attempting to shower the sadness off of her. She put on clean underwear and lounge-wear as she waited for him to come over. Fangs came crashing through the door like a puppy who had missed his owner, grinning at her and quickly making his way to the couch.

He stopped grinning when he saw the forlorn expression on her face. “What’s wrong, babe?” He asked, taking her hands into his.

“We broke up last night.” She muttered. “Because he...he promised Lily before we were together that they could start over when she returned.”

Fangs was frowning. While he loved both Lily and Sweet Pea, he had long since come to the conclusion that they were much better as friends and not as lovers. But, he also knew that Sweet Pea intended to keep any promise he had made if he could. And though he could tell his friend was visibly upset, he was surprised to not find her crying and drinking. Despite it being only ten AM.

“I wish I had told you, Lavie.” He said in a quiet voice, pulling her into his chest to try and soothe the heart he knew to be aching in her chest. “I’m so sorry. You deserved to know. I just thought...you were doing so well…”

“It’s okay, Fangs.” She mumbled, her voice muffled by his t-shirt. “You had made a promise too. I just...I just don’t know where to go from here. I mean, I thought that I might...you know…”

He pulled her away, looking over her flushing face. “That you might love him?”

She groaned, “please don’t say it out loud. It sounds so stupid.”

“No, it doesn’t.” He bit back, almost angrily. “It’s not stupid at all. Come on, let’s go to the quarry. It’s finally warm enough to swim!”

Lavender froze. She had many plaguing thoughts about wearing a bathing suit in front of others. While all her wounds had healed perfectly well, she still had long, thick bands of scar tissue across her thighs and stomach, with a few smaller ones on her chest. Sweet Pea was so far the only one she had let see them since she was able to shower alone and clothe herself. The thought of anyone else possibly seeing them made her sick to her stomach.

“I don’t feel like getting wet, I just took a shower.” She lied, hoping he wouldn’t call her on it. Unfortunately today was not a day that Fangs was feeling particularly intuitive.

He cocked his head to the side, “but you love to swim. It’ll cheer you up!”

“I don’t have a bathing suit that fits.” She lied again, hoping that maybe he’d either catch the hint or drop it. “My boobs got bigger over the winter and mine are all too small now.”

His eyes looked at her chest as if to examine it. If it were anyone else, she’d be offended, however it was him so she knew it was not meant to be explicitly lewd. “They look about the same to me. You can always wear a bra or something instead.”

Lavender wanted to hit him upside the head for being so dense. She knew he wasn't purposefully being obtuse but it was still grating her nerves. “Fangs. I don’t want to go swimming.” Her voice was a little more firm now in an attempt to get through to him.

A puppy-dog look crossed his face as he pouted at her. “But...Lavie...it’ll be fun…You can wear some of my trunks if you want?”

She let out a sigh of defeat, “alright. Bring me some with a drawstring so I can tie them tight otherwise they’ll just fall right off.” His pout was replaced with a broad smile as he all but cheered with success.

Fangs left but was back five minutes later with a pair of black swim trunks for her. He happily handed them over as she went into her room to change. She put on a purple bikini, which still fit perfectly fine, before putting on his pants. She then put on an old form-fitting T-shirt that kept all of her scar tissue covered.

As she looked herself over in the mirror, she frowned. She looked utterly ridiculous but it was better than exposing the truth. She didn’t want anyone to be reminded of that day back in early January.

She finally came out of the bedroom to see Fangs packing a bag of snacks and a cooler of beer for them. “Jones and Topaz are meeting us there. I hope that’s okay.” He said, his back turned to her.

“That’s fine…” Lav mumbled awkwardly. She had already forgiven them as well, and hoped that they’d help her forget about her ruined love life.

They made it to the quarry, the sun shining high above them. Toni and Jughead were on the small beach, clad in their swim gear already. They both gave Lavender strange looks at her attire. “My, uh...bikini doesn’t fit anymore.” She said, but the only one to catch the lie this time was Toni who gave her a worried look.

“Lily will be here in a few with Daisy.” Jughead said as he typed a message onto his phone. A panicked look crossed Lavender’s face.

“Jughead...why would you do that?” She asked as Toni elbowed him in the ribs. He looked up, appearing like a deer in headlights. It hadn’t really occurred to him how awkward it might be for her. Really he just wanted to hang out with her, having missed her all these months. It had almost been a full year since he’d seen her last.

Toni sighed, obviously aggravated by his lack of thought. “Lily is cool, Lavie. Don’t worry about her.”

Lavender tried not to think about their only interaction. Lily had called her a Northsider, reminiscent of Sweet Pea back before they were dating. It was an insult that she hated. She couldn’t help that she had grown up mostly on the Northside or that she didn’t dress like a typical Serpent. She enjoyed soft colors a bit too much and flannel looked terrible on her.

“Okay.” Lav forced herself to say as she plucked a can of beer out of the cooler Fangs had brought. “I guess meeting Sweet Pea’s daughter would be kind of cool.”

“That’s the spirit!” Fangs said cheerfully as he stripped off his shirt. “Let’s go!”

He attempted to pull her into the water. “Fangs! I’m trying to drink, I’ll join you in a minute!” She pleaded with him, trying her best not to spill any PBR in the process.

“Oh fine, you have five minutes so you better chug it or I’m throwing you in.” He let her go, shaking his head before him and Toni raced to the water.

Jughead was quiet. “You broke up with him.” He said, his voice low so that the others wouldn’t hear. “So he could be with Lily….”

“Yea.” Lav replied as she took a gulp from the can.

"I know why you're wearing that ridiculous get-up, Lavie." He mumbled to her. "You don't have to hide it from us. I'm sure they're barely noticeable."

She frowned, refusing to look at him. "I didn't want to come at all. This was a compromise with Fangs. He was too dumb to figure it out."

Jughead grabbed a beer for himself and sat down, motioning her to join him. She sat down next to him on the makeshift log bench. "Figures. At least his heart is in the right place."

They watched Toni and Fangs splash one another. "How are you holding up, really?" He finally asked.

She opened her mouth to answer when she saw Sweet Pea, Lily, and Daisy approaching, she quickly shut it. "Don't worry about it." She said, throwing her head back to finish off the beer in her hand.

Jughead frowned, wanting her to open up but also knowing that she wouldn't now. Who knows if she ever would. He knew that the progress she had made was about to backslide thanks to her and Sweet Pea no longer being together. Despite the rocky beginning, they truly were good for one another.

He wanted to say something encouraging, but failed at the sight of Lily. This did not go unnoticed by Lavender who was sure to bring it up later.

Sweet Pea wouldn’t look at her. He was carrying Daisy, who at nine months looked exactly like him. Lavender wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to stand the sight. Her chest was so heavy that she was worried that she’d sink when she got into the water. If she got into the water.

Lily gave her a strange look. “Are those Fangs’?” She asked, nodding her head towards the trunks Lav was wearing. It wasn’t mean spirited, rather just honest curiosity.

“Yea. My bikini is too small so I asked to borrow his shorts.” Lavender said, her tone even and not bearing any ill will. The atmosphere surrounding them was completely uncomfortable and Lav had no idea what to say.

“Jug, can I talk to her alone for a minute?” Lily asked, her voice gentle and there was a small smile on  her face. Jughead nodded and stood, patting Lav on the back briefly before walking closer to the shoreline.

Sweet Pea glanced at the two of them, wanting to listen to whatever Lily had to say but also knowing she’d probably yell at him if he did. He begrudgingly moved towards the water with his very excited little girl.

Lily waited until both boys were out of earshot. She turned and looked at Lavender who was toeing the dirt with the tip of her shoe. “Thank you.” Lily said, her voice genuine. “You didn’t have to break up with him.”

Lavender couldn’t help the hurt sigh that left her, “Yes I did. He made a promise and I wanted him to keep it.”

“I mean, you didn’t have to because I’m not taking him back.” Lily said. She wasn't hostile but there was anger hidden somewhere in her tone. Lavender mistook it to be directed towards her when it was truthfully towards Sweet Pea. “He cheated on me. And to be honest, I can’t be sure that he won’t do it again.”

“You left him.” Lavender said back, jumping to his defense. “What did you expect?”

Lily’s gaze hardened. “I expected some common decency from the man who told me he loved me. What I didn’t expect is for him to stick his dick in someone else just because things between us got hard. All he had to do was talk to me. He could have broken it off first before pursuing other people.”

Lavender was sitting rigidly on the log, daring to look up at Lily. Her hazel eyes encapturing a mixture of rage and pain. But Lily wasn’t done. “I’m sorry for what the Ghoulies did to you, I am. But he can’t fix you. And it’s not fair to put that responsibility on him either. He needs to be a father to Daisy right now. That’s what’s important.”

She was speechless, unable to come up with anything to say in return. While Lily had a valid point, it hurt tremendously to hear it. Lavender stood and Lily backed up to give her space. “This was a mistake.” She said, obviously talking about coming to the quarry. She took a few steps before stopping and turning back towards Lily. “And for the record. You don’t know a single thing about me. So maybe you should stop assuming the type of relationship I had with Sweet Pea. That’s between us. Not you.”

She turned back, grabbing Fang’s keys from his pile of things and leaving. The only one to notice her departure was Sweet Pea, who failed to mask the pained expression on his face at the sight of her go.

-----------

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[talpup]

Light In the Darkness:68

Summary: Yami Sukehiro just wanted to join the Magic Knights and make his mentor proud.  He knew there would be trails.  He knew trouble would come his way.  Knew he would be faced with discrimination for being a foreigner and a peasant.  What he didn’t know.  Didn’t expect.  Was that literal Chaos would come his way.  That he and his mentor’s sister would be at the center of world ending trouble.  Or that he would fall in love with his mentor’s sister and face more than discrimination; but the jealously of Nozel Silva who loved the same woman he did.

Please remember this fic is rated mature and has warnings of violence, abuse, sexual tension, eventual sexual behavior, and other possible triggers.  For a full list of story tags please check the fics AO3 (link to that at the top of my tumblrs homepage).

Chapter 68

Teris had received Yami’s letter that he and Bronn had been placed under Mereoleona.  It said that he would be stationed with the southeast contingent that was being overseen by Commander Greywright.  She had been relieved to learn that Yami wasn’t being sent with the southwest.  Even though Julius was overseeing that division, it was considerably closer to the Spade Kingdom border.  Though that was probably why Yami had been sent to the southeast.

Teris had hoped to see Yami at least one more time before they set out; but that was not to be.  She found herself stupidly thinking that all of this was a sort of punishment for them going too far out in the woods on Yami’s birthday.  The memory of him pressing and rubbing against her was enough to make her blush.

“Tired already?”  Randall asked, looking over at her.

“What?” Teris turned an even deeper shade of red afraid the man could read where her thoughts had wandered.

“You’re flushed.”  Randall commented.

The Crimson Lion offered her a water skin.  He wondered if the scars she hid underneath her buttoned up blouse weren’t the only lingering markers of what she’d been through on the Summer Solstice.  Were two and a half months really enough time for one to fully recover their strength after such a thing?  Given that no one had ever been through such a thing, it was difficult to say what such a recovery looked like or how long it should take.

“Have something to drink.”  Randall urged, when Teris didn’t take the water skin.  “It’ll help keep you going till we can stop and rest.”

Rather than argue and deny she wasn’t tired, Teris took the skin and had a couple sips.  Handing it back she looked on ahead, wondering how far they were going to travel together till Captain Jax and Jamie’s teams broke from theirs.  She was grateful to have Jax and the Golden Dawns Captain present, even if it was only for a time. No doubt Nozel felt somewhat relieved as well.  It gave him someone to follow and ask questions of, until he began to feel more comfortable in his role as acting Captain.

Teris still couldn’t imagine what the King had been thinking.  Making Nozel an acting Captain and charging him with such responsibility. Was His Majesty angry with House Silva and this was his way at punishing them?  Our was he really that lacking in knowledge of what if meant to be a Magic Knights Captain, having never served himself? In any case Teris was determined to do her best to see Nozel succeed and knew Fuegoleon, Randall, and Zara would do the same.

Zara had proved invaluable.  Before they had headed out, Nozel had the Purple Orca draw a revised and correct map of the Diamond Kingdom which had then been magically copied and given to every Magic Knights Captain, the original filed away somewhere within Magic Investigations.  Teris had been proud of and happy for the man.  It was about time Zara got some of the recognition he deserved.  Zara had be grateful to her.  Thanking her on several occasion.  Which only made Teris uncomfortable.  Seeing her discomfort, Nozel had put a quick stop to it, snapping somewhat harshly at Zara.  As upset as Teris had been at Nozel for his stern words to Zara, she had been grateful that Zara’s verbal gratitude had ceased.

She was still worried about Yami.  He would be having to skirt the Witches Forest to get to the Diamond Kingdoms eastern border.  The first time Yami had entered the Witches Forest, he had made quite the disturbance and freed Vanessa.  If the witches learned of his presence so near their territory would they try to seek revenge? Teris shook her head trying to clear her mind of such thoughts. Worrying about things that may never happen and she had no control over wouldn’t serve any purpose.

Teris reached the rest of the group.  They had paused at a sheer ten hundred-thousand meter drop.

Jamie looked over to Nozel.  “Well done acting Captain.  Your man has led us to a cliff.”

“We have a number of mages that can get us down.”  Jax calmed.  “The least of which is you.  Go on, Jamie.  Create a rope that we can use to climb down.”

Jaime turned to Jax.  “We were instructed not to use our magic unless necessary.  Doing so will attract attention and lessen our chances of success.  Never mind that this is war.  Our mana stores need to--”

“I was at the meeting and heard Sir Jorah same as you.”  Jax cut in over the other man.  Looking out over the expanse, he muttered under his breath.  “Idiot.”

“I heard that.”  Jamie snapped, voice tight with pent up aggression.

“This mission is a necessary task, is it not?”  Jax questioned the Golden Dawns Captain.  “And continuing on our way is necessary in order to complete our mission, yes?  Therefore, is not getting down this cliff necessary to continuing on our way and completing said mission?”

“I get what you’re saying.”  Jamie gritted.

“Good. I was worried I’d have to write it out.”  Jax said, with exaggerated relief.

“What is it Zara?”  Teris asked, seeing the Purple Orca looking pensive.

“There is a way down.  It’s just that it’s hidden from up here.”  Zara said.

Jamie slapped his thigh in exasperation.  “Why didn’t you say so? Nozel, if you want to be a good Captain, you should instruct your people to offer up important information before it’s argued out.”

“He would have if you’d but quit your whining long enough to give him the chance.”  Teris snipped.

Nozel’s eyes snapped to her, widening slightly.  Jamie and Jax blinked.

Jamie took a couple steps her way.  “Why you little—I’ll teach you how to properly speak to a Magic Knights Captain.”

Nozel stepped in front of Teris, chin slightly raised.

“Move. Or be moved.”  Jamie commanded.

“She’s one of mine.”  Nozel said with quiet, fiercely contained control. “If anyone will be instructing her.  It will be me.”

“Then I suggest you do so, acting Captain.”  Jamie glanced back at Jax.  “You got a lot of bad behavior to break her out of in a short amount of time.”  He raised a warning finger at Nozel.  “She disrespects me again and I’ll go through you to teach her a lesson she won’t soon forget.  Understand me.”

Nozel stared without word or expression.  He was good at that.  You could say it was one of the things the Silva’s were known for.  Like the Vermilion's red hair and pointed incisors or the Silva’s silver hair.  The Silva’s all seemed to be capable of staring without blinking.

“Jamie. Stand down.  He gets it.”  Jax said, watching them closely.

Jamie turned to the Black Bulls Captain.  “You got a bold, mouthy one there, Jax.”  He said of Teris.  “Make sure you remind her of the same when she’s returned to you.  Vice Captain or not I will not be disparaged.”

“I suppose you get enough of that from your wife and fellows.”  Jax taunted.

“Hurry up and show us the way down, peasant.”  Jamie ordered Zara.

Nozel didn’t have to see Teris’ expression to know that she was going to comment on the commoners behalf.  “Don’t.”  Nozel silenced in a harsh whisper.  He turned his head and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.  “Don’t.  You.  Dare.”

Teris looked at Nozel, a range of emotions playing on her face before finally settling on one he had seen directed at him all too often. Nozel sighed, resigned to Teris’ accustomed anger.  Still he continued to stared at her, blue eyes shining with hard judging coldness.

As often as Teris had seen that look in Nozel’s eyes, it had rarely ever been directed at her.  Biting as Nozel’s words could be when he chastised her, he rarely looked at her with with anything but… Teris’ stomach curled in on itself.  Despite the uncomfortable nervousness his piercing gaze cause, she stared back, refusing to be the first to look away.

Nozel watched her without blinking.  He’d be damned if he let this go without Teris submitting to his authority.  Tired and on edge as they all were, they were behind enemy lines.  Traversing the border of two unfriendly kingdoms, one of which they were at war with.  Teris needed to know her place here and now.  Nozel had to make certain she would obey and comply with his commands without challenging him. Lives were at stake.

As annoying as Randall sometimes found Teris’ words and actions to be, he was a noble and a gentleman.  Seeing a lady being handled so roughly, even by a mere gaze, made him want to intervene.  He opened his mouth to say something, anything, that would call attention to himself and away from Teris.  Fuegoleon gripped Randall’s shoulder and shook his head.  The Vermillion knew what Nozel was doing and why.  Fuegoleon was likely one of the few, if not only one, who knew how much Nozel hated having to do this.  Much as Fuegoleon didn’t like it himself, he was proud at his friend and acting Captain for stepping up and doing what had to be done no matter how difficult it was.

Teris could feel the eyes of everyone on her.  She knew what Julius and Jax would say.  What they both would want and expect of her.  She imagined Jax’s expression as he watched, standing not too far behind Nozel.  Releasing a breath she lowered her gaze.

“Captain.” Teris said, softly submitting.

Nozel turned away without word least Teris or anyone else see his relief. Taking a step, he looked over the cliff edge and instructed.  “Zara, show us the way.”

Once down, they made three separate small camps a thousand or so meters apart from each other.  Fuegoleon watched Teris chew on rations. They had enough to last them months, the small charmed bag that held them, both preserving and making them small enough to fit until pulled out, reverting back to regular size.  It had something to do with bending space that Fuegoleon cared little about.

Teris hadn’t spoken since the clifftop.  And Nozel seemed content to give Teris her space and let her sulk.  Fuegoleon knew his cousin better. While time and space may have worked under different circumstances, it wasn’t going to work in this instance.  Teris wasn’t the most prideful person he knew; but she certainly was one of the most stubborn.  And she never liked being told what to do or put in her place; usually harboring a grudge against anyone who dared to do so.

Since it had been Nozel who had put her in her place, the shock and ill feelings Teris had would likely fester if simply left.  In Fuegoleon’s mind, Nozel had been too lenient with Teris in the past, both as a friend and her Intended.  He figured Teris had probably come to expect that she would always get her way with Nozel and that Nozel would let her without putting up much of a fight.  Not only would that not work under these circumstances; it wouldn’t work later when they were wed.  Nozel had only weakened himself and his authority in letting Teris always have her way.  Something that Fuegoleon knew his friend would eventually have to rectify, dealing with the consequences of his leniency in Teris’ anger and unwillingness to obey.  If any good could be said from Nozel being made acting Captain, it was bringing this issue to a head and forcing the two to deal with it.

Fuegoleon got to his feet, disgusted with the both of them.  With Nozel for his lacking in being the strong authority he needed to be with Teris. And with Teris for being a spoiled child who knew her place but refused to accept it.

Hearing footsteps Fuegoleon cursed.  Zara was out placing traps and keeping watch as the rest of their small group recouped from the days long trek and ate.  It didn’t matter how well Zara knew the terrain if he was inept enough to let someone by him, Fuegoleon thought.

“It’s Jax.  Relax.”  Jax said.

Nozel looked up from the map he was pretending to study.  He already knew every line and curve of it without looking; but had needed something to look at and appear busy with.

The Black Bulls Captain saw Teris and Nozel sitting as far away from each other as they possibly could while still being considered part of the same camp.  He sighed.  He had been right in coming.  Nozel was too proud and too easy on Teris.  Yami wouldn’t have stood for it.  Jax remembered when he had given Yami the lead on a mission when the young man had been avoiding Teris.  Other than Iban using his magic on Teris, and Yami taking to Iban for it, the mission had been a success.  Yami and Teris putting aside their differences to work together.  But Nozel wasn’t Yami.  The royal was harsh and demanding in a completely different way.  A way that always seemed to rub Teris the wrong way.

“Captain Nozel.”  Jax said, choosing to use the title to further cement the mans place in everyone's mind.  “May I speak with Teris for a moment?”

Nozel looked at Jax wondering why her rightful Captain even bothered to asked.  Wasn’t Jax suppose to be some ruffian that went his own way?  Not caring what others thought or wanted?  He realized the Black Bulls Captain was attempting to assist him by showing him respect.  It surprised Nozel.  Everything he had heard and thought of Captain Jax had led him to believe the man incapable of such tact. Nozel nodded his assent, looking at the Captain with fresh eyes.

“Thank you.”  Jax said.  He looked down at Teris and tilted his head. “Let’s go.”

Teris look up at him, hesitating.  She had only ever feared Jax once or twice before.  His quiet, simmering anger much more frightening than Bronn’s explosive outbursts and threats that she knew the Vice Captain would never carry out on her.

“I’m not gonna tell you twice.”  Jax rumbled.

Teris quickly got to her feet and followed her Captain, a pace or two behind.

Jax stopped once they were a few yards away.  He didn’t mind that the others could still see them and were likely watching.  So long as they couldn’t hear.

Teris waited, nervousness growing the longer Jax kept his back to her. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore and broke.  “I’m sorry. I know I never should have challenged Nozel like--”

“Captain.”

“Pardon?”

“Captain Nozel.”  Jax corrected.

“Captain Nozel.”  Teris repeated, morosely.  “It was wrong and stupid. Not the least because of where we are and what we’re facing.”

“And?” Jax prompted, looking over his shoulder at her.

“And?” Teris echoed, trying to figure out what more he wanted. Tentatively, she offered.  “I’m sorry about what I said to Captain Jamie.”

“Who cares about that ass?”  Jax turned to her and pointed.  “Don’t do that again though.  Not till you’ve been made Vice Captain. Can’t really defend you before then if Jamie decides to make a fuss.”

“And after then?”  Teris questioned, a teasing lit to her voice.

Jax tried not to roll his neck, knowing the others watching.  She and Yami really were made for each other.  And he was either a fool or a glutton for wanting the both of them to be his Vice Captain's.  Sure he was upset with Teris for challenging the Captain she was temporarily serving under, especially after Nozel had so readily shielded her from Jamie’s wrath.  Whether it was because Nozel had been being a good Captain or acting as Teris’ Intended, Jax didn’t know.  Nor did he care.  What mattered was that he hadn’t had to step in which would have only weakened Nozel’s position as acting Captain in everyone's eyes.

“Teris.” Jax sighed, closing tired eyes.

“What? Tell me what you want and I’ll do it.  I know the situation we’re in.  I know what I have to do.”

“Do you?  Cause earlier it certainly didn’t seem like it.”

Teris hammered the toe of her boot into the ground and mumble.  “So it took me a while.  But I got there eventually, didn’t I?”

“Eventually isn’t good enough and you know that.  When out in the field compliance and submission needs to be instantaneous.  Lives are on the line.  Soon our teams will be separating.  What happens then? Can I trust you to act and obey Nozel as you would me or Julius?  To treat and respect him as your Captain?  Cause that’s what he is. Forget the words temporary or acting.  Nozel Silva is your Captain.”

Fully chastised, Teris lowered her head and muttered.  “I said I was sorry.”

“Not to the right person.”

Teris’ head snapped up.  “You want me to apologize to him!”  She shook her head.  “I can’t.”

“You can and you will.”  Jax told.  “Along with the promise to listen and obey him in all things without challenge from here on out. Consider it an order from me if you must.”

“But you’re not my Captain right now.”  Teris argued, instantly regretting her words.

Jax stared down at her.  His eyes flashed dangerously.  “Is that the way you want to play this?”

Teris shook her head again.  “No, Sir.”

Jax sighed, thinking of how much Yami had rubbed off on her.  He only hoped Teris’ better habits had consequently rubbed off on Yami. “Good night then.”

“Captain.” Teris called.

Jax looked back at her.

“I really am sorry.”  Teris said.

Jax gave her a small smile.  “I know.  Just make sure he knows it too.”

Teris headed back to where she had set her pack.  While Fuegoleon and Randall had brought something to lay on, she had kept it simple.  No fabric was going to make the ground any softer anyway.  The pack carrying a couple changes of underwear and another change of clothes suited well enough as a pillow.  Having so little to carry allowed her to go on longer without tiring.  It certainly helped with the speed in which she prepared and repacked her space since all she did was drop the bag off her shoulders and pick it back up.

Plopping back down near her pack, Teris picked up her rations and continued eating the tough, chewy, tasteless thing.  She would do as Jax said; but she wasn’t about to head straight to Nozel and do it now.  It wasn’t that she cared that they had seen Jax pull her aside and speak to her.  She knew they knew what it had been about.  They probably figured her Captain had scolded her about the way she had spoken to Jamie too.  Then again they may not have, given how little they thought of and regarded Jax and the Black Bulls in general.

No, she didn’t head straight to Nozel because she wasn’t ready. Teris had known she had to apologize to Nozel before Jax had ever come.  Though her stubbornness likely would've kept her from doing so if her Captain hadn’t ordered her to.  Teris wanted the apology to at least sound somewhat repentful and knew she wouldn't be able to convey that right now.  Moreover she had no idea what she was going to say.  I’m sorry those in the hierarchy are such stupid, rude asses that get under my skin when they mistreat decent, upstanding people who in every aspect but social are better than them.  Teris didn’t think that would suffice.

Zara returned from setting the traps.  “All done, Captain.  Anyone or thing wanders over here will have a nasty surprise.

“We’re not talking bugs or small mammals.  Are we?”  Randall asked, thinking that would be tiresome.

“Anything the size of an child or larger.”  Zara answered.

“Child?” Randall repeated.

“The Diamond Kingdom often takes young promising children and begins training them to become Magic Warriors.”  Fuegoleon told.

“Takes? From their parents and homes?”  Randall asked, disturbed.

Fuegoleon nodded.

Randall made a face at that.  “Still doesn’t explain why a trap is needed for something their size.”

“They use and send them out in much the same way as Sentries.”  Teris answered, Julius having once told her.

Nozel looked over the top map and across the camp at Teris.  He found Teris looking at him and almost looked back down, but forced himself to hold her gaze.  Teris’ shoulders tightened.  But she gave in and lowered her eyes.  Jax was right.  If she didn’t get a handle on this it was goes to spell trouble and possibly cost one or more of them their lives.  She ground the heel of her boot into the earth more angry at herself than anyone else.

Why was it so difficult to respect and submit to him, she wondered. Acting or not, Nozel was her Captain.  That alone should have made her capable of obedience, even if it was distasteful.  Much as she didn’t respect the social hierarchy, she respected the Magic Knight Captain's.  Even Captain's like Jamie and Pyter; all be it not as readily as some of the others.  So why was she having so much trouble with thinking of and treating Nozel with the deference due to him as her missions Captain?  Because you grew up with and know him so well, her mind offered.  No.  That wasn’t it.  Because as your Intended, respect and obedience toward him was already expected.  Yeah.  That sounded more like it.  She was afraid that if she submitted to Nozel here and now then he would come to expect the same from her in other areas of their relationship.  Are you also afraid that obedience and deference will become habit?  Teris scoffed at her own thought. Yeah, that was never going to happen.

Feeling tired and energized all at once, Teris called to Nozel.  “Captain.”

Nozel looked up from the map no one believed he was truly studying.

“May I have first watch?”  Teris asked.

“Wake Randall in an hour and a half.”  Nozel allowed.

“Thanks.” Teris got to her feet, brushing off her pants.

“The traps start ten meters out.”  Zara called to her.

Teris gave him a nod.  Last thing she needed to do was get caught in one of his traps.  That would be embarrassing.  It’d certainly complete her shame for the day.

Making her way out as far as she dared, Teris wrapped her cloak tightly around her.  Fuegoleon had super heated a mass of stones to protect them from the cold of the night.  But away from their warmth, the constant wind bit and made her shiver.  While Teris usually preferred it colder than most given how hot she naturally ran; once passed a certain point, the cold effected her worse than others.  She found herself regretting that she had asked for first shift.  Then realized that it would only get colder as the night went on and was grateful.

Was it always this windy in the Diamond Kingdom?  Or were they still that high up despite their long descent?  She heard footsteps coming her way from the camp.

Thinking it was Fuegoleon, she told.  “You should get some sleep.”

“I don’t sleep much while out on missions.”  Nozel responded.  He offered her a cup of tea.  “Here.”

“Thanks.” Teris took the steaming mug, cupping it close to her chest, relishing the warmth.

Nozel watched her a moment.  “You alright?”

Teris turned to him.  “What’s that?”

“The cold.  Are you alight?”

“I’m fine.”  Teris assured, trying not to shiver.

Nozel fought the urge to give her his cloak, wondering if that was a Captain like thing to do.  He hated this.  Being caught between the many things he was to her.  As if being her friend and Intended who loved her wasn’t challenging enough.  And to top it off, she now knew of his feelings for her.  His kiss had bared himself open to her.  And Teris wounded him far deeper than any bitten lip.  The pain of that hidden wound still hadn’t healed.  It ripped open every time he relived her rejection in his mind.  Every time he thought of her choosing some ill-bred, uncivilized, filthy foreigner over him. Every time he touched her and she pulled away.  Or any other countless instances.  It was a wound that would never scar because it would never heal.

“Nozel.” Teris growled at herself.  “Captain.  I’m sorry.  There’s no excuse for my earlier behavior.  It was unbecoming and won’t happen again.  I promise.”

Nozel stared at her, waiting for her to give some deflective reasoning or excuse despite her having said there was no excuse.  When it didn’t come, he realized she was fully serious and making a concerted effort.  Her willingness to take full responsibility without excuse was proof that she was seriously contrite and trying to rectify it, and not make the same mistake again.  As badly as he wanted to tell her not to worry about it, he knew that was him and not his rank talking.

Still, Nozel forgave too easily.  “It’s in the past.  Just make sure it stays there.”

“Yes, Sir.”  Teris said, angry at herself for bristling slightly when he didn’t down play her actions.

Having that done and out of the way, they both relaxed.  Being a Magic Knights Captain was difficult and tiring; but being Teris’ Captain was difficult, tiring, and confusing.  It left Nozel questioning himself; something he wasn’t accustomed to doing and knew he shouldn’t be doing at this time and place.

“I think I will try to get some sleep.”  Nozel said, thinking it best to leave her to her duties.

“I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself.  Thanks for the tea, Captain.”

Nozel gave a small huff.  This was so unexpected and new for all of them. He wondered if they’d manage to get use to it before it was over.

68.2

Just because the sun went down didn’t mean the fighting stopped; even though Bronn wished to mana that it would.  This was their third battle in two days, and the longest one at that.  Bronn had no time to envy Jax.  Or curse his Captain for not taking him.  He didn’t have time to hate his Captain for leaving him under the fiery Lioness who fought harder and fiercer than anyone, and expected the same of those serving under her.

As much as Bronn hated to admit it, Mereoleona scared him we she got like this.  It was one of the main reasons he had come to fancy her in the first place.  But all of that was in the past.  His long held feelings for Mereoleona had ended as his feelings for Gilly had grown.  Now he loved his betrothed so much that he listened and obeyed her better than he listened to and obeyed Jax.

Bronn had always figured the sweet, tender ones wouldn’t do it for him. Thinking that he needed someone that scared him a little from time to time to get the job done.  Turns out he just hadn’t met the right sweet one.  He didn’t need to fear Gilly to want to please her over himself.  His fear of her disappointment was enough if ever he wanted to go his own way or do his own thing.

He’d certainly disappoint Gilly if he died out here.  Which was the main reason why Bronn had contented himself to following Yami about, playing support to the younger mans aggressive lead.  Problem was, on the battlefield Yami scared him almost as much as Mereoleona did. Even without his little Black Sheep, the Lord of Destruction was destructive.  After going on like that during the first two battles, Bronn had thought Yami would slow.  But the little shit didn’t. Instead, Yami was just as energetic and deadly as he had been at the start.  Bronn chalked it up to youth.

Anyone who looked at Yami and Bronn probably thought they were similar type of men.  And much as Bronn hated to admit it, there were a few similarities.  That said, the two had some rather stark differences. And it was those differences, not similarities that made them clash and hate each other.  While neither were men of typical honor so to speak.  Yami was a man of principle.  Where as Bronn’s standards changed depending on too many variables to count.  It was true that both men didn’t respect much.  But once Yami’s respect was earned, it was like an unmovable wall that would take something cataclysmic to shake and tear down.  Bronn on the other hand had to have his trust and respect constantly earned.  Even with Jax.  It was why Bronn constantly challenged his friend and Captain, subconsciously checking for weakness.

And maybe the biggest difference, or at least the one that bothered Bronn the most, was that Yami had absolutely no shame.  As much as Bronn acted as if he didn’t care, and wanted people to believe that he didn’t.  Bronn cared very much about his image.  Unless you were one of the few that Yami Sukehiro truly cared about, the younger man didn’t give a rats ass what you thought about him.  Even if you were one of the few he cared for, chances are Yami wasn’t going to change.  Yami didn’t care.  You could find him in any situation, no matter how compromising, and Yami would shrug it off and continue on without blush or care.  Bronn would've given almost anything to be someone like Yami with literally no shame or care of what others thought.  Not that he’d ever admit it.  Bronn would rather kill himself than let his envy of the little shit be discovered.

“Yami!” Bronn yelled.  “You’re crossing too far into their line.”

“What’s the matter old man?  Can’t keep up?”  Yami taunted, sending out a dark cloaked slash before the enemy could get their spell off.

Bronn used his magic to transport Yami back to his side.  “No, you idiot! I’m not blind.  Nor do I want to die on this cursed, barren foreign land.  Open your damn eyes!”

Bronn’s hand swung sharply.  He fully expected to miss Yami’s head, accustomed to Yami ducking away.  So when Bronn actually hit him, he felt a moment of cruel satisfaction.  Then quickly realized what it meant.  Yami was more tired than he appeared.  Bronn ignored that fact because they were at war and all of them were tired despite it only having been two days.

The Vice Captain gestured to the Magic Warriors.  “They’re baiting you, you fool.  Looking to draw you in so they can surround you and be done with you.”

“They can try.”  Yami said, staring at the three Magic Warriors he had been pursuing.

Bronn slapped at Yami’s head again, figuring it would connect and maybe, if he were lucky, knock some sense into the younger man.

Yami ducked out of the way.  Looking at the Vice Captain, he told.  “You got the first one for free.  So what do you want to do?  Turn tail and run?”

“Watch yourself, boy.  I’ll whip your tail raw.”  Bronn saw the three Magic Warriors turn and slowly make their way back to resume the fight.  “They’re coming back for more.  Hold this line and go no further unless I tell you.”

“I’m not all that good at listening to you.”  Yami said, fingers opening and closing along the hilt of his katana in effort to relax the muscles in his hand.

“Don’t I know it.”  Bronn grumbled.  He pointed at him.  “You go five meters further and I bring you back.  Don’t make me go wasting mana or I’ll kick your ass.”

“It must kill you.  Having to look after me like this.”  Yami said, eyes on his foe.

“More than you know.”  Bronn said, readying his own magic.

“Yeah, well I don’t like it much either.”  Yami growled.  “I can take care of myself.  Was doing so long before Julius found me.”

“And tell me smart ass.  How many lunatic zealots and gangs of hired killers were after you back then?”  When Yami didn’t reply, Bronn sniffed.  “Didn’t think so.  Just know this is all your fault.  I wouldn’t be stuck babysitting.  And you wouldn't be in danger if you had listened to me.  I told you from day one to stay away from that royal girl.”

“Again. I don’t listen to you all that well.”  Yami said.

Bronn growled, hand lifting to smack him again.  Instead of making the futile move, he barked.  “Hurry up and take the smaller two.  I’ll take the big one.”

“I want the big one.”  Yami said.

Bronn glared.  “I’ll transport you back to Castle City if you don’t obey me, boy.”  He caught sight of one the eight Shining Generals headed their way.  “Better yet, you take those three.”  He said, right before stepping through a portal.  He fell through another that opened directly over the General.

Yami took in the three Magic Warriors that stalked closer.  They looked as tired as he felt.  Still, he had something they didn’t.  A driving need for revenge.  “You guys know where I can find a Magic Warrior named Lotus Whomalt? Uses smoke magic.  Black hair.  Goatee.  Annoyingly talkative and lazy.”

Two of the Magic Warriors looked at each other wondering if this was some sort of tactic.

Yami pointed at the third.  “You.  I can tell you know exactly who I’m talking about.  Where is he?”

“He’s serving under Commander Fanzell.” The Magic Warrior answered.

“And where is this Commander Fanzell?”  Yami questioned.

“He’s--” The Mage turned to point.

The other two Magic Warriors also turned, looking in the direction Commander Fanzell’s squad was posted.  Yami struck out at them, slicing the two down.  Before the third could react, he charged. Turning his katana so the blunt end faced out, he sent out another slash.  This one not fatal.  It hit the Magic Warrior in the chest and sent him flying.

Yami lept, landing on the Magic Warrior just as the Mage hit the ground.   “Point again. Wasn’t paying attention the first time.”

Hand shaking, the Magic Warrior pointed.

“Arigatou.” Yami made a fist and punched him, knocking him out.  If he saw the Mage again he’d kill him.  But it seemed rude to do so when the man had been of help. He stood and looked over to see Bronn battling some burly man with a really hairy chest.

“You good?”  Yami called to the Vice Captain.

“What do you think!”  Bronn huffed, struggling against the equivalent of a Magic Knights Captain.  On top of that the General was still fresh, having not participated in the first two battles.

“Good. I’m going over there.”  Yami pointed.

“The hell you are!”  Bronn barked. “Yami.  Yami!”  He glanced back seeing Yami already making his way.  Then cursed and lept through a portal, barely missing having his head skewered.

The General gave a bellowing laughed.  “Your friend’s a fool.”

“Not my friend.  Though he is a fool.”  Bronn glanced at Yami.  The idiot was fighting his way deeper into the Diamond Kingdoms line.

The General laughed again.  “My men are fond of ridding the world of fools.  As we speak, they gather to rid the Clover Kingdom of yet another of their beloved Magic Knights.”

Bronn scanned the area Yami was entering, seeing that the General was right.  Yami’s presence so far into their line hadn’t gone unnoticed and the Magic Warriors were all but licking their chops as they waited just a few more seconds before the order came to pounce.

“Damn it.  I’m getting too old for this.”  Bronn cursed.

Mereoleona landed behind him.  “I agree.  You had one job.  And you couldn’t even do that.”

“You try to control that bastard brat!”  Bronn snapped.

“Fine then.  I was going to send you and take over here but--” Mereoleona lept away in Yami’s direction.  “Good luck.”

The General watched Mereoleona go, insulted. “You Magic Knights must think so little of us to jest so freely.”  He pulled more red ochre up from the earth.  “I’ll rectify that and teach you what a Magic Warrior General is really capable of.”

“Oh, no.”  Bronn assured.  “She wasn’t joking.  She just hates me that much.  I assure you.  There’s no need to go all out and show me anything.  I know you’re scary.”

“Ha!” The General laughed.  “Even the thought of my full power--”

The Shining General fell over.  Bronn felt more of his mana drain away at having portaled three powerful magical attacks from elsewhere on the battlefield, directing them at the Shining General.  The man had been able to sense his portals when they were close; but clearly when opened from a distance that sense was useless.  The General never expected one, let alone three attacks to come at him from behind.  No doubt there would be hell to pay for those Magic Warriors once the General regained consciousness.  Right now, Bronn had some of his own hell to dish out.

Mereoleona landed facing Yami, sending out a blast of fire in a hundred and eighty degree arc behind her.  “What the hell do you think you’re doing! Get back to the line.”  At Yami’s determined expression, Mereoleona’s snapping tone became dangerous.  “I swear, if you challenge me it’ll be the last thing you do.”

Yami growled but did as he was commanded.

“Bunch of Black Bulls idiots.”  Mereoleona muttered.

Seeing Yami strolling sedately back, the Crimson Lions Captain created a fiery lion.  It picked Yami up by the scruff of the neck and raced back behind their lines.

Yami cursed and kicked, swiping his katana at the thing the entire way. It dropped him in front of Tobin as if to tell the other Black Bull that Yami was his problem now.

“It’s a magical creation.”  Tobin said, looking down at his friend.  “You weren’t gonna harm it without cloaking your blade.”

“And have that She-Lion make it snap my neck.  I think not.”  Yami huffed.

“You got a way of pissing people off.”  Tobin remarked.

“I was just going after that coward Whomalt.”  Yami told.

“Don’t know who that is.  Nor do care.”  Tobin said. “You got to learn to obey orders or you won’t live to be promoted to Vice Captain, let alone see Teris again.”

Yami rubbed the back of his neck.  He hoped Teris was having an easier time of it than he was.  In all honesty, Yami was struggling.  This was only the second day; but he already felt at his wits ends. Unlike a battle, the process of war was slow and tedious.

He understood they were meant to be a distraction.  But if they didn’t press harder, the enemy would figure out something was up.  Not to mention the lives that would be lost for nothing.  Still, he did have to do better at following commands; no matter how stupid they were. If he didn’t obey, Mereoleona would put at the back of the line. Then he really would be struggling.  He wouldn’t be able to bare having to stay back and watch while others fought.

Still seated on the ground, Yami looked up at Tobin.  “Why are you back here?”

“Captain Heath is cycling us after a certain time no matter what.”  Tobin answered.

Yami huffed.  “That’s stupid.”

“Actually, I thought it pretty reasonable and smart.”  Tobin said.

Yami leaned forward, forearms on his knees.  “So you cycle through no matter what?  Even if you’re close to knocking or taking out whoever you’re fighting?”

Tobin nodded.  Leave it to Yami to bring up the one point he hadn’t liked about it all.

“Like I said.  Stupid.”  Yami remarked.

“Talking about yourself.”  Bronn snapped, kicking at Yami.

Yami rolled out of the way and onto his knees.  He pushed to his feet. Bronn grabbed him by the back of the neck.  Yami tolerated it, knowing it would go much worse for him if he ducked away this time.

Yami smirked seeing how high Bronn had to reach to grasp him.  His latest grow spurt had seen him taller than the Vice Captain by a good couple of inches.

Seeing Yami’s smug grin, Bronn squeezed harder, pushing him down.  He hated how the little bastard still looked defiantly up at him.  Once, just once Bronn wanted to give Yami Sukehiro a real lesson.

“Bronn! Let him go!”  Mereoleona commanded.

Bronn gave all he had into one last squeeze before doing as ordered.

“You.” She pointed at Tobin.  “Get back out there.”

“But it’s not my turn.”  Tobin said.

“Are all you Black Bulls incapable of following simple commands!” Mereoleona demanded.  “Get back out there!”

Tobin did as he was told, vowing that he wasn’t going to be the one to get into trouble with Captain Heath over this.

Mereoleona turned to Bronn.  “You too.”

“I used nearly all I had--”

“Nearly.” Mereoleona cut in.  “Come back when you’ve used it all.”

Bronn sneered at Yami before heading back to the front of the line.

“What am I going to do with you?”  Mereoleona asked Yami.  “I can see why Jax and Julius like you.  But you’re certainly not one of mine. You’re difficult.  Unpredictable.  And will endanger lives if you go on like this.  I can’t have that.”

“I--”

“Shut up!’  Mereoleona snarled.

Yami clamped his mouth shut knowing what was coming.  But if he argued his case it would only further Mereoleona’s belief that she was right.

“You’re to stay back here until I say otherwise.  Give the others rations. Drink.  Anything they need.  I see you out there before I tell you to go and I’ll send you back to Headquarters in disgrace.  You understand me.”

“Yes, sir.”  Yami grumbled.

Mereoleona softened the slightest bit.  As a fighter herself, she understood Yami’s desire to push harder and not just keep the line.  But those weren’t their orders.

“I don’t do this as punishment.”  She told.  “Not that you don’t deserve one.  I’m doing it for our benefit, including yours.  Learn this lesson quickly and prove to me you can obey.  Who knows, maybe in a day or two I’ll let you back out there.”

“A day or two!”  Yami exclaimed.

“You got a problem with that!”  Mereoleona barked.  What was it with these damned Black Bulls challenging everything?

“Sir.” Yami growled his acceptance, having a very big problem with it.

68.3

Alowishus crumpled the parchment he had just deciphered and read.  He turned, scowling at the skull on the shelf behind his desk; as if it had created this mess that endangered all of his plans.  Looking away from the skull in disgust, Alowishus roared.  “Calen!”

“Master!” Calen entered in a rush ready for anything.  Seeing no threat he relaxed somewhat.  “Yes, Master?”

“Gather the Agents.  Call our nearest forces back.”  Alowishus ordered.

Calen bowed.  “Yes, Master.”

“Have someone else do it.  I want you right back.”  Alowishus told.

Calen bowed once more.  He exited and relayed his Master’s commands, noticing how some of the others looked at him.  Specifically Slade and Himmel who had grown increasingly jealous over his rise in their Master’s favor since Erskin’s death.  Not that Calen cared.  He lived to serve the Master.  Not make friends.  Reentering Alowishus’ private sanctuary, Calen bowed once more and waited, watching his Master pace.

“Those fools!”  Alowishus threw out a hand, a fast rolling black cloud left his fingertips.  It hit a wooden cabinet and the stone wall behind it.

Calen flinched as both turned to ash.  At the shift in weight, the stone above the missing section cracked.  The sound a loud echoing clap of thunder.

It was rare to see Alowishus use his true, natural magic.  The remnant of magic that remained in the anatomy he replaced via corpse magic offered him enough power that he rarely needed to.  There was also the fact that Alowishus’ death magic was an omega force that was both powerful and permanent.

If the wall and furniture had been a human, even one with a full mana cloak, they would’ve been reduced to the same pile of dust.  Just being around Alowishus while he was cloaked in mana would slowly wither and decay a person.  Calen had no idea how Julius Nova had managed to battle the Master for as long as he had without showing signs of ill effect.

“That prideful child of a King has declared war against the Diamond Kingdom.”  Alowishus explained, turning to Calen.  “And that weak fool Sir Jorah has done nothing to stop it.  Yami and Teris have been sent to war.  Our hope for the next existence is in danger.”

Calen blinked, horrified.  Unlike his predecessor, he was careful to show Alowishus’ wife the respect she was due, at least when in front of the Master.

Carefully, Calen questioned.  “Lady Ellara could not effect the King or Wizard King to change their minds or end their life?”

“You think she wouldn’t have done so if she had the chance?  I told her to be careful.  Not to take any unnecessary risks.  She must remain above suspicion.  Her being present to oversee the next steps leading up to Yami’s time are of vital importance.”

“But that means nothing if they die while fighting some war.”  Calen said, emotion getting the better of him.

“Which is why she took the risk to send a letter informing me.”  Alowishus said, dangerously.

Hearing his Master's temper, Calen lowered his head.  “Of course, Master. I meant no disrespect to the esteemed Lady Ellara.”

It would serve no purpose to become cross with the man, Alowishus thought.  He was a hard enough taskmaster as it was.  The promise he had sold these fools would see his own aims met.  But for that, he had to play the part.

“I know you didn’t.  The situation is a disturbing one.”  Alowishus said, truthfully.

“If I may ask, what do you plan to do?”

“Send teams to guard Yami and Teris from afar.  And pay a personal visit to King Morris.”

“But, Master!  The last time you and Morris King saw one another he said he would kill you on sight.”

Alowishus laughed bitterly.  “Do you truly believe Morris or anyone else on this earth is capable of killing Death?”

“N—no.” Calen answered, afraid he had insulted his Master.

“You show your care for me in worrying so.  But you also show how little you think of your Master.”

“Master! I would never--”

“It’s alright.  I will soon show you what Death is truly capable of.  And if Morris challenges me, then you will see a glimpse all the sooner.”

******PLEASE READ******Next chapter WARNING******

There is an assault scene next chapter with the intention of sexual assault and rape.   Neither sexual assault or rape happen but I know such things can be upsetting for people.  If anyone would like me to mark the scene so they can skip it please comment or message me.   Doing a format edit for this would take some time since my wp and ao3 don't speak the same language which is why I'm not doing it right off the bat (and all my updates happen there first).  But I have no problem doing it if someone needs me to.

Thank you to those who have left hearts.  And a special THANK YOU to those who have recently left comments or re-blogged. They really mean a lot.

Next chapter snippet:

Fuegoleon looked up at Beast refusing to be intimated.  The name, though not creative, suited the man.  Beast had to be nearly seven feet tall. He was built like a mountain, his muscles seeming to have muscles. Though Fuegoleon had seen a number of men who were bigger than Tobin Giantsbane and Yami Sukehiro, he had never seen a person that made the two Black Bulls seem small.  Till now.

#yami sukehiro #nozel silva #fuegoleon vermillion #mereoleona vermillion #zara ideale #randall luftair #Black Clover #light in the darkness

[hwallout]

sub rosa - bjy

“You’re always so full of yourself!” Although loud, your voice was barely different from a whine. The school corridor became an arena fast, numerous students gathering around in a circle to witness the sudden commotion. 

A weak finger strongly pushed against Jinyoung’s firm chest, almost creating an indent. It was a well-known fact that the two of you weren’t on the best of terms. Being the school’s best students, you were constantly playing a game of cat and dog with rotational roles.

That day, during one of the school’s debates, you were paired up with Jinyoung and fortunately given a pretty familiar topic. Just because of that, your team had a greater advantage and was a step ahead of the others. Of course, knowing just the right things to say and how to explain all of your arguments, you were ready to once again prove just who the top student was.

Only if it wasn’t for Jinyoung who didn’t let you breathe properly, let alone have a say in the debate.

The professor didn’t comment on it. She seemed to forget about your presence, completely captivated by the boy’s calculated words. He could only smirk and continue parading his neverending knowledge.

“Do you really think you’re that good? Just because the professors are head over heels for you, doesn’t mean you can exclude me like that!” Another confrontation was sent his way, and it was possible to hear gasps coming from all around the hall. There were tens of angered faces around you and it was obvious that all of Jinyoung’s female fans wanted to tear you apart.

Still, the male didn’t budge and only let the annoyance down by itself. Maybe he would’ve done something to calm it down if the emotion reached your eyes. If it managed to overtake your irises and prove just how much the situation affected you. For a certain reason, that never happened.

“Next time you want to flaunt your fancy words, spare me the hassle of having to show up” Without a goodbye, you turned around and walked through the thick barricade of students towards the school exit. Some followed behind, but none were given attention.

Jinyoung shrugged his shoulders, took a step back and walked towards the exit on the other side. Girls swarmed him in a matter of seconds, pulling on his school uniform, offering empty encouragements and praising him for the ‘mature’ reaction. Occasionally, they’d call you names, thinking that Jinyoung would love them more if they had the same enemy. The boy could only frown at that.

You walked slowly, listening to the ending of your favorite song while turning right on another corner. Taking a glance back, you made sure that no students were trailing behind for whatever reason. Once the coast was deemed clear, you stepped forward and opened the door of the black Audi parked on the sidewalk. 

“Next time you want to flaunt your fancy words, spare me the hassle of having to show up” Once inside, Jinyoung parroted your previous words in a high pitched tone. The male wasn’t trying to mock, rather playfully tease. 

You threw the heavy schoolbag back, immediately relaxing into the leather seat and fixing your gaze on the other. Jinyoung looked very different in this setting, much less formal, but much more attractive. The boy’s tie was loosened and the first two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. Jinyoung threw one hand over the steering wheel, while the other rested comfortably on the gearshift. 

It didn’t stay there for long though, for it moved to linger on your thigh, rubbing the covered skin with his soft fingers.

“You know, I was really upset” The voice used didn’t suit the words you replied with. Crossing arms over your chest, you pouted and looked outside the window, trying to fake the smallest bits of hurt. Jinyoung’s hand didn’t move from the previous position.

“I’m sorry, baby, I won’t do it again” The male whispered, leaning in and cocking his head to the side in an attempt of getting your attention. Fortunately for him, it wasn’t possible to not pay attention to someone as breathtaking. Your eyes immediately moved to follow his next movement. 

“But I can’t deny that you looked extremely hot all worked up like that” At the unexpected remark, you slapped the boy’s arm, cheeks suddenly turning the brightest shade of red. Allowing the fluster to show, you giggled and smiled at Jinyoung, whose smirk grew wide. 

Out of nowhere, he leaned in again and pressed his lips against yours. Jinyoung held the back of your neck, deepening the kiss only up until he felt you getting desperate. Then, the male pulled back, face lingering just a few inches away from yours. It was a hopeless attempt to try and chase after, steal another one of the sweet kisses because Jinyoung was fast to retreat.

“Should I treat you dinner to make up for today?” He whispered, the smirk never once leaving those beautiful features. Your head shook in disagreement, eyes sparkling with a way too familiar glow.

“You don’t have to treat me dinner. Just kiss me again” 

And so he did. Although this time Jinyoung helped you move from the passenger seat to a much more comfortable one - his lap. The boy’s hands were all over the place, your face, shoulders, back, thighs, grabbing and caressing every piece of skin available. It would’ve been an understatement to say that you loved every second of it.

#OK LISTEN #BAE JINYOUNG #THIS MAN #I CANT WITH HIM #STOP THIS MAN FROM PARASITING MY HEART #I CANT GET HIM OUT OF MY HEAD #UGH #jinyoung #jinyoung cix #jinyoung fluff #bae jinyoung fluff #jinyoung angst #bae jinyoung angst #jinyoung imagine #jinyoung scenario #jinyoung fanfic #jinyoung fanfiction #bae jinyoung imagine #bae jinyoung scenario #bae jinyoung fanfic #bae jinyoung fanfiction #cix fluff #cix scenario #cix fanfic #cix imagine #cix fanfiction #kpop #kpop imagine #kpop fluff #kpop angst

[dragonhrte]

“Αγάπη” (Agapé) 1st Petal

Summary: Pallas is a life coach and matchmaker who spends her days helping other people find their happiness in life, having forgotten to search for her own. Her business running smoothly and with little to no hiccups until one phone call upsets her whole world. Bakugou Katsuki, a handsome and famous confirmed bachelor, has found himself longing for something unusual, a relationship with substance. Swallowing his pride he calls Pallas initiating an interaction that will change their lives for the foreseeable future. Will the matchmaker make a match or get matched?

Chapter Length: 10k words

Beta-readers: @samanthaa-leanne​, @honeytama​, Thank you @pixxiesdust​ for beta reading before it was considered nsfw​, @natsuosfairy​

Tags: @bnhabookclub​

Warnings: Cussing/ Cursing/ Mature Language, Suggestive Content, Physical Assault

Bakugou’s P.O.V.

I put in the combination to my lock, deftly maneuvering the dial in a series of fluid motions, easily popping it open after years of repetition. My body moves of its own accord, the process of getting suited up being muscle memory at this point.

Some other hero in the locker room clears his throat before saying, “Hey Bakugou, it’s been a hot minute since we last saw each other huh?”

I merely grunt in response, placing my civilian clothes on the shelf after folding them, and continue suiting up for my shift.

“As talkative as ever I see. Anyways, you seem a bit down. I know I’m not Kirishima, and we’re not as close, but I thought I’d give you a quick piece of advice. Getting out of a relationship sucks, but you can’t let it get you down for too long.”

He pauses and waits for a response from me. When there is none he continues, but not before I hear a small comment to himself, “It’s like talking to a wall.”

My left eye twitches at the remark. I don’t even spare him a glance as I finish up with the final pieces of my hero costume. I shut my locker door with more force than necessary then lock it, swiftly turning around and leaving the locker room to head out for my shift. I glance at the clock briefly, making a mental note of the time as I stamp my time card. ‘The reason why you felt like you were talking to a wall is because you couldn’t take the hint that I don’t want any interaction, despite that hint being practically written in bold red letters across my forehead.’

“I’m fucking Katsuki Bakugou, Pro Hero, top in the nation. I don’t need nor do I want your opinion. Tch.” I say to myself, the words ringing through my head as I push open the heavy door and step out of the building to start my patrol.

⇜↭⇝

I lean back in my desk chair, and stretch. The reports for the day are all filled out and ready to be handed in. I take my phone off my desk and check the time. ‘2:58 am, I should put these papers on the admin. assistant’s desk, after I log off, then I’ll go punch out.’ I log off my computer before picking up the stack of reports and head over to the assistant’s desk, and placing it on the only free and available space. I pick up a sticky note from off her desk and write today’s date, then grab a rubber band from the jar on her desk and secure it around the stack of papers. ‘I swear I don’t know how she’s managed up until now, her desk is never organized. It’s a miracle we’re not backed up at the moment with the state her desk is in being in constant disarray.’ Turning away from her desk I walk towards the locker room to change and clock out. ‘Damn, I did not distract myself nearly as much as I would have liked to today. I think I know what...’ Pulling out my phone I tap on the messaging app and open up the chat between myself and my best friend since high school. ‘A sparring session with a long-time friend might just do the trick.’

Bakugou: Spar tomorrow morning?

Kirishima: Sure, np!

I finish taking the rest of my suit off and get lost in the motions of putting my civilian clothes back on, my mind returning to my recent break up. ‘I knew that woman was dating me partly based on me being a hero, but damn, to have her shove it in my face that it was the only reason she was dating me to begin with, packs a bigger punch than I thought possible.’ I stuff my hands into my jacket pockets while reflecting on the events of my most recent shift, and then heave out a sigh, “Could just go out for one or two beers,” I mumble to myself, taking a quick glimpse behind my shoulder.

⇜↭⇝

*Phone ringing*

The sound coming from my phone sets off a piercing wave of pain through my brain. ‘God damn, who the fuck is calling me this early in the morning?’ I swipe my finger across the screen stalling for a moment to allow the phone to recognize my fingerprint, and then press my phone against my ear. I throw my arm across my face to block the stinging sliver of light from shining into my eyes through the slit in the curtains.

“What’s up?” my voice comes out, raspy and barely above a whisper, but it still sounds like it’s echoing through my head.

“Hey, Bakubro, why aren’t you here yet?” I let out a low growl at the cheery tone on the other end, and wince at the old nickname, a teasing endearment made years ago, that just kind of stuck.

“What do you mean?”

“Dude it’s 9:45 right now, you’re late.”

I jolt up, and throw my covers off of myself and recoil slightly from the blinding pain the light brings on, before haphazardly scooping up my open gym bag. I rush toward the door, staggering a bit as I stuff my feet into my shoes. Nearly toppling over as I miss the wall I intended to use for support.

I do a quick pat down of myself, “Phone, wallet...” I look around frantically, the knowledge that Kirishima will not let go of something like this for the next week, no at least a month or so, is like being doused with a bucket of ice cold water. I can hear his smug tone already, putting a hand against my head and reeling out the door. ‘The gym is roughly a five minute run away. I’m not running that feeling like this, I’ll just walk it instead.’ I head for the stairs and open the door, someone has just slammed the door closed on a different floor, which has me seeing stars from the echoing in the stairwell. ‘No way in hell, am I going to suffer through shaking my brain around as I speed run down the stairs. Fuck that.’ I turn on my heel and head for the elevator, letting out a sigh of relief at the quick service and the gentle music, the lights, however, feel like they’re piercing straight through my skull and out the other side. The small jostling motion from arriving at the base floor sends a wave of nausea through me, one I haven’t felt in years, not since I was younger and less experienced with my tolerance levels for alcohol.

“Shit,” the familiar swear coming easily to me as I all but throw myself out of the elevator, muttering, “For fucks sake, pull yourself together.” as I leave the apartment complex.

⇜↭⇝

As I walk up to the gym, Kirishima spots me from his place leaning against the wall outside.

“Look who finally decided to show up!” Kirishima says joyfully, clapping as if congratulating me on my appearance. I respond by flipping him the bird.

As we enter the locker room, I open the side pocket of my gym bag and grab a bottle full of pain killers, pop two in my mouth and swallow them dry.

“Kirishima, could you keep it down I’ve got a splitting headache.”

“Oh, did someone have a bit of fun last night?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean if you’re into that kind of thing, I won’t judge. You know I’ll support you now matter what, right? It’s what friends are for!”

“What are you going on about?” I ask while leaning my head against the cool locker, the chill giving a small reprieve from the now constant pulsing throughout my skull.

“Dude.”

I look at Kirishima, my aggravation settling into my features as I turn to address him directly. Kirishima points down at the floor directing my attention to a certain article of clothing, my eyes widen in shock. The garment in question is sitting on the floor betraying my activities from the night before.The bra itself is pretty bold, it’s bright red and lacy with highlighter orange accents.

“What the fuck?”

“It dropped out of YOUR gym bag.” Kirishima’s face lights up in delight.

I let out a small, “Tsk.” and snatch up the garment, shoving it into my gym bag. I take out the lock from my bag and toss the bag into the locker, closing and locking it afterwards. I glance over at Kirishima, whose face is bright red from attempting to suppress his laughter, finally he breaks down in a fit of giggles.

The absurd situation brings a reluctant smile to my face, and a small chuckle escapes my lips. I shake my head and nudge Kirishima with my elbow. He is currently buckled over, barely maintaining an upright position holds up his pointer finger, signalling for me to wait.

“Give...me... a minute.” Kirishima manages to breathe out in between fits of laughter.

I roll my eyes in annoyance at Kirishima’s discomposure, ‘It’s not like it was even that funny...’

“You know, I’m gonna pay you back for laughing at me right?”

Kirishima manages to nod his head yes as he takes in some deep breaths of air, to calm himself down. We head out of the locker room together and make a beeline for the open mat area.

“It’ll be worth the pain, because the look on your face was priceless bro.”

I pound my fists together in imitation of Kirishima’s signature move, signalling to him that I’m ready.

“Hey man, don’t you want to get warmed up or something before heading straight into it?”

I shake my head, “Nah. No need.”

Kirishima shrugs and settles into a starting position. We lock eyes and we both nod, we circle around each other for a few moments, an air of seriousness about us. Then, I lunge at Kirishima, my right arm outstretched, he quickly dodges my maneuver. He steps towards me and sweeps his foot under my leg, I drop to the floor immediately and he follows my descent. Quickly wrapping his arms around me, hooking his feet around my legs and letting his weight pin me to the floor.

He chuckles darkly in my ear, “Hehe, that was an unusually easy take down. Guess I’m getting stronger than you.”

I frown and put my hands down on the floor underneath me and push upwards. I pause after reaching full extension for just an instant, and then I suddenly drop down slamming our bodies down onto Kirishima’s hands and crushing them under our weight before Kirishima has the chance to activate his quirk.

Kirishima hisses out in pain, “Ow, you fucker...”

I push off the ground with one arm, shifting my weight and his by twisting my body quickly, so that I am facing him. I push my hands to the front of my chest and push upwards so that my hands are together and my elbows are pressing against his inner elbows. I then use my quirk setting off a small explosion, adding a boost to my arms pushing out straight. This breaks his strong lock-like hold and allows me to reach up and grab Kirishima by the ears. I pull myself up and pull his head down, bashing my head into his. Kirishima, however, activates his hardening quirk, so the action sends a new shock wave of pain through my brain stunning me and leaving me laying flat on the mat. The once dull pulsing has now been brought to the forefront of my attention. Kirishima hops up to his feet smirking down at me as I lay face up beneath him. I offer my hand and he takes it, pulling me to my feet. We go for a few more rounds, only using our quirks once in a while. The point of this sparring session is for me to get out as much energy and aggression with as little damage to the surrounding area as possible. I’m now drenched in sweat, the bleary-eyed mess from this morning is long gone. I bring my shirt up to my forehead to wipe away the sweat that’s accumulated there.

“Where’d you get those bruises from?”

“Huh?”

“Right there, did you get cupping done. Y’know, muscle therapy?” Kirishima motions towards a particularly nasty looking mark on my side.

I walk up to the wall length mirror of the gym to examine it at a better angle. Upon closer inspection, I notice what are clearly tooth impressions?

“Are you fucking kidding me...” I grumble under my breath, “the bitch marked me!”

I pinch the bridge of my nose trying to stave off the inevitable headache leering its ugly head up, caused by yet another poor life decision. ‘My usual no marking policy when dealing with temporary guests either went completely ignored or I was so far gone last night that I completely forgot.’ I hastily drop my shirt back down hoping that no one saw the wince-inducing bruises scattered along my side. If the press gets a hold of a picture of me like that they’ll have a field day. The fling will turn into a week to month long ordeal to have to deal with. I shake my head attempting to clear my thoughts and turn back to Kirishima, who is staring at me with a look of concern.

“Hey I think I’m good for the day, what about you?” Kirishima just silently accepts that if I wanted to talk about it I would. Which is one of the main reasons why we’ve remained friends since high school. He is one of the few people who I can count on to leave me alone and give me my space while also calling me out on my bullshit when the situation calls for it. I simply nod my head in response, and we head back into the locker rooms to gather our things and leave.

⇜↭⇝

I grab my keys out of my jacket pocket and turn the key in the lock, only to notice the absence of the sound of the pins catching on the key as I turn it. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, someone is inside my apartment. Raising up my hand, a few pops resound from my sweaty palms as I ready myself for whatever lay in wait beyond the door to my apartment. I turn the handle and kick the door open, both hands raised in defense of myself, the sound of a few explosions reverberating throughout the almost empty living space. I am greeted by the sight of some woman sitting on my couch in my living room. She doesn’t even look up from her bowl of cereal and the current show streaming on the television.

“What the actual fuck?” I exclaim.

The woman continues ignoring me as I take a few more steps into the apartment, her face bringing back blurry memories of the previous night. I am filled with disgust at the fact that I stooped so low as to pick up some floozy of a woman in my time of distress. ‘Why the fuck hasn’t she gone home yet?’ the question blinking back at me in neon lights. I approach the armrest of the couch that she’s currently sitting on and tap her on the shoulder.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing her?” I ask, I can feel my emotions bubbling to the surface on the verge of boiling over.

She takes a quick look in my direction and says, “Hey, good thing you’re here, I thought you should know you’re out of milk.”

A few moments of absolute silence pass by as I am completely dumbfounded by her nonchalant attitude. Narrowing my eyes I stare at the side of her head hoping for at least some respect, given the very prominent issue at hand. My brows knit tightly together, ‘Is she dumb? Is she for real?’ instead of speaking my thoughts aloud I say, “Thanks for the heads up, now leave.”

She puts the bowl she has down on the coffee table and stands up huffing as she does so, “But I didn’t even finish my show or my cereal.”

I sneer, “That’s MY cereal you’re eating.”

She crosses her arms and stamps her feet at me like an insolent child throwing a tempter tantrum, “No. I am going to finish eating, and then YOU owe ME a ride home.”

Pulling out my phone I swipe through my contacts until I get to the J section, calling up a friend of mine from the force. While the phone is dialing out the woman sits back down and picks up “her” bowl of cereal and continues eating.

“Hey Bakugou, what can I do for you?”

“Hey Joe, I’ve got a situation. I had someone over last night and she’s now refusing to leave.”

“Okay, I’ll send my people right over.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“No problem man.”

⇜↭⇝

There’s a knocking at the door, and I walk over and open it, two officers are standing in the doorway awaiting entry, I sidestep out of the way and motion for them to come in.

“Hello officers-”

“Are you fucking kidding me!”

The woman who had been peacefully sitting on the couch watching whatever garbage was now on the television shoots to her feet.

“This is fucking ridiculous, I’m sitting here calmly minding my own business and you call the cops on me!?”

She storms off in the direction of my bedroom stomping her feet along the way. The officers move forward to prevent her from going further into the apartment, but I hold my hand up for them to remain where they are. Her voice carries through the apartment, mouthing off about the unfairness of the whole situation and the audacity I have for kicking her out, her complaints strewn with curses. Completely ignoring the fact that she is currently in MY apartment. Her voice stopping only to take a quick breath of air in and then continuing her ranting. ‘Of all the people...’ I sigh to myself as she comes hauling herself and her belongings through the hallway towards us. Reaching into my bag I procure the garment that had mislaid itself, holding it out to her with my fingers. The strap of the bra balancing precariously as she huffs by. She flounces a bit as she approaches the door, turning her head to address me to land one last remark, when she notices her bra.

I walk towards her and say, “I believe this is yours.”

Her face erupts into a brilliant shade of red, she squeals in outrage snatching the garment up and slamming the door behind her.

“Damn...”

“You sure know how to pick ‘em Bakugou.”

I glare in their direction and walk up to the door and open it, “Thank you officers, I appreciate you coming down here. Have a great day.”

They look at each other and then file out the door, after they leave I close the door behind them thankful to the quiet that follows.

Pallas’ P.O.V.

I walk into the coffee shop, the familiar tinkling of bells on the door and the smell of freshly-ground coffee beans bring a feeling of warm comfort. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever get over the initial nervousness I get when I do an intake for a client.’ I mull this over while listening to the soft, mellow music playing from the various speakers strewn about the shop. While waiting in line, I pass the time by scrolling through my social media feed. The fake smiles and duck-faced selfies never-ending. It’s not long before it’s my turn to order, when I look up and approach the counter I’m greeted by an unfamiliar face ‘Oh, he must be new.’ the thought whisks through my mind as I take in the man standing in front of me. He’s got a soft attractiveness about him, and is obviously nervous give his frantic glancing around. His ocean blue eyes finally settling on me and he’s practically sweating bullets. I pick up on the tremor of his lip when he forces a smile waiting patiently for my order. ‘Given the fact that it’s about mid-day and I’ll be meeting with a new client I think I’m going to opt for my go-to comfort beverage.’

“Good morn- Er. Afternoon, what can I get for you today?” The barista asks, his face flushing in embarrassment at his small slip-up.

‘I’m sure he’s had plenty of those minor mistakes today, the first day jitters are definitely getting the better of him. I can imagine it’s probably been non-stop for him, one order after the next in quick succession. Forcing him into this wreck of nerves at the fast-paced environment.’

Standing there for a moment more, I try to show a bit of compassion, my eyes flick down to the name pin fastened to his black apron then back up to his face and say, “Hello Reggie, I think I’ll have a medium hot chocolate, with some extra whipped cream please!”

I flash him what I hope comes across as an encouraging smile, and opt to keep words of encouragement to myself, ‘He’s high-strung as is, there’s no need to make him feel worse by having a random stranger notice how much he’s floundering around and comment on it.’ Instead I reach into my wallet and grab some extra cash in addition to the money I owe for the hot chocolate. I hand the money for the drink to Reggie and drop the extra cash into the tip jar on the counter.

“Thank you, and here’s your change. Your order will be right up.”

I cup my hand so the barista can simply drop the small coins into my outstretched hand instead of having an awkward exchange of trying to pry them out of his palm.

“Have a great day.” We happen to say at the same time to each other.

Stepping to the side I look over and survey the seating area. There are booths and tables with single chairs available, which I would usually have no problem taking, however, I am meeting with a client so I need something more. My eyes land on my usual spot for when I meet clients and I am pleasantly surprised to find it empty. It’s the perfect placement, not too close to the door, where people coming in might interrupt and not tucked away in the corner where nobody will notice me. ‘The client should be able to notice me immediately after receiving her order.’ After setting my bag down I bring out my tablet and unlock it, and start going through the various documentation required if the client does decide to book more sessions. I’m interrupted from my review by the sound of my order being called out, I look up and see one of the baristas I am familiar with holding my hot chocolate, we lock eyes for the briefest of moments before they place it down on the counter. I stand up and walk over to the counter and gingerly pick up my order, and head straight for the little island in the middle of the shop with the extra creamer and sugar packets on it. After picking up one of the paper coffee sleeves and carefully sliding it onto my drink, twisting it around to get the proper snug fit. I walk back to the booth, slide onto the seat, and resume reviewing the prepared documents on my tablet.

I let myself relax, the lull of conversation around me creating a calm atmosphere. There’s some chatter behind me, some girls are discussing a recent rumor going around about the Pro-Hero, Ground Zero. I dismiss their chatter immediately, ‘It’s just gossip, so who cares.’ Despite the lack of basis for the rumor to stand on, the women behind me continue speculating. I finish reviewing my documents then pull out my phone to check the time. ‘My client should be here any minute now.’ Scrolling through my social media feed once more I notice the rumor the women behind me were discussing has spread like wildfire. I try to ignore it to the best of my ability, ‘It’s not my business to judge other people’s life choices.’ I pause for a moment, ‘Well, it is my business as long as they are a client that is...’ I’m broken out of my train of thought by a commotion coming from the pick-up counter. Some woman is yelling at poor Reggie, something about how he got the order wrong, insisting that she talk to the manager. I turn my head and see the back of hers, Reggie is visibly shaken by the confrontation.

The woman turns around and my eyes widen momentarily in shock, ‘That’s my new client.’ I groan internally then put on my brightest smile, and stand up.

I hold my right hand out in greeting, “Hello Sandra is it, I’m Pallas we spoke on the phone a couple days ago.”

It’s like a switch flipped within the other woman’s face. Her lips that were just pursed in a thin disgruntled line, spread into a wide smile.

“Hi, hello. Sorry about the delay, the employee got my order wrong.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that, why don’t we get right into things? Is there anything in particular you are looking to get out of my services?”

“Well, everything in my life seems to be a hot mess, I just want to get back on track.”

“That seems reasonable enough. How about we take a seat and go over your intake paperwork?”

We then spent the next hour talking about the various terms and conditions that come along with the contract. Sandra keeps complaining about every other word claiming that the contract is “too opaque and vague.”

“Why can’t you just fix my problems now, why do we even need a contract?” Sandra asks, her tone changing from calm to aggravated rapidly.

“The contract is here to protect both of our interests. Without it, I will be severely restricted in the extent to which I can help you.” I try my best to explain this to her as calmly as possible.

Sandra pushes several more times to do away with the contract, at this point I am considering excusing myself for the bathroom to scream out in frustration at least three times. Each time the urge comes over me, I simply look down at the small watch on my wrist instead, remembering the seemingly everlasting patience of my late grandmother. When we finish reviewing the documents I stand up, pick up my tablet and grab my bag in preparation to leave.

I say, “After speaking with you, I’m sorry to inform you that I don’t think that I will be able to provide you with the services you are looking for.”

“What?!” Sandra exclaims, shooting up from her seated position, her sweet demeanor gone in an instant and is replaced by a look of outrage, “You had me fill out all that ridiculous paperwork, forced me to pay you for this meeting, and you’re not even competent enough to take me on as a client!”

By now the entire coffee shop has gone silent at her outburst, in this moment I can’t manage to think of anything to de-escalate the situation, all I can think about is maintaining my composure and professionalism in the face of Sandra’s harsh comments.

I muster up enough restraint and force a smile, “I’m sorry for any inconvenience I have caused you.” I bow my head in apology.

“Oh, I’ll show you inconvenience!” Sandra shouts and then knocks my tablet out of my hands. I’m frozen in shock at her actions, my face stricken with horror as the tablet appear to drop in slow motion. It clangs against the corner of the table before hitting the ground. A crunch resounds through the deathly quiet coffee shop, my stomach clenches in reaction.

A softly whispered, “Oh shit” comes from the booth with the gossiping women. I look up to see the manager approaching us, sympathy for me written all over her face, but a quiet anger-filled aura surrounds her.

She clasps her hands together and addresses Sandra, “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. You’ve disrupted my place of business not once, but twice now. You have also managed to assault one of my customers as well. I suggest you leave now, I have already called the authorities.”

“I can’t believe you called the cops on me! I’d like to speak to your manager. This is horrible customer service!”

“Ma’am I am the manager. Now would you please come with me.” The manager wraps her arm around Sandra’s shoulder and escorts her out, the jingle of the bells signalling that they have exited the building.

I take a deep breath in and bend down, picking up my tablet to assess the damage. Pressing the power button does absolutely nothing the first time, the lock screen doesn’t come into view or anything, so I hold the power button down and the start up sound comes from the tablet but the visual that accompanies it is absent. I try turning it off and on again one more time, after a drop like that even with the case on, there’s no way I’d expect it to still be functioning.

Unfortunately, my expectations are fulfilled, my tablet is officially out of commission. I drop it into my bag and lean against the table, waiting for the cops to show up. After a few minutes I think to myself, ‘I hope people just leave me alone right now, I am so not in the mood for some stranger to have pity on me at the moment.’ I clench and unclench my jaw a few times to try and relieve some of the tension in my body, and the I feel a gentle, hesitant tap on my shoulder. Turning my head slightly to see the new barista, Reggie looking at me apprehensively, he opens his mouth and closes it several times before I see his lips move, but I can’t find it in me to focus on what he’s saying. All I can hear is a rushing sound filling my ears... Reggie moves forward and grabs my shoulders, shaking me lightly, “-you okay?”

I nod my head and croak out, “Yes.”

“Are you sure? You’ve got quite the grip on that table there.”

Looking down I notice exactly what he’s talking about. My knuckles appear to be bleached white, my hands are holding the table in a death grip. I manage to pull my hands away then open and close them to work the blood flow back into them. I turn around and lean against the table and let out a nervous laugh.

My heart is hammering against my chest, the roaring sound in my ears has died down enough to the point where I can hear myself say, “I’m a bit taken aback is all. I mean I was expecting some reaction from her, but not that one...” I trail off and glance behind me briefly and catch a glimpse of Sandra talking to an officer, it’s then that I hear the bells chime and the other officer walks in. He strides over to where Reggie and I are standing after scanning the room of patrons for a moment.

“Hello ma’am my name is Officer Schmoe. I need to ask you some questions. May I see your ID so I can get your name down correctly?”

“No problem, here you go.” I say after reaching into my bag and retrieving my ID out of my wallet, and handing it to him.

“Here you go.” he says after jotting down my name then handing it back to me. I quickly put it back in its designated slot in my wallet and then turn back to the officer.

Officer Schmoe takes out a notepad from his shoulder pocket then asks, “What happened?”

“Well, Ms. Sandra Bonde and I were having a meeting here and after reviewing some documents and speaking with Ms. Bonde I informed her that I would not be able to provide my services to her.”

“What is it that you were not going to do for Ms. Bonde?”

“I am a life coach, and after speaking with her I determined that the problem was beyond my ability to assist her.”

“Okay, then what happened?”

“Well, I was standing up getting ready to leave when I told Ms. Bonde this, she stood up and said something of how it was unfair that I forced her to pay for an initial intake when I now plan on not taking her on as a client. I responded by saying I was sorry for any inconvenience I had caused her. She then said something along the lines of I’ll show you inconvenience, and smacked the tablet that I have for business out of my hand and it dropped to the floor after hitting the corner of the table. The manager came over and asked her to leave, I tried turning the tablet on afterwards and it is no longer functional. I will either have to get it fixed or replace it.”

“Can I see the tablet in question?”

“Sure.” I grab the tablet and hand it over to him.

He looks at it and turns it over in his hands, examining it from different angles, “Would you like to file charges against Ms. Bonde?”

I freeze at the question, ‘I mean I could, and I would most likely win, and that would all be fine and dandy. However, I would probably be forced to interact with that woman a dozen or so more times before the case was over. I do not feel like putting myself through that kind of torture.’

“No, I would not.”

He tries the power button the same as I did and gets the same results, absolutely nothing, “Okay, ma’am, here you go.” He hands the busted tablet back to me and I take it from him, then place it behind me on the table.

“Could I have your contact information in case we need to ask some follow up questions later on?”

“Will a business card be okay?”

“Yes ma’am.”

I root around in my bag for a moment until I find my cards, they’re still in the envelope they came in when I first ordered them. “Here.”

Officer Schmoe takes the card and places it in his shoulder pocket along with his notepad, “Thank you for your time ma’am and have a good rest of your day.”

I nod at the officer and smile as he turns on his heel and leaves the store, I pull out my phone and check the time, this whole encounter has put me at least two hours behind schedule, ‘I’ll just have to work a bit later in the office ton-’

There’s a resounding CRACK from outside, it’s sudden and pulls my attention immediately to look out the window. My eyes meet Officer Schmoe’s as his head is whipped sideways, I look past him to see his partner putting cuffs on a struggling Sandra. His partner looks pissed, ‘I would be pissed too if I had her screeching at me for the past half hour or so, and to top it all off, her smacking your partner in the face.Oof.’ I turn back around and put my belongings back into my bag. The bells jingle and the manager walks over to me with the sweetest smile, her demeanor putting me at ease. “I’m sorry you had to got through all that. Pick something to drink, my treat.”

“I’d like a hot chocolate please.”

The manager turns to Reggie and says, “Think you can manage a hot chocolate on your own?”

He nods and scurries around behind the counter to make the drink.

⇜↭⇝

Fidgeting with my keys, trying to get the key to my office open with my mostly empty drink in one hand and my bag in the other is probably entertaining to any onlookers, amused by my struggle and lack of forethought. I finally manage to find the right key and slide it home into the lock, I turn it and push to let myself in. Flicking the lights on as I enter, closing the door behind me before walking over to the thermostat, unfortunately I ended up staying out longer than expected so it will have a small effect on my bills. Yet another thing to add onto the growing list of unfortunate events for today. The chill of December has settled in my bones and I need to change that, fast. The free hot chocolate definitely helped me stave off the cold while I was on the bus, but the walk to the office didn’t help me feel any warmer that’s for sure.

I walk through the office space all but dragging my feet before I plop down into the chair at my desk and turn on my laptop. ‘I’m going to waste so much paper. There’s a reason why I switched things over to digital...’ The login screen comes up and I type in my password, the work that I had open from before is still open, ‘Good, that makes things a little easier.’ I pull up my email and write up a quick memo to the clients I’m supposed to see over the next week informing them of the slight adjustment given an unfortunate occurrence. Clicking off my email I review the file for the client I am meeting with tomorrow, and make sure I have everything I need compiled and print off some notes that I made on potential goals they need to set. I get a few emails back, responding quickly with their understanding. Some other people are slow to respond. I even have one person say that they aren’t going to pay me more just because I broke something. I immediately saved that to respond to at a different time, being in no state of mind to do so now and think to myself, ‘I know I said I was going to work late tonight to make up for lost time, but it just isn’t happening. I am officially done for the day.’

I put alligator clips on the notes separating each client. After putting all the notes in my bag next to the tablet, I grab a pen from off my desk as well as a sticky-note. Writing out a reminder to call up tech support and find out a quote, I take the sticky-note off of the stack and place it on the brim of the laptop and shut everything down. Returning to the office entrance I slide the deadbolt into place, and give the doorknob a quick tug making sure my office is secure. I turn around and grab my phone and keys from out of my bag and head to the stairs leading up to my apartment. Rustling the keys around until I find the right one, and then unlocking the door, “Hey, sorry I’m late, I’ll throw something together real quick!”

I turn around and lock the door behind me then place my keys on the hook beside the door. Walking into the kitchen and opening the fridge I think about what I can make for dinner. After staring blankly at the contents with nothing coming to mind I come to a decision. “You know what, how’s frozen pizza sound to you?”

I crane my neck to the side listening in for a response and I hear an affirmative noise over the sound of the television playing in the living room. I close the fridge, open up the freezer and take out the frozen pizza, wiggling the box a bit to try and slide it out from under the other frozen goods without taking everything out. ‘Success!’ I think to myself once I’ve pried it out of its spot without the entire freezer falling out onto my feet. Quickly setting the oven to the right temperature and then I rip the box open and put the pizza on a pan to cook on. While I wait for the oven to heat up I start talking to Neville in the other room, “So remember how I was saying just yesterday that work has been pretty slow lately. Well, remind me to watch what I ask for next time because I had quite the interesting client today.”

I hear an inquisitive noise from the other room, “Yes, I am aware you can’t hear me very well, I’ll be there in just a minute, give me a moment to put in the pizza.”

The oven beeps signalling that it has finished the heating process. I slide the pan into the oven, set the timer on the stove and walk into the living room joining Neville on the couch. He slides over and rests his head on my lap, he looks up at me expectantly and I chuckle a bit. I reach down and massage his head, his hair soft and velvety to the touch, the repetitive motion eliciting a content sigh from him and I continue telling him the events of my day. From the initial conversation between me and Sandra to her outburst, and finally the image of seeing Officer Schmoe reeling back from Sandra’s assault, her being put in handcuffs and hauled away. Throughout my retelling, Neville sat patiently listening to everything I had to say, making small noises here and there indicating how he felt exactly in regards to what was being said. It’s moments like these that I appreciate him the most. He’s not very vocal, but he is an extremely good listener and just that alone helps ease my stress on a hectic day like today. The timer on the stove beeps and Neville moves, letting me get up and go back into the kitchen. I put on an oven mitt from inside the drawer beside the oven and I hear Neville pad into the kitchen. After taking the pizza out of the oven, and placing it on the stove top I look over at Neville  who is licking his lips in anticipation.

“No, absolutely not. You know what dairy does to you. I am not dealing with your flatulence and explosive diarrhea for the next three days.”

He huffs at me and saunters over to his food bowl full of dry food, and eats a few bites before deciding he’s over it and leaving the kitchen. A definitive meow can be heard from the other room, and I sigh after grabbing myself a plate and putting a slice onto the plate.

“Oh, don’t be like that. It’s not like I wouldn’t mind giving you some it’s just your lactose intolerance is no joke my dude.” I say as I walk into the living room and switch through the channels idly.

Bakugou’s P.O.V.

“In local news this evening, a woman was arrested just this afternoon at a local coffee shop for assaulting an officer. The alleged assailant, a 31-year-old female, supposedly assaulted an officer after being informed that she would be taken down to the station for disturbing the peace among various other charges. We spoke with the manager of the coffee shop where the incident occurred and she claimed that the woman not only assaulted an officer but also assaulted a frequent patron of hers prior to the police becoming involved. We have not received any further information regarding the other party, and the manager has chosen to remain silent as to their identity.”

I watch the clip of the woman slapping the officer in question and recognize Joe clicking my tongue and turn off the television shaking my head. ‘Poor Joe, and I had just spoken to him earlier this morning. I guess I’m not the only one who’s had a shitty day then huh?’ I quickly grab a plain, black, hooded sweatshirt from the drawer in my room and pull it over my head. Looking around the room I am a bit surprised that the incident from earlier this morning did not leave my room in disarray. ‘Calling him was definitely for the best. If  her reaction was anything to go off of, without the cops she would’ve definitely trashed the place.’ I close and lock the door to my apartment. The stairs no longer a problem because the hangover from earlier is a distant memory. The familiar stairway down to the parking garage calmed me, the echoing and clanging of my feet against the stairs blocking out my thoughts. I push open the door and take in a sharp breath of air, the sharp chill invading my lungs. Even though I was expecting the chill given the time of year, it still caught me a bit off guard with exactly how cold it has gotten as the sun goes down.

Walking over to my assigned space and unlocking my car takes a matter of moments. The leather seats make my butt clench as it makes contact with the chilly surface. I turn the keys in the ignition and it starts up with a roar. Pulling out of the parking space is a quick maneuver of the steering wheel and then I’m on my way. Weaving in and out of traffic on my way to work, my head nodding to the music, I come to a stop at a red light and tap my thumbs against the wheel in time to the beat. It’s only a matter of minutes before I pull into the parking garage of the hero agency, stopping briefly to scan my ID card in front of the sensor. The machine beeps at me and then the automated gate bar lifts up and grants me access to the garage. I turn my head and wave at the guard sitting in the booth before driving to the second level and pulling into my space. I turn the car off and grab my ID and close the door, locking the car as I head into the stairwell.

When I step out onto my floor, the admin. assistant rushes over to me, she seems a bit frazzled, but not more so than usual and she says, “Bakugou, the boss would like to see you now. Before you get changed or anything.”

She scuttles off, probably to carry out some other task assigned to her by the boss. ‘What could he want, it’s not like I’ve gotten into any real trouble recently...’ The speculations are endless as I approach his office, the door slightly ajar. I knock on the side of the door frame anyway to announce my presence.

A booming voice urges me in, “Come in Bakugou, have a seat.”

I open the door and close it gently behind me, and then take a seat in one of the red cushioned arm chairs in front of his large desk. The boss’ presence is a bit intimidating as he looks up from a folder on his desk. He nods to acknowledge my presence, and then peruses the paperwork in front of him for another moment before closing the cover and meeting my eyes.

He stares at me for a moment before speaking, “I got a call this afternoon, there was an issue of sorts at your apartment this morning and the police had to get involved. When Kirishima came in for his shift earlier today I called him into the office and he was a bit concerned. I asked him what was going on with you and he mentioned that you haven’t been acting like your usual self. Now, you may not like it, but it is my job to pry. If you are not in the right mental state to do this job I need to bench you, even if it’s just temporarily.”

He stops speaking but continues to look into my eyes gauging my reaction, I don’t say anything in response to his words. I try and maintain a neutral expression, but the boss seems to see through it and says, “See that expression tells me that benching you might be the right call.”

The sides of my mouth turn downward into a frown, the thought of being assigned to desk work for an undefined amount of time does not appeal to me in the slightest.

“I am mandating you see the department therapist.”

I shoot up out of the chair, clenching my fists at my sides. A familiar scowl on my face as I exclaim, “I’m not crazy, why do I need to see a shrink?!”

The boss furrows his brows and says, “I know you’re not crazy, there are other reasons for needing to see a therapist through. If you want to stay an active Pro Hero you WILL see a shrink as you called it.”

“This is bullshit! Sorry. This is bullshit sir!”

The boss chuckles at that, then says, “I understand you’re upset but this is non-negotiable.”

“I go out for one night on the town-”

“It’s no about that. It’s not about the woman you brought home. It’s not about the police getting called. It’s a combination of all these things and I can tell from the way you’re responding right now it’s the right call.”

“But-”

“This conversation is over.”

I simply bow my head and say, “Yes sir.” and head back to my desk. I sit there for a few moments and contemplate a week or more of tedium chained to a desk and unable to do my actual job just stuck doing paperwork and watching the walls. ‘The boss never said that I wasn’t allowed to go on patrol today explicitly.’ I hop out of my chair and head over to the locker room, I get no more than two steps in that direction when I hear the admin. assistant day to me, “You know if you do that, the boss will know before you even finish getting changed.”

I huff in exasperation and annoyance then sit back down at my desk. I put my head in my hands with my elbows propped up on my desk, ‘I said it before and I’ll say it again. This is utter bullshit.’

⇜↭⇝

The bright fluorescent lights of the office have burned a circle in my retina, ‘I’ve been spinning around in this chair for about thirty minutes, if I don’t do something I’m going to lose my damn mind.’ I look over at the admin. assistant. She’s busy at work at least that’s what I think is happening, all I can see is the top tuft of hair peeking over the monitor to her computer, as she is otherwise surrounded by paperwork. Bringing forth the silent question as to how in the hell she saw me despite being barricaded behind stacks of papers. I stand up and walk over to her, tapping on the desk to catch her attention.

“Hey, I’m not going on patrol, but I am going to head over to the police department to see if they need anything.”

The clacking of her nails against the keys doesn’t stop even after I say something to her, but her tuft of hair bobs so I just leave, taking my badge from off my desk and my phone heading out the door of the main entrance. The cold filling my lungs with crisp air, it’s refreshing after being in the stuffy office for a few hours. The walk to the police station is short but the entire time there is a constant stream of thoughts going through my mind. ‘The past few weeks haven’t seemed especially different from any other. It’s been nothing but routine for me in terms of getting through work and getting over my ex. I didn’t think that my behavior had been too out of the ordinary.’ The sidewalks are still pretty busy at this time of night and I have plenty of company on my stroll to the police station. ‘Even so, I still don’t want to go to a therapist.’ The thought crosses my mind as I walk up the steps into the police station. The air in the police station is just as stuffy if not stuffier than that of the agency. Looking around I see the usual crowd, some new faces here and there but most of the personnel are the same. Then the person I least expected to still be at work comes sidling up beside me patting my shoulder, “Hey there Bakugou, it’s not your first day here so why’re you gawking around like you don’t know what to do with yourself?”

“Hey Joe, why’re you still here? Your shift was over hours ago right?”

“Well, yeah, but they forced me to get checked out by the doc just in case before I headed home.” he says pointing at the lurid bruise covering most of his left cheek, continuing “I was just picking up my stuff, on my way out the door.”

“From that woman earlier right? I saw that on the news right before I came in today.”

“Yep, and boy was she a piece of work, that one. Anyway, what brings you here?”

“Boss told me I was on desk duty, I figured I’d pop by and see if you guys needed anything. I am glad I ran into you though.”

“Is that so?” He looks at me with a questioning look on his face.

“Yes, maybe you can answer a question I have. Other than a therapist, who would someone go to for help, asking for a friend you understand.”

“Well, if it isn’t an actual mental health issue but more needing assistance with getting their life on track they could try a life coach.”

“Uh, huh.” I nod my head slowly at his statement.

“Not to say that a life coach and therapist are on the same level of course. However, the thing that they do have in common is that they help people who may be a bit lost in the weeds and not able to see a way forward.” Someone approaches the doorway and we move off to the side to avoid being in anyone’s way.

“I actually have a business card right here.”

Joe pulls the card out of his shoulder pocket and hands it to me, I take it and put it in my jacket for later. We talk for a few more minutes, Joe complaining mainly about how much paperwork he’s going to have to deal with now that the woman who I have learned is Ms. Sandra Bonde is in custody. We laugh a bit at the comment, knowing full well the only reason we do any paperwork is because of our jobs. Paperwork takes up so much of my time, I’d rather be out on patrol than sitting down at my desk doing mindless busy work, filling out forms and whatnot. The idle thought causes my eye to twitch in annoyance, reminding myself of my mandatory desk duty, I don’t know how I’ll survive.

We part ways as he heads to the direction of the subway and I stay put. After conversing with the officer at the front desk I wait a few minutes for some files on small time villains they were going to send over later, and with those in hand I walk back. Even though the whole point of me going to the police station was just a ploy to get out of the office I feel glad that I could accomplish something even if it is as mundane as carrying files back and forth. I pause for a moment, I did accomplish something else as well, I have the business card of the life coach that Joe gave me.

I am greeted by the stale hot air of the office and the sound of keys tapping away at the keyboard, coming from the admin. assistant’s desk who is as always surrounded by mountains of paperwork. I almost feel bad as I walk up to her and say, “Here’s what they had for us at the station.”

She simply looks up at me and says, “Just add it to a stack and I’ll get to it.”

After placing the papers onto one of the smaller stacks I head back to my desk. Dropping down into my chair and looking at the bare desk in front of my. I lean back in my chair and look up at the tiled ceiling pockmarked with holes. The standard soundboard material is a soulless institutional white-grey and lacking anything better to do, I start counting the holes, ‘This’ll be better than staring at the lights. At least I won’t blind myself out of boredom.’

⇜↭⇝

“4,262... 4,263-”

“Hey Bakugou, I’m heading out,” says the admin. assistant, “Thank you for picking up the paperwork this evening. It did make things a bit easier. Oh, and the therapist should be calling you sometime tomorrow to schedule an appointment.”

She gives me a small wave and then walks away, a minute later I hear the door close and am alone in the empty office, all the other heroes for this shift are out on patrol. ‘Lucky bastards.’ I lean back in my chair once more and try to find the spot where I had left off but I had lost track. I click my tongue, although the task was pointless, at least it gave me something to do. I stand up and head over to the vending machines, a quick snack doesn’t sound too bad.

The selection is limited and most of the bags are probably filled with stale chips anyways. After a few moments I reach into my back pocket to grab my wallet after deciding on a bag of pretzels. My wallet is not there, I furrow my brows in confusion, maybe I left it at my desk? No, when I get back there it’s empty. I pat myself down, and the only things on me are my phone, hero ID, and keys. Wait, maybe I left it in the car? A sinking feeling in my stomach tells me otherwise, but I figure it’s worth a quick peek anyways.

Ten minutes later it is clear that it’s not here. I’ve checked under the seats, in between the console and the seats, and in the glove box. I even checked in between the seats and the side panel of the car by where the seat adjuster are, nothing. I huff out in annoyance at my fruitless search and resist the urge to slam the door to my car, closing it behind me and lock it before heading back inside ‘Great if it isn’t at the house I will have to call around and cancel all my cards, just what I need.’

⇜↭⇝

I have managed to accomplish nothing in the four hours after getting back from the police department other than count the divots in the ceiling and down eight cups of coffee, I have never had that much coffee in one shift before. I spent hours literally staring at the ceiling, hopefully this desk duty nonsense will be over soon. I can’t sit at a desk all day, my brain will atrophy. Maybe I won’t even need to talk to the shrink more than once, I’ll contact the life coach, set up an appointment and then I’ll be out on patrol in no time. The boss is just giving me a nudge, he’s not holding my hand on the issue.

I drive back to my apartment a bit slower than usual, lost in thought. Considering what I should say to the therapist and life coach that will finish up this whole scenario as quickly as possible. My train of thought lasts until I get to the parking garage of my apartment complex. The dim lights of the garage a bilious yellow hue against the stark night.

I unlock the door to my apartment, take off my shoes and walk inside, “Okay, now where the hell is my wallet?” I say to myself as I lock the door behind me.

I spend the next few minutes walking around the house wandering about, and have made a full circle in my search for my wallet. I sigh and take off my jacket, walking over to the coat hanger shelf by the door, I notice my wallet placed on the shelf. I take in a deep steadying breath, ‘It’s been here the whole time. At least I don’t have to cancel all my cards now.’  I rest my keys on the shelf next to it and take out the business card from Joe out of my jacket.

Padding into my room, the floor is chilly despite the socks on my feet. My thumb runs over the surface of the card. It’s smooth and warm to the touch after being in my jacket pocket for so long. I set it down on my bedside table and quickly undress, putting on my pajamas, readying myself for bed. After pulling my shirt over my head I pick up the card and walk over to my desk, sitting down in the chair and opening the laptop. While waiting for the login screen I look down at the card in my hands. It has a matte finish, and is heather gray in color, the black lettering standing out from the soft tone of the card stock. I flip the card over in my hand and see that it’s one sided. The small chime of the laptop lets me know that the startup screen is on display and I can log in. My fingers tap lightly at the keys, pausing every so often to glance at the card for reference. After typing the website into the url bar at the top of the browser the page loads up instantly. The platform is simple and easy to navigate, I find the application for the intake immediately. Looking over the requested information I scroll to the bottom of the page and come to a decision. ‘There’s no way I’m filling all of this out. I’ll just call them when I wake up.’

#my hero academia fanfic #multichapter #Agapé #bakugou katsuki x oc #kirishima eijirou x oc #slowburn

[partyinthemysterymachine]

in which i have a lot of words to say about @storyweaverofgondor ‘s “Tugger is older than Munkustrap” theory

so here is my take:

((brief note: i don’t think tribe members spend all their time in the Junkyard, of course. they all have lives outside of it and do their own thing and have experiences. i realized a lot of the way this is written makes it sound like they’re always there. it’s important for me to mention, i reckon, that Tugger and Macavity spend a decent amount of time on the outside, as it directly influences so many of their attributes. wink wonk.))

i imagine Tugger is very keen. like i mentioned in the post, he can read people very well. he liked to people watch, and still does, and in it he picked up some good skills in figuring others out. this was one of the things that Deut saw in him that would make him a valuable protector: Tugger watched.

Deut saw Tugger become a chameleon. it wasn’t that his open and bold personality was fake. he was very genuine; what you see is what you get. because of that, it was harder for other Jellicles to regard him as someone capable of appropriate seriousness. he couldn’t at all be certain how intuitive Tugger was to some of these opinions, but considering his hidden talents, it’d probably been common knowledge to him for a long time.

i think Tugger had shown initiative more than a handful of times. older members of the tribe gossiped and sighed about him, but could not ignore that he would make a fine Protector. it was a lot of back and forth. Tugger didn’t mind; all the talk was interesting. he’d take it back to Deut and they’d have a laugh about it, or maybe a frank discussion followed by heavy awkwardness in knowing what in Tugger’s future.

he loved the idea of being the Protector. “proving” others wrong didn’t matter to him; it wasn’t ever about that. Tugger embodied “i don’t give two shits about anyone’s opinion”. he was self-assured, very easygoing, sincere; things rolled right off his back. if they didn’t, well— you’d never know. the eldest was patient and calm, no matter what his ostentatious personality had to say about it. he’s level headed.

Tugger and Macavity have had a really strange relationship. they’re about two years apart. from the very beginning they’d been side-eyeing one other. it seemed like they never quite thought what to make of his brother. they didn’t outright hate each other at any one point. they didn’t have explosive arguments. they didn’t have any really big problems. (just the little ones; Tugger used Mac’s favorite cup, Mac wouldn’t stop touching Tugger’s stuff, Tugger sneezed, Mac had the audacity have more fun with a toy than Tugger did, dad make him stop staring at me, well he stared at me first! etc was a part of their kitten years.)

as they got older, they still appeared to be having some trouble processing each other. for all terms and purposes their relationship just looked strange. they always looked kind of leery of the other. ask Tugger about it, he’d just shrug and say, ‘i dunno.’ ask Mac about it, he’d just shrug and dismissively say, ‘okay.’ try to probe any more and one would get a wealth of shrugging.

it kind of drove Deut up the wall. he tried many times to pin it to the easy fact and conclusion that they were two very, very different people. there was some hope that their eccentricities were just some weird, long “phase”. that was opinion based how sometimes he’d find them curled up together. they’d have the same bored or vaguely annoyed expressions but seem as content as can be having a cuddle in silence. sometimes Tugger would be asleep, Macavity leaning on him while he read, or they’d be awake and simply sitting there in total silence, the tips of their tails gently tapping to prove they were feeling just fine.

they clearly enjoyed each other in their own way. they also seemed to prefer each other’s company in privacy. Deut had commented on it, and asked them first: why do they hide away like this, and second: if they truly are friendly, then why do they act so strangely around each other?

and predictably, all he got were shrugs.  

Deut could never, ever figure them out, and he swore it would drive him batshit insane. this behavior continued well into their teens.

when Munkustrap came about, Tugger was seven and Macavity five. considering how the two acted already, there was reasonable concern about how they’d treat Munkustrap. as it turned out, there was exactly nothing to be worried about.

a switch flipped in each of them. Tugger played the adoring, protective big brother. he sat with his baby brother and played with him, kept an eye on him, helped where he could, got cranky when he wasn’t allowed to. Tugger doted on him. he learned how to hold him, and while he grew he was happy to take him and show him around. “Well,” some started to agree, “he’ll make an incredible father when the time comes.”

Macavity was much the same, but on a more subdued level. Deut noticed this about his middle child: Macavity was low-key, just like Tugger, but his version of it was calculating. that’s how he thought Macavity regarded his older brother - he was curious, shrewd.. and something he couldn’t put a word to.

but with Munkustrap, Macavity was seemed enchanted. Deut saw Macavity look at his little brother like he was amazed by him. for all of Macavity’s weirdness, the way he accepted Munkustrap kept their father’s anxieties at a minimum. Macavity was just as interested in helping raise this little kitten as Tugger was. in fact, Tugger and Macavity seemed to bond over Munkustrap.

if anyone could explain that to Deut, he’d really love to hear it.

(of course there were some petty fights over their little brother he had to break up and appropriately console, but such is the nature of youngin’s and fatherhood.)

Munkustrap grew up absolutely spoiled by attention from his siblings. in his earliest years he became their shadow. now and then he’d get upset because he couldn’t follow both of them at the same time; they went different directions! but for as much as the older two lavished adoration on him, Munkustrap’s bratty phase was short-lived.

as the big brothers grew, their maturity followed along. they showed great social, mental, and emotional awareness alongside their occasional nonsensical meltdowns, baffling “logic”, and poor filter management. (as expected.) one of their changes was thought of as their biggest, since everyone knew they’d pretty much outright claimed Munkustrap the moment they laid eyes on him - they started to encourage independence.

it had a rocky start, of course. and it had rocky middles. and it had rocky weeks. but Tugger and Macavity worked damningly well together. there was enough worry already that Munkustrap would develop codependence. for a while there, it seemed like the damage was already done. and then it was undone.

Deut added that mystery to the ever-expanding list of things he’ll never understand about his sons.

the protective nature in Tugger didn’t come when Munkustrap was born. that trait developed when he was younger and all he had was Macavity. it was something that gradually became something for Deut to scrutinize as each year passed.  

Tugger grew to his teens, developed his personality, honed his talents, watched over his brothers. Macavity grew to his teens, came out of his strange, guarded shell; he talked (a lot, but maybe it only seemed that way since he was sometimes bordering on mute before), he participated and he had energy (and yet, there was something about him..). Munkustrap finally hit double digits, and he took after both his brothers’ confidence, their energy; and as it turned out, he was kinda bossy. Munkustrap had a lot of ideas about many things and wanted it to go perfectly.

Macavity and Munkustrap have some memories that entail Tugger stepping up to the plate. there was a particular event, though that made the biggest impact.

but first, i imagine that there were other senior guardians at the time. being a Protector was an entirely different ballgame; the position was unfilled, for Protector was generally reserved for the heir. so while it waited for the right one at the right time, a team of guardians shared the duties.

Tugger was about seventeen then. Macavity was just a little younger, about fifteen, and Munkustrap being around ten. their age differences definitely influenced their relationships.

there was a problem one night. nobody can really agree about who it was or why they did it. whatever group it was that invaded the Junkyard did it on a rainy night. many were tucked away, glad to get comfortable and avoid the rain. the guardians were at their posts or patrolling, weather be damned.  

there was a lot of commotion, then screaming, then clattering. naturally available guardians rushed to the scene and others poked their heads out. what ensued was a horrible attack on the tribe and it seemed like its purpose was meant for the worse. (Deut thought a lot about it and he suspected it was a territorial overthrow. the Junkyard was a pretty desirable fortress. many times before he’d dealt with some heat in the background, hostile even; but never this brazen.)

the brothers had been riding out the storm together. Munkustrap ran his mouth at his brothers, making up stories and telling them his personal opinions (for the 15th time that day. maybe more. no one was counting.). Tugger engaged him with expressions and the ‘oh yeah?’ ‘uh huh’ ‘oohh’s to show he was listening. Macavity was more interested in hoping Munkustrap would tire himself out and shut up and go to sleep. but in the meantime, he’d work on his needlepoint.

(a few of the older Jellicle generation saw some behaviors in him that were not only frustrating for Macavity himself, but certainly others. they were relieved that needlepoint seemed to refocus and calm him down; he could keep his hands busy and though his mind could wander, projects needed his constant attention. it wasn’t all roses, but it was working well for the time being.)

when the disturbances started, the three of them all stopped and listened. there was more; still, they only listened. when there was a scream, Munkustrap bolted for the outside. Tugger was hot on his heels, and Macavity a few paces behind. the confusion and the rain had everyone disorganized and running about, the guardians struggling to corral tribal members while picking out the infiltrators. Munkustrap idolized the guardians and naturally he wanted to step up and help.

the brothers were separated in the chaos. the natural leadership and protective instinct kicked right in for Tugger and thanks to that, combined with his likewise innate level head, he was able to quickly work out a plan. he wanted to restore enough order to get a start on safe evacuation to another part of the Junkyard and try to order guardians to pair and hold fast.

this was all easier said than done, and it had a lot of holes and problems during the situation - that’s simply the reality of these scenarios. one of the bigger ones was due to being a young age (17) and not really displaying outright leadership qualities (as his developing version was laid back and mostly through suggestion). he wasn’t actively training to work as a guardian. right then, he was more of a liability. Tugger butted heads with guardians and wasted precious time, so he took initiative and did things his own way, though his method allowed him to try to work with the guardians. it was noted, and clumsily following through with Tugger’s impromptu, shot-in-the-dark system helped in the long run.

later there would be due credit given to Tugger for his actions. his dedication to his tribe came loud and clear (making the ones who were personally a part of that side of the ordeal rethink some of their opinions on him) but his main priority were his brothers and father. Deuteronomy was already being protected out in the rain, where he was still rather vulnerable, but too stubborn to immediately get to a safe place until he was certain every member left was there first. and he waited for his sons. he tried to keep an eye on Tugger, he thinks he saw Macavity, and little Munkustrap had been just a glimpse.  

Tugger’s report later consisted of intentionally simple facts. he seemed reluctant to give the full story. Deut eventually allowed it; whatever happened between the start of it all to the brothers’ arrival to the safe house left the three so affected that the tribe saw the impact for years.

what happened, condensed, was this: Tugger found the two of them in what looked like an actual life or death scenario. one of their attackers held Munkustrap so tightly to their chest that bruising and a suspected cracked rib could have been the fault of this while Macavity was on aggressive offense/defense. the would-be abductor was clever and seemed to be trying to use Munkustrap as a meat-shield to ward him off.

Tugger quickly gauged the scene and jumped in at, he hoped, the right time. for the most part, he got his timing and method of attack right. he couldn’t plan for anything at all otherwise, of course. he thought that Macavity recognized not only him, but that he was there to help get Munkustrap back. (they didn’t talk about it to clarify afterwards. it was best not to.) whether or not any of that had truth, Tugger found out what this 15-year-old was capable of.

the whole event was traumatic for the three of them. that aside, the younger two saw a fierce, fearless protector in Deut’s eldest son (as did others). Tugger some gained trust and admiration and he only cared about the kind that came from his kin.

after that he admittedly looked forward to joining the ranks and filling that vacant role. he started training. Munkustrap emulated him, declaring that he too would guard Jellicle territory one day.

Macavity’s exile came and went. dynamic between the remaining brothers changed; their personalities took a different turn. Tugger’s dedication to such a physical and mental position declined. Munkustrap’s escalated. there was quite a lot of disappointment when Tugger started to lose interest and gusto in it. Munkustrap’s disappointment hurt the most, but he knew this was best for the tribe. Tugger stepped down for good.

in watching Munkustrap grow up, Tugger felt guilty and worried for him. maybe he’d been too brash about his decision. since there was no taking it back, the best he could do was advise. at first, Munkustrap seemed to have some reservations about listening to said advice. they argued a bit, Tugger accused him of being pretentious, Munkustrap called him a coward. their tension was sensed by others and Deut attempted to sit them both down and clear the air. this was a sore spot that they needed to remedy themselves, and it took a good deal of time to smooth the edges out again.

when that finally happened, Munkustrap began to ask for Tugger’s insight. while the tabby was passionately devoted to his tribe and its future, he lacked the astuteness of his kin. Tugger provided what he could. his area of expertise truly lay in strategizing. he bore a valuable skill that, in this particular tribe, was rare and unmatched. because his people-reading, intuition, and forethought sharpened by the day, he was able to guide Munkustrap to consider avenues he hadn’t thought of before. it improved the youngest’s executions and helped him advance.

Tugger settled into himself. he continued to be authentic, now feeling more free to do so without such a heavy expectation on his shoulders. concern never stopped gnawing at him about Munkustrap, however. since Macavity left, it seemed that Munkustrap gradually developed a persona, and Tugger hated that it was there at all. he blamed Macavity for it.

this persona was the upbeat, charismatic, congenial and zealous nature he was known for. Munkustrap’s storytelling was always evolving; it was his passion and pride. this isn’t to say that all of this was a facade. all mentioned is his legitimate self. what irked Tugger was how he bumped all of it up to 11 - or even 20. knowing his little brother so well, it could seem too try-hard and almost satirical. Deut noticed and felt somewhat the same from what Tugger gleaned off him. they both decided to chalk it up to Munkustrap still being young (about 20s, now) and figuring things out and, well - he did need a certain persona to do his work. maybe they were overthinking it and simply needed to be patient.

now they’re much older. the tribe has accepted new members, seen others age, put some to rest. ((NOTE: i believe that there are many more Jellicles than depicted in the show. who we see is just a fraction. i can explain why in another post if there’s any interest.)) the brothers’ relationship improved. they admired each other, played their jokes, had their feuds, got frustrated, and that was all par for the course of brotherhood. (their seven year age difference also had something to do with it.) Munkustrap filled the role that’d been waiting for him all along. the tribe was, is, proud of and to have him. he doesn’t need Tugger’s perspective as much these days, though he’s is the first person Munkustrap turns to when he does, and Tugger is all too happy to provide.

between then to now there had been some trouble here and there. though there are a collection of guardians on regular watch and assist, Tugger had occasionally been unable to only do background (though no less important) work. deep within him he was still a protector. when the type of situation arose in which his more present involvement, even in small scale, was absolutely necessary in his mind, Munkustrap was glad that he got to see the side of his brother that he revered (and mourned) so much.

they only wished Macavity’s future had kept him with them.

#ches writes #ches writes stuff #cats musical #cats the musical #munkustrap #macavity #tugger #headcanons #the read more cut is absolutely necessary #anyway gonna make the usual disclaimer: #all is subject to change #since i literally just pulled everything out of my ass and slapped it down #stream of consciousness no hard thinking #gotta get those first thoughts in amirite?? #get that ball rollin y'all #ok i'm gonna go take a run now #hope this is enjoyed!