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[dotieeee]

The Gamemaker's Apprentice

Level 6

Pairing: Dark!Young!Coriolanus Snow x You, named!Reader

Overall Warnings:

NON-CON, DUB-CON, Dark!Young!Coriolanus Snow, Snow himself should be a warning, lots of blackmailing, gaslighting, manipulation, obsession, possesiveness, eventual forced marriage, eventual loss of virginity, breeding kink, canon-compliant major character death, reader is named but has no physical descriptions in the fic so one might also consider her an OC but in 2nd POV, will have canon inconsistencies, and other stuff that may be added

Masterlist

Level 6 Warnings:

Some noncon touching and canoodling (no spoilers)

Replay Level 5

Ready? Level 6 Start:

A knock on the ornate door reverberates inside the empty lab, giving you a tiny jolt in your chair. This must be him, coming over to ‘collect you.’

Like the Grim Reaper who’s come take your soul.

Or maybe it isn’t him. After all, the door isn’t locked, and he’s used to visiting by now to know he can just come in after a knock or two. You get up to open the door, willing your hands to stop shaking so he doesn’t see that you’re fazed by his mere presence.

How are going to win this if you start crumbling like a stale cookie whenever he’s around?

You yank the door open, expecting the Devil himself disguised in slick platinum-blond hair and a finely tailored suit, but instead, you get a man in a hat and a courier’s uniform.

“Ms Prunella Innis?” He inquires.

“Yes?”

He hands you a clipboard for you to sign and picks up this enormous white box wrapped in a satin crimson bow lying by his feet. He also hands you the bouquet he’s cradling, then strides past you to deposit the box on the nearest table. Judging by the red roses in the bundle of blooms, you know who sent you everything without even asking.

Coriolanus Snow never does subtle.

You thank the courier as he exits the lab, tipping his hat in response as he does. Gingerly, you prod the box with a finger, thinking maybe anything could come flying out of the box and rip your face out. It doesn’t move, so maybe the thing inside is dead and he just sent it for the funsies. You brace yourself as you unravel the bow, eager to just get it over with. You lift the lid and a subtle waft of roses greets you.

You gasp when you discover that the contents of the box are nowhere near what you’d been expecting.

They’re actually much worse.

Inside the box are three smaller boxes, all wrapped in red satin ribbons, placed on top of what looks like fancy crepe paper. A card lies atop the tiniest of the boxes with handwriting you can recognise from a mile away.

To my Sugarplum,

Wear this tonight. A car will pick you up from the Corso III entrance at six. We will talk about your response to my request then,

Your Coryo

The box underneath the note reveals a heart-shaped ruby necklace with a fine white gold chain, similar to the chain of that plum-coloured diamond he gave you. In the confines of the second box lies a small black silk clutch, embellished in minuscule silver beads, and embroidered with fine-spun silver, making up a pattern resembling roses. The third box contains a pair of single-strap black satin high-heeled pumps. Underneath those boxes, covered in what you originally thought was just wrapping paper, is a floor-length slip dress made of silk in the loveliest shade of crimson. Based on the superb craftsmanship of the dress alone, you can tell that it isn’t something one can buy off-the-rack. Tailor-made by Coriolanus Snow’s choice of tailor shop, judging by the logo sticker sealing the crepe wrapping paper together.

There was one time these extravagant gifts would’ve sent you in a grateful, ecstatic mood.

That feels like forever ago, now.

At the moment, your gut just stirs in discomfort, looking at this luxurious mess.

Your trepidation only mounts as you watch the clock trudge slowly from day to night. By four, you get home and prepare for the inevitable. You try not to be surprised with the way the dress hugs your figure perfectly, because then that would mean he somehow got lucky with eyeballing your dress size, or that he got ahold of your measurements through questionable means. By five-thirty, the girl in your mirror is barely recognizable – a girl you’ve never seen before, put together on the outside and nearly falling apart at the seams on the inside.

It certainly doesn’t help that the near-nauseating scent of roses still emanates from the dress you’re wearing.

The reflection staring back at you seems to mock you, telling you this is your life now, all preened up at the behest of a stranger whose pastime is pushing other people under his thumbs. Oh well. You’ll get out of this invasive mask soon, you assure yourself.

The driver who’s expecting you right at your building’s entrance wordlessly opens the car door for you. An Avox, you recognise – a product of one of the Capitol’s many sophisticated ways of punishing dissent. Because sometimes death by hanging takes the rebels out of their misery too quickly, so one brilliant mind in the Capitol one day had this brilliant idea of cutting people’s tongues off and shunning them into the lowest wrung of society so they could live a life of servitude, not subjecting anyone else to their worthless, wayward opinions.

And of course, everyone else agreed with how fucking brilliant an idea it was.

Would you have preferred Sejanus be sentenced this way and still have him alive instead of dead? You banish the thought as quickly as it had come – too morbid, even by your standards. Besides, there was no way the Capitol could’ve shut him up, even without his tongue. He still would’ve fought tooth and nail for the change he wanted to see in the world.

Ten minutes to six and you’re already pulling up to the entrance of what looks like The Palisades Hotel, the grandest luxury five-star hotel in all of Panem. There are many other cars already milling at the entrance, with small crowds forming to presumably greet each other. The Chauffeur opens your car door, and immediately after stepping out of the rental car, you spot the very man responsible for you being here instead of at home, guzzling hot chocolate and stuffing your face with angel food cake.

Coriolanus Snow seems to be engaged in a lighthearted conversation with a group of older men in flashy tuxedos you only vaguely recognise by face, but his attention shifts the moment he sees you emerge from the car. You could see him mouth ‘see you inside’ to them as one of them shakes his hand vigorously. His piercing blue eyes scan your frame a few feet away, his lilting grin never vanishing from his face as he approaches you.

He seems to have lured you into some kind of party under false pretences.

He looks flawless, as he always does: his platinum-blond locks combed back, his sleek crimson tuxedo matching yours, and a signature white rose pinned to his lapel; no wonder he almost fooled you – that blinding charm he has always allowed him to hide something sinister underneath.

You could feel your pulse race with every step he takes in your direction. It takes you a fraction of a second to realise he’s holding out his hand, which you tentatively accept. He never breaks eye contact with you as he brushes his lips over the back of your hand.

You might’ve yanked your hand away a little too fast for his liking, for you see his eyes flash danger before shifting to his usual semblance of warmth.

He leans into your ear and whispers, “Sugarplum, you are a sight to behold.”

You put on the best realistic smile you can muster. “Thank you. And thank you for the dress and...everything else.”

You stay frozen to your spot as he tucks a lock of your hair behind your ear, his fingers briefly brushing against your cheek. “There. Perfect,” he says. “And there’s no need to thank me. I like spoiling my sugarplum with only the best.”

But despite the rather depressing outlook you had coming here, there’s a glimmer of hope you see as an idea strikes you. Maybe you can get out of this early, after all.

“Coryo, Uncle Cas agreed,” you tell him at once. And then make up an excuse and bolt. Anything to get out of here and away from him. “He’s willing to transfer my apprenticeship.”

Coriolanus beams in delight at the news, his eyes twinkling as he takes the initiative to wrap your arm around his. “I’m so happy to hear that, sugarplum. The highlight of my night. Let me take you inside; a lot of people are dying to see you.”

Before you can complain, however, he all but steers you inside the lobby and to the entrance of the Palisades’ grand hall.

“Where exactly are we going, Coryo?” you ask. He never said anything about other people, but maybe they could come in handy in case you need to duck and make a run for it.

He releases a short sigh, looking apologetic and slowing his pace. “I may have forgotten to tell you that we’d be attending Mr Plinth’s birthday party tonight. I’m sorry, sugarplum, I’ve been meaning to invite you in person, but I’ve been so busy lately it slipped my mind.”

Your hand makes its way to your mouth as you gasp. “But haven’t brought him a gift…”

He is quick to dismiss your concern as he waves to someone exiting the hall. “It’s okay. I wrote both our names on the card on my gift.”

“Why would you do that?” you ask, as the massive gold-painted doors open to a grand hall lined with marble and gold, revealing a crowd of people already chatting and enjoying the booze over a full orchestra playing at the corner of the stage. You could feel the blood drain from your face as a sea of curious, ogling eyes trails on you both entering the grand hall, but you power through and smile – there’s no escaping now, at this point.

“I’m simply taking responsibility,” Coriolanus responds in a teasing tone. “Would you rather have come here without a gift?”

You look up at him while you cling onto his arm for some support. He looks every bit at home with all the attention – so undeniably different from the eighteen-year-old Academy Coriolanus fidgeting with his collar all those years ago on the day of the Reaping.

You wonder inwardly if that’s the only thing in him that’s changed, while everything else that’s rotten in him had always been there, if not amplified.

“I guess not,” you acquiesce. “Thank you. Please let me know how I can pay you back.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll think of something,” he says with a lopsided grin.

Coriolanus’s arm veers you to Mr and Ma Plinth, who are both entertaining guests. You give Mr Plinth your well-wishes for his birthday and get a motherly hug from Ma, who gushes over how ‘you look every bit like a princess.’

“My sons sure have excellent taste,” she tells Coriolanus with a wink, earning a hearty laugh from him before she pulls him into an affectionate embrace.

The dress. She’s referring to the dress for sure.

But just when you think you’re finally free to just face the farthest corner and disassociate, his arm wraps around your waist and leads you away to meet other people. People you’d rather not associate with.

The horror.

But as usual, you paint on the demurest of smiles, trying not to be fazed by the flashing of cameras in the hall. The party is apparently heavily covered by the media, so Coriolanus does his best to mesmerise everyone with his wit, his looks and his charisma, while you play the role of the dolled-up, docile arm décor, beaming and chiming in only when spoken to.

It’s nothing short of demeaning, but you’re here to play his game, and losing isn’t an option.

Coriolanus proudly introduces you to everyone you meet as his official gamemaker apprentice, much to their admiration. A lot of them, powerful, important heads in the Capitol and their children, some of whom you know by face at the University. Most of them, unfamiliar faces, but they feel the need to give you unsolicited advice – somewhere along the lines of being seen more among peers of the same societal status.

“How come we don’t see you out that often?”

“You’re so pretty, you should go out more and have fun!”

“Nellie, we usually hang out at this bar, it’s super exclusive, you should come with us sometime.”

The same thing, over and over, and you just go along, nodding or shaking your head and laughing whenever a joke is told, crack a few yourself, exchange toasts over minuscule sips of booze, and tell them through gritted teeth that you’ll see them around, only to be snatched away again by the waist by Coriolanus and be brought over to another clique. Your Uncle Cas would be laughing his ass off at you if he could see you right now.

The cycle goes on, and you find yourself getting better at it with practice. Just like a loop, repeating a set of code for x number of times, automating repetitive, boring tasks on a computer application.

The only problem with loop conditions: when poorly written, can lead to infinite loops, which can cause the application’s unresponsiveness.

You vaguely wonder how long this loop is conditioned to last.

A guy you’ve seen in one of your classes approaches you and strikes up a conversation, just when Coriolanus is looking away, his hand slack on your waist as he speaks with a Mr Rutherford.

“I read your paper on the application of artificial intelligence in automating retina-scanning and other security measures,” he says, adding for clarification when you flash him a questioning look, “It’s in the library, along with your other research papers. It’s so well put together.”

He holds out his hand as he introduces himself as Ovidius Browne, the youngest of three sons of business magnate Octavius Browne. The Brownes own a number of factories in District 6. You shake his outstretched hand. He reveals himself to be in his junior year in computer engineering, a career he decided to take to help improve their company’s factory conditions. He wonders if such levels of automation would be possible in basic manufacturing tasks like quality inspection and inventory scanning without taking jobs away or being too invasive to factory workers. It’s a terrific concept, you say, and you get so pumped with exchanging ideas that you forget to put up your facade and instead engage wholeheartedly, at least until a cold hand travels from the back of your neck down to your spine, settling on the small of your back and tracing circles with a finger.

“Browne, is it?” Coriolanus Snow’s baritone chips in.

You introduce them formally and they exchange a brief and polite handshake.

“I’d like to discuss more of that with you Ms Innis,” Ovidius says. “If we could perhaps exchange numbers – ”

“Of course, we’d love to chat, Mr Browne. I can give Nellie your office number and she’ll get in touch,” Coriolanus interrupts genially. His fingers are still drumming over your back as he continues, “Apologies, I have to take my apprentice away; there is someone I’d like her to meet.”

He grips your waist to pull you away without waiting for a response from either of you.

You shoot him a confused look. “Coryo, he was just – ”

“About to ask you to put in a good word on his behalf to your uncle? Yes, he was.” He says with an eyebrow raised in disapproval.

“But we were just talking about...tech stuff. Are you sure?”

The conversation you had with him didn’t seem like it’ll branch off into that territory.

He nods once. “A little bird may have chirped to me about a certain Browne sibling’s internship application getting rejected twice by the Dean of Computer Sciences. It’s like you said before, sugarplum: just another one of those sycophants complimenting you in exchange for something.”

How much inside information does he have stockpiled on other people? Maybe he keeps them stashed in his closet labelled ‘in case of emergency, break glass.’

Just when you thought you could talk to someone about something you’re genuinely interested in for once this night.

You’re recognised by a surprisingly pleasant, popular senior and it-girl from your college, Ursa Talbot – daughter of Labor Solicitor Ursinus Talbot – who ropes you in with her gaggle of girlfriends, chatting to you about the exclusive, invite-only social clubs she’s joined and offers to vouch for you.

Ursa’s fiancé, a fresh graduate now working for her father, joins in the conversation, rolling his eyes as the women around him start giggling and making suppressed squealing noises at someone behind you. Before you turn around to see who it is, you feel a gentle squeeze on the waist.

“Ladies, my apologies, but I’d have to take my apprentice away,” he declares with a wink, and they swoon and blush behind their hands. “I hope you enjoy the night. Nellie?”

“Yes?”

Like you’re programmed to do, you look at Coriolanus with a cheerful smile and let him haul you off.

He tells you something you don’t quite catch. With the music now reaching its climax and the chatter getting livelier, it becomes hard to hear anyone, so you have no choice but to lean closer to him to make out what he’s saying. He takes this further and tugs you close to his chest by the waist. The proximity makes you inadvertently place a hand on the lapel of his waistcoat, while he whispers to the side of your face close to your ear, “I said I’m going to introduce you to Dr Volumnia Gaul.”

You peer to your side, to where he’s eyeing, and true enough, Dr Gaul herself was there, wearing a purple and gold brocade dress cascading to the floor and leather gloves to match, her straggly, greying hair adding to her distinct look. She’s chatting away with an animated Strabo Plinth holding a dainty drink in one hand and a beetle-shaped clutch in the other.

Even in something as completely innocent and normal as a birthday party, she still stands out against the crowd as a formidable presence.

She’s what you think Coriolanus is trying to be, except for the speaking-in-riddles-and-rhymes part. Wouldn’t it be funny, a snide voice in your head says, if Coriolanus one day just starts saying ‘hippity-hoppity?’

The thought is enough is cheer you up a little bit.

Volumnia Gaul’s mismatched eyes roam over the two of you as you near her spot.

“Dr Gaul, it’s a pleasure to see you tonight. I’m glad you could join us,” he says with a tip of his head. “I know we mustn’t talk of work, but I’m sure you’ll be happy to know I have secured myself the apprentice of my dreams.”

“Mr Snow, what delightful news you bring me,” she drawls toothily. “Oh my, oh my. Prunella Innis!”

Her unnerving gaze lands on you, her gloved fingers lifting your chin as if to get a better look.

Just smile, dammit.

“The apple of young Snow’s eye. I was wondering when we’d get to meet. Finally putting a pretty face to your name is such a treat!” She releases a pleased, throaty chuckle.

You try to keep your voice as steady as you can. “Pleasure to be of your acquaintance, Dr Gaul.”

The grin she has from ear to ear does not extend to her eyes. “Clever little girl, this. I can see why...” she trails off, then flicks an odd, knowing stare at your friend. “Keep your eagle eye on this one, Mr Snow; you wouldn’t want her flying away with her teensy-weensy wings...”

Seeing as this friendly, albeit bizarre banter isn’t in your list of programmed interactions, you settle for the automated smile, careful not to let it falter.

“Of course, Dr Gaul. I’m not planning on letting her go anytime soon,” he responds just as playfully.

Thankfully, the exchange ends there, as you’re both called by party ushers to your table where the Plinth couple are sitting. Odd sitting at the table for what seems to be family and close friends only, but you keep your thoughts to yourself while the ceremony begins. The night goes on with well-wishing speeches from the Plinth senior’s closest friends and colleagues. Then, the dinner courses are served right after an honorary toast for the celebrant. Everything brought to the table by the servers looks expensive and sumptuous – all a grand display of opulence that is the seemingly infinite Plinth fortune.

And yet you find yourself only able to nibble at the food, having your appetite diminished by the stress of interacting with so many people in just less than two hours.

“You’ve barely eaten anything,” Coriolanus’s voice floats from beside you. His eyes are laced with worry as he asks, “Can I get you anything you’d like?”

Plus, having to deal with him dragging you from one place to another.

You shake your head once and assure him you’re fine. You partake of the food a little more when the dessert course comes around, much to his approval.

“I’d hate to see my sugarplum getting sick,” he says as he watches you eat a tiny forkful of birthday cake.

This you ignore in favour of savouring the cake’s decadent caramel frosting and rich custard filling, balanced with an airy lemon-and-orange-flower chiffon base. You figure if you can’t have fun tonight, the least you can do is enjoy the cake.

With the food out the way, more booze comes flowing, and it isn’t long before the orchestra plays a lively tune, and the dance floor gets filled with delighted, slightly inebriated guests waltzing and tapping to the beat, and while Strabo doesn’t join in, he and Ma both look thrilled to see everyone in high spirits, before they’re pulled separately into light chit-chat by their friends.

If Sejanus was here now, you’d both be sulking together in a corner of the grand hall sharing what would’ve been your third slice of cake, arguing over who gets the side with more frosting.

You take advantage of this moment to extricate yourself from everyone – mostly Coriolanus and his imposing presence – and excuse yourself to the powder room. Locking yourself inside a bathroom stall, you let out a drawn-out exhale of absolute relief.

Alone, finally.

You gaze wistfully at the bathroom window to your left. It’s too high for your reach, but you figure you could use one of the large potted plants as a booster and get as far away from this place as you possibly can, even if you had to go on foot.

Groaning to yourself, you stew in the fact that this freedom of yours from your deviously charming companion is short-lived. He’d soon be wondering where you’d gone, and he’d likely tear the place down just so he could find you. You doubt he’d appreciate it if he hears that you’ve locked yourself in a bathroom stall plotting your escape.

The dancing is on full blast as you step back into the grand hall. You make yourself as inconspicuous as you can, strategically darting between people to reach the open bar. You choose a bar stool that conceals you from everyone in the room and order a drink on impulse. The bartender is kind enough to humour your request for an alcohol-free concoction, which he serves with maraschino cherries on a toothpick.

“Rough night?” he asks as he wipes a glass, smiling sympathetically at you. With his greying hair and the lines on the corner of his eyes, he seems to be wearier than you are, probably from having to be at the beck and call of thirsty, snotty Capitol High Society all night.

“Very,” you sigh. “I hope it isn’t as rough as yours.”

“Are you kiddin’ me?” he shakes his head with a chortle. “I had a lady just a few clicks ago demand I make the same drink four times because she wanted a Cosmo without the cranberry juice and the lime. Coulda just ordered a shot of vodka and Cointreau, but what do I know...”

You let out a suppressed, dry laugh. “I’m sorry you to had deal with that. Thanks for the drink, it’s delicious.”

“Eh. It’s nothin',’” he shrugs. A server enters behind the bar and whispers something to him, and he promptly takes his apron off and exits, but not before bidding you a good night. He is replaced by someone younger and more stern-looking, who resumes the abandoned task of wiping the other glasses.

Just as you’re about to bite a cherry off the toothpick, a sudden waft of roses floats in your vicinity, followed by a cold hand on your lower back and an airy baritone whisper over your ear.

“I was afraid you had walked out on me.”

Coriolanus Snow’s lopsided grin is inches away from your face as he leans against the counter beside you, his eyes eventually landing on the drink you’re still halfway through finishing.

“Hmm. What would my sugarplum be drinking liquid courage for?”

You shake your head. “This is alcohol-free.”

“Good.” He straightens his posture to full height and, bending to a stiff, formal bow, he extends a hand and asks, “Prunella Innis, may I please have the honour of this dance?”

You hesitate, but knowing that every move you make is now under public scrutiny, saying no and leaving him out to dry isn’t an option.

He sweeps you away to the dance floor as soon as your fingers touch his.

With the orchestra blaring their lovely rendition of Strauss II’s Voices of Spring, you both begin swaying lightly as you place your palms on his shoulder while his hands encase both sides of your waist.

Coriolanus beams down on you as his cobalt eyes search your face.

“Are you okay?” he asks, his voice mixed with a tiny tinge of concern. “I really hope I haven’t overwhelmed you, I know you never liked these kinds of parties.”

Your lips thin to a wry smile. “It’s a change of scenery, alright,” you admit. “What about you? You look like you’re having the time of your life.”

His eyes twinkle as he lets out a throaty chuckle. “That’s only because I brought good company with me.”

“Really? I thought this was your whole scene.”

“Well, if you keep going with me to the next ones, it might just be.”

His air of mischief continues even as the music ends and you join in applauding the musicians. When he doesn’t make a move to cart you off the dance floor, that’s when you figure out he isn’t done dancing with you just yet.

The orchestra begins their rendition of the Snowstorm waltz, so you both exchange a curtsy, as is the norm. With his hand clasping yours and his other hand on your waist, you begin to dance, spinning and waltzing to the beat. You’re aware you shouldn’t be making a big deal out of something as trivial as a dance, but you’re still unable to meet his eyes, afraid of what you might find. You settle for staring at his tux collar and concentrating on your footwork.

Thank goodness those etiquette classes in your early teens are proving to be worth your uncle’s money.

Soon enough, your surroundings become a blur, and all you can see is him, beaming down at you as you dip, then pulling you flush to his chest so he can spin with you some more. His gaze is heavy, feverish, never leaving your face. You see a split-second flash of the entire hall, which throws you further into a daze, discovering that eyes are trained on you both and most of the dancers have vacated the floor to give you room. The heady smell of roses, courtesy of the one pinned to his lapel, blurs your sense of reality, and you beg, you pray, that you don’t hurl what little food you ate and make a fool out of yourself. He angles his head in time to another dip and he whispers to ear in a low voice.

“You’re so intoxicatingly beautiful.”

Then he pulls you close again, your foreheads almost touching as he drinks all of you in with those half-lidded blue eyes. A few more trots on the floor and the waltz ends, and you curtsy as he bows, trying not to show just how lightheaded you are and how shallow your breathing is despite the dance itself being undemanding. The animated applause that follows echoes in the hall, and you join in mechanically.

Guests come milling in pairs to fill the dance floor once more just as the next waltz plays. Coriolanus entwines his fingers with yours.

“Come with me,” he says vaguely, and you both manoeuvre your way through the dancers and ignore some of the whispering and the staring that follows you as you exit the grand hall through the several ceiling-to-ceiling doors made of glass panels. He leads you down to the marble staircase and into the hotel’s expansive inner gardens.

“I figured you needed the fresh air,” he says as soon as you both reach a wall beside a well-manicured hedge, away from leering eyes and all the gossiping.

Your posture sags against the stone wall, letting out an exhausted exhale. “Thank you,” you say.

He just watches you wordlessly, his hands behind his back, as you compose yourself. When your head clears, you become aware that you’ve strayed a tad too far from the grand hall and are a little too alone with him than you’d prefer. Eventually, you straighten, your decision to go back to the party already made.

But Coriolanus is on you the moment you do.

“I want to show you something,” he says.

He gives you no time to complain, and he all but drags you by the arm further into a dimmer section of the garden, where you can barely hear the music and the chatter from the grand hall. A few more steps and you reach a large stone greenhouse covered wall-to-wall in creeping wisteria. Surprisingly, it’s unlocked, so he easily pushes the opaque glass door open and ushers you in first, with him following closely behind.

“The roses are to your far right.”

You hear the door’s dull click as it closes.

You shouldn’t be here, you think. But you get to the edge of the greenhouse, anyway, where the nearly overwhelming odour of a mishmash of different types of roses invades your nostrils. Despite the very little light coming through the opaque glass panels of the enclosure, you see the flowers sprawled in between a narrow path leading to the back of the building. Just more stone and glass panels, no doors.

No exits. No escape.

Your heart leaps to your throat when you feel a warm breath tickle the back of your neck and a pair of arms snake around your form. Tensing up in an instant, your breath hitches when that warmth reaches your ear.

Coriolanus’s deep, hushed tone sends shivers down your spine.

“I’ve been dying to have you all to myself the moment you stepped out of that car.”

In the blink of an eye, he turns you around and captures your lips with his.

It takes a while for you to realise what he’s doing, so he takes advantage of your momentary unresponsiveness and slips his tongue inside your mouth. As he’s moving his tongue all over yours, your back hits a hard surface. He’s pinned you against the stone wall, his body hunched over as he presses himself on yours, giving you no space to slip through or to push him away. His hand wraps around the side of your head to change the angle, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

Coriolanus Snow is kissing you, passionately and possessively, and he kisses like he’s running out of breath and you’re his only source of air.

And all you could do in your state of denial, paralysis, and fear is to close your eyes and wish he was Sejanus instead.

When he shifts his angle, you tilt your head to the side so you can catch your breath. Perhaps he sees this as an act of defiance, for he cups both your cheeks with a growl, making you face him, and goes back to kissing you just as fiercely as before. This time, you instinctively keep your lips shut, but a light nip of his teeth leaves you gasping in surprise, enabling him to tangle both your tongues.

Your hands manage to wedge between your bodies, so you push him away with all the strength you have. As he reluctantly pulls away, he has the gall to look affronted, but you could’ve slapped him, too, or clawed his eyes out for putting you in such a vulnerable position; only reason prevents you from lashing out.

“I’m sorry, sugarplum. I’ve had quite the drink tonight,” he whispers breathlessly, resting his forehead on your temple.

Liar. You can barely smell anything alcohol-related on him; just the sickening scent of the flowers he’s partial to. This is all just a part of the game to him, to make you feel isolated and powerless against him. A play for power and control, and one he’s currently winning.

“We should go, Coryo.” You hate how close to begging your voice sounds. “Please, it’s a school day tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow is Saturday.”

Fuck.

Of all the excuses, that’s what you come up with?

He begins planting butterfly kisses on your temple and your cheek.

“Not for my uncle,” you scramble to correct yourself. “He often has Saturday classes and I sometimes help.”

“Skip it. You’re my apprentice now. Mine,” he says sternly. He seems to immediately amend his tone by asking, “I mean, doesn’t he have interns for that?”

Damn it.

“Yes, he does.”

You could feel him smirk against your cheek, seemingly counting this as a win. With you still effectively trapped in between the wall and his unrelenting embrace, he takes your chin with his forefinger and thumb to make you face him and latches his lips on yours.

His hand finds its way to your back, brushing against the groove of your spine. He then grips the back of your neck and turns your head to the side, allowing him to leave a trail of open-mouthed kisses on your jaw, before moving down to the column of your neck.

You cave in and beg as soon as you feel his tongue on your skin.

“Coryo, please...please stop...”

It comes out as a broken whimper, making you hate yourself even more. The dread you felt when you opened his gift, the way you had to put on a mask that you hate for people you don’t care for, the way you had to pretend to him that you don’t despise how he kept making you feel so exposed and defenceless the entire night – everything you’ve been bottling up since this morning seemed to come spilling into that plea, rendering you to feel even more helpless and alone. It takes every ounce of self-control in you not to burst into tears.

You’re not supposed to act this pathetically in front of him, but here you are.

His grip on you grows slack and he draws his head back to observe you, his jaw clenched in disapproval. You don’t care; you try to wriggle away from him, your bodies still too close for your liking. You still refuse to meet his eyes, because if you do, he might see right through your crumbling facade.

He sighs and takes a full step backwards, finally giving you space to breathe in relief.

He still finds the nerve to let out a restrained chuckle. “I’m sorry, I let my emotions get the better of me. You’re right; this is neither the time nor the place.”

Neither the time nor the place. Does that mean he’ll do it again? At this point, you can’t bring yourself to care.

“Can we go back? Please?”

He takes your hand in his with a nod. Stepping outside the greenhouse, you both stop in your tracks as you spot another couple nearby, seemingly trying to stay hidden in the bushes and in the middle of making out. It’s Ursa and her fiancé. They both pull away from each other and Ursa waves at you spiritedly while her partner looks away in embarrassment. She then drags him by the arm to the now-vacant greenhouse, both of them bursting into a giddy laughing fit.

Coriolanus just smirks at the sight. With him refusing to let your hand go, you continue your trek back to the grand hall, where the party is still in full swing, and the guests are still drinking and dancing the night away.

Your feet are sore, your lips are numb, and your soul is drained.

Yet you still put on a good final show until the party ends as if nothing happened. By eleven thirty, Mr and Ma Plinth instruct Coriolanus to call it a night and get some rest, but not before he escorts you home. Like the dutiful Plinth heir he is, he gladly obliges, and that’s how you wind up with the same car ride as he, the tension in the air so thick you could cut it through with a butter knife.

Coriolanus breaks the silence.

“I will have a car escort you from your home the Citadel starting Monday,” he says matter-of-factly. “As per Dr Gaul’s instructions, you will be excused from any summer class you’ve enrolled in.”

“But I took those classes for extra credit,” you protest mildly.

He encases your hand on your lap. “You will be granted full credits for all of them if we succeed. This is, after all, for the cause, not only of the Citadel nor of the Capitol, but of all of Panem.

“This Monday, sugarplum, is the dawn of a new era.”

You refuse point-blank to look at him or even acknowledge the comment, but judging by the excitement in his tone, despite everything he’s forced you to do this night, you already know he’s smiling and extremely pleased with himself.

After long agonising minutes, the car pulls up before the Corso III lobby entrance, so you bid him good night, which he returns with a swift peck on your cheek. You don’t even look back at the car once you get out; you run straight to the elevator, lock your apartment door and head to the safety of your bedroom.

Your first of two tasks as soon as you lock the door is to rid yourself of everything that reminds you of that accursed party – the dress, the shoes, the clutch, the necklace – and chuck them all into a corner where you hope you’d never see them again. You have a half-mind to shower to get rid of his smell on you, but you’re so tired to the bone you move on to the second and last task of the night:

Curl up in your blankets and cry your heart out.

Enter Level 7

Author notes:

Please reblog and comment, it's always appreciated!!

Next Level will include a portion of the ball in Snowball's POV!! I wanted it to be here but then it'll get too long so...🫣 also reader is going to have to work this incoming Monday lol and more sympathetic I cannot be, esp with Snowball observing 😛

#dark!coriolanus snow #dark!coriolanus snow x reader #young!coriolanus snow #young!coriolanus snow x reader #named!reader #or #x OC2ndPOV #18+ only #dark!coriolanus snow fic #dark!coriolanus #dark!coriolanus fic #dark!fic

[stvrdrops]

who are you loyal to? ☆ | shuri x fem!reader

the ring on your finger is temporary, while shuri's claim on you is forever. some silly arrangement won't keep from her, she's just hurt you didn't tell her first.

warnings : cheating, kissing, arranged marriage

word count : 4k+

note : this is actually one of my favorite pieces i've ever written, so i hope you guys enjoy it :) also i just skimmed through it instead of proof reading so sorry if there are errors.

as your servants laced up the corset that lays under your black silky dress you couldn't help but dread the upcoming event. you'd been attending the wakandan tribe gala since you were in diapers. your mother and father ruling over the river tribe helped you get the invite after all these years.

when you were young you loved attending the gala. it was a time for you to feel accepted and welcome among the people of higher class. you could relate to the people of your tribe, but you couldn't help but feel isolated. you were the only daughter of your parents, meaning you faced the hard task of taking over for them once they passed.

attending the balls also didn't hurt because shuri had been in attendance. the princess of wakanda obviously had to be in attendance and you were happy to see her every time. when the two of you were just a few years younger you were very close. however, you mainly had to do most of your communication with her through kimoyo beads only. the only time you did get to see each other were at galas or royal meetings your parents would drag you along for. this meant this was the only time you and shuri got the chance to exercise your teenaged romance. your relationship was essentially long distance, without the distance. perhaps social distance and busy schedule distance would be a better term for it.

sneaking around the palace during the galas gave you both adrenaline. stealing kisses behind pillars and escaping the dora milaje at every corner made you somehow fall more in love with her. sometimes you two would sneak off into her lap, where no one would be due to how busy the ballroom was. she would show you all the things she made with you in mind as you sat on the table, smiling wide. you were in awe of her intelligence, while she was in awe of your beauty.

"this one i call y/n prototype number three." shuri said as she showed off a kimoyo beaded necklace, laced with vibranium diamonds. it made your eyes go wide from its beauty. she knew how much you loved jewelry. she also knew how much you liked it when she named her inventions after you.

"it matches your breathtaking beauty."

"oh shuri, stop it! you're too much of a sap." you said, smiling from ear to ear and laughing together as she hugs you.

at one point shuri had even set griot's voice to your own when she was alone in her lab. she had claimed it helped her focus, but really it was the only way she could get any real sleep.

one day she had forgotten to change the voice setting when her mother walked in. this resulted in many questions that shuri couldn't answer due to how flustered she was.

shuri was your first love, first meaningful relationship, and first sexual partner. you two were together for three years, which were some of the best in your entire life. a lot of the most important events in your life involved her.

now, this would be the first time you've seen her since your private break up. it would be the first time that you've seen her since her brother's passing. in his death he handed her the mantle of the black panther, which meant she spent less and less at home in wakanda.

it would also be the first time that you were to tell the queen, and shuri, about your soon-to-be wife. which would make your relationship with her far more public than shuri's.

an arranged marriage was very common within your tribe. your parents had been arranged and sometimes you wondered if they even truly loved one another. your heart had been with shuri, not someone random.

the breakup was caused because shuri was angry with the world. she wanted to burn it into ashes. she thought that because she had lost her brother that she had lost everyone who cared about her. her mind pushed out the thoughts of you, therefore ultimately leaving you alone to deal with your own grief as well.

it was painful knowing that she was dealing with something like this, self sabotaging herself in the process. you knew she would never be the same shuri, which only made you cry more. she was destroying herself and you could do nothing but watch.

however, almost two years had passed since then. this meant you needed to begin to move on, whether you liked it or not. you avoided seeing shuri in the media, blocking news sites and articles from popping up on your kimoyo beads that might showcase her. you refused to attend any formal events in fear that you may see her there despite her busy schedule. you became somewhat of a recluse, only letting your tribe people see you when you needed to go to the market. this ball was the only thing you couldn't get out of, and you tried ever so desperately to do so. your parents went on and on about how you need to stop avoiding the girl you were to marry. really, they had no clue that you were avoiding the girl you wanted to marry.

"they are here to escort you to the gala, y/n." your personal bodyguard spoke out. she had been a part of your tribe and was almost like an older sister to you. she was the only person who knew about the true nature of you and shuri's relationship. she was the only person who truly knew who your tears were for.

"thank you, i shall head out soon." you say to her, a smile on your face to hide the feelings you truly had. she knew it was a facade, but she admired you all the more for it. you were a strong woman, and an even stronger leader someday. she hoped that shuri would open her eyes again to you someday, but it was becoming less likely with your upcoming marriage.

she simply walks away, after giving you a nod. your face turns back to the vanity you sat at. your makeup looked beautiful and your hair was styled high on top of your head. you looked just as regal as you felt. you wondered if shuri would feel the same if your eyes met hers tonight.

"ah, my sweet daughter has finally decided to join society after all this time." your father says jokingly as you bow before the queen. everyone had to do so whenever they entered the gala. you did so, as the princess stood right beside her.

you refused to make eye contact, placing your gaze at anything but her. yet, out of the corner of your eye you couldn't help but watch her.

she had looked older, more mature. perhaps aged by her grief. she no longer wore her signature braids, instead opting for a curly top and a fade all the way around. her jawline no longer seemed childish and her body had been much more toned than before. she wore a dress of her own, it was long and somewhat boxy. it made her look tall and elegant. you curse bast for making her so much more attractive, therefore making her harder to resist.

shuri had been fighting the urge to look at you as well. it proved hard for her, because although she would not admit her cruelty she knew she messed up with you. while you actively went to of your way to avoid shuri, she kept up with you. she watched you in the market when you traveled through. she kept up with your charity work in america at the centers her brother had created before his passing. she thought she knew everything there was to know about you, not being able to let go after all this time.

"i hear we have an engagement on our hands?" queen ramonda asks, causing you to push out a fake smile. shuri can't help but look in your direction now, with her eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide. this couldn't be true, how did she not know? she prayed to bast that you would correct her mother.

"yes. i am to be married."

"to who?" shuri bursts out, her voice cracking a little as she speaks. the outburst causes you to finally look directly at her. your heart skips a beat, and she can sense it. most of all, she can see it, the pain hidden deep within your face when she looks at you. a pain that she caused, and she knows it too. her nose twitched at the realization.

your parents speak for you, considering you're far too choked up. "to make, she also from the river tribe. we thought it best to find someone from within our tribe for her."

"oh, how wonderful-" the queen begins to say, before being cut off by her daughter.

"this was arranged?" she looks bewildered and upset all at once. her voice had arguably raised an entire level and some people even began to look towards her. "do you people not even care if your daughter loves her?"

your mother scoffs as you stand there, stuck in your own embarrassment and surprise.

"shuri! know your place. do not ask such questions!" the queen says, quickly correcting her daughter's unruliness.

"i am sorry mother." she mumbles out, never once taking her eyes off of you.

"do not apologize to me. apologize to y/n and her parents."

in your mind there was nothing to apologize for. shuri had spoken out against something that both you and her knew was wrong. she knew how you felt about arranged marriages. you often expressed your fear to her that your parents would set you up in a loveless marriage someday. she would reassure you, saying that would never happen seeing as how she wouldn't allow it. besides, there would be no worry as long as you two were together. however, now you aren't together. now you were engaged and it was not to her.

"i am sorry elders." she speaks, and then looks at you. "i am sorry y/n."

it felt like her saying sorry for so much more than this outburst.

"apology accepted." your father states, not wanting to dwell on the matter more than you already had. your mother has an angry look on her face, still not taking the apology sincere.

"if you will excuse me, queen mother, i must be seeing my fiancée."

she simply nods her head, "i hope to speak with you about this exciting news later."

"of course." you say before walking off into the crowd of people.

"please excuse me as well." shuri says shortly after you walk off. she only heads off into your direction once her mother sways her away with a hand motion.

"y/n!" your fiancée calls over to you from the bar. her hand is in the air, showing her magnificent diamond on her ring finger. it was the most expensive your parents could get.

"makeya, my love. how are you tonight?" you ask her as you sit next to her in one of the empty chairs. it didn't feel right calling her that nickname, considering you did not truly love her. you loved her as a person. she was kind, beautiful, and ever so considerate of your feelings. had it been another universe you would've loved to be her person. however, you weren't and it felt so wrong to string her along. it wasn't like she had much choice in this situation either, although she seemed quite happy about it.

"i've never been able to attend one of these balls before. i always watched the lavish women enter from afar. i never imagined i'd get the chance to attend!"

for you, this was just a regular day out of the year.

"i'm glad i've been able to give you this experience." the bother in your voice is obvious. you don't even bother to hide it, knowing that you wouldn't be able to.

"is something the matter?"

"not particularly."

"ah, i know what is."

you raise your head, "you do?"

she laughs, "yes, you are probably just too used to these sorts of settings. they are not fun for you anymore."

"oh," you say, a little disappointed she hadn't guessed correctly and called of the engagement right then and there. "sure, that's it."

"y/n?" a familiar voice calls out to you. you would've liked to say you turned slowly to face her, when really it was the exact opposite. it was as if you were desperate for her to call out to you and you jolted up. your posture changed and your eyes widened as you looked at her. your lips went dry despite the gloss and air was caught in your throat. for some reason it felt like you were caught cheating.

"princess shuri?" makeya can't help but ask, the fingerling in her voice is hard to contain.

shuri laughs, and it sends shivers down your spine. the princess watches as the hairs on your arms stand. she was eye-fucking you, and you knew it. yet, it wasn't like you were exactly begging her to stop.

"we should go elsewhere makeya."

"and leave so soon?" shuri questions, making you scowl at her.

"not leaving entirely, just leaving the area."

"oh, y/n. don't be like that when i'm trying to know your future wife."

makeya giggles, not intuitive enough to see what's going on. how she is ignoring the tension between you and shuri is unbeknownst.

"i would love for you to get to know me! i know that you and y/n were close friends once, but she would never give any exact details!"

"oh?" shuri looks from makeya and back to you, "i have many details about y/n. such as one about the star tattoo on her lower hip. you see-"

"enough." you hiss out to the panther, grabbing her arm. "makeya, please excuse us."

you don't bother looking back to see your fiancée as you began dragging shuri out of the ballroom. some eyes fall onto the both of you as you push past the crowd. shuri had a wide smile on her face, knowing she got under your skin. your anger only grew when you realized this was her intention all along.

you don't even realize you feet are taking you to the lab until you reach the smart doors. perhaps it was muscle memory that this is where you decided to take her. if you were being honest, it only made you more angry.

"griot, open." you speak to the ai, assuming that shuri never deleted your voice activations. just as you thought, the doors opened without a second thought.

with your strength you pull her body in front of yours once you're alone in the room.

"what the hell are you doing?"

she scoffs, "that's a question i should be asking you. since when do you feel the need to not tell me you're getting married?"

"it's none of your concern who i am with. you are the the one shut me out! she let me in after you broke my heart."

"i'm assuming pretty easily too." shuri rolls her eyes.

you don't know what exactly you've done until you hear the sound of skin connecting, until you see shuri touching the red mark on her cheek, until you see how wide her eyes are. you don't even notice the tears in your eyes until you feel one rolling down your face. no apology for slapping her comes to your mouth. you can't find it within yourself to apologize. you were hurt by her. hell, you were still hurting because of her. she had lost her brother and you were sympathetic to that. why did she want to lose you as well? that part confused you deeply.

"how dare you?" you ask, your voice breaking. "how dare you start acting like you give a damn about me now? would you have even cared if i wasn't engaged?"

shuri stays silent, fingers still touching her own cheek.

"that's what i thought. you are jealous that i'm happy. you're upset i didn't stick around to put up with your bullshit."

"it is not bullshit. i was grieving."

"we were all grieving shuri, so i understand that. but are you really going to use that as your excuse for pushing me out and then never letting me back in? if so, it's a cheap fucking cop out."

"it was never my intention to fully push you out. i thought i was doing you a favor!"

now it was your turn to laugh, "a favor? you thought that me losing the love of my life would a favor?"

"love of your life?"

you grind your teeth, not wanting to answer that question. her eyes are searching for it, that much you can tell as she looks right through you. your lip trembles as you fight back more tears. this was not the conversation you wanted to have tonight.

"i got scared." shuri begins to say after realizing you weren't going to answer. "i got scared that i would lose you completely, like t'challa. i know you have certain rolls to uphold within the river tribe. i didn't know if i could be that woman for you anymore, living in constant fear that you'd be the one i'd lose next. you deserved to be happy, so i thought that was the only way. i didn't know that it would do the opposite of making you happy."

"you're selfish for not asking me about how i felt. all i ever did was ask how you were doing."

"i won't say that i'm not selfish. i am. i'm being selfish even now about wanting you all to myself. i pushed a lot of people out when my brother died, including my mother. i made amends with her but i never knew how to go about reconciliation with you. now it's too late. you have no idea how many nights i've laid awake sleepless wondering about you."

"then give me an idea." you say, staring deep into her eyes.

"when i realized just how much pushing i'd really done i knew i could never get you back. i had countless nightmares replaying our breakup in my mind. i thought that putting myself into my work would take my mind off of you but it only made it worse. my designs went back to being centered about you. my coworkers knew i was unable to focus on my work. i grew irritated with everything and everyone. i kept tabs on you, but obviously not well enough."

it hurt your heart to know this was how shuri was feeling. however, you knew deep down that you couldn't settle for this. would you have ever gotten this apology from her had you not been engaged?

"i'm telling you this now because i don't want you think i don't love you. i wasn't sure if i could find the courage to admit my mistakes until now." she says, as if she's heard your thoughts. your eyes can't help but go wide. this was the push that shuri desperately needed.

"what did you expect to get out of this?"

"do you love her?" she interjects, not even bothering to answer your question.

"fuck you, shuri."

"fine, then let me ask you this." she says, stepping close to you.

you just keep looking right at her, challenging her with your stance. the feeling of her breathing on your skin makes you shiver.

"who are you loyal to?" shuri asks, gazing into your eyes. she's searching for an answer that she knows she won't get.

"my country, my family, and my people. as every great leader is. you should know this better than anyone." you say back, glaring into her deep brown eyes. you knew she was testing you.

"ah, but not your soon to be wife."

"i am loyal to her especially."

shuri chuckles, "but here you are with me. you're a liar."

you cock your head, smiling at her, "she fucks good." you knew this was a lie. makeya had never even touched your boob without a bra over it.

"oh please," shuri rolls her eyes, "i saw the look on her face when i mentioned your tattoo. she didn't even know it existed."

you grind your teeth together. of course your fiancée didn't know you had that tattoo. you two hadn't actually gotten that intimate yet, knowing you weren't ready for something like that after shuri. even more ironic, it was a tattoo that shuri had given you herself after a drunken night. it was a panther paw. corny, you know. however, it signified that shuri laid her claim on you. which was highly efficient considering every time you stared at yourself in the mirror you would envision her behind you.

"yeah, nothing to say now." shuri says, now even closer to your body. your noses are almost touching and your chests can't help but smush up against each other. her hand makes its way to your face, caressing it softly. "that's cause you're loyal to your princess. not whoever that woman is. i know you're angry and i can't express how sorry i am. however, i will not let you marry her. i will go out there right now and tell them all that i'm marrying you if that is what it takes."

"do it then." you say, offering her a challenge that you don't know she'd actually take. you weren't thinking about how much it may hurt your supposed lover. you weren't thinking about how much it would hurt your mother and father. you knew how hurt you were by shuri, but she was the kind of drug that was the hardest to quit.

you can feel her free hand slipping off the engagement ring you sported on your finger. her eyes never break away from yours as she tries to read the emotion spreading across your face. for some reason, you can't make her stop from throwing your ring across the lab.

then she kisses you. it was nothing like you've ever experienced before. it was better than any first kiss you had with her. it was as if all this wanting built up to a point of no return as her hands found your hips. as she lifted you up onto the table she wasn't thinking about makeya. she was thinking about how you were hers and always would be. her panther powers kicked in as she gripped your thighs, trialing her kisses all the way down your neck.

she smiled in between kisses and sucking as she listened to the moans that escaped your mouth. they sounded like a symphony as they came one after the other. this was what you ached and dreamed for, and damn did it feel good.

"who are you loyal to?" shuri asks again, sounding breathless.

"you.." you moan out, trying to maintain your composure.

"good." shuri states, and then pulls away from you.

"where are you going?" you can't help but ask as you watch her walk towards the exit of the door.

"to tell them you're getting married."

"they already know that shuri!" you exclaim as you fix the straps on your dress and fix your hair she had begun to mess up.

"oh i know. but i am going to tell them you're marrying me instead."

shuri had officially lost it. you attempted to catch up with her as she moved through the halls, but her panther powers made her walk so much faster than you when she was trying. you pleaded with her to not do this, knowing the outcome. the elders would never allow it and you would crush makeya in the same sitting.

yet, you couldn't help but smile at the idea. shuri finally showing the effort you've always wanted from her. your heart ached for this and your dreams were becoming a reality in ways you could never imagine.

shuri was going to marry you, whether the elders approved or not.

˖⁺｡˚⋆˙✧⋆｡°✩☼⋆｡°✩☽

#stvrdrops #fanfic #princess shuri #mcu shuri #shuri fanfiction #shuri x reader #shuri/reader #shuri #shuri fluff #mcu fanfic #mcu fanfiction #shuri udaku #shuri fic #black panther #shuri x y/n #mcu #marvel mcu

[killmongerskeepermain]

Prompt Request: hi! can u do #12 and #19 from the fluff list :)!! ur a great writer btw, thanks 

Fluff #12: Standing behind someone, hugging them around the arms or the waist, and kissing the top edge of the shoulder

Fluff #19: “You remembered.”

You walked into the lab with a bright aura as you spoke to each scientist that greeted you. Giving a wakandan salute you found the reason for your visit. Shuri stood with her back to you as she was focused on the sequence in front of her. Her back was bare as the dress she wore fit her frame beautifully. You snuck behind her to plant a single kiss to her shoulder while holding her middle. You felt the way she tensed before relaxing in your presence as she turned to face you.

"We are around our peers, woman. Control yourself." She joked as she reached for your chin before giving you a long kiss. When you pulled away you had your hands behind your back with a grin on your lips. "Something to say my love?" You pulled your hands from behind your back revealing a small box with a gold ribbon. She raised a brow before grabbing the box. 

"I thought we agreed on no gifts till tonight?" She questioned and you shrugged. "We did. But I want you to have yours early." She eyed the box before looking around to see all the present scientists watching the exchange with excited stares. She went to undo the ribbon and slowly opened the box with a small smile. Inside laid a black and gold kimoyo bracelet with each letter of her name engraved into each bead. Hey eyes found yours with a specific question floating around her orbs and your giggled. 

"Griot?" You called out and the bracket lit up as the AI responded. 

"Yes Ms. Y/N?"

"Does it function like the current bracelets?" She asked in excitement. Both ecstatic and proud that you created this. You nodded with a wide smile before brushing against the beads letting a holographic screen appear. 

"This one does exactly that of your original design. It's just personalized. Thanks to Griot and your scientists it came out perfect." You told her and she wrapped her arms around your body slightly lifting you from the ground. Her and that panther strength. 

"I love it sthandwa. Thank you." She smiled before kissing you on your lips. She pulled back with the same smile on her face. "Are you sure you don't want yours now?"

"I'm sure. Save it for tonight. Happy Anniversary love." You whispered and the scientists cheered for you. Only they know how much you struggled with trying to figure out how to give her the bracelet. 

"Happy Anniversary. I'll see you tonight yeah?" She asked and you nodded, knowing she had work to do. You kissed her cheek before making your way out the door happy that your surprise went well. Later that night you were putting the finishing touches on the bedroom. You had rose petals littered around the floor and bed with a plate of a fruit assortment on the bed. You were standing proud of your work as the door opened to reveal your wife. She wasted no time to reach you and she kissed your lips softly while wrapping you in a warm embrace. You felt a cold sensation on your neck and pulled away in time to see her clasp a diamond necklace around your neck. You turned to the mirror and a small gasp left you. You remember this necklace. Back when you and Shuri took a trip to the states a couple of months ago. You saw a necklace in one of the jewelry stores you walked into. Shuri remembered how your face lit up when you saw it. She remembered how you said it would be nice to have but not at the time because you were on a business trip. 

"You remembered." You said softly as your eyes found hers in the mirror. She held a smile as she watched you run your finger over the jewelry with tears stinging your eyes.

"Of course I did. Why wouldn't I remember something that made you smile?" She questioned as she held you from behind kissing your shoulder. "Happy Anniversary usana."

#poc reader #princess shuri #queen shuri #shuri #shuri black panther #shuri fanfiction #shuri fluff #shuri imagine #shuri udaku #shuri x reader #shuri x woc!reader #shuri x black!reader #shuri x fem!reader #letitia wright shuri #shuri prompt

[iriel3000]

Hurry, She Needs You

Summary: Natasha becomes ill from what they think is food poisoning. Tony and Bruce try to care for her until Clint arrives home from a deep cover mission. Part 1 of 6

Whumptober Day 1: Swooning | “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Natasha whump, light whump, eventual happy ending

“OK, I made my speech. I'm ready to leave." Tony Stark loosened his silk, Ferragamo tie and unbuttoned the top of his white dress shirt.

"Photo op with the Board of Directors and then we can go." His sultry companion tossed her long red hair over her shoulder, surveying the room.

New York’s finest came out for the city’s annual Public Works Charity Auction. Natasha had agreed to accompany Tony while Pepper was at the Clean Energy Conference in Chicago.

"Really?" He asked, eyes lighting up. "Pepper always makes me stay and schmoose."

"Do you want me to act like your wife tonight?" Natasha arched an eyebrow and toyed with her empty rocks glass.

"That's a loaded question, Agent Romanov." He smirked and signaled for another drink.

“If anything,” Tony lowered his voice, “I need you to use your skills on Aldrich Killian. There are whispers he’s experimenting with biologicals and I want to know what he’s up to.”

“Maybe the next party. I’m tasked to only one crazy billionaire tonight.”

"Aren't I the lucky one?” Stark raked his eyes over her elegant figure.

Natasha wore a simple yet sexy little black dress with a diamond necklace, earrings and a plain black band on her right ring finger. He joked that the ring had a hidden needle full of poison inside.

“Aldrich couldn’t handle you in that dress tonight, anyway.” That got a smirk out of her. “Speaking of simps, where’s Barton?”

Her face softened, becoming almost wistful.

“Too far.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Stark.” A waiter interrupted and held out a short glass with clear liquid, another sat on a small tray. “Compliments of Mr. Killian.”

Tony looked across the room at Aldrich then turned away from his top competitor and rolled his eyes.

Natasha accepted both, thanked the young man and downed the first drink in one gulp. She held up the second and toasted to Killian in thanks.

“He doesn’t look pleased that I drank his expensive liquor.”

“I'm sure he wanted to see me choke on it.”

“Bitter finish,” she scrunched her nose, “I did you a favor.”

The host of the evening announced a silent auction would begin in ten minutes.

“Romanov, get us out of here.”

“Follow me.” Natasha stood but quickly put a hand to her forehead.

“You okay?” Tony jumped to her side when she swooned and grabbed for the edge of the table.

Tony laced his arm through hers. She giggled.

“Wait. Are you drunk?”

"No.” Natasha yanked her arm free, wobbling a little as she did so.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" He’d seen Natasha drink way more than tonight but never slur or stumble.

"Funny. Do you want to leave? Or do you want me to announce that the after party is at your house?” She turned towards the podium.

“No, no.” He stopped her. “No more jokes. Get us out of here.”

On the ride home, Natasha was quiet. Tony kept from commenting on the fine sheen of sweat glistening over her face and neck or how she kept her eyes closed, making little noises with every turn of the car.

He had his own private entrance to his penthouse but offered to ride up with Nat.

“I’m fine.” She clipped and fumbled into the elevator.

Tony hovered until the number to her floor stopped and started back down. The doors opened.

The empty compartment should have made him feel better, but it didn't.

Stark wandered down to his basement lab and poured a scotch, contemplating on how to check on his favorite bodyguard without her knowing he was checking on her.

Hey. he texted. Does William Tell know we went on a date?

Waiting for a reply, Tony flipped on the news and opened his new software system, an advanced A. I. program he’d been working on for the Tower.

Glancing at his phone, he frowned. No response yet. He tried again.

Breakfast in the morning? Happy wants to go over the new security install with you.

His knee bounced impatiently waiting for a response.

At the five minute mark, Tony called for Jarvis.

“Jarvis, security override, Stark616. What is the status of Agent Romanov?”

“Agent Romanov’s heart rate and blood pressure are abnormal. Vitals indicate she is unconscious, sir.”

Tony raced to the elevator.

“Agent Romanov is in Agent Barton’s quarters, the master bathroom.”

Tony would’ve enjoyed that little piece of information any other time, right now, he needed to know Nat was okay.

Rushing through Clint’s apartment, Tony burst into the bathroom.

“Oh my God, Natasha.” She was unconscious on the floor. “Nat, wake up! Jarvis, call Bruce!”

tbc...entire story will be posted below after part 6

Hurry, She Needs You

#whumptober2023 #no. 2 #no. 3 #swooning #how many fingers am I holding up? #the avengers #Clintasha #fic #no warnings for part 1 #hawkeye #black widow #clint barton #clint x natasha #natasha romanov #hurry she needs you #I made it! #whumptober 2023

[oceanbug]

when worlds collide

smau non!idol ningning x reader

17.5 ning yi zhuo.

•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•

Spring Hill High, Freshman Year, 7 years ago.

A 14K diamond necklace around her neck and a 24K pleated gold brooch on her uniform blazer. Silky brown hair all the way to her lower back always straightened, never a hair out of place. All eyes stared at her as she walked down the school’s corridor. She had a small, polite smile and sat near the front of the auditorium. Whispers could be heard all around her.

‘Is that Ning Yi Zhuo? Isn’t her family, like, super rich?’

‘Yeah! I heard her family signal-handily fund and build half of the school’

‘No wonder she’s so pretty; she can afford it’

Ningning was a known name around town; she was popular everywhere she went. She was popular, but not liked.

Ningning learned the hard way that to keep her life happy, she needed to keep a small circle. At the moment, this circle had a total of 0 members. That was pretty small!

It’s not that she didn’t enjoy the company—quite the contrary—but it was hard to see who wanted her for her friendship and who wanted her for money.

To keep things at bay, she’d wave and have small talk with anyone who asked, but when it came to hanging out outside of school, she’d always refused. Going to the mall or to dinner always brought up the subject of money. Since Ningning had an abundance of money, her friends always felt entitled to it just because they were friends with her. It would start arguments when she refused to pay for everything, thus ending her friendships. Friendships that were her everything fell apart so easily. Had anyone actually wanted to be friends with her? Or did they just want her money? It was a story that repeated itself over and over, but that was going to stop in high school; she’d keep her distance from everyone. It was her goal.

That is until a certain raven-haired boy came creeping into her life.

"Yeonjun, Park Yeonjun. And who do I have the honor of speaking too?"

Unlucky for Ningning, she had become chemistry lab partners with the most social boy in all of Spring Hill High.

"I’m surprised you don’t know. It’s Ning Yi Zhuo, but just call me Ningning."

"Ning Yi Zhuo, huh? It does sound familiar. Well, what does it matter? You’re stuck with me all year, Ningning; get used to seeing this pretty face all day." Ningning rolled her eyes and gave him a small smile.

"Aw, come on, princess, I can spot a fake smile from miles away. You don’t have to pretend to like me. It’s fine if you don’t; I’ll convince you otherwise eventually." Ningning’s smile didn’t drop, but she did feel herself giggle. It had been a while since she had genuinely laughed at someone’s joke. She had to stop herself, though. Ningning couldn’t get close to someone else. But it’s just one class a day with him. There was no way she’d become friends with Yeonjun.

And Ningning was right. She didn’t become friends with Yeonjun. They became so much more than that.

__________________________

Meeting Yeonjun brought Ningning into a whole new world. One filled with adventure and curiosity. One where she didn’t have to force herself to be introverted for the sake of her happiness, she could be extroverted and happy without fear.

Day after day, he would come into class and tell her wild stories, half of which Ningning had been certain were fake, but that he only told her so he could see her smile. And laugh. Yeonjun always made her laugh.

One day, while walking out of the cafeteria on her way to eat her lunch outside, Ningning was stopped by two girls. One had long, flowing brown hair with a mole under her eye.

"Heard you’re getting chummy with our Yeonjun?" Both girls stared at Ningning, waiting for a response. She awkwardly shifted her eyes in confusion, but before she got the chance to explain herself, the other girl next to her with bangs began to laugh.

"Wonyoung, come on! You’re scaring her! Listen, she’s kidding. We don’t care what’s going on with you and Yeonjun; just know he won’t shut up about you."

"Ugh, it’s so annoying; you’re all he talks about, Ning. Just go out with him so we can have lunch in peace! Right, Aeri?" The girl with bangs, Aeri, nodded her head and giggled.

Ningning blushed at the thought.

"Aw, are you shy? Tell you this: Let’s go out together as a group. You could get a feel for him and see if you like him before making a move. I’m sure you’ll have fun!" Ningning didn’t want to go out with these strangers, but she did want to go out with Yeonjun. So she agreed, and it was the best decision she had ever made.

The group of four first went roller skating. It was Ninging’s first time ever rollerskating, and she learned the hard way that it wasn’t easy to grasp on the first try. With each fall came further frustration from Ningning. All she could do was watch as her friends laughed and had fun. While she lay on the floor alone, After falling down for the fifth time, she saw a hand extended out to her.

"Here, grab on to me. It’ll be easier this way; if we both fall, we fall together! Totes less embarrassing." Ningning held onto Giselle tightly, and the two of them skated together. Aeri never left Ninging’s side the whole afternoon, and if she fell, then Aeri fell right with her. It was comforting. Is this what genuine friendship is like?

After hours of skating, everyone was beat and decided to have lunch. Banter and jokes flew around the table; Wonyoung even told some embarrassing stories about Yeonjun. It was a blast! Once the check finally came, Ningning felt shivers down her spine. This is when the argument always happened. Were these new-found friends going to dump the check on her? Were they going to use her like everyone else did?

"I got it covered; it’s on me, babes!" Aeri called out.

"Oh, I can pay for my..."

"Nah, don’t worry about it; I have money for days." It was true that the Uchinaga family was rich.

"Just let the sugar mommy pay for our lunch; it’s the least she can do for forcing you here today!" Yeonjun shined a bright smile at Ningning and winked at Giselle.

"Aw, you think of me as a mother?"

Ningning laughed. Maybe this friendship wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe she’d finally found people who liked her, for her.

_________________________________

Spring Hill High, Junior Year

Ningning started her day like no other. She got dressed and ready for school. She had her personal chef make her breakfast, and she got in her personal driver's car. It was not a typical day for anyone else, but for Ningning, this was normal.

It wasn’t until she heard frantic whispering all around the halls at school that she knew something had happened. Before she got the chance to look for her friends, she was dragged by her arm into the janitor’s closet. After adjusting to the dim lighting of the room, Ningning realized it was her friend Wonyoung who dragged her in.

"Listen, I’m going to tell you something. You gotta promise me you won’t freak out."

"Wony, you’re scaring me; what’s up?"

"Ok, um, so yesterday I was in student council helping plan for Spirit week, and someone needed to bring the printed setlist to the principal's office. I volunteered, of course, since I hate being on student council. The president’s always so creepy and so boring. You know he went on a 10-minute tangent about-"

"Wonyoung, focus."

"Right, sorry. I got everything together and made my way to the principal's office, but on my way there, I heard someone making out at the bottom of the fourth-floor staircase. Anytime I hear love in the air, I just have to investigate! So, I made my way up and hid to see if I could get a good look at the lovebirds, and...

"And…"

"Ningning, it was Giselle and Yeonjun."

Ningning’s world had fallen apart. Her eyes quickly welled up with tears, while her brain still hadn’t fully comprehended the conversation. Her best friend and her boyfriend were fucking?

Her happiness, which she had tried so hard to keep, had been shattered. There are no good people in this world. At least not to Ningning. Not anymore. 

_________________________________

"You fucked Giselle?" Ningning’s voice roared throughout the hallway. Her targets were right in sight.

"Ning, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, don’t act all innocent. I thought we were friends. I trusted you. Am I just someone you can toy with until you don’t want me anymore? Or were you just using me to get close to Yeonjun? Be honest."

“Ningning, I don’t know-“

"Wonyoung’s telling the truth, Babe. I’m so sorry. Just give it up, Giselle; it’s true. We messed around behind Ning’s back." Yeonjun looked sorrowful as he admitted to his "infidelity".

Giselle’s face had been twisted and turned in confusion. But Ningning didn’t give her the chance to speak. Why had Yeonjun confessed to something that didn’t take place? Why wasn’t Ningning listening to her?

"We’re so done. I’ll make sure you pay for this. You’ll regret ever crossing Ning Yi Zhuo."

•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•

masterlist ~ next

(Synopsis) Y/N had never been the type to take life for granted. You grew up with the mindset that if you wanted something, you had to work for it; So getting paired up with the university’s “Rich Bitch” Ning Yi Zhuo for your midterm was the last thing you wanted. Are you willing to step into the world of fame for an A+?

taglist (open): @azraism ; @kimsgayness ; @sewiouslyz ; @winieter ; @llluvbluy ; @i06kkura ; @everydayiloveyves ; @edamboon ; @rdfgfv

#kpop x y/n #kpop x reader #kpop smau #kpopsmau #aespa x reader #ningning x reader #non idol au #ning yizhuo #ningning #aespa

[vangundysdiamonds]

Lab Grown Diamond Pendants | Lab Created Gold Necklace in CA

Take your beauty with any attire to a whole new level with Van Gundy Diamonds' lab-grown diamond necklaces and lab-made diamond pendants. Place your order now.

#Lab grown diamond pendants #lab grown diamond necklace #lab created diamond necklace #lab created diamond pendant #lab made diamond necklace #lab made diamond pendant #man made diamond pendant #man made diamond necklace #synthetic diamond necklace #synthetic diamond pendant #artificial diamond pendant #fake diamond pendant

[hudson-poole-fine-jewelers]

Enhance your bridal look with lab-grown diamond necklaces. Hudson-Poole Jewelers brings you gorgeous, ethical, and certified lab-grown diamond pendants selected by our expert professionals.

#Lab Grown Diamond Pendants #Lab Grown Diamond Necklaces #Lab created diamond necklaces #Lab created diamond pendants #lab made diamond pendants #Synthetic Diamond pendants #man made diamond pendants #fake diamond necklaces #Gold Necklace #Halo Diamond Pendants #Solitaire Diamond Pendants

[purplecatruins]

The elements by Swarovski for the Met Gala.

Air - Irina Shayk: Wore a couture-gown made from a crystal net material which took 200 hours to complete. The idea behind the design is the illusion of light flowing over her body through the movements and the crystals on the gown. To make her shine even more brightly she is wearing different bracelets and a bespoke necklace.

Water - Anok Yai: She is wearing a "futuristic tulle catsuit" made with 98.000 blue crxstals. Her look was completed with a necklace from the Galaxy collection made from 1.050 lab grown diamonds.

Earth - Giovanna Engelbert: Wore a emerald green satin gown with pearl application. The bustier is made with green Millenia crystals but the dress is made with Gema gemstones and features a gradient from emerald to peridot green. This is embellished with 55.000 crystals and pearls. She also wore matching crystallized gloves and jewellery.

Sun - Imaan Hammam: Wore a yellow two piece set. A crystallized cape with 3.456 Gema gemstones and a column skirt with 100.00 golden crystals. She was supposed to wear matching gloves with 25.000 applied crystals.

Extra for the theme: Crystal Flower - Karlie Kloss: She wore an embroidered pink silk jersey dress encrusted with 180.000 gems from Swarovski's Florere and Millenia families, and her dress seemed to be incorporated/transformed into these floral jewels. The look, which is accentuated by an ornate jeweled corset with 60.500 crystals and 75 Florere gems, took 1.600 hours to create.

All the custom looks were designed by Giovanna Engelbert, Global Creative Director of Swarovski, herself. It's also the first time Swarovski is doing custom designs for the Met Gala themselves and not just partnering with another brand to supply the jewellery. I think their ambassadors look great and it's totally on brand - how could it not be with so many diamonds and crystals - and fits the Met Gala theme with the idea of focusing on the elements at play (+plus the crystal flower).

It's crazy how much time and craftsmanship went into these designs - worn only one time!

#met gala 2024 #met gala #swarovski #anok yai #imaan hammam #giovanna engelbert #irina shayk #karlie kloss #water air earth and sun #and a rose #fashion #photography #art #astronomy

[lamaisongaga]

             LADY GAGA ATTENDS THE 2023 OSCARS

After a long blackout season, Lady Gaga finally returned to the public eye at the 2023 Academy Awards held at the Los Angeles Dolby Theater.

Not only did she grace us with several looks, but also with a surprise performance of her “Top Gun: Maverick” movie title song “Hold My Hand”.

Styling by Sandra Amador and Tom Eerebout with assistance by Victor Cordero, Gianni Catalina and Venetia Kidd. The hair was done by Frederic Aspiras using Joico while glam was done by Sarah Tanno-Stewart using Haus Labs. Sweet and short manicure by Miho Okawara who used OPI.

Mother Monster made her entrance wearing one of the freshly debuted Versace Fall/Winter 2023 closing numbers seen on Gigi Hadid — a semi-transparent black tulle corseted bustier top with bullet bra, long wool-silk box pleat drop-waist skirt with frontal projected kick and silver Nastro Gianni Medusa 95 belt to perfectly reflect the Italian fashion label's house codes!

Her jewelry was provided by none other than Tiffany & Co. who chose some of the most stunning diamonds for her. Just like these $1,950 solitaire brilliant diamond stud earrings.

Shop:

Tiffany & Co. Solitaire Studs ($1,950.00)

It’s rare to see archival pieces on the red carpet—it happens occasionally but not as often as jewelry historians would hope. This 1960s necklace of platinum and diamonds definitely made sure to catch all the attention.

She also wore the house’s “Victoria” collection platinum and diamond cluster bracelet...

...and a whopping $20,800 platinum and diamond pavé band ring from the “Soleste” collection.

Shop:

Tiffany & Co. Band Ring ($20,800.00)

To create the look, Tanno used products from Gaga's beauty brand, Haus Labs. She started with Color Fuse Blush.

"I used “Dragon Fruit Daze” first which served as the base, and then we layered with “Watermelon Bliss” to add depth,". For Gaga's red glossy lip, Tanno used Atomic Shake Lip Lacquer in shade “Cherry Shine”. "It was the first time I've used it on the red carpet — It deserved a moment!"

Tanno also reveals the reason why Gaga's skin wasn't flush after removing so much makeup before she got on stage, crediting the Triclone Skin Tech Foundation, which she wore on the carpet, for being very gentle and soothing on the skin.

"Because our foundation contains fermented arnica it calms and soothes the skin while you are wearing it — I believe this is why I didn't have to worry about any skin irritation after such a fast removal." Tanno explains.

For her raw performance of “Hold My Hand”, Gaga went for a bare face and a minimal outfit consisting of pieces we’ve seen her rock before in her off-duty hours. 

She rocked her favorite Saint Laurent black skinny jeans with slashed knees she owns and loves since 2016! It was paired with a vintage band tee she turned inside out, which I have yet to ID.

The shoes are the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star classic low-top sneakers in black canvas.

There was actually a third outfit change that was not broadcasted on TV! LG wore a vintage Versace Spring/Summer 2002 black silk gown with lace insets and jet crystal embellishment. Above you can see a similar, shorter version.

She also added another Tiffany & Co. ring onto the mix. It’s the alternating ring in platinum and diamonds ($19,500) from the “Victoria” collection.

Shop:

Tiffany & Co. Alternating Ring ($19,500.00)

#March 2023 #dresses #Versace #pants #denim #YSL #jewelry #Tiffany and Co #sneakers #Converse #beauty #Haus Laboratories #hair #Joico #nails #OPI

[killmongerskeeper]

hi! can u do #12 and #19 from the fluff list :)!! ur a great writer btw, thanks 😊

Fluff #12: Standing behind someone, hugging them around the arms or the waist, and kissing the top edge of the shoulder

Fluff #19: “You remembered.”

You walked into the lab with a bright aura as you spoke to each scientist that greeted you. Giving a Wakandan salute you found the reason for your visit. Shuri stood with her back to you as she was focused on the sequence in front of her. Her back was bare as the dress she wore fit her frame beautifully. You snuck behind her to plant a single kiss to her shoulder while holding her middle. You felt the way she tensed before relaxing in your presence as she turned to face you.

"We are around our peers, woman. Control yourself." She joked as she reached for your chin before giving you a long kiss. When you pulled away you had your hands behind your back with a grin on your lips. "Something to say my love?" You pulled your hands from behind your back revealing a small box with a gold ribbon. She raised a brow before grabbing the box. 

"I thought we agreed on no gifts till tonight?" She questioned and you shrugged. "We did. But I want you to have yours early." She eyed the box before looking around to see all the present scientists watching the exchange with excited stares. She went to undo the ribbon and slowly opened the box with a small smile. Inside laid a black and gold kimoyo bracelet with each letter of her name engraved into each bead. Hey eyes found yours with a specific question floating around her orbs and your giggled. 

"Griot?" You called out and the bracket lit up as the AI responded. 

"Yes Ms. Y/N?"

"Does it function like the current bracelets?" She asked in excitement. Both ecstatic and proud that you created this. You nodded with a wide smile before brushing against the beads letting a holographic screen appear. 

"This one does exactly that of your original design. It's just personalized. Thanks to Griot and your scientists it came out perfect." You told her and she wrapped her arms around your body slightly lifting you from the ground. Her and that panther strength. 

"I love it sthandwa. Thank you." She smiled before kissing you on your lips. She pulled back with the same smile on her face. "Are you sure you don't want yours now?"

"I'm sure. Save it for tonight. Happy Anniversary love." You whispered and the scientists cheered for you. Only they know how much you struggled with trying to figure out how to give her the bracelet. 

"Happy Anniversary. I'll see you tonight yeah?" She asked and you nodded, knowing she had work to do. You kissed her cheek before making your way out the door happy that your surprise went well. Later that night you were putting the finishing touches on the bedroom. You had rose petals littered around the floor and bed with a plate of a fruit assortment on the bed. You were standing proud of your work as the door opened to reveal your wife. She wasted no time to reach you and she kissed your lips softly while wrapping you in a warm embrace. You felt a cold sensation on your neck and pulled away in time to see her clasp a diamond necklace around your neck. You turned to the mirror and a small gasp left you. You remember this necklace. Back when you and Shuri took a trip to the states a couple of months ago. You saw a necklace in one of the jewelry stores you walked into. Shuri remembered how your face lit up when you saw it. She remembered how you said it would be nice to have but not at the time because you were on a business trip. 

"You remembered." You said softly as your eyes found hers in the mirror. She held a smile as she watched you run your finger over the jewelry with tears stinging your eyes.

"Of course I did. Why wouldn't I remember something that made you smile?" She questioned as she held you from behind kissing your shoulder. "Happy Anniversary usana."

#shuri x reader #shuri x you #black panther shuri #black panther imagines #wakanda forever #poc reader #shuri prompt #shuri black panther #shuri udaku #queen shuri

[missvelvetsstuff]

Low Expectations

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Reader has low self esteem when she meets Bucky. Can he convince her that she's the one he wants?

Chapter 10

Warnings: lite smut, oral-male receiving, a pinch of angst but mostly fluff.

Note: This has been sitting in my folder, half finished for months so I finished it. Hope you enjoy.

Bucky wasn't even close to done, they went 3 more hours, and countless orgasms for Y/N before she had to beg off due to plain exhaustion as the sun was rising on the water.

They slept until after noon and it was the best sleep Bucky had ever had in his life. No nightmares, no tossing and turning just peace and her warmth. He slowly woke as he felt an orgasm building and opened his eyes to see Y/N with her lips wrapped around his cock right before he came down her throat shouting her name. She pulled away, daintily wiped the sides of her mouth and climbed up him with a sweet smile on her face.

Bucky groaned "You're a menace, doll. I thought you were exhausted?"

"I was but it's a new day sarge." She smirked then yelped when he grabbed her hips and flipped over so she was under him.

Bucky grinned and kissed her hard, moaning at her taste "In that case..."

A few minutes later his stomach grumbled and Y/N laughed.

"I made breakfast, it's on the balcony table. I knew you'd be hungry but saw the tented sheet and couldn't help myself."

She pulled away from him and put on a silk robe before going to sit at the table.

Bucky sat down and grabbed a handful of bacon before piling his plate high with eggs, hash browns and toast. He shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth and looked at Y/N  noticing she looked nervous. He swallowed the bacon "Everything alright, doll?"

She looked up at him and smiled sadly. "I want to apologize"

Buckys heart felt like it stopped but he tried to smile "You didn't change your mind again did you?" He laughed uncomfortably

She shook her head quickly "No, no, no, no. NO! Nothing like that." She paused to take a breath "I just, I realized that I'm always bringing up the awful stuff Alan did and said. That has to be uncomfortable for you. I'll try to be more aware."

He grabbed her hands and shook his head slowly "Don't be sorry. If you don't tell me what you've been through then I can't replace those memories with better ones. I want to know all of you, past and present, good and bad. Just promise you'll tell me if I ever do anything like what he did. I don't want to make you feel the way he did. Ever."

Y/N smiled and nodded happily "I promise"

When they were done eating Bucky insisted on clearing the table off and took the dishes downstairs. On his way back up he grabbed a bottle of champagne and a box out of his bag. He poured them both glasses, sat down and looked at her expectantly.

"What?" She asked shyly, wiping her face "Is there something on me?"

Bucky grinned "No, doll. I have something for you. See, when I was planning this weekend I was hoping we might revisit the girlfriend question and was going to ask again. You beat me to the punch but I brought something for you to commemorate if you said yes."

He handed her a small box and Y/N gasped when she opened it. A gold heart with 2 amethyst inside and framed by diamonds. "Oh Bucky, it's beautiful"

He grinned at her "You like it? I remember you said amethyst were your favorite and I found a family owned mine in Arizona. They have a designer who helped me come up with the style. And I remember what you said about diamonds and how awful the conditions are for the miners so those are lab created diamonds. Do you like it?"

Y/N nodded happily, tears streaming down her face.

Bucky wiped away her tears "You're not supposed to be crying doll. Is something wrong with it? I can send it back and have them change it or make something you like"

"No!" She clutched the necklace to her chest "I'm sorry for yelling but it's perfect. I can't believe you remembered about the diamonds"

Bucky looked at her incredulously "When you meet the girl of your dreams, you make sure to remember everything but especially her favorite gems. I wouldn't want to get the wrong thing when I need to ask about, you know." His cheeks flushed

"Ask about what James? What's going through your head?" She caressed his cheek.

He startled "What? No. Nothing. Just for you know whatever."

She tapped her fingers on the table until it hit her "James? Are you already thinking about engagement rings? Are you thinking of proposing?"

Bucky shook his head and tried to change the subject "Do you want me to help you put it on? I think you would be very sexy with this necklace." He growled "especially if you lose the robe"

She giggled and flushed as he got up and moved behind her to help clasp the necklace. Once it was safely in place he started kissing the back of her neck and moving the robe down off of her shoulders.

That's how the rest of the weekend went. Sex all over the house, cuddling/talking/playing, walks on the beach and a nice dinner out one night.

A year later Bucky took Y/N to the same fundraiser, then back to the house in the Hamptons. On the second night there he set up a moonlit picnic/dinner on the beach.

When he asked her to grab some wine from the cooler she turned around to find him on one knee "Y/N, doll, I never thought I could have or even deserved someone like you and the love we have. I can't promise it will always be easy but I promise I will always stand by you thick or thin. I don't want to wait any longer to start our happily ever after. Marry me?"

He looked at her hopefully as he brought out and opened the box to show an engagement ring that matched her pendant, heart shaped amethyst surrounded by tiny diamonds.

She looked at him, nodding with a huge smile and tears streaming down her face. "YesyesyesYES!! Yes I will marry you. I love you."

The End

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #james bucky barnes x reader #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #angst with a happy ending

[miss-andromeda]

All's Fair in Love and Science

Chapter 6: Instead of Just Invisible

~

After Andi's birthday, things seem to be going back to normal - or at least, that's what the boys think until they meet an alienated scientist that gets a hold of Donnie's latest invention.

~

Hope you enjoyed that little chapter about Andi's sweet 16! I don't have plans for another interlude in the near future - or at least, in this part of her story 😉

But regardless, back to normal episodic chapters for right now! Special thanks to the wonderful @tinkabelle19 for her endless support and help as always! Plus, I received an amazing piece of art of Andi on AO3 from a super kind user by the name of ScribbleBee; if you'd like to check out the piece, click here 🩷

And with those shoutouts, on with the show! 🩷

~

After putting away the groceries in the kitchen, Andi found herself hunched over in her chair in the lab. Back to work on the laser gun. She had been seriously neglecting it as of late; whether it was spending time with the boys, celebrating her birthday, or both, she was kicking herself for not getting back to work sooner. 

To be fair, the gun wasn't exactly doing any favors for her - the thing was still not functioning properly, regardless of the many adjustments she made, ranging from changing the thermal detection device to a plasma container, or tightening the trigger to make it fire a split second after squeezing. 

She sighed and put it down on the desk. Another waste of time, it seemed. Maybe she would ask Donnie for advice - as much as it was a blow to her pride, she wanted to have some level of a weapon with her if she needed to walk the streets without April. And Donnie was the smartest person she knew, surely he would have some ideas for her?

And chances are he would have advice and questions for her - and they would stay awake until 2:00 am, ping-ponging ideas off each other until they felt satisfied and bid goodnight, or more realistically until one of them fell asleep over video chat. Most likely her, since her brain wasn't nearly as hardwired to stay awake all night like Donnie's was.

She glanced down at the necklace and smiled to herself; she could tell this was an example of Donnie pulling multiple all-nighters in an effort to finish it in time for her birthday. And she could tell he didn't skip on the quality either; it was titanium silver like he promised, and the details he included (the stars on the arms, the diamond smaller than her fingernail) only sealed the deal on how she couldn't fathom how he could have achieved something beautiful like this in a week.

Actually, yes she could, it was Donnie.

And he never stopped trying to amaze her.

~

Meanwhile, Splinter was deep in thought as his afternoon meditation commenced. It was commonplace for him to do so at least twice a day, but with how often the boys had been leaving the lair as of late, he needed more than two sessions to ensure that he didn't lose his composure whenever they left. Everything was going as planned; he practically imagined himself in the deep vacuum of space, where no noise could reach him. Just where he wanted to-

"Guys, guys, get in your spot!"

-be.

He was interrupted by Mikey yelling to his brothers in the living room, followed by protests and similar sounding yelling from the others. Raph yelled that it had better be the last time that they did anything like this, Donnie warned Mikey that he had better not be flipped like the last time, and if Splinter listened closely, he could hear Leo complaining about the fact that he had eaten too much cheese pizza. 

Walking into the commons area, he could see exactly what was going on; Mikey was holding his skateboard on top of a giant makeshift ramp next to the wading pool, overlooking his older brothers, who were in child's pose in front of the ramp - and all three of them looked bothered and disgruntled. 

"And now the kid goes for the world record!" Mikey announced, just like a sportscaster would. "He will attempt to jump three mutant turtles!"

"I can't believe he talked us into this..." Raph muttered to himself. The things he and the others did for Mikey sometimes...as much as they loved their brother, they had their limits with him. And posing as obstacles for Mikey to jump over...well, jumped the line of the limits they had, pun intended.

"Booyakasha!" Mikey cheered as he skated down the ramp without a hitch. Things were going great, it seemed; he'd make this trick, beat his own record of how many of his brothers he could jump over, and-

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" Splinter got their attention quickly, and as all three of them stood up and Leo tried to explain themselves, Mikey screamed in panic (making all of them scream) as they collided, Mikey landing on top of Leo, Donnie and Raph as his skateboard went flying by the couch, as all four of them groaned in agony. 

Major failure.

"How many times have I told you not to skateboard in the lair?" Splinter demanded from them, his eyes crinkled and paws behind his back. He knew that it was inevitable that as their father, he was going to deal with them making rash decisions like this, but this was another level of rash.

"None, sensei." Mikey admitted sheepishly, still on top of his brothers and upside down.

"I shouldn't HAVE to tell you!" Splinter yelled again. Seriously, he assumed they would have the common sense not to skateboard in the lair - not only was it dangerous, it was just a majorly stupid idea.

As they got back up, looking guilty and regretful, Leo began to apologize - what he would've done had he not been interrupted by Mikey ramming into them with his skateboard. "You're right, sensei. We definitely should've known better-" He looked directly at Mikey as he said that, then led all four of them into putting their heads down in regret. "-and we deserve to be punished." He then cocked one eye open as he looked up at Splinter. "Eh, some." Whether he meant only one of them should be punished or their punishment should be light, who was to say.

Splinter walked over to him and bent down to match his eyes, stroking his beard in deep thought. "And what do you think would be a fitting punishment?" He asked with a slightly terse tone. Leo was, after all, the eldest and the most responsible, so if anyone was meant to know what punishment suited something as intensely stupid as this - aside from Splinter, of course - was Leo.

The eldest quickly turned to his brothers for help, but all three were busying themselves to not contribute - Raph was reading a comic, Donnie was whistling, and Mikey was pretending to think while humming at the same time. "Well, uh, we-we should..." He stammered, trying to think of something fitting, but light. "...clean up our mess?" He asked, giving Splinter a sheepish smile. 

When Splinter didn't seem satisfied, Leo tried to think of an additional punishment. "And then...think about what we did." The others agreed, adding things like, "Sounds about right," "We were wrong," and "Wouldn't want to do too much," and Mikey finished the hasty agreement with a relaxed "No worries."

They really could be children when they wanted to be.

But Splinter still didn't look satisfied. "What about being grounded for a week?" He asked, and as he expected, the boys immediately started to disagree. "Oh, I'm not sure that's-" 'I'm cool with the thinking." "Really, that's not necessary." "Maybe next time."

Well, that gave Splinter his answer right there. "You're grounded for a week!"

The boys groaned in exasperation, clearly not excited about being stuck in the lair. But to add insult to injury, it seemed, the ramp toppled over with a loud squeak and fell to pieces, leaving a trail of dust and debris, as well as four shocked faces from the boys, in its wake.

Well, they certainly knew how to start their time being grounded, it seemed.

~

It was nighttime now, and after the debris and dust were cleaned up and the parts were properly discarded, Mikey, Leo and Raph were in the living room. The youngest was reading a comic without a care in the world, while the oldest was looking dejected on the couch with his head in his hand (either from being scolded earlier or from simple boredom...or both), and one of the two middle children was pacing frustratedly across the living room floor - while also growling and practically stewing in his own anger. 

Eventually, Raph couldn't take it anymore. "Gah! This bites!" He yelled, rubbing his hands across the back of his head. He always hated feeling cooped up - he needed something, anything to do on the surface! Now that he had experienced what it was like up there, it felt criminal to spend time anywhere that...wasn't up there. And that included the sewers! "I can't believe we're stuck down here for a whole week!" Seriously, why did Mikey have to insist that they build that stupid ramp in the first place?

"Guys! Guys!" Donnie cheered, running into the living room from his lab. "You wanna see what I made?" He asked, an excited gleam in his eye. Knowing Donnie, it was something incredibly nerdy, something that had such a niche use that only he would find practicality in it...or maybe it was something actually cool? Something that could help them get out of the lair without Splinter knowing?

Still bothered about the feeling of being cramped, Raph turned to Leo for a split second. "This is how bored I am." He explained, then turned to Donnie and practically did the impossible. "Yes, Donnie, I do."

"Okay, okay, okay!" Donnie tried to calm himself down, but it was hard when he was this excited. It felt like he had made a breakthrough in terms of his technological prowess - and raised the bar in the process. "Remember the other day when I was scrounging through that military junkyard?"

Only Donnie would be excited about searching through a junkyard. And the only one to do so, as the others only responded with 'no' in unison.

"Well-" He completely ignored the 'no' as he got more animated about the project - his voice got higher, his hands changed to fists from glee, and the gap in his mouth was on full display. "-I found an incredibly advanced AI microchip, made from-" He then made a little click sound with his mouth - a rarity in itself. "-get this! Self-assembled, chain-linked copolymers!"

If only Andi were here, she was probably the only other person who would know about something like that, let alone be as excited as Donnie about it. 

Mikey, not wanting to let Donnie's excitement deflate, decided to play into the joy - even if he didn't even know how to spell copolymer, let alone know what it was. "That's my favorite kind of copolymer!" He smiled before simply going back to his comic. 

Donnie was practically oblivious to the fact that Mikey clearly didn't know what he was talking about. Or maybe he did, and he was just too giddy to call him out on it. "Mine too!" He squealed. "And I used it to make this-" He then pulled out a highly advanced device - it looked vaguely like an MP3 player, except much more innovative and more like it had Donnie's touch, instead of a corporate touch. "-the most advanced music player in the world!"

All three surrounded the device and mumbled out a 'whoa' as they stared in awe. Maybe it was because of the blue light emanating off of it, but the chip that was inside it must have been powerful, because the device looked like it could do more than just play music. 

Once again, Donnie outdid himself this time. 

"So who wants to try it?" The genius smiled as he pulled it away from prying eyes, tapping an icon on the front to enable it for playing music. All it would need were a pair of headphones (which Donnie also found, in a separate junkyard and fixed up), and the listener was good to go. Much like a real MP3 player.

"I do!" Mikey volunteered with a massive grin. He was arguably the biggest music lover out of all of them - and any opportunity he took to jam out to some awesome music, he was on it like all four of them were when getting a pizza. "Toss me the tPod!"

"The...tPod?" Donnie asked in confusion. He didn't really get why it had to have a name like that; wasn't it serviceable enough to just call it a music player and be done with it?

But no. It was Mikey. 

"Turtle? Pod? tPod?" Mikey reasoned with a little chuckle as he held his hand out expectantly. "I am so good at naming stuff." At that very brief explanation, Donnie had placed the...tPod into Mikey's hand and all three watched as Mikey put the earbuds into his ears (which was jarring in its own right because they didn't have ears. But he managed it, weirdly enough.)

Raph, however, wasn't entirely convinced that this was a fantastic idea - just another case of Mikey getting excited about something new and Donnie not thinking about the circumstances. "You're really gonna plug an advanced piece of military technology directly into Mikey's head? What if it melts his brain?" While it wasn't directly into Mikey's head, Raph had a point - the military had some majorly advanced pieces of equipment, and while Donnie could be trusted with it (for the most part, to be fair,) Mikey was a different story entirely. 

Donnie brushed off the concerns with a dismissive hand wave. "It won't." And then he followed it up with another explanation. "And even if it did, who'd know the difference?"

The tension and eagerness built from the device became too much for Mikey, and after he eagerly pressed a button, he howled in pain as some music started playing. It was like a thousand knives being jammed into his skull - it was torturous!

Donnie immediately leaped into action. "What?! What's wrong?!" He asked, about to start panicking - was the device really bad? Did he just subject Mikey to some type of mental torture that would break his spirit?

"It's polka! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Oh.

Donnie rolled his eyes and walked over, pressing the skip button on the music player to go to the next track. And right after Mikey smiled in relief and said 'thanks,' he noticed the new music that was playing. - and immediately hummed in glee. A classic techno/hip-hop song - something to dance to. 

And that's what he did. He got off his knees and imagined himself in a music video - a power pose with one hand on the hip, the other resting on his side, then bringing his hand up and past his head, then back to another power pose, and then a classic shimmy, and then ending his sequence with what looked like a simplified version of the Charlie Brown.

It was just another example of Mikey getting lost in his own world. 

Eventually, Raph had enough. "That's it. I gotta get out of here." He surrendered, hands up and everything as he walked to the entrance of the lair. Leo immediately chased after him. "Where are you going?" He asked in an exasperated tone, while also reminding him that they were grounded. 

All the while, Mikey was still dancing and Donnie was watching him with as much of a confused face as he could muster.

"I don't care!" Raph simply told him, before turning around to face him for a second. "I gotta do something or else I'm gonna go nuts!" He then saw his skateboard and stepped on it, making it flip up into his hands. "Let's find a skate spot."

"Skate spot?" Mikey practically yelled in excitement, still listening to the track. "I'm totally in!" It was somehow a marvel that he heard Raph, especially considering that the others could perfectly hear the music blaring from the earbuds.

"But what's Splinter going to say?" Leo asked - always the teacher's pet. 

In a bad Splinter impersonation (complete with exaggerated facial expressions), Raph hypothetically answered Leo's question for him. "'I don't know what's going on, because they snuck out while I was asleep.'"

Leo slightly scoffed to himself - while the others were willing to risk their necks and go above ground, he wasn't about to agree. "Real mature. But I'm your leader. And as your leader, I say no one is going."

"Well, as your followers, we're going anyway." Raph simply replied, Donnie and Mikey going to stand with him as he spoke. And judging by the tone in which he spoke, he was not about to listen to Leo - or really take no for an answer. They were going no matter what.

And Leo knew that. "Well, as your leader, I am going with you! To lead you...away from...bad stuff." He clumsily explained. At least if they all went, then he could do his best to make sure they didn't get into any major trouble. And if they got caught by Splinter, they all went down together. 

"Ahh!" Mikey screamed as he held his head, falling back to the floor as all three brothers surrounded him. When he was asked what was wrong, he simply replied, "It's back to polka!" He then grumbled at the device, "We gotta get some more tunes on this!"

Later. Right now, they were more focused on just getting out of the lair for a night.

~

And as soon as Mikey's...polka dilemma was taken care of, the boys were off. 

It was a beautiful, crisp night; the wind was blowing in their faces, and they were running on the rooftops without a care in the world. It felt like they didn't have any responsibilities...and it was almost like they weren't grounded. It was a bit weird, but an amazing feeling nonetheless. 

And as they crossed rooftops with skateboards in tow, Donnie noticed something. Andi's apartment was only a few hundred feet, and her light was on. And if he looked closely...yes! She was still awake, reading a book in her bed. 

He knew what he had to do.

"Hey, I'm gonna make a quick detour!" Donnie called to his brothers, then took off towards her apartment - completely ignoring Leo's protest of staying with the group and Raph and Mikey making fun of him for going to see his "girlfriend." Whatever, he didn't just want to see her. He had questions - and ideas to run by her. 

Though, to be fair, seeing her was always welcomed as well. 

He started running to her apartment with an odd sense of adrenaline, wanting to catch her before she went to bed. It wasn't a necessity, so to speak, but he had started to see Andi as his right-hand woman when it came to new creations in the lab. And because of that, the new idea that he had in his head couldn't really wait until the morning. 

Well, he supposed it could. But he didn't want it to. 

He breathed a sigh of relief when he made it to her window; she had hardly moved from her spot and if he looked closely...yep, still reading Tolstoy. He lightly tapped the window with his knuckle, smiling bashfully when she jumped and looked around, a slightly startled look in her eye. When she saw him, though, she playfully glared at him for scaring her, but put her book down and got out of bed. 

Now that he was seeing her in full, he had to admit that she looked adorable. She was wearing a loose black top with a scribbled pink heart design on the front and white shorts, and her hair was up in a loose bun - a stark contrast to how put-together she always looked with her sweater dresses and hair bows. 

It was sweet to see how she looked when she was winding down for the night. 

She pushed up the window and smirked lightly at him. "Is there a reason you're blessing me with your presence?" She asked, lazily leaning against the side of the windowsill. "At-" She then turned around to glance at the digital clock next to her bed. "-11:24 pm?"

Donnie chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, sorry for the unexpected visit. The others and I snuck out." He admitted, laughing to himself when Andi gave him an impressed nod, but took her silence as a gesture to let him continue. "And I figured, since you were still awake, I, um...wanted to run something by you."

"What's up?" She asked as she started to fiddle with some stray hairs that had fallen out of her bun. 

He smiled at the endearing mannerism, but cleared his throat to avoid the risk of getting distracted. "So, there's this idea that I have. What if we create an alternative for fighting traditionally, you know, like close combat?" 

The look that she gave him said that the gears were turning in her head - and he loved that. "How would we do that?"

"What if we create an awesome robot that can fight battles for us? Kind of like a battle mech, except more compact and it can be controlled with a remote? Doesn't that sound cool?" He was getting more excited with each detail that he threw in, and the smile growing on Andi's face told him she was interested. 

"I like it." She agreed. "I would suggest AI, but that hasn't really...developed yet. Tons of kinks that still need to be worked out. But if we used an antenna, not only do we ensure a stronger and more efficient signal, but we still have control over it." She was now smiling brighter than before as she nodded. "Yeah, I'm in."

"Awesome!" His grin was nearly blinding at this point.

Just as he was about to take his leave, though, she called out for him. "Wait, I need to ask you something too!" She then snatched her unfinished laser gun off her lab desk and held it in front of her. "Um, I'm having some issues getting this stupid thing working. Got any tips?" She then followed up by explaining what she had already tried; thermal detection and now a plasma container. And still, nothing.

Donnie hummed as he started inspectingthe prototype "What about lithium-ion technology? You can install lithium batteries in the storage, then convert the energy into a strong charge beam." He suggested with a smile, which only grew when Andi took the gun back and started to think it over - while also mumbling to herself. 

"Good idea...lithium batteries are not hard to acquire...I'd just need to connect a fiber optic wire from the stock to the muzzle..." She told herself, then started smiling. "I can do that." She told him with a newfound excitement. She might finally have this thing finished before she turned 30! "I can absolutely, 100%, completely do that."

Donnie laughed at her intentional redundancy. "Well, with that idea in your head, how about I let you go to sleep?" He suggested, then pointed back to the rooftops. "Knowing my brothers, they probably already ditched me when I left to see you."

Andi snickered to herself. "If that's what it's like to have siblings, I'm almost glad I'm an only child." She admitted, but nodded in understanding and gave him a fond look. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course. You have to help me with this robot, after all. And I want to see if the gun ends up working." 

Andi chuckled to herself. "No promises on that last part." She joked, then thought of one more thing to add as he was beginning to ascend the side of a nearby apartment building. "Thanks, Don! You're the best!" She called out with an excited smile as she closed the window, then went back to her bed to finish the chapter she was on - as well as write the idea on a sticky note and put it on the gun. 

Donnie was so relieved she did that because he knew that if she saw him at that moment, she would see the hearts rising out of his head, as well as the lovestruck sigh and dopey smile that formed.

When he finally made it back to his brothers, all three were giving him a knowing smirk. 

It was Raph who ended up breaking the silence; he put his hands into fists and put them to his temple, and in a high-pitched voice, said, "Oh, Andi, I love you so much! What's that? You want to get married right now? Okay!" He then started making kissing noises with his lips to finish, making Leo, Mikey and himself laugh and Donnie roll his eyes, his lovestruck trance being replaced by a scowl. 

"Are you done mocking me?" He asked, and once the three of them finally stopped laughing, Leo gestured forward. "Yeah, let's go. We're probably gonna end up burning the candle at both ends, and besides-" He then started snickering to himself as he started running again. "-we've got more than enough time later to talk about Donnie's girlfriend."

Raph snickered and Mikey chuckeled as they started to run after him (or rather, Raph did while Mikey jumped on his skateboard), while Donnie ran after them, yelling about how Andi was not his girlfriend (admittedly, despite the fact that he really wanted that to be the case,) and that the fact that he went to see her did not constitute the idea that they were together. 

Partly to block his brother out, partly because he was more intrigued than ever about the music device, Mikey put the earbuds back into his ears and started playing some music, this time a classic rock tune that was perfect for just mellowing out, the wind against his face and feeling how awesome it felt to do something like this.

And the music started to inspire him; he started doing kickflips off the different apartment buildings (and even did a hang ten) before incorporating his ninja training in as well; he started to kick off the wall, then did a flip onto a higher apartment building, then a high jump (along with a slight spin for flair's sake) and hopped back onto his skateboard. He then did a grind against the edge of an apartment roof, then did another kickflip and a spin onto another roof, then decided to end the flashiness and skate normally against the lining of an apartment. 

He felt exhilarated, alive - especially when another rock song flooded his senses. And when he saw that Donnie had seemingly stopped ranting about Andi, he decided to yell to him his appreciation. "Hey, Donnie! Thanks for all the new songs!" Completely forgetting that they were out in the middle of the night, and yelling was an absurdly dumb idea.

"Wait, what new songs?" Donnie asked, mostly to himself. He only added two songs as a test drive - that polka song that Mikey vehemently expressed despising, and the hip-hop song that he had an abridged dance party to. And he programmed it so that the user had to add new songs themselves if they wanted more - like a proper MP3 player. 

But Leo wasn't necessarily interested in what was going on at the moment - all that mattered was that they weren't spotted - again. "Keep it down, you guys!"

But Donnie immediately wanted to investigate the issue. He flipped onto Mikey's shoulders, doing an impromptu handstand on the younger turtle's shoulders - and peeked at how the...tPod was running. But what he found worried him. "What the...? It's got thousands of songs and it keeps downloading new ones every second!" That was likely a form of music piracy - and Donnie was not about to have that on his hands. 

"So?" Raph asked as he sidled next to Mikey, not necessarily understanding the severity right away.

So Donnie spelled it out for him. "So I didn't program it to do that!" He explained as he hopped off Mikey's shoulders, his hand going to his chin as he went into deep thought. "It's reconfiguring itself somehow." But then it hit him - the piece that was completely different from every other piece of equipment or material he had ever used!

"It's that chip!"

Mikey, however, was much more focused on how great it was that he could finally listen to music while skating. And tons of songs being included all at once, and for him to listen to with no issues whatsoever? "Whatever it is, it's AWESOME!" He cheered, using a skylight as a ramp and jumping off the board (almost like a hippie flip). The wind was blowing his bandana straps in the wind, and in that moment, he felt invincible. Nothing could touch him, nothing could go wrong.

It was an amazing feeling. 

But it was loud enough to catch Leo's attention. "Guys!" He yelled in a harsh whisper to them. "We're ninjas, remember? We move swiftly and, here's the important part, silently!"

In a twist of dramatic irony, though, Leo lost his footing and yelled in fear, falling through the skylight of what looked like a greenhouse and stumbling across the tables like a child that had just learned to walk. What only added injury to injury was the beehive right at the end of the greenhouse, which Leo frantically tried to avoid - but failed miserably. 

Colliding with the beehive, Leo fell through the other side of the skylight and tumbled helplessly down the three flights of apartment stairs (all while making so much raucous noise that the entire state of New York could've heard the commotion,) before finally being put out of his misery by landing with a harsh 'thud' on a pile of trash that was waiting to be thrown out in the morning. 

All the while Raph and Mikey were smiling at the irony of it all, while Donnie looked like he couldn't comprehend how such a feat of idiocy could be accomplished so effortlessly. 

And to add a cherry on the utter humiliation of it all, Raph called down to him, "That wasn't very silent, Leo!"

~

After Leo had recovered from being humiliated (and nursed some bruises that had formed from the tumble he took,) he and his brothers had found themselves on the edge of a building, overlooking what looked like the typical New York office complex. It was modern and chic, with trees growing in little gardens in the front and (what caught Raph's eye) two sets of stairs that led up to the walkway of the building - complete with handrails. "Check it out!" The red-masked turtle remarked, specifically pointing out the rails. 

It was perfect for skateboarding - and besides, who would suspect four mutant turtles as the ones that caused some minute damage to a company's property?

Once Mikey had diverted his attention away from his music player and looked at what Raph had pointed out, he picked up what his brother was putting down. "Let's grind it!"

Rather than agree, though, Donnie had overheard a noise from nearby the building - and following the source of the noise, he saw something (or rather, someone) weird. "Who the heck is that guy?"

There was a man that was walking towards the locked door of an adjacent building - but what was concerning was the clunky armor he was wearing over his fuchsia sweater. And considering that he was walking like he had 20-pound weights attached to his legs, it must've been really heavy armor. It especially didn't help that he was a lanky-looking man. He was probably the type that had created the armor (which was impressive,) but didn't take his body mass or weight into consideration and assumed that the heavier the armor, the more effective it would be. 

"I don't know." Raph admitted, but his eyes quickly turned steely. "But he needs a beatdown." Nothing good could come out of a man walking to a locked building in armor, at night, and alone. And personally, he wanted to crack at least a few skulls while he and his brothers were out. If they were grounded, he wanted to at least take pride in the fact that he took down at least one scumbag while they were out on the surface. 

But Leo wasn't about to permit that. "Hold on, Raph! We don't know that he's gonna do anything wrong, he-he could be on his way to-" He then started to rack his brain for a viable solution, but nothing was coming up. And admittedly, he wanted to keep Raph from doing anything stupid and beating someone up - and being spotted in the process. 

So he bit the bullet and came up with what he considered the most plausible idea:

"-church."

The amused smile on Raph's face told Leo that he wasn't convinced - in the slightest. And to make Leo feel even more stupid, he decided to indulge him in such a ridiculous idea. "Wearing powered battle armor? What kinda church is that?"

But Mikey didn't get that the question was completely rhetorical - and answered it completely straight. "A really awesome one!"

Okay, now Leo didn't feel nearly as stupid. He facepalmed at the comment, then looked back at Raph with a stone face. "Look, it's my call." He affirmed as he went back to watching the man. "I decide who gets a beatdown."

But he was proven wrong when the man started using a laser beam to break the lock on the door. 

"That guy needs a beatdown."

They immediately dove into action (Raph noticeably being the first to jump off,) ready to stop this guy from doing...whatever it was that he wanted to accomplish. 

But that seemed to already be the case when the laser beam he was using stopped working out of nowhere, putting a major damper on his plan. "Are you kidding me?" He grumbled in frustration, starting to hit it in hopes of getting it to start back up. "Oh, come on...!" It was working fine when he left, and now when he needed to use it, it didn't work. 

Just Baxter Stockman's luck.

When the laser didn't seem to be working, he started to resort to more...primitive methods of breaking in; he started kicking the door and then resorted to trying to push it up like a window. Which was exceedingly difficult, as the door was locked tight and he had barely made a dent in the door when he kicked it. But with a little more elbow grease, maybe it would work.

Meanwhile, the boys had snuck up behind him, with Mikey and Donnie specifically noting how...pathetic the whole scene looked. This guy clearly wanted to be a supervillain, and yet his arsenal had failed miserably and now he was resorting to trying to push open a locked door to commence with a B&E.

"It's just...kinda sad." Donnie admitted, with Mikey agreeing (with the earbuds still in his ears.) "Yeah...I don't know if we should pound him or buy him an ice cream cone." 

However, Leo was more focused on the idea of this guy being a criminal, to begin with. Unsheathing one of his katanas threateningly, he decided to channel his inner Captain Ryan to apprehend him. "Halt, villain!"

Startled by the noise, Stockman turned around with a resounding 'Huh?'

Raph wanted to laugh at the idiocy of the line, but he was more blown away at how cheesy and 1980s it felt. "'Halt, villain?' When did we start talking like that?"

Leo was quick to defend the line. "We're heroes, that's-that's how heroes talk."

It actually wasn't but to each their own. 

Stockman wasn't really interested, to be honest. He pointed his laser-laden wrist at the boys, trying to look intimidating. "You will feel the fury of my powered battle-" But then he realized who he was threatening; it wasn't the police, or a samaritan trying to stop him. "Holy cow! You guys are turtles!" Well, at least he possessed a brain and could tell the difference between frogs and turtles. 

"That's right!" Leo exclaimed, still in the mindset of 'WWCRD?' - also known as 'What Would Captain Ryan Do?' "We're the turtles of justice!" He added, his katanas at the ready and assuming a pose that he felt made him look cool, confident, and intimidating. 

But it only fueled the 1980s sentiment from before, as Raph facepalmed at him and just muttered, "Wow. I mean, just...wow." Even Leo could outdo himself with how cheesy he could be. 

Brushing off the weird approach to a battle yell, Stockman charged at them and yelled a fierce battle cry, ready to take them on. Leo, Raph, and Donnie did the same, getting out their weapons and about to strike. They were geared up to take this guy down; even he wasn't a major threat, he was still a threat, and they weren't going to stand for any villainy in their city-

"WAIT!"

-unless something stopped them. 

Right before the three and Stockman were about to strike, Mikey realized something. He couldn't go into battle and risk getting his awesome new music player broken - or worse, the headphones broken! So, humming a little ditty to himself, he wrapped the headphone wire around the player and tucked it safely in his belt, then brandished his nunchucks, swung it around a few times for good measure, then held it in front of him for protection. "Okay." 

He then jumped into the fray to help his brothers out. 

And he got the first hit, jumping directly on Stockman's armored head, causing a loud 'clang' from the flimsy metal, then jumped onto a nearby trashcan as Donnie rode in on his skateboard, using his staff to disconnect some of the main wires connecting Stockman's head armor to his body armor and causing him to stumble. 

Donnie then passed the torch to Raph, and while riding his skateboard as well, disconnected more wires in Stockman's body armor with a sai, making him look at his disheveled armor in horror.

These guys were...surprisingly good, albeit weird-looking. 

Leo was the one to deliver the final blow, and using the now-popular skateboard method, swooped under Stockman's and used his katanas to slice at the sensory panels on his elbows and knees.

With a feeling that was suddenly like whiplash, Stockman began to stumble again and accidentally bashed his elbow into an alarm system, causing a loud bell (almost like a school bell) to go off, making the boys (with the exception of Raph, who just looked disgruntled) start to panic. If they got caught, they would likely end up on the news - again - and Splinter would find out they snuck out in the first place!

And the last time they disrespected Splinter's orders...it wasn't pretty. 

With Stockman still stumbling around (and even knocking over a trash can,) Raph thought up an idea. He opened the top of the dumpster he was standing on and gestured to it like a suggestion, making Leo nod in approval. 

This was a fitting end to a battle against such a loser. 

They picked up Stockman immediately, and upon seeing where they were going to toss him, he started yelling out 'no' and struggled even harder for them to let him go. But they didn't, and he ended up headfirst in the dumpster, his robotic feet sticking out from the top. "You're not the first to ever throw me in the trash!" He yelled, which was even more of a sad statement than anything. "But I swear that you will be the-"

But before he could finish his oath of hatred towards the boys, Raph slammed the dumpster closed, trapping Stockman inside. 

And then they saw the flashing red and blue lights. Great, the siren had gotten the attention of the police. 

Before they could even be spotted, they bolted for the rooftops, with Mikey rhetorically exclaiming "Oh snap, it's the po-po!" as all of them scrambled out of the scene, skateboards on their shells. 

It was perfect timing, as a police car skidded to a stop and two officers got out with flashlights to investigate the scene. But upon finding nothing, they only glanced at each other with confusion. The perp must've ended up getting away.

~ 

Meanwhile, the boys were skating across the empty streets of New York, cheering for each other - on both taking down Stockman so effortlessly (even if he was a loser and an easy fight,) as well as the various tricks they were performing along the way. While none of them were as skilled as Mikey was, admittedly, it was fun to let the adrenaline take over and be teenagers for a little bit. 

Even if they did forget that they were supposed to be grounded - and making such noise was a significant risk in the deadened city. 

As they made it to the manhole, Raph and Leo decided to end the fun by skating across a building wall and grinding across the end of a dumpster, respectively. Mikey and Donnie cheered for them, with the latter letting out a "Nice!" as they skated right in front of the manhole. 

They pushed it open and started to jump in, skateboards on their shells again. Leo was first, then Raph, then Mikey, and Donnie was the final turtle, pushing the manhole back into place - probably because he was the only turtle tall enough to perform such a feat with minimal effort. 

They were home - and no one had spotted them. 

Epic. 

~

Being as quiet as humanly possible, the boys swam through the little wading pool in the lair (underneath the tire swing set up), with Leo leading the charge. As he observed the scene, it looked just the same as they had left it. Splinter was still asleep, so the only sounds were from the pinball machine set up and the occasional chirp from the arcade machine. 

"All right! We made it home!" Raph cheered as the rest of the boys joined their blue-masked brother. 

Leo immediately shushed him, a death stare on his face. "Shh! It's 2:00 am!" He harshly whispered. Now the guilt was starting to set in. There was something about being home that bothered him. Even if Splinter never knew that they had snuck out, it was the idea of going against his wish that irked him.

Nevertheless, he was not about to risk the idea of Splinter catching them because Raph wanted to brag about making it home without being noticed.

Mikey, however, felt the same way as his red-masked brother. "And Splinter's still asleep. This is epic!" He whispered excitedly, sharing a smile with Raph as the latter tossed his skateboard aside.  

But Leo continued to try and convince them of their wrongdoing. "It's not epic! It was a really bad idea!"

"No, it wasn't!" Raph immediately countered, before flipping onto the beanbag chair next to the couch to rest. "We got out there and stomped a sleazeball! So what's the problem?" Considering Leo had no argument, he considered that a win as he closed his eyes and smiled proudly. Man, it always felt good to beat the fearless leader in an argument - and especially after beating such a loser like Stockman. 

However, there was a problem on their hands. 

As Mikey was about to use the tPod again, he realized...where was it? It wasn't in his belt like he put it, and after a brief search across his body for it...he realized it was gone. 

Oh no. 

~

Stockman had finally gotten himself out of the dumpster, tired and feeling like his organs were completely shuffled around inside of his body. Those guys were tough, and it was clear to him that the armor was not doing him any favors whatsoever. 

He needed some new upgrades - and now. 

But then he saw this...invention laying directly across from him. It emanated a blue light, and while he disregarded the headphones attached to it, the source looked intriguing. Maybe, if he took this thing apart, he could use what was inside.

Or maybe...

After taking off the headphone pieces and being left with a plug on both ends, Stockman connected it to the mainframe of the armor. The second he did, his armor started to have a red tint instead of a blue one, and it started to advance itself; adding more to the metal exterior, connecting the shoulder panels to the back panels, and creating a bright red siren-shaped beacon on top of his head. 

He felt stronger immediately. 

And as he chuckled excitedly (and a bit evilly,) he had the perfect idea to test out this new armor:

Get revenge on those boys for making such a fool out of Baxter Stockman. 

~

And suddenly, the morning rolled around, and it was time for training - to the boys' utter misery. 

As Spinter watched in a meditative pose from afar, the boys struggled with their moves, having barely any finesse or strength, and yawning constantly. Thanks to the sneaking out the night before, they had gotten next to no sleep. 

And with the exception of Donnie (who was used to running on fumes at times,) they were all exhausted.

Leo groaned as he tried (and failed) to do a proper handstand before falling directly on his face - to which Splinter demanded, "Knees higher, Leonardo!"

Mikey tried to do a vaulting jump and ended up falling directly on his tail with a groan and Splinter instructed, "Extend, Michelangelo!" He then sluggishly tried to do another vaulting jump and failed pretty spectacularly. 

Meanwhile, Raph was trying to do a handspring but just ended up rolling in a ball across the floor with a muffled groan. "Raphael! You call that a koho tenkai? Because I do not!" Splinter was getting more aggravated by the minute. These moves should not have been difficult for them, and had they gotten a proper amount of sleep-

Sleep. That was it. 

The boys had always been good about their sleep schedules (again, with the exception of Donnie, but he was used to it at this point,) so they were always alive and alert for morning training. So something must've happened the night before - or more realistically, they did something. 

And considering they were teenagers, it all clicked in Splinter's head - but he didn't say anything to make the boys realize the error of their ways through intense physical training. 

Training abruptly ended when Donnie fell to the ground with a panicked yell, letting out an 'ow' and holding his head as he shook off the dizziness. He made a note to himself; to see if it was possible to genetically enhance their skulls to avoid potential fractures. 

"Yame!" Splinter called out to them and jumped from his seat, making all four boys kneel in front of him respectfully. He hummed to himself at that immediate change in appearance but then decided to cut to the chase. "Is there something you want to tell me?" He already knew the truth, but he wanted to see if any of the boys would admit to sneaking out.

Mikey, however, didn't entirely catch on. "Something we wanna tell you?" He asked, then tried to brush it off with a chuckle. "Nope."

Splinter scowled ever so slightly at them. "You all seem tired." Once again, he was trying to see if he could get a confession out of them, and considering the way their eyes widened from fear, he knew he was on the right track. 

But immediately, they refuted such a claim:

"We're not!" Leo. 

"Wide awake!" Donnie. 

"Fresh as daisies!" Raph.

But Mikey ruined the illusion with a well-timed yawn, falling to the floor and snoring away. 

Spinter subconsciously raised an eyebrow; if this didn't show them the consequences of their actions, this absolutely would. "So you would not object to a little...randori?" He rhetorically asked, holding up a wooden beam (that looked vaguely like a tanto) and staring the boys down. 

As the boys shared worried looks (and Mikey gulped in fear,) they knew what they were in for. 

Raising the beam, Splinter only needed one hit on each of them to make them fall to the ground; first Raph, then Donnie, then Mikey, and finally Leo. 

And as all four of them were lying on the ground, groaning in pain, Splinter decided to end their suffering with a back-handed lesson: 

"I hope you have learned, turtles, that truth isn't the only thing that hurts."

~

After the disaster that was morning training, Leo (with an eager smile) had tuned in to the next rerun of "Space Heroes." Captain Ryan and his team were currently exploring a planet, but one of the members of his crew, Crankshaw, was panicking about them needing to get off the planet because of how dangerous it was. 

But Ryan refused, slapping Crankshaw and going into a monologue - that Leo imitated verbatim, holding a finger up and everything. "'We may have started this rebellion by accident, but by the rings of Nebulon, we are going to finish it on purpose!'"

While Ryan's team obeyed his word and proudly exclaimed, "Aye, sir!", Raph commented on how unhealthy Leo's obsession with such a dated cartoon was, all while reading his comic. "Seen this enough times there, Chief?"

But Leo wasn't about to let his brother dampen his spirit. "Would you-shh! This is the best part!" The action was finally about to start as Ryan powered up his blaster; they were going to take down the rebellion and be victorious once again and-

"We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news." The logo for Channel 6 appeared along with 'BREAKING NEWS' in huge letters, making Leo let out a dejected 'ohh.' 

But then footage started being rolled, depicting a crazed lunatic in a powered mech suit, completely destroying the interior of an office building. "We've received shocking footage of an assault on the TCRI office complex in Brooklyn." The anchor reported, and what made Leo freak out was...

Double oh no. 

It was the same guy that they took care of the night before. Except now, he was doubly powerful. 

"At last!" Stockman exclaimed with a bitter, scorned face. "I will have my revenge!"

"Who...who are you?" A civilian asked in a scared voice, and considering he was close to the camera getting footage, he was either the one holding it or he was close to the actual person rolling. 

Still trying to be as intimidating as possible, Stockman decided to indulge in his question - sort of. "You'll never know! I'm the thing that haunts your nightmares! I'm the nameless shadow who-"

"Baxter?"

But considering the suit only gave his voice a robotic tinge, Stockman's voice still wasn't perfectly concealed. "No!"

But the man hiding behind the desk (who asked if it was really Baxter) asked again. "Baxter Stockman?"

When Stockman's voice got louder as he yelled another "No!", that was all the proof he needed. "Hey, everybody, it's Baxter Stockman!" Some of the responses garnered were shocked gasps, while others started to laugh - apparently, this guy must've been a next-level laughingstock if he wasn't even intimidating in a powerful mech suit.

Raph commented sarcastically as Mikey and Donnie now joined to watch the footage, "I think his name is Baxter Stockman."

Another voice, this one much gruffer, was heard in the footage. "Is this because I fired you?" Oh, that was his motive. Pretty dumb, but he obviously felt insulted at such a move from the company. They didn't know what they were missing out on! Clearly someone with his intelligence and skill deserved some level of revenge!

"That copy machine was already broken when I-" 

Okay, or maybe it was for a stupid reason like that.

But then Baxter realized he was getting distracted - and his voice was no longer robotic and cold - so he resumed the modulation and continued on his tirade. "-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"How did he upgrade his armor so fast?" Leo asked himself with a hand on his chin, but his question was answered as Stockman went to attack something - or someone - and the footage glitched for a second, focusing on the pod that was now part of his armor...and had become the source of it all. 

Oh. That explained where it went. 

"He has the tPod?!" Donnie exclaimed, turning towards Mikey with a stormy expression. Seriously, did he have to be so irresponsible with everything?

To try and minimize the damage, Mikey came clean - but sugarcoated it heavily. "Oh, uh, heh...I might've dropped that during the fight."

But it didn't help Donnie's mood - if anything, it only escalated it further. "You dropped it during the fight?!" Soon enough, he was going to strangle him. "Nice going, Mikey!"

But Mikey quickly tried to defend his mistake. "It's your fault!" When Donnie only responded with why, Mikey's reasoning was, "You know I can't be trusted with nice things!"

Now Donnie was going to blow a gasket - and Mikey knew that as he started to shrink out of fear of being destroyed. 

And as he started to crawl away, Leo turned and started to reason what was going on with Stockman. "So the AI chip is upgrading his armor the same way that it upgraded the tPod?"

Donnie silently agreed with him, continuing to offer more of an explanation. "And if it keeps going, there's no telling how powerful he'll get!"

Okay, this was getting really bad. Nothing worse than fighting a villain who only kept getting stronger. 

"This has gone way too far, we have to tell Splinter." Leo suggested. Despite the fact that they would probably be grounded into the next century with how colossally they screwed up, it was better than continuing to lie to him. And besides, he would probably know of a way to assist them.  

But Raph immediately saw faults with that reasoning. "What? That we turned some nutjob into a supervillain? Do you know what he'll do to us for that?" He then started hitting his fist against his palm to prove his next point. "I mean, he pounded us into the ground just for bein' sleepy!"

Seeing Raph's point, Donnie decided to interject. "Look, we beat Stockman once, we can beat him again. We track him down, grab the tPod, and get back here before Splinter knows anything." It was an incredibly simple plan, and while Donnie did have his doubts about if they could beat Stockman with how powerful he'd gotten, it was better than letting him roam free and destroy the city. 

Still knowing he was in trouble, Mikey tried to inject his own thoughts into the discussion - while also reading a comic and lying upside down on the beanbag chair. "If my opinion counts for anything, Donnie's right."

And while Donnie did appreciate the sentiment, it changed nothing. "Hey, thanks, Mikey! But it doesn't."

Mikey only meekly replied with a, "Didn't think so..."

Well, can't say he didn't try. 

~

As they maneuvered their way across the ledge of an abandoned warehouse, the boys finally caught Stockman sitting alone on a circular platform on the floor. And if you squinted enough, it looked like he was...talking to himself. 

"I'm not Baxter Stockman...I am the Bax-Man!" He exclaimed. Oh, he was trying to think of decent villain names so that he wouldn't have another incident like what happened before. Stupid Mike, blowing his cover like that. 

But then he realized how dumb of a name that was. "No, no...I am...I am the Suitinator!"

Somehow it got even worse. "Ah, that's terrible!" He grimaced, then tried to think of any other names that sounded threatening. "Captain...Punch-You-Hard!" Realizing that name was just as bad, he groaned and put his head in his mechanical hands. "Why is this so difficult?!" He cried. 

His vision was averted enough so that he didn't see the four shadows sneaking up to him - until Mikey broke the silence with, "I kinda liked the Suitinator."

"You guys again?!" Stockman exclaimed amidst the whispers to Mikey to be quiet. His gaze snapped upward, and he was met with all four boys surrounding him, ready to fight. 

But Leo wanted to negotiate first. "All right, Stockman. Nobody wants to hurt you." He reasoned - but Raph immediately commented, "We don't? Did I miss a meeting?"

Ignoring his younger brother's want to attack, though, Leo made it clear what they wanted. "We just want the tPod."

But Stockman wasn't about to give it up so easily. "Give up my source of power? Why? So you can laugh at me again? THROW ME IN A DUMPSTER?!" He yelled, his pose getting more and more threatening. It was clear that he was done feeling like a pushover and a laughingstock. His coworkers did it, then the boys, and then his coworkers again when he tried to get revenge and destroy the office. 

He was sick of it, and he wanted some type of penance from the world. 

The boys looked shocked for a second at his sudden change in demeanor - but then Raph gave in and gave a cocky smile towards Stockman. "Sounds good to me." He simply replied, then was the first one to charge at him with a fierce battle cry. 

However, Stockman could see exactly what he was about to do. He geared up his mechanical fist and right as Raph was about to strike, he punched him directly in the abdomen, sending him flying into the wall and making him lose his sais in the process. 

Oh, he really wasn't messing around this time. 

Immediately, the others jumped into action, running at Stockman in a perfect triangular formation. But once again, Stockman was prepared. He retracted his robotic arms and grabbed Mikey and Donnie, slamming them both into the warehouse walls as he did with Raph. 

And now there was Leo. Running towards Stockman, he jumped onto one of the arms and dragged his katana along the metal (causing quite a few sparks along the way), and flipped upward, successfully slicing off one of the arms. When Stockman tried again with the other arm, Leo sliced that part off as well.

But considering it was a mechanical suit, it had no issue growing back new arms - much like Snakeweed did forever ago.

"What the..." Leo breathed out as one of the arms transformed into a little robot, with bug-like legs and a bright red beacon like Stockman had. It chirped to life, then jumped up, deciding to exact its revenge on Leo by latching itself onto his head, making him scream in pain and run around like a headless chicken while screaming for it to get off his head and for someone to help. All while Stockman was watching the (frankly ridiculous) scene with a bemused laugh. 

Suddenly, Raph and Donnie emerged from the rubble and focused on the...let's say, predicament Leo was in. However, when they came back up, the robot honed in on them and started firing - but both missed with ease, gracefully flipping out of the way. 

But when they landed back on the ground, the robot immediately shot their weapons right out of their hands, and they both started to panic. 

However, Leo was in arguably a worse position. Trying to struggle to get the robot off of him made it end up shocking him, red volts coursing through his system and making him scream in pain. And without knowing where he was going, he started running towards Donnie and Raph, the robot continuing to fire at them.

Thankfully, Mikey had also emerged from the rubble, glaring at Stockman evilly. "Hey, Stockman!" He called out. He then jumped from the pile, bouncing on his shell and being as fast as he possibly could - all while Stockman watched the scene with his robotic arms on his hips. Mikey then brandished his nunchucks and swung them around threateningly, then revealed the blade and gave him a smirk.

He then swung the chain towards Stockman, wrapping it around his bulky frame and pulling hard, making it nearly impossible for him to escape. 

Rather than break the chain, though, Stockman swung his body to the side a few times, making Mikey spin around him helplessly - and scream along the way. 

Meanwhile, Leo was still unwittingly chasing Donnie and Raph - and eventually backed the pair into a corner, making them dive behind a pile of cardboard boxes. "What now, genius?" Raph asked as both of them held their heads to avoid the laser fire. As Donnie looked around, he saw a glass pane sitting nearby, and that got him thinking. The Law of Reflection stated that a light beam that hit a flat surface would bounce back, and considering that it was a laser beam...if they aimed it right, it would bounce and hit the robot, getting it off Leo!

They grabbed the pane and angled it carefully, and as Donnie predicted, the beam bounced off the glass, bounced off the metal infrastructure in the warehouse and hit the droid, slicing it in half and making it fall off Leo's head. 

Perfect. 

As he adjusted his bandana, Leo groaned for a moment. "Thanks," He told the two with a slightly dazed look in his eye. 

But that faded as the three of them glared over at Stockman, who was still swinging Mikey around like he was a yo-yo and making him scream his head off.

The man caught their stare and smirked at them, swinging Mikey much more fiercely - and this time on both arms.

The older brother instincts in Leo, Raph, and Donnie kicked in; much like when Bradford and Xever kidnapped Mikey for ransom, Stockman was going to pay. Nobody messed with Mikey on their watch. 

Grabbing their weapons, they jumped back into battle - but Stockman was faster. Still using Mikey as a projectile, he swung him directly into Raph and made them fall, but Leo sliced the chain.

Donnie leaped in with his bo and was about to use the blade included to grab the tPod, but Stockman grabbed it and smashed it with his fist. "Hey!" He yelled, doing a backflip to think about his next move. The bo was essentially useless at this point, so he tossed it aside and opted for classic hand-to-hand combat, while an armed Leo, Raph, and (dazed) Mikey joined him. 

But Mikey quickly recovered, making the first charge - and his brothers followed him. Stockman followed suit, letting out a similar battle yell. And the second that they clashed, a large, blinding light filled the room of the warehouse. 

Truly it was the battle that settled things between Stockman and the boys, right?

Well, that was what Stockman thought as he busted through the wall of the warehouse with a chortle and an "Oh yeah!" as he held all four of the boys in his grip and marched out of the building. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. 

After all, this was meant to be revenge. 

Which is precisely why he threw them in the dumpster outside - and proceeded to laugh in their faces at his victory. "Foolish turtles! Did you really think you could defeat me?" He asked with a sense of arrogance in his tone. He felt invincible in this new suit - not only did he barely have a scratch on him, they were the ones tasting the bitterness of defeat! It was amazing!

With a pot on his head from the dumpster, Mikey commented, "Well, yeah." They had entirely underestimated Stockman, it seemed. The suit was the source of his power, obviously. If they removed the suit from the equation, he would be just as easy to beat as last time. But the problem was, the suit itself made it virtually impossible to have it removed. 

Combine its sheer power with Stockman's intelligence...it was a dangerous combination. 

Stockman sneered at them; that was just the response he expected. "All my life, people have laughed at me. The other kids in school, my coworkers, the woman who fixes the copy machine! How was I supposed to know you don't pour toner in the top?"

Okay, so maybe his reasoning was a little dramatic - and a little bit dumb. But it didn't matter; he was a force to be reckoned with, and the boys knew that now. 

"But when they behold the power of this suit, they won't be laughing anymore! They'll tremble in TERROR!" Stockman exclaimed with glee as the suit began to transform again. Red lights now appeared at his shoulders, and he seemed to be...growing a few extra inches.

"What's happening?" Leo asked, his voice now becoming much more cautious - and fearful. 

"Stockman and the tPod..." Donnie explained, his voice as weak and shocked as ever. 

His arms reformed, this time with much more powerful robotic appendages, like sleek and modern cranes. 

"They're-" Donnie's eyes then got wider as he frantically watched the new additions as they occurred.

On Stockman's back, little stubs that looked like they could be a sort of high-tech jetpack formed.

"-merging-"

And then his abdomen was clear, red and like the interior of a hard drive, but this time the tPod was exposed. 

"-they're becoming one single entity."

And as a large red searchlight focused on them and created a monstrous-looking face, Mikey could only give the name to this new villain:

"The Stockmanpod..."

Triple oh no.

~

And as soon as...the Stockmanpod started firing, the boys scrambled out of the dumpster and started to run into the street, screaming hysterically as they did. But Stockman was behind them the gigantic red light hunting for them. Now that he was part of the technology, his normal vision was impaired - but not enough so that he couldn't still see. There was a glaring red tint in his field of vision. 

"The Stockmanpod's right on top of us!" Mikey screamed, his hands in the air like he was about to surrender. Though he was a bit of distance away, Raph rolled his eyes at the name. "Stop calling him that, that's a stupid name!"

But then Stockman started closing the gap between him and the boys, and Leo had to think of a plan. "Split up! He can't follow us all!" It was true; while the suit was powerful, its walking speed was incredibly limited, so he could only catch one of them if they went in separate directions. 

"No way! He's gonna follow me!" Mikey frantically explained, his voice gradually getting higher from fear. 

"Why would he follow you?" Leo asked.

"They ALWAYS follow me!"

Leo internally groaned; he wasn't about to have them all be killed because Mikey refused to split up. "Stop being paranoid and just do it!"

Donnie was the first to branch off, turning right at Eastman. Raph then did the same, turning left at Madison. Leo was the final one, turning left on Douglas. Considering Mikey was the only one left, and it was much easier to just keep going straight, he did exactly what Mikey predicted (arguably for an entirely different reason than just 'it's always the case,') and kept following the youngest. 

"Ahh! I told you he was gonna follow me!" Mikey screamed, making a left turn and searching helplessly for a saving grace - a place to hide, a weapon, something. But he sensed Stockman getting closer (and the light was a dead giveaway,) so he ran faster, latching onto walls to cover more ground. 

But Stockman wasn't giving up; somehow he had gotten past the slow walking cycle in the suit and was now keeping up a steady jog. 

This was bad. 

Still trying to cover more ground, Mikey flipped onto one wall, then another, then flipped off of the second wall and back onto the street - he jumped on a roundabout (which Stockman tore out of the ground,) then flipped off of it and continued running. When he reached a dead end, he did a nearby wall kick and hopped over it, seeming to have gotten rid of Stockman-

Until he burst through the wall again. 

But thankfully, Mikey's saving grace finally came in the form of a kid making a few late-night pizza deliveries on his moped. "Pizza? Alright!"

Now, normally he would've taken a box to enjoy later with his brothers - or enjoy by himself. 

But this time, he had an idea. 

He stole the boxes from the back of the moped (without the kid noticing, thankfully,) and waited for Stockman to approach - which he, of course, did, screaming, "I've got you now!"

"Oh, yeah?" Mikey asked with a cocky smile, opening the boxes. Admittedly, it took everything in him not to eat all four of the pizzas he had - but this came first. "Well, I've got hot cheese!"

Two of the pizzas hit Stockman directly in the small window he had to see, making him stumble about and temporarily lose his vision. When he pulled them off, he glanced around with a furious glint in his eye. "Is that the best you've-"

But when he looked around, Mikey was completely gone. 

He didn't even realize the soft rattle of the manhole cover as the boys made it back into the sewers. 

~

As they tried to find their way back inside (as the lights had, unfortunately, been turned off,) the boys whispered amongst each other to keep quiet and just look for solid ground to stand on. They could patch up their wounds - and the last thing they wanted was Splinter catching them, especially like this. He couldn't know about them screwing up this badly, he couldn't!

When they found ground and felt the descending nature of the stairs, they felt like they were almost home-free. Just a little further, and they could sneak into Donnie's lab for the first aid kit and-

And the lights were on. And Splinter was standing at the top of the stairway.

Quadruple oh no. 

"Ah! Sensei!" Leo exclaimed, trying not to look as panicked as he felt. 

"And where have you been?" Splinter asked, a disapproving look in his eye.

"Nowhere?" Raph asked more than asserted. 

"And how did you get so hurt?" Splinter added, noticing all of the bruising - and judging by the way they were standing, they probably had at least a few broken bones. 

Now this they couldn't deny. 

"Oh, that! Um, well, we were-" Leo frantically began, his broken katanas immediately going behind his back. Raph continued the "explanation" with "-hit-", to which Donnie followed it up with, "-by a-", and Mikey finished it; along with a hopeful smile that Splinter would buy it, he said the only word that came to mind:

"-bus?"

 When Splinter only cocked an eyebrow at the awful lie, Mikey tried to widen his smile to try and make it more believable - but some of his teeth fell out upon doing so.

All right, that confirmed it. Something was going on. 

"Hit by a bus?!" Donnie angrily whispered at the absurdity of the lie. Mikey justified it by responding, "Well, what was I supposed to say? Meteor? Cow? Flying building?" What ensued was a hard staredown between the youngest brothers, while Leo facepalmed at it all. There was only one thing to do now.

"Enough!" Splinter hit the jade staff against the metal flooring of the lair, making the boys stand instantly. And then he asked one thing of them:

"Tell me what happened."

~

Now they were in the dojo, as Mikey was finishing the story of how he got away from Stockman. "And then I threw hot cheese in his face and...ran away." 

"Very resourceful, Michelangelo," Splinter commented, giving credit where it was due - but that didn't make him any less upset with them. And the boys knew that as they bowed their heads in shame. "But I am still highly disappointed in you all. The first rule of being a ninja is do no harm." But then he realized the datedness of that rule. "Unless you mean to do harm, then do lots of harm!"

Leo was the first one to speak up - no surprise there. "You're right, sensei." He admitted with a resigned tone. "I guess we did make a mess of things."

"So, what do you think would be a fitting punishment?" Splinter asked. He knew exactly what the boys needed to do - and Leo knew this too as he simply replied, "We need to clean up our mess."

Splinter agreed with that sentiment for the first time. "Yes. You must stop this...Stockmanpod."

However, it wasn't as easy as it sounded - and Donnie knew that. "But sensei, that guy's already kicked our shells! And now he's even more powerful...how are we supposed to stop him?"

Raph came up with an idea - albeit a pretty primal one. "I know! I'll hit him really hard!" And potentially break his hand by hitting pure, unfiltered metal, but that wasn't necessarily his first priority. 

"Brute force is not the answer." Splinter simply replied. "You will need to rely on your ninja training." While being stealthy wasn't exactly going to stop Stockman, Splinter had seen many a ninja fight with armor. Shredder had sometimes used it during their sparring matches while Splinter was still human - and when they referred to each other as Saki and Yoshi. 

But Mikey didn't necessarily get that point off the bat. "Excuse me, sensei? But ninjas never had to go up against guys in armor." A furrowed eyebrow to him and Mikey shifted his focus to the left. Upon seeing the murals on the sliding doors, it showed ninjas fighting a man with chain-mail armor and a helmet similar to that of Shredder's. "Oh...I mean, ninjas always had to go up against guys in armor." Trying to play off his very obvious mistake, he chuckled nervously while Raph mumbled to him, "Nice save." 

But Leo was more focused on how to defeat Stockman. "Sensei, what was their secret?"

Splinter gave them the key they needed, what they had been failing to do during their first fight with him. "They understood that you do not fight the armor, you fight the man inside."

Easier said than done, but if they worked together...then maybe it wasn't impossible after all. 

As Raph, Leo, and Donnie looked at Mikey, the same idea formed in their heads. However, Mikey didn't catch on...again. "Why are we all looking at each other?"

Was it a dumb idea? Yes. Risky? Also yes. But could it work in taking Stockman down?

Potentially.

~

And now it was going to come to life, as Leo, Raph, and Donnie all stood on a rooftop of an apartment, waiting for everything to be put into motion. 

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Donnie asked as all three of them were perched like birds. Leo only gave him a knowing smile. "Like sensei said, don't fight the armor. Fight the guy inside. And one thing we know about bad guys-" He then went back to looking forward, his smile growing along with Raph's. 

"-they love chasing Mikey."

"Guys! Stockmanpod's got-" 

Mikey's scream could be heard practically from Houston as he flipped onto the rooftop. 

"-missiles!"

Indeed, a barrage of missiles was being fired directly at them, and considering the red ends, they looked to be as dangerous as missiles could possibly be. Great. 

All of them split up to avoid the barrage - but considering Mikey was the one the missiles were gunning for, he climbed up the water tower and barely made it to the top before the missiles hit it, making it blow up and him fly into the air, using his nunchucks to cling to the telephone wire hanging above the building. Too close for comfort.

But then, through the fire and flames, came Stockman, ready to take all of them down once and for all. 

The elder trio surrounded him, using chains to secure him into place, much like Mikey tried to do before. But considering there were three turtles instead of just one, there was definitely a better chance that it wouldn't end horribly like last time, and no one would be swung around again. It also helped that Leo used his feet for extra strength, while Raph and Donnie were pulling hard enough that Stockman couldn't easily get away. 

Mikey had jumped down from the wire and, seeing Stockman nearly helpless, decided to be a bit cocky. "Now who's trembling in terr-whoa!"

But it was quickly short-lived when Stockman broke free of the chains, and seeing Mikey as distracted (and admittedly, wanting a bit of penance for such an insult,) he grabbed the youngest turtle by the face and threw him directly into the side of an adjacent building. 

That was absolutely going to leave more than a few marks. 

"Mikey!" Donnie screamed in fear, and Raph sparked the rage in all of them by yelling, "That's it! You're goin' down!"

Much like last time; if anyone messed with Mikey, they were going to meet the wrath of three older brothers. 

The trio charged at Stockman again, with the latter's attention being caught and making him run towards them as well. 

Donnie was the one to make the first move, using his bo as a vaulting stick to kick at the small window of the suit, then push him further towards Raph and Leo. The latter was the second, using his katanas to get some solid hits on Stockman's armor. But the more important thing was that he just kept getting pushed back. Raph was finally able to get a bit of revenge on him, attacking the armor to try and weaken it - and even getting his sais stuck in the armor itself and causing him an unintentional piggyback ride on Stockman's mech suit. 

It would've been funny - if they weren't fighting a crazed villain who was bent on revenge. 

But when Stockman tried to grab him (and likely cause him the same damage that he did to Mikey,) Raph jumped down from the armor and went in for another strike - but missed when Stockman swung at him and sent him flying into a vent on another building. 

Two down, two to go.

"Raph!" Leo screamed, and he and Donnie immediately jumped in to strike at Stockman. But using his mechanical arms, he grabbed both of them, smashed them together like action figures and spun them around, before tossing them off the rooftop. 

But then a pair of green arms reached out and grabbed their hands. "Gotcha!" It was Raph.

Pulling them back on the roof, the three groaned slightly as their pain was starting to kick in. And it especially didn't help that Stockman was now standing over them menacingly, ready to finish them off. "Any last words?"

"Just one." Leo simply replied. Finally, the plan was coming full circle with this. "Bees!"

It was so dumb, that it had to work.

"Bees?" Not the words Stockman would have expected from three turtles about to die. Maybe "I surrender, please don't hurt me!" or "I'm sorry for everything I did and said to you!"

But...bees?

How stupid could someone-

"BEEEEEEES!" Mikey was using the same wire as a zipline, and holding the beehive that Leo ran into the night before, zoomed right up to Stockman and jammed it directly into the small window that he had. 

Stockman screamed as he desperately tried to swat them away within the suit - and as he did, the tPod was completely exposed, and was practically begging to be back in the boys' hands. 

With him still distracted, the boys lined up, ready to finally take this guy down once and for all. 

They only needed one hit, just like last time. Mikey was first, then Donnie, then Raph, and finally Leo. And with the strike from the katana, Stockman fell off the rooftop and landed on a much shorter building right next to it. 

And judging by how much he was groaning and how the suit felt like it was powering down, Stockman knew he was defeated. 

But when he saw Leo standing over him menacingly, he panicked, thinking he was about to lose his life. However, the turtle simply took aim at the tPod, stabbing it out of the suit and causing a huge downgrade in the process. 

And now it was dead and gone.

Stockman weakly climbed out of the suit and glanced up at Leo as the others joined him. "So...we'll call it a tie?" He weakly requested with an embarrassed smile. He wasn't necessarily willing to lose his dignity by living his life knowing that he was beaten by four mutant turtles (especially with such an epic suit like that being...defeated so easily,) so a tie was really the best he could hope for. 

"Wanna call it a tie, Raph?" Leo asked, looking at his younger brother with a knowing smile. 

Raph only smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Not yet." He knew there was only one way that this entire battle could end properly; the same way it ended the first time. 

And that was precisely why Stockman ended up in the dumpster for the second time. 

"Now it's a tie." He smirked as he shut the lid on Stockman's head.

They cheered as they started making their way back to the sewers, eager to tell Splinter about how they righted their wrongs - and, of course, that maybe they didn't need to be grounded anymore.

If only they realized the starstruck kid who had watched the entire scene unfold from his windowsill and was now sketching up his own idea for an awesome costume as they had. 

~

And now they were back in the dojo, with Splinter giving them much-deserved praise for taking down Stockman. "You all showed wisdom and great skill in defeating the Stockmanpod. I am proud of you all." He admitted with a genuine smile. 

Deciding to say what they were all thinking, Leo decided to just pop the question right there. "Does this mean we're not grounded anymore?" He asked curiously, not wanting to be too pushy - but at the same time, they deserved to be free of their punishment, right?"

Splinter stroked his beard in thought for a moment. They did deserve some level of reward - but what fun would that be if they got it with no strings attached?

"Yes." He agreed with a smile, watching the boys smile in delight at the news.

But again, where was the fun if there were no strings attached?

"But first, randori!" He proclaimed, taking out the wooden beam that he used before on them. 

And as soon as they saw it, the boys started to scream and frantically tried to get away, not wanting any more brain damage like last time. 

While Splinter would put away the beam and not subject them to another round of randori, it was the principle of the joke that was the point. 

After all, what kind of father would he be if he didn't mess with them once in a while?

~

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#all's fair in love and science #tmnt 2012 #donatello #oc andi rhodes

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