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NEVER THE DARK

Chapter 15

Read on Ao3

Prologue - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14

warnings: Character death

I LOVE WHAT I DO NOT HAVE. YOU ARE SO FAR. // MY LOATHING WRESTLES WITH THE SLOW TWILIGHTS.

“She’s already seen you face, why does it matter if she knows your name?” Kai asis from where he’s still sprawled across the front of Miss Emma.

Birdy sits down heavily, his back to the group, “it does not matter." He says simply, but there’s a slump to his shoulders that telegraphs defeat. Hopelessness. Nya knows that this is bad. "All that matters is getting you to the Mountain of Madness.”

Miss Emma floats on. Jay has stopped shocking her, collapsed on top of her bell tiredly as Kai keeps them moving. No one says anything. Over time, Miss Emma begins to droop again. When Jay gives her another shock, she just seems to lower herself quicker to the ground.

“She wants us off.” Nya realizes as the jelly's tentacles pool along the ground under them.

“We are a heavy burden for her to carry.” Birdy agrees.

They are passing over a forest- this one is a menagerie of blues, reds, and purples. The grass is a dark teal and white flowers and tall tubes protrude from the earth. Miss Emma drops low enough in a clearing that they can jump off without getting hurt and stops completely, waiting.

“Thank you.” Birdy says quietly to the animal. Kai pets her bell as a gesture of appreciation, and they all slide off her and onto the forest floor. The moment there are no more hitch-hikers on her bell, Miss Emma slowly drifts away, flying high enough to disappear into the clouds.

There's a long, tense moment as no one knows what to do next.

“We should keep moving.” Birdy says softly.

“She was telling us the truth, wasn’t she?” Kai asks bluntly.

Lloyd steps forward, “Kai-” He starts but Birdy cuts him off.

“What did she tell you?”

Kai locks eyes with Birdy and the air grows thick with tension.

It’s Jay who speaks next, “Barath told me you murdered Farley. He said that you were a warlord in your past life, and that you had committed crimes among the worst of all the people banished here.”

“Genocide.” Kai clarifies, “Destruction of land, culture, food. Untold numbers of death and destruction. Samira told me about how you’ve kept trophies of those you killed. Your mask, your knife… all belonging to the dead.”

Nya can’t help her own need to know the truth and she speaks up next, “Wox told me you were dangerous. That the respect these people have for you is based in fear and hatred.”

Cole hesitates, “And Ila said you walked into Oasis the day after you killed Farley covered in his blood.”

“All true.” Birdy doesn’t hesitate to confirm it. “You were right in the throne room, Kai. I am a monster.”

“Birdy-!” Lloyd whips around to face him, appalled, “No!”

Birdy squares his shoulders, “No, Lloyd. I must take accountability. I cannot run from this.'' He doesn’t break eye contact with Kai, “This is who I am, yes, but I have no ill will towards you all. Samira was right that I know how important you are to Ninjago too, and I will not allow my home realm to go unprotected and vulnerable without you. I belong here, in this place, but you do not. I will get you home, I swear it.'' His voice takes on an edge of desperate honesty.

They were still so far from the Mountain of Madness. If they left Birdy here and tried to find it on their own, it could be ages before they got out of here.

Lloyd looks from Birdy to the others, waiting. It hits Nya that Lloyd is waiting on them to weigh in- he wants to hear what they all have to say. It’s not like Lloyd never asks what they think on large decisions of this nature, but ever since they lost Zane Lloyd had taken the full weight of leadership and had refused to share it with the rest of the team. He was the one who made decisions. He was the one who was always alone in that choice. Maybe he was tired of being alone.

Nya doesn’t know what to think.

Cole steps forward first and Nya knows his opinion well enough that she can tune him out, “I still trust him.” But when he speaks, she looks at Cole and really listens, taking in everything he says, “He wasn’t working with Samira. He wasn’t in cahoots with Maurice. Everything he’s done has been solely for us, at the detriment of himself.” He locks eyes with Birdy, “Maybe he did some bad things… some really bad things… but he’s trying to help us. It’s all he’s been trying to do. I don’t think he’s going to lead us astray. I still want him to guide us.”

There’s a pause after Cole finishes, “Cole is right.” Nya says aloud, finding the truth in her words. Everything Cole said made sense. Birdy had been on their side from day one- “He stopped Maurice before he even knew we were the elemental masters. He had no reason to do that, but he did.”

“You can’t be serious!” Jay gapes, “Didn’t you hear him? Confirmed murderer! Evil bad guy here!! How can you just take his side?”

“I’m not on anybody's side but ours,” Nya fires back immediately, “I may not be thrilled about putting my faith in a- former- dicator, but I want what’s best for us, and getting back to Ninjago as quickly as possible is exactly that.”

Jay looks down at that, thinking.

“I can’t follow him.” Kai says sourly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Lloyd finally speaks up, “What Birdy did in the past-” He looks back at Birdy and pauses, face twisting as he hesitates on what to say next, “It wasn’t as black and white as it seems.” He settles on finally, “I trust him.”

There’s a heavy, tense silence. Lloyd meets Kai eyes, his expression imploring him to see sense.

“I don’t trust him.” Kai reiterates firmly. He closes his eyes with a grimace, “...But I do trust you. If you think this is the right call… then I do too.” he bites out begrudgingly.

“Fine.” Jay echoes, crossing his arms, “Let's go then.”

Birdy takes a moment to look around and get his bearings before he starts to walk, the others falling in line behind him. It's... awkward. He doesn’t speak much, only opening his mouth to warn them of obstacles, “Avoid the flowers,” He says, pointing to one of the numerous white flowers dotting the ground, “They tunnel into the ground. It is like stepping in a hole.”

Jay immediately steps in one and face plants, but he’s fine.

Nya start to notice that the plants they’re trekking through for this leg of the journey are strange, even for the Realm of Madness. Everything is coated in a thick waxy film and all of it is shaped like funnels or cups. Tall purple speckled plants with tube protrusions, green vase-like plants that grow as tall as her waist, huge pink and purple trees with tops like a sea anemone- and the plants she noticed that aren’t cup shaped have a sponge-like texture. Everything here is geared towards catching rain.

She looks inside one of the purple plant tubes and sees a small puddle at the very bottom, feeding into the stem. Raising her hand, she shoves at the liquid- but it doesn’t move.

“Birdy, what’s up with the water here?” She asks, pulling her hand away.

“It’s not water.” He answers stiffly, but she doesn’t think the discomfort is because of her. She’d noticed how still he’d seemed as they traveled deeper into the forest. There was something about this place that rattled him, “It’s acid.”

“ACID?” Jay squawks.

“It rains acid here,” Birdy says apologetically, “But we should be safe. It is the dry season.”

“I thought you said nothing was guaranteed in this place?”

“We need to move quickly.” He says bluntly.

As they hurry through the forest, Nya keeps an eye out for any potential dangers. That snake spider in the white forest had snuck up on them. She wasn’t keen on being surprised again. Because she’s looking towards the trees, she doesn’t notice everyone’s come to a stop until she runs into Cole.

“Oof-” She stumbles back, “Sorry- what happened? Why are we stopping?”

“I apologize.” Birdy says, emotionally flat where he’s standing in front of a large purple tree, “I was simply making sure we were on the right track.” When he starts moving again, he takes a wide step over something. As the others begin to move, Nya sees that the thing Birdy had stopped at and stepped over was a oblong dark spot on the grass. She’d seen a few of them before, scattered around the forest. She steps over it too but doesn’t ask about it. Birdy's voice had taken on that tone that comes when he’s not feeling like himself.

She blinks, surprised at herself for knowing that.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, then we should stop and take a break.” Kai says, pausing in the middle of that clearing underneath the tree's arching canopy, “We can keep going once you’ve got your head on straight.” he crosses his arms, planting himself firmly.

Birdy shakes his head, “I remember the way now. We should cover as much ground as possible today.” he says, voice toneless and disconnected. His body language is empty too, his shoulder slumped and his hands loose around his staff.

“I mean… we haven't had lunch.” Cole points out with a wry smile, “A quick snack break couldn’t hurt.”

“Do we have food? Or will we need to forage.” Nya asks.

“We have food. Cole hooked us up.” Jay says, slinging his backpack off and opening the top.

“I got Ila to make us some stuff for the road after… our talk.” He frowns, rubbing his chin, “I’m kinda surprised she did, actually… considering how they were plotting against us.”

“The food is safe. Ila is different from Samira.” He reassures them. There’s a thick pause. He hasn’t moved from the edge of the clearing, “We shouldn’t stop here.”

“Why? It’s the dry season, isn’t it?” Kai responds dryly, waving away a sandwich Jay offers him.

There’s a pause before Birdy stiffly sits down. “Alright.” He says blankly before he crosses his legs and gets into a classic meditation pose.

“You like to meditate?” Lloyd tilts his head.

“Sometimes.” Birdy doesn’t offer any additional information, and the group goes quiet as they eat and rest.

“So what’s the game plan when we get home? I mean, we don’t know anything about... Anything.” Nya turns to Lloyd.

He pauses mid-bite and frowns, “Well… we need to meet with Pix first and foremost. There’s no way she hasn’t been gathering intel in the time we’ve been gone. Mom might know something about that gauntlet and who might have gone after it, so we could go to the dig she’s on and ask her.”

“If we do that we gotta stop at home so I can get my gameboy.” Jay says immediately, “Do you know how long it’s been since I haven't played video games? I’m going through serious withdrawal here!”

Kai shoots him a withering stare that Jay is completely oblivious to.

“Well, as long as you don’t go pretending a piece of wood is a gameboy, then I’m not too worried about you.” Cole comments wryly.

“Oh, don’t tempt me. I have a whimsical imagination.”

“You like to play video games?” Birdy asks quietly.

“Yeah! There’s this game called Prime Empire, that’s the one I’m really into right now.”

“We were all really into it when it first came out.” Lloyd snickers, alluding to an inside joke Birdy’s not a part of.

“We were sucked into the game.” Cole explains even though Birdy hadn’t mentioned his confusion, “Jay saved us. It was a whole thing.”

“...You have had a lot of adventures.” there’s a pause as Birdy tries to think of what to say, “I would like to hear more about them.”

Lloyd hums, “Well, other than a few small fight here and there, and the current situation we’re in, the last big ordeal we had to take care of was The Mechanic and Fugi-doves team up.”

“The Mechanic cyborg-ed him.”

“Badly.” Nya adds darkly, “I could have done so much better.”

"Don't get any ideas." Cole ribs, nudging her playfully with his elbow.

Jay nods, “Yeah, he botched it up pretty bad. Fugi used to be a nothing villain, like, petty things. Now that he’s all…” Jay waves his hands in the approximation of gears turning, “Scary looking, he’s got actual minions.”

“I turned into the ocean.” Nya informs him, “But I got better.”

“Before that was Shintaro. We were invited by the princess for her birthday.” Lloyd continues.

“Queen Vania now. She’s cool, I think you’d like her.” Cole smiles.

“Her dad, the king, ended up being this evil warlock. His best friend was a floating skull.”

“Interesting…”

“I think you’d like him more than Vania,” Kai mutters, “Birds of a feather flock together.”

Lloyd graciously doesn’t acknowledge Kai, “Prime empire was before that, and then there was…” He stops. The air grows thick. “Let’s not talk about that one.” He murmurs.

“...What kind of game is it?”

Jay perks up, “Let me just tell you the story!” He launches immediately into an animated recap. The others interject every now and again to add their perspective and to correct Jays embellishments. “-And that’s how I lost my eye!” He says, pointing at the patch. Cole takes over after that, talking about princess Vania and the caves beneath Shintaro. The conversation devolves into one long timeline of their most recent life-or-death situations that Birdy listens to intently. He stops them with the occasional question, but otherwise is quiet while they recount it all.

So it’s a surprise when he interrupts Nya’s explanation of the Mechanics plot by leaping to his feet and taking a confrontational step towards Kai, “What are you doing with that?” He demands.

Kai jumps, surprised. He’d been leaning against the tree mindlessly checking his pockets for something to fiddle with- he looks down and realizes he’d fished out the painkiller Samira had given him and was rolling it between his fingers absently. “I’m playing with it.” He says with a raised eyebrow.

“That is not a toy.” Birdy bites out. Maybe he wouldn’t be so aggressive in any other environment, but this place put him on edge in the worst kind of way.

“I know that.” Kai shoots back sharply, standing to his full height, “What’s your problem?”

“Give it to me.” Birdy orders, holding his hand out, “I am not going to watch anyone else die here.”

“It’s not poison!” He clenches the pill in his fist, “It’s a painkiller for FSM’s sake.”

“It is engineered to be horribly addictive.” Birdy stresses, stepping up to Kai, “The withdrawals for that could kill you-”

“I've been managing my alcohol withdrawal just fine, thanks, I'm sure this wouldn't be any worse.” He snaps, shoving the pill back in his pocket.

Birdy jerks as if struck, “You are so dependent on alcohol you would die from it?”

“Stop talking to me.” Kai turns his back on him bitterly.

The air is fraught with tension, the energy pulled so taut it was only a matter of time before something snapped.

Birdy opens his mouth, “Do you think your friend sacrificed his life so you could ruin yours?”

CRACK-!

It all happens so fast Nya can barely keep up. Kai’s fist connects with Birdy's mask so hard he goes sprawling in the dirt. He stumbles back, slamming into a tree and slumping down at the base of it. He’s got one hand holding his mask in place reflexively, looking up at Kai in shock.

“You-” He snarls, body a pillar of fire as he towers over Birdy, “You do not get to speak about him! You are not even a fraction of the man he was! He may have been a robot, but he was more human than you will ever be!”

Cole gets in front of Kai and pushes him back. He keeps his hands on Kai’s chest to stop him from advancing on Birdy again, “Kai, stop!”

From his place on the ground, Birdy reaches a hand under his mask to wipe at his face. His fingers come back stained dark with blood, nearly black in the strange lighting of the realm. He looks up at Kai and his hand tightens around his staff dangerously.

“What are you going to do? Are you going to hurt me?” Kai spits, leaning to glare at him over Cole's frame, “Just like you hurt Farley? Fine then, go ahead! I can take you!”

Birdy looks down at his hand like it’s not attached to him. He throws the staff on the ground as if it’s burned him and shakes his head hard to clear his vision. He hasn’t said a word, mute in shock. He stumbles to his feet but he has to use a tree to catch himself, leaning on it to keep his feet under himself.

“I’m the master of fire! You don’t scare me!”

Birdy is shaking all over, hand trembling where he has it pressed against the strange tree. His chest is rising and falling rapidly and he has all his focus on Kai.

He turns and vanishes into the woods.

“Birdy!” Lloyd takes a step after him but aborts the mission, whipping around to Kai, “You two stay here with Kai and maybe knock some sense into him.” He points at Cole and Jay before turning to Nya, “Nya, come with me.” She has to scramble to keep up as Lloyd darts after Birdy, but it’s not long before Lloyd stutters to a stop.

He lets out a low growl in frustration, “I don’t know where he went.” He scrubs at his face roughly.

She places a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, “Just take a deep breath, Lloyd.”

“Everything fell apart so quickly.”

“I know.” She swallows roughly and looks away. She doesn’t have the words to make this okay. If they can’t find Birdy, if they can’t convince him to come back… they’ll be lost in the middle of nowhere in a realm that wants so so badly to kill them. Her eyes flick over the ground right to a footprint is half hidden by the leaves of a bright red shrub.

“Look!” She points to it, hoping a solid lead will cheer Lloyd up, “He went this way!”

They cautiously start to track Birdy, being extra careful not to miss any indicators where he ran off to. Finally, they come upon another small clearing. Another large, alien looking tree stretches up above them, the trunk of the tree is a deep blue and there are several bulbs along it where the wood splits to reveal huge chunks of a pale blue spongey growth. On the other side of the tree, Birdy’s foot sticks out from where he’s sitting in the dirt under the shade.

“Birdy!”

And right next to his foot is his mask.

Lloyd stops in his tracks the moment he sees it. “Are you okay?” He asks, staying out of sight of Birdy's face.

A gloves hand reaches out and takes the mask, slipping it on with his body still mostly hidden, “I am alright.” He stands up then and comes around the tree to face them, face once again firmly hidden. He’s holding a water bottle in one hand, using it to rinse the stain off his gloves. Well, he’s trying to.

“Here,” Nya says, stepping forward, “Let me.”

She swirls water around his hands and uses it to sweep the dark blood off the fabric. While she works, Birdy speaks, “I apologize if I worried you. I was always intending to return, I just needed a moment to… attend to my injuries.” He finishes awkwardly. “I was not going to leave you stranded.”

“Birdy, I didn’t come after you because you’re our guide.” Lloyd says, “I came because I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Speak for yourself, Nya thinks. Well, that’s not entirely fair- she did think that Birdy wasn’t the villain he made himself out to be, and she trusted him to a degree. She wouldn't call them friends, but she didn't want to see him hurt either. Maybe her decision to follow Lloyd was almost entirely based on selfish reasons, but she had also been alarmed by Kai’s punch, worried about the brutality of how the hit had landed. Kai could knock out an opponent's teeth with a weak swing- there was a lot of damage to be done with a sucker punch like that.

“He isn’t like that, really.” She finds herself saying quietly as she draws out the last of the blood in Birdy's gloves, “He didn’t used to be, at least. He was more levelheaded than me before… Before we lost Zane.”

Birdy stays quiet.

Nya keeps going, “He took it the hardest out of us all, I think. He feels a lot of guilt. He lost his elemental abilities right before it happened, y’know? So I think he blames himself.” she moves water over his gloves absently. The blood is gone, but she can’t look up to meet his eyes, “And yeah, Zane was special to all of us, but he did something else for Kai. Kept him balanced, maybe. He got lost after Zane died. He trained until he collapsed, he spent hours patrolling the city, he kept busy because then he could dull the pain. And when he had to stop moving, he drank.”

“Grief does funny things to us all.” Lloyd says softly.

“You’re right. Zane wouldn’t have wanted this for him, and Kai knows that, but you were wrong to speak on his behalf. He’s gone, and none of us want to hear a stranger put words in his mouth.” She lets the water drop, splashing to the ground.

A long moment passes quietly, “I apologize. It was not my intention to disrespect your friend.” It’s his turn to drop his gaze to the ground.

“C’mon,” Lloyd says softly, “I think the others will want to hear that too.”

When they get back to the others, the air is tense. Kai is leaning against a tree attempting to wrap a bandage around his bloody knuckles. Jay is hovering at his elbow and Cole is standing off to the side, not looking at either of them.

Kai notices them first, but cuts his eyes away and pointedly ignores the trio rejoining their group.

“It was wrong of me to bring up your friend.” Birdy says before stepping any closer, “I reacted so strongly because I was afraid for you, Kai. Those pills are designed for control. Samira supplies the people of this realm and then twists their addiction against them.”

“I don’t need your worry.” Kai says, but it’s lost some of the bite it had before.

Hesitantly, Birdy approaches Kai. Slowly, with enough time for Kai to draw away, and with more than a bit of caution to stay out of easy access of another swing, Birdy cups Kai’s injured palm. He takes the bandages next, moving to wrap his hand, “There is not a switch I can flip to turn it off.” Birdy says wryly, carefully winding the gauze around Kai’s hand, “I am sorry for what I said.”

Kai just stares at him.

“...You may not trust me, but I trust you.” He continues, finishing up dressing his knuckles, “I believe you would have made the correct choice.”

Something shifts in Kai. his features soften and he pulls his hand away gently- his guard is still up, but there’s a change in his heart, “Y’know, you’ve got a hell of an iron jaw.” he tries for a joke, but it falls flat. Then, “Why are you doing all this? After everything you’ve done, why have a change of heart now?” He asks, search for an understanding. He didn't get Birdy. Maybe that was part of his aggression- he didn't understand how a warlord like him could just... suddenly decide to be a good person. There had to be a catch.

Birdy looks away, ruminating over his thoughts and looking for the best way to put it all into words, “I am trying to make up for the pain I have caused. I regret the things I have done. I wish I had never stepped foot in that throne room- I have been stuck in the dark ever since, plagued by the mistakes of my past... but I have a choice, now. Even in the darkness, I can choose to reflect the light.”

Kai freezes, looking at Birdy with wide eyes. He opens his mouth, but there’s a crash through the underbrush that interrupts him.

A massive two-legged beast blasts into the clearing with a series of loud clicks, hissing at the group gathered there. On top of the animal, on a makeshift saddle with a pair of leather reins in her hand- is Morrigan.

“I found you~!” She sing-songs.

Her steed shakes its head hard, obviously agitated by the bit shoved in its beak. It’s a massive thing with a set of wings to match, and it’s body was a patchwork of soft brown feathers and iridescent scales. Large slits flutter around the base of its throat as it breathes in, scenting the air. It’s feet are distinctly bird-like, with claws like a raptor and rough textured skin. It isn't happy about its predicament as a faithful show pony, flicking it’s head and flapping its wings in rage.

“You disrespected me, lover! I told you- either you gave me those flowers or something very bad was going to happen.” She flips her brown hair over her shoulder with a flourish, grinning down at the group with shark teeth, “I’ve come to collect, darling.”

“We don’t have the flowers any more!” Lloyd argues.

“Oh, I know that, little boy.” She giggles, “I’m here to do something very bad!”

With that, she shoves her finger out towards them and commands the vulture-bat beneath her, “Sick ‘em, boy!”

With that, the beast roars- and its small beak splits in half, its face opening up in four pieces to reveal a garbage disposal of razor sharp, serrated teeth stained with old blood. Its dark purple tongue flicks out before it crashes forward with the intent to kill. Despite its massive size, the thing is fast. It is upon them before they can think, and it’s only the speed of a ninja that saves their bones from snapping in those jaws.

“What is that?” Jay squawks in unison with the bird, who charges at him.

“A vulture-bat!” Birdy says as he leaps for his staff, fear bleeding into his voice, “Keep your eyes on it! It is quicker than you think!”

“Ew.” Nya says with a nervous laugh, mostly to herself. The bird is horrifying in it’s awkwardness- it’s bones seem too big for it’s body, the tautness of it’s skin revealing the spaces between feathers and scales. Little peeks of pink flesh that’s stretched so thin the blood vessels underneath are clearly visible. It moves unnaturally too, it’s body too long for it’s legs. Every other step it’s chest slams to the ground and bounces back up like he’s compensating for a missing limb. When it roars, foul smelling spittle flies everywhere.

Then she sees it. A long, thin appendage coming out from it’s tail feathers.

It whips it’s body around and her only warning is the high pitched whistle that comes from a deadly strike. She ducks, and the tree behind her explodes.

It’s like razor-wire, thin enough to decapitate any animal that comes it’s way, yet sturdy enough to nearly halve the trunk without even the hint of structural weakness.

Morrigan pulls on its reins so she can look at her targets, “Y’know why I haven’t killed anyone, Birdy? Because everyone does as they are told and gives me what I want.” There’s a manic shine in her eye, “Now you’ll see what happens when you disobey.”

She pulls out a knife and stabs the vulture-bat in it’s haunches. It roars in rage and shakes itself hard, trying to dislodge her, and when that doesn’t work it dives forward with the intent on killing anything around it. It’s pain needed to go somewhere.

Cole brings up a wall of earth high enough to trip the beast and it crashes to the ground, it’s claws scrabble for a moment and it’s back on it’s feet in almost no time. Kai throws a ball of fire in an attempt to scare it, but the singed feathers only seem to enrage it further. It’s mostly a game of cat and mouse with the ninja just barely dodging teeth and claws and a razor tail.

Nya knows they can’t dodge forever.

Birdy dives under the razor-wire that nearly takes his head before he pops up at the beasts underbelly. He’s almost trampled before he managed to grab hold of a patch of feathers and haul himself up onto the animals back. He’d only done all of that to get out of harms way, but now that he was nearly face to face with Morrigan, he had no idea what to do. He brandishes his staff anyway, trying to find his footing on the rampaging beast.

Morrigan stands up, hands still wound up in the reins to keep her balance and she brandishes her sword, “You think you're the only one with a thirst for blood, don't you? You think you're the only one with the guts to slaughter someone!” She snarls with a sadistic smile, “You have no idea what I'm capable of when I don't get my way.” She yanks the reins to one side and the animal veers sharply, whole body tipping and turning. Birdy crashes sideways off his feet and is nearly flung from the beasts back before he can catch it’s tail feathers in one hand.

Nya flicks her wrist and calls a ball of water to her. She throws it as hard as she can, watching it soar through the air and slap into Morrigan. What’s most important is how the water drowns the leather and the scales on the monsters back.

The beast turns toward Nya sharply at the attack, and Morrigan can’t keep her footing on the slick saddle.

One foot slips from under her and she can't catch herself. She tumbles down the beasts shoulder, but before she can hit the ground her body yanks to a painful stop. The reins are still wrapped around her wrist, leaving her dangling at the monsters chest. The bird slams sideways into a tree because of how hard Morrigan yanks on the reins in her fall, narrowly avoiding bashing her to paste. There’s genuine panic on her face as she swings her sword up, trying to slice through the reins so she can survive this encounter.

Birdy crawls up the bird to it’s neck. He nearly throws himself off it when he lunges for Morrigan, holding his hand out for her to take, “Let me help you!” He shouts, voice nearly lost among the vulture-bats cries.

She would have to drop her sword. She looks at him for a long moment before her face twists in hatred. With a mighty heave, she swings the sword at Birdy, aiming for a killing blow. He yanks his hand back and she misses, the sword cutting into the vulture-bat’s shoulder.

It rears back in pain and Birdy goes flying off, rolling to a stop in the dirt.

Morrigan is thrown backward and shaken around as the vulture-bat reacts to the sharp sting. It spots her as she’s thrown to the side, it’s large black eye focusing on her. It understands immediately. With a sharp turn, It whips its head around so she goes flying in a wide arc- right in front of its mouth.

It’s face splits in four. It lunges forward.

The crunch of shattering bones makes Nya feel sick. Blood splatters across the clearing as the bird shakes its head like a dog with a toy, other… debris raining down from its jowls. She didn’t even have time to scream. That must have been a mercy.

The blood pooling on the ground seems to be eagerly absorbed by the ground, leaving swathes of darker spots on the grass.

Nya can see its throat spasm as it swallows what's left of her.

Everything is quiet. The beast’s gills flutter again.

Birdy grabs her arm, snapping out of her trance. “Go!” He orders urgently and quietly.

She turns and runs. She can see Jay ahead of her, and she focuses on not losing him and nothing else. She doesn’t flinch when the vulture-bat roars behind her, and she doesn’t stumble when the earth shakes as it chases after them.

“It’s gaming on us!” Lloyd shouts from somewhere behind her.

“We have to fight!” Cole confirms.

They break out of the forest into muddy earth, the thickness of it sucking at Nya's feet as she tries to run. There are no trees out here in the wastelands- well, no trees big enough to hide behind. The spindly little black plants will do nothing for them now.

She turns around right as the bird explodes from the forest, a looming monster taking up all her vision. Her heart leaps up to her throat. It doesn’t hesitate, covering the land in three long strides before it’s upon them again.

Cole tries to use earth, but the mud is too soft to even slow the beast down. Jay flings lightning but the bird is fast, dodging that and Kai’s fireballs alike. Lloyd hits it heavily on the side with a ball of green energy, and the beast roars in rage as it turns on him. There’s more fighting- fighting is too generous for what they’re doing. Surviving, maybe. Just barely. It’s so angry that any real damage to it just pisses it off even more, too much adrenaline in it’s system to feel any of it.

It bites dangerously close to Cole, whipping it’s long tail back with deadly intent-

SNAP

The tail slams into Birdy's side- hard. It’s enough force to throw him back until he’s tumbling in the mud, coming to a stop on his back.

Black blood streaks across the wet earth.

His whole left side is torn open.

Nya is moving before she can think, “Keep it distracted!” She orders, flying across the mud. She slams down on her knees at Birdy's side, trying to assess the damage- did they pack enough bandages? How bad is it that he most definitely got realm of madness mud all inside his wound?

He has a hand pressed against his side. His glove is soaked through with blood. He makes no attempt to move, “Nya.” he says quietly.

“You’re gonna be fine.” She reassures him immediately, “Just lay still.” She tries to pry his hand away from his side, but he won’t move it.

“Nya, it is too late.” His voice is resigned. She feels like his voice is always resigned, always ready to die, “I need you to listen to me. Please.”

She shakes her head, “Just move your hand. I have medical training, I can help you.”

He acts as if he didn’t even hear her, “You have to go north-east from here. Towards where the sun rises- if you see a tree split in half by a lightning strike, you are going in the right direction.”

“Birdy, move your hand! You’re going to bleed out if you don’t let me stop the flow!”

“Keep walking past that split tree. You’ll see four big mountains in front of you-”

“What are you talking about?” She snaps, stressed and desperate.

“I’m telling you how to get to the mountain of madness.” He says soberly.

She looks at him in disbelief, “Take us there yourself!” She snaps. She pulls on his hand and he lets her, too weak to fight her anymore.

Underneath his torn blue tunic, past the dingy white robes underneath, is glimmering silver skin and a tangled mess of torn wires and gutted tubing. Nya’s brain stalls.

“Nya.” She jerks as if she’s been struck. Everything else vanishes to background noise. That’s not Birdy's voice. It’s softer, higher-pitched. It’s the sound of snowfall and red tailed hawks and fresh baked cookies. It’s the sound of home.

She slowly looks up at him, at that stupid stupid mask. Her eyes are blurry with tears.

“Zane?”

“Watch out!” Jay screams, the sound of the fight behind them blaring reality back into her ears.

She turns around and the beast is upon them. She’s too rattled to think straight-

Zane bursts forward spilling oil and transmission fluid all over the mud. He shoves Nya back, behind himself as he pushes his hand forward in a desperate attempt to change the way this fight ends. A giant pillar of ice shoots out of the mud in front of him and brutally slams into the Vulture-bats chest. Ice spreads at the point of contact, frost swirling up its skin in painful cracks. The beast squawks in startled pain, jerking away from the two before it finally decides the fight isn’t worth it. It flaps it’s massive wings in a panic, scrambling away from the ice and taking flight. It flys like a bat out of hell, it’s ground speed nothing compared to how quickly it takes off towards the horizon.

Zane's knees buckle, and he crashes into the mud and doesn’t move again.

#ninjago #zane julien #nya ninjago #kai ninjago #cole ninjago #jay walker #lloyd garmadon #ninjago never the dark #spinchip fic #ninjago au #someone dies brutally this chapter. sayonara...#blood #gore #broken bones

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dutchvanwinkle · 11 months

Text

Mr Van der Linde Pt. 9 - Dutch x Reader

This chapter is on ao3, too!

Summary: Your time at university has come to an end, and you and Dutch talk about the future.

Word count: 4,390

Content warnings: None

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Finally. Exams were over, and you were finished with university.

That feeling you had upon leaving your final exam was akin to that of an out-of-body experience. You'd floated more than walked out of the hall until you reached the pub, and couldn't shake the looming feeling that you shouldn't be having fun, you should be at home studying. Everything you’d worked for throughout school, and specifically during the last three years, had all led up to this moment.

Most of your group of friends had returned home after you were all partied out (poor Abigail being unable to drink but being a great sport nonetheless) to wait for the results to come through.

You’d squealed when you saw yours, a top mark that was so overwhelming you'd immediately burst into tears. After you’d informed your family, you checked your phone to see two things: your group chat with thirty unread messages and a single one from Dutch, asking how you’d done.

Unable to formulate coherent sentences, you opted for a screenshot.

By some miracle, all your friends had passed too, even John. Abigail had done especially well, and you couldn’t have been prouder of her. You were beaming down at your phone, happy not only for yourself but for your friends too, when Dutch responded.

Congratulations my girl. I knew you could do it. Can’t wait to celebrate with you ;)

As always, Dutch’s timing was impeccable, a message from John coming through saying that he was hosting celebratory drinks at his house the following weekend. There were no prizes for guessing who put that idea in his head. Not that you weren't excited about the prospect; you truly were on cloud nine.

John had been the one to pick you up, and you’d unfortunately been running late after having an interview for a graduate job the same day you were meant to travel down.

There were more people than you’d expected at the Van der Linde residence aside from your group of friends when you arrived, some of Javier’s family, Abigail’s parents, and of course Tilly.

“I can’t believe your parents are meeting Dutch,” you mused to Abigail who’d joined John for the ride and was walking you through the house and to the garden, where you could already see the small group chatting with drinks in hand.

“I know,” she widened her eyes at you, “we’ve had to rush through a good number of things thanks to this little one.”

Abigail gestured at her tummy, which was now impossible to hide in her clothes. She’d carried well, and the bump had been tiny for a great deal of her pregnancy, which was now a month and a half away from completion. She was having a hard time finding a dress for graduation and was unfortunately going to have to get one on the week of the event thanks to her ever-changing body. But still, she seemed to be glowing and the thought of her as a mother suited her greatly.

You paused in the kitchen to get a drink, John carrying on ahead while Abigail stayed with you.

“How are you feeling?” you asked, pouring her a cup of juice. “Still going okay?”

“Yeah, actually. I’ve been lucky. Thought that knowing my luck I’d be sick for the entire time and aching for nine full months. But touch wood,” she grazed her fingertips over the cabinet door, “it stays that way for a while longer. Can’t imagine I’ll be very comfortable during the last month either way.”

“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do,” you said ernestly. “At least it sounds like baby will be less trouble than John.”

“I hope so,” she chuckled. “I couldn’t bear the thought of minding two of them.”

You snorted a laugh. “Yeah, rather you than me. Is John still staying at your house for the birth?”

“He is,” she confirmed. While the two would be spending most of the time at the Van der Linde residence, Abigail wanted her parents to be there for the birth and the two had planned to make the journey to John’s after a couple of weeks. You’d been briefly concerned whether she’d be okay travelling so soon, but her place wasn’t too far away that it would be unmanageable, at least. “Surprised he even wants to be there for the birth.”

“I can’t imagine he’ll be much use,” you took a sip of your drink, “but it’s good that he’s shown willing.”

“Agree.”

You placed a hand on her arm. Despite her façade, you knew deep down she must be scared. This was a big deal, bigger than anything any of you had ever dealt with. “You’re gonna do great.”

Abigail pressed her lips together and blinked her eyes at the floor. “Don’t make me cry,” she half-laughed, “I’m too hormonal for you to get all soft on me.”

“Alright,” you held up your hands with a grin. “Shall we head out?”

“Yeah, let's do that.”

The pair of you stepped out into the garden, Karen jumping to her feet to skip over and throw her arms around you. “I can finally spend time with you again!” She pulled away, her hands holding your upper arms. “You have finally been having time to yourself, right?”

“I have,” you nodded fondly. “I plan to do so for at least a couple of months.”

“Here’s the genius amongst us,” Javier proclaimed, and you rolled your eyes at him. “Congrats,” he knocked his drink against yours once you'd walked over, “I’d say you’ve definitely earnt it.”

“Thanks Javi. You did great too.”

Javier was one of those irritating people who could put in minimal effort, yet still come out with a decent performance. It was truly aggravating.

You sat beside him, opposite Dutch, who was smiling proudly at you. Lest you blush like a teenager, you took your gaze away from him.

Thankfully, he was chatting with Abigail’s dad about something or other while you and your friends caught up. Of course, Abigail and John were postponing their job hunt, something Dutch had been quite insistent on; after coming around to the idea of them having the child, he’d been very hands-on and was more than willing to support the pair while they got to grips with parenthood.

Sean and Karen had made travel plans, the two of them deciding on doing some interrailing around Europe together. You’d poked fun at Karen, asking how she was going to survive months on end sharing an enclosed space with Sean. For all that she hid her affection towards him, she was incredibly fond of him and the two were truthfully a good match; seemingly comfortable in their created chaotic environment.

Javier had been interviewing like you had, planning on going into software too since it allowed him to work from home – he had no interest in hauling himself to an office every day.

The music and drinks had been flowing for a few hours when Abigail and Javier’s parents left, Arthur and Charles arriving soon after and updating everyone on how married life had been treating them. They’d recently bought a beat-up house with a decent amount of land and most of their time was spent renovating it while deciding what to do with the space. They hadn’t yet come to an agreement, but they were set on it having something to do with animals and or nature conservation. Once it was finished, Arthur had said you all had an open invitation to come and see it.

All the talk of the future was wonderful, seeing your friends so happy and bright-eyed as they prepared to take on the world. You couldn’t help but feel a little melancholy, having such an uncertain aspect of your future that none of them knew a thing about.

You quietly escaped the chatty group, opting to dawdle in the kitchen for a moment while you took your time pouring out another drink.

“I believe a proper congratulations is in order.”

That lovely deep voice was carried in by none other than Dutch, who’d taken your brief departure as a chance to have some alone time. You smiled at him bittersweetly, and his face fell a little.

“What’s wrong?” he stepped closer, not knowing what to do with his hand that he wanted to wrap around you, instead flexing it at his side.

With a sip of your drink, you shrugged. “I think I’m just a little overwhelmed.”

Dutch tilted his head, and you looked at the ground, the urge to cry coming on strong for a reason unbeknownst to you. “Sweetheart,” he said softly. “Let’s go to the study for a moment.”

You nodded, and he led you to his office, which you hadn’t seen for some time.

Once inside, he perched himself against the desk and gingerly pulled you into his chest. You lay your head there as he rubbed your back soothingly, the scent and feel of him causing your worries to begin to dissipate.

“I don’t even know why I’m getting emotional,” you mumbled into him, then took your head from his chest to instead look at him directly, his hands moving to rest on your hips.

“Now darlin’,” he soothed, looking at you with all the adoration in the world, “it’s an emotional time. This is all different, it’s a whole new beginning.”

“I know, but...”

His eyes were warm, projecting all the comfort he could muster onto you by gaze alone. “But what?”

“Everyone’s out there,” you gestured away from yourself, “talking about their futures. I’ve got nothing to say. It’s all so uncertain.” It felt silly to get up in your feelings, considering your great grades and even greater prospects, but it wasn't something you could help.

“Trust you to be instantly thinking about the next thing,” he shook his head as he appraised you, swiping his thumbs under your eyes to dry your tears. “You even had your interview today, right? How did that go?”

“Good, I think. The office isn’t far, but I’d only have to go in once a fortnight. Might be a good fit if I get it, but I have others lined up if not.”

“Exactly. You have an incredible future. With your career,” he took your hands in his, “with me...”

“Do I?”

“Yes,” he assured, “we said we’d wait to talk about it once all this is over, that doesn’t mean I haven’t already been thinking about some things.”

“Like what?” you asked quietly, hoping he could paint a pretty picture to soothe your worried heart.

Dutch brushed a hand over your hair, a fond smirk on his face. “About how we’re gonna settle the score so we don’t have to hide this. If that’s still what you want?”

“Yeah. Yes. I’m just apprehensive about how we’ll get to that point.”

“Understandable,” he placed a hand on his chest genuinely, “as am I. But we’ll plan it together, do it together. Okay? We’ll have each other, throughout and at the end of it all.”

You nodded, a little unconvinced. It suddenly seemed much less manageable now that you'd reached the proverbial bridge and were preparing to cross. “I don’t want to lose anyone.”

“We will do everything to make sure that doesn’t happen. Like I said, I’ve been thinking.”

“Go on?”

“It’d be wise to tackle the most difficult one first. Once John’s out the way, the rest won’t seem so bad.”

That was true. You nodded.

“We need to let John and Abigail settle first. Once they have, we’ll take them out and tell them. Be good to have Abigail there for moral support, her presence will hopefully keep John calm, too.” He brought your hands up to kiss them. “By Christmas, it’ll be out there, and we can deal with it however we see fit.”

“You really think John’ll be okay with it?”

Dutch shrugged. “I won’t lie to you; I don’t think he will be. Eventually, he’ll come around. He has to.”

“Does he?”

“Darlin’, I know my son. You leave the planning to me, focus on that job of yours. It’ll all work out. I promise.”

You brought your intertwined hands towards you, resting your chin on his knuckles, feeling guilty that Dutch would take the extra weight on his shoulders in order to lessen what was on yours. “Okay, I will.”

“And in the meantime,” he broke your hands apart and tugged on your hips to bring you between his legs. “I say you and I get away for a week at least, go somewhere hot where we can walk along the beach and drink cocktails together.”

A smile grew on your face, a holiday abroad with Dutch sounded like the perfect way to pass the time until then. “We should get a place with another hot tub.”

“Now that,” Dutch edged his face towards yours, “is a fantastic idea.”

He kissed you, and your troubles began to melt away. His lips were so soft, so warm, and he smelled so good. He was Dutch. Your Dutch. The man always had a plan, was always two steps ahead of you and knew how to fix problems before they’d even arose.

“My sweet girl. We’ll figure it out,” he nuzzled his nose against yours, “I’ll do everything I can to make this work. You just have to trust me.”

“Okay. I trust you.” You brought your hands to his jaw, keeping his face on yours as the two of you deepened the kiss, his arms wrapping around the small of your back and pulling you even further in.

The faint thrumming of alcohol underneath your skin made itself known, and you shifted in your spot as you placed your hands on the base of Dutch’s neck, the two of you lost in the exchange as it solidified the promise of a future, whatever that was going to look like.

“What the fuck?”

You gasped as you pulled your lips from Dutch’s, his hands stilling at your waist at the sound of the all too familiar voice. Turning, you were met with John’s horrified expression as he stood in the doorway.

“Son -” Dutch began, being cut off as John slammed the door open the rest of the way, making you jolt and pacing towards the two of you.

You brushed Dutch’s hands away that were still on your hips, for some unknown reason, and turned fully, your heart rising up into your mouth and you felt as though you’d puke it out before he reached you.

His gaze was fixed just behind you, on Dutch, and you stepped forward to get his attention. “John, John - it isn’t what it looks like.”

Menacingly he stopped, his gaze shifting to you. “What the fuck is this,” he gritted.

“I - I -” you stuttered, not a single excuse to explain any of it.

“You,” he pointed at his father, “you’re a fucking pervert. And you,” he turned his gaze to you, “I didn’t have you down for a whore, but here we are.”

“Johnathon,” Dutch snapped, standing, and you felt the heat radiating off both of them in waves.

“What?!” John yelled. “You gonna make this my fault, somehow? Turn it around on me? Like you always do?!”

“No, son – but you will not speak to her that way,” he snarled, and you looked back at him, willing him not to get riled up.

Jogging footsteps preluded Arthur making his way through the door. “What the hell is all this yellin’ for?”

John threw him a hateful look, and Arthur frowned, looking between you and Dutch. His expression then became one of anger mixed with disappointment as his eyes settled on Dutch. “Tell me you haven’t.”

“Arthur, son, it is not how it seems -”

“I goddamn knew I shouldn’t have believed you -”

“Please, Arthur,” you interjected, placing a hand on his forearm to stop him from advancing further, “it really isn’t what it looks like.”

“No?” John scoffed. “How about you enlighten us?”

Your voice got stuck in your throat, and you cleared it a couple of times.

“I’m waiting,” he lamented, and you noticed there was now an audience of Abigail and Karen at the door. “Please explain what earthly reason you have for putting your tongue in my father’s mouth. What’s the play here?” he waved his arms between the two of you angrily, “were you just gonna fuck on the desk if I hadn’t of come in?”

You put a hand to your mouth, willing yourself not to hyperventilate; your worst fear was coming true, and there was nothing you could do to stop it. It was as though you were a third party, simply observing the situation as it played out with no way to intervene.

Realisation set in Arthur’s face first, and he muttered his brother’s name while glancing between you and Dutch.

“No,” John scoffed, almost laughing, “ain’t no way. Don’t you dare,” he pointed a finger towards the two of you. “Don’t you fucking dare tell me that’s true.”

You heard Dutch move from the desk behind you, and he walked past you with his hands out. “John. I need you to calm down.”

“Calm down?! Calm down?!” John glared at Dutch, a face full of venomous anger, “you’ve been fucking my best friend and you want me to calm down?!”

“John,” you choked, tears brimming at your eyes once again, and the look he gave you was enough to tell you that you were his best friend no more.

“You should go upstairs,” Arthur said to you gently, keeping his gaze fixed on Dutch.

“No, Arthur, I -”

“Abigail, take up her upstairs.”

“No -”

“It’s alright,” Dutch tipped his chin at you, that same promise you’d seen earlier in his eyes still held there, “you go. It’s alright.”

You shook your head, and he nodded his in response.

“Abigail,” he beckoned her in, and she took slow steps in with poorly-concealed shock plastered over her face as though she didn’t even want to step into the tense atmosphere of the room. “Will you and Karen take her upstairs?”

“Sure,” she said uncertainly, reaching an unsteady hand out to tug at your forearm.

“Dutch -” you began.

“Just go,” he stepped towards you, Arthur bristling as he did and causing him to stop in his tracks.

Unable to think of any other option you hand, you shook your head and allowed Abigail to lead you out, she and Karen proceeding to walk you up the stairs in silence until you reached the spare room, where you sat on the end of the bed and they shut the door after you were all inside.

There was nothing else to do except drop your head into your hands and sob.

The girls approached, Abigail still uncertain but she sat beside you, Karen kneeling in front of you with a hand on your knee.

They allowed you to cry, as you’d allowed them to do many times about their respective partners. Over the years, you’d been the one they’d go to when they had to let it all out, and over a hot drink, you’d chatted and taken their mind off it or talk it out until there were no more words or tears left.

It appeared that you were crying your share of tears all in one sitting.

“Sweetie,” Karen began tentatively once your sobs had turned to sniffles, “what on earth is going on?”

You blinked up to see her concerned face swimming thanks to the wetness of your eyes, and Abigail stood to find tissues which she handed to you when she sat back down. After dabbing at your under eyes, you took a steadying breath.

“John walked in on me kissing Dutch,” you said, your voice hoarse. “It isn’t exactly the first time we’ve done it.”

“Did you really sleep with him?” Karen asked, and even in her serious tone, you could pick out a glint of admiration.

You nodded.

“Holy shit. How long has this been going on?” she asked hesitantly, and you only just met her gaze.

“Since Easter...”

“Well that’s not so -”

“Of first year.”

“Oh, you idiot.”

At least you could rely on her to be honest. “I know. It’s terrible. I’m terrible.”

Nobody argued against that, not that you'd expected them to. “I -” Abigail shifted beside you, “why didn’t you tell us?”

“How could I? It all just happened... and then continued to happen,” you looked down at your hands, wringing them between each other. “We were gonna tell him, tell everyone,” you gave them both a desperate look, “just after the baby. We didn’t want all this stress...”

“Wait,” Karen squeezed your thigh, “tell everyone what, exactly?”

“About us,” you shrugged.

“It’s... more than just a fling?”

With a solemn nod, you cleared your throat. “It’s... much more.”

“Oh Jesus,” Abigail rubbed disparagingly at her brow, “how could you let this happen?”

“You’ve seen the man, right?” Karen asked.

“Karen.”

“What?” she laughed. “I can hardly blame ya for it.”

“Sure,” Abigail snipped. “But what about John?”

You were saved from answering that by a knock at the door, and Arthur’s voice behind it. “It’s just me. Ya’ll mind if I come in?”

Karen looked to you and you nodded. “Sure, come on in.”

He did so, visibly radiating frustration but also trying to keep himself calm while in your company. “Ladies, would you give us a minute?”

Karen checked in with you again, she and Abigail standing at your go-ahead. Once they'd left, Arthur took Karen’s place and kneeled in front of you. Your gaze remained firmly on the floor.

“I’m gonna need you to look at me.”

Your brow creased, but you did as he asked. You weren’t sure whether you should’ve been thankful for the pity on his face.

“Arthur, I’m so sorry -”

“Ain’t me you should be apologising to,” he began, “but I understand this ain’t entirely your fault. Dutch is... well I don’t like to be the one to tell you, but he’s done this before.”

“I already know about Molly,” you said immediately, and Arthur’s face fell in surprise.

“You do?”

“Dutch told me.”

“Oh,” he hummed. “Well, it don’t matter either way. Dutch shouldn’t have done what he did -”

“Arthur,” you sighed his name. “Please listen to me. He hasn’t done anything. This was both of us.”

“No, he has a responsibility -”

“And he kept it! I came onto him. He refused! At least at the start.”

Arthur shook his head. “That don’t mean much, he’s got a way about him -”

“Christ, Arthur,” you huffed. “I’m an adult. In spite of that, I know how it looks, you don’t have to tell me. But it’s not the way it seems. It just isn’t like that. I -”

“Don’t you dare say you love him,” Arthur’s face hardened.

“I do. I’m sorry, but I do. Have done for a long time,” you said, full of regret. “It sounds crazy, I know that. But it’s the truth. We had a plan, a plan to tell John, and to -” you gestured vaguely, trailing off.

“A plan to what?”

You shrugged reluctantly. “Make it work.”

“How? What kinda future do the two of you have?” he said pleadingly. “And is it worth it? Jeopardising your friendship with John, hell maybe even the others, so you can date him?”

“I -” you sighed a defeated sigh.

“Look, maybe it ain’t too late. But you can’t be serious about carrying this on, it... it ain’t right.”

Arthur’s words stung almost as hard as the look on John’s face that would be imprinted on your mind for the foreseeable. Even if Arthur was wrong about the circumstances, he was right about one thing. There was only one way you could have a chance at salvaging your relationship with John.

The way everyone had looked at you had you feeling insane. Like this was the worst thing in the world and only you couldn’t see it. It had never felt that way. It’d never felt wrong, or sick, even if you had been regretful and concerned about John at times. You and Dutch had always been right. He’d always been your sanctuary.

But maybe, just maybe, Arthur was right. After all, was it true that everyone else was wrong? What was the likelihood that you weren’t being naïve and silly? You’d been in your own world with Dutch since the whole thing had begun, with no room or option for any outside opinions to make themselves known. Every disagreement the two of you had was worked out amongst yourselves, and not once had you had anyone in your ear to give you advice.

And John. God, poor fucking John.

You adored him, well and truly. He’d been your first proper friend at university, he’d driven you home for the breaks, introduced you to his flatmates who then became your closest friends, he’d gone out for food or drink when you needed to get away from the stress of university life. He wasn’t perfect, but who was? Certainly not you.

Not once had you truly taken the time to think about what you were doing. Every time you came close, the thought was pushed to the back of your mind in the pursuit of self-indulgence. You’d erased his face far from your head while you kissed his father, fucked his father, all behind his back for two years.

In truth, you weren’t convinced you even deserved him as a friend.

Arthur was right. How could you and Dutch have a future? You’d believed it to be possible upon Dutch’s promise that John would come around, but how could you ever have believed that would happen? What a stupid dream that was. He’d never forgive you, rightfully so, yours and Dutch’s relationship would ultimately end, and you’d be left with nothing.

For John, for once, you had to do the right thing. You had to make it up to him. You had to try, at least.

“I want to go home.”

Arthur nodded, standing, relieved to get you out of the picture for the time being. “I’ll drive ya to the station.”

#dutch van der linde x reader #dutch van der linde x f!reader #dutch x reader #dutch van der linde #rdr2 fanfic #rdr2 #fanfiction #my stuff

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giggly-squiggily · 9 months

Note

This isn't a request for a tickle fic so I hope you are okay with writing it! I just wanted to request a fic were Leo and Yuno had revealed the fact that they are in a relationship so Yuno takes Leo to hage so he can meet everyone!

Ahh, my weakness! *vibrates at an inhuman speed* I'm so normal about them I swear! aerajrjheakjreaj No but really- this is a delight of a prompt and I'm beyond happy to make it for you, anon! I hope you like it!

CW: Mild angst, mentions of homophobia VERY LIGHT SPOILER WARNING: Black Clover Eps. 71-72 (It's incredibly vague- there's no real details but I'm gonna put it out there just in case)

Cloud 9 (Taglist peeps):

@duckymcdoorknob

“Come to Hage with me!”

When Yuno first offered the suggestion to Leopold, he was excited. It’d been some time since he’d seen his family, and the idea of sharing a part of himself with Leopold felt right.

Then excitement turned to unyielding anxiety in a matter of hours as he realized he had no idea HOW he was going to do that.

The planning wasn’t the difficult part- both Captains Fuegoleon and William were fine with it, and they even managed to rope Captain Yami into letting Asta and Noelle tag along. Letters were sent, and the responses have been nothing but positive from Sister Lily and Father Orsi . The actual trip was set.

It was the whole- you know- coming out thing. All this time later, and he still hadn’t told them. Yuno felt his stomach twist into a thousand knots as he watched Hage’s green hills get closer in the distance, willing himself not to shake.

“You’re gonna love it there! Our siblings are a riot, but they’ll get used to you pretty fast.” Asta was filling the mildly tense air with chatter, giving Leopold and Noelle the details about their family. A few times the redhead would look his way, smiling brightly at him. That helped- somewhat.

“You okay?” Leopold floated over on his broom, voice pitched low so the others wouldn’t hear him. “You look like you’re gonna puke.”

“Motion sickness?” Yuno offered, wincing when his voice shook..

“You’re nervous huh?” He smiled, bumping him gently. “I’m a bit too. Do you…do you think they’ll like me?”

“You’re like a second Asta. They’ll adore you.” Yuno grinned, earning a laugh and a light shove from Leopold. “Really- I do think they’ll like you. Both of you.” He nodded back to where Asta and Noelle were, their voices acting as background noise.

“Thanks.” Leopold leaned over, giving him a quick peck before returning to the original pair, Asta’s “WHERE HERE!” snapping him back to reality.

It’ll be fine. Yuno took a breath, forcing a smile. Everything is going to be fine.

He hoped.

~~~

“YUNO! ASTA!” Recca all but squealed upon seeing the three brooms above. “Everyone- Asta and Yuno are back!”

Within seconds of touching the ground, they were swarmed. Squeals of glee rang out from Arlu and Holo as they bull-tackled Asta, clinging to his legs and jumping up with grabby hands. Recca practically squeezed the life out of Yuno, her frizzy red hair almost to his chin- when did she get so tall? Sister Lily came out soon after, tears in her eyes as she hugged both of them just as tight. By the door, Father Orsi laughed, patting Nash on the head as they waited their turn to get their hugs.

It was a mess of limbs and hugs and kisses and ear shattering screams of glee from the youngest kids.. Yuno took it all in, nostalgia and warmth mixing in his chest as he reunited with his family. God, he missed them all so much.

“Welcome home, boys.” Orsi smiled when he managed to get in, hugging them both before patting their heads. “Though I should call you two men- after everything you’ve been through. Still; no matter how old you two get, you’ll always be the squishy cheeked babies I remember when you first arrived.”

“Father Orsi, come on! I’m so much bigger now since being a baby!” Asta huffed, unable to stay annoyed. Yuno laughed softly, willing his ears to stop burning. It didn’t help that Leopold was snickering in the background, clearly pleased.

“I suppose so- now, who are these fine people you two brought?” He asked, looking out towards Noelle and Leopold. Yuno’s stomach twisted once more, the anxiety he was just beginning to forget about piercing him like an arrow. Right- introductions. It was time.

“This is Noelle! Fellow Black Bull and royalty!” Asta cheerfully introduced Noelle, pulling her closer to the group. “She’s a really cool water mage! If you’re lucky- she might show you some tricks!”

“Dorksta- don’t go promoting me like I’m some sort of circus act!” Noelle fussed, cheeks red and mildly annoyed. From the group, some of the kids giggled. “Erm, it’s nice to meet you all.”

“Your girlfriend’s pretty, Dorksta!” Holo declared, making Noelle flush crimson with a squeak. Sister lily scowled him gently but Asta took it in stride, laughing with the rest of his siblings at the nickname. When the chatter died down, all eyes turned to Yuno and Leopold.

It’ll be fine.

“Leopold Vermillion! Nice to meet you all!” Leopold declared proudly, all smiles. The children were hooked almost immediately, eyes shining. “I’m Yuno’s-” He paused then, turning to the other. There was a question in his eyes. Is this okay?

Yuno felt his heart squeeze so hard it hurt. Leopold was giving him the chance to lie- to just say he was Yuno’s good friend. To work up the courage later and tell them another time. He was grateful for the redhead at that moment.

“He’s my boyfriend.” Yuno finished. Alas- as grateful as he was; he had to do it. Leopold had already agreed to keep it a secret in the past- he wasn’t gonna put him through all that again . “We’ve been dating for a while now.”

Faces morphed into surprise- Father Orsi’s brows shot up and Sister Lily blinked. Recca and Nash’s mouths formed into “o” shapes, while Arlu and Holo were too busy hovering around Noelle to notice. Even Asta looked surprised- and he knew already. Yuno waited, pleading with whomever was listening for- what- the ground to swallow him up? For lighting to strike him down? For Captain William to call and suddenly announce a task only Yuno could fill and save him from this awkward situation?

“Well, this was unexpected.” Father Orsi was the first to speak, his shock fading into warmth as he came over, shaking Leopold’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Leopold.”

“I recognize the name- are you related to Mimosa Vermillion?” Sister Lily recovered just as fast, smiling brightly. “She’s a darling, that one.”

“Oh yeah- she’s mine and Noelle’s cousin.” Leopold fell into easy chatter with them, bright as the sun as they asked about his team and family. Recca wiggled past the adults to Yuno’s side, her hand finding his as she leaned into his arm.

“Is he good to you?” She asked. Yuno took a shaky breath before nodding.

“He’s very good. The best man I’ve ever met.” Recca’s hand squeezed his in return, her face softening to a happy grin.

“Okay. Then I like him.” She decided. Yuno felt his throat tighten some as he leaned over, kissing her brow.

Asta and Noelle were soon dragged into the chatter. Before long, everyone was comfortable around everyone.

All but Nash, who hovered just outside the group with a pinched expression.

~~~

“It was so HOT! And dangerous too- there were so many cliffs and rocks, and the ground was carved with lava!” Asta stood before the group, retelling his adventures to his siblings- complete with standing tall and raising his arms high to emphasize his point. “There were so many instances where I was sure I wasn’t gonna make it! One wrong move, and your future Wizard King would have been as cooked as a Hage Potato!”

“I’m surprised you didn’t. I bet Yuno didn’t have any problems in that heat- not with his wind magic.” Recca grinned at her brother, earning a small smile in return. “I bet you were cool as the snow climbing that volcano!”

“Oh no, I just got lucky.” Yuno shrugged.

“Don’t be so humble- he was amazing!” Leopold grinned, joining Asta in retelling their adventures of Mereoleona’s training camp. “He was all- ZOOM! And we were all: ‘Whaaaat’ and he was all- “I’m so cool, look at me.’”

“Yeah yeah! Definitely!” Asta agreed, earning a round of laughter from the kids. “Noelle looked cool too!”

“What? Oh- don’t just say those things, Dorksta!” She huffed, cheeks pink but clearly pleased. Arlu and Holo were fast asleep against her lap, likely dreaming of the small water dragons Noelle created for their entertainment . Despite her earlier complaints about being an attraction, it didn’t take long at all for her to give in and play with them. Yuno felt a new appreciation for the water mage. “I guess you were kinda cool too…”

“Oh goodness- I can’t imagine going through that myself!” Sister Lily laughed around her tea mug, fanning away the imaginary heat. “You two have been getting so strong since you went to the capital.”

“That’s our boys!” Orsi agreed, raising a cup of what Yuno suspected wasn’t water. He didn’t mind though- it was nice sitting with everyone again. Though, there was still something wrong.

Throughout the day, Nash had been fairly quiet, not talking much at all during dinner or the time before. He’d always been a calmer soul, but Yuno couldn’t help but suspect he was angry. There was this clear tension radiating off of him that prickled at Yuno’s skin all throughout the day- especially tense during dinner when they were all sitting together.

Yuno tried to brush it off as discomfort of new people, but sitting here now- Nash nowhere in sight, his thoughts got the better of him.

Did Nash…not accept him?

Slipping away from the group, he went to find him, scared of what he’d find but determined to get to the bottom of it.

~~~

“Nash?” Yuno called out, finding his brother sitting on the back steps of the church. “There you are.”

“Oh, hey Yuno.” The younger boy looked back at him, his face and voice calm as ever. In his hands he was playing with a tree branch, picking at the bark and pulling at the leaves. “Got overwhelmed in there?”

“A bit. I actually came to find you.” Yuno began to walk over but stopped, suddenly unsure of himself. What if he sat down beside him and Nash walked away? Maybe he should…

“Why are you hovering? It’s not like we’re strangers.” Nash nodded at the spot beside him. Yuno flushed as he sat down, shamed. Why was this suddenly so difficult?

Silence hung between them, charged with something Yuno couldn’t quite put his finger on that did nothing to ease his nerves. He went to find words, but his throat felt tight, locking away his vocal cords. He needed to say it. “Nash…are you mad?”

Nash didn’t reply, though the slow pace he was working at with his stick sped up, growing slightly more aggressive. Ah, so he was.

“Are you mad…at me?” Yuno asked, feeling his heart sink when the picking grew. “Did I do something wrong?”

The stick shook. Nash’s calm expression grew pinched. “You didn’t tell us.”

There it was. Yuno bowed his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t- don’t apologize.” Nash tossed the stick aside, turning so he could face Yuno properly. “I don’t want an apology. I just want to know why. You know us- we’re your family! That’s never gonna change, so why…why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Nash huffed, shoulders drooping. “Did you not…trust us?”

“What- no, not at all!” Yuno winched, hating how sad his brother sounded. “It’s not that at all. I just…” He was about to ramble when he stopped, taking a breath. This was Nash- clever, understanding Nash. He might as well be honest. “I was scared.”

“Of us?” Nash blinked, tilting his head.

“Of how you’d all react.” Yuno nodded, turning to look at his knees. “Back at the capital, there are some incredible people there. But there’s also a lot of cruel ones too. Leopold- he came out before me, and I still think about some of the awful things said about him. Some were said about me too- both behind my back and to my face. I try not to care about them- they already have problems with me being a commoner, but…”

“You were scared we’d react the same way.” Nash spoke softly, voice barely over a whisper. Yuno winced, nodding.

“I know now it was irrational,, but at the time- when I first started figuring myself out and being with Leopold; I was just so…terrified. I couldn’t bring myself to say it in a letter- I needed to know in person how you’d all react. I didn’t want to come home and be treated like a stranger. That…that would hurt.” Yuno felt his eyes sting, his throat closing with unshed tears. “I’m sorry. I wish I had the courage to say it sooner, but…I didn’t. I’m sorry I made you think you couldn’t be trusted, and I’m sorry-”

“Stop.” Nash scooted over, resting his head against Yuno’s shoulder. “You’re shaking.” He took his hand in his own, two small warm ones holding Yuno’s icy limb. “Just breathe, Yuno.”

Yuno willed himself to do so, taking slow deep breaths one after another as he forced himself to calm down. He hadn’t realized just how close to a panic attack he was getting. Nash’s voice guided him back to reality, his hands still squeezing Yuno’s as the older boy collected himself. “Sorry…”

“Didn’t I just say to stop that?” Nash gave him a look, eyes softening after a moment. Silence passed before he spoke again. “You don’t have to apologize- it doesn’t seem like an easy thing to talk about. If anything- I’m sorry for getting so mad about it. Even if it took awhile, I’m glad you were able to tell us now.”

Yuno didn’t trust his voice, opting to squeeze Nash’s shoulder. Nash took this as a sign to continue.

“You know- I don’t even think that part is what made me upset. I’m really happy you found that Leopold guy, and I’m happy you and Asta are living your lives. I guess it’s just…everytime you and Asta come home, so much has happened. One minute you’re heading out to the capital, the next, you’re these powerful Magic Knights with cool abilities and war stories. I feel like there’s just so much..missing between. Like those old books someone donated that had chapters missing.” Nash dropped some, shaking his head. “That was probably stupid to listen to, huh?”

“Not at all. I think I get it.” Yuno nodded, finding his voice as he turned towards the skyline. “I’m sorry about that. Things happen so fast there, and when I go to write, I never know what to say. That and I’d hate to give Sister Lily a heart attack with the gorey details.” That earned a small smile from Nash. Yuno felt his chest loosen. “I’ll try to be better about keeping you guys updated. And I’ll try to visit more often.”

“Promise?” Nash peeked up at him. Yuno raised his pinky. Without hesitation, Nash curled his own around it.

“Promise.” Yuno gave it a little shake, the same way they did when Nash was real young. Just like that, the knots in his stomach vanished. He could breathe again.

“Thanks Yuno. Though, can I ask you something?” Nash leaned in conspiratory-like, brows furrowing. “What made you fall for him? Don’t get me wrong- he seems great, but he’s like a second Asta- just so…loud.”

Yuno snorted, hand slapping over his mouth as he shook with mirth. Nash grinned, giggling alongside his brother.

“I suppose that’s a good place to start.” Yuno got out once he recovered. The rest of the night he shared the tale with Nash, the tale of how he and Leopold came to be.

~~~

“There you are. We really do have a fondness for fields, don’t we?” Leopold laughed as he flopped down beside Yuno, the stars bright above and the air chilled. Yuno was lying on his back, hands tucked behind his head as he reflected on the day’s events. Overall- it all went well.

“That’s true. We’ll have to change it up soon. How about a beach day next time?” Yuno suggested, grinning when Leopold made a face.

“No way- I’m still finding sand in inconvenient places.” Shaking his head, he flopped backwards and into Yuno’s chest, snuggling close. “Thanks for inviting me out. Your family’s great!”

“Told you they’d love you.” Yuno hugged him close, skittering his nails against his back. “I’m glad you came. They’re gonna be talking about you and Noelle for months.”

“Hehe, better send some presents then. Gotta keep my “cool older brother” rep with the kiddos.” Leopold closed his eyes, melting against his boyfriend’s hand. “Hey…this is kinda dumb but..thanks for introducing me as your boyfriend. I would have gone with the whole friend thing if you weren’t ready to tell them, but…It made me really happy.”

“It’s not dumb at all. And I appreciate you so much for that. Still…I wanted to tell them. Regardless of what happened, I wanted them to know you as my boyfriend. It was really scary, but I’m glad I did it. I feel so…relieved.” Yuno nodded, satisfied with his choice of words as he played with Leopold’s braid. “Was it like that for you when you came out to your siblings?”

“Honestly? I can’t remember. When I came out, I was so scared of chickening out I busted into Fuegoleon’s office and shouted it at the top of my lungs. Sis must have heard me from down the hall cause she yelled back “Good for you!” and Fuegoleon wasn’t fazed in the slightest. I think they both already knew.” Leopold laughed at the memory, smiling to himself. “I’m so lucky to have the siblings I have. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

“Yeah…” Yuno hummed in agreement, letting that settle. It made him grateful for his siblings as well- and his comrades. How’d he get so lucky to find the people he met?

“So- it’s just the two of us now. Do you think anyone will be slipping out this evening?” Leopold asked, sitting up so they were eye to eye, a teasing grin on his lips. Yuno blinked before flushing some, feeling his eyes widen.

“Leo!”

“What? I’ve been good- I’ve held back all day from doing it.” He leaned in some, green eyes sparkling with warmth. “Now or never, right?”

Yuno rolled his eyes with a soft laugh, flicking his bangs away. “You’re a dork. Fine, come here.”

Leopold wasted no time pressing his lips against Yuno’s, pushing him back into the grass.

It was all as Yuno hoped it would be and more. He was so glad he came home.

Thanks for reading!

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cosmos-coma · 1 year

Text

Blood and Vengeance - Part 6

A/N: Part 6 is here! I hope you like it! I know I was getting chills as I wrote it haha

Pairing: Dettlaff x Reader

Words: 1697

_______________________________

Voices floated around you unintelligibly, dancing on the edge of your waking mind. Though they were still fuzzy at best you began taking in bits and pieces of what was going on. Regis and Dettlaff’s voices- you now came to realize- were the ones floating around you as they argued in the hallway in hushed but urgent tones.

“... Blood… bandits…”

“... Monsters…tell her…. we are…”

“.. can’t… Not yet…”

The softest groan vibrated from your chest as you tried to open your eyes and all semblance of conversation quickly ceased. Swift, almost silent feet approached you before a heavy weight dipped the bed. Cool and loving fingers caressed your cheek, urging you to wake further from your slumber.

As the light finally eased its assault on your eyes Dettlaff’s worried expression came into view, his face now clear of blood stains and its bat-like features.

Perhaps the fangs and claws were all another delirious dream?

“My moth…” his low voice rumbled with relief as his eyes swept over you in a cursory glance.

“What happened..? Where..?” you asked. Your body was cradled in unusual softness and warmth that your basement dwelling just did not have. You tried to sit up to get a better look, but pain ripped its way through your stomach in a humbling memory of the evening's events. A yell tore away at your throat and your grip on Dettlaff's hand tightened like a living vice.

“Ahhh! FUCK!” you screamed as you laid back, your breath lost from the simple effort and your face contorted with pain.

“Please do be careful or you’ll tear your stitches…” Regis advised from his place in the doorway, right behind a very concerned-looking Amelia.

“How are you doin’, girly…?” Worry painted her face like a picture as her hands wrung together in front of her, “can we get you anything? How about some soup? I have just the soup for you, it’ll heal you right up…!” she nodded as she rushed off toward the kitchen to get you some food-based medicine.

A faint smile played on Regis’s lips as Amelia hurried off in a way that only the redhead could, “And I’ll get you something for the pain…” He said, nodding at Dettlaff before taking his leave to give you two some time alone.

You looked down to examine yourself, lifting the neckline of the clean, loose dress you now wore to see bandages wrapped securely around your midsection. Blood just peeked through the top layer, old, brown, and dry, but nothing fresh so far.

You nodded a bit as you turned to look about the room, noting the familiarity of it.

“I brought you to my room…” Dettlaff admitted in answer to your unspoken question, “I couldn’t stand the thought of you recovering in that ice box of a basement.”

“But… how did you?” You started, but Dettlaff seemed to already know what questions plagued you.

“Regis has a knack for making medicinal items,” he explained, “And we had Amelia change you from your blood-soaked clothes…”

You nodded slowly, taking in all of his answers as your hands idly touched the soft sheets below you. Your lips had just parted to speak when the higher vampire beat you to the punch.

“I thought I’d lost you…” His voice was a somber whisper as a hint of grief laced his words. Though he turned his gaze away from yours, you could see the storm of his irises had slowed their perpetual storm to dark, suffocating clouds.

“I should have been here to protect you,” you could hear the trace of a self-loathing growl building in his voice, “Instead, I was traveling needlessly. I should have heard them coming. I should have-”

“Dettlaff…” your voice was gentle like the nighttime breeze, yet still pulled his spiraling attention to you in an instant. “It’s okay, I promise. I’m still here… and I’m safe now, thanks to you…,” You assured as your fingertips grazed his cheek, nimble fingers tucking away a few spare hairs.

He nodded, his eyes fluttering closed as your touch left a trail of loving warmth across his cheek. His heart slowed its rapid beat as he listened to the breath fill your lungs. The light sigh from your lips tingled his senses as he turned into your palm, his lips tenderly brushing over your skin.

You were still here.

Still with him.

That's what mattered.

“Y/n? Oh-! Sorry to interrupt…” Amelia said bashfully as she entered, but the moment was already broken.

His chest ached as your hand fell away from his face, far too fleeting of a touch to satisfy him and a territorial rumbling threatened to spill from his chest, but he knew better. “You should eat… “ He urged.

You nodded in agreement and strained to sit up, grunting as you gradually pulled yourself upright.

Amelia, always the wonderful friend, stayed by your side the entire time as you ate, entertaining you by regaling the epic tale of her beating the living shit out of that bandit.

You chuckled at her bubbling enthusiasm, holding your stomach as each laugh pulled at your crude stitches. “Ow, oh, ah… too much, you're too much…,” you said through dwindling laughter.

“Well, laughter seems like as good a sign as any…” came Regis’s voice as he stepped in from the hallway with a small container. “Let’s get your bandages changed and then I think we all should get some sleep. It’s been… an incredibly long day.”

----

Darkness surrounded you when you woke, stirring the residual fear from your most recent nightmare. Only the sliver of moonlight coming past the curtains and the cooling embers of the fireplace broke up the monotonous black and gave your mind some relief.

A sigh escaped you as you rolled over slowly into the empty space beside you, the cool sheets chilling your skin uncomfortably.

Something was missing.

The sheets crinkled beneath you as you sat up and looked blindly into the dark room, “Dettlaff? Are you there…?”

Silence.

“I’m here, moth…”, finally came the familiar rumble of his voice from the far corner where he attempted in vain to sleep. Footsteps creaked the floorboards as he came closer until he finally stepped into the sliver of moonlight darting across the floor.

Your breath escaped you as pale light illuminated the graying strands at his temples and highlighted the silver that flecked across his blue irises. His fair skin sang a siren song, beckoning for your touch under the magical light. He seemed somehow both otherworldly and right at home in the light of the night and it made a different kind of chill run through your limbs, one that couldn’t be solved with the warmth of a fire.

“I’m cold…” You explained through a yawn, a testament to your body's exhaustion, “Would you lay with me?”

His body froze for a moment in surprise as your imploring tone rattled a part of him he had long since set aside, but he could never deny you. “... Of course, my dear…”

Your hand reached out as you heard him come closer, your eyes finally seeing him in the dark of the room as he peeled away his heavy outer clothes.

A small flame of desire flickered to life in him as your hand ran down his bare arm, the thrum of his heart at your fingertips as your alluring touch stilled. He propped his back up against the headboard and let his hand find its home in the soft strands of your hair.

But you were still cold.

“Hold me…?”

Oh, you were going to be the death of him.

Wordlessly, one strong arm wrapped around your waist as the other moved under your legs.

Your nose tucked away into his neck as he lifted you to his side with little effort. Dull pain radiated from your wound, even more so as you were moved, and caused you to let out a shaky breath as you winced.

Your shuddering breath danced like mist over his sensitive neck and made blossoms of fire bloom beneath his skin in its wake. His fingers pressed into your soft flesh as he fought back the inklings of desire, its flame now licking at what would surely be pure gasoline.

Surprisingly strong arms held you safe and secure against his chest as your legs draped over his lap. You looked up into those silvery-blue eyes as you settled into his warmth, their storms dancing just inches away from your own. Your gaze flowed along the fine lines and features of his face; the tiny imperfections that gave him character, the painted beauty marks that freckled his skin, all the way down to the gentle slope of his lips.

“Dett…” you whispered, afraid to shatter the moment in the already quiet night. Your fingers answered the relentless siren call of his skin, your fingerpads smoothing over his jaw as your thumb traced the curve of his bottom lip.

An intoxicating buzz ran like static across his lips, and he could feel that swelling flame inside his chest finally catch the gas-soaked wick alight.

“May I…” You started, your thoughts struggling to stay coherent as his warm breath puffed against your skin, “may I kiss you…?” Your lips parted of their own volition, your head tilting to the side in an open invitation.

“Please…” his words came out as a desperate plea. He watched your eyes flutter closed as he leaned in slowly, still trying to stave the growing fire in his chest from the fuel you so readily supplied.

He leaned in, the heat of your breath gracing his face as your lips came excruciatingly close…

Before you’re head lolled away from him, and your divine touch fell away from his face.

“Moth…?”

Your sleeping form let out even breaths through your still-parted lips, waiting for their promised kiss. Your entire being radiated pure peace for the first time since you had been so grievously injured, and Dettlaff would not be the one to wake you from it.

A shallow sigh filled the air between you but didn’t diminish the lingering smile on the vampire’s lips.

“I love you too, my dear….”

_______________________________

Taglist: @writingmysanity, @open--till--midnight @unstable-kiwi @madamemelancholysstuff @tigerlyla-of-metinna @bluppulb @shit-i-say-shit-i-think

Wanna be added to a Taglist? DM me to let me know!

#Blood and Vengeance #Dettlaff #dettlaff x reader #dettlaff x you #dettlaff x y/n #dettlaff imagine #dettlaff van der eretein #dettlaff van der eretein x reader #dettlaff van der eretein x You #dettlaff van der eretein x Y/n #The witcher blood and wine #TW3 dettlaff #dettlaff fic #higher vampire

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karimwillia · 1 year

Text

Part 9

Warnings: Conflict and Plot Homecoming Dress.

MJ and Riri are ready to give up after almost 2 hours of shopping. Aneka was the only encouragement to continue their search for the right dress. “Rihanna please just try this last one. I need you to trust me.” The dress is a gorgeous deep red color that when she tries it on fits to her form perfectly. There is a slit that runs to the mid thigh and a rather low neckline but still classy. It’s perfect. Riri looks out at Shuri waiting to see some result of the search.

Her attention is on her phone at this moment so she makes a mental note to ask about it later. For now she musters the courage to walk out in the dress for a little show. “Baby can you look at me?” Her voice comes out sweet not much above a whisper. Looking up, Shuri forgets everything she is doing and even how to breathe for a moment. If this is how she looks for Homecoming, Shuri may die at the time of Prom. “You’re perfect.” Are the only words Shuri can muster..

Ri nods and blushes making her feel like she’s the most beautiful being in the world. “Aneka I think we have found the one.” “See I told you to trust me.” Aneka smirks at her cousin who is still stuck. The dress is pinned in places that need to be altered and they soon are on their way. Riri is dropped at home so she can change for the game. Shuri walks her to her door and kisses her goodbye a little less G rated then they have done in the past.

Riri's floating on cloud 9, today is a memory for sure. Suddenly her cloud is waved away when Sharon turns on the light. “Mmmmhm I knew that girl was on the to do list.” Riri was busted but not in a bad way just this is not how they do things in this house. “Sha I can explain. So you know how…” Sharon has her arms crossed over her chest and is still skeptical.

“Baby Sister, calm down and start from the night you got your hair braided.” Why can Riri never remember to breathe? “Sissy, remember when I asked you what I should say if I wanted to have someone do the list with me.” “Yes and I told you to be honest and open. Tell them the truth and maybe be a little bold.” “Yes well surprise! I told her the truth and maybe I was a little more than a little bold.”

Sharon is tickled but she has to question. “What do you mean how bold? I hope you didn’t…” Ri flushes at the thought, has sex crossed her mind absolutely. Would that mean them having a conversation first double absolutely. “Ahhh Sha not that um I did slide her note and we met under the stairs but, I had a panic attack telling her I liked her so we went to her house.”

Sharon is interested to hear more of this. “Ok wait Ms. Social anxiety that’s still bolder than expected from you. Her house?” Ri grins. “She panicked and just thought of the most private place. We talked for hours about everything and this week has been like a fairy tale Sissy.” “It has to be a fairy tale to have you kissing at your front door.” “It just happened.” Riri’s nervous smile is a dead give away that there is more to the story.

Sigh. “We are officially dating, taking things slow. But she is my first kiss.” Sharon is face to face with her Sister wearing a small smile with no teeth. “Oooh Rihanna. She must be something special.” “She is…So Special.” Ri closes her eyes remembering the moments from this week. Sharon looks at her sister giddy. “Someone is falling in love.”

Riri covers her face. “Not yet it can’t be! Sha.That takes time.” Sha chuckles. “It can be love. You have liked her for years and you know her very well. Now you get together and it’s everything you wanted. If it’s not love yet it’s close.” Riri is fiddling with her fingers now love has not crossed her mind could it be? “Sharon.” Taking Ri into her arms Sharon holds her. “Continue to follow your heart. You are a smart girl so you will be fine. Be yourself and let the journey take you where it’s going to take you. But don’t be too wrapped up to talk.” They cuddled up for a little while then got ready for the game before she knew if it was close to game time.

Once ready Riri was waiting for Shuri when a notification popped up. Like most teens she has an ig but for her she is not glued to it. It was a dm from a girl. They stated how they want to “warn” her about Shuri. They bombed her inbox with photos. Showing Shuri kissing some other person from just two weeks ago. Stating how she is Shuri’s ex and they are on and off. Claiming that Shuri was not single and still dates someone else. The photos crushed her, but also how can she be upset? Too many emotions flooded her at once. Was Shuri dating another person? Closing the app Shuri is now at her door but she is not going with her not tonight.

“Hey Baby, are you ready? I grabbed an extra blanket for us.” Shuri can tell the energy is so far off. She stops and stares at a very off putting angry Riri. “Shuri Udaku, are you single?” Shuri didn’t know if this was a joke or test so she answered. “No, I have a girlfriend. She’s short, cute and super smart. Is this a trick?” “No but you think I am Shuri, are you single? Before we got together or whatever this is!” “Yes, for an entire year. Why are you asking me this!” They are somewhat shouting now. “Wrong!” Riri pulls out her phone and shows Shuri the dms and actually sees one more come in. This has gone far enough. “Baby I can explain that is an old picture of me and Elena. I broke up with that girl over a year ago!” “Shuri wants to reach out and hug Riri or touch her hand something because this moment is too tense for them both.

“Then why are they in my dms saying it’s from two weeks ago. Shuri I don’t know what is going on and I don’t know who to believe but I can’t go with you tonight.” “I won’t force you but please believe me. I am not going to hurt you.” Riri is crying and she can tell that Shuri is sincere but everything is happening too fast she needs time. “Good night Shuri.” Riri makes the choice to believe Shuri but she has some thinking to do. Social Media Slander, Fake Dms, accusations about her girlfriend. The spotlight is not all glam.

@somethingcleaverandwhitty @mal-urameshi @shuriris-stuff

#shuri x riri #shuriri #riri x shuri #fanfic #fanfiction #riri williams #shuri udaku #spotify

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wanderlust-in-my-soul · 9 months

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My Weekly Roundup CW 29

This week was full of drama, people disappearing from other people's lives, evil antagonists, good acting and a lot of good communication. I loved so much about this weeks episodes and before I'll start, let me tell you "Team Roommates for the win!".

And yes, this will contain spoilers!

→ 1. Be My Favorite (Ep 9)

Okay, so not quite as much fluff as I had hoped for, but it was enough for me in the end. I thought the conversations were very well done again and a drunken pisaeng is just ADORABLE!

Kawi is on his way to finally understand that he can't save every future. He needs to have faith in people to go their own way. It is not in his hands that other people won't make mistakes and have no regrets. He will continue to make mistakes himself, but he can try to be the best version of himself to be there for the people he cares about. He won't protect them from getting hurt though, but he can be there for them, catching them before they fall so they can go off and make other mistakes. But it's not up to him to make the decisions about what makes a person happy and what doesn't. And I love that he has Pisaeng as a partner by his side, that he also clearly told him he wants to be able to see them both as equals so that Pisaeng's money doesn't create a power imbalance and I love it so much! I love their communication so much 😭 I hope Paer can work things out with her mom and maybe talk to her dad. Kwan and Paer both desperately need to realize their own worth and just keep their hands off Not. He should end up reap the fruits of being an asshole in the end. Please let an asshole character just be an asshole for once.

☼ 2. Wedding Plan (Ep 1)

I vibe this series so much! Oh my god! I saw the trailer and knew this series was going to captivate me. I'm into this forbidden love. Nuea is my spirtit animal! I find his love for food and dislike for gyms very relatable. I knew it wasn't going to be a classic cheating story, but am still a bit confused by how active Yiwa is in helping Lom flirt with Nuea. I'm definitely curious to see what exactly is behind the two of them and their marriage, and if a wedding between Nuea and Lom will happen in the end. That the visuals will be good in a Mame series is kind of a law, so I'm not surprised by the cast, but this birthmark on Lom's nose has a certain effect on me that I didn't know was possible. I mean look at him!

Normally I'm always a little restrained in the first episode of series, but here I'm just on fire and I apparently have to make that known, otherwise it eats me up inside 😅 I find it funny to see how he majority on here went off on PrapaiSky's wedding, and every little piece of them and PayuRain was giffed and I couldn't care less. But I am very happy to see a gay wedding! So yeah, I can't wait for the next episode! But the subtitles really are something else on iQiyi!

But you would definitely be famous for having a crush on a broom!

↑ 3. Stay With Me (Ep 9-12)

Oh man, so much has happened. First Su Yu and Wu Bi move in together, because Su Yu's dad got married and now has a new family, so to speak, in which Su Yu doesn't want to force himself in. And he wishes so much it was different, but after the mother has found a new family and the father has now also remarried, it has once again become clear to him that he also wants someone whose love is just for him and that he doesn't have to share with anyone 😭 And Wu Bi sits there and just looks at him with these puppy dog eyes and holds him by the arm - there is this person, you just have to finally admit it to yourself too. Yes, and then we see moments where Su Yu uses Wu Bi's butt as a pillow and they're bickering together and their apartment is so wonderfully colorful and lovingly decorated and welcoming and just beautiful and I'm floating through all the seventh clouds...

... and then along comes the evil ex who isn't actually an ex but acts like she is and tries to get in between Wu Bi and Su Yu and apparently she's somewhat successful at it and my gosh, what a pain in the ass that person is! I can't stand her. Great actress but such a crappy character. I hope Su Yu sees through her lies and obvious attempt to drive a wedge between them. Let her just run off with the cousin again and never come back! Surely she should realize that Su Yu doesn't like her anymore and that he is indeed Wu Bi's.

This is frustrating. I want to have Friday and be able to continue watching 😅

↓ 4. Tokyo In April Is... (Ep 6)

For a short moment I really thought that Ren was lying unconscious or knocked out by some drug in Sanada's bed at the end. I got hot and cold for a moment. Fortunately he wasn't. My heart would not have survived that after the episode. So Ren has disappeared again and Kazuma sits alone in the cold and dark apartment, thinking about all the beautiful memories he had made with Ren during the past weeks.

The only thing missing was that he would have grabbed one of Ren's t-shirts and curled up on the bed sniffing it. Then I would have done the same with a box of tissues here. Not that I didn't know that would happen, but still, it hurts. And then to watch Ren break down while Kazuma was waiting for him at home... The series keeps on hurting really good!

↑ 5. Hidden Agenda (EP 3)

Okay, I admit it, I'm starting to get hooked on the series. I love Joke. And I love that he could go on dates with Zo without having to reveal himself. Slowly, though, he's realizing that he might have a chance after all and is really putting himself out there now. Sometimes I'm a very simple girl: give me nice music, a library, intense eye contact, and a pinky that finds the courage to make first contact and you'll find me melting on the floor, squealing blissfully.

The fact that Zo is also starting to realize that he should get to know another person first, and most importantly get to know yourself in order to know if you like a person, I think is so sweet. And the heart racing he definitely has... with Joke... This is a happy-go-lucky series right now.

↓ 6. Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Ep 3)

Minato and Shin now live together, but of course they don't share a room, which is a bit frustrating for Shin. Minato, however, is starting to come out of his shell a bit. So he asks Shin if they want to go to the festival together and let him dress him. And this boy is whipped!

On the beach, he takes Shin's hand, only to pull back in fright when other people come running to the beach. There are two generations that collide in Shin and Minato. Shin is proud of his love and wants to show that they both belong together. He is not afraid of the world because he has not experienced any negative experience because of his sexuality yet. He experiences the world from a not-so-conservative lens, especially since his parents have agreed to let him live with Minato until the apartment is renovated. Minato has grown up in a more conservative world and has always hidden away until now. He is slowly letting himself be carried away by Shin, but it takes time. Such a learned behavior, and especially mindset, can't be changed overnight. And I find the process very exciting right now. It's nice to watch the two of them take care of each other and grow together.

☼ 7. Jun & Jun (Ep 1)

Childhood friends who lost touch and now find their way back to each other paired with office romance? Bring it on! It was really hard for me to watch at the beginning. My threshold for embarrassment is very low and all the action until they arrived at the office caused me some pain. I hope from the next episode it will be a little more pleasant. The first impression is still positive. I'm curious to see how the story develops, why they lost track of each other and if it will end up being a feel-good story like Our Dating Sim. One can still hope. What I can say is that the visuals are definitely appealing.

↓ 8. Low Frequency (Ep 3)

So something happened. The acting wasn't as bad as it had been one episode before. We learned that ghosts can do things if Mon lets them, at least Thames. And they can touch each other now, which led to a very strange and totally out of context scene where they touch hands, illuminated by sunlight, and it almost comes to a kiss. So yes, the setting was nice, but the scene itself was a bit oddly placed. What else happened? Thames remembers something more to the accident and is jealous. There are a few who come up as potential suspects and other than that, very little else happened for an astonishing 40 minutes. Or I just forgot all about it already....

→ 9. Dinosaur Love (Ep 5)

What do they all think is so great about cotton-candy-ball? He's a snoozer who looks like his mind is on a trip abroad and no one knows when it's coming back. And Dino... I mean, there are really intense series with jealous and toxic characters, but he's really the crowning glory of them all. The worst thing is that he reminds me of one of my exes. I think he was jealous of my bedspread itself... And that's how Dino acts... It's no excuse for obsessively possessive behavior that you like the person. The way I screamed at my screen how much I hate this! And what are these scenes? I don't have to spend five minutes watching Dino play a mobile game and talk to his buddies while cotton-candy-ball sits next to him grinning stupidly. Never thought the biggest enemy in this series was the fact that Dino is the SOTUS president and SOTUS members aren't allowed to date freshmen or be friends with them! Will they still get together? I guess we'll see next week or sometime in August... It's getting tiring, but maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it today. Maybe the title is that way because it's outdated stereotypes that act as the main roles here?

#weekly update #weekly wrap up #sunday charts #josi watching bl #just my opinion #be my favorite the series #wedding plan the series #stay with me the series #shigatsu no tokyo wa...#minato shouji coin laundry season 2 #minato's laundromat 2 #minato's coin laundry 2 #hidden agenda #jun & jun the series #low frequency #dinosaur love #bl drama #bl series

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raylangivins · 1 year

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still working through my backlog of tags. thank you @acorrespondence for tagging me in things :)

1. comfort character tag game

not to show my age but i don’t know wtf the kids mean by comfort character. i just listed some all time faves because it brings me comfort to think of how fucked up they are :)

raylan givens (justified), duh

brian o’conner (fast and furious movies)

addy hanlon (dare me--book version moreso than tv version)

betty cooper (riverdale)

pacey witter (dawson’s creek--the only one here who i think could be described as a comfort character for the reasons i assume people made up the term)

2. ao3 first lines tagline

Rules: Share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written fewer than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway (spoiler alert: rules are made to be broken…)

look. i’ve been exclusively writing beatles rpf for the last year, so we’re all gonna have to either acknowledge it or Pretend You Do Not See, alright.

1. “What’s got you all quiet?” Robert asks him in the bathroom.

Paul realises he’d zoned out, staring blankly at Robert, bent over the sink, snorting a line.

2. John takes a long inhale of smoke as he watches Paul talking to one of the camera guys outside. His breath fogs up the bus window a bit, the evening air causing a cloud of condensation to spread, blurring Paul and the camera guy to nothing. When it shrinks back to dribbles of moisture, Paul’s hands are moving—explaining a shot, or a scene, or a fucking dream he had that he’d like this poor sod to turn into reality.

3. Paul can't pinpoint exactly where his night deteriorated, but it was probably somewhere after Brian left The Cavern for the evening, and Neil had driven away with all their gear, and John—realising that they'd lost the closest thing they had to adult supervision—loftily announced that he was getting married tomorrow and so everyone should buy him pints about it.

4. John doesn't notice him at first, engaged in answering a question for the crowd of journalists in front of him. Paul's half-hidden among the shelves anyway, peeking over to get a good look at John in his element.

5. John's not sure how they get onto the topic. They're in the canteen—just the two of them for the moment—talking in circles around each other, under the guise of talking about George, edging towards an argument but never really landing there. Just half-chastising, and half-imploring each other to be different people entirely without really saying it. And then, suddenly, they're talking about it.

6. "Here," John hisses at Paul and yanks him unceremoniously into a utility closet, letting Paul slam the door shut behind them.

7. Paul shows up late to their show. He makes it to the Jacaranda by the skin of his teeth, just as some fragile, spiteful thing in John is gearing up to lash out at anyone who'll listen that they don't need the bastard anyway. It's unlike Paul to be late, which makes it annoying enough, considering how much he'd whine about it if it were any of the rest of them, but then he has the gall to say it's because he was doing something for his dad.

8. After the Bob Wooler incident—the first but not last time Jane questions Paul’s association with the likes of John Lennon—Paul tells her: “He can be quite lovely when you get to know him.”

9. Paul feels lazy and warm as he sucks in another drag of the spliff John rolled them. He closes his eyes as he exhales. It only serves to heighten his sluggish senses. He could fall asleep like this, lost in the sensations of his lovely geodesic dome. He can feel every thread of the rug they're lying on; can hear Martha's soft snores from where she sleeps, her head pillowed on John's ankle. The sprinkling of sunlight leaking in through the leaves of the trees, outside, creates some sort of greenhouse effect—the air around them muggy and mellow. Paul could float away, if not for the grounding warmth of John's arm, pressed next to his. The true north, reminding him where his body is.

10. "You're like Julian with a new bloody toy," John says to him from somewhere on the couch.

Paul doesn't know why he's complaining. He's the one who asked about it, after Paul mentioned the new camera.

tagging for either one: @wurmzirkus, @tulakhord, @tallahasseemp3, @softbrah, @itookyoudown, @magog83, @jeanharlowseyebrows, @indiekidsupremacist

#i almost listed clarke griffin for characters but i have not yet fully healed from the crimes the 100 inflicted upon me #it's okay i found another crazy little blonde :)#also i may have puffed up my lines a bit. i realised doing this i'm kinda meh at openers lol #second paragraphs are where i really shine #tagged tag

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noellawrites · 2 years

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Playing for You - Yandere!Marcus White x reader

requested by: @wicked1will0sparkles

summary: kind of a re-write of 2x13, Ladies’ Lunch. You confess your feelings about Marcus while you’re drunk at Ladies’ Lunch while Marcus literally fights for you. Everything culminates when you return to the store. I know Tate wasn’t in the ep but it just fits better like this!

warnings: drinking, female objectification, talk of pregnancy, talk of bodily injuries, cuss words, age gap relationship, vomiting

“I just” you paused to hiccup, “I want someone who will love me unconditionally. L-like what you have with Bo, Chey!”

“Girl please, save some dick for the rest of us!” Justine laughed, taking a sip of her third margarita.

“W-What are you talking about?” you asked, clueless to whatever joke everyone else was in on. You’d been hopelessly single since you started working at Cloud 9– granted, it was mostly because you were juggling work and going to college and you told yourself that you didn’t have enough emotional capacity to serial date right now.

“Look, all Justine’s saying is that Marcus has been pussy whipped for you since the day you put on that blue vest, and everyone else can see it but you,” Dina sighed, raising her hands dejectedly.

“I—that’s not true at all! He just treats me like one of the guys, we’re just buddies!” you argued. But the more you tried to resist, the more you realized they might be right, but still, you picked up very little romance from him and more of a… bromance.

“It seems like you’re rocking hard against this, (y/n). Are you repulsed by Marcus like the rest of us? Because we can devise a plan to let him down easy,” Dina offered, raising her eyebrows at you.

“Alright, alright, I think we should just leave (y/n) alone. Her and Marcus’ feelings are between them,” Amy defended you out of her exhaustion from the conversation. She didn’t want to push you towards liking Marcus if you really didn’t.

“(Y/n), at least tell us if you like him! Or whisper it to me, I won’t tell!” Cheyenne said, leaning towards you. You leaned towards her ear, breaking the silence with a giggle.

You tried to hide the fact that you were tipsy, but as two not-quite-twenty-one-year-olds, you and Cheyenne had loaded up on the alcohol like there was no tomorrow.

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell the truth. I’ve always liked Marcus, I just thought he was… out of my league,” you confessed, rolling your eyes and taking another hefty swig of your vodka cran.

This time, Cheyenne was the one who laughed. “Are you serious, (y/n)? He’s the one that’s out of your league,” she said.

“Yeah, he’s a giant man-child with serious mommy issues and like half the brain cells an adult is supposed to,” Dina pointed out.

“And you’re still tight in all the places that matter! In the old days, we’d call you a butter and egg fly,” Myrtle piped up.

“Uh… thanks, guys. I—” you paused to hiccup again, ”—was just worried because he’s older, and taller, and handsome, and—“

“Okay, okay, we get it, you’d drop your panties for Marcus. Can we move on to something else?” Dina sighed.

“Karaoke!” Justine screamed, cutting off your thoughts as she began pushing everyone towards the stage.

In order to gain some liquid courage before getting onstage, you gulped down three shots of tequila in addition to the three vodka cranberries you’d already consumed. Everything after that felt fuzzy as you floated in and out of consciousness.

—

While you endured a drunken lunch with the ladies of Cloud 9, the store’s men were playing some complicated hybrid ball game called ‘taped muffin.’

“Since Brett is still injured from his MMA fight, Tate will be taking his place in the final shootout. His opponent will be decided by a simple—“ Garrett began.

“I’ll do it,” Marcus stepped in. He’d been glaring at that egotistical asshole of a pharmacist since the game had begun.

Tate had shed his lab coat and now wore bubble wrap taped around the shoulders of his pressed white dress shirt. God, he hated that jerk. Ever since Marcus had watched Tate practically assault you with his flirting, he’d felt nothing short of vengeance towards the man.

“—okay, I wasn’t finished talking but, uh, I guess this game has made monsters out of all of us,” Garrett finished.

Marcus moved next to Tate, who was still flexing his muscles through his fancy shmancy suit.

“Alright, this is it. Winner gets (y/n),” Marcus said under his breath to Tate.

“C’mon dude, you’ve had your chance with her. Are we really going to play a juvenile game to win (y/n) when we already know she’d rather choose me?” he laughed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“And what makes you think that?” Marcus said, gritting his teeth and leaning closer to Tate. He couldn’t wait to hear what this asshole has to say.

Tate laughed. “For starters, I make about ten times what you do. And I can actually give her children, unlike your defective wang. In fact,” he leaned closer, “I can’t wait to put my sperm in that tight body of hers and watch you grovel at my feet for stealing the woman you loved. It’s not my fault she’d never fall for a stupid, brainless, moronic ex-con who still lives with his mommy.” Tate laughed, taking a proud step back.

The men of the store watched as steam practically came out of Marcus’ ears. Sure, he knew you were super gorgeous, smart, funny and way out of his league, but guys like Tate were the reasons why women couldn’t trust men. He was objectifying you, and Marcus was not going to allow that.

As the other men gasped and whispered at Tate’s blatant bullying and womanizing, Marcus swung his fist at the pharmacist’s face, a painful-sounding crunch reverberating from Tate’s face as he fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

“OOOH SHIT! We’re going tap-out style, first one to hold the other down for a three-count WINS (Y/N)!” Garret announced over the loudspeaker.

“I really don’t think anybody should be winning someone,” Jonah pointed out as he stood next to Garrett.

“C’mon, let the poor guy have something,” Garrett said, effectively quieting Jonah.

—

When you woke up again, your upper body lay across Cheyenne’s lap as you sat in the back of whatever truck Dina had kidnapped you all in.

“I-I think I’m gonna be sick,” you groaned, shifting yourself so you wouldn’t throw up all over your best friend.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, here,” Cheyenne soothed, giving you a Cloud 9 plastic bag. You threw up in the bag twice as Cheyenne held your hair back. This felt like a sick nightmare, you would never drink like this again.

“Is she okay?” a voice asked from behind you in the truck.

“Obviously not, Sandra! Jeez,” Cheyenne said, rolling her eyes. “When we get back to the store, I’m going to get Mateo and he’s going to tell you about how in love with you Marcus is, okay? Mateo is literally an expert on this stuff,” Cheyenne assured you.

Without saying anything, you laid your head on Cheyenne’s ankle as you faded out of consciousness again.

—

“I’ll be okay, I promise,” you said, assuring Amy as she left for the day. Your shift was also technically over, but you didn’t want to leave the store until you felt less sick and more sober.

You grabbed a travel-sized toothpaste tube and a toothbrush off the shelf along with some mouthwash, bringing it to the employee bathroom.

Looking up at your disheveled reflection, you sighed and began to brush your teeth. You hadn’t even started to cope with this new revelation: almost everyone in the store seemed to agree that Marcus was in love with you. How could you be so blind?

More than anything, you wanted to find Marcus and talk to him. He’d probably clear everything up, apologize for the miscommunication and go back to hooking up with Dina or whatever. He always has and always will just see you as a little kid with a stupid schoolgirl crush on her older co-worker.

You sighed, exiting the bathroom. You stumbled towards the front of the store, where you knew Garrett would be for at least another few hours.

To your surprise, Jonah was sitting on the customer service desk next to Garrett as they spoke in low voices. You narrowed your eyes at them, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Uh, guys? Hello?” you interjected, tripping over your foot then leaning on the desk for support.

“Woah there, what’s wrong with you?” Jonah asked.

“I just got… uh, a little drunk at the ladies… thing,” you sighed.

“You missed a lot while you were gone, two guys fought over you,” Garrett announced. Jonah widened his eyes and attempted to shush him.

“What, ah, what he, um, means is that—“

“Dude, she’s gonna find out anyway. Might as well tell her,” Garrett disagreed.

“Just tell me!” you seethed.

“Uh, well, Marcus beat Tate to a pulp because they were both trying to win you in taped muffin, and now Tate’s at SLU Hospital getting a cast for his broken neck and dislocated shoulder and he’ll, um, probably need a nose job too,” Jonah spit out, grimacing at your expression.

“Marcus did all of that?”

“Yeah, he was protecting your honor. It was honestly kinda sweet. I think Mateo recorded it on his phone, if you wanna see it,” Garrett offered.

“What did Tate say about me?” you asked. Behind you, someone cleared their throat and you turned around.

He was the same Marcus you’d had a crush on for over a year, and your feelings still hadn’t changed after learning of what he did for you. If anything, it made you feel more flustered and in love.

“Marcus, I really think you should leave,” Jonah sighed.

“Jonah, shut up. Marcus, you’re staying and we’re talking about this,” you demanded.

Your expression softened when you noticed a cut on his jaw. Suddenly, you just couldn’t help yourself anymore and you threw your arms around the man, feeling his soft sweater and smelling his cheap cologne and 3 in 1 body wash.

You couldn’t help it in your still-drunk state and a tear escaped your eye, you were just so happy that Marcus wasn’t hurt badly and that you were in his arms again.

“I-I’m so glad you’re okay, Marcus,” you sniffled, pulling away hesitantly.

“You should see the other guy,” he grinned, wiping the tears from your eyes.

“I think I’m in love with you and that really scares me, but I had to tell you,” you laughed, snaking your arm with his own and holding his hand.

“I’ve been in love with you since the first day you walked into the break room and Glenn introduced you to everyone,” Marcus smiled, staring into your beautiful eyes. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world.

“I never want to be away from you,” you breathed, leaning into his chest.

“You and me, babe. We’ll never be apart again,” he said before entangling you in the best kiss you’ve ever had, your senses filled with only Marcus, your bodies joined together.

“Is this toxic?” Jonah whispered to Garrett.

“C’mon, they’re perfect for each other. Plus, I’m tired of this will-they-won’t-they crap,” Garrett said.

“You’re right, actually,” Jonah agreed, finally able to see it.

You and Marcus both just wanted a devoted and simple love, and besides, you’d been acting like an old married couple for as long as the store could remember.

#marcus white x reader #marcus white imagine #yandere marcus white #superstore imagine #superstore x reader #yandere superstore imagine

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