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fuckmyskywalker · 2 months

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𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞! — 𝐃𝐢𝐥𝐟!𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫.

18+ smut, stripper!reader x dilf!anakin, age gap, lap dance, mutual masturbation, fem!reader/afab!reader | word count: 2.8k (not proofread).

Everyone say "thank you Anya".

After a nasty divorce, Anakin Skywalker wanted nothing to do with dates— let alone random hookups. Call him outdated or old-fashioned, but Anakin firmly believed in marriage. Maybe he just had bad luck. He has better things to worry about! His children, his company, his 850 credit card score, and… keeping up with his overly cheerful assistant.

Who somehow, managed to convince him to visit the best nightclub in town— and by nightclub, she meant strip club.

Standing outside the bright building, Anakin wondered how many neon signs were too much. He flickered his cigarette with his thumb, dialing his assistant’s number and watching the ashes fly with the wind, he just wished his hopes didn’t fly that easily. After a few rings, she picked up. “I’m here,” Anakin informed her, feeling as if he was about to start a super-secret mission and he was calling HQ. Lisseth is right, he stays too much at home watching cheesy, 90s TV shows. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

“Is it obnoxiously bright?” Lisseth asked from the other side of the line, and Anakin discerned the faint click of a lighter.

“Yes.”

“Then you’re in the right place.”

“Can you repeat why am I here again?” Anakin asked, rubbing his forehead and throwing the cigarette away.

“Because you are lonely, divorced, and old?” His assistant replied, presumably smoking as well.

“I should fire you.”

“But you won’t,” He didn’t have to see her to know she was smirking. Lisseth was right, she was one of the few people besides Obi-Wan Kenobi— his business partner— who dared to say things straight, and people like that were a nice change in a world where everyone fights for your favor. “Go inside, give it a chance. You deserve a change of scenery. I know you are the committed type. Give yourself a chance.”

Anakin hesitated again, just like he did when he agreed when the young woman texted him the address, and when he called the cab. He had no idea why she would suggest this place from the many—many strip clubs in the city, but he knew better than to question her. He looked around, it was not like he would care if someone recognized him— he just… didn’t want to be recognized. Big difference, or at least that was what Anakin kept repeating.

“Hello?” Lisseth said which brought Anakin back to his senses. He was overthinking it. How can you overthink walking into a strip club? Men do it all the time! “Are you alive?”

“I am.”

“Good. Now get inside, I think there’s an ATM next to the bathroom. I don’t remember— and dial me if you need anything, I’ll try to stay awake.”

Anakin hung up the call, taking a deep breath and pushing the black door open. Multiple times he had heard his associates talk about this place; how the drinks are great and the girls are better— which perhaps was a reason why Anakin was so reluctant. If a married man found this place appealing, he couldn’t imagine what it would have in storage for a divorced man.

Inside the club, the neon lights were far worse. His eyesight wasn’t bad but the dazzled effect was overwhelming. Anakin fought the urge to rub his eyes, he didn’t want to look that old— so he just brushed the wrinkles off his suit and approached the bar. The bartender eyed up curiously but simply greeted him. The place was crowded but it was somehow comfortable to navigate, he saw a few girls but he felt somewhat strange to stare at them for long. He wasn’t in his twenties anymore— he wasn’t able to see them as a piece of meat like he used to (last time he did he got his first and only wife knocked up). So he just thanked the bartender for his whiskey and took a long sip, hoping it would ease the knot in his stomach. He was a fast drinker, and he was halfway done with the glass when he heard a voice behind him and a soft tap on his shoulder.

“Is this seat taken?”

Your hand on his shoulder was gentle, but Anakin was aware of the salacious undertone in your voice. It was all fake, part of your job. Looking over said shoulder, his blue eyes met your face, and probably for the first time in your life working in the strip club— you found yourself speechless. You have never seen eyes in such a shade of blue, so deep and so easily to lose yourself in. Your glossy lips went dry for a second and you weren’t sure if he felt the same.

“It is not,” He replied, grabbing your hand and guiding you to the empty stool next to him. His hand was strong and warm, too polite for a man who was here to watch women half naked. You took a seat next to him just like you intended but your demeanor switched, which was something that surprised you. The blonde stranger didn’t seem to notice it, he knows nothing about you. For the first time, that has worked in your favor. “The name’s Anakin.”

He let go of your hand and you found your finger twitching against your bare thigh. You gave him your stage name and he simply smiled back, bringing the glass up to his lips. You leaned closer, placing your trembling hand on his thigh and squeezing it softly, noticing how his eyes drifted down to your cleavage only to go back to your face. “What brings you here, handsome?” The usual repertory was filled with cheesy phrases, sweet talk, and 101 manipulations. Emptying a man’s wallet wasn’t a hard thing, or at least after months of practice it no longer seemed like a challenge.

“I assume the same as every man here,” Anakin replied, tilting his head and maintaining eye contact. He was good, he must be an orator or something. Not everyone can stare into your eyes when your tits are literally out. “But being honest, a… friend of mine insisted.”

“Well, then you have a good friend,” You smiled, thanking whoever pushed him into your arms— even if you already knew the culprit. “Is there anything I can help you with?” Your fingers play with the hem of his white button-up, tapping your nails over the ironed fold.

“I have a few ideas,” He lowers his now empty glass, licking his lips. A simple act shouldn’t excite you but Oh it does. He looks like the type of guy who knows how to please a woman and the type of guy to rock your world…

Too bad that’s against the club’s guidelines.

“Such as?”

Anakin seemed to fall under your sultry voice, smirking and bringing his face closer to yours. You thought for a moment he was going to kiss you, but he just whispered in your ear. “I’m sure you know what I want, and I’m sure you are tired of small talk. Do us a favor and tell me what I can and can’t do.”

This was the second time in the night you found yourself speechless. Normally you are the one being straightforward, so why is that handsomely old man doing your job? Unbeknownst to you, Anakin’s heart was racing inside his chest at light speed. It has been years since he last flirted with someone, let alone a stripper— so he felt quite rough around the edges. It seemed to be working, or at least you faked it really well. Anakin’s charm never faded, even if he wasn’t fully aware of it. His bright smile and those wrinkles around his eyes… he could easily be your dad, which shouldn’t be as hot as it sounded. You ran your fingers through his blonde hair, silky and smooth. God, there’s nothing hotter than a man that takes care of his appearance.

“Follow me then,” You manage to say through the loud heartbeat that drowns the loud music around you. You have done this countless times, but this was somewhat different. Why were you acting brand new? Get a damn grip. “You seem like a man who can afford our special treatment.”

Anakin chuckled, he never thought getting robbed would be so sexy. “Do I look special? Or do you say that to every guy?” He followed you anyway, surprisingly lacing your fingers together. His eyes never left yours, not even when other girls and dancers called for him.

“Believe it or not, you look special.”

As you guided him inside the farthest room in the hallway, you locked the door and kindly settled him on the large sofa against the wall. There was a bed in the center of the bed and a pole next to it, but mostly for decoration. Not everyone had the privilege to fuck, lucky ones got to touch— but Anakin looked like he could win the lottery. This time he eyed you up and down, relaxing over the velvety cushions and spreading his legs. You’ve seen men sit that way countless times yet the way he did it was abysmally distinct. He had an air around him that no one could match and it truly excited you. Time wasn’t really a problem in this room, and he looked like someone who could treat themselves. The treat is a lap dance, of course.

You picked the music, and that was the only thing that fitted into your routine. The top piece of your heels sank into the fluffy carpet as you made your way back to him, deliberately swaying your hips. Comfortably, you straddled his lap, lazily draping your arms over his shoulders. Anakin’s hands touched your hips and you were about to warn him about the rules… but you couldn’t bring yourself to care at that moment.

“You’re beautiful,” He whispered, his voice already hoarse. How long has this man been pent up? Only God knows. You giggled and began grinding against him, running your hands up his shoulders and cupping his face. Anakin’s eyes left your breasts to meet yours, lidded eyes heavy with ecstasy that the erotic dance brought him. “So fucking beautiful…”

His presence was starting to be a problem, at least for you. You couldn’t look away or stop your hips from rolling over his growing erection. It was highly unprofessional, even for a stripper but you’ve done worse things— to uglier men. Anakin hissed when you fully sat on top of him, and the grip on your hips tightened. The song changed and neither of you was aware of it.

Returning your hands to his shoulders you used them as leverage to move, basically humping him without realizing it. You could lie and say this was part of the dance— but in reality, your body was moving on its own.

“Can I touch you?” Anakin requested, huffing and lifting his hips. His cock was aching but not fully hard yet. The right answer was to say no… so your hands reached for his and placed them over your chest. He sighed in clear contentment and cupped your tits, jiggling them softly and running his thumbs over your nipples, teasing you until they peeked underneath the sheer fabric of your lace bra.

The urge to thank him was very, very present. Words failed you as he lowered the cups of your bra, leaning down to capture one of your nipples in his eager mouth. Instantly, you tugged on his curls, just noticing the silver strands. He groaned against your flesh, tugging on your sensitive bud with his teeth and guiding you with his free hand. The dance quickly turned into a session of dry humping— not that you had any complaints.

Anakin then cupped your center, rubbing his index finger through the thin thong and pushing it to the side. Everything was escalating too quickly and you needed to even it out— mostly to defend your pride— so you quickly unbuckled his belt, and Anakin didn’t even flinch. The tip of his finger ran through your folds and quickly found your clit, faster than any other man you’ve been with. You gasped, yanking his black boxers and biting your lip when you saw his cock. He was fully hard now and it looked like it fucking hurt. Above than average was your first thought, followed by the incessant desire to have him stretch you. From zero to a hundred, probably. Your hand looked tiny around his shaft, which sent a thrill of excitement down your spine. Anakin rolled his eyes and jerked his hips, silently asking for more. He circled your clit with practiced ease and that confirmed your suspicions— he is the type of man who knows what he’s doing and how to do it.

“Are you always this wet for your clients or am I really special?” Anakin taunted you as if he wasn’t the one paying for the fucking lap dance. To confirm his accusation— because yes, it was an accusation— he sank a finger inside you, curling it softly and rubbing your walls at a slow pace. “I’m starting to think you don’t do this for everyone.”

“I don’t,” You choke, panting and determined to not be left behind. You began jerking him up at the same speed he fingered you. “It takes two to tango, you know?”

Anakin laughed. He dared to laugh. God, this man… “You are feisty, I like that.”

The damned butterflies returned, this time fluttering around your stomach and your pussy. Anakin was good at this. He wasn’t the average pathetic man who couldn’t understand the touch of a woman, nor an ancient dinosaur that was cheating on his wife and shamelessly rocking their wedding band as they threw dollars to your feet. No, he was one in a million. He noticed your silence and took advantage of your blissful state, adding a second finger and scissoring them inside you. If you knew better you would’ve thought he was stretching you. Stepping up your game, you stroke his cock faster, bringing your free hand to your mouth to spit on it, using both hands to touch him.

That seemed to be a weak spot for him, and you actually heard him moan. It was a raw, guttural groan that made your pussy clench around his fingers. Looking down, you saw the wet, throbbing head, now glistening with your spit and the smeared precum. You could swear he looked thicker— or maybe it was your burning delirium for having him rearranging your guts.

He wasn’t one to back up from a clear challenge, so he rubbed his fingers against your G-spot repeatedly, pressing tight circles over the spongy spot. Your hips jerked just like he did moments prior and for the first time in a while, you moaned someone else’s name. Anakin seemed to be pleased by your reaction and continued it, exclusively stimulating that spot that built up the recognizable pressure in a matter of seconds.

“I’m gonna come,” You whimpered, closing your eyes. Anakin’s jaw clenched at the way your pussy sucked his fingers. Would you suck his cock with your velvety walls the same way? “Please, don’t stop.”

“Hold it,” He hissed but it wasn’t a request or anything. “I want to do it with you.”

You held your breath, flicking your wrist up and down, moaning repeatedly at the expertise of his touch. The knot in your lower stomach threatened to snap and holding it was borderline painful. The loud squelch of your cunt made the music surrounding you irrelevant, it was new music that was indeed expensive but— pornographically beautiful. Anakin hung his head back with a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. His scent was intoxicating, the mixture of his— surely fucking expensive— cologne, aftershave, and salty sweat was drowning you in a needy mess. Dragging you down to his spell when it was supposed to be the other way around.

“Do it,” He urged you, repeating it over and over. His hard cock twitched in your hands repeatedly until he groaned loudly and his release crashed with yours. “Come for me— come on, princess.”

Your walls gushed around his fingers, coating them in your own arousal seconds before his cum landed on your hands and your thighs— some on his thighs too. You called his name again, this time in a high-pitched moan. Anakin continued until you were on the verge of tears from the overstimulation, absentmindedly jerking his cock again as it started to soften in your hands. Your sweaty bodies were a mess of combined fluids and… broken rules.

You were in so much trouble.

“See what special guests get?” You painted, finally retrieving his hands from his dick and fixing your bra. “You should be thankful.”

“Oh, believe me. I am,” Anakin purred, grabbing your hips and yanking you closer, finally pressing his lips against yours. “Hope you have a better treat for regular special guests.”

You really, really needed to thank homegirl for bringing him here.

#𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 anya writes!#dilf!anakin #dilf!anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker smut #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker x reader smut #anakin skywalker fanfic #anakin skywalker fic #anakin skywalker x you #anakin skywalker x fem!reader #anakin x reader #anakin smut #anakin x reader smut

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generatia · 8 months

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* . °•★|•°∵[An Honest Mistake Chapter 2]∵°•|☆•° . *

You're looking for a night away from the painful thoughts of Makoto and Majima's slip up, alcohol and pharmaceuticals are a sure way to help, right? [Read More]

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

Tick tock, tick tock,

The clock on the wall sung its mechanical tone whilst you sat at your desk staring at it intently, how many days and nights have you spent sitting in this office looking at that stupid clock. Tick tock, tick tock,

You could feel each muscle in your body was on the verge of giving up. You worked tirelessly in this clinic for the past week taking on double shifts and sleeping in the nurses room just so that you could stay away from home, so that you could do something to occupy your mind. You weren’t even sure what day of the week it was, Thursday, or maybe Friday. Your boss had finally told you earlier that you had to go home and give yourself some proper rest before you overexert yourself. Tick tock, tick tock, The clock struck eight, it was time to end your work week and go home. You dropped the pen that you had been fiddling with onto your desk on top of a pile of stacked papers with information about patients you had seen today. When you closed your eyes you could still see some of their faces, they were practically imprinted into your mind. What were you even going to do once you get home? Lay there until the weekend is over and do nothing, that wasn’t an option or you might just lose the last shred of your sanity. Vrrr. Vrrr. That would be the hourly text from Majima, he sure was persistent you’ll give him that. He hated being ignored, a punishment you thought was fit for the crime he had comitted against you. So why did you feel a tinge of happiness every time your phone would buzz? You went over to the coat hanger next to the medicinal cabinet and took your bag placing it over your shoulder when something special had caught your eye. There were tons of different pharmaceuticals littering your cabinet, who’s to say one of these couldn’t help you ease the pain of your situation and the inevitably depressing and long stay home. You went a little closer and opened it taking a peak at the array of medicinal bottles littering the shelves. Underground clinics like this sure had a lot of medicines some of which weren’t exactly legal but who are you to judge? Your hands eagerly grabbed some of the pill containers scanning the labels, there sure were a lot of pills here, no one would notice if one or two went missing, surely you could just fake the inventory records without too much hassle. You picked up the bottle of barbituates that could potentially be used as muscle relaxers and slipped a couple of pills into a small ziplock bag to take home. What you were doing could lose you your job but in the moment you didn’t think about that, all you could think of was making your feelings go away, you wanted to shut that part of your brain away that constantly tormented you with the thought of ‘Makoto’ and the constant reminder of of Majima’s slip up. You hurriedly shoved the bag into your skirt pocket and said your final goodbyes to your miserable doctor's office and rushed out of the clinic to go pick up some alcohol that you suddenly had the urge to consume in copious amounts.

Noisy neighbours, check. Hallway litter, check. The smell of despair, check, there really is nothing quite like home is there? You fiddled with the lock to your door which, adding to the frustration of your already tumultuous day, had managed to jam. In an act of defiance you let out a frustrated groan and kicked the door loudly a couple of times for good measure managing to somehow fix the lock in the process, a small victory. You further kicked the door wide open and finally managed to get inside your apartment, setting down the groceries on the counter in front of you and closing the door. As you took off your shoes you could feel the way your feet were thanking you as they throbbed in pain, of course it was the busiest day at work when you decided to wear heels. You leaned your hands against the countertop for support as you took small and painful steps on the flat wooden surface of your apartment, it was cool and felt divine. It was finally the weekend, you were freely able to stew in your own depression within the comfort of your own home rather than a small office. You sighed as you took out two wine bottles from the grocery bag and reached for a glass from one of your cupboards before heading over to the couch.

Never in your life have you felt such comfort as you sprawled your aching body onto your couch, as each muscle relaxed one by one you felt an unbelievable sense of comfort, it felt like you were floating on a cloud. A cloud that soon turned into rain as the momentary sense of euphoria faded and you began to spiral into your own thoughts. What was that girl like, was she taller? Prettier? Younger? Whatever she was, one thing was for certain, she left a permanent mark on Majima. Why were you so jealous to begin with, or was it anger. You were so deep in your train of thought that you didn’t realise you had opened one of the wine bottles and held it close, momentarily staring down the neck of the bottle, swirling the red liquid inside.

Tonight you wanted to forget everything. You wanted to forget about Majima, about work, the constant hurting, but most importantly you wanted to forget about her, whoever she was. Avoidant behaviour, very typical of you.

You felt the ziplock bag in your pocket, of course they were still in there but you felt a sense of relief wash over you regardless. Had you been caught doing this you may have risked your job and all for a temporary high, a relief from everything. “This is for anxiety…” You told yourself trying to convince the last part of yourself that this was a good idea. You opened the small pouch and took out two pills before sealing and placing the bag onto the coffee table in front of you, swallowing with a large gulp of wine. It burned your insides as the wine travelled to your stomach, an audible noise of disgust escaped your mouth as you pulled away from the bottle. You weren’t much of a drinker and the fact you had just chugged a quarter of the wine bottle had almost made you wretch on the spot. Once you composed yourself you leaned back into the couch propping your feet up and turned on the television to immerse yourself in whatever reality tv show was on right now, anything to occupy your mind.

It didn’t take long before you could feel the effects of the barbiturates you took, the high washing over you from head to toe like a gentle rain. You felt your body get lighter as you sunk into the couch feeling as though it was consuming you into the magnificent world of relaxation, all the weight lifted off of your shoulders. Your head felt pleasantly fuzzy, all thoughts about who Makoto was washed away all at once, but there was one thing that lingered. One thing that stuck with you no matter what; Majima.

Just like you couldn’t escape his constant texts, you couldn’t escape the thoughts of him. Thoughts of him holding you close in his arms, wrapped around so tightly as if the moment he let go you would be gone. Thoughts of him taking you home on those nights the two of you would go out and you’d always overestimate how much you could drink, his hands were so gentle when he would undress you and put you down to sleep, cuddling you and making sure you had enough water. Thoughts of him stopping by your office with the most menial yet over the top injuries he could conjure up just so that he could see your face and make you smile, your smile that he would do anything for.

Why didn’t you stay that day and just let him explain himself. You missed him greatly, that fact was undeniable, so why didn’t you just call him now. The once comfortable couch now felt like it was collapsing beneath you, the pleasant fuzzy feeling turning into an agonising stabbing pain across your body. Your body felt as though you were falling through an abyss. A cold dark abyss.

“Why…” You mumbled incoherently while rubbing your eyes, you could feel the tears stinging them. So many questions rattled your mind at lighting speed making your head feel as though it was exploding. Why did you run out? Why were you ignoring him? How was he feeling in all of this? Most importantly, did he still love you?

“Enough…” You shouted as your body jolted up. You sat there for a moment breathing heavily, staring at the wall. The background noise of adverts coming from the tv sounded as though it was underwater, your vision was blurry and your chest felt as though it was about to explode. Everything felt like slow motion, as if your body was always one step behind your thoughts. Was any of this even real anymore?

“I need to… call…” That was all you managed to muster as you tried to stand up off of the couch, this proved to be quite the challenge as your legs felt like jelly. Now began the strenuous task of stumbling across your apartment to fetch your phone, your mind was decided and your spirit unwavering. In this single moment of clarity as you stood up you made it your mission to call Majima tonight no matter what, no more were you going to avoid him or hide away in your office all day. No more nights where you would cry yourself into your pillow thinking of endless possibilities to who that girl was. Who cares who she was anymore, you just wanted to hear him out even if it would be the last time.

Standing upright, you took your first step. Only to immediately stumble and fall onto the couch for support, your hip had managed to hit a specifically hard edge yet the pain barely even registered in your body as your hands grasped the pillows. “I’m not giving up…” You took a second step, and then a third managing to walk directly into a kitchen chair knocking it over to the ground right in front of you consequently causing you to fall onto the floor and onto your knees. Walking while under the influence was a lot harder than you thought it to be, any sense of depth perception was lost on you, thankfully you could still crawl towards the coat hanger by the entrance. Using all of your feeble strength you pulled yourself closer and closer, what felt like an eternity to you had only been maybe a minute or so but the feeling of elation once you had finally reached your handbag was indescribable. In a moment of victorious passion you clung onto it, perhaps a little too hard, and knocked the entire coat hanger onto the floor right at your feet. You unhooked the bag and ferociously emptied it onto the floor shaking out every single thing inside, hundreds of recipts, cigarettes, a compact mirror and then…

Thud

Your phone.

The moment your eyes saw it you grabbed for it ferociously, like a wild animal who had just caught its prey. You held it close to your chest as you pressed your back against the kitchen counter. Your heart was pounding immensely yet the feeling of your phone pressing closely to your chest was somehow managing to calm it down gradually. Holding it made you feel so safe, safe enough to breathe normally again, laboured irregular breaths once again finding their pattern to normalcy. The cold stabbing feeling easing slowly as you closed your eyes and held it close. The world felt calm again as you felt the cold wooden panels beneath you.

You flipped it open with haste and desperately tried to find Majima’s number in your contacts list, taking a long pause before hitting the dial button.

What were you going to say?

Tears started to pool in your eyes once again but this time it wasn’t the time to cry, you had come so far you couldn’t stop now, you wouldn’t let yourself. Before you had the chance to think this through and give up your body had made the decision for you and pressed down softly on the dial button, slowly raising the phone to your ear as you stared at your door in front of you, the dial tone echoing through your mind. You felt your whole body relax as you listened, expecting him to pick up, yet the longer it ran the more you felt your heart sink. Maybe it was foolish of you to wait for so long, maybe you had missed your chance. The final tone rang, and with it a message;

“Aye it’s Majima, I ain’t at the phone right now but leave ya message and maybe I’ll get back to ya.”

A long dial tone proceeded which rattled your whole body. Now was your moment. “Hey, it’s me…” You could feel your mouth dry up the second you spoke. You took a deep breath.

“I’ve been thinking things through… that’s a lie, I-I’ve just been thinking about you…” Your other hand grabbed your throat clawing at it almost as if you wanted to rip the words out. “I hope you’re alright… God Goro, I’m so embarrassed because I miss you, I do.” Tears permeated in your eyes, your eyes stung as you spoke your truth through a surprisingly soft voice. Timid and quiet, almost like a confession. “And I wish you were here with me… but I understand if it’s too late for that.” There was a weight lifting from your shoulders with each sentence you breathed into the phone in the quiet of your apartment. “Call me whenever you can, take care of yourself. Goodbye.” And with those final words you ended your voicemail, your hand holding your phone went almost limp dropping the phone to the ground with a soft thud that echoed in the darkness of your home, when did the tv turn off, you thought. That call had seemed like it lasted for hours and yet despite that you felt a sense of relief wash over you. Sure your future with Majima looks uncertain at the moment but in the moment it felt as if you were willing to accept whatever lay ahead for the two of you. You managed to lift your body from the ground where you had sat on the cold wooden panels, you were as light as a feather or so you felt. Maybe it was finally time to go to bed and try to catch some much needed rest, the sudden rush of emotions had completely drained you physically and besides your vision was getting slightly blurry, or was it always like this? You took careful steps towards the bedroom door making sure to walk around the chair that you had knocked over onto the ground, that’ll be a problem for tomorrow instead. You gripped the door handle and pulled it down, opening the door ever so slightly before you felt a heavy feeling in your legs as if you were bolted to the ground, the next thing you knew you had fallen to the ground and passed out, your body finally reaching its limits, giving out for the night.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆

#majima x reader #majima goro #yakuza majima #goro majima

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sillyguy99 · 1 month

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* don't look now, but i lost my shoe.

(Undertale Sans x Reader)

Chapter Four: * that made them so violent?

[Index | Previous | Next]

"I am not burdening you with my case until you relax for a moment, ma’am," Papyrus insists, narrowing his gaze at you. "You look sickly, if I am going to be honest. Have you had time to rest recently?"

You stare at yourself through your phone's screen, sighing when you see darker circles under your eyes, a greenish tint to your skin, and dry lips. You’ve had to wear your buttons all the way up today, the marks Jessie left on your neck this morning still visible to the naked eye. While it was fortunate Frisk intervened yesterday, you couldn't exactly save yourself from his grasp this morning. You allowed him to leave marks on you to declare what happened yesterday was now behind you – that you were still his.

"Thank you, but..." You trail off, incapable of finding an excuse right away.

Papyrus notices your reluctance, urging him to frown and intervene by placing a basket down on the dining table and offering a snack to eat.

“I…"

"Are you the person my brother met at Grillby's?"

Caught unprepared by his question, you stay still and nod, facing the floor.

"Did he… tell you what happened?"

"No," he replies, shaking his head once. "He said it is purely confidential. And I respect his reasons, as it seems this might be too personal." He offers you something to drink next, placing a cup down and filling it with your preferred choice to the brim. "He did tell me you looked quite… tired, however. He was afraid you would not make it home safely, if he left you alone."

"Ah…" you mutter, hesitating. "I- I wasn't planning to do anything wild, though! I have Frisk to look after."

"What do you mean by 'wild', ma'am? Were you just not fit for driving?"

Trapped by your own words, you realize Papyrus might be less informed about that type of situation than you believe. A text notification interrupts your conversation with the monster, so you excuse yourself while he goes off to tend to the kitchen. Then, you look towards your phone to see three unread messages from the same person you've been thinking of.

hey.

before i say anythin' else…

is it alright if i keep textin' ya?

Of course.

Why wouldn't you?

'fraid you'd think i'd be hittin' on you again.

Oh God.

Did my husband tell you anything?

heh.

somethin' like that.

how'd you know?

He… thought we were flirting, as you said.

welp.

ya don't need to answer this, but-

-did he look through your phone?

askin' 'cuz he called me personally with his own phone number.

Something like that.

you ok?

is he the one you were gettin' drunk for?

I can't answer that.

Sorry.

Thanks again for listening to me back there, but…

It was a mistake.

Not in meeting you, but in having been so careless.

I'm a married mother, and I'm supposed to act like one.

It doesn't say good of me if I…

Well…

don't force yourself.

ya don't have to explain everything all at once.

'cuz it ain't like we've known each other for long.

take it slow.

Thank you.

I'm sorry he confronted you like this.

Did he say anything? Insulted you in any way?

if i tell ya, you'll just apologize for him.

I won't.

So please tell me if he did.

aight.

so…

for starters,

he said i was a bony bastard.

What.

How'd he know you're a skeleton?

he looked me up on overnet.

said he didn't know what you'd seen in me to, uh…

wanna 'jump my bones' so badly.

Dammit.

I'm sorry.

yer apologizin'.

…Sorry you went through that?

heh.

good save.

downright bone-fide.

Thank you.

Guess I'm bone with it.

nice.

ttyl.

Talk to you later, sir.

back with the 'sir', huh?

damn.

thought i'd passed by that line already.

Gotta get down to business.

I've still got my job to do.

good luck, buddy.

"You seem a bit better now, ma'am," Papyrus comments, pulling you back to reality. "Did something good happen?"

You set your phone down and sigh, a frown showing when you notice you've left Papyrus waiting more than you would want to.

He doesn't appear troubled by it, though, a pair of mittens and a tray letting you know he'd gone to fetch some more food while you were texting.

"Have something more to eat," he offers, bringing the tray closer to you. "You still look faint. Have you been eating well? Pastries are not exactly my fort, but these are Muffet's. I heated them up for you!"

Thanking him, you grab a muffin from the bunch, a bit off-put by the spider topping – how realistic it looks urging you to pick it up and set it aside. Flavour blossoms in your mouth when you take the first bite, the warmth enriching its taste by double. The monster smiles when you do, offering you a different pastry as soon as you're done with that one.

"Thank you, but I'm fine, sir. We should get back to your case."

"If you insist, I will give you some of my files for you to handle at home and work at your own pace, but you should still bring some food with you. I would not forgive myself if I saw you in the same condition next week."

"I'm really fine,” you state, widening your smile. “My job requires a strict diet. It's... It's to keep me in good shape."

"Sickly is not a 'good' shape! You should search for a doctor, if your condition gets any worse."

Suspicions at Papyrus feigning his innocence begin to fade when you stare deep into him. How he smiles at you without faltering makes you confident about him being one of your easier cases to deal with. He's already prepared a paper bag full of pastries, and he tops it all off by refilling your drink.

"Even if you do not see me as a friend yet, I feel responsible for your well-being just as much as you are for mine. If you are here for my benefit, I should be there for you also!"

"It's my job, sir."

"I remain firm in my choice!"

Disbelief makes you shake your head, and you promptly slip a pen from your shirt's pocket along with a small notebook, slipping past a few names until reaching his

“Alright. Should we continue with your case, then? I promise I'll eat one more pastry before I leave, if we do."

"Certainly. We have ourselves a deal, ma'am!"

• • • • •

"You're no good," you hear Jessie say, heart racing at the sound of the bed creaking and a pair of footsteps stomp around. "Maybe you look like her, but you're not her. She knows me better than you."

You hear him groan as a full thud sounds next.

He mutters a series of insults and curses, though the other person interrupts him with actual words.

"You didn't tell me you were married? I thought this was a one-night stand!"

"And it is. I'm bored of you already."

Another thud.

"Well, I’m glad you are.”

You're quick to hide when you hear footsteps approaching the door, finding the nearest place to see the woman Jessie claims to look like you. She arrives like a storm, a mirror-image of you in skin colour, body type, clothing style, and facial features. What keeps you separate are minor details easy to overlook at a first glance.

As soon as the woman leaves, you feel arms wrap themselves around your waist.

Jessie's scent reaches your nose.

He places his lips on the back of your neck, using his teeth to nip at your skin.

"You- You have the balls to do this, even after I heard all that?!"

Your words are like an explosion, actions the same.

You snap out of his hold and meet face-to-face with him, a glare refusing to fall off your face.

"We had a deal! I've slept with you twice already, ev- even though the week's barely started, and yet you still go off and find yourself a one-night stand?!”

"Whoa there," he intervenes, chuckling. "Calm down, Judy Hopps. You might just hurt my feelings."

"Your feelings? What about mi-"

This time, the thud is loud and clear, and it's not directed at the other woman.

You're faced with a panting Jessie, gaze lost in fury as he reaches for your throat, holding it tight.

"Did you forget who keeps this house standing, or do you need a reminder?”

"Now's not the time to bring that stuff up. It's my turn to ask what the fuck you're doing."

He's on the floor seconds after you say that.

You keep him in a rough arm lock, pressing his cheek against the floor.

"You wouldn't dare try anything else, would you?” he taunts, smugness in his tone. “Domestic abuse is easier to track more than cheating. Don't you think so? You could go run off and yap aaalll about what happened here, but I'll be the one with the marks, Hopps.” He stops to huff. “Figured someone like you would know better, though you still have a chance to back off.”

You remain in place, firm in your choice.

He's kept pressed to the ground, yet your hold falters the longer you stare at him.

"You've got everything to lose, honey. A traitor, a negligent mother, and a power-abusive detective. Add in those texts you get from that boney dude, and you'd be labeled as the one who cheated first."

"I never did anything with him, and you know it."

"Really?" He squirms under your hold, making you let go to allow him some space and pick up some crumpled papers from his pocket. "I'd say these pictures tell a different story."

He grins while you snatch the pictures off his grasp, unveiling them to see wrinkled, grainy captures of your drunken night at Grillby's, displaying the worst timing possible for each of all four pictures. In the first one, Sans has his hands placed on your shoulders, keeping you steady while you rest your face against his neck. It's clear by the distance he keeps between you it's not an affair by any means, although its poor quality is enough to create second opinions. The next picture displays him placing a jacket over your shoulders. The third and fourth ones are you getting off his brother's convertible with him, and of you heading towards his home, walking side-by-side with him.

"Does he do it better than me? You were never desperate enough to come over to my place for that kinda stuff. Does his magic swoon you over or something?"

"Y- You know he only helped me get home safe," you insist, voice strained with how much it raises. “I can tell by that look on your face.”

"Did he, really? I bet you've been screwing every monster you've got as a client.”

And with that, you let him go.

He stands up, brushes himself clean, and walks off to the exit.

“I'll be waiting for your apology,” he says, as the door closes. “You have until tonight. Make it count.”

There's the sound of him starting the car, then him driving off.

Peace – though momentary – allows the hard strain in your chest to fade with a soft breath.

[Index | Previous | Next]

#sans x reader #reader insert #undertale fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #weezer reference #female reader #chubby reader #detective reader #long fic #weekly updates #undertale x reader #sans undertale #classic sans #angst and fluff #slow burn

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gusherguy · 1 year

Text

Simi Saga - Prank Call

A prank caller plays simi feeding trigger sounds and causes a simi to empty right there at work. Thank goodness his boss is understanding!

It was a quiet tuesday at the restaurant, and Jax was in the back folding napkins for tables. There wasn't much else to do, what with the single elderly patron in the front enjoying their daily coffee and pastries. Considering how busy the place was going to get come evening, he was glad for the lull.

The front phone rang after a while. Jax got up and headed over, picking up the phone just as his boss emerged from her closet-sized office. "Fig Garden italian restaurant, how can I help you?"

There was a long pause. "Yes, hi. I'd like to make a reservation."

"Wonderful sir, and how many people will be in your party?" he listened and jotted down the information as he held the phone with his shoulder. "Four people, got it. And what time would you like to make a reservation for?"

This time the pause was longer and Jax thought he heard giggling somewhere on the call. "Pardon, I couldn't make that out?" he asked, staying polite. His boss, a simi just a hair taller than him, looked over.

"Umm. Make it a seven o clock reservation. I'm just so hungry." The caller's voice pulled into a long whine that made heat bloom in Jax's abdomen. His secondary stomach suddenly felt heavy. But, maintaining his politeness, he gave them the benefit of the doubt and pressed on, swallowing hard. "Ah, s-seven? Alright-" he was interrupted by more noises, and realized with a churn in his gut that this was a prank call.

Some simi are easily triggered by high pitched sounds. More whining that sounded just like someone needing to be fed emanated from the phone, followed by loud, gassy gurgling. Jax felt his secondary stomach instantly react, clenching and preparing to empty. Oh, no. "Sir, if you -- urp! If you're not going to make a g-genuine reservation...." he hiccuped again and swallowed hard. The warm weight in his belly wanted out, making his mouth water. "Th-then I'm going to have to hang up."

"Oh, I'm sorry, please don't hang up." the caller kept giggling and making those sounds. Jax groaned and put the phone down, pressing both hands to his mouth.

"You okay, Jax?" his boss asked, confused. Jax had never had a problem keeping his secondary stomach under control before, but now....he was leaned against the counter, body jerking in suppressed heaves, as his overactive tummy tried to puke everything up.

"I --ghlll!" he almost choked on the slurry as it suddenly filled his cheeks to bulging. The sounds kept echoing in his head, driving the urge to empty to seething heights. His stomach pulsed with nauseous heat. It was all too much. Jax doubled over with a guttural belch and spewed off-white slurry all over the floor. It dripped from his lips and soaked into his apron. Jax's head spun with the fuzzy pleasure every simi felt from vomiting. It urged him to keep getting sick, more and more, until he was empty.

His boss sighed, realizing he really couldn't help it. She pulled the trashcan closer and helped Jax over it. "There you go, just get it up." she told him. Jax yawned, sticking his tongue out, before making a little sound in the back of his throat and letting go another gush of milky puke. "I - I'm so sorry -- urrrp! It was....it was some caller, th-they-" his legs shook, heat sparking through him, and was interrupted by more vomit. "They made these sounds, and I-"

"Oh. A prank caller?" his boss shook her head sympathetically. "I've had to deal with a few of those. One caught me off guard at home." she patted his back hard to help him get up the last few gushes. "I heard that gurgling and the next thing I knew, puking everything onto myself. God damn instincts."

"Haha....yeah." Jax chuckled nervously. He spat the last residue from his mouth and wiped his lips. Well, now that his secondary stomach was empty, at least he was safe from such pranks for the rest of the night.

#original species #emetophilia #emeto #puke fic

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alohastyles-x · 2 years

Note

🌺“Hide! We’re not supposed to be here” with Natasha please 💓💓💓

🌺 Hibiscus

In the Dark

*let’s ignore that this gif doesn’t match the story- ya girl struggled finding one she liked best :( *

Prompt: “Hide! We’re not supposed to be here”

Character: Natasha Romanoff x reader

Warnings: little tiny bit of angst, very very very light smut- like just mentions of kissing really

I hope you like this lovely! | Join me on my mini vacay!

When Nick Fury told you your next mission was with the Natasha Romanoff, you couldn’t help but be ecstatic. In any other scenario, you would have been fine to express your giddy feelings towards her, excited to be working with her.

However this was a stealth mission. Generally speaking, you have to stay pretty silent to not get caught.

You could already tell you were getting on Natasha’s nerves as she gave you sideways looks in the jet as you bounced in your seat next to her. Mumbling an apology, you directed your attention to your destination: Russia. You grimaced. The cold and you did not mix. You preferred to be somewhere warm, maybe in a beach lounging next to the grumpy red head who sat beside you.

“Alright, we’re almost there.”

Speaking of, Natasha’s stern voice filled the jet, pulling you from your day dreams of her in a bikini. You shook the thought away, and began preparing yourself for landing.

Natasha skillfully landed the jet in a field, where you would then have to trek - silently- through the woods until you stumbled across the bunker the Russian soldiers used to store vital informtation.

Usually you’d have the other avengers with you, but they were all busy on other missions Fury had assigned them too. This was supposed to be a small, easy mission that two people could accomplish.

As the two of you unloaded yourselves out of the jet, you slipped, nearly falling out but Natasha’s hands found your waist steadying you.

“Thanks,” you muttered, your cheeks instantly turning a bright shade of red that you blamed on the cold. The feeling of her hands lingered on your was it as she helped you climb down the rest of the stairs.

You began your silent hike into the dark woods. Fury had given the two of you boots that trekked silently over snow, you just had to be mindful of twigs.

It wasn’t long before the silence became too much for you. You wanted so desperately just to talk to her, the woman who had encompassed your day dreams for months. You decided you were going to do just that… talk to her.

“Psst!” You whisper-yelled, trying to get her attention. She was a good few feet in front of you. When she didn’t turn around you tried again.

“Psst!” You whispered louder, cupping your hands around your mouth.

“What?!” She whispered back, turning back to look at you.

“So do you think the others are having this much fun?” You asked.

“Just focus on finding the bunker,” she responded, rolling her eyes and turning back around.

You glared at her. A mere twenty seconds passed before you had the urge to speak again.

“Hey Nat, do you want to grab some food after this? Maybe some milkshakes?” This time you didn’t whisper, causing her to stop abruptly and turn to face you, a bewildered look spread across her face.

“What are you thinking! Shh!”

You gave her an apologetic look, before focusing your gaze just past her. You pointed to a snow covered bunker sitting amongst the trees. When she turned to look, her eyes grew wide, and she turned back to smile at you.

There were no guards posted out front, that much you knew from your research. The place was supposed to be abandoned, yet full of vital information. It was a shock when you found out they left the place completely abandoned.

“There has to be some kind of booby trap,” Nat whispered as you made your way to the door of the bunker.

“Heh, booby,” you whisper-laughed to yourself. Natasha heard, much to your demise, and turned to give you a look that read “seriously…”. You shrugged, not standing down from it being a funny word.

“I dont see any wires, meaning there’s probably no electricity, so if it’s a booby trap then it’s a shit one,” you said, before reaching down to the door handle and yanking it open. Sure enough, a large cement block fell in front of you, spreading a cloud of dust into the air.

“Told you.” You looked at her, smiling, before turning your flashlight on. You began looking around taking one half of the small bunker as Natasha took another.

There was a sudden noise that came from outside, loud enough to be heard inside. Natasha was quickly by your side, pulling you towards a dark corner.

“Hide! We’re not supposed to be here” She whispered, pointing out the obvious as she shoved you into a small space between two objects. She pressed her front to you, squeezing into the small space as much as she could, and closed what sounded like a locker door.

You were too distracted by the heat of her body pressing into you, making you ache in ways you didn’t know you could. Her sweet perfume filled the small space, sending you in a frenzy.

Too distracted by her, you hadn’t realized how much time had passed until she finally spoke.

“I think we’re in the clear,” she whispered, opening the door. She began to pull herself off of you, but your hands found her waist and pulled her back.

Even in the dark you could tell she wore a confused expression, so you tried to cover your tracks.

“You’re… warm,” you whispered, your hands still placed firmly on your waist.

There was a slight pause before you felt her lips brush yours. It was quick and gentle, but enough to send you spiraling. You pulled her in by the back of her neck, deepening the kiss as your hands wandered her body. You could feel her red lipstick transferring to your lips, the smooth cream feeling warm and soft.

After a few moments she pulled away, breathless.

“We need to get out of here so we can finish this later,” she whispered, pulling herself away from you, leaving you cold and breathless.

You couldn’t help the smile that formed big on your face, hurrying after her to try to find the information you needed.

#Natasha romanoff one shot #alohastylesx mini vacay #alohastylesx answers #selene 🥀#alohastylesx works #natasha x you #Natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff

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theatriscribe · 5 months

Text

Lautski week day 6- Light

Pete and Stephanie end up cuddling after studying at the library. Written for @lautski-week. 894 words.

The lights in the school library went off at 10:30.

Steph absolutely wasn't nerdy enough to know this, but unsurprisingly Pete was.

“Well, looks like time’s up. We gotta go home,” Steph said. She had already been feeling sleepy for a while. When Pete had invited her to the library to study, she was happy to spend time with him, but wasn’t expecting to be studying for three hours. “I’ve got a lantern for times like this,” he said, pulling a little handheld lantern out of his bag.

“Pete, let me get this straight. You have stayed until they kicked you out of the library before, and then you continued to stay at the library.”

“Well, nobody thinks we would ever do anything. But I can personally say that late night study sessions can get pretty rowdy,” he said with a smile.

“Uh-huh.” Steph shook her head, but couldn’t keep from smiling too.

“Yep. One of us sneaks in a bottle of wine and all of us are asleep by 11:30.”

“You really are funny,” Steph said. “Did you bring any wine?”

“No,” Pete admitted.

“Then let’s just call it.” Steph said, cutting herself off with a yawn. “It’s obvious I’m too stupid to get this.”

Pete winced. “Steph, you’re not stupid. I’ve been telling you this.”

“Well, I sure as hell am not smart.” Steph shrugged her backpack onto her back. “Pete, look. I wanted to end on a good note, don’t fight me about this.”

“You need a little more time to learn this, that absolutely does not mean-“

“Peeeeeete,” Steph whined.

“There’s a lot of people still struggling with this stuff,” Pete said.

“Think that says more about our graduating class than it does about me,” Steph pointed out. She rested her hand on his shoulder. “You did your best.”

Peter stopped.

“Pete, I’m really tired,” Steph said.

“No one is stupid, Steph. Especially not you.”

Steph was too tired to think of an effective counter argument, so she pressed her cheek against his shoulder.

“Steph?” Pete asked. “What are you doing?”

He honestly smelled pretty nice. “You smell good,” she said.

“Um. Thank you?”

There were a lot of shadowy areas in the school at eleven o’clock at night. All the lights were off, the only light cast by the little lantern in Pete’s hand. Steph squeezed Pete’s hand a little tighter, but he didn’t complain about it.

“Man, I’m not looking forward to walking home in this cold,” Pete said quietly.

“You can come back to my place if you want,” Steph said. “My dad doesn’t really care who I bring home so long as I’m not too loud about it.”

Pete flushed. “I’m not sure I’m ready for-“

“Oh!” Steph realized the implications of what she’d just said. “Oh, yeah, no. At least, not tonight. Sorry if I got your hopes up.”

“No, that’s okay,” Pete said. “I’m happy to just spend the night.”

Man, Steph was usually not this awkward. “I’m glad to have you over,” she said.

As they got to the school entrance, Pete hesitated again. “Is it cool if I drive?” he asked. “I’ve got my license, and you seem… a little sleepy.”

A little sleepy was putting it mildly, but Steph pressed her keys into Pete’s hand.

Stephanie fought the urge to fall asleep the entire car ride home. It felt really rude to fall asleep while someone else was driving you home in your car. The only trouble was, there wasn’t much to see in Hatchetfield at night. There were a lot of dark buildings, with the occasional neon sign or light on in a store.

“You know,” Steph admitted to Pete. “I still don't think I can learn very well, but sometimes, you make me feel like I can.”

“Thank you,” Pete said. “That means a lot to me. And it’s probably for the best we stopped studying anyway. You can’t focus on information when you’re tired.”

Stephanie entwined her fingers with his. “I’m willing to give it another shot tomorrow.”

When they got back to her house, Steph lead Pete through the house and up the stairs to her room, skipping the step that creaked.

“Where should I sleep?” Pete asked.

“We can share the bed.” Steph unhooked her bra underneath her shirt and slid the straps off her shoulders.

Pete laid down next to her. He held his arms stiffly by his sides, as if trying to ensure they didn’t actually brush each other. It might’ve been kind of sweet if it didn’t look incredibly uncomfortable.

“Pete,” Steph said. “It’s okay if we cuddle. That’s why I said we could share the bed.

“Oh,” Pete said. “Um, this okay?” he asked, wrapping an arm around her so his hand pressed against her back.

“Yeah. If you want something, you can just ask,” she said.

Pete hesitated for a moment. “Can I kiss you?”

“Please.”

It felt nice when he kissed her, but just as she was getting into it, Pete broke the kiss to yawn.

“You’re probably tired too, huh?” Steph said. Steph moved closer so that his body was flush with hers. “This okay?”

“Yeah.” Pete ran a hand through her hair.

“Goodnight, Pete.” Peter’s embrace was warm and cozy, but more than that, it felt safe. Steph wrapped an arm around him and was asleep within minutes.

#Lautski

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authorspirit · 3 months

Text

Spring 1 recap.

previous - next - next season

All households:

Aria and James Sapphire

Alexander Sapphire and Serenity Edmondson

Kellen and Chelsea Lambert, Ericka and Storm Martinez, Matthew Lambert and Liam Martinez

Jay, Sydney and Graham Lambert, Melody, Nasir, Cornelius and Ezequiel Akana

Yolanda, Milton, Sienna and Leïla Stafford

Arthur, Jillian, Mila and Sara Sapphire

With the spring breeze came its lot of drama to the different descendants of Marina Sapphire. Among Dahlia Lambert's grandchildren, talks of babies and marriages animated the family dinners, accompanying this urge for most to move out of their parents' home. Most felt ready to deploy their wings albeit still hesitant to discover what it was like out there to pursue their own dreams. For Alfonso Lambert's descendants, it was time to gather together again after the move of the Stafford to Newcrest. They are all happily spending more time together and are still on their journey of self-discovery as they navigate through their teenage years.

Though family gossip started with the unexpected pregnancy of Melody Lambert and the obvious question of "who is the father?", all mouths were shut when she married the father of her twins, Nasir. Though for once the spotlight was on Melody, she hated it and only wanted it to stop - or not happen. Being a mother when she did not want it, and even worse, of twins, was hard on her. She was struggling with motherhood and could only stay afloat thanks to Nasir who turned out to be a very reliable parent. In the shadows, Graham was preparing his departure for university. After all, he had delayed his move until his sister would give birth and then after her wedding. To be frank, he was just trying to buy more time. He was scared of leaving his home, this cocoon of love and attention he always knew. But it was time for him to leave his parents' house and go on his own adventures. Once before a united pair, the twins said goodbye to one another, sure to miss the other half. Graham is not the only one who knew it was time to bid farewell to their childhood home. Ericka felt her stay at her parents' house had been too long already. She was torn between helping Kellen and Chelsea who are still taking care of her brother Matthew despite their old age and the need to have her own place to call home with Storm. After all, the bedroom they share with baby Liam has really turned too small. In the end, the needs of a new place for this family prompted the departure of Kellen's cousin and also neighbor Yolanda Stafford from San Sequoia. With her family, they decided to go back to Newcrest, in her childhood home, while vacating the house they have in San Sequoia and selling it to Storm and Ericka. With another move, Leïla Stafford, the youngest of the two Stafford siblings, was happy to get closer to her cousins but was hoping it would not put a strain on her budding relationship with Mitchel Tilo. Completely lovestruck, by the end of the season they had already vowed to stay with one another. Only time will tell if this will stay a teenage dream... Meanwhile, Sienna was continuing to work hard as a tennis athlete but her heart was elsewhere. She tried to gather courage and finally announced to her parents her intentions to pursue acting. Though not met with disapproval, Sienna knew that her father was not supportive of her entrance in the show business - at least not like her mother seemed to be. This reaction was quite similar to Aria Sapphire's reaction to the news of her second son getting engaged. While she had previously been eager for Arthur to get married and found a family, she had no such expectations for her youngest. Hence at Melody's wedding reception, she had a lukewarm reaction to Alexander's announcement. She was supportive, of course she was, it was great news, but she never met Serenity and couldn't quite grasp the seriousness of Alexander's intentions. Alexander himself must be confused and did retained some information about his rocky relationship with Serenity when telling about his engagement. After all, the first time he had proposed to Serenity was a disaster. She had refused, they put their relationship on pause, she went on a solo vacation for a week and came back saying yes. But even without that piece of information, Arthur quickly came to know how terrible of an idea this engagement was. When coming to Chestnut Ridge to help with wedding preparations, he observed himself how horrible their relationship was - if we could even call it a relationship, seeing how much they argue and only agree to disagree. But between the loose ties he had in Chestnut Ridge and his own children to take care of, he did not take enough time to convince his brother to put an end to this wedding. Will the summer wedding be stopped by Aria and James when they meet Serenity?

#sapphire*#sapphire recaps*#sapphire* spring 1 #sapphire seasons*#sapphire spring 1

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kurlyfrasier · 2 years

Text

3) Bleeding Heart: In and Out

Pairing: Din Djarin x Reader

Synopsis: DIn must go on a bounty hunt, but struggles to leave you and Grogu behind.

A/N: This takes place directly after Bleeding Heart: Spice, and Death is Nice. Eventually, I’ll get past part one of Beskar Kisses lol ENJOY! Series Masterlist Warnings: the word death (thank you darksaber). no use of y/n, if you like that. lots more din x reader interaction in this one (yay!). angsty(?). definite pining. Disclaimer: I do not own any Mandalorian/Star Wars anything. Word Count: 1735

No new Mando’a.

Din stood rigid, staring at you, making the atmosphere in the ship awkward. The air thickened around him. Could see your sad attempts at acting casual as you stood there, in the hull with the ramp wide open. Grogu tugged on the collar of your shirt as you held him, completely ignoring the tension Din knew he could feel with his magic Force sense. Still, Din didn’t move.

He didn’t want to.

Logically, he knew you would be safe inside the ship. He had protocols set that made it practically impenetrable. But that didn’t stop him from worrying. From soaking up every last detail that was you. How your new clothes clung to you. Your quiet curiosity, making him wonder why you hardly voiced your thoughts. Your shuffling feet, confused gaze glancing between him, the kid, and the planet beyond the ship- a question begging to be set free from your lips. Lips Din was compelled to kiss- constantly- but always held back. He didn’t want to scare you. Someday, he kept telling himself. Someday he would know how sweet you tasted.

He stifled a groan. It hadn’t been that long since he last hunted a bounty- a few standard years or so. Before, wherever he went, the kid went with him. A constant weight reminding him that his kid was safe- there- with him. Maybe he could take you along too.

“Too dangerous,” a voice whispered, sounding just as devastated about leaving you as he was.

But he was Mand’alor. He was, by definition, the greatest warrior in the galaxy. He could keep you safe.

“Too many variables,” it said, sounding oddly rational. “When have bounties ever been trustworthy? When has any fight gone as planned?”

An overwhelming urge to rip his helmet off and fling the darksaber had never been so strong. Not even the day his world crashed down on him. When he watched Skywalker take his son- just minutes after he learned of the darksaber’s weight. But he knew from experience the darksaber would find its way back into the palm of his hand. It always did.

Minutes passed, the silence deafening, even to Din.

“Let’s go,” he broke the silence, voice sharper than intended, stunning you into action. You were out of the ship faster than he could draw a blaster. “Mesh’la,” he called out, running after you, terrified some monster would pop out of the rocky terrain and eat you. You flinched when he grabbed your arm, rougher than he intended. He pulled away as though he was burned- already, he was breaking his vow. You were only out of his sight for a second and already, he was hovering, eyes scanning your body for injuries he knew weren’t there. “Stay close.”

You nodded, eyes wide as you soaked in the wonder of a new planet, gaze never straying in one place for long. Grogu pointed and babbled toward everything and nothing, your infectious excitement rubbing off on him.

Din strode ahead of you, keeping one eye on you as the other roamed the area for any danger. A perimeter check, he decided, would ease his mind. Then he could leave that night while you were asleep, where your dreams wouldn’t bring thoughts of leaving the ship to stretch your legs. Besides, it wasn’t like the bounty was going anywhere. Fett had informed him that the bounty had been hiding out on this planet for years, so there was no reason for them to think they were in any danger now.

He couldn’t thank his friend enough for helping him keep his newfound secret while simultaneously helping him mislead his Kar’ta from figuring out who he was. Guilt ate at his soul for keeping things from you, but the smile on your face and the sparkle in your eyes kept him from saying anything. You deserved to experience something new- so long as he was there to make sure nothing got in your way.

“Mando!”

His jaw clenched, hating the generic term coming out of your mouth. He was aching to hear you say his name. His real name. Then again, he wondered, hearing your sweet voice saying his name would likely undo him. It was probably for the best, for now, to keep his name hidden from you.

“Are those mountains in the distance,” you pointed off to the side, awed.

“Yes,” he said, continuing on.

“Do you ever,” you trailed off, going silent, causing Din to stop and turn your way when it seemed you wouldn’t continue. “You know…stop and smell the roses?” You shrugged your shoulders, curling into yourself. Din found it cute, your bashful curiosity.

He made a show of looking around. Short, brittle, dry plants covered the ground between rock and dry land. “There are no roses,” he deadpanned.

You sputtered, mouth opening and closing with nary a sound, body stiffening. Grogu strained his neck to check on you. After a moment’s pause, realizing his failed attempt at a joke (or maybe you weren’t used to jokes?), Din moved swiftly, reaching out and rubbing your arm, relishing the contact even if it was through a glove.

“Not really,” he struggled not to laugh at your slitted, serious gaze, clearing his throat to cover it up best he could. “Bounty hunting is more of a get in and get out kind of job.”

Realization seemed to dawn on you, head nodding as your gaze turned curious again, looking around as if to say ‘what are we doing now, then?’

Din didn’t want to worry you with the possibility of threats, so he ignored the silent question and turned back toward the ship. You quickly followed.

“I’ll- umm- I’ll go make dinner,” you said, planting Grogu into Din’s arms as you swiftly walked up the ramp and into the ship.

Din paused, glancing at the setting sun with dread, a sigh escaping through his helmet. He would have to leave for the bounty soon.

“Eh?” Grogu glanced up at him, head tilting, big ears tink-ing against his chest plate. “Bah,” he tapped on his vambrace, catching his attention.

“Yeah, kid?” His voice was hoarse as he glanced down at his son to find him pointing up at the ship, forcing him to move forward on heavy legs. “Right, dinner time.”

Dinner was a quick, quiet affair made of mostly rations and left over jerky from Naboo. The kid ate most of that as Din barely lifted his helmet enough to stuff bite-sized pieces in his mouth, struggling not to be rid of it completely each and every time. The kid grumbled up at him between bites- incoherent, yet getting his point across with those big, all-knowing eyes of his. Obviously thinking his father was being ridiculous, hiding his face from you. Din silently agreed with him, barely lifting his helmet up enough to put another chunk of food in his mouth. You, on the other hand, pretended it was completely normal, barely even glancing his way, keeping most of your focus on your own plate of food.

“Thank you,” he managed to say after finishing his last bite, standing up from the makeshift crate-turned-table and grabbing Grogu to prepare him for bed.

“No problem,” you pinched out a smile, still eating the last of your portion.

“Okay, womp rat,” Din said, settling Grogu in his hammock with his favorite blanket and stuffed Ewok. “Don’t cause too much trouble for ner Kar’ta while I’m gone.”

He quietly babbled back as if to tell him he never causes trouble with a big yawn, sleepy eyes getting heavier with each blink.

Din chuckled under his breath, stroking a big ear in goodbye. “I’ll be back before you wake,” he whispered, turning around to see you’ve already cleaned up what little there was from dinner and entering the ‘fresher. As he waited for you to finish, he sat down and double checked the weapons he prepared earlier in the day for the hunt, heart feeling heavier with each second that passed by.

Din whipped his head up at your startled ‘oh’, immediately turning rigid when he saw his shirt- and only his shirt- hanging loosely off your shoulder, swallowing you.

“I hope you don’t mind,” you said, face flushing, fingers twisting the hem. “I didn’t bring anything to sleep in and found it hanging in the ‘fresher. I thought you- I can change back into-”

“It’s fine,” Din said, not daring to move- to breathe. He could curse himself for forgetting to buy you sleep clothes, but he found this to be much more to his liking. “It’s yours,” he said before he could catch himself, making it obvious he didn’t plan on buying you any unless-

“Unless you would like-”

“No,” you shook your head, hands coming up as if to block his words from hitting you. “This is perfect. No need to buy me anything.”

He nodded, not about to argue with that.

“Kid’s asleep,” he said after letting the silence hang longer than necessary, standing up. “I’ll be back before sunrise,” he continued, taking heavy steps toward the ramp and opening it. Knowing if he didn’t leave now, he never would.

“Okay,” you breathed out. “G’night.”

HIs fists clenched, willing himself not to look back as he stepped down and off the ramp, stiffly pressing the buttons on his vambrace to close it up.

One step.

Two.

Three.

Unconsciously, he rubbed his chestplate- a sad attempt to soothe his aching heart.

Five steps.

Six.

He spun on his heel, all the discipline in the galaxies, he realized, couldn’t have kept him from looking back. How he let Skywalker take his son all those years ago yet couldn’t walk away from you for one simple hunt, he didn’t know. Turning on his heat sensors, he watched as you checked on Grogu and crawled into your own bunk across from him. Then he waited. Five minutes- ten- an hour- as he scanned the ship’s surroundings, daring a threat to get close to his sleeping ship. Until finally, he sighed in resignation, turning away to hunt. The sooner he got the bounty, he thought, the sooner he got back.

“Death to bounty,” the voice in his head growled. “Death to all who keep us away from Kar’ta.”

Din kept silent, thinking if he did as the darksaber said then maybe- maybe- he would feel better about walking away from you.

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

THANK YOU FOR READING! :D

TAGLIST: @againstacecilia @djarinslove @bxmxtx @takeyour-pants-off

#mandalorian #din djarin x reader #grogu #darksaber #fanfic #my writing #pining #angst #bleeding heart #beskar kisses #the mand'alor'kar'ta series #enjoy!#reader #you #no use of y/n #the word death #au canon divergence

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thefamilyeldritchabomination · 8 months

Text

Chapter Seventeen: Eve of the War Pt. 4

The clattering of plates and the rumble of chatter could be heard upon entering the restaurant, the aroma of the stocks intermingling with the atmosphere. In general, just a very jovial setting save for the group of rather tense diners that would ultimately decide the fate of Amestris in general. It didn’t take them too long to be seated and situated at a table to have this conversation. They were silently checking the boxes for their hot pot meats and veggies, Envy holding back their urge to try slamming Edward’s face into the boiling stock once it arrived. The only one keeping Envy from ruining everything was Dolly who was keeping an eye on them as she picked out a variety of meat to try out. As soon as the forms were handed in for the order, Lust carefully removed the profane rock of human soup from her pocket and placed it in front of the Elrics.

“...That’s the Philosopher’s stone..” Edward gasped as his young eyes laid upon the fabled stone of misery.

“Ed, is that you!?” Tim Markoh cried out from within the stone, already hopeful the Elrics will rescue him and the others from inside of the awful rock.

“I guess Ernest was correct on that one..” Greed said, taken aback that the stone could in fact speak. “Wait, Ernest? That little monster that derailed everything? You assholes had that bastard with you this whole time?” Envy snapped out of the tension upon hearing the awful creature’s name being mentioned.

“Envy I think the better question is how exactly did Ernest know about Tim.” Lust was now concerned about how that information leaked. “Oh, Ernest said he was still linked up to his brother.” Alphonse innocently answered as he opened his chest to reveal Ernest just chilling out inside and eating donuts like a beast. “....That explains a lot of the silence then from Dorian at times.” Dolly quietly said, surprised to finally meet the infamous Ernest in person.

“Oh good…that’s great, you brought the living WMD back to the capital with a rampaging Fuhrer on the loose looking for him. Thanks kid, thanks a lot for that.” Envy glared a bit at Ernest who simply flipped them the bird in return.

“Believe it or not, he’s gotten a bit better with the murder impulses a bit. Besides, Granny wasn’t going to let Ernest stay with them after he stole her whiskey.” Edward decided to ease the tension just a little bit after Ernest’s stunt.

“....Okay that redeems Ernest just a little bit for me..” Envy straightened up a bit upon hearing that Ernest was a thieving little shit.

“We should probably get back on the topic about Tim.” Dolly said as she pointed to Dr. Tim Markoh, rock leader extraordinaire.

“Right, Tiny Timmy, look, Tim made it very clear that he won’t do shit for us. We’re going to, however, use him as bait to lure Dante out of her Villa Mansion. All we need to do is pick out a good location to lure her to before exterminating the hag.” Envy said, getting everything off their chest about the plan.

“Wait, we wanted to throw Dante in Jail for all the horrible things she’s done so far. Plus, Dr. Markoh has been through enough horrible things.” Edward protested, now knowing for sure that really is Dr. Markoh inside.

“Thank you Edward for speaking up for me, now please get me away from them, I cannot bear another night listening to the person called ‘Face Fur’ whine anymore.” Markoh pleaded, needing to get away from this disaster group.

“Now, now Tiny Timmy, if we have to live with the Face Fur, you’re going to endure it with us too. That’s how this ‘family’ unit works I think..” Envy exited reality for a moment after the word ‘Family’ escaped their bitter lips. “Envy, you actually called us family, that’s great!” Dolly looked very hopeful at Envy finally acknowledging their found family.

“Brother…what did we get ourselves into?” Alphonse whispered to Edward, growing a bit weirded out by the interaction.

“I don’t know Al, I don’t know..” Edward couldn’t make heads or tails if Envy had brain worms of some kind or if they’ve genuinely turned a new leaf.

“I’m going to answer your question about why we’re wanting to kill Dante since Envy here is on leave at the moment. Dante is already actively dying from her own decaying body, it’s driving her to make incredibly rash decisions that have had dire consequences for us. It recently became apparent to us that in Dante’s desperation to keep on living for eternity, she may turn her eyes on one of our own. This is us drawing a line with how far Dante has gone and would be for the best to just exterminate her as soon as possible.” Lust carefully explained to the Elrics, watching their expression after opening up rather delicate information.

“So that lady with you, I take it that’s Dolly, right?” Edward asked as he turned his attention to Dolly after piecing some things together. “Ernest told you?” Lust was becoming unsurprised at this point that Ernest was a little gossip to boot. “Ernest told us, yes, but also told us her blood made him and his brother.” Edward explained, taking Lust by surprise as Ed pointed out to Dolly would nearly spat out her water upon hearing that.

“Oh..I knew I was forgetting to tell Lust that..” Envy blankly said as the cat was obviously out of the bag.

“How could you forget to tell me something so important as that Envy!?” Lust looked at Envy in disbelief.

“I had monster making blood on the mind at the time, that one outweighs the other news at the time.” Envy huffed, looking annoyed they were being scolded over something so trivial.

“Wait…her blood can make monsters too?” Alphonse asked, getting nervous at the horror known as Dolly who was sitting there stunned by everything.

“Well yeah, it’s name is Snickerdoodle.” Envy sneered to frighten their youngest half brother in little shit sibling fashion.

“Envy don’t drag this Snickerdoodle creature into this conversation. Look, we didn’t come together to talk about Dolly and her apparent mutagenic blood, we came to talk about Dante. Now let’s kindly get back to that topic and figure out a good way to do away with her.” Lust had enough and decided to steer the topic back on track, giving Envy a disapproving look.

“Thank you Lust for getting things to be simple again!” Greed let out a sigh of relief of not dealing with the worst clay based family reunion imaginable.

“Mister Greed, your manners, don’t sigh so heavily at the table.” Bido gently scolded his boss as he waited for the tea to arrive.

“Right, breathing more calmly and not like a dog, thanks Bido.” Greed said with a sharp toothed smile, earning a bit of a disappointed look from Dolcetto.

“Right, Dante, look Greed, as much as I hate you and the Elric brats you brought along, I hate Dante a whole lot more right now. I’m willing to work with you and your sideshow gang provided that Lust, Gluttony, and Dolly are kept out of the operation. I would’ve brought New Pride with us, but he’s still an infant and currently dealing with a creepy kid at the moment.” Envy started out earning an offended look from Lust at being ordered to stay right out of this conflict.

“Envy, have you gone out of your mind here?! You need us to help out, Dante is a horrifying woman with no moral compass whatsoever.” Lust spat out, ready to fight Envy on this decision. “Lust, no offense, but you wouldn’t be able to handle Dante. Not because she’s all powerful, but because Dante is excellent at mind games. I don’t want you or Gluttony to have to face Dante when she goes into that mindset. Let me and Greed handle that portion, we’re both very used to Dante using that when things aren’t going her way.” Envy explained to Lust as they once did for Dolly about the whole scenario.

“Fine, I’ll stay out of this now that you opened up about your concerns. However, I will have to request that someone else handle Freddy, he’s absolutely intolerable.” Lust looked thankful that the tea finally arrived to give some relief.

“You still haven’t killed Freddy yet? Seriously?” Greed remarked out of shock that Envy of all people hadn’t gone in for the kill yet on Freddy.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, the Face Fur is the damned albatross I wear around my neck.” Envy bitterly remarked at their inability to murder the annoying Alchemist.

“Okay, besides being impressed that you read good literature, this is rounding about again to why Dolly is involved in all this.” Edward said, proving that stubbornness was a part of the long proud bloodline of Hohenheim.

#Fullmetal Alchemist #FMA 03 #Fan Fiction #FMA Fan Fiction #The Wayfarer #Writing #Envy the Jealous #Envy #Greed the Avaricious #Greed #Lust the Lascivious #Lust #Edward Elric #Alphonse Elric #The Elric Brothers #OCs #Homunculus #Homunculi

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indoraptorgirlwind · 1 year

Text

|an exception| part 2

summary: while Stephen helps reader to recover from her wounds, something goes off as he keeps hiding what he is...

When Stephen managed to return back to normal, he sneaked up to your house. While it would be considered rude or illegal to sneak into someone's house, he had his reasons; he had to heal your wounds.

Despite being apart from the city, this village had some modern objects, allowing Stephen to treat your wounds and clean all the blood. Talking about blood, you lost plenty of it, which was dangerous and Stephen knew it. He didn't know your type of blood so he had to search through your memories: _____ After a long day, you were ready to make your identification, and you just wished your parents were there. You arrived at the city for it, and started to introduce your information. Name: y/n Last name: y/l/n Date of birth: (your birth here) Type of blood: (your type of blood here) _____ "Bingo!" Stephen said when he read the paper in your memories

Stephen wasn't going to have time to get a pack of blood, so he created one with magic, hoping it would work as he introduced the nail on your arm and waited until the next morning...

You woke up, confused to the birds chirping. You remembered being hurt to death by the creature and another demon coming out from nowhere, and that's where you knew your village was in danger.

You stood up of your bed and almost had a heart attack when you saw a man on your left

"Holy Shit!" You yelled

"I'm sorry, i should have warned you i'm here" Stephen lifted up his arms showing his hands to make you know he mdans no harm

You recognized him...he was the man you told to leave when the creature attacked

"Sir, what are you doing here?"

"Call me Stephen, i came to heal your wounds" he explained

"Oh...that's...thanks" you stuttered

"You owe me nothing" he chuckled. He was starting to feel something towards you. Simpathy maybe? To be a huntress you were charming and kind. But if you discovered what he was...

"Whoa, you okay?" You asked, interrupting his thoughts

"Why the question?" He answered

"Well, you look like you haven't sleep on a long time, dude. Now if you excuse me i have to track down the demon before the other hunters do" you stood up, walking to your armory.

Stephen followed you and asked "you're gonna hunt down that demon?"

You stood quiet for a moment with a concerned face, trying to hide your real motive, but Stephen helped you. He deserved to know the truth even if it would make him hate you...

"No..." you answered looking up to his face. "Stephen, i'll find it to protect it"

Stephen frowned. You wanted to protect him? You? Lancea the village's best huntress?

"Why?" He flinched

"When that creature attacked me, and the demon appeared, it saved me. But the other hunters saw him too and i don't think they knew what it was doing and they may try to kill it! Please Stephen, i need you to understand it was not hostile!"

"I understand" Stephen soothed you, holding the urge to tell you he is the demon, and he is in fact, not hostile

"Let's just return to that place" you suggested.

While you two walked down through the village's streets, Stephen could smell the fear in the villagers after the incident. He doesn't blame them though, he knows he's hideous. A pair of hunters aproaching to Lancea caught his attention.

"Ah, Lancea!" The man with an axe tied to his back said

"Isaac, what's up?"

"We've heard there was a demon in the village" The 2nd hunter, a blond woman with an arrow bag and a bow answered

"About that, i forgot to tell you to stay away from this one, i'll hunt it alone, guys" you lied, trying to keep them away from finding and killing the demon "So sorry Danna but this is my prey"

"Always taking the big credit, huh?" Danna grunted, turning to look at Stephen "and who is this man? Is he a hunter? Did you replace us with him?!" Danna started yelling

"Calm down Danna" Isaac grabbed her arm

"He's not a hunter. He's a medic, his name is Stephen" you declaired "and i would never replace you guys, i just wanna, eh, do this alone by once"

Isaac and Danna leaved you and Stephen alone, you gazed up at his face, blue soft eyes returning the gaze at you.

"I hope you can forgive Danna, she's very jealous and Isaac is always trying to calm her down" you apologized

Stephen enjoyed your presence now, but he had to go. He suddenly ran from you, accidentally hurting his left leg with a broken piece of wood. He kept running as he could until he got of your sight, and hid in the same place where he appeared, on the small abandoned farm.

"Stephen!" You called out, worried about why he ran and about the enormous cut he now had on his leg

But Stephen couldn't come out. He was about to shift again and he didn't want you to see him like this Even after being changed physically, Stephen's left leg was still hurt, and he couldn't move because of it. Then he heard your footsteps coming in

"Stephen? Where are you?!" You called out, then gasped at the demon in front of you, it was the one you were looking for

"Hey, big guy" you approached at it calmly, raising a hand to it.

Stephen covered his face with his wings, backing away until he hit the wall

"It's okay, it's okay. I won't hurt you, i just need to know why you did it"

Stephen cocked his head, did you discover who he was?

"Saving me" you explained "can you understand me?" You asked it

Stephen nodded

"Can i come closer, please?" You suggested

"Yes..." it finally spoke to you

You took a closer view on the demon, noticing it had more than just tentacles and wings... it had a pair of enormous and twisted horns, it's hands had sharp claws and it also had multiple eyes on it's face, between many other features. But there was something off. It's main pair of eyes looked familiar, but what caught you the most was it's wounded left paw

"Stephen?" You called out...

#Mcu #Marvel #doctor strange #doctor strange supreme #strange supreme #stephen strange #strange supreme x reader #Fanfic #Hunter au

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juni-writesx · 2 years

Text

another wip Wednesday that no one asked for.

this time it's a juminv hanahaki AU.(a not so great one. lol.)

the reason why i don't write angst .... i'm terrible at it.

rated pg.

————————

Jumin’s 8 when he first has a tickle in the back of his throat, followed by the feeling of something velvety soft and an overwhelming urge to cough.

He’s well-aware it’s best to cough into his elbow, or even into a handkerchief, but he isn’t quick enough; the urge is much too strong, and he places his hand over his mouth instead so the germs do not get into the air.

And he feels something land in his hand as he coughs – a curious feeling indeed. Had something come up? He hadn’t eaten since lunch… so he couldn’t be coughing up food. Right?

It wasn’t as if he was sick, or at least he didn’t believe that he was. So he didn’t believe that it could be phlegm…

Troubled, he pulled his hand away when he had finished coughing, and his eyes peered down into his hand. Eyebrows raising curiously when he spots a few small blue forget-me-nots laying in his palm.

He’s heard of this before. Hanahaki disease. A disease that makes someone cough up flowers due to unrequited love.

A silly thing, he thinks. There is no one that he feels that way toward.

He finds his way to the nearest bathroom to wash his hands and convinces himself that since he and a friend were roaming around in a garden, he must have accidentally swallowed some flowers there.

He’s twelve when he’s sitting on his bed, glancing down at a child sleeping on the floor nearby. The child’s parents had gone on a trip, leaving him and his sister alone for a week.

Can’t he stay with us? He has nowhere else to go, and no one to look after him–

No. We’re not babysitters. And I don’t see why you feel the need to hang out with him–

–He’s my friend!

That does not mean that he has any right staying with us, which he will not be.

Except that he was. At least during the night. Jumin had made sure that the boy had a somewhat comfortable place to rest his head.

And so the boy wouldn’t be alone.

The heir takes a breath before he succumbs to a coughing fit so sudden that he’s unable to cover his mouth quick enough, and a few forget-me-nots sputter from his mouth and onto his lap.

“…Jumin?” the boy on the floor says groggily.

To which Jumin quickly reaches behind him to grab a pillow so he can stifle the sound.

“…Jumin….are you okay?”

It takes him a few moments to respond to the inquiry, as he is busy swallowing in order to coat his throat and to refrain from coughing more.

“Y–Yeah, Jihyun. I’m okay…. Just need water.” He’s quick on his feet when he needs to be; covering up his actions with a lie. He makes a note to clean up the strange flowers before sunrise, since he doesn’t want anyone, let alone Jihyun, to know.

“…Go back to sleep.”

Years later, he’s sixteen and he doesn’t remember the last time he felt the need to cough so strongly. He’d just finished saying goodbye to Jihyun on the phone when it happens.

Only this time it feels as though he cannot catch an adequate breath as he coughs and spits out the flowers.

He doesn’t understand it. The attacks are few and far between, and he doesn’t know what triggers it. Each time has been different.

This time he had called his friend to inform him that he was going abroad for a while for school. He hoped that, in the future, he would have the chance to go to University outside of Seoul.

And when an opportunity presented itself for Jumin to take a trip with his school for learning purposes, he felt as though it would be a good place to start – a chance to see if there was a school that captured his interest.

He thought it much better than just researching and going by hearsay.

Jihyun sounded quite sad to hear the news, but sounded thankful when Jumin said he wouldn’t be gone long; that he’d certainly keep in touch, and that he would tell him when he returned.

And the heir was sure that the conversation ended on a good note – they both seemed to be okay with this.

However, for some reason, an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of Jumin’s stomach as he reaches for his throat. As he tries to breathe…

It takes a bit of time until he’s able to relaxed, and he’s slumped back against the wall. His chest heaving as he takes full, deep breaths after what feels like a million small ones.

His floor is a random array of forget-me-nots, and he sputters some more out before his head tilts upward and against the wall – his fingers curling into fists at his side.

When he’s in his early twenties, he forgets all about the strange flowers, as it had been yet another stretch of time when he found himself not coughing anything up.

Hell, he hadn’t even caught a cold in that stretch of time. He was as fit as a fiddle; as healthy as ever.

Yet he notices that Jihyun seems different. More silent than usual; his mind is elsewhere.

“Are you alright?” Jumin asks.

“Yes. I’m fine.” Silence falls between them until… “I think I’m in love.”

The heir cocks his head to the side and looks at his friend. “Oh? How do you know?”

“I…. I have a disease, Jumin. Hanahaki disease. Have you heard of it before?”

He’s quick to blurt out, “No. I haven’t.” and his fingers fiddle with one of the cuffs of his sleeve. Half afraid of what his friend is going to say, but he would be damned if he knew why.

“Well. It’s a disease where you cough up flowers due to unrequited love…”

“…Is there a cure?”

“Yes.” Jihyun nods. “Either the one you love reciprocates your feelings, or you get surgery to remove the flowers.”

“I see.” Jumin knew the first cure, but not the second. Not that he had the disease – oh no. There was no way. Whatever he had (that clearly wasn’t affecting him anymore, he thinks) was something else entirely. “So… who is the lucky person?”

“Ah. Her name’s Rika. She’s very nice. I think you’d like her. I should introduce you two sometime.”

As he listens to Jihyun, Jumin feels a sensation in his mouth – close to his molars and the sides of his cheeks – and he swallows repeatedly. He breathes slowly through his nose as he tries to make the feeling go away.

He feels like he is going to be ill, and feels like he’s burning up.

Jihyun notices the change in the atmosphere, and he glances in his direction. “You don’t look too good. Are you alright?” He shifts a little and reaches out to him. “Here let me–”

“–No!” Jumin all but shouts, which triggers him to cough and sputter. He moves quickly away from the other’s outstretched hand and stands up, swaying as he does. He covers his mouth as he begins to cough more, and he shakes his head back and forth repeatedly in an attempt to not allow the flowers to escape from his mouth and, in turn, having them seen.

So he tries to swallow. once. twice. hoping to consume the flowers that he’s coughed up. And he turns on his heel so his friend cannot see that he’s trying so desperately not to choke on the flowers that are caught in his throat.

“Jumin–!” Jihyun says in a tone unlike any he has heard. He sounds concerned. Panicked.

And over the thrum in Jumin’s ears, he can hear rustling as if the other is moving.

Which he was and he had because the next thing the heir knows is there’s a hand on his shoulder and his flinching and moving away from the touch.

Suddenly, he hears Jihyun coughing and gagging and Jumin doesn’t understand why.

…Perhaps whatever he had, was, in fact, something so rare and contagious and now Jihyun caught it. With that thought in his muddled mind, he muffles an excuse to leave.

But not before catching the other leaning over, hands resting upon his knees, and almost violently coughing up a pink dog rose that seems to fall to the ground as if it’s heavier than what it should be.

Jihyun wipes his mouth as he takes a few deep breaths and turns his head in Jumin’s direction…

only to find him gone.

It’s been a week since, and Jumin is bedridden. Feverish, weak, and his bed is an explosion of those blue forget-me-nots that he cannot seem to stop coughing up.

What other sort of illness could make one cough up flowers to the point where it would feel as though their lungs were on fire and the weight of their chest was crushing them and breathing was the most laborious and tiring thing they had to do?

Now is the time that he wishes he had looked into it sooner. There must be a reasonable explanation for this. …Something other than the known disease, of course.

Instead, he groans weakly, and closes his eyes tighter as he kicks off the sheet on top of him – sending the forget-me-nots resting upon it flying into the air and floating back down on top of, and around, him.

The sunlight filtering into his room is too much. The heat – is it cranked? is it off? he cannot remember – makes him feel as though he’s standing in front of a fire. It couldn’t be his body temperature as Jumin is, typically, cold by nature; he’s always had a low body temperature and, as such, been one to become cold rather easily.

However, even kicking off the sheet isn’t enough for him to cool down. If anything, he feels worse.

He attempts to sleep – he attempts to do anything to help him get through this. Although, most of the time, his feverish dreams lead him down memory lane… of the events that had happened a week ago… when all he wants to do is forget about them.

How could he allow himself to become so ill that he would start coughing up the damn flowers in front of his friend?

In hindsight, he should have made sure that he was healthy enough to spend some time with Jihyun.

Because if he was healthy then, he certainly wouldn’t be bedridden right now.

It’s another week and he’s feeling a bit better than before. He’s no longer laying helpless among what feels like a garden of forget-me-nots. He’s even vacuumed most of them up –

Though it was rather concerning to see that some of them were spotted red.

Jumin doesn’t know what that means and does not care to venture too far down that path.

All he knows is that he can breathe a little easier. He’s out of bed. And he hasn’t thought about what had happened prior to this day.

In fact, he had managed to repress any and all feeling that he had before this okay feeling he was now left with. A big accomplishment, he believes.

He’d much rather feel this than that.

This state of being has also made it so he hasn’t spoken to Jihyun since the incident. Which, truth be told, probably wasn’t such a bad thing. With a wince, he believes it better this way. The other would have much more time to spend with the woman he’s falling in love with–

–The threat of a cough has Jumin’s train of thought changing immediately.

Although he isn’t one hundred percent better, he feels the best course of action would be to dive into his work. As a new employee of C&R International, he will do what he can to make his father proud.

He’d do anything to keep his mind occupied. His feelings and emotions under control.

The coughing at bay.

About a month later, Jumin is invited to go out with Jihyun and his now girlfriend, Rika. As much as he’d prefer to stay home and continue his work, he agrees, albeit after much convincing from his friend.

He watches their interactions – her display of affection that Jihyun seems to shy away from – (or was that just Jumin’s imagination?) – because he’s a rather private person and the heir wants to tell her to stop being rude and inconsiderate…

On the other hand, this is their first meeting, and perhaps he’s judging her a bit too hard, too fast. With his experiences with women, it’s nothing new; he’s always been rather judgmental toward them… mostly because all they’ve ever wanted was his title, status, and wealth.

That’s not to say that she’s like those he’s encountered before, but he still can’t help but be weary of her. As such, he makes sure to keep an eye and an ear on her. All the while convincing himself that it’s for his own sake – not for anyone else’s.

…With his hands in his jacket pockets, he trails behind them. Silent. Observant.

Yet when Rika turns her head to look at him over her shoulder, there’s something about the look in her eyes that makes him falter slightly. “I heard you and V have been friends for a very long time!“ She says. "It’s nice to finally meet you, Jumin! V talks about you a lot!”

Her voice grates on his ears a bit. It’s saccharine – and he’s never been particularly fond of sweets.

“Funny. I haven’t heard all that much about you.” oh, he doesn’t mean to quip, but the words are out much faster than he can think not to verbalize it.

And he knows how rude it was to say, and he isn’t at all surprised when she stops in her tracks, grabbing onto Jihyun to make sure that he stops right along with her.

Jumin’s eyes flick from the young woman to the man at her side and back again. And there’s a sinking feeling in his stomach – a heaviness to his chest that he can’t explain.

“Really?” Rika pouts, turning her attention to Jihyun. “You haven’t said anything about me?”

“He told me you were nice,” Jumin responds.

She seems pleased with that, for she smiles a little. “Oh, well… I try to be. The world would be a better place if we all treated one another with love and care. Without hate fueling our hearts.” and she leans up against her boyfriend a little, nuzzling her head against him. “Isn’t that right, V?”

He nods in return, a smile curving his own lips as he glances down at her.

The velvety feeling in the back of Jumin’s throat is sudden and he spits a few forget-me-nots toward the couple.

“Jumin!? What’s going on?” Jihyun asks, reaching out toward his friend. “Talk to me!”

Defensively, Jumin takes a few steps back… his elbow covering his mouth as he hunches over. Willing himself to stop coughing and to breathe through this.

“Is he sick?” Rika inquires, looking at Jumin, watching his movements.

“I don’t think so.” Jihyun replies. His concern is evident in his voice and etched on his face. “Jumin… –!”

The heir takes in a gasping breath and manages to say, “I must go…” before turning on his heel.

Rika frowns as she looks down at the small flowers that have fallen at her feet. She takes in the delicateness of them… the softness… their shade of blue.

And she sees red.

#juminv #vumin #mystic messenger #mystic messenger jumin #mystic messenger v #hanahaki au #mysme #jumin x v #fanfiction #juni writes

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morfanerina · 2 years

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Lost and Found (and Lost again) - 2/3

Six-eared Macaque was always a wanderer, never managing to quite keep to one place. There was too much to see from what he could hear and staying for too long kept him antsy. He needed to move, as the wind from which he was born did.

Then he meets a little Stone Monkey.

–.—-.–

A life when Macaque becomes the main caretaker of a stubborn stone born Monkey. From their first meeting to the beginning of the Journey to the West.

CW: Some blood and (not really descriptive but to be safe) gore, Animal Death. Child kidnapping.

Chapter 2 of 3

Chapter 1/Chapter 3

Also on AO3

The town closest to FlowerFruit Mountain took two days to reach. On the way, Macaque saw no yaoguai or beast, the opposite from when he had arrived at the mountain, from the other side. He heard the birds chirping and the wind rustling the leaves, but no bigger sized animal was present. A couple of rabbits ran from him and that was it for anything bigger than a rat.

The town was much like many others, if bustling with more rough looking humans than others. The glamor and cloak let him hide between them as just a traveler, barely receiving more than an assessing glance from a couple of merchants. He quickly found an inn to rest in, thankful he had ‘found’ some coins a ways back that could be used in this place.

“Are you here for the merchants' fair?” a young woman asked as she looked for the room key. Questioning her about it, she explained quickly “It is filled with rare ingredients and specimens from mystical mountains. Some even argue that they got celestial items! It starts tomorrow if you wish to visit sir. It is quite an event here.” with that, she gave him the key with a smile, turning to the next client, another rough looking human carrying a few bags that smelled like magic and blood.

The urge to skip town increased with every moment, as his glamored ears started to recognize conversations of these supposed merchants, about ingredients and animals that tomorrow would be strung into a market. He could feel the heavy magic as disguised yaoguai entered the town, chittering between themselves about business deals and poisons, the underlings of the nearby yaoguai kings gathering information about what the others want and may get and of possible plots.

Too many dangerous people in one place, and more were to come if what he was hearing was true. He should make his escape, get some distance between this town and himself before anyone noticed he wasn’t human..

Your six ears make you a beautiful spy, did you know? You should be thankful I took you before those hunters could, you would sell very well..

He heard beasts growling and squawking. There were whimpers and howls from outside the town, just far enough to not bother the residents. Some of the merchants cursed and yelled for them to shut up and a few yelps, far too sapient for a mindless animal, answered them.

He stayed for the market.

-:::-:::-

The stands occupied the main and largest street, in an almost orderly fashion. Some had cages with prowling tigers and a variety of pheasants disguised as phoenixes, others boasted a variety of mystical items such as phoenix feathers and dragon blood. Near the alleys, a few more discrete ones boasted the same, but magic and glamor showed these ones were true, illegal in all the ways and hidden in plain sight from those without magic. Farther from the rest, there were more cages, and these were the ones Macaques was discreetly looking at. Glamored to look like normal beasts, several of the cages were filled with mystical beings, including a few yaoguai, young and old. The slave trade right beneath the normal populace disgusted him and made him carefully adjust the hood so none could tell he was not as human as he looked at first glance.

Macaque tried to pretend he was not focusing on one specific group, but it was difficult. A few normal monkeys were huddled in a couple of cages. They were dressed in colorful rags, to both stand out and make sure they couldn’t escape without being noticed. The stand behind them proudly displayed pelts of several beings, including of different monkeys. A gray gibbon pelt made his stomach twist, though logically the color was lighter than the elder was ‘Hunters’ he snarled in his head. These ones were yaoguai, disguised as three human brothers and one sister, who smiled seductively to interested buyers. No customer yet had paid more than a glance at the animal cages but he knew eventually, one buyer would.

He hated getting involved, but he hated these types of hunters more, especially as he heard them whisper that a few of their squad were trying to get more monkeys at the nearby mountain, yaoguai even. They were far too informed of the different factions for it to be casual, and Macaque wondered where they got all that information about FlowerFruit mountain’s inhabitants… unless…

“There’s this one with beautiful golden fur,” one of them suddenly said to the ‘sister’ “I saw it playing with the rest. If we get it, we can sell it for triple the amount we usually do just for the pelt.”

“But is it intelligent? If it is, a few yaoguai lords have been looking for a pretty thing to be their servant,” another ‘brother’ asked, writing something down.

“Maybe, it was with that other monkey. The one with six ears,” the third one commented. Macaque tensed, freezing in place “Too bad it seemed to disappear, another one that we could get a pretty penny from.”

The first one snorted “It was too old to be trained anyway, It would be more work than it was worth. The golden one was young, I told the rest of the gang to focus on it and the other young ones, Jùn Dé agreed. The rest, they could skin them for all I care. Too much fight in them.”

He had heard enough. The way the stand and cages were displayed meant they were in the shadows during this time of the day, and Macaque didn’t try to hide his glee when he summoned some of his own shadows. First, the cages of the monkeys and all other beasts nearby, mystical or not, were opened, allowing a variety of beasts to be released. Then, he released his hold on his shadows and let them start their own brand of chaos. Soon, there were yells all around him and he walked into a dark alley, empty of anyone but darkness, and breathed deeply. He didn’t know his eyes glowed purple as he entered a shadow portal to the town’s entrance, but the human who had just entered it to hide certainly did.

-:::-:::-

Shadow portals were something he still wasn’t used to taking for longer distances. It wasn’t even noon, so no deep shadows were available for him to jump into anyway, but he wished he could. He wondered, as he ran, why he was doing this. These were just one of several troupes and places he had passed through. Others had been kind, if a bit standoffish, with a few even teaching him a few extra tricks to help his survival. He had even been asked to babysit cubs. Occasionally, some of these had been destroyed days if not weeks after he stayed there, him hearing from the grapevine about it.

He was no hero, so why was he going there?

The monkey slowed down, from tiredness and his thoughts, a few birds chirping overhead as he stopped to look blankly at the ground. ‘You released a few monkeys, you already did enough,’ a part of him, the part that always tried to make him do the safe action, crooned ‘You did more than enough, more than you were obligated to. Anymore is just calling attention to yourself.’

A flash of Stone Monkey, golden fur and eyes trying to get at his ears, in his mind shut it up ‘I can stop them, I know their plans. Just six more yaoguai,’ he thought ‘it will be quick.’

He stayed in place just long enough to take a drink from the plum wine ‘For the days life is a headache.’ the other had said ‘I think this counts.’

He started his way again.

-:::-:::-

It was silent when Macaque arrived, a day and a half later. It was three hours to night, and no signs of any monkeys were around the nests. If he had to guess, the troupe had scattered when the hunters arrived and the closest yaoguai factions had hid around to observe them.

Unfurling his ears from his glamor, he concentrated in hearing. Where before the yaoguai had been close by, now it was silent. Even the smaller animals seemed to be silent, with no phoenix cry of warning for the danger the mountain was in. His ears twitched as he tried to hear farther away, until he managed to hear the hunters congratulating themselves into a great capture. A few whimpers were nearby.

Macaque cursed but continued listening around. A familiar voice, the gray yaoguai that had given him his provisions, took his attention, as he hissed and groaned, being berated by another unknown voice, apparently helping with his injuries. The small faction the elder and this monkey were a part of was dissolved, the few members left either killed by the hunters or too injured to fight against the enemy factions that were ready to strike ‘Pathetic, needing hunters to get the upper hand’. At least, Macaque felt assured that the other didn’t seem to be in danger, his caretaker apparently willing to take him under her metaphoric wing. Allied faction most likely.

Good. Now he had a cub to save and a few hunters to get rid of.

-:::-:::-

The group of four was next to the stream where he and the cub had been attacked by the tiger. As the night darkened, the hunters made a fire in the natural clearing. One of them checked the restraints in the six cubs they had captured.

Stone Monkey was hissing, golden eyes glinting dangerously. Maybe that was why he was separated from the rest and closer to the fire, one of the hunters laughing as he pulled the rope restraining the cub and making him fall to the side with an oof, squirming.

Macaque observed them, hidden between the branches of a tree. His ears twitched and he turned as nearby, another monkey settled in another tree close by. He carefully jumped to where the other was, not wanting interference before he got a good plan, and found himself next to the female yaoguai he had talked to the other day, glaring into the group and reeking of blood. Even with the growing darkness he could see how her fur was matted in it, though he couldn’t see that many injuries. The cloak was nowhere to be seen.

Dark eyes turned to him then and she gave an aggressive smile, but didn’t attack “Betrayal has its price,” she whispered. Macaque nodded, having suspected one of the factions of having given too much information to outsiders. If he had to guess, the yaoguai took upon herself to be the traitor’s executioner the blood a sign for proof of what she did. She studied him and whatever she saw was enough for her to nod back and turn her attention again to the cubs. The hunters were cheery as night closed in, one jeering at the huddling group of whimpering cubs (yaoguai, he realized, as the yaoguai merchants had said) about several of their future living arrangements. If they were to stay living.

Their guard was down, this far away from any known territory and he just barely stopped the other yaoguai from jumping and trying to tear their throats out, gripping her tightly and pushing her closer to the tree trunk, carefully using his shadows for a better cover. One of his hands covered her mouth and he could tell she was trembling with anger until she heard what made him move and froze.

The final two hunters from the group walked underneath them to the campfire, being loudly greeted by the rest. The smell of blood was thicker, the reason for it was the variety of pelts each had acquired. Most were visibly stained but the hunters seemed satisfied. Sadistically, they decided to put the pelts in display and jeered at the cubs, threatening them if they didn't behave, they would be next. His companion’s chest started rumbling and she gripped his arms strongly, claws prickling him as she looked at each of the seven pelts they displayed, resisting the urge to jump in.

He wondered if she recognized any of them.

“We need a plan,” he hissed.

She glared at him and hissed back “We go and eviscerate them.”

“Yes, because us going alone against a hunter gang with hostages is sure to go well,” he replied sarcastically. Admittedly, he might be able to but… a tendril of shadow reminded him he was still hiding them and he released her from his hold, knowing they should be hidden enough. He looked at her again, focusing on the blood,and wondering “How stealthy are you?”

She considered him before answering “One of the best in FlowerFruit mountain,” she didn’t sound like she was boasting, she was telling a fact “Why?”

-:::-:::-

It was a well paying job but the whimpering got tiring after a while “Shut it brats,” Ᾱn growled and was immediately rewarded by the group shushing and stifling themselves. The golden cub next to him huffed and he smiled as he elbowed him strongly in the belly. A surprised whine escaped the monkey and Ᾱn patronizingly asked “Did you want something, cub?” The monkey glared at him with pained tears in his unusual golden eyes, but broke eye contact soon enough, trying to curl himself into a protective ball.

“Stop trying to ruin our merchandise,” Jùn Dé warned. Ᾱn rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything. Ᾱn had muscle, but nothing like the current boss, who commanded the youngest element of the group to try to catch something to eat in the stream.

There was a rustle of leaves from the nearby trees and he looked over. He swore he saw glowing eyes. Tensing, he got up “Something’s in the trees,” he said. The gang looked at him, and then the trees.

“You sure you haven’t drank too much?” the member closest to the captive group laughed, and he snarled, stopping when he noticed the light reaching less space. Did the fire get dimmer?

Jùn Dé seemed to take his warning more seriously “You two,” he pointed to the two admiring the pelts “Go see if there’s someone observing us,” he ordered. The duo scowled, but obeyed, grabbing a torch from their supplies and lighting it.

They quickly disappeared out of sight, into the dark shadows but soon returned, snickering.

“Probably a bird,” one of them mocked and sat next to the fire, leaving his companion at the edge “Hey, what are you doing over there?”

“Could have sworn I heard something right now.”

“You too? Aw, you getting scared? Like Ᾱn?”

“Oh, shut your-” and the yaoguai screamed as he was suddenly dragged into the darkness.

The sudden silence deafened the group, staring at where the hunter had been. The dark seemed to solidify.

Ᾱn grabbed a torch, lit it, and threw it into the darkness. The light quickly succumbed and the dark almost seemed to writhe for the glimpse of the light flickering. The golden cub breathed sharply making Ᾱn and Jùn Dé look at him, but the fire flickered. The other cubs, farther from the fire, whimpered, scooting away from the darkness awkwardly.

The hunters armed themselves, the first to mock Ᾱn immediately getting closer to the fire and leaving the cubs vulnerable. Jùn Dé lit a torch.

From the stream a splash was heard and then a gurgle. Ᾱn recognised another element was lost but turned and still saw nothing but darkness and their partner floating away, face down. Notably, the stream was visible as normal, the encroaching darkness not as prominent, as if it was a normal night.

“Everyone, get a torch,” Jùn Dé ordered and the other two scrambled, almost burning themselves in their eagerness to get closer to the light. Rolling his eyes at their cowardliness, he looked at their captives and locked eyes with an adult monkey cutting the ropes, releasing the last of the suspiciously silent cubs. She cursed loudly and pushed the children into the darkness, the knife in her hands being thrown at him as a distraction. He dodged and ran to her, furious at losing most of his shipment but the other hid inside the shadows that then lashed out at him - and his crew if the cursing from them were anything to go by. The campfire light flickered again and dimmed, and he turned to see their remaining cub kicking dirt into it. Snarling, he picked it up by the scruff and roughly shook it as punishment.

“Boss, c’mere,” Ᾱn called “We can get away following the stream,”

Not seeing any other options to get away from the ambush, he held the child tightly and ran to his partner, only giving a glance to the pale faces of the others yelling at them for help right as the shadows took one and the female yaoguai stabbed the other in the back, a snarl visible on her muzzle as she glared at him.

A pity, it was hard to get men as cheap as those.

The two remaining hunters ran, the unnatural darkness giving way to one of a normal night. They could hear a pursuer and feel magic trying to get to them, but now that they had an idea of the trick, they could more easily dodge it. Their captive was their ticket to staying alive so Jùn Dé squeezed him tightly when it started to fight his hold, to the point of the child starting to struggle to breathe. They needed shelter, somewhere they could ambush so they entered the trees once they noticed their pursuer had lost enough ground, and saw a cave. The one torch they had was surprisingly still lit so they could see it fairly well. It was a dark cave, with luck they could hide and regroup before counter attacking and getting some extra pelts.

It was Ᾱn that made the fatal mistake, the first to step into the cave. Immediately, the shadows striked, and there was barely any time for him to scream before all that was left of him was pieces.

Jùn Dé stopped in time, the torch making the darkness shrink from him just enough that both him and the cub escaped the same fate. Turning, he saw a cloaked figure a few meters away, the oppressing shadows twisting at its feet. “Get back!” he ordered and, making a gamble, grabbed the cub’s scruff again and dangled it near to the cave’s mouth, carefully using his other arm to make sure the torch's light kept the darkness away, so the cub wouldn’t be grabbed. He was rewarded by a step back and a startled cry from the other, who quickly froze his position. He smirked “Show me your face and maybe I won’t throw it inside,” the figure paused, and then revealed his face. Six ears were the most obvious characteristic, and he recognized immediately the description of his captive’s companion. His smile grew, realizing the position he was in, in possession of the being that could be used to control such an unusual yaoguai, with his six ears and deadly magic.

As Jùn Dé debated to himself how to proceed, Macaque’s attention was on the struggling Stone Monkey, unsure whether to demand him to stop struggling or not. Then, the cub stopped and looked down. He followed his line of sight.

Oh. Seems the hunter made a mistake.

Quickly, he used the shadow created by the torch light and the hunter’s own arm to connect with the cave’s darkness and shadow-jumped in their direction, startling the other in letting go of his hostage.

It didn’t matter, the action wouldn’t save him now.

The hunter’s leg was pulled violently into the cave and, like his companion, there was barely any time for him to scream, not even the torch’s light managing to save him. Macaque’s jump was true and he picked the cub before he was snatched by any shadow, and fell back, away from the cave’s mouth, losing his breath when his back hit the ground, but quickly scooting farther back.

Both monkeys stared at the shadows writhing, until they spewed out the torch. This time, no corpse was left there on display.

When Macaque looked at the cub, he found himself looking into wide teary eyes, silent sobs making him shake as the adrenaline started to pass. Cursing, he cut off the restraints and then tried to calm the cub until the other grabbed his fur almost painfully and hid his face. Hiding his wince, he tried to comfort him while walking back to the meeting spot he and the other yaoguai had decided on when planning their sort of successful plan.

Guess the cub wasn’t the only one attached.

-:::-:::-

The gray yaoguai gaped at Macaque as he appeared with the kidnapped cubs and another yaoguai. The female monkey, fur still matted with blood, explained to the elder about the execution by her own hand of her own leader for the betrayal of using hunters to get the upper hand, and how she had teamed with the young one (Macaque muttered he wasn’t that young, being heard only by Stone Monkey who hid his trembling smile by smothering his face on the other’s neck) to rescue the cubs.

“There were several casualties we could not save.” she finished mournfully. The elder studied the group, the cubs already being swiped away by other yaoguai for medicine. The only exception was the golden cub in the Six ears’ arms, the famous Stone Monkey they had heard whispers about for a couple of weeks now.

“And the hunters?” they questioned.

“Gone. Most of the corpses can still be seen.” the female yaoguai answered.

“Most?” they wondered, looking at Six ears when the female didn't explain.

“There were… events,” Six ears said “I would recommend not going near caves in that area for a while.” the cub snorted and the darker monkey twitched “Strongly recommend.” he stressed. The female yaoguai seemed as confused as the rest of them and the elder decided to let it go, for now. It was early morning and the three monkeys in front of them had nothing to eat for hours. The gray yaoguai they had rescued the afternoon before seemed to recognize Six ears so they suggested they rest together. The female yaoguai followed hesitantly when they gestured for her to do so.

They supposed they could accept the strange trio. Or turn them away. By the female’s own admittance, she had murdered her leader, even if because of his own lack of honor. On the other hand, they had just saved several cubs by themselves, from a group of hunters, something not every young monkey could say about themselves.

Better to keep them close as allies than as enemies, the elder decided. Now they just needed to give the female a name. After all, such an individual should be remembered by a proper name.

They were thinking Ma.

-:::-:::-

In between sleeping and eating and the now known as Ma getting an officially recognized name in the mountain (with subsequent celebration), it took a few days for Macaque and Stone Monkey to get a few moments to talk alone. Though always together, the cub had barely said a word, only clinging fiercely to the older monkey when he made to step away for a while.

Grey, as Macaque started calling the gray gibbon yaoguai that gave the elder gibbon’s supplies, had admitted to him the cub was more lively now than after he left, where he just laid down on a tree branch, depressed. It had been Grey who had managed to convince the cub to go to play with others near the main area, and it had been there that the attack centered. Most had dispersed but the hunters had injured many and killed others quickly and efficiently. Grey himself had slowly healing scars on his chest and survived probably because he had been knocked unconscious and his fur was rather bland. Unfortunately, it meant Stone Monkey had been taken on his watch, and the guilt was strong, even as the cub himself didn't blame the other and even told him off for being silly to think that.

Even when they managed to be alone, the cub barely spoke, though his clinginess lessened with time as he saw Macaque was going nowhere..

More time passed, Macaque getting used to a routine in a community again. He tried to ignore the sounds the wind brought, the way his feet sometimes wanted to run from this place, his magic whispering for adventure and new knowledge in the world. He tried to ignore the suffocation he felt being in one place for such a long time.

The day the elder suggested Macaque to be a courier for the message they had written to the Demon King of Confusion, he had hesitated to accept. It would be a week, less if he felt like using portals.

Ma was the one to convince him. In her own way. “It was Stone Monkey’s idea,” she had blurted, and ignored the squeak from said cub she was grooming (having decided Macaque’s own grooming attempts were lackluster) “He knows you are restless so he asked me to suggest it to the elder. You should go, get some gifts when you come back. It would do you both good.”

She was right, as Macaque was having the displeasure to discover was a common occurrence. Stone Monkey had run to him when he returned, clingy for a few days, but as he went for other small missions, the less nervous Stone Monkey was every time he went away and the less antsy he himself was.

If it wasn’t for the politics’ it would be perfect, but he supposed nothing was perfect. At least the elder themselves pretended to give him his liberty and only tried to manipulate Stone Monkey when he was alone, attempting to gain any advantage in the faction fight of the mountain by gaining the favor of the Stone born monkey. Which, if Grey and Ma were to be believed, as well as his ever attentive hearing, was basically never.

Macaque wondered if the FlowerFruit monkey inhabitants would ever join together under a single ruler.

#lmk #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #monkie kid fic #fic #my fic #fanfiction #sun wukong #six eared macaque #lmk six eared macaque #lmk sun wukong

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drawing-way-outside-the-lines · 2 years

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➖ Mature content, 18+ ➖ check the trigger tags each time ➖

Chapter 31 - Why are you in my kitchen?

Episode 4. Andy: *He was sitting on Dalton's bed smoking a cig, about to kill it as Dalton walked into the room* Sorry, I thought I could quickly smoke, then open the window before you would be back! Dalton: No no! Don't kill that! *he quickly kicked the door close with his foot and walked towards Andy, handing him one of the glasses, then quickly grabbed the cig with his free hand, taking a drag* and please for the love of God don't open the window unless you want me to turn into a snowman! I still haven't gotten warm! Besides, I do smoke sometimes, remember? So it really doesn't bother me at all. Andy: *He nodded soft* Okay Dalton: You can smoke as much as you like in here, it's cool... so don't feel like you have to rush another time, okay? Andy: *He nodded soft, then nodded at the wine glass in his hand* And were drinking now, I take it? Dalton: Yeah *he chuckled lightly and poured some wine in Andy's glass* Malou insists you stay for dinner... if you don't have other plans of course... and we both insist you stay the whole evening, or at least parts of it, again, if you don't have- Andy: I guess I don't *he frowned soft* I was supposed to hang out with Adrian.. but he got... occupied with Raven, I suppose? Dalton: Oh? *he looked curious at Andy* Are they a thing? Andy: *He shrugged lightly* who knows? *he chuckled hoarsely and sipped his wine... just more alone time for me then I suppose... a-lonely time *he sighed soft* Dalton: Not tonight *he poured wine in his own glass, clinking it against Andy's as a small cheers* we got movies and music, and lots of alcohol... what do you say? You wanna stay? Andy: *He chuckled lightly* Yeah, okay... you convinced me. *He took a quick sip of his glass, I'll just make a quick call back home, so they know not to expect me. Dalton: *He nodded agreeing* want me to give you some privacy? Andy: No no *he smiled soft and fumbled to get his phone from his pocket* it's just a short call to inform them, nothing special. Dalton: Okay *he sipped his glass, then sat down in bed and placed the bottle on the floor, observing Andy with a soft smile* I'm not pressuring you to stay, right?

Andy: No *he smiled soft* I want to *he answered in a more tender, longing tone, feeling a strong urge to lean his head on Dalton's shoulder. But instead he quickly dialed Evan's number and put the call on speaker, waiting for him to pick up*

Evan: *He picked up on the 2nd ring* Hey Andy! *his voice sounding cheerful and warm*

Andy: Hey! You're on speaker phone...

Evan: Oh, okay? .... what's up?

Andy: I'm at Malou and Dalton's place, I was supposed to hang out at Adrian's tonight, but he got busy with more important stuff, so uh, I was invited to eat and stay here for the night instead.

Evan: ..... okay..... sure.....

Andy: Okay, that was all *he smiled soft at Dalton*

Evan: .... did you talk with Sam?

Andy: *He frowned soft* No, but I guess you did...

Evan: Yes, about 20 minutes ago... I know what he said wasn't very nice but he didn't mean it the way it came out.

Andy: *He sighed soft* .... I know

Evan: I think it's important that he knows as well, Andy, he's really beating himself up over it.

Andy: *He sighed deeper this time* Fine... I'll give him a call.

Evan: Thank you *his voice sounded even warmer now* ..... so you'll be out all night?

Andy: Yeah...

Evan: Okay, I'll pass the info to Congo as well, have fun!

Andy: Thanks! I Love you! *he barely noticed he was looking at Dalton as he said it*

Evan: I love you too, Andy. I'll see you tomorrow.

Andy: Yeah, see you tomorrow! *as he hung up, he quickly sipped his glass then sighed again* I better call Sam

Dalton: *He nodded agreeing* I think that's the right thing to do, yes.... do you want privacy for that?

Andy: No... no... please stay... it actually helps

Dalton: It helps? *he smiled soft and curious*

Andy: Yeah... you uhm.... have a calming effect on me

Dalton: *He smiled a bit wider* I do?

Andy: Yeah *he chuckled lightly, a teeny blush creeping over his nose bridge, so he quickly picked his phone back up and dialed Sam's number*

Sam: *He picked up at first ring* Dad! I'm so glad you called, I'm so sorry for what I said, it was completely over the line, insensitive and uncalled for, and I of course didn't mean it the way it came out!

Andy: Sam... I know.. it's okay, we're good *he said in a soft voice*

Sam: .... *he sighed relieved* are you sure?

Andy: Yeah, totally, I'm sorry I left so fast, it's just, I screwed up again, and you're right, I shouldn't just grab whatever, and I was just so annoyed with myself, so when you said what you said, it stung more than I could handle, and well... *he shrugged lightly* I just wanna forget about it please....

Sam: Yes, of course!

Andy: It never happened!

Sam: *He chuckled lightly* Thank you, dad. Just please tell me you're okay...?

Andy: Mhm... I'm okay...I'm at Dalton and Malou's house, I'm staying for the night... so yeah, if Adrian returns at some point, please inform him his car is safely parked here.

Sam: Okay, I'll do that.

Andy: Did you hear anything more from Ronan?

Sam: Yes, he called about 10 minutes ago to inform me they are in fact hot and heavy in the basement *he grunted softly*

Andy: *He couldn't help but chuckle*

Sam: Please don't encourage it, Dad... you know Adrian is going to regret this when he comes to his senses.

Andy: We don't know that... Raven has feelings for Adrian, who's not to say Adrian might-

Sam: No, that's impossible, he can barely stand being around him!

Andy: yet he slept at Adrian's last night... and I'm sure they at the very least cuddled, judging by the note that is in Adrian's garbage from lover boy!

Sam: ......... you're not going to make me go through his garbage. If he has feelings for Raven, I'm sure he will tell in his own time. And I don't want to sit and speculate anymore than we already have. It's not fair. It should be their business till they decide to share, if ever.

Andy: Party pooper!

Sam: *he couldn't help but chuckle* Anyway, I'm staying here till they return, whenever that might be.

Andy: Okay... give me a call or an sms when they do.

Sam: Of course... have fun with Malou and Dalton!

Andy: I will... take care over there

Sam: I will, I love you dad.

Andy: I love you too, Sam. *As he hung up, he smiled soft at Dalton* All good. Everything should be taken care of now.

Dalton: *He smiled lightly and placed a hand just above Andy's knee, giving him a soft squeeze* That was sweet of you, I'm sure his evening will be a lot lighter now.

Andy: *He nodded soft, observing Dalton's hand on his leg, fighting the urge to grab his hand and squeeze it* I hope.... gawd I hope!

Dalton: .... are we still talking about Sam?

Andy: *He quickly grabbed his wineglass and finished the rest in one big mouthful* Yeah!

Dalton: Okay *he equally finished his own glass, then grabbed the wine bottle, filling the both of them again* Cheers!

Andy: Cheers!

*They talked loosely about this and that, till dinner was ready, then they all 3 ate in the kitchen by the dining table, having lots of fun sharing stories and good food, each enjoying a glass of wine. The talking turned more and more fun, one glass turned to another, and suddenly hours had passed by, and music had gotten turned on, and they were all enjoying some of their favorite songs. The mood was high, and they all 3 enjoyed the evening to the fullest. It was about past midnight when everyone was drunkenly dancing around the living room, shouting loudly to the music and the worries of the world seemed far away*

Dalton: *He stopped dancing all of a sudden, chuckling warmly* Sorry, I gotta go pee! *he gestured towards the kitchen bathroom and tried his best to walk straight as he headed in the direction*

Andy: *He chuckled hoarsely, observing the drunk Dalton while still jumping around*

Malou: What?!? *she yelled over the music*

Andy: He's sooo drunk!

Malou: He's not THAT drunk!

Andy: You didn't see how he walks?

Malou: Well you're drunk too!

Andy: YOU'RE drunk too *he pointed his tongue at her*

Malou: *She burst out in a loud laughter, grabbing his hands, then started dancing together with him, a bit closer*

Dalton: *As he rejoined the living room, he stopped in the doorway for a moment, observing the two of them. He couldn't help but smile. They were both incredible people, different... a fresh breath of air! He knew all too well you had to look far to find people like that, rare gems. And in this very moment, he felt extremely lucky they had come his way.*

Malou: *She was the first one to spot Dalton being back, and reached a hand towards him* Come! Join us! Please!

Dalton: *He laughed warmly and quickly joined them again, not only grabbing Malou's hand, but also Andy's*

*Another couple hours passed, and Malou had fallen asleep on the couch from all the dancing. Which was probably the best anyway, so she didn't have to scale her bunk bed*

Dalton: *He had been sitting on the floor for a while, with Andy, talking about music, and although they had still both been drinking it had been a lot slower, and they were now both slowly sobering up. Not that they were sober by any means, but at least they weren't as drunk as they had been hours ago!* Hey man *he suddenly spoke* I'm kinda getting tired... you wanna head to bed? Malou sorta made the couch ready for you, but now she's sleeping there, and I think I know her well enough that she prefers just to sleep rather than getting woken up *he chuckled lightly* and I really don't mind sharing bed with you again so if you wanna-

Andy: Yep! *he stood up fast, But then grabbed onto the fireplace as he was still more drunk than expected* Woah! *he chuckled lightly*

Dalton: Hey *he snorted lightly and got up much slower, grabbing Andy's waist to stabilize him* you alright?

Andy: *He grinned goofily at Dalton* I sure am now!

Dalton: *He chuckled lightly* I'll just give her an extra blanket so she wont get cold... hang on *he quickly let go of Andy and walked to Malou, grabbing an extra blanket from the hanging chair next to the couch, and gently spread it over her, careful not to wake her up, as he leaned over her and planted a soft kiss on her temple* Good night *he whispered, then stood up again and carefully walked back to Andy, trying his best to walk as straight as possible* Let's go upstairs! *He blew a couple candles out and nodded towards the stairs*

Andy: *As they reached upstairs he quickly went to pee, then Dalton after him, as Andy went to lay in Dalton's bed. He sighed heavily... how he wished HE could be the one to receive temple kisses... while he waited for Dalton to get done in the bathroom, he started longing so much for him, he had to fight not to get tears in his eyes. So when Dalton finally entered the room, it was hard for him to pull himself back together, so he quickly sat up, got his pants and socks off, and laid back down, crawling under the blanket, covering most of his face*

Dalton: *He quickly got undressed too, to the point of only wearing boxers, then laid down and got under the blanket* You want me to put on a movie or something to fall asleep to? Malou enjoys that... and since the two of you are so alike.... I think you do too, right?

Andy: Yeah *he nodded lightly*

Dalton: *He chuckled soft* I can't hear you when your face is covered like that

Andy: *He couldn't help but chuckle and quickly uncovered his face* Yeah, I would like a movie, or anything really... not that I think I'm gonna watch much, but it's nice with some background noise.

Dalton: *He nodded soft and sat up, slowly leaning over Andy, so he could reach his laptop, and quickly found a movie, pushing play. Then he laid back down with a relaxed 'aaaaaah'* Are you comfortable? *he smiled soft at Andy*

Andy: Totally *he smiled soft*

Dalton: *He nodded lightly* Good.... *and then the most peculiar thing happened, he leaned closer to Andy, and gave him a tiny peck on his lips* Good night.

Andy: .............. what?!? *it burst out of him, and he immediately regretted asking... you don't fucking ask the person you have been longing to kiss, why they kiss you!!!*

Dalton: *He shrugged lightly* I just felt like it... I'm sorry if that was inappropriate... I wont do it again, just sometimes I kiss people if they mean a lot to me... to show affection... it's as when a parent would kiss a child, nothing more than that... not that I think you're my-

Andy: *He quickly leaned in, grabbing his chance, planting a bit more than a peck on Dalton's lips* Good night! *He was screaming on the inside, but kept it cool on the outside, acting as if it was completely normal* Sleep tight.

Dalton: *He chuckled lightly but closed his eyes, snuggling a bit further under the blanket* Sweet dreams.

Andy: *The last he thought before he dozed off was that he would DEFINITELY have sweet dreams, still feeling Dalton's lips against his*

*In a basement far away*

Adrian: *He woke up hours after they finished. At first he didn't understand where he was, or what had happened, but then he noticed the sleeping Raven next to him, and arm wrapped securely around Adrian's waist. He frowned deep, and looked around for his clothes, deciding it wasn't that important, and he just wanted out! So he got up, realizing his pants were more than torn, panicking slightly as he fumbled through his pockets, relieved to find his key to getting home. A lump of coal, suitable for portal creation. So he quietly drew a portal on the floor, took one last look at the room and Raven, grunted dissatisfied and slammed his fist into the portal, immediately standing in his own bathroom. He sighed relieved and peeled the rest of his jeans off, turning on the water of his shower and quickly started scrubbing himself, determined to erase any traces of the night as fast as possible, while fighting to keep flash images of him and Raven at bay!*

Sam: *It was just before the crack of dawn, he had dozed off on Adrian's couch, but his wolf ears had apparently staid awake, determined to catch any sort of sound that may signal Adrian's return. And so they did, as the shower water turned on* What? *He sat up fast, rubbing his eyes as he orientated himself, then realized it was the shower he was hearing* Adrian! *He quickly got up and rushed to the bathroom* Adrian!

Adrian: *He spun around quickly, facing Sam* Sam?

Sam: *A deep sigh of relief escaping him* Are you okay?

Adrian: *He frowned deep*

Sam: .... what ha- no *a softer frown gathered on his forehead* Ronan already informed me.

Adrian: *His frown only got deeper*

Sam: *He sighed soft* Just tell me you're okay

Adrian: *He sighed deep* It's like coming home from the bar with a huge headache, not exactly knowing what you did, but you know you should probably wash your privates with a steel brush! .... but yes... I'm okay *he grunted soft*

Raven: *The words hit him hard as he stood outside the bathroom hut, harder than he could ever imagine any words spoken by Adrian would hit. He was used to the verbal abuse by now, but this one hurt unlike anything he could have imagined. He took a few steps backwards and sat down on a small patch of grass, leaning against a large rusty oil can, starring at the ground*

Sam: *He sighed soft* did he do anything against your will?.... not that I would imagine Raven to-

Adrian: No... perhaps that's the biggest problem. I wanted it all *his frown grew to epic proportions* but I'm also aware it was my wolf more than it was me. He called it out. *He sighed deep* what I also know is, it was a one time thing, I don't need this kind of shit right now, specially since it also now seems I have met another mate....

Sam: *He looked at Adrian curiously* .... who?

Adrian: *He sighed soft and told Sam everything about Dalton*

Sam: I don't know whether I should be jealous or happy for you?

Adrian: How about neither? *he grunted unamused* falling in love again and all that *he shook his head* for what use?

Sam: *He sighed soft* Adrian... he's a really good person. I have met him a couple times, he's a very interesting character as well, it's really not a bad person to be mated with, and I do agree, it sounds like you are. But it could also just be a fascination... you also took a liking to my dad long before you fell for him... what I mean is, there are people out there you like, maybe only just a few, but there are. Adrian: Speaking of your dad, he definitely has a crush on him as well... which definitely complicates things further. Beside that... let's drop in the fact that he's barely single... AND according to Andy's moaning about the subject, it seems that Dalton and Malou are also getting pretty close. And as far as anyone knows he's straight! Sam: As I am... as my dad is... as you were... *he sighed soft* I wish labeling sexuality would be something we could all put in a drawer and seal it for good *he smiled soft* In the end it only means something if you give it the power to mean something. Who's not to say he would be into you too? Specially if it is a mate bond you're feeling.... it's rare the bond is one sited, and even if it does happen, look what happened with my dads... only one of them was bonded, the other bond had to be grown manually. Stranger things have happened, Adrian, this is by far the biggest problem we have around here. How about you get out of that shower, since I believe more scrubbing really wont do you any good... and we can go talk inside... or get something to eat... drink... anything that involves less scrubbing, please *he smiled hopeful* Adrian: *He sighed deep and turned off the water* Sam: Thank you *he grabbed a towel and reached it to Adrian* Let's go. Adrian: *He quickly wrapped the towel around his waist and followed Sam into the garden, only to bump right into him, as Sam suddenly stopped* Sam: Raven? Adrian: RAVEN!?? *he stepped around Sam, to see the black haired man sitting hunched on the ground, his frown instantly returning* You're not welcome here. Raven: So I've heard..... *he didn't look up, but his voice sounded distant and sad* Adrian: I'll only ask you once, please leave! *his voice was rough and commanding* Raven: Or else you'll scrub me off with a steel brush? Sam: *He bit his bottom lip lightly and squinted his eyes, feeling bad for Raven, for having heard THAT part of the conversation* Adrian: ..... *he sighed soft. There were so many more angry things he wanted to say to Raven... yell... but the more he looked at the usually cocky man, the more he realized he had truly hurt him, and for some reason, even if it was Raven, he felt bad for having cost him this sadness* Sam... *he nodded towards his house* Sam: *He nodded lightly and planted a hand on Adrian's shoulder, giving him a small proud squeeze* I'll make something to drink. Adrian: *He nodded confirming and watched Sam as he walked off, then slowly walked towards Raven, grabbing a pack of cigs from a table just behind him, lighting one* I'm sorry *he spoke in a deep voice, blowing the smoke out* You weren't supposed to hear that. Raven: That's very little comfort, Adrian, when you mean it none the less. Adrian: I don't... well I do... it's *he sighed deep* It's complicated. You're not my favorite person. Raven: Throwing more salt in the wound... that's really a great skill you have. Adrian: *He sighed again* I know. *He took another drag of the cig* it was an exaggeration, okay? I have steel brushes, I didn't get one. *He sighed soft* I'm not good at this, and whatever I'll say, I'll just make it worse. You and I... we have a complicated past... and now we.... *he sighed again* it was good... but... it was you and me... it just... complicates what's already more than complicated and.... it shouldn't have happened. Raven: I actually agree on that. Even if that comes as a surprise to you *this time he looked up, his eyes red, but this time not from partially shifting, a light tear rolling down his cheek* But I got it loud and clear this time. I don't belong here. So you wont see me inside your fence again *he stood up with a deep sigh* unless you call for me. Adrian: *Watching Raven actually crying because of him, stung. And he suddenly remembered the note he had left, and what Andy had told him, and although he couldn't say he returned any feelings if there were any, he could still understand how hurt Raven had to be by now. And there were no reason for that!* Do you... *he sighed deep* do you have feelings for me?... Andy says... Raven: What the fuck does it even matter, Adrian? *his voice sounding angry this time* why do you ask? To torture me more? Yes! I have feelings for you! No I don't enjoy it! It's been about a year! At first I kept pushing it away over and over! But they all kept coming back, to the point where I got tired of denying them. And along the way I guess I got caught up in a fantasy, thinking that perhaps if I got the two of us together just once, you'd see me differently! But hey! I'm still just a spider on your wall *he shrugged lightly* and that's cool, but I prefer to leave while I still have a shred of dignity left. *To Adrian's surprise Raven turned around and marched out Adrian's gate. Not teleporting away as he usually would*

#Andycorn #Andy Shaw-Thompson #Dalton Red #Malou Jensen #Evan Thompson #Sam #Samuel Cullman-Thompson #Adrian Blackwood #Raven McKinney #Brandubh McKinney #unicorntales

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bookwyrminspiration · 2 years

Text

Shattered Upside Down

A kotlc wings au: masterpost here

Chapter 29: Remember-Me-Not

word count: 6.6k

chapter summary: Confronted with a decision she isn't sure she should make, Sophie relies on her friends for help and to talk things through.

warnings: brief blood mention, some emotional conversations, that's really it!

taglist: I’ll reblog with it! let me know if you want to be added or removed!

ao3 link here or read below

Sophie hated the look on Fitz’s face as he stared at her, dumbfounded. The crease between his brows and the way his mouth had fallen open, how his hand had frozen midair as it reached for her.

After a moment, he swallowed. “You want to what?”

“Please don’t make me say it again,” she whispered, loathing curling in her chest and beating at her mind, trying to tear her to pieces.

“Sophie you can’t just drop that on me without an explanation I mean--I--you--” he cut off, sitting back and covering his face with his hands. “Sophie, we've never even done that before. Even if I said yes, we don’t know how. What even--what memories?”

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. “I know, I know. You think I haven’t been terrified of the idea this whole time? But he’s been here in the village, he knows things about us, and even if he promised not to tell, they can steal the information from his mind. Wasn’t the whole reason we left to protect them? They’ll try to come after us, to figure out where we are, and then they’ll be up here too and that’s even worse.”

“This whole time?” Fitz asked slowly, lowering his hands. “How…how long have you been planning this?”

Her face burned as she admitted, “Since we first let him stay.”

“Livvy said you don’t have time to argue,” Marella’s voice cut in, looking up from the dragon’s she’d been tending to.

“You don’t have to do anything,” Sophie said, rushed. “I’ll figure it out. I mean, I’m the strongest telepath to ever exist, right? So I’m sure I can figure out something. I don’t--I just don’t want to risk anyone.”

“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to let you do this alone,” he hissed, grabbing her hand as he let his eyes fall closed, reaching out towards Elwin.

I’m so so sorry, Sophie whispered to him as her consciousness reached towards Elwin, panic urging her forward as her body counted the seconds that passed, precious time ticking past.

She thought she’d have more time.

I’m not the one you’ll need to apologize to, Fitz told her, then sighed. I’m not…mad at you. Okay, maybe I am a little bit but now really isn’t the time. I’m glad you’re back and that you’re okay, but I wish you’d told me your plan earlier. I could’ve helped. You’ve kinda backed me into a corner but…I’m going to trust you for now. Partly because we don’t have time to argue, but also because you have a point.

Thank you, was all she could think to say.

Not enough of a point to justify not telling us, but we’ll deal with that later.

I deserved that, Sophie admitted, turning her attention away from the shame Fitz’s comments sparked in her heart and towards Elwin’s mind.

It spread before her in strings and baubles of memories, bubbles of who he was all hung up and around, flashing different colors and temperatures and filling the space with every piece of who he was.

And she was here to change it.

What memories are we looking for? Fitz asked, and she started. The revolving colors and sensations and twining strings between everything had nearly made her lose focus on why she’d entered Elwin’s mind in the first place.

I don’t think I have time to be precise, she said, and Fitz caught her intention immediately.

You’re going to get rid of everything.

Yes. No. She didn’t want to. What would the ethics of telepathy have to say about a situation like this? Someone near and dear to you, who she respected and valued, had information in his head she couldn’t let reach others in case they tried to use it against them.

She’d given up too much to let them undo it all by finding them now.

Not everything, she decided. No, she wouldn’t get rid of everything. She may not have the time to be picky and go through all his memories of his time here to decide what was risky to keep, but there was something else she could do for him.

Oh, Fitz said, seeing the idea form in her mind. Okay, we have to be quick though.

Sophie gave the mental equivalent of a nod and got to work, scanning through all the baubles and strings composing his mind for the recent weeks, running her consciousness through them like trailing her fingers through a curtain of beads.

Memories flashed through her mind, snippets of open sky and stars, breaths of fresh air and glimpses of faces she’d come to love. Biana lying unconscious in a bed as Elwin snapped colors of light around her, Linh playing with water absentmindedly as she walked past, Dex’s face appearing through a window lit up in the dead of night, fingers fumbling with wires.

Mixing poultices and grinding herbs, Sophie saw her own ruined skin through his eyes, the assessment of depth of injury and the percentage of her body affected, treatments running through his mind and he pieced together a plan.

Rumbling through the ground as he adjusted his spectacles, emerging into the sunlight he’d come to revere even more after living underground for so many months. And then something bright and yellow was bounding towards him and his heart hammered in his chest as it slammed against him--but didn’t hurt him.

All ten of them gathered together, his eyes tracing the shape of their wings as he marveled. How much they’d changed since they’d been laying in the Healing Bubble, recovering from their attack on the facility. He’d said he’d find a way to fix whatever was wrong, to get them back to their old selves.

Now he was glad he hadn’t.

People changed, and sometimes it was for the better. Whatever being up here had done to them, whatever the wings had changed in them, they were better this way. Even if it scared him out of his mind to see how open they were, how alone. But they had each other, and he was here to keep them as healthy as he could. And he would.

No matter that back Underground, as he’d snuck around that day Sophie had picked him up, he’d been caught. Stealth wasn’t a strength of his, and as he’d tried to slip away, Juline had found him as she wandered the halls, hair frazzled and falling about her face as she braced her hands on the back of her neck like she was trying to hold herself together.

Please, she’d whispered, pressing a tracker into his hands. We can bring them back.

He’d said nothing as she shifted away, a message lighting up her imparter that had her cursing and turning back towards the direction she’d come before hurrying away. She glanced back at him, and he couldn’t stand the look on her face. Like he was a lifeline.

He’d seen it enough in his career.

And as he hurried away, towards the dusty old tunnels with fresh footprints left by ten kids running from something, he knew exactly what would happen if he held onto that tracker.

He’d arrive wherever the kids were, and he’d give them away just by being there. Everyone underground, the Council and the Black Swan and all their parents, would rally a force. They’d tried talking to them and Sophie had been so uncooperative, so they had to change tactics.

Maybe they’d drug them, drop a gas before they could think to hold their breath.

However they got them back, it would be against the kids’ will. And it would drive them even further away. They couldn’t address the problem without going to the root of it, and dragging them back wouldn’t solve the reason they wanted to leave in the first place.

So Elwin dropped the tracker on the ground before the ladder, whispering an apology to Juline as he climbed.

And as he watched the kids sitting in a circle together, comfortable with each other, cunning and bright and oh so caring, he didn’t regret it one bit. He just wished their parents could see the people they’d become, the people he was so proud to watch flourish and save the world.

Sophie’s breath caught in her chest as her fingers slipped from the threads of memories. They didn’t deserve Elwin, the world didn’t. His kindness, his faith in them…she could feel her chest caving in from the weight of the love he so generously offered them.

Carefully, she plucked the memory from his mind and held it close to her chest, refusing to let it go. And she did so again and again, little flashes of joy between all of them. Elwin making a joke that earned a smile from Tam, the quiet pride on Linh’s face as she played with the streams of water cascading towards the stream below, Fitz and Keefe arguing about something meaningless that had them both barely holding back laughter, Wylie and Maruca sharing a clementine on the roof, offering him a piece as he walked past.

By the time she was done she held a small bouquet of memories in her hands, meeting Fitz who held the same. They didn’t have time to search everything, but they could give him this. Little moments to remember them by.

Are you sure about this? Fitz asked her one last time, extending his consciousness to merge with hers.

No, she admitted. It’s even harder than I thought it would be. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I thought…I thought it would be safest for us if we erased his memories. But seeing all of them…

He’d been nothing but kind, and this was how she was repaying him?

I think…I think you’re right, Sophie. Fitz said slowly. But not to protect us, but to protect him. Our parents, the Black Swan, we can trust them to do the right thing. But what about the Council?

Sophie’s heart dropped. The Council wanted them back, too. What lengths would they be willing to go to in order to find them, in order to learn something?

We can’t give them a reason to question him, she said. The ten of them didn’t need that kind of protection, so far out in the middle of nowhere with no way to access them unless they permitted it--a situation they’d lucked into by chance.

But one person, the only person who had contact with ten wanted runaways? Injured?

Sophie’s resolve hardened once more. Her original reasoning might not have stood, but Fitz’s remarks had calmed her panic.

Elwin’s memories made him too important, put him in danger.

Okay, let’s do this, she said, determination washing out all doubt. She’d made up her mind. Now all she had to do was carry out the task.

…how, though? Fitz asked, but she shushed him.

Confidence. How hard can getting rid of memories be?

Sophie held the threads she separated tight in her grasp, and Fitz did the same, curling them in close and pooling them together behind the protective embraces of their minds, a fortress nothing could penetrate.

Let’s find out, Fitz said, and if they were in the physical world she bet a grimace would’ve accompanied the solemn statement.

Sophie let her consciousness flood out from her own mind, spreading and expanding further and further into Elwin’s. Not just feeling one memory at a time, but all of them; she didn’t look at what they contained, didn’t want to violate his privacy any further.

She let her reach extend all the way back to that one day, that one moment. When she’d climbed down from the trees and taken him away, her mind touching every single moment since then

and

she

pushed

them

down.

Every moment a thread, every thread in the hands of her mind, her mind descending down down down into the depths of his consciousness, the baubles becoming more and more infrequent, older and unpolished, forgotten.

She let herself fall even further, an infinity in her mind she’d find the end too.

Fitz’s mind held onto her as she dropped, a thread of light between the two of them in the darkness of such a bright mind.

Light turned to shadows turned to thunderclouds turned to rain, washing up in a dry flood to meet her and hold her close, a place nothing came back from.

Not unless it was asked to.

It was there she set the memories, every single moment they’d had with him since he’d arrived, all tucked into the dark. A part of his mind no one would dare look through, as vast and endless and devouring as it was.

But she’d know her way back.

She could find this place when the time was right, and give everything back.

It was the only thought that kept the guilt at bay as Fitz pulled her back, reeled her out of the shroud of forgotten and abandoned memories.

She said nothing as the two of them released their hold on the memories they’d kept safe from Sophie’s sweep of loving destruction, watching the threads and baubles bounce back and flicker, trying to find their place within the nothing she’d created out of all those days.

He wouldn’t know what surrounded those moments, but he’d have them. One last memento of their affection.

Exhaling as they trembled, the two of them retreated, drawing their minds away from Elwin’s as they became more and more aware of the sun on their backs, of the smell of blood soaked wood, of a gentle breeze passing through an otherwise perfect day.

Elwin’s wounds had begun to seep again, soaking through the bandages her friends had laid over him. They’d used all the time they could spare.

“Did you…?” Linh’s voice asked from the corner, smaller than usual.

“Yeah,” Fitz breathed, then turned to Sophie. “What else do you need?”

She shook her head, trying to maneuver Elwin’s body as gently as possible as she slid her arms beneath him, channeling extra energy into her limbs so she could hold him tight.

“This next part is all me. But,” she added, chewing at her lip as she hurried to the door, “can you…can we talk later? About…just, can we talk?”

He nodded, and Sophie turned away, picking up speed as she held Elwin close, hating hating hating how much this felt like the end to the Battle of Loamnore, her friends picking up the pieces behind her as she raced off into the distance with Keefe held close.

Keefe had never been the same afterwards.

Would Elwin be?

She shoved the thoughts away as her feet pounded against wood beneath her feet, racing over bridges and just moving moving moving as fast as she could until she could taste the crackling numbness of the void in her mouth, could feel it singing through her veins and arteries as she split open the sky and disappeared into it.

She just hoped she’d done the right thing.

________________________

Sophie hardly noticed the press of earth above her head as she rocked back and forth on her feet, unable to tear her eyes away from Elwin’s pallid face. She didn’t want to look. She had to. She’d played a part in this.

Livvy’s colored candles burned bright in her hands as she worked, making poultices and balms and creams and elixirs and mists and working magic Sophie couldn’t understand.

“You’re not helping him, torturing yourself like this,” Livvy said gently, not even looking at her.

“I’m not--I wasn’t--”

“Yes, you are,” she repeated, taking a moment to look over at her with a soft expression she didn’t know how to translate. “Whatever happened, you’re blaming yourself. Too much. However responsible you are, it’s not as much as you’re giving yourself. And enduring this isn’t going to make him get better any faster, it’s just going to make you feel worse. So how about you do something else with your time while I finish saving his life?”

“So he’ll be okay?”

Livvy gave her an exasperated but fond smile. “Yes, Sophie. You don’t need to keep asking. You really don’t need to be here; I already patched up your hand, and if I didn’t know better I’d think you were inflicting your anxiety on the whole room with the negative energy I feel coming from you.”

Sophie frowned. “I’m not doing anything; I’m just…worried. It was stupid to bring him to the surface in the first place,” she said, curling her fingers into fists in her clothes as she focused the frustration and despair into the knot under her ribs.

Well, what used to be a knot. She’d used it up.

The thought sobered her and she glanced down. Her fingers were fists in red, red fabric and red clothes turning her skin red because she hadn’t changed.

Accident, the monsters had been an accident. Phoenix’s voice echoed in her head as Sophie sank to the floor, pushing her fingers into her hair as she stared numbly at nothing. So much had happened so quickly.

That’s how it always happened, calm lasting too long and then a whirlwind of chaos all stuffed into a single day that she then had to accommodate, to get used to and be okay with before everything came crashing down again.

“It wasn’t you,” Livvy assured her. “Elwin was determined to find you no matter what. He would’ve scoured the surface alone if you hadn’t spared him the effort. You just showed him you trusted him enough to let him help. I hope you’ll trust me like that one day.”

“I do trust you,” Sophie assured her, momentarily spared from her funk by the need to comfort another.

Livvy raised a brow. “Enough to listen to a piece of advice?”

“...maybe.” She resisted the urge to pull at her lashes as she dropped her hands, sitting on them so she couldn’t pull. “Okay, yes,” she said, trying not to be nervous at whatever advice Livvy would give her.

“Talk to your parents. They’re worried out of their minds and at their wits ends. They trust you, you know. But how are they supposed to be your parents when you refuse to work with them, to even answer a message? We may not be able to track your imparter because of Dex’s technopath tricks, but we know you have it. I’ve stalled telling anyone you were here as much as I can, but that’s because you’re incredibly stubborn and uncooperative when you want to be and there are more important things right now. But they want to be on the same side, Sophie. We all do. Whatever drove you away…we can’t fix it if you don’t talk to us.”

Sophie curled her knees into her chest, looking down at her fingers as she picked at her nails, heart hammering as warmth spread through her face.

Finally, after an eternity, so long that Livvy turned back towards Elwin, she whispered. “I know.”

“Do you?”

Sophie nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’ve always known. It’s just when we first…left. We were scared, and we didn’t want to put you guys in danger. So we stopped--well, I stopped and everyone copied me--responding to hails and messages. And then we kept ignoring them and then you stopped sending them and,” Sophie trailed off, swallowing hard. “It was easier. To just keep ignoring it and pretend it wasn’t there, even as it got worse. And I don’t know how to fix it.”

Livvy’s heartbeat filled Sophie’s ears, then a soft exhale as she came to squat next to Sophie, understanding shining in her eyes along with the sparkle of jewels in her hair.

“It’s never going to get easier, Sophie. You can keep ignoring us and we can’t stop you, but there’s never going to be a better time than now, okay? So make up your mind so you can get out of this funk and back to saving the world like we all know you will.”

Sophie met her eyes for once. “Thanks. I um…I guess I need to make a call soon. But there are other things I really should deal with first, probably.”

“You’ve got this, Moonlark.”

“I do.” She couldn’t tell if it was a statement or a question.

________________________

Quiet air met her as Sophie walked slowly through the village, having teleported to the outskirts so she could clear her mind before taking the next step.

Whatever drove you away, Livvy had said, and she couldn’t stop thinking about it, running the words through her mouth and over her tongue.

What’d driven them away? They’d thought they were losing their minds, becoming monsters in their own bodies, infected. They hadn’t wanted to unleash that on the Underground, on their families. All the people they cared about in one space, it was asking for tragedy. And the press of the earth above…they hadn’t recognized it at the time, but it’d made it worse. She could still feel the effects of it lingering as she shuddered in the fading light.

She needed the sky, needed it to be there and to hold her and to blow through her skin and keep her alive. Open air had become her muse, her comfort.

But her family comforted her, too.

And she’d cut off a part of it.

They’d left to protect them, to protect themselves. Because if they were going down, they weren’t going to take them down too if they could help it.

But now…they didn’t need to protect their families from them. It’d been weeks, and they were still, at their core, them.

Marella and Linh had their dragons, Wylie his sense of change, Keefe his readings of the things around him, and who knew what else in their little group. But that hadn’t changed who they were.

Sophie was still stubborn and hasty, Tam still judgemental yet endearing, Maruca still headstrong and fierce.

And their new quirks, those were just as central.

How could she hate the wings that allowed her to fly so freely with Silveny, with Keefe? The strength that let her save creatures stuck in vines and hold her friends close? The buzz of her wings every time she got excited? The vastness of her mind that allowed her to know the monsters of this world so dearly, so tenderly?

How could she hate Maruca’s fierce protection that saved their lives time and time again? How could she hate Biana’s knack for bravado and confidence, her way of navigating the world so unique and so new? Dex’s defiance and refusal to take no for an answer, traversing the night so softly as to not wake the rest of them up?

She couldn't, she couldn’t hate any of it. She couldn’t hate what made her family into themselves, as unexpected as this new world was.

There was no monstrous part of herself she did not love, for it was all her.

Their fears were founded at the time, but now? Sophie knew if she went back, there’d be no monster in her mind tearing her parents to shreds like she’d imagined in her nightmares.

So why hadn’t she gone back? Why hadn’t she talked to them?

Why did Livvy’s words strike such a nerve?

Sophie ran her newly healed fingers over the coarse bark of the tree the bridges wrapped around, letting herself fall into the question even if she didn’t have an answer. Instead it was…an exploration. Letting herself acknowledge that some part of her, a part of her she didn’t understand yet, reacted to some part of the kindness. She didn’t need to figure it out immediately, but allowing herself to question her reaction, to try to understand it, it eased the burden enough that she could feel the bark on her skin again, that she could see the colors of the sunset, feel the breeze.

Her thoughts didn’t send her spiraling, didn’t have her clutching her chest and digging nails into skin, didn’t urge her to take flight and try and solve all her problems on her own.

Instead, she dropped her hand down from the tree, brushed off the little pieces that stuck to her fingertips, and took a breath.

Sophie let her mind reach out subconsciously, following the faint pull towards the familiarity of minds she’d come to know so well.

Her feet followed the tug, silently and effortlessly tracking her friends, their scattered mental energy little lights as she sought out the one she was looking for. Creaking under her weight, she crossed the bridges, the light breeze from before flowing right into the open back of her clothes, still red red red.

It seemed like a lifetime ago she’d been intent on rebelling against it, that she’d thought the red she’d have to endure and reclaim would be her stand, the hill she’d die on.

She didn’t want anyone to die.

She didn’t want anyone to be unaware of how much they meant to her, how much she valued them and appreciated them.

Sophie reached the door of Fitz’s house, pushing the door open without knocking as her eyes searched for the presence her mind could already feel.

She found him off to the right, sitting on top of the table with a bottle of moonlight on the table before him as the only light, wings set loosely from his shoulders as the feathers draped down his back, brushing the floor.

He didn’t acknowledge her as the door closed behind her, staring out the window with a vacant expression, as though he were somewhere else, somewhere she couldn’t see.

Sophie watched him for a moment more in the silence before moving forward, sinking into one of the chairs next to the table and letting her head fall into her arms the way kids sleeping in her human schools always did when they’d stayed up too late.

Everything happened so fast all the time, she didn’t know what to do with herself.

She tensed for a moment as something brushed the top of her head, but relaxed again as she realized Fitz was just playing with her hair, running his fingers through the strands as they sat in silence. A few bits of dust fell to the table as he did so, reminders of the vent she’d crawled through to get back here.

His fingertips against her scalp had her heartbeat slowing, her body sinking further and further into the chair as they breathed, the two of them accomplices in some tragedy they’d spun but couldn’t see the end of quite yet.

“Is he…is he okay?” Fitz finally asked, quiet voice breaking the silence.

Sophie tried to nod, but it didn’t work very well given her head was still buried in her arms. “Livvy said he would be,” was the only answer she had to that question.

He was going to be okay. She wouldn’t let herself think anything otherwise. He’d be okay and he’d heal and be back to his old self.

Just missing some memories, if they’d done it right. But a part of her she didn’t understand knew they had, some sense deep in her bones telling her she’d done exactly what she’d meant to accomplish.

They lapsed into silence again for a few moments, Fitz still playing with her hair before he asked, taking a deep breath before doing so, “I wish you would’ve told me you wanted to erase his memories.”

Sophie’s fingers tensed into fists, but not out of anger, but rather because she had nothing else to do; she didn’t want his gentle hands to stop.

“I’m really really sorry,” she said, finally lifting her head a little, so she could prop her chin on her arms instead. Her feet dangled an inch from the floor and she swung them back and forth a little, pointing her toes so they’d scuff against the wood.

He nodded, resting his head on his fist. “I thought so. Can I…can I ask you a question?”

She was tempted to tell him he just had, but refrained. Now wasn’t the time, not with the somber exhaustion blanketing the coming of night.

“Do you hate what we did just as much as I do?”

The question stilled her heart for a moment, and she took a moment to look at his face before answering. His brows were all scrunched up and he was chewing on his lip so hard she thought he’d bleed, eyes darting back and forth across her face as though searching for an answer, searching for relief, begging for a reprieve in the hell they’d dug themselves into. His eyes were glassy as he blinked, and she could read exactly what they held as clearly as if she’d manifested as an empath.

Guilt.

“Hey,” Sophie said, surging up from her seat with a sudden spike of anxiety, boosting herself onto the table with Fitz and situating herself so they were facing each other, knees pressed together. “This is…please don’t blame yourself for this. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. I shouldn’t have involved you at all it was a stupid thing to ask since we hadn’t talked about it and it was all me because I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m really just guessing here so please, please don’t feel guilty. Please don’t let yourself break because of me.”

The words were spilling from her mouth as tears spilled from her eyes, searching Fitz’s face over and over and over again like it held the secrets of the universe, the way his eyelashes brushed against his skin and the curve of his lip pulled taught as he bit at it, the way his hair fell into his face, every little piece of him she could absorb.

“Well now you’re feeling guilty too,” Fitz said, laughing weakly as he swiped at his eyes. “This doesn’t solve anything! We’re supposed to help each other feel better, not make each other worse.”

Sophie smiled back slightly, trying to keep her breathing calm. “Why limit ourselves like that? Why not…why not do both?”

Fitz rubbed his hands over his face as his smile widened. “Because then I’m going to feel guilty for making you feel guilty, and then you’ll feel guilty about that, and it’s not going to solve anything! We’ll be the death of each other.”

Sophie dropped her eyes, looking anywhere but Fitz as she quietly said, “Then let’s keep each other alive instead. I meant it, you know. I really am sorry. I don’t…I guess I just didn’t want to do it alone.”

“I’m glad I was there, Sophie,” he said, a gravity to his voice that made her feel like the world had dropped away, that there was nothing more important than this conversation, than the two of them here right now. His wings shifted slightly behind him as he fidgeted. “I…it wasn’t fun, but I’d rather I be there than you do that alone.”

Her eyes burned and the room went a little blurry, but she didn’t reach up to wipe the tears away. “I…if I’m being honest, I hadn’t meant to involve you at all.” He looked up at her, watery eyes meeting her own, but saying nothing as she continued. “When I first…when I first had the idea, it was for a different reason. And I wasn’t going to tell anyone. You know how we--not just us, but everyone--kind of fell apart after we left? I didn’t want to involve anyone else because I was ashamed that I even had the idea, that I’d made that decision. So I didn’t tell anyone and I was going to do it alone to protect all of us. To protect us from anyone who might come looking for us, or who might…not like what we are now.

“But then…so many other things that I tried to do alone weren’t working and kept hurting everyone. I still haven’t fully fixed things with Marella, and that’s something I have to live with. For so many years I always said I didn’t do things without friends and I can’t believe I let myself forget that. When I remembered, I tried to start reconnecting with everyone, so we wouldn’t be so distant anymore, and Elwin’s memories…it seemed like it’d be something so far away I never thought to mention it. But then I got back today and…and suddenly it was right in front of me and I dragged you down with me because I didn’t want to do it alone. It’s kinda selfish of me but…you make me a better person.”

Sophie stopped talking then, face flushing. That was more than she’d ever meant to say, but it was true. She didn’t want to deal with any of this alone.

“I trust you, Sophie,” Fitz said finally, though he didn’t look at her. “And I’m a better person because of you. I understand why you didn’t tell me, but if we’re going to be…putting this family back together, I think I’m going to need a heads-up. So we can talk about things like this when we’re not panicking.”

Sophie was tempted to tell him that she was always panicking, but that wasn’t true. Sometimes she was crying instead, like right now.

“Okay. Yeah, I can do that. Communication. I really am sorry, Fitz.” Sophie took a breath. Apologies were supposed to be specific. You had to let the other person know that you knew what you did wrong, tell them what you were going to change otherwise what did it matter. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what I was going to do and asked you to help me do something uncomfortable without considering your feelings about it. I’ll do my best to be upfront in the future and respect your boundaries.” She exhaled. There. Now she’d said it, and whatever the consequences she’d at least know that she’d apologized, that she’d gotten it out there and communicated her side.

He nodded, and a small smile graced his lips as he sighed, sitting up straighter to look at her. “Thank you and…I forgive you. We’ve all done things we regret, but thank you for the apology.” He shifted a little, and suddenly looked so very tired. Like he could use a good hug.

Sophie’s shoulders relaxed with the acceptance. There was something she’d gotten right today.

Silently, she opened her arms in an offer, and Fitz readily accepted. His arms wrapped around her, shifting so he could hold her close, squeezing tight like he was trying to keep her together. His fingers fisted in her shirt as he started to shake.

Fitz shook himself off then, looking horrified for a moment that had her blood pounding. “Forget about all that--are you okay? Elwin distracted us all from--you were--where did--are you okay? What happened? You were--you were there and then you were gone. We were going to come get you and then…then Wylie left and everything happened so fast. Are you okay?”

Sophie blinked, then glanced down. Red. She was still wearing red, and it must’ve reminded him. The clothes were comfortable enough she could forget about them, and she hated that. She didn’t want to forget the horrors she saw in that facility, that place.

Nor the small bright spot among them all. Phoenix. Her promise to her echoed in Sophie’s ears: I’ll come back for you.

Phoenix didn’t belong in a place like that, and the way she’d clung to Sophie’s hand and asked her how she got away from Murad…it’d made her want to steal her away right then and there. Amy might be on the other side of the world, but Sophie’d never stopped being a big sister.

“I’m sorry, that was too many questions, wasn’t it. And we don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to,” Fitz said, and Sophie realized she’d forgotten to respond, had gotten lost in the day playing on repeat. “We’ve both had hard days and--”

Sophie cut him off by holding up a finger. “It’s okay. And I’m okay. Just…shaken. So much happened and now all I want is to face plant in bed.”

“A bed would be a lot more comfortable than a table.”

“Yeah why are we sitting on the table?”

“I…um…I don’t know.”

A smile curled her lips as she shook her head, bumping her knee against Fitz’s in mock annoyance. “Everyone’s going to have questions for me, so how about I tell that story tomorrow when we’re all in the same place and not tired.”

He nodded with more encouragement than was necessary. “Of course, yeah, I don’t want to make it harder for you. That’ll be a long conversation and you really should rest.”

Sophie smiled at him slightly, exhaustion creeping along her bones as she thought of how nice it would be to no longer be awake, to take a shower, to get out of their clothes. Not necessarily in that order but as long as it got done she wouldn’t complain.

“Goodnight, then,” she said, turning away as she slipped off the table, wings fluttering behind her as they stirred up a gentle breeze. Fitz’s ruffled in response.

“Goodnight, then,” he repeated to her as she made her way to the door. “I love you.”

Sophie paused then, looking over her shoulder. “I love you, too.”

Then she slipped out the door, shutting it softly behind her.

________________________

Gentle darkness mixed with moonlight shrouded Sophie’s room as she changed, tossing the red red red fabric into a corner. She never wanted to associate herself with them ever again.

As she slipped into a light blue loose tunic, a noise gave her pause.

BRRR.

Turning slowly, she faced the broken window and the glitching creature now lounging on the windowsill, licking its paw.

“You always show up at the weirdest times, you know,” Sophie told it, readjusting the sleeves so they draped more comfortably where they ended in the middle of her forearm.

It didn’t respond, but it did stand up, evaluating the terrain before hopping through the jagged edges of the glass to land neatly on the floor, shaking itself off as it made its way to the edge of her bed, assessing it before jumping on top.

The movements were so cat-like for a moment Sophie’s chest seized, mind filling with images of a certain grey cat who’d always slept on her pillow back before her life had become so wonderful and disastrous.

“If you’re here to lead me out to follow someone again I humbly ask you save it for tomorrow because I am more tired than I’ve ever been in my life and do not want to deal with that right now,” Sophie told it as she climbed onto the bed with it, collapsing onto her side with her head right next to Echo’s, facing it as it lounged on her things.

After a moment, Sophie made a sound. “Okay, fine. Thank you for your…help today. If you hadn’t given me the leaping crystal…” she trailed off, mouth curling into a frown as her tired mind struggled to keep up with something it was putting together.

The leaping crystal.

She’d found it here, in the village. And it had led to here, too. But this was a gnomish village, and gnomes didn’t use leaping crystals.

Elves did.

And it wasn’t a normal leaping crystal.

It’d…absorbed her blood, and that’s what’d made it work.

Blood is proof you’re alive.

That’s what Fintan’s note had said. Did he know something?

They’d said enough concerning things about the place, like there was some connection she was missing between the two.

Suddenly, her first meeting with Fintan came back to her.

I've always wanted to find the place, see what happened.

She’d thought that meant he’d love to find the village, to see what they’d done to try and survive, to witness the devastation.

But if he knew how the crystal worked, a kind of crystal she’d never seen before, and if that crystal led to the village…

Had Fintan been here before?

#kotlc wings au #shattered upside down #quil's quill #kotlc fic #i swear I didn't forget it was wings au day I was simply doing homework instead #which I am now neglecting to do in order to post this :)#rip that test due at 10pm tonight I have more important things to do #but also here you go please enjoy

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