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midnightechoes · 4 months

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A Bridge Chapter 2 of 2

A Bridge is the third part in my post-RWBY volume 5 STR-Crossed Lovers fic series, Kintsugi. It was originally posted on AO3 back in February 2023.

Kintsugi Part 1, A Visit, taking place immediately after v5 and written by me, can be read on AO3 and Tumblr.

Kintsugi Part 2, A Dream, part flashback, part sequel to A Visit, was written by my friend @shera-dnd and can be read on AO3 and Tumblr.

A thick layer of clouds almost completely covered the sky, with just a few specs of blue peeking out here and there. There was a coolness to the air, the kind that signaled that hot summer days were beginning to give way to cool autumn evenings.

The dirt road crunched under the wheels of Tai’s moped as he sped down it at a brisk pace. The mostly orange machine vibrated as it carried its owner through an unremarkable forest, trees whipping by on either side of him.

Tai was dressed mostly as he always did, but he was currently wearing a bucket helmet that was strapped tightly around his chin, and an old-fashioned pair of racer goggles fastened over his eyes. The other notable difference in attire was a new bandana that was wrapped tightly around his right bicep. It was red and had a black-and-white patterning that made it look just like the bandana Raven had been wearing in her hair.

It had been almost two hours since he had passed the last semblance of civilization, a quiet little rest stop on the side of the road, which meant that he was getting close to his destination. Sure enough, before long he was upon the clearing he had been looking for. Tai slowed down and turned into the clearing, following the faint trail for a few hundred yards as it led into a thicker part of the forest before giving way to another open area. The moped rumbled to a stop less than a hundred yards from a large wall made out of twenty-foot-high tree trunks whose ends had been cut into spikes. In the center of the wall was a wooden gate, currently closed and being guarded by three people.

One was a man with long, scraggly blonde hair and a long, unkempt face. Another was a woman with a gray, leather eye patch and brown hair that appeared to have been thrown up into a ponytail without consideration. And the third was another man, his curled black hair kept short, allowing the two scars running down from cheek to chin to be his most prominent feature. All three were carrying relatively simple weapons and wearing outfits that looked like they were pieced together over time.

Powering the moped down and popping the kickstand, Tai dismounted, a smile on his face as he pulled the helmet and goggles off. “Hey there,” he cheerily called out to the trio, slowly making his way towards the gate.

Within seconds, a bullet was flying past Tai’s head, not grazing only thanks to his semblance, Juke, which allowed him to slide out of the way in time.

“Not another step,” the scraggly blonde man called out with a grizzled voice, his handgun pointed directly at Tai. “That was a warning. Now I suggest you get back on that tiny bike and turn around while you can.”

“Look, pal,” Tai responded, a look of smug confidence on his face as he set down his helmet on the seat of the moped, then continued taking a few steps towards the trio guarding the gate. “This is a misunderstanding, I don’t think you know who I am,” he said with his hands raised as a show of peace.

“And I don’t much care,” the blonde man barked back. He tried rattling his gun at Tai in an attempt to intimidate him, a move that did not seem to be working. “I’m warning you! Take one more step, and you’ll be sorry,” he yelled.

Tai stopped in his tracks at the threat. His expression had devolved from smug to annoyed, his blue eyes squinting at the man. He thought about the warning for a second, then exhaled a deep breath out through his nose, and took another step forward.

“Get him!” the scraggly blonde man yelled as he tried to steady his aim at Tai. The other two guards sprung into action as well: the woman charged forward with a basic axe, the kind usually used for chopping wood, while the other man took a few steps back and drew up his simple hunting rifle. All three were scowling, and all three were utterly unprepared for what was about to happen.

In the blink of an eye, Tai activated his Juke semblance, allowing him to move laterally at such a speed that he seemed to leave a trail of afterimages of himself. He zig-zagged forward, crossing the distance to the guards in barely a second. When he came to a stop, he was directly in front of the woman, slamming her with a punch to the gut before she even had time to react, sending her stumbling backward. He juked again, crashing his elbow right into the man with the rifle, getting him off-balance enough for Tai to flip him over his shoulder.

Taking out the man with the rifle had put Tai behind the scraggly blonde man, who had been struggling to keep track of the intruder.

It was about this time that a “kraa-kraa” could be heard echoing softly in the clearing as a blackbird passed overhead.

The blonde man was able to get focus on Tai long enough to fire off a shot at him, one that Tai easily juked out of the way of. Suddenly the huntsman was inches in front of the man. A quick strike to the elbow followed by a chop to the wrist sent the blonde man’s gun flying. Tai elbowed him in the chest, creating just enough room to wind up and slug the blonde man so hard in the face that he pirouetted in place before falling to the ground.

“That’s enough, Tai,” a voice called out. Tai looked up to see Raven standing just in front of the gate, her arms folded and an amused grin on her face. She was still wearing the same orange tank top and black pants with gold seams that she had during karaoke, but now she was missing the red bandana she had often worn in her hair.

“Look, he started it,” Tai chuckled before relaxing his posture and taking a step back from the fallen guards.

Raven strolled up to the scraggly blonde man, towering over him as he lay on his back. “That’s not surprising, this one here loves to start problems he doesn’t know how to get out of.” Raven let out a laugh and shook her head at the man on the ground. “Honestly Shay, is it your mission to get your ass kicked by my entire family?”

“Sorry, ma’am,” Shay weakly groaned.

A hand appeared in Shay’s field of vision. He latched onto it, allowing Tai to hoist him to his feet. “Hey, Shay was it? No hard feelings.”

Shay grunted. “You’re just lucky that the boss lady got here when she did.”

The statement made both Tai and Raven burst out laughing. “Sure I am!” Tai chuckled.

“Alright, enough fun,” Raven commanded as she recomposed herself. She turned to the two other guards that had just regrouped from their beating. “If you would open the gates so my ex-husband can wheel his little bicycle inside.”

“Um, it’s a moped, we already went over this!” Tai huffed.

Raven turned to Tai for just a second before walking into the camp. “Yes, because that sounds so much more impressive.”

Tai grumbled under his breath as he collected his helmet and walked back to his moped. As he wheeled the bike forward by hand, pushing it forward by the handlebars, he caught Shay snickering under his breath.

“Got something to say, pal?” Tai flatly asked. Immediately Shay straightened up and went quiet. “Good man,” Tai added as he strode past.

The Branwen Tribe camp was bustling with people going about the business of breaking it down. Most everything was being packed into the back of six beat-up old pickup trucks that had all seen better days and were in desperate need of paint jobs. There were a couple more trucks and vans designated for passenger transport parked off to the side of the camp. Tai quickly wheeled his moped over to them and parked it.

“Starting to wonder how helpful I’m going to be,” Tai mused as he made his way back to Raven, who had been waiting for him in the center of the camp. They continued on slowly through the mostly barren camp towards her tent, one of the few standing structures left.

“You insisted on coming,” Raven chuckled. “Your help is appreciated, Tai. We’re behind schedule, every extra hand will be helpful,” Raven added, her tone becoming more somber.

“Behind schedule?” Tai gasped. “Looks like everyone’s working their hardest, Rae.”

Raven came to a stop and turned to the man next to her. “It’s been a week, we should already be on the road. But, it took a few days to procure all the vehicles we need, plus I haven’t been here the last few, and… we did lose a day mourning our fallen.”

“Right,” Tai nodded. “That girl that Cinder killed… V… Virginia?”

“Vernal,” Raven flatly corrected. “Her name was Vernal,” She added, never breaking stride as they marched towards her tent.

Once they reached their destination, they both stood there for a moment, taking it in. It was the same tent that the Branwen Tribe leader before Raven had used, as well as the leader before them. Like many things in the tribe, Raven’s tent was something that had been used and reused and passed down for generations, and at the moment, the old canvas fabric that draped down to make its walls was the only thing separating Tai from the last part of Raven that she had left to share: her history, and all the messy, ugly parts of it that she had hoped she’d never have to tell Summer and Tai about.

Raven took a deep breath.

“Sure is modest and welcoming,” Tai blurted out, making sure that every letter was dripping with sarcasm. Raven let out a chuckle despite herself. She looked over to the man next to her that was smiling brightly.

“Come on, it’s not going to break itself down,” Raven said, leading Tai through the opening of the tent.

Tai took a look around once they were inside, and let out a little hum. “I’m glad we didn’t let you furnish our bedroom.”

“Oh please,” Raven scoffed. She walked over to the large chest in the corner and cracked it open. “Summer would have loved this.”

“That she would have,” Tai agreed as he made his way to Raven.

“Here,” Raven began, pulling out a few sheets of heavy cloth and shoving them into Tai’s hands. “See the tea set over by my bed? Wrap it up before we pack it.” Tai nodded at the command. While he was occupied with that, Raven began taking down and rolling up the various maps and notes that had been pinned up to the back of her tent. In the middle of it, she stopped, taking a moment to look at one of the notes. It was a report of the security measures of one of the villages that weren’t too far from the camp. Raven let out a sigh. There was a familiar tug-of-war in her heart. One that she had felt long ago until fear and panic let one side win, leading her to make a choice that she’d done everything in her power to never question.

That was until Yang showed up at her door. It had taken all of Raven’s fortitude to keep up her guard in front of her daughter. Something made harder by the realization that Yang wasn’t even there for her. Raven was nothing more than a means to an end.

It hadn’t actually hit Raven until that moment that her family had completely, and successfully, excised her from their life. She should have been happy about that, after all, it was what she had claimed she had always wanted: no attachments to that world, the side that had lost the tug-of-war. But there was Yang, staring at her like a stranger with nothing but demands on her tongue and contempt in her eyes.

Raven had gotten what she wanted.

And it had been killing her ever since.

Until finally, after defeating Cinder, after confronting Yang, and returning to the tribe to mourn Vernal’s death for a day, her heart led her back to a dusty cabin in the woods of Patch, to the one member of her family that didn’t currently, and rightfully, hate her…

… To the man that apparently just dropped one of her teacups.

A crash rang out in the tent, pulling Raven out of her stupor. Wet eyes sought out the source of the crash, and quickly found Tai kneeling over a small pile of ceramic pieces.

“I’m so sorry, Raven! I was trying to be careful, I swear, I—” Tai was blurting out, trying to collect the pieces up into one of the cloth towels he had been using, until a gentle hand touched down on his shoulder, stopping his sentence.

When Tai looked up, Raven was kneeling just next to him, her hand on his shoulder, a soft, sad smile on her face. “It’s fine, Tai,” she assured him. Her free hand reached down and picked up one of the bigger pieces. She turned it over and over between her fingers, seemingly studying as her attention was drawn to the jagged dark-blue piece of ceramic that had one flower painted on it. After turning it over a few more times, she shifted her attention back to Tai, her smile brightening as she took in his sad puppy dog expression.

“This can be fixed,” Raven murmured to him.

The assurance seemed to ease something in Taiyang, whose expression softened. He took the piece from Raven and put it with the rest on the cloth before returning his focus to her, a warm grin forming on his face. “Yeah, it can.”

From there, it didn’t take long for the duo to finish breaking down Raven’s tent. Within an hour, it was empty, with everything that had been in the tent packed away in a large chest, and after two hours, what had been Raven’s tent was now nothing more than a large, open wooden platform. While Tai was loading the chest onto one of the trucks, Raven remained on the platform, taking in the progress of the camp breakdown.

Besides the built-up walls enclosing the camp, one would hardly know that an entire tribe of people had called this place home for the last few years. In fact, there was only one tent left. The tent was one of the larger ones and sat less than a hundred feet away from Raven’s. She couldn’t take her eyes off it.

“Hey, everything okay?” Tai’s concerned voice called out from just behind Raven, making the woman jump.

“Gods, Tai! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Raven huffed, twisting around to slap him in the arm.

“Right, because we all know of my exceptional stealth skills,” Tai chortled. “Your head was somewhere else, Rae. What’s up?”

It was almost disconcerting how quickly the two had become able to understand each other again. In many ways, the eighteen-year gap remained this raw, overwhelming presence hovering over them, but in some ways, they had picked up right from where they left off. Raven still wasn’t sure how she felt about letting someone that could so thoroughly read her back into her life, but she had to accept that some part of her had craved this, had always longed to get this back.

Plus, Tai was already there, his dopey, sincere, concerned half-smile on his face as he stood in the middle of her bandit camp. She had passed the last exit to turn back days ago.

Raven turned back to the tent she had been staring at. “I have to break down the last tent,” she muttered, dread dripping from her voice.

“Huh? I thought you said that it was everyone’s responsibility to break down their own…” Tai’s sentence trailed off as the reality of the situation set in. “Oh.”

A heavy arm found itself slung around Raven’s back, pulling her into a side hug. “Hey,” Tai cooed, “you don’t have to do it yourself. I’m right here.”

They gave each other a nod. Then, after Raven took a deep breath, they slowly made their way over to the last tent. Raven stopped briefly at the entrance, taking a second to compose herself.

Even with all the mental preparation, the flaps to the tent felt heavy, as if the fabric was made of steel rather than thick canvas. Once inside, Raven immediately reached for the lamp that was sitting on the crate just a couple of feet inside the door, near the center of the tent, and lit it using her maiden powers.

Tai entered just after and found Raven standing next to the lamp, slowly surveying the space around them, her shoulders slumping more and more as she did. He made his way towards her, clearing his throat loudly this time before speaking. “Rae?”

There wasn’t an immediate answer. Instead, Raven simply continued staring down at the items scattered around the room, a sneer growing on her face as she did.

“She should be here. She should be doing this. She…” Raven’s words trailed, leaving them there, standing in silence.

“Vernal was special to you,” Tai whispered, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Raven set her gaze on a neatly stacked pile of clothes that was sitting on the bed. “Vernal trusted me, and she was a fool to do so,” she spat out, her body shaking slightly.

“Rae…”

The soft call of her name made Raven snap her focus to Tai, but there was no anger on her face. Instead, there was a look of anguish, her lips quivering, her eyes half-lidded as tears were forming in the corner of her eyes. “She trusted me, and it got her killed. I was supposed to protect her, but I couldn’t, I let her die because I was a coward. If I… If I was braver she would still be alive. And I… I can’t help thinking that leaving was the best thing that I ever could have done for Yang.”

By the time the first sob escaped Raven, Tai was already pulling her into a hug. He held her tight, his hand gently stroking her back while she broke down in his arms.

It was a few minutes before Raven settled down. Eventually, she got control of herself, and simply leaned into the embrace, resting her entire weight against him.

“I think you’re blaming the wrong person, by the way,” Tai mused. The statement made Raven shift around in his arms so that she could glare up at him with a perplexed look on her face. “You didn’t kill Vernal, Rae, that Cinder chick did. Same person that terrorized our girls when they were at Beacon. She’s the reason Vernal’s dead. And Salem’s the reason Cinder did any of those things, not you. They took Vernal from you, they took our wife from us.” Tai released Raven from the hug and took a step back, his hands still firmly grasping her shoulders so that he could look her dead in the eyes when he said “And someday, they’re going to be the ones who pay for what happened to the people we care about, not you.”

A slight, sly smile came over Raven. “So, focus on revenge instead of guilt.”

“Err,” Tai stammered as one arm fell to his side while the other reached up to scratch the side of his neck. “That’s not exactly the point I was trying to get at.”

“I know,” Raven said, letting out a bellowing laugh before patting Tai on the cheek. “I just love watching you squirm, Xiao Long.” Tai joined in the laughter as it cut through the mood of the tent. After it died down, Raven turned back to the bed where Vernal’s clothes were still laid out. “Come on, we have to get this done… I’m not going to leave her behind.” Tai walked up to her and nodded as the two of them began breaking down Vernal’s tent.

---

At daybreak the following morning, the Branwen tribe’s motor caravan pulled out of the little patch of land, and began their journey south, away from the capital of Mistral, and into the vast wilderness of the continent of Anima. Tai’s moped rumbled along at the front, along with a handful of other motorcycles that were leading away. Raven scouted ahead, her bird form allowing her to get a clear view of potential perils and dangers.

The first two days went smoothly, making good time through the rugged terrain, and avoiding any conflict. The third day presented a bit more of a challenge, being forced to confront an unavoidable pack of Grimm. Raven, Tai, and a handful of the tribe’s strongest fighters were able to deal with them, allowing the caravan to pass through with only a few scratches.

That’s how it was for the rest of the week, a good day here, a challenge to avoid trouble there. Luckily there was only one dust-up with local law enforcement. Tai didn’t feel great about it, but he knew what he had gotten himself into, and agreed to it when he insisted on accompanying Raven on this journey. Even still, he did all he could to get the tribe out of the situation with no one getting hurt. But when push came to shove, Tai stuck with the tribe, something Raven appreciated, even if she hadn’t found a way to voice such sentiment. For her part, Raven made sure that the tribe focused on evasion and avoiding conflict instead of violence.

Overall, they were making good time, all things considered. During that week, Tai managed to bond with the tribe. At first, it was slow, mostly finding common ground in everyone’s mutual love to complain about Qrow, but over the days he worked at forming friendships with his fellow travelers. As he did, he began to gain a new perspective on Raven, because to these people she wasn’t a teammate, or friend, or spouse, she was their rock. A guiding light that they all looked to with reverence and respect. For so long Tai had only known what Raven had run from, and how much it hurt to lose her, but his time with the tribe gave him a chance to get to know what she had run towards, and why. In many ways, they were as much her family as he, or Yang, or Summer had ever been.

Finally, Tai saw Raven for what she really was: a woman torn in two, pulled in opposite directions for most of her life. For so long Tai had barely dared to dream what Raven coming back into his life might look like, but in those times that he did, he had always envisioned pulling her away from her life as a bandit. And truth be told, a part of him still wanted to help her get away from a life of crime, but his time with the tribe made him realize that he’d have to give a little too, that if he really wanted this to work this time, if he wanted them to work this time, it couldn’t be an either-or choice. Accepting Raven Branwen meant accepting everything about her, from being a fiercely loyal teammate to being a bandit leader.

This was the thought that Tai found himself dwelling on as they sat around a campfire in the middle of the woods on the evening of the ninth day. It had been a quiet day, and everyone was finishing up the stew that had been made for the night. Raven had been busy while everyone else ate, securing the perimeter, and making sure that everyone was aware of their guard duty rotations for the night. Finally, after just about everyone was finished and most people were turning in to get some rest, Raven sat to have a bowl of stew just next to Tai.

She got a few spoonfuls in before stopping and turning to face him, a look of mild annoyance on her face.

“Is there something you wanted to say to me, Tai?” she huffed.

For his part, Tai’s expression immediately softened, a warm smile growing on his face. “Um, no, why?”

Raven let out a sigh. “It’s just, you’ve been watching me since you sat down.”

The statement made Tai blush slightly, which, luckily for him, was mostly washed out by the orange glow of the fire. “Have I? Sorry! It wasn’t anything bad! It’s just… I don’t know, I guess I’m a little in awe of how you can command the tribe so effortlessly.”

Now it was Raven’s turn to blush. She quickly looked back down at her stew, the warmth of it seeping into her lap. “Oh.” She had another scoop of stew to buy her a few extra seconds to think of how to follow up on that. By the time she had gulped it down, a warm thought had settled in. Raven let her eyes become lidded as they drifted to the fire, a half-smile forming on her face. “Let’s be honest, everything I know about being a leader Summer taught me.”

Tai scooted closer to her so that he could rest his hand on her knee. “She’d be proud of you,” he murmured. In response, Raven leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Think so?”

“Yeah,” Tai responded. The two of them sat there, wordlessly enjoying their time together until it was time to turn in for the night.

---

The following morning was like every other one since hitting the road, everyone quickly breaking down the makeshift camp, disposing of any evidence that there had been a camp, and lining the convoy up to depart. Tai had done his part just as he had every other day, and was currently buckling his helmet on as he waited for the caravan to rumble to a start. Suddenly, Raven swooped in, standing in front of Tai’s moped, but not looking at him.

“Tribe!” she barked at the top of her lungs. “Get a move on, I’ll catch up!”

With her command, trucks and vans and motorcycles roared to life and began lurching forward in unison. Tai watched in confusion as everyone drove away from the campsite except him, who sat there on his moped, Raven’s hands planted firmly on the handlebars.

“Um, Rae, what’s going on?” he asked, taking his helmet back off.

Raven finally turned to face him, and her face immediately betrayed her, a look of deep sadness painted all over it.

“This is as far as you go, Tai.”

“Hold up!” Tai yelled as he jumped off his moped. “You’re ditching me now?!”

“No, Tai, it’s not like that,” Raven sighed, doing her best to retain her composure.

Tai did his best to let his initial anger pass over him. He took a deep breath before taking a step toward Raven. “Then what is it? I don’t understand, things have been going well.”

“Yeah,” Raven answered. She let go of his moped and closed the distance between them, leaving maybe a foot between them. “Things have been great,” she agreed. “But I can’t let you go any farther with us. We’re going to be hitting the arid lands of Anima soon and it’s going to be extremely dangerous out there.”

“Which makes you leaving behind a huntsman make no sense,” Tai huffed. His arms were crossed as a very annoyed look came over his face.

“Yes Tai, but you’re not just a huntsman.” Raven reached forward and placed her hands on his crossed arms. “You’re also the father of my daughters, and I need you to be safe for them. We’re running from Salem, and if you came with us… if she found out that you know where I am…” Raven gulped down a sob and used all her willpower to keep herself together. “I will not lose any more of my family to that woman.”

There was a beat of silence that felt deafening in the small clearing they were standing in. Finally, Tai let out a quiet hum. “Daughters, huh?”

Raven let out a chuckle, taking comfort in it. That was something she always admired about Tai, his ability to lighten any mood, to be able to focus on the upside of things.

“Well, someone recently pointed out that despite not giving birth to her, Ruby is just as much my daughter as Yang is… Not that either of them would think much of me as their mother.”

Tai unfurled his arms and wrapped them around Raven, pulling her into a tight hug. “They will, you just have to make the effort,” he whispered into her ear.

“I’ll get the tribe to its new home. Then I’ll come back. I’ll put in the effort,” Raven leaned back so that she could stare into Tai’s eyes while cupping one side of his face. “I’m not going to abandon our family this time.”

“Promise?” Tai blurted out almost before he could even think about it. As soon as he did he regretted it, but before he could focus on the regret, he found himself pulled down into a deep, searing kiss. Their arms unconsciously wrapped tight around each other, their bodies craving the warmth and contact of each other, a connection so familiar, yet it had remained dormant for years. Tai found himself lost in that connection just as he always had been, as if every kiss erased another year of separation.

They were both panting when they finally pulled apart, doing so more out of the need for air than want.

“I promise,” Raven replied through red, plump lips. She reluctantly pulled herself from his grasp and took a few steps back. “I promise,” Raven repeated before spinning around and darting off, transforming into her bird form after just a few steps.

Tai stood there, watching as Raven slowly drifted out of view beyond the treeline, all the while with a smile on his face. Raven had made a lot of promises to him over the course of their relationship, and he had to admit that she didn’t have the best track record in keeping them.

But in that clearing, at that moment, watching her soar through the sky, his heart had no room for doubt.

After she was gone, Tai hopped back onto his moped. It rumbled under him as he spun around and began driving back the way they had come. He only got a few yards before he stopped, and took a moment to look back over his shoulders in the direction that caravan had gone.

“I’ll see you soon, Rae.”

#rwby #taiyang xiao long #raven branwen #shay d. mann #vernal #tai x raven #raven x summer #tai x summer #raven x tai x summer #str crossed lovers #str-crossed lovers #sk's writing #rwby fanfiction #sk's 2023 recap

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bushfulofbirds · 4 months

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tbh. For me personally, yellow rose is the healing arc to the team STRQ divorce arc no matter what STRQ ships you pick. All that matters is that Summer Rose was the mom who stepped up in my mind.

#bushful o rambles #rwby #text #shipping #I'm personally more in the rosebird/str-crossed divorce to yellow rose healing camp atm #but tai n summer friends to lovers is superb [and probably closest to canon]#or if u like the qrow is ruby's dad theory #that's cool too #I used to be way into the hummingbird/phoenix camp years ago tbh but my preferences have changed

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nsharks · 5 months

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bleeding blue | apocalypse au

part twelve —other parts

pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley x fem!reader words: 3k tags: *hint at sexual assault. please be cautious!* death. blood. cannibalism mention. zombies of course. AFAB reader. single dad ghost. there will be sex but it isn't here yet. slow burn!!! enemies to lovers. summary: After losing your companions, you run into a skull-masked man and his daughter. They are your last hope for survival.

Dense mud packs onto the soles of your boots. You shift the near-empty backpack on your shoulder and slip back a few sweat-laced strands of hair from your face. Never before were you a morning person. In fact, you used to purposely sign up for all the afternoon lectures in uni. But now, time and sunlight are precious. You set out to search for the camp this morning with only a sliver of sunrise as your companion.

You hope Ghost was right.

He suspected that their camp would be situated in a location with easy access to the military base, river, and nearby village so they could draw resources from all three. So that's the direction you're headed in, squinting at nearby landmarks and interstate signs to help guide you. It's quite the hike: grueling, hilly terrain and moist air that you can't distinguish from your own sweat. You've stepped over some interesting sights along the way. An old forest station with CAMP FEES and LEAVE NO TRACE posters still outside. A small skeleton tucked in a bush with only child-sized rainboots left on it. For a moment, you saw Joseph. Toddling around in the puddles outside your sister’s house. You had to force yourself not to look at it for too long; you wiped your eyes, gritted your teeth, and prayed it had been painless for them.

You come to a narrow creek, crossing over a stone bridge that spits you out among dense evergreens. Finally, a faint column of smoke comes into view just above the forest's canopy.

That must be it.

It's certainly a sign, so you suck in a shaky breath, ignore the rush of blood in your veins, and do what Ghost suggested: climb a tree to get a better look.

There was a time not long ago when climbing trees was your only means of survival. This time, it feels so much easier to hoist yourself up and grip the bark as your muscles flex to steady yourself on a high branch. Luckily, there wasn't much to bring in the backpack Ghost gave you. For now, there's nothing in it other than your lighter, a roll of gauze, that romance book, and a small piece of dry wood.

Squinting your gaze, you make out the silhouette of triangular, orange tents and uneven fencing. Definitely a camp. The fence doesn't appear barbed from here, but it's at least a meter higher than the one that surrounds Ghost's place. You're close enough to see a few blue crates in the center that look like those ones from the military medical site. Is that what they're keeping the supplies in? It seems like the only obvious place based on the layout.

What you really want to know is how many people. Soundlessly, you shift your boots to get a different angle and finally spot movement coming out of one of the tents— a sizeable male wearing a leather jacket.

One.

Is that it?

Your eyes stay locked on the stranger for a minute, tracking his movement as he cooks something over the fire. He gives out a long whistle, the high-pitched sound audible even from where you stand nestled in the treetop. Panic seizes your breath: did he somehow see you and is alerting someone else? But no— you're much too far, and his eyes never shifted in your direction.

Instead, there's more movement, the faint shuffling of paws on the ground, and then a large dog appears at the man's side. He tosses something in front of it, what must be a slab of meat, because the dog is quick to start chowing down with the enthusiasm of a mindless Grey.

"Fuck me," you whisper to yourself, fingertips splintering against the bark. "Couldn't prepare me for that, huh, Ghost?"

The plan he instructed you with is fairly simple and straightforward— you'll just have to stick to it and be mindful of the additional obstacle. You've survived much worse even just a few days ago, so with that in mind, you slip down the column of the tree and purposefully backtrack your steps, gaining a bit more distance between you and the camp.

You need a ruse, something to draw the man out for enough time for you to grab the ammo. Ghost told you to bring the book to help get a fire started since the twigs and leaves here are damp after the storm, so you find a good spot and start ripping out the pages, crumpling them up. You arrange the piece of wood and paper in such a way that you have a minute or two before the smoke really gets going. You pull out your lighter from the pocket of your jeans, start it, and then head back towards the camp, this time going around so you can approach it from the side.

You keep your footsteps as light as possible while moving quickly. Once the man notices the smoke and leaves to scout it out, your timer starts. There's another whistle followed by a gravelly bark from the dog. You sneak close to the side of the fence, pausing behind a tree, just when you catch a glance of the stranger shucking a rifle over his shoulder and exiting out the gate. He shuts it behind him with a series of padlocks.

It won't take him long to find the source of the smoke and realize it's nothing, so you muster all your strength and begin climbing the fence, rusty links digging into your palms. You try to do it without making much noise, but the moment you jump down with a thud, the dog's head snaps in your direction. It begins to growl, flashing thick canines under its bloodied muzzle. You break out into a sprint toward the blue crates, but it crosses the span of the camp in mere seconds, clamping down on your forearm before you can even begin to look for the ammo.

The pain is white hot. You silently cry out as the dog shakes its head, tearing through the fabric of your coat and the tissue of your muscle.

"Fuck."

You tug at your arm, but it doesn't let go. Remembering the piece of squirrel meat you brought as a snack, you dig it from your pocket and wag it in front of the dog's face.

"Come on, let go— please."

It's enough to catch his attention, the bite on your arm loosening once you toss the meat a few meters away and he follows it. You clutch your arm with a ragged breath, ignoring the blood and pain that radiates from it.

The squirrel can only distract him for so long, so you urgently flip open the lid of the first crate. Staring back at you is a mix of what appears to be severed limbs and various animal parts. The pungent smell floods up your nose. You instantly clamp the lid back down, fighting the urge to vomit, and move on to the next one.

Ammo.

Plenty of it.

Without a second to waste, you sling off the backpack and begin stuffing it with the cardboard packs of cartridges, hoping it's the kind Ghost needs. When you tug the zipper closed, a decision pops into your brain: to keep looking through the other crates for medicine, or to get the fuck out of there. You take a millisecond too long to think about it because suddenly, you notice the dog from the corner of your eye, done with the meat and moving towards you with another throaty growl.

You tug the heavy backpack on and make a beeline for the closest side of the fence. In the panic, you fail to notice the creak of the gate opening until you are stumbling into a hard chest. A strong hand wraps around your bicep.

Fuck.

He's back.

This is it, then.

"Rocky— sit."

The growling behind you ceases. A whole new fear washes over you as you blink up at a rugged face. The stranger uses his other hand to take hold of your jaw, hard enough that your teeth are forced to grind together. In a heart-pounding silence, he inspects you, bluntly looking you up and down. Then, he takes out a knife and presses it to your neck. Your throat bobs against the icy metal.

"Fucking bitch," he mutters. "Start a fire to try and steal from me?"

"N-no!" Your brain reels for a lie. "No— I don't know what you're talking about. I-I came here looking for help."

"Try a better lie, sweetheart."

"I mean it," you stammer, holding onto the fact that he hasn't slit your throat yet. Raw desperation speaks for you. "My… my friends are gone. Someone attacked us a few days ago and killed them. I've been alone ever since and then I found your camp, hoping someone would be here to help me."

This seems to grab his attention. Dark eyes narrow. It's now you realize he's quite young, maybe in his thirties.

"Someone attacked you, huh? Who?"

"Um, some guy. I don't know. I didn't get a good look at him because he was… he was wearing a mask."

"So some guy killed all your friends by himself?" When you slowly nod, cringing at your terrible story, his jaw flexes. "I've lost my friends, too. They went out on a hunting trip three days ago and haven't come back."

"Oh. I'm sorry," you lie, swallowing. "So you… so you believe me?"

"I believe your friends are dead. I don't believe you didn't start that fire to distract me."

His words make your heart race. Again, his eyes trail down, and the knife follows, lowering to the floral fabric of your blouse and popping open one of the buttons.

"Take it off," he suddenly orders.

"W-what?"

"The shirt. Take it off. Let me decide if I should kill you or keep you."

You put on a brave face and do as he says, not given much room to protest despite the sick feeling that twists your gut. You drop the backpack, half-inclined to swing it at him, but then what? There is no way you can take him in a fight, especially since he's armed with a knife and gun, and there is no Grey this time to help you out.

The coat falls to the ground at your feet before you shakily undo the buttons of your blouse, wincing from the movement of your bitten arm. Crisp air greets your bare skin. Your nipples tighten uncomfortably and his gaze darts right to them, intensifying the churn in your stomach.

He gives a low whistle. "Lucky me."

Your nails jab crescents into the palms of your hands. "Am I… am I worth keeping, then?"

He bears a sick, toothy smile. "Pretty for a thief," he confirms. "Haven't seen someone so pretty in a few years now." His eyes flash to your arm and he reaches to grab it, making you choke. "Hell, Rocky. You gave her an ugly bite, though. Might get in the way of what I have in mind for you."

Half-naked, you are dragged by the arm to one of the blue crates. He slips the knife into his pocket in order to search through it. You notice pills, liquids, and a single glass bottle of what appears to be clear alcohol, which he pulls out along with a cloth.

"Tell me your name," he says, forcing you to sit down on a folding chair. "Before I enjoy you.”

You tell him quietly.

With an eery gentleness, he sits across from you and dabs the bite with some alcohol. The sting is immeasurable, but you roll your eyes to the sky and silence yourself. The feel of his cold, calloused fingers makes you imagine how they would feel touching other parts of your body. You need to think of something quick before he gets the chance to. He still has the gun on him, and the only knife you brought is in the jacket on the ground. Your eyes flicker to the bottle, which he set down by the leg of his chair.

"What's your name?" you ask, looking back at him.

"Leo."

"So, um, Leo— how did you end up here?"

"I was a new recruit in the military when shit started five years ago," he explains idly, fixated on your arm. "Stationed at the base nearby."

"I saw medical tents there," you mutter, clearing your throat. "Did you help with that?"

He chuckles. "For all of a day until some buddies and I decided to take what we could and leave. There was no point in trying to help people. We figured that out pretty quick."

"Oh. Were those the buddies who haven't come back?"

He nods. "I'm sure they're dead by now. But, one good thing is," he reaches for the gauze, sniggering lowly, "—that means I don't have to share you."

As he begins to unwrap the gauze, you decide he’s distracted enough. It happens in one, urgent motion. You clasp the alcohol bottle by the neck, arch it above his head, and thrust it down. The glass shatters, drenching him with alcohol and blood as a piece slices open his forehead. He immediately drops the gauze and hisses in pain.

"Bitch," he snarls. "I'm going to fucking kill you!"

He leaps to his feet and pulls the knife out again. As he does, you dig the lighter out of your pocket and ignite a flame, bringing it to his soaked shoulder. Instantly, fire flashes up his neck and face in hues of orange and blue, even catching your wet fingertips. It renders him blind as he howls and tries to swing at you, but you immediately run away, rubbing your burned hand against your jeans.

You grab your discarded clothes and backpack before flinging open the crate with medicine in it. You begin stuffing as many bottles into the side pockets of the backpack as you can, breathing frantically.

"I'm going to kill you," he seethes again, and the firing of a bullet somewhere behind you means he must have grabbed his rifle.

But he still can't see, his eyes blistered by the flames that continue to lick his face. Each shot bites the ground as you heave the backpack on your shoulders and take off toward the fence.

The dog barks, louder and louder as he runs after you. You don't look back. You wad your clothes up in a ball and toss them over the fence to free up your hands. Then, you quickly climb up, the muscles in your face tightly clenched as the full backpack weighs you down.

You're too slow.

Teeth grab hold of your boot.

You're pulled back down, hands spreading out to break the fall.

In the mud, you wrestle beneath a snarling jaw, dirtying up your hair and exposed skin. This time, you don't hesitate to hurt the animal. You grab your lighter again and thrust the flame into the dog's eye, making it leap back with a pained squeal.

Freed, you scramble back up the fence.

You leap down. Grab your clothes

You can still hear him shouting as you run away, weaving through the thicket of trees. Only when the sound fades do you stop to catch your breath, sinking down against a tree and putting your clothes back on.

"Here."

A moan of relief escapes your lips the moment you shrug off the backpack and drop it at Ghost's feet. He crouches down, swearing under his breath when he unzips it and the ammo practically spills out. He grabs a few boxes, opening and inspecting them under the violet light of sunset. The walk back took you hours longer. You were almost tempted to sleep in a tree for the night, but the threat of Greys or any more strangers kept you going.

"Good. This is good, Twix." There's a hint of disbelief in his voice before he clears it away, zipping the backpack up. He stands and offers a lengthy look from your head to your boots. "How many were there?"

"Just one."

"Just one," he repeats, brow lifting. "And you look this roughed up. What happened?"

"There was a dog," you say dully, lifting your arm up to show him the bitemark in your sleeve. Beneath it, you already bandaged the wound, not wanting to draw attention to its scent. “Just a dog and a cannibal rapist guy."

"What?"

You shake your head. "Nothing. I'm going to sleep."

Before you can take a step past him, warm fingers latch onto your wrist. So warm. You inhale a breath, a burn of moisture lining your eyes.

“Please don’t touch me," you request in a harsher whisper than you intend.

You can no longer see the details of him with how bleary your eyes are, but you feel his touch disappear.

"What happened?" he asks again, voice lowering.

"Nothing. I got your ammo and I handled it. When can we leave?"

There is a pause before he responds as if he is debating whether or not to drop the subject. For now, he does.

"Tomorrow, hopefully."

"Good." The back of your hand smooths over your eyes. "Don't— don't forget our deal, Ghost. Promise me."

A firm nod. "I don't back out on my word."

As if to prove it, he shucks off the jacket and hands it over.

#simon ghost riley x you #simon riley x reader #ghost #simon ghost riley x reader #fanfiction #cod

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marchtothefuckingsea · 2 years

Text

You Belong Here - Dean Winchester

My Masterlist

Enemies to lovers undertones, hurt/comfort, angst

Word Count: 2.7k Warnings: Injury, descriptive injure, blood, canon violence. Not proofread.

Prompted by: “Let’s just say that if I saw you bleeding out on my kitchen floor, I’d act like I hadn’t seen you.” #31 on this amazing list. When I say this prompt took on a life of it’s own I am telling you WHAT

"Would you two calm down?" Sam sighed in irritation, walking into the kitchen. Dean and I were at each other's throats again-for the second time that day-over a hunt he and Sam had gone on without even telling me. They had then called me up in a panic asking to be picked up. I had panicked too then, because they had told me they would just be at some bar, not going on a werewolf hunt.

"No, we're in this as a team, aren't we? I know you didn't want me to go, but you could have at least told me you were going out on a hunt instead of blatantly lying to me like that!" I argued.

"I didn't want you to go because a third person would just get in the way." Dean hissed.

"Oh, so I'm just the third wheel now?"

"Always have been." Dean was suddenly indifferent now, turning to take a swig of his beer.

"Then who would've saved your ass back there, Winchester?" I narrowed my eyes at him, voice dangerously low.

He shrugged. "I'll admit, it's convenient to have you around."

"And I'm sure you wouldn't go out of your way to help me out, would you?"

"Let's just say that if I saw you bleeding out on my kitchen floor, I'd act like I hadn't seen you." He said indifferently.

"I never really was a part of this stupid team bullshit." I spat, getting to my feet and stalking off. "I should've known that from the start."

Loading my gear up into my car, I slammed the trunk shut with more force than necessary, leaning onto my elbows and heaving a sigh. I ran my hands through my hair. I was trying not to be impulsive about this.

"Fuck it." I muttered. Those two idiots may not have been able to take him, but I knew how they approached things. I'd be more sneaky about it. Plus, they had already injured it, giving me a head start.

I climbed out of my car at the cabin, tucking my silver knife into my boot and patting my hip to make sure my gun with the silver bullet was strapped to my belt. Satisfied, I stalked off into the woods, slinking around the cabin and taking notes of the rooms with lights on. I peered into a window in confusion. There wasn't any movement. Not even the flash or changing colors of a TV screen.

I was only able to gasp in surprise as I was suddenly tackled to the ground. With a grunt, I rolled away from my attacker, scrambling to my feet and yanking the knife out of my boot. My eyes took a moment to focus, but when they did, I could make out the heaving figure of a man in front of me. He wasn't completely shifted, half of his face covered in dense fur, and his arms as well. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I knew there would be another of you coming." He growled.

"You guessed right, mutt." I spat at him, ducking underneath his sudden swing and sinking the blade of my knife into his arm. He howled in pain as the silver burned into his flesh. It served as a doubled edged sword when he tried to pull it out, as the hilt and handle were crafted with silver, too. Smoke rose from his furry hand as he ripped the knife from his bicep and tossed it into the brush, a low growl emanating from his throat.

I took a step back, expecting him to be writhing in pain by now. I hadn't really dealt with werewolves, and from what the Winchester brothers had told me, he should have been almost incapacitated at my silver blade. No wonder they hadn't been able to take him out. Now that I could take his face in more clearly in the moonlight, I saw several scars, new ones crossing over old ones, and I noticed a blood spot on his tank top that certainly hadn't been there before. I assumed that was where Dean had said he had shot him.

Eyeing his wound, I lunged at him, digging my fingers into it. He made a strangled sound, and in a blur, I managed to pin him to the ground. I fumbled for my gun, my hands shaking with adrenaline, and in that small window of time, he had flipped me onto my back and, with a sickening crack, landed an inhumanly strong punch to my ribs. I groaned, fighting the urge to scream out. His features shifted wildly before he completely turned. He went absolutely wild, tearing at the tender flesh of my stomach with long, sharp claws, and ripping into my bicep and shoulder with his teeth. My hands scrambled for my gun and continued to fumble with it through the reddish haze of my vision, before I finally managed to off the safety with a click, and shoot him in the heart.

I rolled his body off of mine with a whimper, struggling onto all fours. I could feel my blood pouring out of the wounds I had sustained, and it was already weakening me substantially. I staggered to my feet, clutching onto a tree for support. I stumbled to my car which, although wasn't far, felt like miles in my current state. By the time I had slumped into the seat, I was struggling to stay conscious. The blood loss was getting to me. Quick.

My drive back to the bunker was a blur, and I fumbled with the keys multiple times before I found the right one. I didn't even consider knocking; I already knew I wasn't welcome anymore. I never really had been.I would bandage myself up and be gone by morning.

They were always a sibling team, and there was never any room for another person. Although, at one point, I had liked Dean, and I almost thought he returned it. But it was obvious enough to me now that he didn't-and probably never had-felt that way about me. Sam was like a brother to me, but I'm sure he was only tolerating me too; he was probably just too nice to say anything about it.

As soon as I made it in, I immediately made for the kitchen. I thrusted my forearms under the cool water of the sink, letting out a sound something halfway between a sigh and a whimper as the crimson water ran down the drain. My exposed flesh stung horribly. A dripping trail of blood had followed me across the floor, and was now beginning to pool around my feet. I slumped tiredly over the counter, before turning and sliding down the cabinets, weakly holding my shredded arm to my chest. I knew I was bleeding out fast, but I didn't have it in me to care.

I told myself I was just regaining my balance, I'd get up as soon as the room stopped spinning so dizzyingly. I made a pathetic effort to put pressure on my stomach wounds, my hands shaking. Voices followed by the slamming of a door and rapid, urgent footsteps made me snap my head up, which had fallen forward in exhaustion. I tried to make myself smaller, curling into the cabinet that I was leaning against and shaking. My heart pounded in my ears.

I startled back into consciousness as a hand came into contact with my shoulder, shaking me awake. I scrambled to get away from them, panicking when my back hit a wall. My eyes darted around wildly before they were met with frightened green ones.

"Dean?" I coughed, blood bubbling up in my throat.

"It's me, sweetheart. Stay with me." His hand briefly cupped the side of my face, before he hastily turned to grab something, muttering a curse under his breath. He wadded up a dish towel before pressing it to my stomach. I cried out, struggling against him as he carefully laid me on the floor. I kicked my legs helplessly, gripping onto his hands with a petrified look in my eyes. In my confused state, I genuinely thought he was trying to kill me.

"Sam!" He called out over his shoulder. Rapid footsteps came down the hall, and I heard Sam's voice before he came into view.

"What the fuck happened??" He asked, immediately turning on his heel and leaving the room.

"Sam," I mumbled, thinking he was leaving me. "No."

"Don't worry, he's just going to get some things to stitch you up. Don't do that." He added as I struggled onto my elbows. His hand pressed against my chest, forcing my back down to the floor. "God, you're fucking freezing." He added.

"She's cold." I heard Dean tell Sam when he came back into the room. I cracked my eyes back open, fingers feeling for my pulse. I groaned in protest.

"Shit, you're right. Okay." I heard things rustling. The pressure on my stomach lessened and I visibly relaxed in relief. It didn't last long though, before a burning sensation spread through my flesh. I squirmed in discomfort at first, until it became even worse, and I let out a low moan of pain.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm sorry." Dean's voice was uncharacteristically soft. Caring, even.

"I killed it." I mumbled, forcing my tired eyes open. His eyes were glossy as if he was crying, but he had a sort of breathless smile on his face. The burning subsided, and gauze took its place.

"Good. Good job, I'm proud of you." He praised me, holding my face in his hands. I sighed, unintentionally leaning into the warmth and comfort of his palms. I'd enjoy it while I could, either before I left, or for however long until I inevitably lost my hold on consciousness and slipped into the hands of death.

"You've never said that to me before." I sighed.

"I know, I should have. You're an amazing hunter." Finished, Sam got to his feet with a nod to Dean, leaving the room. I raised my head weakly to follow him, before giving up and returning my attention to the older Winchester.

"'m not." I argued, my words slurring. "'m going to die from a fucking werewolf."

"You're not going to die." He said sternly.

"What happened to letting me bleed out on the kitchen floor?" I asked him, changing the subject and struggling to keep my eyes open.

"I changed my mind." I felt him slide his arms underneath me. My eyes fluttered shut, a feeling of safety washing over me. I relaxed against him, ignoring his orders to stay awake.

I woke up from a fevered, restless sleep, rolling onto my side with a moan and beginning to shiver violently. Despite the fact I was sweating profusely, my senses told me otherwise, and I curled into the warmth at my back with another shudder, squeezing my eyes shut and wrapping my arms around myself. The dim light of the room was familiar and easy on my pulsating headache. I laid there, beginning to fall asleep again, as memories of the event returned to me. Movement at my back made me freeze in realization. I turned my head slowly, praying I was wrong.

Dean's face was inches from mine, and he shuffled in his sleep, frowning. He slung an arm over my waist. I began to struggle onto my elbows, trying to put some distance between us. This was too much.

His green eyes opened in alarm as I wiggled out of his grip.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." I mumbled out an apology as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, resting my elbows on my knees and pushing back a wave of dizziness with a groan. I felt the mattress shift, and he was beside me with his arm around my shoulders. I unconsciously leaned into him.

"For what? Sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry about." He gently rubbed my uninjured arm.

"No, I've always just been the third wheel between you and Sam. I just keep getting in the way and fucking things up."

"You're no-" He began.

"You've said it yourself, over and over again. I get it. You don't have to lie to me just because I almost got myself killed." I muttered out the last part, pulling away from him.

He leaned forward on his knees, head in his hands. "You don't actually- God, I really fucked up." He mumbled under his breath before turning his gaze back to me. "Look, I didn't mean it. I never did." He explained. "I'm so sorry." He apologized softly. Any and all trace of cockiness or sarcasm was gone. He was genuine.

"It's a little late for that, Winchester. I'm leaving. I already planned on it."

"You can't just make decisions like that on a whim-" He protested.

"I'm not. I've been thinking this over for a while now. For months. It's for the best. No hard feelings." I reassured him. There were definitely hard feelings-ones that were incredibly hard to face.

"I love you." He admitted suddenly. "I care about you. That's why I don't want you to hunt with us."

"You can't say shit like that on a whim just to get me to stay." I retorted harshly, ignoring the fluttering in my gut at his confession.

"I'm not. I- I don't want you to get hurt. What we do is dangerous, I'm sure you know that. I don't want you to get caught up in all of this, I'd rather push you away than- than lose you." He choked out the last part, meeting my gaze intently.

"I call bullshit. You know I'd still hunt whether I was with you guys or not." I said as flatly as I could.

"Exactly." His eyes were pleading. He was slowly chipping away at my armor.

"You just want me here to bail you out when you need it." I argued.

"I want you here for so many more reasons than that."

"You're a liar, Winchester."

Our faces had been inches apart, and he suddenly closed the distance, his lips meeting mine. I sighed, reveling in the feeling for a heartbeat before I pushed him away, wincing.

"Is that proof enough for you that I'm not lying?" He asked breathlessly. I longed to close the gap between us once again.

"Stop." My voice cracked. "You're making this harder than it needs to be."

"Then don't go." He pulled me into a hug against his chest. I didn't fight him, I only leaned into him and gripped onto his shirt with a silent sob, ignoring the faint protests of my injuries. I must have been on painkillers, or I knew I would be in much more pain. His hands found the small of my back, and he tenderly rubbed them up and down that vulnerable spot.

"I can't stay." I choked out into his shirt.

"Why not?"

"I love you. I love you so much it fucking hurts." I admitted. "And when you started being an asshole to me, it hurt even more."

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry sweetheart." He mumbled into my hair.

"I've never belonged anywhere, and I thought I had finally found somewhere I did and then I don't- I can't-" I continued to drunkenly confess.

"Shh, calm down." He soothed me as I drew in a shaky breath, struggling to hold back my tears. "This is exactly where you belong, for as long as you want it."

"Promise?" I mumbled absurdly.

I felt his lips in my hair quirk upwards into a smile. "Promise."

#supernatural #supernatural fic #spn #dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #dean wincester angst #supernatural angst #supernatural x reader #hurt/comfort #jensen ackles #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles fanfiction #jensen ackles fanfic #dean winchester oneshot

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dummybirdnero · 7 months

Note

Now that we have Goofy Summer, can u imagine goofy polystr/str crossed lovers ‘girlfriend as a hat’ double stack??? Dragon!Tai with wolf!Summer sprawled on his big ol head and then raven!Raven (thats fun to say hehehe) perched on Summer’s head, theyre kinda like a lil tower!!

A hat and another hat

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lovingdabeessss · 1 year

Text

Imagine if Yang got her thing where she goes 🥺🥺🥺 the SECOND she’s touched gently

from raven

Yang doing 🥺🥺🥺: 💖✨💖Bby, darling girl sweetheart who could never do anything wrong soft Bby majestic lovey sweetie beloved💖✨💖

Raven doing 🥺🥺🥺: sad pathetic loser❤️

Bonus angst because imagine if summer had invited Raven back into the polycule and convinced Raven to at least visit and be apart of the family again and Yang and Ruby almost got their entire healthy family to raise them prior to summer totally dying and fucking that all up

Raven: *does all of the terrible Raven shit*

Me: >:/

Raven: *gave Yang her terrible flirting and sad eyes*

Me: oh!! Forgiven

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tequiilasunriise · 10 months

Text

"Blake, are your parents dating my mom?"

"...Meow."

@min3nc's post about Snowleopard ripped open the Pandora Box that is some of my headcanons about this throuple (and the subsequent Bellaschneeblings interactions in my post here) so sit tight y'all this list is gonna be long because I absolutely adore this healthy bi4bi4bi poly pilf couple that foils whatever the fuck Divorce Mcgees Summer, Raven, n Tai had going on (don't get me wrong, I adore str-crossed lovers, especially whatever the fuck Rosebird had, but cmon you could power a small nation off of their Divorce Energy alone)

-They have zero in-canon interactions but the thought of Willow slowly healing and learning to love again from two characters shown to be incredibly sweet and patient and understanding and oh so gentle and tender and earnest? Guys this alone should sell you on the ship like!! LIKE!!!

-WILLOW HEALING FROM HER ABUSIVE MARRIAGE TRAUMA WITH THE HEALTHIEST COUPLE!! GHIRA AND KALI TAG TEAMING TO VALIDATE AND SMOTHER THE SHIT OUTTA THIS ENDEARING MILF WITH SO MUCH LOVE AND SUPPORT!!!

-Takes a deep breath. Wowie. Do y'all get it though do y'all understand the vision?

-I need me vulnerable Willow asking the Pilfadonnas fer parenting advice and the pair to be more than happy to help their girlfriend just so eager to help!! They're so reassuring and tender with her, making sure she doesn't feel like a terrible shit fer asking fer help about this like, "Oh, oh sweetheart. You've been through so much, and it's a good thing you're fighting fer your second chance to be the mother your children need and deserve. It's alright, darling, we're right here with you."

-Furthermore, Willow would feel so much guilt eating at her for her ex-husband's crimes against the Faunus as a whole and the Pilfadonnas, the leaders of the Faunus themselves, would help talk through her guilt and affirm that Willow is not to blame fer bullshit Jacques pulled and help her with the process of finding a good therapist like like like!!! There's so much shit here guys!!!

-"It was by marrying me that Jacques gained access to the resources tied to the Schnee name and carved out the world. I didn't do anything to stand up to him and stop him from ruining my family's name, and so by doing nothing I'm a part of his sins."

"....Babygirl we love you so much but there's SO MUCH wrong to unpack here."

-Also Willow deserves to be bisexually panicked by two hot cat people bc I said so she just deserves okay trust trust trust

-Anyways, the Schneeblings are mad sus of the Pilfadonnas at first because they ALLLLL know what kinda abusive bullcrap their mom went through in her dead marriage with Jackass Schnee but all eventually coming around to really love Ghira's and Kali's seemingly endless unconditional love (Weiss was the quickest to adapt, then Winter, and finally little Whitley)

-The Pilfadonnas are so sweet and loving to their new kids and see 'em as their own straight up but don't pressure any typa connection and respect the Schneeblings so much like, "I would prefer just Kali, but if calling me Ms. Belladonna makes you more comfortable then go right ahead sweetheart" LIKE THEYRE JUST THE BEST STEPARENTS EVER SO MUCH VALIDATION AND PATIENCE AND SWEETNESS!!!

-"Chieftain Ghira, sir, it's good to see you."

"Winter, while I won't stop you from calling me by that title if that's what makes you the most comfortable, you don't have to be so strict with yourself. There's no need to address me like you're a military subordinate, sweetheart."

"...I would die for you, sir."

"Oh! Um! I'm very grateful for that, but, uh, let's also not huh? Wouldn't want you dying anytime soon ahahahaaa."

"You're right, sir, the Maiden powers should not be so carelessly tossed around."

".....Alright so we're going to go find you a good therapist and start working on your sense of personhood-"

-The Pilfadonnas introduce the concept of therapy and healthier coping mechanisms to all of the Schnees REALNESS

-"But OP wouldn't Weiss already have learned that from her super supportive friends?" Weiss' found family is incredible but healthy coping mechanisms are NOT part of that package deal holy shit hypertraumatized child soldiers left and righttt baby

-Anyways, one time Whitley slipped and accidentally called Ghira "Hey dad-" and everyone FROZE before Whitley rushed his question and then ran the f u c k off as Ghira started wiping tears with Kali holding him close and Willow being so emotional at the her son finally has a solid, good father figure in his life oMG HES STARTING TO ACCEPT THE PILFADONNAS!!!

-Eventually, the Schneeblings graduate to calling the Pilfadonnas just Kali and Ghira (and Blake calling Willow by her first name was already established back when she was crashing Schnee Manor in V8 so we chilling) but Whitley, oh my heart, sometimes slips with a 'mama' or 'dad' to his stepparents and down the line he even stops getting embarrassed over it and GOSH does it melt the Pilfadonnas' hearts everytime he calls 'em that it doesn't matter if it's the tenth or the hundredth time they're sosossooo soft

-One time Weiss was practicing her fencing stances and didn't realize the Pilfadonnas were watching her, and then when they started to praise how amazing her swordsmanship is? Babygirl actually starts to cry a little because it was always, "You need to be faster, Schnees aren't supposed to be so slow" and "What would your grandfather say if he saw such sloppy forms? Again!" and never, "Oh, Weiss, honey, you were wonderful out there! You must have trained very hard to be so good!"

-If you give any of the Schneeblings a fucken shred of unconditional praise they will crumple faster than a stale cookie. On a daily basis, Weiss jokes and asks Blake how the FUCK did she not end up more well-adjusted (she knows about the bullshit with Adam but Weiss also knows that Blake is aware she's just messing around)

-So we've established some headcanons of the Schneelings interacting with the Pilfadonnas, but hear me out awkward as fuck Blake and Willow interactions bc Willow has NO IDEA how to interact with her daughter's teammate turned stepdaughter???

-Because, you know, "Oh uh hey my ex-husband exploited and abused the shit out the Faunus for years on end and you were one of the people heavily affected to the point where you, as a literal child, turned to a life of vigilante terrorist justice as a form of fighting back for your own basic rights"

-Blake, like her parents, completely understand that Willow had nothing to with Jackass' cruelty and instead gives her new stepmom an easy smile and starts talking small talk about Weiss' adventures with Team RWBY and!! Yeah!! Willow genuinely wants to know what's been going on in her daughter's life since she was so absent from it during her alcoholic days

-The pair bond over a shared loved of Weiss, and at one point Willow says, "If it isn't overstepping, can I just say I am truly fortunate that Weiss has someone like you in her life to support her" and Blake chuckles softly and replies, "It wasn't easy at first, but yeah, I'm glad she's in my life too" AND ARGAGRGRHRH THE BONDINGGGG

-Speaking of bonding, imagine the Pilfadonnas vibing with Klein and bonding over tea together, and seeing their adoptive dad figure Klein vibe with their new steparents may or may not have sped up Whitley and Winter warming up to the Pilfadonnas justttt a litttttlleee

-When Kali and Ghira see their stepkids flinch at loud voices or innocently raised hands, when they notice the low self-esteem Winter still carries or Whitley's facade of maturity so that adult figures actually acknowledge him, in front of the kids they're very respectful and apologetic of accidental triggers without being patronizing, but when they're alone? Straight fucking murder in their eyes. The Pilfadonnas are fucken e n r a g e d they're fucken seething because how dare Jackass Schnee hurt these sweet kids so fucking much

-They make sure neither the Schneeblings nor Willow are around when they let out their furious vents to each other absolutely slandering Jackass' name with clenched fists and bared fangs because they don't want their anger to trigger anyone but yeahhhh. Yeah, if Jacques is still out there we're adding two bisexual cat pilfs to the waiting list fer ripping his head off

-ANYWAYS, on a lighter note, can y'all imagine the Belladonnas are vibing and purring together all comfy and shit and the Schnees see them and are like, "Shit man they're so HEALTHY and FUNCTIONAL what the HECK??"

-Blake groaning, "Dadddddd!!" when her dad pulls up with family albums to talk about his precious daughter's childhood and, "Not you too mom!!!" when Kali excitedly joins in. As Blake is play wrestling with her parents to get the photobooks away, the Schnees are just witnessing this in various levels of amused but also kinda like, "Damn wow is this what a healthy family's supposed to look like dannggg that's crazzzzzyyyyyyyy"

-Vacations to Menagerie where the Belladonnas playfully make fun of their sunburnt as all hell white family members, and even though some Faunus are wary of the visiting Schnees, others are more open to giving these guys a chance and hey!! Turns out the SDC is actually going to be a good company after the shit Jacques Schnee pulled. Imagine the healing between Faunus relations and the Schnee family name when Willow and her kids pull up to help wherever and however they can

-I'm just saying family dinners would be so healthy and healing fer Willow and her kids after years filled with so many isolated, lonely, suffocating as hell dinners when Jacques still walked these halls. Instead of stiff etiquette and barbed questions throw their way by a spiteful bitchass with a clip-on tie, there's warm laughter and jovial banter thrown about; genuine inquires about their day/interests that lead to invested conversation and freely given praise; large, beaming smiles from three dark color-schemed people who radiantly glow like the sun. It's like the Belladonnas breathed back life into the hollowed out Schnees who barely survived all the different ways jackass had hurt them, and that's just so fucken lovely to think about

#please go check out part two with the bellaschneeblings interactions shit was SO FUN to write #also!! yall feel free to reblog with ur own hcs!! the more the merrier #snowleopard came outta nowhere and absolutely rotted my brain like theyre actually so good???#crwby u cowards give me the healthy old ppl polycule they would be so fucken good #Qrow n Willow would be recovering alcoholic bros- much to Winter's chagrin- but its to these two loving cat ppl that Willow comes home to #rebuilding vauco through the power of good parental figures therapy and bisexuality #rwby #rwby snow leopard #kali belladonna #ghira belladonna #willow schnee #pilfadonnas #schneeblings #winter schnee #weiss schnee #whitley schnee #blake belladonna #rwby snowleopard

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rwby-encrusted-blog · 5 months

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Blake: A Blonde, a Branwen, and a Team Leader walk into a bar-

Weiss: In the Kingdom of Atlas or Kingdom of Vale?

Blake: Doesn't matter because it all ends the same way: Someone's been stabbed, someone's been arrested, and whoever's left snaps the bar over their knee for hurting the group.

Ruby: Hey! Don't- Well, actually.

Yang: Yeah, that's unfortunately accurate.

#rwby #ruby rose #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #weiss schnee #rwby shitpost #str crossed lovers #true fairgame #true fair game

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dude-why-3 · 4 days

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Happiest of birthdays, @annawayne ♡

Thank you for existing, and always being so kind. May you have the happiest birthday of them all 🎉

This one is for you, especially. I hope you enjoy it :))

Under the Willow Tree, part three of the Star-Crossed Lovers Series

The boy wipes the sweat off his forehead, swipes blond locks of hair out of his face, the torrid sun burning his skin. He slams the scythe into the ground, takes a deep breath in before continuing with his work. Ever since his grandfather has fallen sick, he’s had to do all the work on the mayor’s land– the wretched man didn’t care who did it as long as they got it done and didn’t ask for anything more than he’d offer. Which was barely enough for the two of them to get by, but more than nothing. Any help was good enough, and maybe, with some luck, he’d afford to buy his grandfather’s medicine this month. Maybe he’d even afford a bucket of milk, he thinks. Maybe if he does some extra work around the mayor’s property, he’d agree to pay him a little more– his folks have been working for the man for decades already, he could spare them that much.

A sudden rustle snaps him out of his thoughts. Armin stops in his tracks, scythe frozen in hand. He listens cautiously, glances around, scanning his surroundings– the land lying before him endlessly, the tool he’s abandoned by his side, next to his discarded shirt, the dark forest standing tall to his side, the village buzzing by the feet of the valley.

For a second thinks it’s an animal, but then the sound of shoes against dirt makes him reconsider. He gazes at his bare dirty feet as he continues his work, dreading whatever interaction might follow. He can only hope it’s just a passerby.

That thought disappears when he hears a quiet, whispery voice calling his name. He doesn’t have to turn around to know it’s the mayor’s daughter, her voice is enough of a giveaway. A glance towards her is all the confirmation he needs, the sight of her leather shoes enough to give her away. He presses his lips together and keeps his head low, acknowledging her with a nod but not raising his eyes. Getting in trouble for even daring to be in her immediate proximity is not something he's willing to do today, or any other day, so he keeps doing his work, raising the scythe and slamming it back onto the ground, dragging it towards him.

The girl doesn’t move an inch, her eyes burning holes in the back of his head. Suddenly, Armin is very aware of his scrawny figure, unprotected by the shirt he's abandoned by the side of the property when the sun got too unbearable. But he tries to ignore it, minding his work, trying to ignore her gaze. But his ignorance seems to only make her gaze more intense, for she doesn’t budge, nor does she move, not giving any sign of leaving anytime soon. Eventually, he sighs, straightens his back, and raises his eyes to her level.

"Is there anything I could do to help you?" he inquiries, a slight notch of annoyance in his voice.

The girl doesn’t immediately answer, giving him time to observe her, his eyes glossing over her appearance. Her shoes are too spotless, her long white dress too clean for her to be standing there, the sleeves richly embroidered with red flowers. The same pattern adorns her waist, then the skirt flows all the way to her ankles, the hem adorned by the same red flowers. Her hair looks freshly washed, whereas his has been getting greasier by the day.

The blonde girl says nothing, her lips pressed together, her hands hidden behind her back. Her icy eyes pierce through him and he finds himself holding her glare for a brave moment.

Seeing how she wouldn’t spare him one word, Armin drops his gaze with a sigh and goes back to his work. Only when he raises the scythe above his head for a third time does the mayor's daughter speak.

"There is something you could help me with."

He slams his utensile into the ground again and, with a tired sigh, drops onto the floor himself, his legs too tired to keep him up straight. He takes a moment to catch his breath, then crosses his legs and raises his eyes to meet hers again, intrigued to find her frowning at him as if he were intimidating her. Armin raises an eyebrow.

"What can I do for you, Annie?" he asks, his voice softer when he speaks.

The girl opens and closes her mouth as if the words won’t come out. Armin tilts his head at her, looking her up and down quizzically. As if her presence here wasn’t weird enough, her behaviour is truly strange. What could it possibly be that she, the daughter of the richest man in the region, would need from a mere peasant like himself? And why can’t she just say it?

She raises on her toes then falls back on her heels, and takes a deep breath in.

"I need you to teach me how to dance," she eventually mumbles, looking away.

It takes a few seconds for the words to register. Armin blinks once, twice, looking at her quizzically. Her complexion grows pinker under her eyes, her frown deepening. A tiny smile creeps onto Armin’s lips– she’s the flustered one now. Oh how the roles reversed.

"I saw you at that wedding last week," Annie says quietly. "You danced all the folk dances as if they were in your blood. I want you to teach me how to do that."

Armin frowns slightly, recalling the event. It wasn’t that big of a deal. His neighbor married one of his daughters off to some lord on the other side of the river, one of the mayor’s close friends. His friends’ and his childhood friend, someone their age. The most they could do was send her off nicely, make her wedding night memorable. So, Eren, Mikasa and himself danced with her all night, and started most if not all dances. Most people joined in on their joy. Some clapped along to the music. Some simply watched.

"What's in for me?" he asks, amusement creeping into his voice.

Annie’s lips twitch up, as if she just regained control of the situation. She finally takes her arms out from behind her back and reveals the book she’s been hiding, holding it so he can see the cover, but not close enough for him to touch. His eyes widen at the sight, betraying his excitement. He quickly scans the cover, thick and pristine, and simple enough– a light brown cover, with golden edges and black letters spelling out its title in the middle, too small for him to read from afar.

"You get to read this," Annie says slowly, "but only when you're with me. You cannot take it home, and you cannot tell another soul about it."

Armin presses his lips together, his eyes transfixed on the book, hungry to hold it in his own hands. He's wanted to put his hands on one for so long, it almost feels surreal to have a book this close to his face. He considers her preposition for a long minute before saying, "I cannot teach you now. I'm supposed to be working."

"Well, you're not," she retorts. She crosses her arms over her chest and raises an eyebrow.

"Well, I should be."

"What about tonight then? Down to the river, after you're done with work," she suggests, as if she had all this planned.

Armin doesn’t hesitate when he agrees, earning a satisfied smile from the mayor’s daughter.

"Good luck with your work then," she says, turning around. "Don’t take too long."

And for the first time in a long time, Armin has something to look forward to.

#the star crossed lovers au #aruani #aruani fic #i know i said march and it is obviously not march. but it is here it is done it is all for you #thank you for existing really you're such a lovely lovely person

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