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glacecakes · 3 years

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Wild Hunt

Eugene isn't exactly well liked by his men, but when they want to induct him into their ranks, he's not going to complain! All he has to do is hunt down a beast that they prepared for this event specifically-

It's Varian. Eugene is accidentally hunting down Varian. Now the two have to survive the night together, while one of them is injured, against a squadron of Corona's best men.

Uh oh.

IM BACK! Kinda. Finals are due Tuesday and I wrote this instead of doing them but WHATEVER WHO CARES

This was mostly written on the Varian Hivemind server, with some lovely inputs from the folks on there, and I edited it and finished it before throwing it up here. So uh. Yea. Team Awesome my beloved

Life and Times and VVO will also be updated soon!!! I hope to have at least one if not both chapters done by the end of the month

ANYWAY HERES 8K OF TEAM AWESOME ANGST

Being Captain of the Guards sure had its perks.

For one, he got to attend meetings with Rapunzel, finally. You'd think being the princess's future husband (probably) and Prince of the Dark Kingdom got him some recognition, but noblemen are jerks and elitists, so what can you do. Granted, the meetings were boring as all hell, but still, it felt like he was actually being respected and taken seriously. Something Rapunzel had been pushing for since the start. Personally, he wasn't all that sure he deserved it, but if she was happy, so was he.

Another was that the guards no longer gave him shit. That's not to say they did before... well, they did. Stan and Pete didn't, but every other guard called him Flynn Rider at least once or twice before begrudgingly accepting him as their teacher and now commander. He no longer had to worry about someone breathing down his back, waiting for him to slip up or commit a crime, eager to throw him back in prison.

Speaking of which...

He turned the corner to see a few guards, couldn't remember their names off the top of his head, forming a small circle around a corner. Their predatory grins barred down on whatever their target was, whichever poor soul had angered them. One of them had his hands on someone much shorter, so short he couldn't make them out beyond the red coats and gleaming gold... which could only mean it was one person.

"Don't get comfy, brat," the one hissed, pushing Varian up against the wall with an audible crack as a skull hit stone, no doubt hoisted up by a shirt collar. "One of these days the princess is gonna get sick of you, and when she does, we'll toss you back into your old cell... and we'll restart our favorite game. Ain't that a swell idea?" Varian hissed, a soft thunk of his boots scrambling for purchase against the wall.

"Hey!" Eugene snapped, having heard more than enough. "Put him down now ." His words were like fire, causing the other two to jump back and reveal the battered and bruised alchemist. His lip was split, a large scuff of dirt on his white shirt.

One of the guards snapped his head around, whacking the leader's shoulder to get his attention. The guard frowned. "Oh yea? Or what?"

Before his new position, he would've leapt into the fray, hackles raised, punching the lights out of these jerks, but now, he had a much better stance. "Or you're fired." He crossed his arms, the perfect picture of a guy in charge who knew how to keep his men in line.

Someone who was clearly not him.

The guard hummed. "You don't have the nerve." To emphasize his point, he shook Varian a little harder, the kid's toes barely scraping the floor and his hands gripping the soldier's wrists. Leather gloves creaked with how tight the pressure was.

But Eugene's glare didn't waver, hand itching for the sword at his hip, his anger radiating in waves. It was enough to get the other two to back off.

"Cmon, Aaron," one whispered. "It's not worth it."

"Yeah, it's not." Eugene agreed. "Put him down now, and I'll lighten your sentence to a week in the stables instead of a month."

Aaron's face turned sheet white, then bright red. With a huff, he dropped Varian to the ground, readjusting his gloves while Varian cried out on the floor.

"You got lucky this time, brat," he hissed.

Oh, he knew that type of speech. The Baron used it all the time. Anyone who got told that never lasted to the next month. "And all other times," he said. "Because if I see you go anywhere near him I'm taking you to the princess."

Aaron rolled his eyes, clearly uncaring, and stormed off with a huff, his buddies trailing after. No doubt they didn't like a criminal ordering them around. Or, ex-criminal. He'd have to keep an eye on them.

A sniffle broke Eugene's musings, the fog of satisfaction and annoyance quickly replaced by concern for his younger friend. Varian sat up, wincing as he did so. He rubbed his neck, feeling for any injuries and finding none except for his ruined collar. "Aw man," he mumbled.

Dad had fixed his collar for him that day, a proud smile on his face. "You need to look sharp for your first day on the job," he'd said, ruffling Varian's hair. They'd grown so much closer in the past few months, the man always seeing his son off. Today was the first day back after his kidnapping, after all; he'd spent a month recovering from a broken rib.

"It's not my first day, I've been working there for weeks," Varian had grumbled, but let him do it with a cheeky grin.

"First day of the week," Quirin rectified, placing a kiss to his baby's forehead.

A forehead now covered in dust and a bruise.

"Hey kid," Eugene offered a hand that Varian gladly took, stumbling a little as he was helped upright. "You ok? Nothing knocked outta place?"

"Just my pride," Varian joked, smile quickly fading. "I'm ok though, really. I'm used to it." He shrugged, hugging himself for comfort. Maybe he could pretend dad was here, hugging him... he always had the best hugs. Even when Varian was little, before they drifted apart. Back when he was just the weird magic kid. Back when his biggest worries were some older kids picking on him... Dad would always scoop him up into a big hug with flowery words and a book of Flynn Rider.

A warm hand wrapped around him, pulling him into a red chest. Eugene took his other hand to ruffle Varian's hair, earning a squawk of complaint.

"Just because you're used to it doesn't mean it's ok, you know that, right?" Silence followed. Gosh, this kid... say what you want about being an orphan, at least everyone around you was on the same boat. No place for bullies, nothing to bully about, when everyone was doing just as badly. "If they ever give you more trouble, you come to me, yeah?"

"Huh?" Confused blue eyes met warm brown.

Eugene smirked. "You say the words and I boot them out of the castle, goggles. Team Awesome looks out for each other."

"Oh," Varian mumbled, dazed. He'd never had a protector, never had anyone looking out for him. Cold sneers and flowery words, manipulation and secrets and ulterior motives, sure. His chest fluttered, a laugh escaping.

But then... the anxiety returned full force, maybe even stronger.

If those guys got fired because of him, good god, he could only imagine the fallout. Well, that's not true. He absolutely could. One time in prison a guard got fired for beating a cellmate within an inch of his life, and though the guy lived, the second he was out of prison he got jumped, or so the story goes. In all honesty it was probably an embellished truth, stretched out to frighten prisoners into silence, but god damn if it didn't work. No one ever complained about their beatings. A peep was all that was needed to spend a night in the infirmary for even worse injuries.

"No, no, it's fine," Varian flicked his wrist. The dial on his hand spun with each flick, the ticking grating. "Besides, we have work to do!"

"Oh, yea!" Eugene gasped. Right! The whole reason he came out to this part of the castle was to look for Varian specifically, after all.

"So, right, maintenance stuff." Varian waved his hand, motioning for Eugene to follow. "Here's what I had in mind..."

It was a week later, late at night, when Aaron approached him. The moon lay low in the sky, just bright enough to allow for vision without torchlight, but not bright enough that anything beyond shapes were clear. True to his word, the guard had been stationed on stable duty for the past several days, coming back to the barracks covered in dirt and angry every time.

So maybe Eugene had whispered to Max about him. Big deal.

Anyway, the captain was knee-deep in paperwork when Aaron knocked on his office door. "Sir," he said. "Finished up for the day, and I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?" Eugene put his quill down hesitantly. Aaron was his first big show of power, the first punishment he'd dished. Everything else had been a variation of "keep doing what you're doing" as he settled into his new role. Who knew being in a position of power was so stressful?

(Everyone. Literally everyone.)

"I wanted to apologize for testing you, sir." The man shifted, eyes never meeting. His face was unreadable. "I wasn't sure you were going to be as..... sharp, as our previous captain. And I'm sorry for that."

"....Ok," Eugene said. "Thanks? I think?"

"So, I uh... wanted to do something for you." The man continues. "Me and a few others. It's sorta a ritual for guards. We didn’t do it before cuz of, yknow, Cassandra and stuff. And you're one of us now, so...?" He raised an eyebrow, a quiet invitation.

Oh boy.

Knowing these guys, it was probably something really stupid. Most of the guards were pretty nice, maybe a bit airheaded, but a lot of meatheads mostly. Big fans of machismo and showing their strength, boosting their ego, stuff like that. It's why none of them were fans of being run by a criminal. And no doubt Eugene would have to clean up their mess anyway, so he sighed deeply and rose from his seat. "Alright, what did you do now?"

Aaron placed a hand to his chest. "Why, sir, we did this out of the goodness of our heart! We're just welcoming you to the team!" He laughed a bit at that last part. He pointed out the door, leading his superior down the suspiciously empty barracks, and out into the courtyard.

About a dozen or so guards were outside, waiting. One of them was holding a horse's reins, and a crossbow.

"He's in!" Aaron called, and the guards all broke into cheers and raucous laughter.

"Yea, nice to see you guys too, uh. What am I... in?" Eugene asked, shifting awkwardly.

Aaron's smile widened. "It's just a fun little game, sir."

"The game is simple, really," Aaron slung an arm around Eugene's shoulder, pulling him close, not unlike how Lance does. But unlike his larger friend, this man is wiry, more of a weaselly kind of build, with stick thin arms that hide his muscle. "See, when someone new joins the guard, we test their skill by having them hunt down a beast in the nearby forest. Once they catch it, we all celebrate together! And welcome him into the ranks!" The guards all cheered, no doubt thrilled at the prospect.

"....right...." Eugene smiled uncomfortably, cheeks pulling and stretching, a puppet controlling the strings attached to his face. His stomach swirled, bouncing all over as he was passed around.

"But see, you're not just any guard, you're the Captain," Aaron's smile took an equally unpleasant demeanour. "So we figured we'd give you some extra... challenge." Outside of their little circle, no sounds could be heard. Not a peep from a cricket, or a cry from a bird, just dead silence in the surrounding glen. Just the crackle of torches, and the rustling of men.

"The beast for this occasion is small, smart, and fast. The goal is to catch it before it reaches the wall at Old Corona. All you gotta do is," he makes a noise with his mouth to emulate the crossbow. "Hit the target, and the rest of us will finish the job."

"Finish?" Eugene echoed.

The guards around him smiled with all of their teeth. "Well yea, we're not just gonna waste a perfectly good beast, are we?"

Eugene narrowed his eyes. If Rapunzel heard about this, no doubt she'd flip. "How will I know what I'm looking for? And why should I even approve of this?"

"Relax, sir," Aaron shook him, patting his chest with a heavy fist. "We're not just killing an innocent creature. It's always something that's been marked for slaughter, or is causing problems. And trust me," his voice deepened. "You'll know."

No horse was as good as Max, but that was probably for the best, what with his gut screaming about how this all felt so goddamn sketchy. "This isn't some trap where it turns out I'm the one being hunted, right? Cuz I don't want to shoot any of you with this," he joked, brandishing the crossbow.

"No, sir, not at all! In fact we'll be supporting you! No one makes the first shot until you do." He promised, patting the horse's flank. "Rest assured, no tricks here. Just a beast already marked for capture. Or recapture, in this case. We picked this one special for you."

"That sounds like it's supposed to be flattering but it really isn't."

Aaron shrugged. "Not my problem. Good luck!" With a smack to the horse, she cried out, spurring Eugene forward.

They rode through the Capital, out into Corona proper, lush with trees. At this time of night, no one would be about, not even thieves, laden in their straw beds and cots. The only things out right now are animals, or a beast, in this case. How is he supposed to know what he's looking for? What, is it going to be some giant thing with red eyes? No, Aaron said it was small, how the hell is he going to...

Then he hears it.

It's faint, almost like a windchime, but sure enough, the clanking of chains, and a small whimper. Somewhere through the trees there's a rustling, something moving. He can't make it out, the guards didn't give him a torch, but a blob of something rushes forward, the only thing he can make out the distinctive shine of metal, a chain reflecting in the moonlight.

Ah.

Eugene smirked, the rush of adrenaline from a chase beginning to pump through his veins. It'd been a while since an adventure without any stakes, without any daring challenges or risking death. The last time must've been... gosh, probably the Herz de Sonne misadventure? And even then he and Lance had just goofed off for the majority of it. Maybe the Spire? That one was much riskier but he and Rapunzel had been so outrageously drunk during that whole endeavor that it felt more like a fun jaunt.

He shook himself out of his reverie. Focus, Eugene! Fun or no, you're proving yourself to the guards! Show them that you're a worthy Captain beyond just barking orders and supporting the princess!

He spurred the horse forward, hooves thundering against the undergrowth and disturbing the leaves below. The beast let out a shriek, shrill and shaking, rushing forward. It weaved between trees, trying to throw Eugene off. Man, Aaron wasn't kidding about how fast it was. Even on horseback he couldn't keep up very well. The chains wrapped around the beast's legs screamed in complaint, clanking and clattering with each huff of its breath.

Eugene lowered the crossbow, sticking his tongue out. Steady... steady.... he fired.

The bolt whizzed through the air, lodging into a tree just a few feet away from its target. The beast flinched but didn't slow, scampering through the undergrowth, leaping over a fallen tree towards the river.

"Hyah!" He yelled, leading his horse over the log and splashing down into frigid waters. Water rushed past his horse's hooves, dulling the sound of chains, and when he looked around, the beast was gone.

Drat.

Eugene grumbled, reloading the crossbow before urging his horse onward. If this beast got away he'd never hear the end of it! They'd be all "Yes sir, Captain! We'll catch that criminal! As soon as you catch that beast!" And then they'd laugh and he'd moan and he'd have to go catch the criminal himself which is honestly not too far off from how it is already-

Anyway.

It took a few minutes to find it again, the beast trying to muffle it's movements by shuffling, but the metal song was too alluring to ignore. There was no time to waste. With the horse at a fast trot, quieter and steadier, he fired the bolt, this time getting much closer, barely whizzing past the silhouette and lodging into a tree trunk with a chunk of hair.

The creature cried out again, beginning to run and renew this dance of cat and mouse, but Eugene wouldn't have it. Dexterous fingers clasped a new bolt and quickly reloaded, giving barely a few seconds for the creature to try and run before firing again.

He didn't miss.

It was almost silent, the bolt's descent. Its tip gleamed in the moonlight alongside the chains keeping his prey in place, the one thing that slowed it and gave Eugene the upper hand. Whatever this beast was was quick, too quick, and if he lost it again, no doubt he'd never find it again. So when he aimed, he aimed down, and sure enough, the bolt embedded itself into the beast's calf, sending into stumbling.

It shrieked, screamed and sobbed in agony, noises bordering on almost human-like as it thrashed on the floor. The arrow stuck straight up, bright color on the end almost a beacon for the beast's location. Poor thing. He really should've just aimed for the head and put it out of its mercy, but this was the only way to ensure a clean shot.

Eugene slid off his horse, crouching low to the ground as he readied the final blow. But as he got nearer, as the moon hung lower in the sky, providing light through the filtering trees. He hesitated.

The beast was crawling, still trying to run, front legs pawing at the forest floor and clenching the leaves beneath with hands.

Hands...?

Eugene's stomach sank, lower and lower with each passing step, heart climbing higher and higher in his throat, the closer he got, the more ill he felt.

He saw the chains first. No, not chains like that on a cattle’s neck. Prison shackles, the kind wrapped around a prisoner's legs. And they were wrapped around legs, keeping strides from being too large.

And their torso.... clothed torso..... The beast heaved, each breath causing it to rise and fall with rapid panic.

The Captain's hands brushed against the tree with his other bolt embedded in it, eyes trailing onto it, and he froze.

Blue hair, stabbed by the bolt.

"No," he breathed. "No no no no no..." His boots picked up the pace, speed walking over to his catch, to his victim. Please, for the love of god, let him be wrong. Let this be a cruel prank, just a bear or deer dressed up to fool him... don't let it be...!

The creature heard him approach and sobbed, flipping itself over on shaking hands to get a better look at its assailant.

There, lightened by the moonlight, chest heaving, tears streaming down his face and blood oozing from his leg, was Varian.

"Varian....?" Eugene whispered, tears of his own budding when his friend whimpered, scooting back and away. With each step forward Varian scrambled back until his back hit a tree, at which point he curled into a ball. Like a frightened animal. Like a cornered beast.

Oh god... this whole time, he thought it was just one of the farm animals marked for slaughter, or a meddlesome woodland critter... he thought it was an animal destined for someone's table, so why not the guards'? Why on Earth did he agree to this? Was he so desperate for approval from his peers that he would simply shrug off the ringing alarm bells, put aside his gut instinct, and dive in blindly?

Yes, his mind whispered. You would, and you did.

"Hey, buddy," He leaned down, inching closer. "Varian, goggles, it's me. It's Team Awesome." His hand shook as he reached forward, but Varian flinched violently, causing his leg to spasm. The boy hiccuped, a hand clamping over his mouth to stifle his sobs. A small mercy came from the shadows of the night, with it too dark for details, Varian wouldn't see the blood rapidly soaking his pants.

The crossbow glinted, a sharp refraction bouncing off frightened blue eyes and causing him to wince. Eugene tossed the weapon away like it burned him.

"It's me, it's Eugene," he reassured, scooting closer bit by bit. "I'm here to help. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"You did," Varian gasped, whole form shaking. "You did."

And that really was the crux of it, wasn't it? At the center of Eugene's self loathing was the spiral of guilt that you shot him, you shot the kid. He trusted you, and you shot him.

"I know," he rasped, trying to keep his voice level. "I did. I'm so sorry. Fuck, I'm so sorry." Varian sobbed, unfurling slightly if only to reach out for comfort. Even if this was the man who hurt him, who hunted him on horse and acted as the boogeyman straight out of nightmares, he was also Eugene, his friend, the one who stood up for him against Cass and Aaron, held his hand and promised he'd be there if Varian ever needed it. And god did he need him now.

Shaking, gloved hands connected in the middle, Eugene's grip gentle but grounding, a careful smile on his face. "That's it, bud. You're safe."

“Aw, ain’t that cute?”

Faster than a bullet, the smaller hand retracted, Varian’s eyes wide and horror-struck. In his attempt to comfort the boy, Eugene had let his guard down. He’d forgotten the final rule of the game.

No one moves until you make the first shot.

They were surrounded.

Aaron swaggered up to the duo with a grin, torch in hand. It flickered and sputtered, illuminating his blinding white grin amidst the darkness. The other guards formed a circle around them. Every other man carried a torch, while the rest had a weapon or tool or rope.

“The Captain has captured the beast! And in remarkable time, too.” Aaron simpered, waltzing up and gripping Varian’s cheeks in his hand. The boy snarled, teeth grit as he stared up at his bully.

From behind them came Aaron’s two buddies, the guards from before, each one wrapping an arm around Eugene’s shoulder, hauling him up and away.

For a moment, Eugene's insides were pure ice, frozen in time, unable to react despite the screaming in his mind as the puzzle pieces failed to connect. They jumbled and sloshed in his mind, the picture only half complete and the rest of the pieces strewn atop, obscuring the image from his view.

"Eugene...?" Varian whispered, thawing him.

"What have you done!?" He bellowed, anger hardening his voice. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" He strained against the guards.

"Just as we told you, sir!" Aaron mocked, forcing Varian to meet the Captain's gaze. "We captured a beast for you to hunt down! And now that you have," The grin was razor sharp, shark's fangs practically drenched in blood. "We'll dispose of it properly."

A guard from the circle threw a rope, the ends tied into a loop. Like a ring toss, the aim was true, ensnaring Varian's wrist and tightening when he pulled. Another guard followed suit, yanking the boy back and forth till his arms were spread eagle and unable to move.

Varian turned a stark white, paler than the moon that neared the horizon. He cried out, straining to try and escape, but another spasm from his leg paralyzed him. “N-no, please not again…!” He sobbed. “Let me go-!”

"Again!? Varian, what do you mean? VARIAN!" Eugene yelled. "VARIAN!"

The boy screwed his eyes shut, praying for the nightmare to end.

"LET HIM GO!" Eugene strained against the guards, lamenting once again, his own stupidity. He should've brought Max, or an actual weapon, like his sword, or something! He'd gone in totally blind, expecting that the guards were decent people and that this wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. Honestly, he should've known better! After everything he's seen and done, never leave the house without a concealed weapon! You were almost executed by half these assholes!

When he gets back, he's firing everyone except Stan and Pete.

A third rope flashed through the air, this time with a loop larger than the others. It latched itself onto Varian's neck, wrapping tight and close. His eyes snapped open in pure terror, mouth opening in shock. But before the boy could protest or scream, the rope was pulled taut, and his face turned an awful shade of purple. He coughed, thrashing in place with tears of fear and hypoxia trailing his cheeks.

"Aw, the beast is scared! Doesn't he know how all animals are slaughtered?" Aaron cooed, faux sympathy marring his features. "You know, don't you? You were raised on a farm, after all." His question went unanswered, Varian too busy rasping for breath to respond.

The man with the rope pulled harder, forcing Varian's face down into the dirt where his muffled cries barely caused the leaves beneath to move. A steel boot stomped onto his head, and the cries went still.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?" Eugene bellowed, the protective instincts in his mind going haywire, overheating and exploding with pure rage and an intense need to save him, free him. He let this happen, if he had been smarter, stronger, if he hadn't shot him, hadn't let his guard down, hadn't shrugged and taken the guards' words at face value… “Oh relax, it'll be painless!” Aaron hummed, producing a knife from his belt. “The beast didn’t answer the question, but, I’m sure you can figure out how animals are killed after falling unconscious.” He jokingly slashed the dagger in the air above his throat, and Eugene saw red.

"YOU ARE SO FIRED!" He screeched at Aaron. "WHEN RAPUNZEL FINDS OUT-"

"Oh?" Aaron mocked, turning around and placing a hand to his chest daintily. "When the princess finds out? You're making her do all the heavy lifting?" He sauntered up to Eugene, hips swaying with each step till they were nose to nose. "This is your job, sir. You are in charge of keeping us in line, keeping the prisoners in their place."

"Varian is NOT a prisoner," Eugene hissed, meeting his gaze with pure fury. "He is a friend, my friend, my brother."

"Perhaps to Eugene Fitzherbert, but not a Captain of the Guard." Aaron shrugged.

Eugene lowered his head. For a brief moment, Aaron grinned victoriously. Now he's getting it.

"Too bad for you, I'm both."

Aaron's face fell, the cheerful facade falling into a brutal glower. "What does that mea-"

He was cut off when Eugene slammed his face into Aaron's, hitting the bastard's nose with a CRUNCH. He staggered back, and his buddies loosened their grip on Eugene to see if he's ok. It's all the advantage Eugene needed, quickly pushing them both off him and charging Aaron. His shoulder bowled into Aaron, sending him sprawling, and Eugene only stopped to grab the dagger he dropped before sprinting for Varian's crumpled form.

"Oh sun, please be ok, come on kid," Eugene chanted, slashing the rope around his neck. It leaves a brutal ring of red around his neck, as do the ones around his wrist when they're dispatched. There was no time to remove the chains, what with the remaining guards quickly regaining their senses and gearing up for a fight.

He lifted Varian up into his arms as if he were made of glass. Dark black hair lolled against the Captain's chest as he stood to his full height, glaring down at his employees, the hazers, the conspirators.

There was no hope of taking them all on, that much was clear. Charging into battle with hands full and armed only with a knife was stupid. He'd have to outrun them, play the game, and make it to Old Corona where Quirin could protect his son and he could get actual backup from loyal men.

Perhaps this was the true game, the true test of his worthiness.

Aaron snarled, staggering up while clutching his nose. "GET HIM!"

Eugene crouched, letting the first guard try and charge him before jumping out of the way at the last second. This he was used to, dodging men who wanted nothing more than to hurt and destroy what he held dear, making a run for it to the relative safety of the familiar. He fell into the old routine without too much difficulty, leaping over heads and ducking under blows. It helped that Varian barely weighed more than a few grapes, still a stick from his year in prison. He and the others had been hard at work trying to help him gain at the very least some muscle, though Varian was a big fan of skipping meals for science.

According to Quirin he's had that habit for a while, and right now it was a minor blessing.

Huh, he thought to himself as he dodged a crossbow bolt, taking off into the trees. Captain of the Guard isn't all that off from my usual life, just with some added benefits. Another arrow nearly took off his ear. Yea, same old stuff.

His feet pounded against the forest floor, dredging up leaves and dirt alike as he ran. There was no time to cover his tracks or be discreet, there was a whole battalion after him, so it wouldn't do much good anyway. But as his steps quickened, as Varian bounced up and down in his arms, the chains still rattling, the boy stirred, groaning in pain with each motion.

"Gene...?" He mumbled, muffled through the man’s coat.

"Hey kid," Eugene grinned down, not slowing for a second. "Glad to see you're ok. How's your throat?"

"On fire..." a weak hand pawed at his throat, rubbing the soreness away.

"Sorry about that, you're gonna be just fine, ok? It's all gonna be ok."

Varian hummed, eyes glossy and not fully there. His head fell back onto Eugene's chest, a soft smile full of love that he didn't deserve. "K. I trust you."

Varian fell back into an uneasy sleep after that, his breaths wheezing against Eugene, lips stained blue and face clammy. Anytime exhaustion tried to creep into his bones, tried to sneak into his soul and drain him to surrender, he looked down at Varian and his spirit would renew.

At some point, they were hiding behind a tree, keeping to the intense darkness. A few guards could be heard not too far off, their annoyed mutterings like an alarm bell, a siren's song of false security. Just as they passed, Varian coughed, clutching at the fabric for comfort. It was an ugly sound, weak and ragged, as if there was something coming up.

When he looked down, those blue lips were now stained red.

He picked up the pace after that.

But even he couldn't run forever, no matter how light Varian was or how determined he was. Inevitably he had to stop for water, hiding Varian behind a fallen tree and drinking from a stream whose sounds hid them from view.

He just finished his own drink when Varian stirred, and the Captain was quick to help Varian get some water of his own.

They sat by the stream for a bit, catching their breaths, Eugene from exertion, and Varian from strangulation.

It was here that Varian recounted his side of the story, tears dripping and mixing with the stream below him. "I was so scared..." he whispered, voice hoarse.

"I bet," Eugene soothed, running a thumb over Varian's palm. "What happened?"

"....I got jumped," his eyes turned downcast, shame coloring his features. "T-they grabbed me when I was gonna head home. Said that they wanted to make it up to me, to... to give me "a job befitting my talents"...." He sighed. "You can probably guess what that was, huh."

Eugene's ears burned. A flame simmered in his gut, nausea falling away as his free hand clenched at the leaves below him. "Yea. I can." He bit out.

For a moment, neither spoke, unsure of what to say. What could they say? The situation was insane, it was cruel, it was... it was…

Varian hacked, more blood than before coming up and splattering on the shackles that remained.

"Oh, let me get those," Eugene hissed. "I'm sorry, shit," He fumbled for his pockets, procuring a lock pick and making quick work of the shackles. "We gotta move. We can't let them find us." His hands hovered over the bolt, unsure. "Can I... I mean, you can't run with..."

Varian turned a shade of green, barely visible. “It’s stopping the blood from coming out.”

"Yea, good point, sorry." He coughed awkwardly, the stream bubbling and gurgling a simple melody.

"Why do... why do you keep apologizing?" Varian asked, not meeting Eugene's eye for a second.

"Wh- seriously?" He let out a bark of laughter, fading when Varian's face didn't change. "Kid, it's my fault you're in this mess! Sun above, I shot you. I said I'd keep you safe and I shot you." Anger swelled in his words, but Varian didn't flinch. He knew it wasn't directed at him. "Some Captain I am, I'm being chased by my own guys."

Varian bit his lip. "Did..." he hesitated to ask. If the answer wasn't what he was hoping for, he'd never recover. "Did you know it was me?"

"No!" Eugene's eyes widened. "No, I never would've agreed if I knew it was a person, let alone you!" He ran a hand through frazzled hair.

"So..." Varian hummed. "You shot me on accident, and then saved me. Again. Even when your men tried to convince you otherwise." Each sentence was slow, filled with Varian needed to take in a breath, but he met his friend's eyes this time. "I think that's a pretty good Captain."

Eugene blinked, then smiled. "Thanks, kid."

Dark voices shouted across the clearing, words incomprehensible. Varian jolted, hands flying up before doubling over hacking. Each cough shook his body so hard you’d think the boy was trembling with fright.

“Woah, easy,” Eugene’s hand rubbed over his back. “Deep breaths. Come on goggles. You got this.”

“You would think,” Varian rasped. “But I do not.”

Finally, with one final hack, his coughs ceased. Each gulp of air felt like heaven, or at least it did for the first few seconds. Then it was replaced by a searing hell, leaving him scrambling again.

God, what is the culprit?

As his breathing quieted, as the burn turned to a small simmer, Varian’s eyes trailed to the forest floor beneath him.

Stained with blood.

Varian’s eyes widened, his pupils shrunk to pinpricks as his entire world focused in on the blood. The dark blues of night left it hard to see, more a black shine than the vicious red, but there was no denying what it was.

“What-oooh,” Eugene hissed, grabbing Varian’s shoulders for support. Shit, this was bad. He made a mental list of symptoms for the inevitable doctor visit: raspy voice, struggling to breathe, coughing up blood... all signs pointed to the noose as the culprit. Whichever guard had tried to strangle Varian was getting fired and arrested.

No, screw it, all of them were.

“Focus on me, hair stripe,” he warned, shaking his brother slightly. “Are you ok to move?” All he got was a weedy moan. “I’m taking that as a maybe.” With no preamble, he scooped his arms under Varian’s knees and back, pulling him into his arms as he stood in one fluid motion. “I’m gonna try and make a run for it, ok? We’re almost to your dad. I just need you to stay with me.”

Silence, and then a faint nod moving against his coat.

Each step sent vibrations up Eugene’s spine, tingling and thrumming in his veins and pounding in time with his heart. The sun would be rising soon, it had to be, with the dew that is forming at his feet.

At some point Varian readjusted, shifting so that he could see over their shoulders. He couldn’t run, couldn’t fight, but at least he could keep an eye out.

And it’s a good thing he did, when he beats wildly at Eugene’s chest in a signal. The captain was about to duck behind a bush, but the forest’s edge is within sight! Maybe if they made a break for it...?

An arrow grazed his side.

The pain looped through his system, joining the adrenaline for a joyride through his mind and it sent him sprawling. Varian rolled out of his arms, collapsing at the forest’s edge.

Eugene groaned, raising his face with the sun to see Aaron’s smug grin glowing in the upcoming dawn.

“Well, look what I caught! A daddy beast and a baby beast!” He said.

Eugene gaped. “Could you be any creepier? Really, gotta go for the weirdest shit to say, don’t you?”

“Eh,” Aaron shrugged, crossbow in hand. He stepped past his boss (Er, ex boss), boots crunching on leaves and leaving nothing but dust in their wake. “I’m a weird guy, I guess.”

“Yea, a real weirdo. Kidnaps a teenager and has the captain hunt him for sport. A nice quirk, ain’t it!” Each word is angrier than before until he is spitting acid.

Aaron doesn’t even argue; he’s too caught up in his victory. Varian shook as he struggled to sit up, arms quivering with effort. Just as he raised his head his eyes met the gleaming tip of an arrow, aimed right between the eyes. “Say goodnight, kid. Don’t worry. I’ll make a fine trophy out of you. Hang your goggles over my mantle.”

“Would you knock it the fuck off!?” Eugene wheezed, scrambling up. His feet gave out near instantly, but he leapt forward, colliding with the guard and driving his aim up. The arrow whizzed overhead, harmlessly lodging into a tree.

“Varian, run!” Eugene yelled, still on top of the other.

“I CAN’T! What part of arrow in my leg don’t you get!?” Varian yelled, immediately followed by coughing.

Eugene went to answer, only for the butt of the crossbow to whack him in the face.

Aaron laughed, loud and manic, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. It was quickly stopped by a punch to his stomach from the furious man above him. If the others found them, it’d be game over. Literally.

Whether or not Eugene would be killed was unclear. While he didn’t always need Rapunzel to save him, her good graces granted him immunity from most local threats. But they’d definitely kill Varian, and that was the bigger concern to him.

Unfazed, Aaron slammed his skull into Eugene’s, sending him tearing back. The guard quickly flipped them, crossbow still in between.

“Face it,” Aaron snarled. “You’ll never be a true captain. You can’t control your men, can’t protect a kid, can’t even protect yourself. You just got the job because you saved the lost princess.”

“In my defense,” Eugene wheezed. “Your previous guard couldn’t do that either.” That only angered him more, digging the crossbow into Eugene’s Adam’s apple.

The two men wrestled briefly, Eugene finally getting a good grip on the crossbow, and kicking Aaron off of him. He scrambled to Varian, fully prepared to scoop him up and begin the dance again, just for a little longer, but Aaron just yelled out in anger, drawing a sword from his belt. As strong as Eugene was, he couldn’t outrun him with Varian in his arms. He would know, he trained his men to match him in speed and strength.

Varian moaned in pain. He had to do something, he couldn’t just sit here! Eugene had spent the whole night running around, working his ass off to keep him safe after the initial mistake, he couldn’t let him down...

But the arrow scraped against his bone, pain sending stars across his vision any time he stood…

The captain’s hands clenched down on wood, eyes calculating. He looked into Varian’s eyes, then down at his leg. Then up again. And down again. He hissed between teeth, kneeled down, and clenched his fist around the arrow. It sent a pulse of pain through Varian’s leg, the boy wincing, but understanding.

“Do it,” he hissed.

And yanked.

The pain was so sharp, so intense, that for a moment Varian was certain he was dead. There was no way anyone could survive with this much pain, he must surely be dead or dying. White hot agony stabbed into his leg, and he bit so hard on his lip he broke skin. It took everything in him not to scream.

Aaron laughed again, shadow blanketing them. Eugene turned to see him looming over them, sword above his head. “Say goodnight, Sir!” he shrieked.

Fwip!

Thunk!

The man’s grin vanished in an instant, replaced by sheer shock at the arrow sticking straight into his throat. Blood trickled down the wound, looking more like an impulse tracheotomy. Suddenly, he pitched forward, face hitting the forest floor with a sickening shick as the arrow went the rest of the way through his throat. There wasn’t even a struggle, no death rattles or cry of pain, just the sounds of a morning dove in the coming dawn.

Eugene’s shoulders slumped, and Varian leaned back into the cool grass.

“You doing alright there, Goggles?” Eugene called.

“My lungs are on fire, I can’t feel my legs and I’m sweating in places I didn’t even know I could sweat. I’d say I’m in the mood to die, but I literally just spent the whole night trying to prevent that.”

“...fair enough.”

The weeks that followed were, for lack of a better term, a total fucking nightmare.

After pulling themselves together, the brothers managed to hobble to Varian’s house in Old Corona, just in time to greet Quirin at the door. Imagine the poor man’s shock when he was headed out to work only to be greeted by his son’s blood and the captain’s exhaustion. Suffice to say, they got a proper tongue lashing the whole cart ride to Corona proper, the father fussing over them both while he rushed them to the infirmary. And then they had to get chewed out by Rapunzel, and Lance, and pretty much everyone else, despite their repeated insistence that it wasn’t their fault this time.

“What did you expect us to do? We were being hunted!” Eugene whined at Rapunzel while a nurse cleaned up a cut.

“Uh, I was being hunted. You were hunting me .” Varian hoarsely piped up from his own bed, leg propped up in a cast. He paused at the frantic stop motion Eugene was making, and the paling faces of his father and princess. “Oh. Was I. Not supposed to say that.”

“You’re not supposed to be talking,” Rapunzel chided lightly, though that was clearly not the problem. The doctor had been pretty quick to explain Varian’s breathing issues were just from the throat trauma, and would heal with time and supervision.

“I didn’t know! In my defense,” Eugene held up his hands as if to shield from Quirin’s murderous face, but if looks could kill he’d be a pile of bones. “I didn’t know.”

“How do you…” Quirin pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to remind myself that you saved my son’s life and ignore the part where you endangered it in the first place.”

“Yes, please do,” He said, shifting under the glare.

And then came the paperwork.

Trying to figure out who among the guards was part of the hunt was hard enough, seeing as outside of Aaron and his cronies, no one was going to say a word. All they had to go off of were the men who saw Eugene off, and the ones who initially captured Varian. And since they hadn’t run into anyone else directly, no one could be properly accused and charged. But Eugene wasn’t going to take any chances, and therefore anyone who he saw at least once was fired, and if they wanted to dispute it they could come to him and explain why they were willing to throw his little brother to the wolves.

Suffice to say, no one did. Which left Eugene with only two thirds his original squadron. He spent a good while of his recovery vetting new recruits and creating incentives for others to try out, and while he was able to replenish his ranks, they weren’t nearly the same elite task force they’d started with. And considering the threats they faced on the regular, that was a serious problem.

It was after a long day of training and interviews that Eugene finally stumbled into the castle library, ready to destress with a nice long binge read of Flynn Rider. He grabbed a few books off the shelves as he walked, headed for his favorite couch and the cozy fireplace at its side, only to stop dead in his tracks.

Varian lay spread across the couch, foot propped up on the armrest as he glossed over some scientific text that Eugene had no hope of understanding. His eyes flitted up and down the page, clearly not actually reading and more just staring at the words.

“Hey,” Eugene called, and Varian barely reacted. “Oi, kid, that’s my spot. Scooch it.” “I got here first,” Varian said, not looking up for a second.

“Older brother gets first dibs.”

“Little brother gets his way.”

Oh he was gonna play it like that was he? Eugene smirked, plopping his books down at the floor before collapsing directly on top of Varian, making care to not crush the injured leg. Varian squawked in protest, limbs flailing.

“Get off! You’re heavy!” he yelled, trying to push him off. When that failed, he resorted to whacking at him.

“Never!” Eugene laughed. “Your little punches feel like flowers!”

“I have an iron deficiency!” Varian responded, cheeks red but smiling slightly. The captain finally stopped suffocating him, but didn’t get off, instead wiggling in close so they could share. “Mean,” Varian whined, a pout on his lips, but didn’t complain.

“Oh hush,” Eugene chided, grabbing a book from the floor. “You know you love me.”

Varian simply hummed, buck teeth peeking through a tiny grin. “So, what did you grab for today?”

“Ah, glad you asked!” Eugene held up the cover, which Varian oohed in appreciation. “One of the older ones, came out when I was your age.” He wrapped an arm around Varian, pulling his brother close, the warmth of his side and the fire combining to create a heavenly cocoon. “You want to read, or should I?”

“Your turn,” Varian responded, stifling a yawn.

The book creaked in protest, Eugene gazing down at his little brother with a smile. He leaned his cheek on the boy’s hair, deep voice dripping with fondness as he started to read.

Being Captain was fun, but being a brother was even better.

#tangled the series #varian #tts #tangled #team awesome #tts eugene #eugene fitzherbert #tts varian #rta #rapunzel's tangled adventure

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colorseeingchick · 4 years

Text

Crushing On You (Kirishima, Tamaki, Toyomitsu (Fat Gum))

Ion know bout y’all, but I consistently act weird around my crushes. That being said, I also can NEVER tell when someone has a crush on me (although I’m told its obvious). So let’s commemorate that, shall we?

A/N: This one is dedicated to the lovely @kirislut. She passively told me to write this and I was like yeah! And then proceeded to take 2 months to do it *sigh*. But yeah stan her or face my wrath >.<

Warnings: None! It’s fluffy. Y/N is written to match the age of the character (so a first year for Kiri, third year for Amajiki, late 20s for Fat).

Kirishima Eijirou (xBruh!Y/N)

Kiri would be crushing on you for a long time before he even realizes he’s crushing on you.

You would be a part of the Bakusquad, and you also made an effort to stand up for yourself against Bakugou, and something about that really got to Kiri.

You were somehow so *manly* while also so hot AND cute? Damn, how do you do it?

Not that he understood that he saw you in such a light.

Because Kiri doesn’t realize he has a crush on you, he wouldn’t necessarily be super blushy or flustered at first.

When around you, he’s showering you in compliments.

When you aren’t around, he’s constantly bringing you up in conversation. Every conversation. With every single person.

He would also team up with you to tease Bakugou.

And you already know that if anyone had anything negative to say about you, then he would stand up for you in a heartbeat.

He really admired you, to say the least. He loved being around you. That was all (he thought).

That is, until the bros™ decided to give him a talk.

“So..Y/N?” Is all Sero would say.

And obviously Kiri smiled at your name, but didn’t know why they were bringing you up.

“Are you gonna ask them out anytime soon? If you wait any longer I might just do it myself,” Kaminari tries to playfully nudge Kirishima into understanding.

“Ask them out???” Kiri is now in shock! Because where did this come from!

That being said, his face also got as red as his hair, and the thought of you hugging him or staring back at him felt like a really pleasant idea all of a sudden.

“Oi, shitty hair, don’t tell me you don’t recognize your own feelings. Are you really that much of an idiot?” Bakugou asks, his tone irritated and disinterested.

Although, he’s kinda invested in seeing you two get together at this point. The whole squad was.

And then it hit the man like a truck.

Shit! I have a crush on the coolest, strongest, most amazing person I know.

After this point, he doesn’t know if he’s ready to ask you out yet. But he definitely starts acting differently.

Usual shoulder leans and elbow nudges now make him feel like Kaminari was electrocuting him..

Any compliments you sent his way would cause Kiri.exe to stop working.

And your smile would make him feel starstruck.

It was a breaking point when a school sponsored dance came around and you showed up looking like a WHOLE SNACK in the most elegant dress/tux/(whatever badass clothes you wanna be rockin). .

Kiri straight up would not look at you. He fully refused to turn his head in your direction, which was hard because the Bakusquad decided to spend the whole time there together, which meant he wasn’t leaving your side.

“What the hell are you doing?” Bakugou was so confused (I mean same. Kiri THEY LOOK LIKE A SNACK why aren’t you basking in their glory jeez).

“SHHH Bakugou. It’s not manly to stare…”

Kiri was worried that he would ogle you into discomfort, jaw dropped and eyes wide because his heart would burst upon looking at you for too long.

In turning his head, he didn’t notice Kaminari and Sero approach you, whispering into your ear.

It was only when you came up and tapped him on his shoulder that he turned around and looked at you, you smiling at him.

“Hey Kiri, do you wanna dance with me?”

Hey would pause, because he was really flustered, but then he would flash his huge toothy grin and gladly take your hand, pulling you onto the dancefloor to dance with him into the night.

BONUS: While dancing with you, Kiri would only look at your face and refused to look at your feet, causing him to stumble a couple of times.

And naturally, you would ask him about it.

He would blush but explain, “I didn’t want you to think that I was staring down at your body and making you uncomfortable…”

WANDERING EYES ARE NOT MANLY! change Kiri’s mind.

You would laugh and respond, “Hey, if you need to look at our feet to make sure we don’t trip, I don’t mind.”

But you would then pull close to him, wrapping one hand around his neck and speak quietly into his ear-

“And if you wanna look at the rest of me while you're at it, I wouldn’t mind that either.”

Kiri.exe has stopped working once again. Good job Y/N!

Amajiki Tamaki (xGentle!Y/N)

Tamaki would have a crush on you after being your friend for a little while.

Like at first he was super nervous around you because people are nerve inducing and scary (I feel ya buddy its ok).

Over time though, you guys became closer friends. He realized how gentle and sweet you were.

You would spend a lot of time together, studying, going to get food, and training together.

You also would spend late nights together, especially when one of you was stressed or having a panic attack. You kept each other safe.

It wasn’t a surprise to Tamaki when he found himself wanting to spend more time with you.

It didn’t shock him that he loved looking into your eyes.

He felt himself, and watched himself, fall in love with you.

But despite that, he wasn’t really as awkward about it as you would expect him to be.

Your entire relationship had been very wholesome and close from the start, and because he was aware of his feelings from the get go, there wasn’t any real shock.

Ultimately, you were his safe space, and he would rather not compromise that by bringing his emotions into it. He was content to love you from a bit of a distance.

In a non creepy way, he loved to watch you. He knows looking at people you love or feel safe with is a really good way to calm anxiety and ground yourself, and that’s what Tamaki does all the time with you.

Just watch you work or eat and laugh. It was enough to keep him together.

And the times you told him “I love you” made his heart soar, even if he knew it was platonic.

He also had a journal with writing in it, where he would write small notes or lines about his thoughts. Many were about you and how pretty you looked when you came to his room in PJs when you couldn’t sleep, or how happy you were when you down a bowl of ramen, or how-

You get the idea.

Though he was content with accepting his crush on you, nothing could have prepared him for how you found out.

You both had been working together in his room. He was working on some homework while you were studying for your *least* favorite subject, math.

So you ask if you can see his notes to help you understand better.

“Yeah. It’s the first one on my shelf. Its the most recent pages.”

What he forgot was that he had moved it into his backpack and the nondescript notebook that sat first on his shelf was his journal.

While he kept working, you opened to try and figure out how integrals worked, but instead were met with a cute doodle of your face with a heart next to it.

The line above it said, “On a cold day, y/n’s smile keeps me warm.”

It was oddly poetic, a lil sappy, insanely heart tingling but cOMPLETELY out of left field because- what? This was definitely NOT integrals.

“Tamaki, I don’t think this is the right book…”

He looks up and his face drops in horror as he sees you with his journal, your eyes dazed and unsure.

“O-oh! I’m s-s-so s-sorry I-”

He trips off his bed and runs right up to you, tugging the notebook out of your hand and pulling it to his chest. “This isn’t how I meant for you to f-f-find out I have a c-crush on you-u.” His eyes are glued to the floor.

“...Tamaki, you have a crush on me?” You ask, in a calm (but very shocked) tone.

His eyes shot up, wide, and he scrambled through the notebook to see what you read. It was just the doodle and one line, but if you had flipped a page back, you would have seen a long rambling explaining how much he liked you.

But, you didn’t flip a page back, and instead, Tamaki had 100% exposed himself.

“Y/N I’m s-so so sorry you probably think that I’m a creep now I swear that I really value our friendship and I don’t mean to ruin it so you can just forget about this and-”

He went on for a while, lost in his words and slowly falling apart while you were trying to process what you heard.

He had a crush on you too? What a relief. You wish you realized sooner! But better late than never right?

Now for how you were gonna calm him down.

On instinct, you wanted to jump on him and kiss him till he couldn’t breathe, but that would probably freak him out more than anything else.

So you just do what feels right.

“I really hope you don’t hate me or think I’m weird you just really make me feel complete and peaceful and I never meant to-”

You reach out and gently take hold of one of his hands, pulling it to your face, and softly kiss his knuckles.

He stops rambling and looks like a deer in headlights as his face ignites into a bright red.

“WHY DID YOU-”

“Shhh.. Tamaki… I like you too, okay? I like you a lot. So please calm down.”

What a roller coaster for this poor boy. “Y-you don’t think I’m obsessed with you?”

“I don’t! Well, if you’re obsessed with me, I’m just as obsessed with you, so its okay!”

You smile at him and he blushes, hiding his face into his shoulder, his hand still sweetly entangled with yours.

“I, I’m glad,” he manages to get the words out after a few seconds.

For the first time in the history of your relationship, Tamaki was a flustered blushy mess with you.

“Cmon Tamaki, we have more studying to do!!” You want him to mentally gather himself, so you take him back to his bed, hands still intertwined.

BONUS: After failing at studying, Tamaki laid down on his bed and stared at the wall, failing to nap, while you were sitting at the foot of the bed.

His mind was racing.

“We like each other, but we haven’t talked about it since that moment… What if things are going to be awkward? I don’t want it to be what should I-”

The bed dipped down behind him and an arm snaked up around his torso. His back was pulled against your chest.

“Is it okay if I take a nap with you, sweetheart?” You ask in a lazy and sleepy voice.

His heart fluttered at the nickname. “Yeah, of course.”

“I’m glad. I love you, Tamaki.” And with that, you nuzzle into his back and fall asleep.

And with the feeling of your arms and your stable breathing, he realized you were still his safe space. And with that he was lulled to sleep.

Toyomitsu Taishiro (x Foodie!Y/N)

You’re assigned to represent your agency for the team-up with Fat Gum’s agency.

When you rolled in, Fat Gum didn’t take much note of you at first.

But when you intensely fawn over takoyaki during lunch break on the first day, he felt like his eyes were being reopened and he was seeing you for the first time.

Love at first meal!

Though he initially found you attractive because he shares his love of food with you, he slowly found himself loving everything about you.

You’re a lighthearted person, with a big heart and an even bigger appetite.

You brought a lot of joy, and that was energy Taishiro could never get enough of.

He knew he was a goner when one day were pranked by one of his Agency members, got caught off guard, and ended up jumping at him.

He caught you and held you (cuz hero instincts obviously), and in that moment you couldn’t help but hug him out of fear (and because he’s SO CUDDLY REEEEEE).

But that’s enough for him to realize he wants to hold you more. And often.

Yeah he’s whipped okay.

He definitely tries to keep it professional! And not *overtly* flirt with you.

But he brings you food literally 2 or 3 times a day.

That may sound like a lot, but given its Fat Gum, it came off pretty innocuous at first.

He’s also really observant, so he picks up on what type of foods you really like.

So he very often pulls up with your favorites, which always makes your day better.

He also tries to give you some of his favorite foods, and days you like his favorites were the best.

He was living his best life watching you be happy, even in a professional setting.

Fat Gum finally came forward about his feelings for you after a mission went awry.

It was supposed to be an information retrieval mission- simple get in get out.

You, Fat, and Sun Eater were going to be working together.

Fat would guard, Sun Eater would infiltrate and restrain, while you would obtain necessary documents.

That plan is sabotaged the moment you realized the League is also present- when they definitely were not supposed to be.

Before you can process this shocking information, a knife is being plunged into your stomach.

Toga smiles down at you- “pretty blood from a pretty person, I’m sorry I can’t help myself.”

She jumps back when Sun Eater sends an octopus arm at her.

He grabs you in the process and pulls you back, where Fat is now standing by his side, eyes wide in horror.

He takes you into his arms, and the last thing you feel is being held against his fluffiness before blacking out.

When you wake up, you’re in a hospital bed, Recovery Girl on one side of you, and Taishiro on the other, in his skinny form.

Evidently, he had beaten most of the villains to a pulp, but the League had dipped before he could do much more damage.

But after that, he had carried you to the ambulance and hasn’t left your side since. It’s been half a day.

“Fat Gum…”

“Hey do me a favor and call me Taishiro, okay?” He asks you very gently.

“Tai-shiro…” Oof his heart skipped a beat at hearing you say his name.

“Taishiro, the mission…”

“Shhh it’s okay. There’s an interrogation of the villains that we captured going on right now, and Fourth Kind’s agency is following up on our leads. We did our job for now.”

“Are you okay? Amajiki-kun, is he okay?”

“We’re both fine. Some scratches on him, a lil fat lost for me, but we’re okay.”

“Taishiro...The agency, why are you here? You should be there running the ag-”

“I want to be here with you. That’s why I am here. I trust my assistants to cover for me right now.”

“That’s very nice of you, but I still don’t understand why…”

“Because I like you. I like you lots, Mx. L/N. I know our relationship has been professional, but seeing you injured was something I didn’t…. I care a lot and I couldn’t find it in myself to leave you here alone. I hope our relationship can stay professional and friendly though, I really enjoy spending time with you.”

Recovery Girl looks back and forth between you two, eyeing your shocked face and his determined, serious one.

“I’ll be back to check on you in an hour, Y/N. But I’ll leave you two alone for now ~~~”

You paused, silent. The longer you stayed silent the faster his heart began to race.

Suddenly, you sit up, placing weight on the heels of your palms.

“Y/N you’re still injured what are you-”

It's your turn to cut him off, grabbing his jacket and yanking him towards you with your left hand.

Your right hand going to wrap around the back of his neck,

and your body falls back,

Caught off guard, half standing, and balance lost, Fat’s upper body is now looming above yours, his hands planted on either side of you.

His eyes are wide, and your hands on the back of his neck are warm.

“I’m sorry, Taishiro… but I don’t want this relationship to stay just professional. So can I kiss you?”

His heart flutters, and his classic grin spreads across his face as he closes his eyes and let’s his face close the distance between you two.

BONUS: You and Fat Gum decided that you didn’t want to tell people that you had started dating- the news would take it and make it a public affair.

But you decided to leave it up in the air for your agency to figure out. They were your friends after all.

The first to catch on was Amajiki, but he stayed quiet.

But the new recruit Kirishima wasn’t as quiet about his suspicions.

When he walked in to see you hug Fat Gum, he didn’t know how to react.

You both seemed fine and acted as if hugging was a perfectly normal thing he shouldn’t be surprised by.

You say goodbye and pat Kiri’s head on the way out.

The last thing you heard was a loud scream, followed by a “Fat, you and Y/N are dating?”

Yeah! Cat’s out of the bag.

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baroquebucky · 5 years

Note

Request : your ex boyfriend whom you broke up with on good friends comes to visit on a birthday party organized by your current boyfriend Bucky. Bucky feels overshadowed and threatened . Angst and fluff pls

A/N: okay i am LIVING for this honestly, jealous!bucky is a fave !!!! sorry if this sucks :-( keep requesting pls

You didn’t want a famous Stark party for your birthday, you wanted a cute small get together with all your friends and your boyfriend. You had college though, and you were an avenger, so time didn’t really exist for you. Let alone enough time to plan a whole party. So of course you dropped small hints to your beloved Bucky.

“you know these two colors go really well together” “oh this cake is SO yummy!!” “i think this playlist is perfect for something like a laid back but FUN party!” “oh these decorations are amazing”

These subtle hints continued for about a week, not including the bundles of texts you would send him while in class or when you were bored or walking the dog you had, and yes, you forced them to get a dog. And now tony created the little guy his own room, catered to his every need, but of course he preferred you over everyone else and was very protective of you. One time while cuddling on the couch he tried to bite bucky because he thought he was trying to kill you, let’s just say bucky flinches a bit now when the pupper jumps on you.

“Okay team. T minus 10 hours until show time. I need Tony and Rhodes on decorations, Bruce and Natasha on food duty- STRICTLY DESSERTS AND CAKE PLEASE, Clint and Sam on food food duty, Steve and Thor you’re on gifts, I’ve compiled a list, and i am over seeing everything as well as inviting everyone. ARE YOU READY TEAM” Bucky gave out the orders, everyone nodding their heads as they all put their hands in the middle. “This has to be PERFECT Y/N needs to know how much we appreciate her, assemble on 3!” “1, 2, 3” “ASSEMBLE” the heroes yelled out as they scrambled to get everything to perfection. People fighting over which super car to drive.

You however were already in class, running late but with iced coffee so it’s worth it. As you jogged into class rushing to your seat next to your ex. Yes your ex, you guys were great friends though so it was okay, you loved Bucky and he trusted you. “hey man i woke up early but still managed to be late? How does that even work?” You said slightly out of breath setting you bag down and pulling out this classes respective notebooks. “You always find a way Y/N” y/e/n smiled at your frantic actions.

As class came to a close you put away your things and headed to the colleges outdoor area, it’s where you hung out with a few people until your next class. “Mind if i join you today?” y/e/n asked you, “of course not! Cmon before i miss the dog i always pet” you beamed at them as you lightly jogged to meet the canine you loved. Your paths crossed only at that time of day and you were never late, you and the dogs owner, Angelica, became somewhat close thanks to this golden retriever. As you made slight small talk, you ended the conversation and you headed in different directions. As you talked to your ex and your other friends joined you they gave you a cupcake and sang you happy birthday. Time flew and before you knew it you were headed to your next class, ready the day to be over and to get home.

you checked your phone briefly before your class started and saw a text from bucky.

buckaroo: do you still talk to y/e/n ?

you quickly composed a text, yeah i just talked to him for like an hour rn lmao

You hit send and put your phone away as your professor began to talk about the upcoming test you had. After a few hand cramps from taking notes too fast, and trying to not fall asleep, the lesson was over and you were almost free. You had to go to the library quickly to get a book you needed for a report. As you made your way to the library you quickly replied to some birthday texts from friends and playing people back at iMessage games.

After getting the book you headed back to the compound, ready to shower, relax for a bit, and then party it up with you friends. But thats exactly what happened, but not in that order.

“T MINUS 30 MINUTES! HUSTLE PEOPLE HUSTLE IM 100 YEARS OLD AND I MOVE FASTER HURRY IT UP” Bucky shouted as the team finished the final details. It was beautiful, Bucky knew you would love it. The people he had invited flooded in as they were told specific places to hide to surprise you.

“Hey Bucky!” y/e/n called out to the super soldier. “Oh hey, it’s James by the way” Bucky said immediately dreading whatever came out of this assholes mouth. You said that he wasn’t that bad, just didn’t work out dating, Bucky however hated his guts, he lost you, the most amazing thing is all the nine realms and didn’t even feel bad about it. He wanted to punch the guys face in but he couldn’t get blood on the decorations. After forcing himself to your ex walked away and Bucky had to take a deep breath in to collect himself.

“T MINUS 39 SECONDS SHES HERE” Tony yelled as everyone took their places, Bucky grabbed a bouquet of your favorite flowers and opened the door. “hey doll, how was your day?” Bucky smooth talked you with a kiss on the cheek as he hid the flowers behind his back. “Pretty good honey and yours?” You asked hugging him and setting you bag down by the door. “Close your eyes” Bucky started firmly, you chuckled and did as you were told as he led you to the middle of the room. “Happy birthday doll” Bucky whispered in your ear as you opened your eyes.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY” everyone yelled popping up with squeakers and those little blow out things you always loved. You stared in awe as you observed even the smallest of details, not one thing you had said had been left out. You looked at bucky who handed you the flowers and your eyes began to well up with tears. “It’s perfect baby” you smiled getting on your tippy toes to kiss him on the lips quickly. Bucky smiled and quickly kissed you back. “Go have fun baby” he smiled at you as you hugged him one last time before running off to your friends.

About an hour had passed and Bucky could not find you. And someone he spotted you in the corner of the room. With y/e/n. His blood ran cold as you smiled and laughed with him. He saw the way your ex looked at you, the way he put his hand lightly on your arm when he told a joke, and the way his eyes raked over your body as you got another drink. He hated it. As he began striding over to him, his metal arms whirring as he clenched his fists, a strong hand bragged him pulling him back. “Don’t buck. The last thing she’d want is a fight.” Steve told Bucky as he let out a shaky breath. Staring at you as your red dress fit you perfectly and you laughed at what was probably a horrible joke. You snatched his arm from Steve’s grip and walked the other way, the lights bouncing off his metal arm.

“Look at them. Look at her Steve, she’s all laughing and smiling and everything. He’s flirting! Just right there Steve!” Bucky huffed as he ran his hand though his hair angrily. “Go talk to her then” Steve said drinking some of what Thor brought him.

“Maybe she doesn’t love me anymore” He whisperered, watching you lean into your ex while laughing at something he said. He couldnt stand anymore of it.

Bucky stormed out as he headed to the fifth floor where the dog was and where the beautiful view of the city was. “Hey buddy” Bucky said softly as his chest sank lower and lower. The dog- Ace, sat next to him as his tail wagged glad to have some company. “Does she even love me anymore? I mean she’s so beautiful and I’m actually 100 years old. And did you see how she was acting with her ex? Her ex! As if i didn’t plan this whole fucking party for her, buy her exactly what she wanted and make everything perfect? And he suddenly waltzes in and she’s laughing with HIM?” Bucky furrows his eyebrows as he huffs out in anger his complaints. Ace lowly barking and making noises almost agreeing with him. “It’s like she has no respect for herself now” Bucky said immediately regretting his words.

“Wow.” A sad voice echoes behind him. He and ace quickly got up as he saw your standing a little bit behind you two. “No self respect huh? I throw myself at every guy? That’s what you’re saying?” You said angrily, hands shaking from either sadness or rage. “No Y/N you know i don’t mean that” Bucky pleases striding towards you grabbing your wrist. “Don’t touch me.” You stated voice cold.

“Well what the fuck do you expect? I do every fucking thing you tell me, hoping that you can at LEAST validate my efforts and be with me during the party I threw for you. But no. You’re off with you Ex of all people laughing and completely ignoring me.” Bucky said voice raising only a bit. The hurt was evident in his voice, but you were going to give in.

“I thought you trusted me? Do you think something is going on?” You looked at him, knowing that would make him feel bad. “No but it’s just seeing you look so happy with him, hurt.” Bucky whispered.

“Knowing you can have him and any other guy and be normal and live a normal life, with someone who isn’t as broken as I am, someone who doesn’t have to wait two months before being okay with holding hands. Seeing you so happy with him makes me wonder if you’re gonna find someone better and realize you can do so much better than the horrible thing I am.” Bucky whispered not being able to look into your eyes. Your chest hurt from hearing the words leave his mouth. You hated when he was like this.

“Look at me James.” You states sternly grabbing both of his hands in yours, putting two fingers under his chin and making him look at you with his blue eyes that melted your heart.

“I love you. Only you. I don’t care if i can have a ‘normal’ life. If normal means not you, i don’t want that. I want you James Buchanan Barnes. I want you and every one of you flaws. I want you and your good and bad days. I want you and only you. You’re my soulmate and nothing can change my mind. I understand if you think he was flirting and honestly he probably was, which is why i was laughing so much. He probably thinks he can take me back to make me like him again, but little does he know you could snap his neck with your pinky” you smiled at he let out a slight chuckle to your last comment. He pulled you into his chest as you wrapped your arms around him.

“I’m sorry for being such a loser on your big day” Bucky mumbled into your hair as he kissed your forehead. “You’re my loser, the party is still perfect angel” You said kissing his jaw. He stared down at you with pure love in his eyes. “We should probably go back and open presents huh” He smiled kissing your lips between each word. “mmm maybe we should” You said closing your eyes and savoring the moment.

The two of you left Ace to sleep and headed out silently as Bucky told you his plan to threaten your ex. You laughed at his fake macho voice and kissed him once more. “Thank you for everything bucky, really it’s perfect” you said sincerely. “Anytime doll” he smiled as you entered the booming room packed with all the familiar faces. As you wondered off to find something to cut the cake with, y/e/n came up to Bucky.

“There you are! Been looking for you, where’s Y/N?” He asked slyly. Bucky stood a little taller and let the light catch his metal arm. “Listen kid, I’m gonna tell you this once and only once. You flirt with my girl one more time, you try and ‘threaten’ me or try and overshadow me by hanging out with my girl, and I’ll make you wish you were dead. Hell you might actually be dead. Is that clear?” Bucky said in a deep voice close to his ear. He frantically nodded and quickly scampered away as you came back smiling.

“When will you ever learn James” you teased giving him a nudge and leading him to the table. “They gotta know who you belong to babygirl” he smirked as you blushed. “You’re just a big softie” you teased as you two enjoyed the rest of the night together and with friends.

#bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes angst #readers birthday x bucky #bucky barnes imagine #jealous!bucky #reader x bucky barnes #bucky barnes blurb #jealous bucky barnes

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p-artsypants · 5 years

Text

Arcadia or Bust (14)

Guys, this is the chapter I’ve been waiting for. You have no idea how much research I did to get this right. Hope you enjoy!

This one is for @anxious-freak, who’s recovering from heart surgery. He’s a real bro and always encourages me to do my best. I hope this chapter doesn’t give you horrible flashbacks, because I just realized what I did to Jim.

Ao3 | FF.net

—

Things were getting better.

After his date with Claire, Jim had come back home to assure his mother that everything was fine.

Both her and James were in the living room, talking. James had a large ice pack on his head, and looked rather pitiful.

Barbara only smiled at him.

“I uh…” Jim began. “I’m sorry for being so rough, I guess...”

James held up a hand to stop him, “Jim, I don’t hold anything against you. I...haven’t had a fix since I came here, so I find myself extremely angry and irritable all the time...I never should have hit your mother. I’ve apologized to her...and now I’m apologizing to you.”

Jim tugged on his horn. This sounded too familiar, though he didn’t want to admit it. “I understand...” then he pointed a harsh finger at him. “Don’t let it happen again!”

“Oh, I won’t!” James agreed, with a little laugh, since he would be an idiot to even touch Barbara now.

From there, Jim and James reached a little understanding.

Jim was very slowly adapting to trying to live his old life with his new body.

The next day at school, he didn’t wear any sort of disguise, only a hood when he went outside.

Senior Uhl stared at him, blinked, and then continued on like nothing was wrong.

In gym, the students played a game to see how many people could sit on his back before he couldn’t push up on a push-up.

It took six people, including Toby, to keep him down.

“Lake!” Coach Lawrence bellowed across the gym.

“Yeah Coach?”

“You’re joining the football team! No ifs, ands, or buts about it!”

“But—“

“NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS, LAKE!”

“I don’t know how to play football!”

Steve threw an arm around his shoulders. “Oh don’t worry, Jimmy Boy! We’ll teach you all you have to know!”

“Looking forward to it...” he rolled his eyes.

“This week is an away game, but I expect you to be ready to play next Friday.” Then Coach rested his hands on his shoulders. “Please Lake, we haven’t won a single game the last two years, but we have eight left this season! If we win those eight, we can still go to state.”

“Alright, alright.” He rolled his eyes. “But you better work it out with Miss Janeth. She wants me to be in the drama this year too.”

“Oh we already talked it out. It’s a spring time production.”

“Unbelievable.” Jim muttered under his breath. “It’s like I’m not my own person anymore.”

“Welp, that’s what you get for being the savior of the Earth!” Coach praised, slapping him on the back.

Soon the bell ring, and the rest of the day went by in a flash.

Through no fault of his own, Jim didn’t get the opportunity to learn football until the end of the week. Between the other player’s in practice, and Trollhunter duties, Jim found himself turning to the one person left to teach him.

Though Arrrgh wasn’t exactly a teacher in the first place. “Take ball. Cradle ball. Love ball. Run with ball. Stop at yellow pole. Bury ball in the ground.”

Jim smiled at his friend. “Uh, thanks Arrrgh. That was…that was something.”

—

Friday morning, Jim returned back to his house in the early hours. He showered and dressed for the day, ran a load of laundry, and straightened up the house, as usual.

Why James couldn’t do any of this? No idea. Jim was just glad he never had to see where he had been living up until now.

Though, given that he claimed to be a millionaire at one point, he probably had a maid. But that wasn’t his business, and he didn’t actually care.

Jim made several lunches. Pasta Primavera for Toby, Claire, and Barbara, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for James. He also left five dollars on the counter for Merlin’s McDonald’s craving. That man was going to get fat if he didn’t slow down.

Finally, 8 o’clock rolled around and it was time for school. Toby and Claire waited patiently outside.

“Morning!” Claire chirped.

“Good morning, mi amor.” He swooped down and gave her a smooch on the cheek.

“Gross.”

“Aww, jealous Tobes? Wanna little smooch too?”

“Not from you, Jimbo. I got a gal waitin’ for me.”

“Suit yourself. Here,” he handed over the two bags. “Pasta Primavera, with fresh veggies!”

“Looks awesome Jim!” Claire praised. “But what about you?”

“Oh uh,” he wandered over to the recycling bin. “Let’s take a look.” He grabbed a paper bag and filled it with a variety of trash. A few tin cans, a sock with hole in the toe, and a black, plastic wrapped block that had been sitting on top of the lid. “Ready!”

“Awesome! Dude, I’m so glad you got that truck. Now I don’t have to ride my bike to school every day.”

“Aw cmon Tobes, bike riding is good for you!”

“Yeah, but considering all the running around we do daily, I think I’m pretty set. Did you know I lost 10 pounds over the summer while you guys were gone? I would have lost more, but I was gaining muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Agreed Claire, amicably, “Swinging that hammer had to be a work out. Darci must be loving it.”

“Yeah, I gotta bulk up so I can carry her over the threshold, y’know?”

“Okay, that’s cute.”

They arrived at school, Jim making sure his hood was up before exiting the car. They made their way through the courtyard, several students waving in greeting, while others couldn’t help but stare.

Jim got it. He looked scary and he was different. But god, couldn’t they try to be a little more subtle? Surely everyone had seen him by now, right?

At any rate, Jim yawned as he took out his books for his first few hours, and then stuffed his lunch in his locker.

“You okay, Jimbo?” Toby asked.

“Yeah, just kinda tired. I didn’t sleep last night.”

“Nightmares?”

“No, I literally never slept. Arrrgh and I were…kinda playing football.”

“Oh, so you’re good for next Friday?”

Jim laughed. “Not even remotely! There’s so many rules I don’t know. It was fun to just tackle each other. It was just wrestling, but there was a Football there.”

Toby snorted. “Well, everyone else is going to be tired too. Don’t think you’re the odd one out.”

“Haha, very funny.”

In homeroom, Senior Uhl took attendance, now used to Jim’s appearance. Once everyone had been accounted for, the students were free to roam for the half hour. Steve was immediately next to Jim.

“Okay, so what I’m thinking is that you come to the game tonight at St. Joe and watch. I’m sure coach will let you sit down with the team if you’re learning.”

“St. Joe? Isn’t that like three hours away?”

“Yeah, but it’s not that bad.”

Jim groaned slightly. “I don’t know if I want to drive that far.”

“Well, I’ll see if coach will let you ride on the bus. Especially if he wants you on the team.” He paused a minute and added, “Toby and Claire can come too. If they want.”

“I’ll see if I can swing it. What time should I be here for the bus?”

“I dunno. Ask Coach.” Steve shrugged, wandering off.

Toby turned around in his seat. “Gotta answer every call, huh?”

“Yep. Thankfully the whole Gunnar thing is over now, and I’m not trying to balance my life with the end of the world.” He noticed the student next to him clicking his pen as he worked on his homework, but tried to ignore it. “As long as no major disaster strikes, I’ll be fine.” He knocked on his desk.

The clicking continued.

“It’s just one season. This will give you another chance to test your strength! It’ll be awesomesauce! Just...mowing down the other team left and right!”

“It’ll actually be a better test of self control and—would you knock it off!?” He shouted at the poor boy next to him, a roar coming out.

The kid fell out of his seat in fear. “I’m sorry! I didn’t even know I was—please don’t hurt me!”

“Is there a problem, Mr. Lake?” Senior Uhl asked, arms crossed.

Jim felt awful. “No! Oh no no! I’m sorry!” He reached over and picked the kid up off the floor with ease. “I don’t know what got into me. I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay...” the kid returned, warily. “I’ll just use a pencil instead.”

The rest of homeroom passed in silence for Jim, and in whispers with the rest of the class.

The next hour, Jim and Toby had History with Mr. Strickler. Though he was the principle now, Walt still had an affinity for History and for teaching. That, and it was hard to find a replacement for AP US History. And who better than someone who lived through it?

In class, Jim was doing fine. As long as he had something to focus on, he was able to act like a human being.

Then the clicking came back again.

Jim growled in his throat, catching Toby’s attention.

“Pst, Jimbo, wasn’t wrong buddy?”

“Nothing, it’s fine.” He glanced over to the kid who had been clicking in homeroom. He was using a pencil. But he glanced up and met Jim’s eyes, widening when he heard the clicking too.

“It wasn’t me...” the kid mouthed.

Jim nodded, and glanced around the room. Then he saw it. Shamus, a friend of Steve’s and local bully, was looking right at him, clicking his pen on purpose.

Jim snarled at him in response.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Lake?”

Jim swiveled back around, realizing in annoyance that he had fallen right into Shamus’ plot. “No sir, just...sensitive to that clicking noise.”

“Yes, it is quite unpleasant. Whoever is doing that, would you kindly stop? I’m sure everyone would focus better if you did.”

The clicking ceased, and Jim breathed a sigh in relief.

Until math class, which was shared with Shamus again. This time, Claire sat behind Jim.

About twenty minutes passed before Shamus started in again, the clicking penetrating right into Jim’s skull.

He only put up with it for a minute before he stood out of his chair and cried out, “oh come on!”

“Jim?” Miss Janeth asked, impatient. “Something bothering you about the lesson?”

Defeated, Jim just lied. “I’m sorry, I have a migraine, can I go to the nurse?”

“Sure Jim, take the pass.”

He took the placard and hurried out of the room.

Perhaps it was cowardly, but it was safer to just run.

Jim stayed away for the rest of the class period.

At lunch, Toby and Claire met up with him in the cafeteria, as he sat with his shoulders hunched.

“How’s your head?” Claire asked, delicately scratching his scalp.

“It’s fine. I was just getting annoyed by Shamus’ clicking his pen. I decided to leave instead of getting angry...or worse.”

“It wouldn’t take much from you to get him to lay off.” Suggested Toby. “Just stand over him and dare him to pick a fight with you.”

“I’m not threatening anyone. At least, not any humans.”

“It’s always better to take the high road with bullies.” Claire stated. “He’ll move on to someone else tomorrow.”

Jim groaned at that. “That’s what I’m afraid of. What’s a clicking pen compared to being shoved in a locker?”

“No offense Jim, but I’d pick the locker. That’s only hurting one person. You getting angry? HULK SMASH.”

Jim exhaled, his lips flapping like a horse. “Yeah yeah, I know.”

“You’re getting better at it.” Claire insisted. “Getting annoyed by a clicking pen is totally normal. Heck, I wanted to punch him too.”

He laughed at that. “Alright, I guess I’ll believe you.” Finally, he opened his lunch, as did the other two, and meal time commenced.

It was while he was in the middle of one of the tin cans that Steve made his presence known. “I heard Shamus was being a real butt snack today. You want me to put him in the ground?”

“Nah,” he crunched in the can. “I’ll take care of it if I need to. It’s really not that big of a deal.” He took out the black, plastic wrapped block next.

“You just say the word, and I’ll knock his block off!...what is that?”

Jim took a bite, revealing a white, powdery center. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know...and you’re eating it?”

“Yep. It tastes pretty good, whatever it is.” He finished it in another bite, and then moved on to the sock for desert. “Oh wait...ah! Muh mouf wen numb!”

“Your mouth’s numb?” Asked Claire.

He wiped his tongue with a napkin, trying to get rid of the sensation. “Yeah! It ‘eels like noeecaine.”

“Novocaine? It’s that bad?”

Eli, Who was sitting behind Jim, spoke up. “Hey, my mom packed some Cucumber Melon La Croix, if you want a sip.”

Jim snatched the can and downed the whole thing.

“Good thinking Eli!” Said Toby, “gross soda will probably taste good to Jim!”

Eli sighed, “that’s my favorite...”

Jim smacked his tongue, the sensation fading. “Man, that was weird. I still don’t know what that was. But I’m never eating it again!”

Soon, the bell rang and it was time for gym.

Dodgeball.

Every highschooler’s nightmare. Over inflated red rubber balls that left bruises for days, and that smacking sound with a metallic ‘ping!’ that haunted you for a lifetime.

And everyone wanted to be on Jim’s team. For obvious reasons.

“Lake!” Coach shouted, once warm-ups were over.

“Yeah, Coach?”

“On your knees,” he pointed to the ground.

Jim, throughly confused, did as he was asked, and knelt on the ground.

Coach Lawrence dug around in his pocket and then put something on Jim’s horns.

A questioning touch revealed them to be corks.

“I don’t want you popping any balls.” Coach offered as an explanation, with a firm slap to the butt. “Also, use your non-dominant hand, and don’t throw too hard.”

“Sure. Don’t have to tell me twice.”

“Alright, Steve and Shamus, you’re Captains. Flip a coin to see who picks first.”

Steve won, and picked Jim first.

Suddenly, Shamus was feeling sort of sheepish for the pen clicking.

The teams were divided up equally, and Coach blew the whistle to start the game.

That’s when the shit hit the fan.

Jim’s heart started to race, more than what was normal after exercise, though he hadn’t run much yet, and he hadn’t even broken a sweat during warm-ups. It built, faster and faster, until he wondered if it was going to jump right out of his chest.

Am I having a heart attack? He thought.

It was like his consciousness was pulled back inside his head, like someone else was piloting his body. And yet he was acutely aware of everything. The world felt slow, and he felt fast. His face and chest felt warm, his hands cold and clammy. Light, fast, and ready to do anything. His limbs tingled, as he just itched to move.

Move. Move.

The ball was in his hand one moment, and gone the next.

—

To the outside world, it happened way too fast. The whistle blew, and Jim stood frozen in place. The game had begun, and everyone was dancing around, trying to dodge. But not Jim, he just stood there, his face full of confusion.

“Lake! Get your head in the game!” Called Steve.

Shamus took the opportunity to throw the ball, and it hit Jim squarely in the chest, hard enough to wind a normal kid, but it didn’t even phase Jim.

“Lake, you’re out!”

And just like that, he charged at the ball, grabbed it, and chucked it as hard as possible. It whistled through the air, and nailed Shamus in the face, a loud crack echoing across the gym, as he fell with a thud.

“Lake! What did I just say about throwing?!”

Jim whipped his head around, his eyes dilated to almost completely black. He snarled at the coach.

Some of the kids on the other team called back from where Shamus was on the floor. “He’s out cold, Coach! I think his nose is broken.”

Toby jogged over, not noticing his state, “Jim, you said the pen thing wasn’t a big deal…”

Jim snapped his eyes over Toby, his jaw tightening, and his muscles coiling like a snake ready to strike.

“Jim? What’s wrong?” Asked Claire, genuinely upset. “Yeah, c’mon man! What’s your deal?” Steve got up into his face, “this isn’t cool.”

Like that was going to snap him out of it. Fuming, Jim easily lifted Steve off the ground and threw him across the gym, where he luckily landed on a mat from the ropes.

Coach was not letting anyone else be injured though, as he cried out, “Run! Go!”

His shout prompted Jim to roar loudly, and tear through the gym, over to the doors outside, and rip them off their hinges.

“Jim…” Claire watched him go.

“You follow him, I’ll tell Mr. Strickler!” Suggested Toby, running towards the locker room.

—

Jim didn’t know why everyone started shouting at him. He could barely understand what they were saying, they were all so slow. His eyes darted around the room. Everything seeming more…colorful, loud, and overwhelming. The shouting was irritating, and he wanted them to stop. His jaw felt tight, though he wanted to say so much.

Steve got in his face, saying something. This furthered his irritation, and he flung him away, like he weighed nothing. More shouting, more noise, and he just got angrier and angrier, until he roared and ran from the room.

Everything around him was so light. The door ripped off its hinges like cardboard. He ran outside, his skin sizzling in the sun, but it didn’t really hurt.

It just made his angrier.

He ran out into the street, racing passed cars that seemed to stand still.

What’s going on? He thought. Why is everything so slow? Is this a troll problem? What do I do? Why am I so angry? Why is everyone looking at me?

He ran into a car on accident, and in his anger, turned it on its side. It took no effort, and he did it again to another, then another. A running car had exhaust spilling out, and the smell was delicious. Without another thought, he bent down and huffed it.

What am I doing? This isn’t me. Am I dying? Everything hurts…

It was then that he realized there was nothing wrong with the world, but there might have been something wrong with him.

But he couldn’t stop it, and he didn’t want to either.

People were running in slow motion. Screaming and pointing at him. Their words were slow and unintelligible, but he had a guess what was being said.

They hate me. They’re scared of me. They think I’m a monster. Stop looking at me! Stop judging me!

He saw detective Scott on his radio, and knew it was about him.

I’m not a monster. I’m just me. What is going on? Is this a nightmare?

He looked down at his arms, seeing them dusty and sizzling. This should be a lot more painful. I must have passed out. This is a dream. I can do whatever I want!

What a dangerous thought for him to have.

—

Toby burst into the Principal’s office. “Mr. Strickler! Mr. Strickler!”

Startled, Walt nearly threw a handful of papers in the air. “Can I help you, Toby?” He asked, with a tinge of irritation.

“It’s Jim! He’s gone totally bonkers! He knocked Shamus unconscious with a dodgeball and threw Steve across the room!”

“What! Why?”

“I don’t know! It’s like he just snapped! We were playing dodgeball and he just…snapped!” There really was no other way to say it.

“Where is he now?”

“He ripped the door off and ran outside!”

“In the sun!?”

“Yes!”

“Call Blinky and Arrrgh, we’ve got to track him down!” He directed, grabbing his keys and pulling out his phone. He tapped away and then put it to his ear. “Barbara, it’s Jim. Toby said he’s out of control. He’s run out in sunlight, so we might need you…yes, of course. I’ll bring him to the hospital then. Okay, I’ll text you.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Toby cried, feeling sick.

“I don’t know…it…it almost sounds like Grave Sand. But, I don’t know where he would have gotten any. Did he look any different?”

“His pupils were huge! His eyes were almost black!”

“I don’t know what that could be. We need to catch him, and then I’ll find out. Let’s move!”

—

Claire was running as fast as she could, though it was getting harder and harder to keep the pace. It felt like an hour she had been tracking him down, but gauging the sun in the sky, it had been a bit longer than that. School was probably over by now, but she had yet to actually find him. She followed a trail of destruction. Upturned cars, ruptured roads, and fallen street lights. There was no one on the street, and with good reason. She could hear police sirens all over the city.

“Jim?!” She cried out for the nth time. “Jim! Where are you!?”

A roar echoed from up above, and she saw he was on the roof of a building, looking down at her with his darkened eyes. He looked awful. His clothes were in shreds, his hair a mess and slick with sweat, and his skin more gray than blue and cracking badly.

“Jim…” She reached out to him. “Come on down, please. Let’s talk.”

Oh, he was coming down alright, but not to talk. He leapt from the building and crashed into the road, cracking it on impact, then he snapped his eyes up meet hers and vaulted over to her, grabbing her around the waist. He swept her off her feet and she fell against him harshly.

“Ow! Jim! What’s wrong with you? Why won’t you say anything!?”

He just ran with her, still draped over his shoulder, towards the canal.

She clung to him so she wouldn’t flail all over the place with how fast he was running. But she did weasel her phone from her pocket. She dialed Toby.

He picked up immediately. “Claire! Where are you?! Did you find him?!”

“He found me! I think he’s taking me to Trollmarket.”

“He still raging?”

“Totally unresponsive. The town is a mess!”

“Yeah, I know! We’re on our way!”

With that, Jim jerked, and her phone fell out of her grasp. She had it with him, and startled thrashing, kicking and hitting his back. “Put me down right now! Jim!!”

He shook her, forcing her to calm down, as he leapt over the side of the bridge and down to the ravine. He came to a stop by the wall. He didn’t have a horngazel, and therefore, no way into to Trollmarket.

That didn’t stop him from trying to punch his way in.

Claire wriggled again, trying to get free, but he just held her tighter, crushing her waist. “Stop it! You’re hurting me!” She turned and looked at him from her awkward vantage point over his shoulder, and could see that his arm was red with blood.

His punches got slower and slower, and his grip on her began to relax. Finally, he let her go.

She landed on her feet, ready to interrogate him, but saw they weren’t out of the woods yet. His eyes were still dilated, but drooped heavily, like he was going to drop any second. He staggered around, reaching out for her, but not with any real direction. One hand came up and grasped at his chest, right over his heart. His breathing was harsh and grating.

“Take a breath breath.” She demanded, “calm down.”

He heaved, throwing up on the cement. There was some remnants of the white powder that had been in his lunch.

She couldn’t even catch him as he collapsed onto the cement.

“Jim…” She knelt at his side. She turned him onto his back, and examined him. His whole body was cold, and his pulse was erratic, faster than she’d ever felt a heartbeat.

“Claire! Claire are you there?!” Walt shouted from the edge of the canal.

“Yes, I’m here! Jim is too! He’s out cold!”

Walt and Toby ran to her, thankful to see that Jim had finally exhausted himself.

“We need to get him to the hospital. Barbara will know how to help him. Or she’ll be able to keep him sedated until we can find out what’s wrong.”

Together, they loaded him in his car and off they went.

Barbara was in the ER when they arrived, ready with a stretcher to take care of him. “Jim! My baby! What happened to him!?”

“We don’t have any clue,” Walter admitted shamefully. “I’m going to try to find out though. And perhaps Blinky will know.”

She felt his pulse as he was talking. “Oh my god, he’s having a heart attack! I need some electrodes on him, stat. Let’s move people!” She called to a nurse.

He was taken back to the ICU, and monitored. Barbara didn’t try to force anyone from the room, since she was worried enough herself. “He’s in ventricular tachycardia. 240 bpm. I need the defibrillator, we need to reset his heart back to a normal rhythm. 200 joules.”

Claire and Toby stood in the corner, holding each other, as the paddles were placed on his chest, and he jolted from the electric shock.

“Again,” Barbara commanded, after listening.

A total of ten shocks, and finally, it seemed that his heart rate had come down to a somewhat normal state.

“Intubate him and get him on 200 mg of labetalol.”

“Are you sure? That’s a lot…” Asked the nurse.

“Jim ate a blender once, he’s going to need a much higher dose.”

“200 mg of labetalol, coming up.”

As the nurse rushed out, Barbara cleaned his bloody hands. With scrutiny, she felt his fingers. “Doesn’t seem like he broke anything, but we’ll get an X-ray once he’s stable.” She spoke calmly, but there was a tremble in her voice.

“Is he going to be okay?”

Barbara jumped for a second. “Oh Claire, I forgot you guys were here. Um, yes, I think so. His heart rate is lowered and he’s breathing a little bit better now.”

“Do you think this is a troll thing? Or is this a human thing?” Asked Toby.

Barbara grimaced. “Well, I don’t want to say anything for sure…but it looks an awful lot like—“

She didn’t finish her thought however, as her phone started going off.

“Oh for the love of mud!” She exasperated, pulling the phone out and answering. “James! What is so important that you have to call every fifteen minutes!? Your son is in the ICU and I have more important things to do than feed you!” She paused, listening to his demands. “No, I don’t know anything a plastic wrapped block on the garbage can. Trash doesn’t go out on Fridays.”

Toby ran at Barbara, grabbed her phone and put it on speaker. “WHAT ABOUT THE BLACK PLASTIC BLOCK!?” He shouted.

“Ow! Jesus! None of your business kid! Why the hell are you asking?”

“Please sir, Jim’s my best friend and something’s really wrong with him! He ate that block for lunch and now—“

“Whoa whoa whoa what?! He ate it?”

“Yes! He thought it was trash!”

“Jesus Christ on a motorbike. You’re telling me…that Jim swallowed…a brick?”

“It wasn’t a brick. It was a white powdery stuff.”

“Not a building brick. A brick! 50,000 dollars worth of blow!?”

“He did what?!” Barbara shrieked.

“That’s what it was! 1 kilo of pure, clean cut cocaine! And our 16 year old monster ate it!”

“Is…is that really bad?” Toby asked sheepishly.

“Uh yeah! A guy like me can sit down a do 4-5 lines in two hours, maybe 2-4 grams, depending on the line. A kilo? A thousand? That’s enough to kill an elephant!”

“You’re dead meat, Lake,” Barbara grit out. “I’m calling the police as soon as Jim is stable. So you’ve got a few hours to vanish. I loved you once, so think of this as an act of mercy.”

“Sorry Babs. Since all of my supply is gone now, thanks to Jim, there would be no evidence. I gotta hide out here for a little while longer. Jim will probably be fine, freak that he is. If not, good riddance.”

Barbara angrily hung up the phone.

Nurses had come in early in the conversation and got to work getting Jim hooked up. Now he was settled, intubated, and breathing normally. His EKG showed an only slightly elevated heart rate.

“If that man doesn’t get out of my house, I’m going to be the one needing labetalol.” She sighed.

“I mean,” One of the nurses spoke up. “We just heard him confess to having a kilogram of cocaine and leaving it somewhere a minor could ingest it. So we could testify.”

Barbara took a deep breath. “Thank you. I am seeing a lawyer to get this all sorted out. But for right now, I’m just worried about my son. With that new information, I think we’ll have to have his stomach pumped.”

“Barbara? He did throw up before he passed out. I think I saw a lot of the cocaine in the vomit.”

“Good, then he didn’t digest all of it. But just to be sure, order a stomach pump, x ray, and 50 mg of prophylaxis for his burns. The worst looks like the back of his neck and his arms.” She touched the scarred tissues, which was rock hard. “I’m not actually sure how to treat these kinds of burns. Blinky might be able to help with that.” She walked up to him, pushing his bangs away from his forehead, and kissed him gently. “My poor little boy. You just can’t catch a break, can you?”

#arcadia or bust #trollhunters #troll!jim #jim lake jr #claire #jim x claire #toby domzalski #fanfiction #trollhunters tales of arcadia

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