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mountttmase · 10 months

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A Mountain To Climb: The Sequel

Chapter Four

Note - so this is the Chelsea chapter. If we can just imagine this is set before he moved that would be great 😂 I’d really love some feedback on this so please let me know what you think 🩷

Pairing - Mason Mount × Reader

Word count - 5.7K

Warnings - series will contain fluff, smut and angst

Masterlist

Nervous.

That was the overwhelming feeling rushing through your veins as you smoothed out your shirt in the mirror, turning round to catch sight of the name and number on the back that sent a flutter through your chest.

Today was a big day, your second game back at the bridge and your first as Masons… whatever you were. You weren’t official, having only been on a handful of dates now but you both knew the pair of you were together, even referring to him as such to a colleague at work and you blushed at the thought of him finding out even though it felt natural.

The only game you’d ever been to was with Freya so you were a bit more stressed this time as you were going with Sophia and you knew it would be a different experience. This time you’d be sat in a box rather than in the stands and you wondered if you should of got changed into something a bit nicer but Freya had reassured you it was just a game not a fashion show and you’d be fine in whatever so you popped on a pair of comfy cargos and grabbed one of Masons hoodies you’d stolen before making sure your hair was how you wanted it.

You quickly put your phone into your bag and locked up your flat before flying downstairs to jump into Sophia’s car. You gave her a big smile that she returned, her eyes scanning over your shirt as she giggled before your eyes fell to her matching one.

‘We’ll have to have a picture taken, the Chelsea wives’ she giggled as she started the car

‘I think it’s a bit early to start calling me his wife, we’re not even official yet’

‘Oh shush, it’s only a matter of time. Pretty sure Kai referred to you as his girlfriend the other day so Mason must be fine with it. Anyway are you excited for the game?’

‘Yeah, I mean I barely know what’s happening but I’ve never been in a box before’

‘Don’t worry, I’m a seasoned veteran. Stick with me and you’ll be fine’ she reassured you so that’s exactly what you did, linking arms so you didn’t get lost as she lead you to your box. You could see at lot more from up here and you sat chatting away until you watched the boys run out for their warm up.

You knew Mason was concentrating so you didn’t mind him not looking your way but as they started to head in you watched his head whip up to you, a warm smile on his face as he sent you a wave that you returned but you stared at him in confusion as he made a twirly motion with his finger. You were unsure of what he wanted before you realised he was asking to see his name on the back of your shirt. You turned around slightly to let him see it and you watched his smile grow, blowing you a kiss before he was hurried inside and you took your seat again.

‘I miss the honeymoon phase. Kai never blows me kisses anymore’ Sophia sulked just as a few of the other girls turned up. Sophia gave you a quick introduction and you tried to act normal and relax but you immediately felt awkward. You’d always been a little insecure but around big groups of gorgeous girls, who wouldn’t be, but this felt different. This was a whole new world for you and you felt yourself shrinking as you took them in. Head to toe in designer clothes that you could only imagine the price of and as everyone chatted away you could only sit and think about how embarrassed Mason would be when he saw you later.

It wasn’t just the clothes though, you’d gotten better about being around other people, no longer shutting everyone out but it was at times like this, surrounded by lots of people that you didn’t really know that made you panic. In your head everyone hated you and deep down you were overwhelmed about how many new people you were suddenly letting in to your life like never before. You felt wondering what everyone thought of you, the rude scruffy girl that doesn’t talk to anyone and even though you knew it was a little bit silly but you couldn’t stop the thoughts rushing through your brain.

‘I um, I’m just going inside for a sec’ you told Sophia quietly. ‘I won’t be long’ and with that you shuffled back through the doors, not heading in any particular direction but just away from everyone so you could find a quiet corner to catch your breath for a second. Everywhere was packed though and you could feel your breathing becoming laboured as you freaked out internally, eventually making a beeline for a corridor you knew you weren’t meant to go down but you didn’t care in this particular moment. You just needed to feel safe and this seemed like the most logical option.

You could hear the muffled sounds of people at the other end behind a closed door but you couldn’t see anyone so you sunk to the floor, putting you head in between your knees so you could take some breaths and calm yourself down. It was like you couldn’t get a breath in and you knew your eyes were filled with tears but you forced yourself to count to ten in some attempt to calm yourself and you could feel your breathing start to even out.

‘Y/n? Is that you?’ You suddenly heard, whipping your head around to see Woody stood where you’d just come from, a look of concern on his face and you felt relief flood your veins at the sight of him. You’d met Woody a couple of times at Masons house recently and you knew Mason had opened up to him about you in the past but he’d always been nothing but sweet every time you’d seen him, even teaming up with you to tease Mason over silly things and you were thankful Mason had a friend like him.

‘H-hey, I um, I needed some air and I got a bit lost’ you told him, scrambling to stand up as he gave you a reassuring smile.

‘That’s alright. You’re sat in the box, right?’ He questioned and you sent him a small nod. ‘Me too, come on. I’ll come sit with you yeah?’

‘Yeah, t-thanks Woody’ you nodded shakily as you followed him back out. You noticed the game had already started but it was only a few minutes you’d missed and your eyes scanned the pitch to try and find Mason as Woody took up the free seat next to you. It didn’t take long to catch his eyes as he was was periodically looking up but you watched his shoulders relax once he smiled at you.

The game was long and intense with nothing to separate the two teams in the end. A goalless draw that you could tell Mason was unhappy with but at least it wasn’t a loss this time. You followed everyone out, throwing Masons hoodie on as you went so you could make your way to the players lounge to wait for him and as soon as you as you got into the lift with Woody you felt a text come through, opening your phone to see a message from Freya. She was currently out shopping for dresses for her graduation ball and asked if you could approve of her choices.

‘Hey woody? Are you single?’ You asked, following him over to one of the comfy chairs and taking a seat next to him.

‘Y/n I’m flattered, but I think Mason would kill me’ he joked and you rolled your eyes as his attempt at humour.

‘I’m not asking for me you wombat’ you laughed, quickly pulling up the same picture of Freya for him to see. ‘This is my best friend’ you told him, watching his eyes widen as his cheeks grew slightly pink at the sight of her. You knew that look, it was the same one Mason gave you often and caused a lightbulb to go off in your head.

‘She’s very pretty but I get the feeling she’d eat me alive’

‘Yeah you’re probably right’ you laughed ‘She’s a bit of a handful’ you told him but you knew Freya needed someone to soften her up a little bit and Woody seemed like a nice choice. She was still upset that Ben was off the market now and you’d made it your mission to try and find her a date a least but maybe Woody was just a bit too sweet for her. ‘I’m just popping to the loo’ you whispered, slotting passed him so you could make sure you looked presentable for when Mason came out, even though you felt anything but and when you rounded the corner on your way back out you saw him with Woody. There was a concerned look painted on his face and you knew why as soon as Woody nodded his head to the corridor he’d found you in earlier. ‘Fuck sake Woody’ you breathed, hoping to of kept your little episode to yourself earlier but you knew Mason knew now so you dusted yourself off and walked over like nothing was wrong.

‘Hey’ he smiled softly as soon as he saw you, his eyes lighting up as he held his out his arm out for you to tuck yourself under and he kissed your forehead gently as you settled into his side. All feelings of being insecure now out the window as you watched the loving smile spread over his face.

‘Hey Mase, good game’

‘Could of been better but it’s fine’ he smiled before his eyes were back on Woody. ‘So I’ll see you in the morning yeah?’

‘Yeah just text me when you’re up’ he nodded before smiling at you. ‘Was good to see you y/n, I’ll see you guys around’ he told you and after a quick goodbye he was gone, leaving you and Mason alone. The pair of you hadn’t spoken about what you were doing after the game, assuming he would want to go home and rest but now you were in his embrace you weren’t sure you wanted to leave him.

‘You coming back to mine?’ He whispered into your hair and you felt your body erupt in goosebumps as soon as he spoke, pulling back to look at his soft smile.

‘I didn’t know if you’d want me to’ you laughed and he rolled his eyes playfully as he squeezed your shoulder. ‘I thought you might be tired and want to be alone’

‘You really are a funny one’ he laughed, removing himself from you so he could grab your hand. ‘Of course I want you to, I need a cuddle and some tlc’ he told you jokingly, pulling you by the hand to the exit where his car was. He was quiet the whole ride but you knew he was just thinking about the game so you kept quiet too, returning the small smile he gave you when you were almost back at his.

‘You hungry or anything?’ He asked as he lead you into the kitchen. ‘I can cook for us or we could order something’

‘I can cook for us, Mase. You’ve been running about for ages I bet that’s the last thing you wanna do’

‘I don’t mind’ he told you, holding you by your cheeks so he could kiss you softly for the first time that day. ‘You know I’d do anything for you’

‘How about we do it together’ you reasoned, leading him over to the fridge where you got a few things out to make some pasta dish you always had at home and he seemed happy enough to take your lead and chop what you told him too. You saw his eyes light up again when you finally took his hoodie off before coming to help him, kissing your cheek as you came to stand next to him and you could tell how happy he was with his name on your back.

‘You wanna sit on the sofa? Or I could go set our table up in the other room?’ He winked and your heart tugged at the memory of having dinner with him after work that one time.

‘The sofa’s fine’ you told him, knowing he’d probably still not be in the mood to talk all that much and at least you could watch tv on the sofa and not try to force him to speak. In the end he put some random show on Netflix on as you ate, and just as you had suspected he was quiet throughout until you’d both finished. Soon after he took your plate out so he could stack everything in the dishwasher before coming back to join you.

‘Come here, I need a cuddle’ he whispered, holding his arms out for you to climb into. ‘Sorry if I’ve been a bit quiet, I just get a bit grumpy when games don’t go my way’

‘It’s okay’ you reassured him, holding him tighter and kissing his chest. ‘I understand’

‘I need to ask you about something actually’ he said, pulling back so you could look at each other and your tummy gave a flutter when he tucked your hair behind your ear. ‘Don’t be mad at him but Woody told me what happened today. That he found you in the corridor?’ he told you softly and you couldn’t look at him anymore, hiding your face out of embarrassment as you knew he was going to make you speak about it. ‘What happened baby? Talk to me’

‘It was nothing-‘

‘Don’t say that’

‘I’m just at bit embarrassed’ you laughed, looking up to him again but his kind expression softened you. ‘I guess I’m just not used to being around so many people, like that many girls? And they’re all dressed so nice and I’m sat there looking like this’ you laughed softly but he looked at you confused. ‘I just got it in my head that they all hated me and i didn’t fit in so I made a run for it’ you laughed as his hand came up to stroke your cheek. ‘ I didn’t know where I was going and I got a bit lost I guess. I just wanted a bit of quiet so I could get my breath back and my head together but Woody found me at the worst possible time’

‘Well I’m glad he did. He seemed a really concerned when he told me, I think you really freaked him out’ he laughed.

‘I’ll make it up to him’ you winked as he tickled your sides and the horrified look on Masons face made you realise what you’d said sounded like something completely different.

‘You bloody will not’

‘Not like that you perv, I was thinking of something else’

‘Not to sure I wanna know. And anyway don’t change the subject’ he scolded lightly, ‘Are you sure you’re alright?’

‘I’m fine I promise. I just had a moment. I’m still trying to adjust to… everything, you know? Trying to let people in and be normal but I don’t feel like I fit in sometimes. Like seeing everyone looking how they did I just thought you might be a bit embarrassed of me’ you laughed. ‘I’ll get there but it’s hard to change the habit of a lifetime. My instinct is to block people out but I don’t want to come across as rude’

‘I know’ he told you, kissing your forehead. ‘But you know I don’t give a shit about what you wear, right? And I could never be embarrassed of you, you’re the most beautiful girl in the world to me. If anything I prefer you dressed like this than some of the shit I see the others in’

‘Really?’ You laughed, tears stinging in the backs of your eyes but you held them in.

‘Of course. I like you for who you are not what you’re dressed in and I thought you looked sexy as hell today he winked before letting out a big yawn. ‘Shit sorry, it’s been a long day’

‘That’s okay, I can get going if you want’

‘No wait’ he told you, eyes scanning your face quickly before looking into your eyes. ‘Will you stay? Like here, tonight. With me?’

‘What like sleep over?’ You asked, unsure as to what he meant as he was stumbling over his words a bit.

‘Yeah. If you want to that is’

‘I’d love to but don’t have anything thing with me’

‘That’s okay, you can borrow something of mine to sleep in and I’ve got loads of toiletries and stuff in the guest room you can use’

‘I hope that doesn’t mean I have to sleep in the guest room’ you joked as he pulled you up but he just shook his head with a laugh, leading you upstairs and into the main bathroom. He showed you where everything was before starting the shower up for you so it could warm up before dropping a kiss on your forehead.

‘I’ll go find you some stuff to wear, yeah? I’ll leave it on the side just put on whatever you’re comfortable in’

‘Thank you’ you told him shyly and he smiled down at you before pulling you into a hug.

‘Anything for you’ he whispered and you were so close to asking him to stay and shower with you but something held you back. ‘I’m just over the hall when you’re done, I’ll leave my door open’ he told you and with that he was gone.

You hadn’t heard him come in but when you got out of the shower there was a neat pile of his things next to the sink and once you were dry you pulled on his top and a pair of his boxers before padding over to his room. It was the first time you’d been up here and you felt almost like you were intruding even though the door was open so you gave it a gentle knock in hopes in could hear you.

‘Come in’ he sung with a gentle laugh, and and you felt yourself blush as you poked your head around the door, feeling a little silly now as you made your way over to him with a few of the other things he’d left out for you bunched up in your arms. ‘Well don’t you look cute’ he winked as he emptied your arms and popped everything back in his wardrobe. It was only then you realised he was only in a pair of boxers himself and your mouth went dry as your eyes raked over his body.

Including your little McDonald’s trip, you’d been on six dates with Mason however nothing had progressed passed a steamy kiss at the end of the night. It’s not like you both hadn’t had the chance to take things a bit further but Mason always had an early morning or somewhere to be. At first you didn’t think anything of it, he told you he wanted to take things slowly and you understood why but at this point you figured it might be something more. If anything you were surprised he’d even asked you to stay tonight. You knew you needed to talk to him about it and you told yourself if he didn’t try anything tonight then you would, not sure how long you could go without having him in some way when he was looking the way he was.

‘You okay, love?’ He asked, making his way back to you, his hands on your hips so he could pull you into his body and you shivered and your fingers touched the warm skin of his chest.

‘Yeah, I’m fine’ you whispered shyly before he bent his head to place a soft kiss on your lips.

‘I know it’s early, but do you wanna get in?’ He asked, nodding towards his bed and the pair of you climbed in. Your hopes of anything further happening though were soon dashed when he rested his head on your chest and cuddled into your side so he could get comfortable before shutting his eyes. ‘Night babe’ he yawned but you knew your voice would betray you so you just kissed his forehead in hopes that would be enough.

You felt a bit silly, getting upset at the fact he seemingly didn’t want to sleep with you but it was more than that. You understood things had ended in the worst possible way the first time you’d slept together but now it felt like he didn’t trust you and you couldn’t even speak to him about it. You weren’t sure if he was fully asleep but his breathing was slow so you carefully pushed him off and rolled over to face away from him before you felt the tears that had welled in your eyes eventually spill out.

It wasn’t long before you heard Mason sigh behind you, shuffling a little until his chest hit your back but you buried your face in the pillow so he couldn’t see you.

‘Hey, what’s up?’ He asked gently, kissing your shoulder as he stroked your side but when you didn’t answer him he nestled his head into your neck. ‘It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. I think I know what it is’ he sighed, sounding defeated. ‘It’s not that I don’t want you, trust me I really fucking do. I just…’ he trailed off, sounding a bit upset himself and you quickly turned to look into his glossy eyes.

‘Tell me what’s wrong’ you whispered, searching his face for some answers but you were coming up short. ‘You can tell me, you know? Even if you think it’ll upset me or whatever I just need us to be on the same page’

‘I know, I just… I’m a bit scared’ he laughed, a few tears escaping that you quickly brushed away. ‘And I know we should of spoken about it before but I didn’t want to make you feel bad or anything’

‘You know I’d never do that to you again’ you whispered, knowing you were both referring to that fateful night. You kissed his nose as he nodded his head in your hand, deep down knowing that you wouldn’t but it was still in his head. ‘I get why you’re scared and I’m so sorry-‘

‘No dont’ he protested, raising up slightly so he could tower over you. ‘You really don’t need to apologise again. I don’t want you to feel like you need to be sorry all the time because I know you are and that you mean it. It’s me, you know? I thought if we took things slowly I’d be fine but I think I’m just overthinking things’

‘I just feel like I’ve ruined this for us’

‘You haven’t ruined anything baby, I swear’ he told you gently, your whole body feeling warm at the sight of his smile.

‘Maybe I’ve been overthinking too. I know it’s just sex and not something to get upset about like I have but when you kept saying you were busy and stuff I thought… I don’t know maybe we were spending all this time together and you didn’t find me attractive anymore or you realised you didn’t like me or… it doesn’t matter. But I need you to listen to me’ you told him, reaching up to hold his face so he could look at you in your eyes. ‘I’m not going anywhere, I swear. You’re my safe place, Mason and I’m not stupid enough to mess that up again’ you told him, both of you silently crying as you tried to reassure the boy in front of you but you could see see him blushing even in the darkness. ‘I know where I belong, Mase and that’s right here with you. I’m so sorry I ever made you doubt that’

You saw him go to say something but he stopped himself, shaking his head lightly before dipping down to kiss you and you hummed appreciatively into his mouth. You thought it would just be a quick kiss but when you felt him move to position himself in between your legs you knew he was about to give you what you wanted and you smiled onto his lips when you felt him press against your core.

‘Maybe we just need to take the plunge and try again?’ He whispered against your neck and you felt the excitement run through you at what he might be propositioning.

He pulled back, shuffling on his knees before pulling you up by your hands so you could sit up and he pulled his top from you in one swift motion before his hands were at his boxers you were currently wearing, tugging them off of you legs so you were laid completely bare beneath him.

‘I can’t believe I made think that you’re not attractive’ he said lowly as his eyes raked over you. ‘You’re fucking perfect to me, I adore every inch of you’ he told you, his lips attaching to your neck as your fingers dived into his hair. ‘I’ve missed your body so much’

‘Mase’ you gasped, but he was quick to kiss you in attempts to silence you.

‘I know baby, just relax’ he whispered, kissing down your body until he got to your core and you felt the excitement bubbling up inside you. He didn’t give you a chance to say anything else before attaching his lips to where you needed and you melted into his touch. It had been so long since you’d felt him and you’d forgotten at how good he was with this tongue.

‘Fucking hell, Mase. You’re so good at that’ you told him as he moaned into you. You chanced a look down and his big brown eyes were already looking up into yours causing a shiver to run through your body which was only made worse when you could tell he was smiling at you. You couldn’t help but push his face further into you as he made you feel good and his grip on your thighs tightened to the point of almost hurting but it only added to your pleasure.

He was taking his time with you, teasing you in a way only he knew how and even though this was the second time you’d been intimate it was like he knew your body already. Knew exactly where to touch you and kiss you and all the right words to help tip you over the edge. It didn’t take much though, you’d been waiting for weeks and you could feel your high bubbling to the surface already. When it finally hit, you squeezed your thighs around his head tightly which caused him to chuckle onto you and the vibrations only made it feel even better.

You didn’t give him a second to think when he eventually pulled away from you, rolling him over and popping yourself into the same position he had just been in so you could return the favour. You didn’t get a chance last time as he had made everything about you and the tent in his boxers was making your mouth water. You gripped the waist of his underwear and pulled them off him when he lifted his hips for you and you smiled at the way he sprung up against his tummy.

‘Sit up for me a little bit’ you told him, and you watched as he shuffled up the bed until his back was comfortable against the headboard. His wide eyes were looking down at you liked you’d cast some sort of spell over him, but he shut them as soon as your lips wrapped around him. You never got a chance to taste him last time since he was so focused on making you feel good but you were hellbent on showing him a good time this time around.

‘My god, y/n. Keep doing that’ he murmured, his hands now in your hair as he brushed it out of your face and you eyes caught his as a string of curse words fell from his pouty lips. ‘Keep going, baby’

You moaned onto him, his hands now slightly moving your head up and down as you spluttered around his length but you pushed through as you wanted to make it as good as you could for him but he was pulling you off soon after.

‘Come up here’ he breathed, pulling you up and helping you straddle him as he wiped your bottom lip and under your eyes before placing a heavy kiss on your lips. ‘You good?’

‘Yeah’ you smiled cheekily whilst rocking your hips over him once and you laughed as his eyes rolled back in his head at the feel of you.

‘You’re trouble’

‘Is that a problem?’

‘Not at all, I can’t get enough of you’ he breathed before kissing you again, his hands on your hips so he could grind you down against him before you couldn’t take it anymore and reached down to line him up with you. ‘Eyes on me, yeah’ he whispered and you rested your forehead on his as you sunk down onto him. You were bouncing up and down on him straight away and you did exactly as he said, keeping your eyes on his and the look on his face was making your tummy churn. ‘That’s it gorgeous, show me how much you want me’

‘Mase’ you whimpered, your hands on his shoulders now moving to his chest as his moved his hands to cup your boobs as he sucked on your neck. You could feel him everywhere, you skin covered in goosebumps as he finally gave you all of him.

‘I’m close baby, keep going’ he told you, his voice strained as his fingers trailed up your back. ‘I know you are too I can feel it’

As soon as Mason started pounding into you from underneath, you knew you didn’t have long left and only seconds later your high was ripping through you, causing Mason to finish just seconds after. You collapsed onto his chest as he wrapped his arms around you so you could get your breath back. His lips started trailing little kisses along your shoulder and you giggled into his neck as his beard tickled you.

‘Let me go get cleaned up and I’ll be back’ you told him once your breathing had returned to normal, and with a quick kiss on your nose, he helped lift you up so you could run off to the bathroom. You took a quick look at yourself in the mirror once you were done but this time you couldn’t stop smiling, itching to get back and into Masons arms. He was laying facing you as you came out and you returned his heartwarming smile as you slipped back under the covers.

‘You okay?’ He whispered, brushing your hair out of your face before pulling you into his arms and you held him back even tighter, hoping to let him know everything was fine.

‘I’m perfect’

‘I know you are’ he whispered and you tried to reply but a huge yawn stopped you. ‘Come on sleepy face, let’s get some shut eye’

‘Okay’ you laughed, kissing him softly as you both got settled. ‘Night Mase, see you in the morning’

‘Night beautiful’

The next morning you were awake before Mason and you used this to your advantage so you could spend a bit of time looking at him. He looked so cute as he laid there, blissfully unaware of how much your heart fluttered at the sight of his furrowed brows and pink lips that you wanted to kiss more than anything.

The urge to make him breakfast filled your mind so you sneakily got out of bed and put on his shirt before raiding his fridge and cupboards for something to make him but you didn’t get much of a chance to look before he was hurrying into the kitchen and wrapping you up in his arms.

‘Mase? What’s wrong?’ You laughed, pulling back to look at him but the look of relief on his face made you curious.

‘What are you doing down here?’

‘I was going to make you breakfast’ you laughed as he shut his eyes and shook his head.

‘You weren’t there when I woke up’ he said quietly and your heart sunk as he thought you’d gone again. You felt your eyes well up a little bit as he pulled back to look at you. ‘Sorry baby, please don’t get upset. It’s me being silly’ he reassured you as he pressed little kisses all over your face in attempts to cheer you up a slightly. ‘Why don’t I make you breakfast, yeah? Anything you want’

‘It’s fine’ you laughed, holding him by his cheeks so you could look at each other and let him know it didn’t matter but he must of been able to see right through you.

‘Please don’t get upset. It’s a me problem not a you one I promise’ he whispered into your hair as you fell against him, a sadness swimming through you at how panicked he’d been.

‘Yeah but I caused it’

‘And trust me I’ll be causing a lot of problems for you too’ he laughed kissing your forehead as you felt yourself smile slightly. ‘Now, what’s do you want me to make you for breakfast?’

‘We were pretty good at making dinner together last night so maybe we can do breakfast together’ you reasoned

‘Sounds perfect’ he smiled, dipping down to kiss you sweetly.

Tagged: @chaotic-taco-collector-blog @footiehoemcfc @mm-vii

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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siriusuntiltheveryend · 1 year

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When in Greece

main pairing: Lily Evans x James Potter, multiple pairings.

summary: Lily Evans finds herself bored, and restless a few weeks before school starts and decides to go with Marlene, the Marauders and few others to Greece. While she’s there she decides to open herself up to things she never considered before.

warnings: 18+, smut, vaginal fingering, oral sex (f to f), oral sex (m to f) blow job, vaginal sex, multiple orgasms, threesomes, voyeurism.

a/n: had an idea went from a one shot to a series. Hope you all like it

PART II:

The house was unfucking believable.

If it could even be called a house. Lily’s house had three tight bedrooms and 2 and a half baths with a little yard for her father’s roses. This house was built into a cliffside just outside of Rodia with 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and a private pool looking out to the sea. Lily didn’t even know what sea it was but it didn’t matter. All she could do was stare at it in pure amazement.

“It looks even better at night,” Sirius told her, already in his swim trunks.

“Is this place yours?” Lily asked him in awe, not looking away from the sea for a second. It seemed to go on forever.

Sirius shook his head. “Just a rental villa, but everything is included so write down anything you need on the list in the kitchen.”

Lily smiled and said, “thank you.”

“I’m glad you came. I didn’t think you would,” Sirius told her.

Lily lowered her voice and shrugged. “He has flattened mostly and we’re going to have to work with each other this year a lot anyway… Though, even if I did still hate him, I would get over it for this.”

“Never been abroad?”

She shook her head, “not really. Like road trips around the UK but my family aren’t really explorers. They like to stay in the area. They think money is better spent on their home.”

“Huh,” Sirius shrugged.

Lily said, “yeah, I don’t agree. You can save for things for both I think. Although, I think I’d live in a box to wake up to something like this every once in a while.”

“A woman after my own heart Evans,” Sirius smiled.

“Yeah,” Lily snorted and teased him sarcastically, “this is definitely a box.”

“Maybe a touch nicer,” Sirius grinned before he said, “you should head in, everyone is getting changed.”

Lily nodded, going into the room she was sharing with Marlene.

An hour later, she was in a tankini, laying out on a taco floatie as the sun heated up her severely sunscreen soaked skin. She laid in it until the sun started to go down and they all sat around the table with salads and gyros.

“Okay, some games,” Marlene giggled in her blue halter bikini as they started finishing up.

“I think we need some seven minutes in heaven to start us off,” Sirius snickered.

Amelia said, “Okay, but everyone gets a free veto without recourse.”

“How do we do that?” Dirk asked, furrowing his thick eyebrows.

Lily wondered that too. If they spun the bottle everyone would know they skipped, which would be beyond embarassing. But the other red head seemed to have an idea. “We write our names, put it in a hat, then if we don’t feel that would be comfortable, we grab another back, no harm, no foul,” Amelia suggested.

James teased her, “you just don’t want to get me.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you could handle how much I’d steam up those glasses Potter,” Amelia winked at him.

Sirius had the best handwriting so he filled out everyone’s name on little scraps of paper before he put it into the hat. Lily bit her lip with a mixture of excitement and nerves. She had never played this game. They either happened when she had a boyfriend so she didn’t engage or well after she left parties. She debated who she would veto if she got the opportunity and honestly it wasn’t as many people as she thought. After all, if it was Marlene she was pretty sure they would just say they did something and do nothing.

Sirius went first. He got Amelia and the two joined hands before they went into the little pool storage area.

“I hope there’s enough space in there,” Lily giggled.

James said, “all of these chairs aren’t there. I’m sure it’s fine.”

Sirius and Amelia returned, cheeks flushed and smirks plastered to their faces. Lily wondered if they just snogged or more. Seven minutes wasn’t really a lot of time to do anything but what did she know? Gideon was… okay. He did the job but there was always something a little clumsy in his approach that made her fight to stay focused. Sirius and Amelia didn’t seem like clumsy people.

“Lily, you’re up,” Marlene handed her the hat.

Lily teased, “sorry, if I get either one of you and you need a minute.”

“We understand that we’re in high demand,” Sirius winked at her arrogantly.

Lily laughed a little, some of the tension leaving before she reached in and picked up the first name. It was Caradoc. She thought about it. He was bulky, shorter than the other guys with ashy blonde hair and dimples. Cute, hot even, but a little part of her was curious what the other option would be. So she put it back.

“OOOOOH!” Sirius howled with Dirk and Dorcas.

She picked again and this time she got Dorcas. Lily laughed and put Dorcas’s slip on the table.

“Shot for courage,” Sirius handed her a firewhiskey.

Lily downed it with Dorcas, sighing harshly as she felt it burn down her body. A few seconds after though, she felt a little less self-conscious and went with it when Dorcas put her hand out and walked her over to the shed. Lily did giggle though when Dorcas shut the door. It was a nervous giggle though she was almost 100 percent sure the most Dorcas would do was give her a peck and an ass slap on the way out.

Dorcas sat down close to her, closer than Lily expected. Then she took a strand of Lily’s auburn hair and slipped it behind her ear, her fingers brushing against Lily’s skin as gently as possible. Lily bit back a gasp, unsure why. But in the darkness she could only really make out hints of Dorcas, mostly just her eyes.

“I want to try something, okay?” Dorcas whispered.

Lily nodded before she could think twice about it. And then she felt Dorcas sweeping the hair off her neck, her fingers trailing from the hollow of her neck to her shoulder. She made this motion over and over again until every goosebump rose to greet her. Lily found herself arching and tilting to encourage her only to feel Dorcas’s lips replacing her touch.

A gasp left her before she could stop it.

Lily was almost embarrassed how loud the gasp had been. Did it seem like she was desperate? Did it seem like she was hard up? Both had become a little true but before she could worry about that, Dorcas took Lily’s hair into her hand and used it to tilt her head to the side so her lips could go up her neck.

“Fuck,” Lily gasped, this time less shamefully.

Dorcas never kissed her lips, but when the timer went off, she had kissed every inch of Lily’s neck and shoulders.

Dorcas whispered, “told you it was fun.”

Then she helped Lily up and walked out with her.

Lily was still buzzing, her heart hammering in her chest as she walked. Everyone was ooohing and ahhhing, but Lily just blushed and tried to stop thinking about what would have happened if she shifted or done something back to Dorcas. She didn’t even know what. But the idea had been planted and now she couldn’t look at Dorcas’s without scanning her body and thinking of more.

Remus went next and he got Dorcas too. Lily wondered if she was going to do the same thing to him or if she’d go even further. It wasn’t until they returned that Lily was forced to refocus because James was picked and he put her name down.

Lily laughed and stood up, teasingly pushing him to the shed. “Let’s get this over with, Potter.”

“So eager,” James teased her back. When they got inside, he shut the door and told her, “We can just sit here-”

Lily almost agreed.

They had gotten to a good place. She had let go of how shitty he used to be when he showed he wasn’t like that anymore and he learned from it. And he in turn stopped crudely hitting on her and acting like she was the one with a problem. It wasn’t immediate or easy but sixth year had been good for them. Which meant she should have left it like that. They could sit in the dark, let the others think what they wanted while they caught up or made up another game to fill the time.

But… she was restless after Dorcas’s lips traced over her body. And seeing the way everyone else was playing around without worrying about the rules, made her kind of want to too.

“Actually I want to try something, close your eyes,” Lily told him boldly before she could stop herself.

The shock flickered in his hazel eyes as he assessed her. “What are you going to-”

“You will like it,” Lily insisted in a quiet tone.

He tilted his head at her before he closed his eyes and waited.

Lily could tell he still wasn’t quite sure what she would do so she added, “keep your hands where they are.”

“Okay,” James said.

Lily climbed into his lap and tilted his chin up. He had such a good jawline. Sharp, strong. It perfectly matched his ever growing shoulders. And before she could tell herself how bad of an idea this was she started kissing from his collar bone up to the tip of his chin. She let her hair brush against his skin and smirked at the way his breathing shifted when she did. His breaths were heavy and shaky, and every trip he made seemed to make it worse.

She felt his arms tense to stop from grabbing her and Lily smirked into his skin, “stay still, Potter.”

Lily’s lips were soft and careful, determined to leave him wondering if he imagined the whole thing the way Dorcas had to her. When she saw it was getting closer, she started lining her tongue up his throat knowing he would think of something else. Sure enough, he hardened underneath her. Lily felt him so clearly with the limited swim fabric separating them. But she reminded him. “If you move at all, I’ll stop.”

She started sucking a little on his neck, groaning a little into his skin as she rolled her hips. Everything was slight. Everything was enough to keep him but not enough to go anywhere. Then the alarm went off and Lily pushed herself off his lap, whispering in his ear. “Let’s go Potter.”

Then she opened the door before he could retaliate at all. And the rush of power was the highest high she’d ever felt.

Lily understood perfectly why Dorcas did everything she did. Having someone dangling, filled with lust, begging and pleading for more was intoxicating and when she sat down she didn’t have to look at James to know when he jacked off next he’d be thinking about her for the next week at least.

She wasn’t picked for a few more people before Sirius put one back and put her down second. Lily was beyond curious what he would do, but laughed hard when they got inside and Sirius asked her, “what did you do to James? He’s eyeing you like you gave him a blow job.”

Lily giggled and said, “no, I kissed his neck. I didn’t even kiss his lips.”

“You saucy minx,” Sirius gasped at her playfully.

“Well,” Lily admitted, “Dorcas did something like that to me and I was still worked up so I kind of wanted to get that over someone else.”

Sirius nodded, “fair enough, fair enough.”

“Who was your first person?”

“James,” Sirius laughed. “I wasn’t dragging that man in here.”

Lily smirked, “I am a hard act to follow.”

“I know that pun was intentional Lily and that makes it so much sadder that you got to him so well,” Sirius laughed.

“Okay, we’re clearly not making out, but can I have a shoulder massage for a minute and then I’ll give you one? I have a knot in my back like no other,” Lily suggested, shifting around so he could work on it.

“See, this I could work with,” Sirius teased her.

When their time was up they both left looking very relaxed, much to the amusement of the others. Lily though, kept thinking about the other two. Dorcas smirked at her every time she caught her looking and James eyes raked through her when she looked anywhere near her direction.

By the time everyone started to separate for different things, Lily found herself wandering into Dorcas’s room. Dorcas was sharing with Emma but Emma had fallen asleep on the couch already, so Lily didn’t worry too much about it. Though she did worry a little that Dorcas might have felt it was only a fun thing and not a follow up thing. Just because she brought up threesomes and kissing a few days earlier didn’t mean it was an invitation.

Dorcas erased all doubt though when she saw her, smirked hard and said, “not done?”

Lily shook her head sheepishly.

Dorcas took her hand delicately and brought her to the bed. Lily didn’t wait. The second Dorcas sat down next to her, she cupped her face and drew her in for a kiss. Lily half-expected the thrill to die down when she kissed Dorcas but it didn’t.

In fact, it got so much worse.

Lily hadn’t changed, so she was just pressing her swim suit against Dorcas’s as their lips pressed eagerly against each other. Dorcas’s tongue split her lips, earning a groan from Lily as Dorcas dominated her easily and thoroughly. She found herself feeling for the string on Dorcas’s bikini, then she tugged on the bottoms and the top. It was braver than she was prepared to act on it but Dorcas seemed to sense that as she pushed her back and stripped her top and bottom off too.

Laying back, naked, wet and panting, Lily gripped the sheets in anticipation. They hadn’t shut the door. Anyone could walk by and see them and something about that added to the tension. Especially because she knew Remus and James had the room across the hall. Lily thought about how he would feel about catching her like this. Would he do something about it or simply watch?

Lily almost lost all inhibitions and started doing something about it. This was mad. This was insane, and it would have been completely out of control if she started touching herself without Dorcas even being involved.

But then she felt lips trailing up her thigh and gasped so loudly she worried the whole house would hear her. Dorcas didn’t seem to care. In fact, it almost seemed like her goal. Lily could tell she had become a conquest of sorts, and instead of feeling negatively about that she felt so much more turned on.

She wanted to be someone that it was an accomplishment to take. Gideon was all about looking in her eyes and asking her if it felt good, which should have been amazing but inherently made every response feel forced or like she had to prove she was enjoying herself. This was the opposite of that. Dorcas knew what to do. Where to kiss, where to touch, where to linger. She needed no guidance from Lily whatsoever. By the time Dorcas’s mouth was almost to her core, Lily was fighting every urge to drag her there.

“Doe… please,” Lily finally begged, her hips bucking, and squirming from the, at this point, hours of foreplay.

“Shhhh… be patient,” Dorcas told her, sucking on her inner thigh until she made a mark.

Lily heard a noise, and looked over to see Remus watching them. It should have made her cover herself up. Remus was her friend. It wasn't like that between them. She’d never even thought about him like that but something made her not care. Something made it even hotter that someone was watching what was happening. And it didn’t hurt that the second Lily saw him Dorcas licked up her clit with such precision Lily started gasping out and gripping Dorcas’s hair.

“Like that,” Lily even squeaked.

“Harder,” Remus’s voice demanded from somewhere in the room.

Lily’s hips jolted up at the sound of his voice, the reminder that someone was watching and enjoying what they were seeing.

Lily knew she was a toy they were using but she didn’t care. In fact, she loved it. It wasn’t something she could do often or maybe even ever again but in this circumstance, she loved how Dorcas toyed with her to get to Remus. How every suck every nip was to earn something.

She was arching off the bed, her hips bucking to meet Dorcas’s lips eagerly until she felt Dorcas ease her fingers in. Then Lily had to cover her mouth to stop from crying out while her other hand clawed into the sheets, desperate for the relief that every coil of her stomach threatened to release.

Then Dorcas’s fingers curled just right as she sucked on Lily’s clit and Lily broke. She came hard, squirming and gasping into her own hand. When she stopped shaking she realized Dorcas wasn’t on her anymore but was undressing Remus.

Lily watched them for a couple of seconds, panting to herself before she found her swimsuit and shakily reattached it as she slipped out.

Stumbling into her room with Marlene she found it empty. Some of the others were probably still at the pool or watching the movie, or hell having their own orgy for all she knew. Lily still couldn’t believe what just happened. She stepped into the shower and sighed as she let the water rinse over her.

For a few minutes, she stood there in shock, reliving every heated moment before she washed up, rinsed off and got out. By the time she got dressed and got into bed, Marlene was passed out on her side of the bed. A fact Lily was thankful for because she wasn’t sure if she could explain herself even if she wanted to.

#Lily evans #lily evans smut #lily evans x dorcas meadowes #hp smut #harry potter smut #jily smut #When in Greece #When in Greece Part II

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bloobluebloo · 8 months

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I feel like the main problem is that Ganondorf has never had a consistent presentation in the series. Like we know his boar form has, but the man himself has been a king of thieves laying down atrocities and breadcrumbs for Link to a demon king in control of everything in OoT, to a more focused individual who carefully selects targets and a petty bitch with pathos in Wind Waker to a surprise villain in Twilight Princess, to being playable in Hyrule Warriors, to just deploying phantoms, gloom, and puppet zeldas in ToTK. So like… in ALL of his appearances AS GANONDORF (excluding the pigs) the approaches have been vastly different in comparison to say Sephiroth or Bowser’s formulas which are repetitive but you can at least know what they’re about by looking at them and wanna punch them. Meanwhile Ganondorf is drastically changing with each decade plus he only has 5 GAMES to his name unlike Link and Zelda… bro is not doing fine in this department.

I think the fact that Ganondorf does have the space to change is an asset to his character rather than detrimental. His core attributes are entitlement, a desire for power, and the desire to have Hyrule under his control. I think that throughout the series this remains pretty consistent. If we look at Link, while he is always a hero he also changes quite a lot, from being a boy living on an island to a boy living in a forest, a boy that joined the knighthood, a boy raised on a ranch etc etc that finds his way into the role. This allows the story of LoZ to change as a result, from having your traditional knight saving a princess game to sailing games and sky island games and train games and ancient technology games etc. The nature of LoZ demands that its main cast be flexible in this regard so I don't take issue with it.

Now when it comes to Ganondorf's ever changing titles, I think the one I take most issue with is Demon King. It's not that I don't think he should be a king of demons because in my opinion Ganondorf seems more at home with monsters than he ever does with people. It's just moreso what that implies. I feel like, especially in modern games and anime, "Demon King" has become a blanket title for someone who is evil and happens to command monsters and I find that a little underwhelming. Sometimes I think of the Overlord games where you take control of monster minions to have them do your bidding, and there you can truly see that these monsters follow the Overlord of their own volition, seeing him as their savior and truly having love and respect for him. It would be neat, if they really want to lean into Ganondorf being monstrous, to see him actually interacting with his monsters. That short scene where he leads his monster army he actually looks genuinely gleeful so I think he enjoys being a king of monsters? I want to see more of that! Show me why you guys decided to call him the Demon King (because again, I don't think he gave himself that title. He personally seems more invested in seeing himself as the bringer of darkness, I think he would call himself the King of Darkness if he got to choose imo). I think what I find fascinating with Ganondorf's writing is that it feels like he is constantly being pulled in different directions as to *what* he should be like. When you look at the details in his character, from his longing for a nicer place to live, to his position as a king of a despised nation of people, having his mother's names engraved on his blades, the many details and sigils on his clothes and armor that show pride in his heritage, his anger at being executed and wielding a blade he despised, breaking the statue of the goddesses that hung above his throne, running away from his people to evade execution, there is a distinct sense that they do want to make him something more than just a monstrous being, but at the same time it feels like they feel too intimidated to give that side of him the time it needs to breathe. Sometimes I wonder, given that Ganon was initially conceived as a pig monster who only hungered for power, if they are afraid that exploring this side of his character would diminish his villainy. This is in part why TotK's writing for him frustrates me; there is established precedent for him when it comes to his human form. If they want to lean into him being monstrous, Ganon is right here. After all, Ganon tends to be the form he assumes when he has shed his humanity. When I see Ganondorf on screen, I expect his more human attributes to be explored or else what is the point of him having a monster form if they are both essentially the same? (I think they should explore what it is like for him to be the only man in a tribe entirely made up of women? Being put on a pedestal for your gender only to step out of your home to find out that your gender is completely normal? I think that would fuck him up in 10 different ways at least yet we never get to see that)

#ganonthots #sorry this got long but I HAD THOTS

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shoppncarticles · 2 years

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The Bulbasaur Family

Everyone ought to know who Bulbasaur is! The premier member of the entire Pokedex, Bulbasaur is certainly a strong start. Bulbasaur doesn’t exactly resemble anything, though it leans heavily onto a frog with its body shape, big mouth, and splotchy colors. Modern Bulbasaur is actually quite a bit more blue than this artwork would make it seem, and I kind of prefer this shade of green. The little bulb affixed to its back is a nice touch as well, adding nicely to Bulbasaur’s silhouette and conveying its type well.

Bulbasaur also stands as the series’ first Grass-type starter, potentially being the first Pokemon you’ll experience using should you start with a Kanto game. Most games with elemental groups tend to have a type like this, but can never settle on a name. Grass is a pretty strange name all things considered, don’t you think? Hardly any Pokemon or moves for that matter deal explicitly with grass. Perhaps Plant would’ve been a more appropriate name, though some Grass-types are based more on fungus instead. I suppose Botanic type just doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well.

Anyways, Bulbasaur goes on to evolve into Ivysaur! Seems like they’re proud of their blue color now. Ivysaur is a swell expansion on Bulbasaur’s design, featuring a now budding plant while keeping the general body shape mostly the same. Bulbasaur’s little horns, or whatever they were, seem to have become ears now as well, which I think only heightens the Monster aspect of these creatures. Having a less clear basis makes them feel more unique and distinct from the animals in our own world, which is neat.

Ivysaur is also lucky enough to have become a playable character in Super Smash Bros as well! Good for you Ivysaur, hitting it in the big leagues with the likes of Luigi and Solid Snake! Ivysaur is an especially strong and flexible fighter too, using vines and explosions of pollen from its bulb to really knock some sense into those other viddy game mascots. Being one of the few four-legged fighters also helped Ivysaur feel unique, especially in its animations, which I can appreciate.

Eventually, Ivysaur becomes the fearsome Venusaur, complete with an even larger, wartier body, and a full blossoming jungle plant on its back. If you could clearly see the flower sprouting out of Venusaur’s flat body, I think it would look really strange. Luckily, the leaves covering the top of Venusaur’s body help hide it and seem like one cohesive design. Did I mention the whole family are also Poison types? I’ll talk more about Poison later, but it does help add to their frogginess, especially with Venusaur’s bumpy skin.

In the sixth generation of Pokemon, several ‘mons were given Mega Evolutions, temporary empowered forms that gave some a boost they sorely needed. Venusaur was never an underpowered example, but the addition of the ability Thick Fat, which lowers damage taken from Fire and Ice type attacks (two of the Grass type’s weaknesses) made it a formidable force to be sure. The design certainly isn’t bad, it hardly changes Venusaur’s general appearance, but something about the multitude of leaves and the flower pasted on the thing’s head doesn’t sit right with me. Someone should probably give Venusaur a quick trim.

The eighth generation would then give us Gigantamax forms, which allow the Pokemon to become titan-sized with access to superpowered moves for just a few turns. It’s far simpler and less dynamic than Mega Evolutions I think, unfortunately.

But the focus right now is on Venusaur, and I think it actually has a nicer design here than in its Mega form. The draping flower covering its body isn’t as distracting as what the Mega adds, and the idea of Venusaur using the flower as a protective shell is neat. The single eye peeking out between two petals is a nice touch too.

Score: 5/5

Bulbasaur is an iconic Pokemon and it’s easy to see why. A wonderful start to our extensive Pokemon collection.

[Gen 1 Archive]

#pokemon #pokemon review #bulbasaur #ivysaur #venusaur #mega venusaur #gigantamax venusaur

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yesimwriting · 3 years

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Solace (part 2)

SOLACE (part 2)

A part two but kinda works as a stand alone!!

A/n y’all seemed to like the first one so I thought I’d make a part two :)) This was NOT meant to be a series but now I kind of have an idea to make this a mini series where each part is kind of a blurb that connects to the last part and I think I might do that.

Pairing: General Kirigan/the Darkling x Heartrender! reader

Summary: The day after you go visit General Kirigan at night is also the day he decides he can become more honest about his intentions for you. The softness of it all is starting to get to you but you have a good friend to remind you that it’s okay to feel happy.

The sunlight peers into the room shyly. It stirs me awake into a soft bliss. Warmth. When was the last time I woke up feeling so warm? So rested? I squint my eyes open, still calm. But when my vision finally adjusts, I feel like ice all over again. This is not where I’m supposed to be.

Memories of sneaking here in the darkness of night, speaking to Kirigan so freely, and then letting him convince me to stay. He had seemed to want me here then, in the night when loneliness finds easy prey in even the most hardened individuals...but now, in the morning sunlight--he’ll regret it. We made it clear I’d stay only that night--and that night is now gone. Maybe he expects me to be gone before he rises. I know that’s what most men expect after taking company for the night, but we didn’t exactly partake in activities like that. I think what we did is worse.

Relations like that are about desire, falling asleep with someone else borders on intimacy. One misstep and who knows what I’ll invoke? I shift my gaze upwards, careful to not move in hopes of not disturbing the arms he’s draped across my back, holding me to him. Kirigan seems different in sleep, softer. His features are still sharp, but there’s something gentle about seeing him vulnerable. Something about the way his lashes brush against his cheeks and his lips stay parted just slightly. This moment can never repeat itself. It can never happen again, so I’ll have to hold onto this.

Cautiously, I prepare to slip out of his grasp even though it feels like its the only thing tethering me to this world. I touch his first hand, moving it off of me slowly. I wait a second, and when he remains unstirring I move his other hand.

“What are you so eager for, little wolf?” The raspy, tired quality of his voice leaves my stomach fluttering. His words jar me so much I find myself frozen.

He reaches lazily, placing an arm on the center of my back, trying to ease me back into place. “It’s morning now.”

His thumb brushes up and down my back in a way meant to lull me. “I’m the Shadow Summoner, the night lasts as long as I want it to.” He lets out an easy breath, “And I’m prolonging it.”

Ignoring the warmth the implications of his words bring, I decide to focus on how dramatic he is. “Dramatic even so early in the morning.”

Kirigan’s eyes flutter open, the slightest smile playing at the edge of his lips. “Watch yourself, little wolf.” There is no malice in his voice, only something hinting at teasing too humane for me to trust.

I roll my eyes, letting his fingers brush wherever he wants them to--up and down my back, down the arms I am too aware of. The desire to touch him easily, casually, just to prove that I have that privilege. I stretch, pushing down thoughts of rejection as I place a hand on his chest. He pauses, one hand frozen in place on my back. Slowly, he moves his hand away from me. I tense, preparing to retract my hand. He catches my hand before I can pull it away, moving it towards him easily until my hand is against his cheek.

“Y/n.” He’s called me my name so few times, and the restraint in his voice leaves me unnerved. “Will you wear a black kefta today?”

His color. Perhaps he meant the promise of solace more literally than I thought. Anyone who sees me will think I’ve been claimed by him in one way or another. Perhaps I have been. The thought stirs my chest, moving me in a way I can’t distinguish as a positive or negative. I feel myself being ensnared in a lovely trap, but when I look at him, at the honesty burning in his gaze, it’s almost as if he’s asking me to claim him.

“Yes.” Again the word leaves me as if willed by some outside force.

Kirigan’s intensity dwindles slightly. His hand drops from over mine, but I keep mine on his cheek, running my thumb across his skin. “You’ll do good for me today, little wolf.” His words leave no room for argument. I think speaking like that is a talent of his. “You always do so good for me.” The admiration in his words melt something in me, my entire body warmed in a way I don’t understand. Kirigan brushes his knuckles across my cheek again.

I’ve been silent for too long, each second I waste inflating his ego. “You’re suspiciously nice in the mornings.”

“You’re only skeptical because you never let anyone take care of you.” His words are chiding and the implication of them leaves my face warm. “So much promise,” he muses, hand trailing down my jawline, “So much power,” his fingers skim down my neck and across my collarbone. “I wonder what someone like you could do with an amplifier.”

An amplifier. I’ve seen them in use, and knowing what I could do with something that strengthens my already abrasive abilities. I could be a monster so easily. Kirigan must see some of my concern because he’s quick to sit up a little more in order to close the distance between us the way he did last night. He brushes his lips against my collarbone in a way that leaves me distracted by wanting. A wanting for what, I’m not sure. I ease into his touch.

“Today everyone will know what you are.” His voice is gentle against the base of my neck. “And they will know that we are meant to be equals.”

I feel the need to panic rise in my chest, but it’s dulled by the warmth his lips leave against my skin. “I’m only a Heartrender, I can’t be your equal.”

“You are,” he whispers, so assured, “With a heart as good as yours you may even be more.”

His words are too weighted for so early in the morning, but there is always tension with him. Shadows are meant to be weightless but I think they’re like anything else--carry enough of them and eventually you’ll break.

When he straightens I move to follow him, pressing a quick kiss against his cheek. “You’re good, too.” There has to be goodness in him. No one capable of such warmth and gentleness can be made up entirely of wicked things.

“You claimed I was a villain.”

Did my words really impact him so? “My opinion isn’t law.”

Something strange flickers across his features. “It might as well be.”

I swallow back a bundle of nerves. “Sometimes I’m wrong.”

The words crack something vulnerable in me. A part of me thinks he can feel the part of me that’s breaking in hopes of offering him something.

“You really are my solace.” I don’t know how to reciprocate such a gilded sentiment.

I rest my head against his shoulder, taking his hand. “I’m glad to be that.”

He squeezes my hand. “We should go get ready before people start to notice our absence.”

I consider reminding him what he told me last night, but he has a point. There’s a difference between a rumor of me pacing in the night and both of us showing up late at the same time. Still though, a part of me is already grieving this version of Kirigan. Outside of this room his coldness will return. ‘Just for tonight’. We had agreed on that. But when the night ended, and the morning sun colored us both sane again, he had asked me to wear his color.

“I’ll go get dressed,” I stay still.

Kirigan runs his thumb over my knuckles. “I’ll have a black kefta sent to you.”

That has to mean something. Wait--do I want it to mean something? I pull my hand away from his stiffly, standing because I know the longer I’ll wait the worse it will be. “I’ll see you during training.”

“My door will be unlocked after.”

At that, my chest swells. He’s offered me an opening. “Good to know.”

His eyes narrow slightly at my coyness. “Find me after?”

“Only because you’re nicer in here.” He wants me to come back.

The black kefta does not feel like my own. The color is too alluring, too dark and enthralling. It is not meant for someone like me. It feels borrowed, but I’m not entirely uncomfortable. It’s almost like he’s still with me, keeping me from being alone.

When I walk down the halls, I feel the stares of the others sticking to me like tar. They barely tolerated me before--the grisha plucked from the slums after a fateful night in which Kirigan saw the extent of my abilities.

“New clothes, l/n?”

Julian’s words coax an easy smile from me. Always so open, so accepting. Even now he doesn’t pester me about the black kefta. “I barely noticed.”

My lack of real response earns me a playful glare. “Is that the only explanation I get? Moving up the ranks without me?”

I roll my eyes. He’s joking, but he’s drawing more eyes to me. “I’m not leaving you, Julian.” He’s been too good a friend for me to leave. “Nothing’s changed except the color of my clothing.”

“Good.” Julian’s lips twitch upwards, offering me the kind of smile that’s earned him many trysts with many women. “I’d miss you too much.”

And while I doubt that my disappearance would do anything else than up his popularity, I appreciate the sentiment. “Oh I’m sure you’d find a way to find company.”

He half laughs, “What are you implying of my virtue?”

Laughing, I roll my eyes as we continue to walk down the halls. “You’re not as funny as you think you are.”

Julian reaches for me, touching my forearm. I stall. “In all seriousness, y/n, I really appreciate your friendship.”

Aw. Never did I think I’d have so many people to appreciate here. I think of Kirigan, of the vulnerability in his words and the new facet of him I saw last night that I somehow always knew he had in him. He may be a villain, or just one in the making, but he is more than a dark shadow. I find myself releasing I appreciate Kirigan too. It’s different than the way I care about Julian, more fragile, but it’s still a relationship I’ve created here.

I look down at the space where his hand touches my forearm. “I really appreciate your friendship, too. You’ve gotten me through a lot.”

“You need to give yourself some credit.” He releases my arm, turning to continue to walk forward.

I turn as well, “You should too.”

I look forward, and there, in the near distance is Kirigan. He’s staring at me, eyes lacking everything he had earlier. I offer him a small smile. He does not return it, his drops slowly to the ground. Weird. I guess he’s just turning on his indifference for a day of training. He asked me to wear his color, he asked me to come back.

Does he regret it? Maybe it was a premature request for me to wear his color so publicly. His gaze finds mine again, and with a tilt of his head he gestures for me to follow him.

General taglist: @theincredibledeadlyviper

#the darkling #the darkling x reader #the darkling imagine #general kirigan #genereal kirigan x reader #genereal kirigan imagine #grisha #grishaverse #grishaverse x reader #grishaverse imagine #grisha reader #shadow and bone show #shadow and bone netflix #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone x you #imagine #x reader #my works

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ecoamerica · 1 month

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youtube

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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i-can-even-burn-salad · 2 years

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Day 27: Burning

Undeserved

Warnings: Captivity, restraints, suicidal ideation/attempt (by magical exhaustion/to escape torture)

... as in “I wonder if there’s a less painful way for me to die than what’s coming for me”, followed - to no one’s surprise - by “guess not”.

This is part of a series. If you haven't, I suggest starting at Day 1.

Previous | Masterlist | Next

By the time Damien opened his eyes again, the fever had gone down. He seemed to be alone. The lights were gone as well, and he found himself staring into suffocating darkness. Everything was quiet. He had no idea how long he had been sleeping — or been unconscious, really. Everything hurt. The shallow rising of his chest aggravated the wounds littering his torso. Every breath burned in his throat. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to speak. He didn’t try.

The taste of this disgusting brew still lingered in his mouth, which was slightly better than the taste of bile and blood. He would have liked to drink a bit of water, though. There was no way for him to see if they’d left him some. As he weakly moved his left arm around, as far as the chain and the ache in his shoulder allowed him, he found nothing.

Just as well. Perhaps he’d be able to sleep until the morning. If only he could find rest. If only he could push the thought aside that the queen was coming back. If only he could forget the feeling of the belt, cutting off his air, and the pain, and the panic.

But he couldn’t, and he still found himself awake what was probably an hour later. Nothing had changed. It was still completely dark and quiet. The only thing that had changed was the beating of his heart, which had picked up its pace by a considerable amount. Every time he swallowed, he felt the leather around his neck, squeezing the life out of him. As so often during those last days, he wished they had just let him die. How many chances had there been since his capture? Every one of those would have been a better way to go than to be hanged in public.

But as always, he had managed to avoid all the better options, aiming unerringly for the worst. Almost blown up. Almost bled to death. Almost died from fever. Almost starved and almost suffocated. Almost, almost, almost. He wasn’t even good enough for death to have some mercy.

A quiet sob left his lips. Damien shifted closer to his chained hand, so he could feel for his neck; feel that there was nothing but bruised skin. No leather, no rope. But there would be, soon. He sobbed again, the sound scratching in his raw throat. It wasn’t even the worst way to die he could think of. But it was so tangible, so close, it filled him with terror.

Not for the first time he wondered if he’d take another way out, if there was one. Not that he could think of any. There was nothing within reach, nothing he could use. No weapon, nothing heavy or sharp. Just the chain around his wrist, and the bucket, if he was lucky.

He’d heard tales of mages dying when trying to use their powers against morlit; the very material the shackle he was wearing was made of. Damien wondered idly if there was any truth to the stories. He hadn’t even tried to use his magic. He had known it wouldn’t work, and there was no reflex in him to try. Fancy images had never been something that could save him, while a headless teleport could kill him.

Perhaps he should try.

It was curiosity more than determination that made him reach for his magic. Light. A light would be nice. Damien concentrated on what should be an easy trick. Nothing appeared. The shackle grew slightly warm. Other than that, he didn’t feel different.

A small illusion like a light was barely worth the name, though. He could try something bigger. Turn this cell into a nicer place.

A green meadow perhaps, with warm sunlight and fluffy clouds.

The metal around his wrist grew uncomfortably hot.

With a few trees, casting shadows, and a soft blanket for him to sit upon.

Weakness washed over him as his magic poured into the endless void of the shackle.

The air would smell of grass and flowers, not like the dust he had grown used to during those last years.

The shackle was almost burning him now. Damien clenched his teeth, holding on to the image.

A book in front of him. Laughter in the distance.

He wasn’t sure if he had his eyes closed or not. The darkness around him was spinning so fast, it made him feel sick.

Footsteps on a sandy path and a little stream bubbling behind him. It was too hot. Too hot. A bowl of fruit next to him. Little bits of strawberries and peaches and plums.

His magic was no longer drawn into the void, the void was drawn into him.

Damien screamed.

Tagging: @villainsvictim @whump-in-the-moonlight @dont-touch-my-soup @teamwhump

#Undeserved #whump #captivity tw #suicidal ideation tw #Agony April #Agony April 2022 #Agony April Day 27 #Yeah ok perhaps I stretched the definition of the prompt a bit #It was just too late in the month for the actual burning piece ok?#not like anyone cares about those prompts anymore anyway :(#my writing

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harrypotter-imaginess · 3 years

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Part 1 Here!

Commission Info for letters from your favorite comfort character here!

A/N: If you want to be added to the tag list for this, The draco muggle series, or the Fred and George Weasley best friends Series let me know!

- “What’s the hurry boss? Where are you heading off to?” One of your co -workers asks as you rush around the store double checking all the locks on the entrances and giving your plants one final spritz

- “Hot date?” The other asks with a suggestive raised eyebrow

- “Yes.” You say simply,

- They both sputter at that

- “What? Seriously?!”

- “With who??” The other shrieks

- And right on cue there’s a light tap on the door

- Cue your employees squealing again

- “Him?!?”

- “The hottie with a dye job?”

- George offers you a smile and a wave and you smile back

- “Ainsley I trust you can lock up?” You ask, pushing the key into their hand

- They only nod

- Henry’s looking at you with his his mouth open as he watches you leave, George and you smiling at each other like a couple of lovestruck fools

- “I told you he had a crush on them” Ainsley says with a grin and Henry has a blush blooming on his cheeks as he pulls a five pound note from his wallet

- “I mean I did too- I just didn’t think he would work up the nerve to actually ask them out.”

- A moment of silence fills the air

- “I bet Ten pounds they find out if that’s their natural hair color tonight” Ainsley says with a grin, and Henry looks at her with a slightly mortified expression

- I mean, the implication of how you would find that out is just-

- “Yeah alright, our boss is a prude there’s no way” he says shaking Ainsley’s hand.

- So when George meant dinner- he meant dinner

- You’re at the tower restaurant in downtown London

- It’s on the fiftieth floor at a skyscraper at the heart of London.

- He reserved a table specifically next to a window with a view of the canal and the London eye

- It’s quite spectacular

- “Have you been here before?” He asks

- You’re glad you dressed a little nicer than you were originally thinking

- “A few times, once for a birthday and once-“

- You’re interrupted by your server bringing a bottle of champagne

- George gets a puzzled expression, he hasn’t even ordered yet

- “Compliments of the Owner, we’re still grateful you were able to fulfill that order last minute when our other florist backed out.”

- “Not a problem Charles, it was my pleasure”

- When he’s gone George flashes you a smile

- “I feel like everyone knows you” he says, lifting up a champagne flute as you toast.

- “That was just one person” you say with a smile and a giggle

- “You should have been at the store last week, my brother wouldn’t shut up about you” he says with a grin

- “Who’s your brother?”

- George describes Ron, but it doesn’t spark anything in you until he mentions the red hair

- “Oh yes, Ronnie! He comes by every month to get flowers for his girlfriend, I didn’t know he was your brother”

- What a small world

- You should have seen the similarity from the start, the hair was a dead give away really

- How come no one else at the shop had noticed either?

- “Well one of them” George shrugs

- “How many brothers do you have”

- George grins

- “That’s enough for a volleyball team!”

- “We have a sister too, the running joke is our parents wanted a girl, just one”

- By the time the appetizers are being brought out George has got the family picture from when they visited Bill in Egypt out (charmed so it doesn’t move of course)

- “You have a twin?”

- You know the second you’ve asked it that you said something wrong

- It’s not that George looks upset, or that his expression has darkened-

- He just looks so sad

- The kind of sadness that’s as deep as the Mariana Trench, hidden behind a kind smile and the gentle warmth of longing

- “I did have a twin-“ George knew this would come up sooner or later, he just didn’t want to ruin the nice mood you had going so soon

- “He passed away a few years ago”

- George is waiting for the look-

- The wide eyes, and the slight pout. That overly sympathetic look he’s gotten so often, it’s only natural. It happens to everyone, he won’t hold it against you.

- And it forms on your face a little, because you can’t imagine what it’s like to lose someone like that. But the next thing that comes out of your mouth is original

- “What was he like?”

- “What?” George is taken aback, he was expecting words of condolence, as is typical for this situation

- “You told me all about Bill, and Charlie, and Percy, and Ron, and Ginny-“

- Now he’s surprised that you’ve remembered all of his siblings names, and correctly at that

- “Now tell me about your twin”

- Your eyes are twinkling when they look to him. All of London stretches out behind you, like something from a painting. Your face is illuminated by the small candle in the middle of your table.

- It feels like something out of a movie, and George is afraid he might cry from the sheer beauty of it

- He never thought he would feel this way again

- “His name was Fred, and he was my best friend”

- He’s talked about Fred before, to his family, to his therapist and old classmates

- But he’s never had an experience quite like this

- “Umbridge? Oh she was the worst, like the bitter old nun who slaps your wrists with a ruler”

- Only worse

- “Anyway Fred and I- we planned this entire thing when we decided to leave school-“

- He tells you about the fireworks in the main hall of their boarding school, and the way they raced through the door and never came back

- “I think I would have liked Fred” you say, a warm look in your eyes

- He would have liked you too, George wants to say

- But that’s a little forward for the first date, he feels like he’s already unloaded enough with his broken family and their loss

- Lucky for him, dessert has just arrived

- “Compliments of the owner, we hope to see you both here again” Charles tells you, setting down two impressive plates of Tiramisu

- “Why do I get the feeling that whatever you did was more than just a last minute order fulfillment?”

- You shrug

- “Well after the whole thing- they started contracting me to do their regular day to day flowers” you shrug, it’s not that big of a deal, fancy places like this use a few different vendors, they probably have a different one for each day

- Which is for the best since your shop can only handle a few days at most.

- It’s not that you can’t produce enough flowers or anything, it’s just you wouldn’t be able to give Ainsley and Henry the leisurely work hours you do now, not while maintaining quality for your existing customers

- And that’s a big no for you

- “I take it business was always this good?”

- With how successful you seem, he honestly can’t imagine you struggling

- You scoff

- “It was tough at first, when I was by myself.” You still remember your family telling you that it wasn’t to late to declare bankruptcy and get a real job. “Things got better when Ainsley showed up- holidays are still tough though.”

- “Ron’s told me all about the hour long line at Valentine’s Day” George says with a grin and you bury your face in your hands with a muffled groan

- “Oh it’s going to be terrible this year.” Valentine’s Day is still a few months away, but you can already feel the dread

- “We started doing appointments only last year- because the amount of people that just show up and ransack the place is just-“

- “Oh I know,” George says. “My store doesn’t even sell anything all that romantic, but the amount of people who show up last minute to buy anything- one time a bloke even bought the decorations I had up.”

- “Have you noticed-“ you voice lowers as you lean forward. “That’s it’s never people looking for things for their significant other, it’s always-“

- “For the mistresses?”

- You nod enthusiastically

- “I thought maybe it was just my store-“ George leans forward as well now, talking very quickly

- “No the same person who ordered flowers two months in advance for their husband, will spend thirty minutes begging for me to put a bouquet together for their special friend”

- George leans back and shakes his head

- “It’s crazy isn’t it? How many people cheat?”

- You sigh, leaning back into your chair shrugging

- “It’s not our place to judge.”

- Especially not when the person in question is shoving fifty quid in your face for a god d*mn cactus and a card

- George knows that, and he knows there have been times that the only reason he was able to keep his shop afloat after Fred left is because of Valentine’s Day

- But still- cheating just irks him

- It’s the most unforgivable thing a person can do, to betray the person they love the most like that

- George knows every relationship is different- and that things aren’t clear cut-

- But he can’t ever imagine doing that to someone

- “I don’t get it though, I can’t even get one lover, let alone two or more” you laugh, and George swears it looks like you’re glowing

- He feels a smile twitch at the corner of his lips, the mischievous streak in him rolling awake after what feels like years of slumber

- “What if I told you I was trying to change that?”

- His arm is on the table, the tips of his fingers brushing against yours slightly

- You feel your face grow hot as his words sink in one by one

- A smile spreading across you face

- “I would say, I’m looking forward to it.”

BONUS:

- “So did you find out if Hottie’s color is natural?” Ainsley asks, a mischievous smile curled onto their lips.

- “Ainsley, his name is George, he owns a hobby store a few lanes over.” You say as you finish tying the bow on an arrangement.

- There’s a second of silence in which Henry and Ainsley exchange a look. Henry’s feeling pretty confident right now, Ainsley might have worked here longer than him, but he feels like he knows you pretty well, and he-

- “And yes it is, so you should both stop calling him Dye Job.” You say with a smile twitching on your lips.

- Henry.exe is broken.

- Ainsley has to hide their joy, internally cheering and wondering how to spend the money.

- “H-how do you know that?” Henry asks, maybe you’re just saying it so he and Ainsley will stop teasing your new love interest.

- You stop, looking up from your arrangement in slight wonder.

- Ah, he was right! It looks like you’re trying to come up with an excuse.

- “Well his brothers all seem to have that hair color, I think they get it from their Dad.”

- Ainsley and Henry.exe have stopped working.

- “YoU mEt HiS fAmIlY??” Ainsley shrieks.

#harry potter imagines #george weasley imagine #george weasley headcanon #george weasley x reader #fred weasley imagine #goerge adn fred weasley reader insert #fred weasley headcanon #harry potter headcanon #harry potter reader insert #harry potter preferences #harry potter imagine #harry potter

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captainsimagines · 3 years

Text

To Topple A Giant || Chapter Four

Summary: You had made it your mission to destroy even the smallest evils. When the opportunity arises to finally take down your own family after years of gaining their trust, you reach for it. And so does Steve, the man who represents a symbol of everything you hate.

Pairing(s): Steve Rogers x Reader || Avengers x Reader

Part 4 of 10 ~ Mini-Series

Warnings: This story contains mature themes and discussions such as extreme canon violence, strong language, emotional angst, mentions of Endgame deaths and recoveries, sexual situations, and emotional/physical abuse. All trigger warnings will be listed before the chapter. This is purely fanfiction.

Warnings in this Chapter: reference to past sexual assault (very minimal); misogyny/sexism; mention of Infinity War deaths/Endgame deaths; abusive parental relationship; canon violence; heavy drinking; reference to cocaine use

Word Count: 13,900+

Tony’s Cabin, 2023, 8:56pm

“Uh…”

You and Steve stared at the little girl in front of you, bouncing up and down with excitement as she held up one of Tony’s repulsors, the safety on but pointed right at the two of you. Steve instinctively pushed you behind him, the obvious fact being that a blast would most certainly kill you and not the super soldier himself. You were having difficulty holding in your laughter, watching as the girl kept poking at the metal, awaiting its true power.

“Can I have that, Morgan?” Steve asked, his voice raising ever so slightly to try and seem nicer to the kid.

“Talk to her with your regular voice, Steve. She’s five, not a toddler.”

“Yeah!”

Now you laughed at Morgan’s declaration of approval, still standing behind Steve with your hands braced on his back.

Steve sighed and rolled his eyes playfully, “Alright, Morgan. Can I please have that back? It’s not a toy.”

“But daddy left it for me!”

You smiled at her, “Yeah, but he didn’t expect you to use it so early! Wait until you’re like… ten, then you can look through his things!”

“Y/N, ten?” Steve gave you a bewildered grin, eyes bright and laughter restrained.

“Okay, twelve.”

His shoulders sagged with a heavy laugh. He reached over and took the chance, grabbing Morgan’s wrist softly and ejecting the glove from her small hand.

“There we go!” you cheered, stepping out from behind Steve and scooping her up in your arms. Morgan started laughing loudly, kicking her legs to try and escape your hold. “Ah, don’t kick me!”

You had offered your time to Pepper whenever she needed it. You didn’t expect that she would call so early asking for a huge favor, her husband’s funeral not even four months ago. But you didn’t hesitate and packed an overnight bag, reassuring her that nothing would explode on your watch. On your way out of the temporary safe house, Steve had caught you just in time. A quick question of your future whereabouts and he was joining you, a tiny twinge of guilt in his chest from not seeing Tony’s daughter in so long. He was one of her godparents after all, just after Happy and Rhodey, beating out the third crowned position from Bruce.

He had been hurt by that initially, asking why he wasn’t even considered.

‘Bruce, the first time she comes into your room and stands over your sleeping body to let you know she had a nightmare, you’d scream.’

‘I wouldn’t be angry, just scared!’

‘Okay, after Cap here, you get custody.’

‘Oh, yay. Drafted fourth.’

Steve was happy to go see her on such short notice though, racing back up to his room to gather some overnight supplies as well. But you didn’t think anything of it - it was just a godparent wanting to see his godchild.

“Ouch, that hurt,” you laughed and placed Morgan down in her bed. “Nighty night time.”

“Daddy said he left things for everyone, not just me.”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up with curiosity, a sudden interest to know what his gift was exciting him. He had already given him the shield back... but then Thanos broke it. Maybe, another shield? No, T’Challa had already offered to send him a new one.

“Ooo, that’s interesting! I wonder if he got me that pretty bracelet I saw in that department store window that one time,” you gushed, pulling the blankets over Morgan. You fluffed out her hair, smiled at her, and told her goodnight.

“Night night!”

Both you and Steve called out from the doorway of her bedroom, “Night night!”

Several minutes had passed before you brought up the prospect of secret gifts again, knowing Steve was just as interested as you were.

“Want to go find them?”

Steve immediately stood up, clapping his hands together and giddy with excitement. “I won’t tell if you don’t!”

“Deal.”

You searched everywhere - living room, the garage, kitchen cabinets - even racing into the master bedroom, stealthy and secret, shame rising as you carefully picked up items around the room. “This feels like an invasion of privacy.”

Steve chuckled from outside the door, “Hurry up!”

But you found nothing. There was only one more spot to look - his office. You almost didn’t want to intrude any longer, this being his most sacred space, but the mere chance of Tony giving you a gift from the afterlife made you extremely happy. So you and Steve searched, stacking and restacking random papers and pushing away gadgets and books in the bookshelf. Finally, a small opening in the third shelf alerted you of your mission success.

“Oh, fuck yeah,” you cheered, reaching in and pulling boxes and clipped pieces of paper, all different colors and sizes, from the compartment. They were labeled with various names - Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, Clint, Thor, Steve, Nebula, you - and Natasha.

Steve sucked in his breath, his gasp similar to yours. “He got these before…”

“Yeah,” you nodded, handing Steve his labeled box. It was light blue, a white ribbon delicately wrapped around it, and with a cute little red ribbon with Steve’s name on it. It wasn’t big, but it was more than enough.

“Open it,” you said.

Steve shook his head, “Let’s open ours together.”

You agreed to his terms, taking your folder into your hands. It was one of those same art folders you had when you bought some new planners or notebooks. It was black, custom-made it seemed, as it had your name on the front in gold, cursive writing.

On the count of three, you both opened your presents.

Steve pulled out two sets of dog tags from the box, the sound of them clinking together reminding him of the times he would hug his fellow soldiers on the battlefield, cheers of victory mixed in with the smell of sweat and dry blood. He read the names on the metal.

‘Steven G. Rogers

987654320 T42 O

Brooklyn, NY. P.’

‘James B. Barnes.

32557038 T41 42 O

R. Barnes

Shelbyville, IN. P.’

He had not known they recovered his dog tags, faintly remembering clutching them tightly as he flew the plane into the ice. But SHIELD must have kept them for the museum, and Tony had recovered them. Bucky’s, however, were lost as soon as Bucky fell from that train. They were more rusted than Steve’s, almost as if HYDRA kept them underwater or stored for the majority of Bucky’s sentence. But no matter how Tony had gotten them, he was eternally grateful.

“Wow,” Steve said, clearing his throat. But you were too caught up in your reading.

‘Target whereabouts discovered mid-May of 2017. Only T. Stark and N. Romanoff approved for mission.

Transport at 20:00 hours. Target(s) confirmed and exterminated at exactly 0802 Pacific Standard Time.’

You choked on the sob that suddenly broke through, hand instantly reaching up to cup your mouth. Steve put his tags back into the box, shushing you to get you to calm down. “What is it? What’d he get you?”

Four pictures accompanied the short report, each face crossed out with red paint. A tiny laugh escaped and tears of joy started to flow. To say Steve was confused was an understatement.

“He… he got me justice.”

Steve took the file from you, reading over every word to somehow understand what you meant by justice. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and he looked up at you for more explanation.

You brushed your hair back and rubbed at your cheeks, the smile on your face now straining. Whether it was a sudden change of mind or the closure of your trauma was just that satisfying, you told Steve exactly what Tony and Natasha had done for you.

“After I joined you guys in New York, Fury sent me on a mission to infiltrate and bring back information about this dude my father was trying to literally destroy. But I had to play both sides - the good and the bad.”

Steve set the file down, his full attention on you.

“I got the information but for some reason, it wasn’t enough for my father. I had forgotten to get the most vital piece, something he thought I would automatically know,” you scoffed, your smile faltering at the next part of the story.

“I cost him ten million. And to teach me a lesson, he let these men do whatever they wanted to me. Anything.”

Steve’s breath hitched as he understood what you meant. And it was no longer a mystery why you had been planning to kill him ‘again’ after everyone came back from the snap.

“I returned to the compound in such bad shape. I only told Natasha. She cleaned me up, she took me to med-bay in the middle of the night, she brought me breakfast in bed,” you chuckled at the memory, hand reaching out to hold Steve’s.

“And Tony’s gift was murdering the men that hurt me.”

Steve let a few tears slip himself, his hand gripping yours tighter. “Y/N, if I would have known-”

“Hey, it’s okay. You didn’t know, though. I thought only Natasha knew. She promised me she would take care of it. I just didn’t think she would actually find them.”

“I think we know that Natasha could find literally anything and anyone,” Steve said.

You agreed with his statement, a smile returning to your face.

You jumped from your sitting position and went back to retrieve Natasha’s gift. “Hey, should we?”

Steve eyed the small, black box in your hand. He sighed as he walked over to you, eyes returning to the box.

“It was meant for her.”

You frowned, “Yeah, and I’ll ask Pepper if we can give these to everyone else.”

You paused and shook the box near your ear. It felt heavy in your hand, and the contents gave a little jingle.

“But this one was for Nat. I think she’d want us to at least see it.”

Steve chuckled and just nodded, awaiting the reveal. You pulled the ribbon and opened the box, surprised that Tony had given her a piece of jewelry. “Oh.”

Steve took the bracelet from the box, oblivious that the movement would unlock the charms from their heavy chests. In a matter of seconds, charms of similar size but different designs dropped to encircle the silver band. You inspected them in Steve’s hand - a red/white/and blue shield, Mjollnir, a pair of wings, two arc reactors, a singular arrow, a silver arm, a spider, an emerald heart, the letters ‘W’ and ‘V’ intertwined, a black cat, an ant - and your symbol, an intricately carved silver charm no bigger than your thumbnail, of your face. Tony knew no specific object or symbol was tied with your Avengers status, no one had ever given you one, but this was perfect.

“Wow,” Steve whispered, examining each charm closely with a lazy smile on his face.

“We were her family. This was an ode to that.”

“What do we do with it?” Steve asked.

You just shrugged, “Frame it? It would feel wrong just taking it for myself.”

Steve agreed. Later that night when Pepper returned home, you showed her what Morgan led you to. She let you keep your gifts and take the others, absolutely loving the idea of framing Natasha’s bracelet in the new compound being built.

Present Day, 2025, 8:10 am

The bright light from the open windows hadn’t hit you as suddenly as the random throw pillow that connected to your face, startling you with a quick gasp and causing you to choke on your spit. You snapped up, belly down and hair wild, eyes still half-lidded as you searched for the aggravator. And he stood there with a stupid grin on his face, already dressed in his stupid old man clothes, and stupid blond hair perfectly pushed back.

“What the fuck was that for?” you tried to yell, voice cracking at the end and just the slightest hint of drool threatening to spill from the corner of your mouth.

“I ordered room service. Plus, we have to leave in an hour.”

You grabbed as many pillows as your one free hand could hold, the other still tucked into the pillowcase below your head. You flung them wildly, none actually hitting the super soldier directly. His chuckle pulled a deep groan from you, and no longer wanting to look like a fool, you stumbled out of bed and pushed passed him roughly.

“You could have woken me up the same time you got up.”

“But you looked so peaceful.”

His sarcasm was not helping your souring mood. Steve headed over to the monitors to turn them on, already setting up the morning video chat with Bucky and Sam. “Do you always sleep like a mounted spider?”

You flicked him off, “Leave me alone so I can take my morning piss in peace!”

You slammed the door and made your way to the toilet. Now, you were no morning person. But it was simple enough for you to crawl out of bed with only minimal protest when your awakening was a peaceful one. Having a pillow thrown at your head while mid-dream was practically excruciating and no one, not even the grandest morning person in the world, could possibly awake happy from that. And to top it all off, you couldn’t even remember what you were dreaming of. Just another thing to blame Steve for.

After you had done your morning routine and slipped into a really comfy outfit, the breakfast finally arrived. You muttered a quiet thanks to Steve for ordering your favorites and damn him for knowing you preferred waffles over pancakes and a variety of creamers to choose from, and quickly filled Bucky and Sam in on what the plan for the day was.

You had been on missions with Steve before, but no matter how many times you regrouped in the mornings, you had never actually seen him wake up. After your rude awakening, you wondered at what point during sunrise he opened his eyes - ‘cause you’ll be standing over him with a pillow of your own.

“Torres has the air footage scheduled for around five today, then he’ll link you to the camera for the remainder of the mission,” Sam clarified.

“Is it possible to link earlier?” Steve asked.

“Not unless you can get the Wi-Fi password of the estate.”

You chuckled, still funneling mouthfuls of waffle into your mouth. “So, we can hack the Pentagon whenever we feel like it, but we can’t hack into my father’s estate without the Wi-Fi password?”

Sam cleared his throat, “You are so lucky this is a secure line.”

“Wait until she finishes her breakfast and her head will be screwed back on straight,” Steve joked, taking a long sip from his tea.

Almost immediately, your phone dinged with a new message. You angled your phone away from Steve but your smirk was enough to alert him of a side conversation happening under his nose.

Bucky: Ouch, I wouldn’t mind if you hit him upside the head.

Y/N: he threw a pillow at me to wake me up :(

Bucky: hit him

Y/N: bet

“Stop talking about me over the phone.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Steve grumbled, the rough sound catching Sam’s attention as well. His eyes flashed back and forth between the two of you - Steve desperately trying to catch a quick glance at your messages, and you leaning away from him with thumbs moving at a rapid pace.

“Y/N, how you feeling?”

You put your phone down and pretended to not notice how Steve was trying to get a glimpse of your screen.

“A little queasy, in all honesty.”

A myriad of emotions were present and coiling in your body, each trying to sprout and bloom and gain their five seconds of fame. And for the past several years, it was easy to downplay their true power. Because the power they held wasn’t one of distressing strength, but rather one that tip-toed to the front of your anxiety driven worries. It planted itself there, up front, but ever so silent. For it to finally meet its match, to possibly be freed of such a coil - well, you were more worried about not succeeding in its erasure than its final blooming.

“We’ve come up with a system to make sure we both don’t go overboard or to tell the other that we’re alright,” Steve said, eyes on the monitor but hands loading bullets into your trusty handguns.

“Alright, that’s good,” Bucky spoke, finally. He typed away on his keyboard, “Give us a word we all use in case we need back-up immediately.”

“Mm, you should ask Steve. He loves his safe words.”

Steve rolled his eyes, “Something Avengers related? Or something no one would ever say?”

“Pick anything you want, just don’t let it be awkward to repeat out loud,” Sam joked.

Steve pondered for a few seconds before he settled on his chosen word, a hint of a smile forming. “Widow.”

You nodded, “That’s sweet. She’d like us using her alias for a dirty little safe word.”

You huffed suddenly, shoulder colliding with the carpet, the realization that Steve pushed you from your chair causing you to stare at him with your mouth hanging open. “Hey!”

“Steve, every single day I accept your fate from her murderous hands,” Bucky grumbled, Sam’s loud laugh causing the speaker to give a quick halt of static.

“She’s okay- hey!”

You flew across your chair and onto him, lunging your body as your main weapon in taking him down. You both tumbled to the floor, the sofa chair you collided with scraping along and pushing the coffee table with it. A lamp shattered on the floor right when you wrapped your arm around Steve’s neck and hooked your legs from underneath him and around his waist, his back to your front, both his arms coming up to tug yours out of reflex.

“Yield, you little shit,” you grunted, the grip of your arm remaining loose on purpose but your legs tight, heels now digging into his slim waist.

Steve groaned, both from your pointy heels and the sudden impact his body made with the ground. “I’m letting you win.”

“You seriously got a mouth on you.”

You let him go anyway, choosing to save your strength for the mission and not waste it on a petty little fight. Besides, you could always smother him with a pillow in his sleep.

“You two done?”

Both you and Steve stumbled getting up, faces back in your teammate’s view as you smoothed down your clothing and wiped at your foreheads.

“Now that that’s over,” Sam continued, clearing his throat. “The only task for today is to get a feel of the place, establish a legit backstory providing you some leverage, and to swipe those ID’s.”

“Got it,” you acknowledged, standing again to begin hooking your weapons in discreet locations in your clothing.

“And we’re not responsible for that broken lamp so it’s coming out of your paycheck.”

California really wasn’t like any other state. There was a vast difference from Northern and Southern, the difference being the amount of green fields visible. In Southern California, the mountains and desert areas took up most of the landscape, with an industrial complex here, a growing city there, and then nothing for a good ten miles. Since most of the landscape was below sea level, the atmosphere was almost always dry, modest dust storms forming only to quickly pass a freeway and disintegrate once it found the other side. It was more urban, more lively with people. But Northern California, even if it experienced the same weather patterns as the south, was mostly humid during the winter season. The mountains here were covered in lively agriculture, livestock roamed freely in the gated areas near the freeways, and the overall environment provided a rural look.

And the differences just stood out to you, your excitement for the livestock starting to annoy Steve as you kept pointing out every cow you drove past. He threatened to stop the car and dare you to tip one.

“So, how did we meet?”

Steve chuckled, “We’re coworkers, Y/N. Thought that question was obvious.”

You whined, “Steve, we have to put some drama into it! How about we say we met during one of Tony’s parties after Fury assigned you to this?”

“And what? I asked you to dance?”

You leaned over your seat and poked his arm, teasing him. “Would you have asked me to dance?”

Steve shrugged, “I mean, sure.”

He glanced at you and then back to the road. “Can’t we just be honest? I like the way we met.”

You pouted, “The way we met is a matter of national security.”

“You brought that thing back to an unguarded planet?” Loki seethed, his voice still a whisper as he followed Thor through the hallways of Avengers Tower. A tower he had been prisoner of for a few weeks now, but would soon be released from once Thor decided to return home. Besides, it had been more than a year since his unfortunate attack and after thousands of apologies, brainwashing excuses (which were true!), and quite a few long labor hours equivalent to Midgardian community service, his leash was extended somewhat.

“How am I the more level-headed one right now?”

Thor grumbled in response, now on his hands and knees as he searched for the tiny animal that had already eaten its way through the plush of the interior walls. “It couldn’t have gotten far. And how was I supposed to know the oxygen levels here would cause it to go crazy?”

“You couldn’t. In fact, I don’t know why it’s here in the first place!”

“Keep screaming, Loki. I bet that would make it come to us quicker!”

Loki was about to come up with another quick quip, but was interrupted by a quiet mumble down the hall.

“Oh?”

You rocked back and forth on your heels as you stared at the two brothers - one sweeping the floor on all fours and the other ducked down to scream into his brother’s ear. “Whatcha looking for?”

“Now, don’t be alarmed, Agent. But I may have misplaced my dog.”

“Dog?” Loki tilted his head, hands now cupping the side of his head in disbelief.

Your eyebrows shot up from his reaction, “Not dog?”

“It’s… an animal from Asgard.”

“Okay, what does it look like?” you asked, now more interested than ever.

Thor cleared his throat and rose to his feet slowly, “Like a dragon.”

You stepped back, almost tripping over your left foot. An involuntary laugh escaped from your lips and you brought a hand up to try and stifle it. “You brought a dragon into the tower?”

“He brought a dragon back to Midgard,” Loki clarified as he walked over to the wall and pressed his ear against it.

“Oh, yeah. That’s much worse,” you agreed. “Fury’s gonna shove his foot so far up your ass-”

“Yes, yes. I know what awaits me. Now, help us find it!” Thor begged.

This wasn’t how you expected to spend your first day as an Avenger. After all the training and promoting, the paperwork and oaths, you thought you would have a pretty chill afternoon. Arrive at the conference room, get the name badge and a rundown of your new field suit, and meet the rest of the team. Freshly nineteen and energetic as ever, you accepted this as a test. Find the dragon, make a good impression.

It only took a few more minutes before you three stumbled on an otherwise empty hallway, staring down the colorful creature as it licked one of its paws.

Your eyes widened, “It looks like an alebrije.”

“You have these creatures on your planet?” Loki asked, surprise written over his face.

“Nope, alebrije’s aren’t real. They’re fantasy.”

“Nevermind that, help me catch it!”

Loki began shushing his brother, hands swatting his massive shoulders in the process. You leaned down to the floor and tapped it with your fingernails, hoping the nice gesture would cause the creature to meet you halfway.

“Hey, buddy,” you cooed. “Can you come here please?”

The creature raised its head, colorful eyes on full display. Similar to rings of fire, but face like a fox, and fur as soft as silk. It titled its head, interested for only a second, before it kicked back and rushed toward the three of you at full speed.

“Oh, shit-!”

As he was the closest, Loki pushed Thor to the wall and lifted you from the ground. But before he could throw you out of the way too, the creature leaped. Loki shielded you with his body, wrapping his arms around you and picking you up as the creature kicked his back and sent the two of you flying through wall after wall. Loki was taking the force of it all, his chest angled in a way to protect your head. It was about ten walls you two flew through before you landed in what seemed like conference room B… or C… or A. Loki rolled you over and groaned in pain. You landed on your back, bright lights blinding you as you tried to adjust. Then a figure came into view as your blurry vision cleared.

You blinked rapidly and stared up at your new Captain. You smiled, a bit delirious, and raised your hand up for a handshake.

“Y/N Y/L/N, new recruit!”

Steve just stared, eyebrows scrunched, an expression resembling a scowl and bewilderment painted on his face. He took your hand in his and shook it.

“Forgive us, Captain,” Loki spoke, coughing as he turned over. “But you might want to get that shield of yours.”

“When did we become a couple?” you continued once you agreed on the ‘party meet-and-greet’ as your previous answer.

Now, this was a question Steve was wondering about since before you mentioned the necessity of such answers. Although he didn’t fantasize about being your significant other, he did wonder what possible event could jumpstart it. If anything, and he would take this to the grave, he assumed a line would be crossed during a particularly tempting mission. Bucky had admitted to him that on one mission, and Steve promised to take this to the grave as well, Bucky had to kiss Wanda to keep their cover. The feelings subsided soon after the mission was over, but Bucky confessed to real feelings developing. So if Steve had to bet, a particularly tempting mission.

“When we were searching for Bucky?”

You nodded, “That works. We can say the fall of SHIELD basically led to us to realize how weak the system was and how we could easily manipulate it.”

The road veered off to the side, now dirt and unevenly layered. You checked the directions Torres gave you just to make sure.

“And when is my birthday?”

You didn’t expect Steve to answer so quickly, and to get it right. Perhaps he looked over your file and remembered, because you were certain only your little friend group knew it. It was Bucky, it had to be him, the little shit, he told-

“Surprised?”

“A little. How do you know it?”

“Nat. Who do you think sends you those chocolates every year?”

You were overjoyed, really. “Wha-? Natasha said she did it.”

Steve smirked, “She covered for me.”

“Why?”

“Because for five years after the snap, you and Nat did nothing for yourselves and did everything for everyone else.” He had been witness to the two of you pulling all-nighters, washing the sheets of your fallen teammates as if they were going to return that weekend, celebrating their birthdays in secret with a small candle and a prayer. Moving from the compound and into his own apartment was hard enough, but seeing his remaining teammates wallow in cursed self-determination was worse. So, he asked Nat about your birthday to send you chocolates and a lovely handwritten note, careful to write in a font different from his natural one, and he would fold tiny paper airplanes and leave them around the compound where only Nat could find them, providing her a sense of playfulness in her busy day. Little joys to make up for such an impact.

“If it makes you feel better, I sent gifts to Nat and Bruce, too.”

But because Bruce had no forwarding address at the time, Steve settled for quick text messages here and there.

“And here I was thinking I was special.”

Steve laughed at your statement. He reached into the middle compartment to grab the mics you would be wearing. “By the way, make sure to hide this behind your neck. My mic will blend in as a button.”

You inspected the flat, button-like mic, awed by how intricate their design was. “They connected to Bucky’s?”

Steve clipped his onto his shoulder, the camouflage effect throwing you off. Yup, you loved science. “Yeah, they record everything and immediately send it back already transcribed.”

You unfolded the sun visor and watched how the mic picked up the color of your skin and blended naturally. “Remind me to send T’Challa and Shuri a gift basket.”

“And more.”

The estate was exactly how you remembered it. Modern and simple all at once, a brown exterior to easily blend into the surrounding forest, and massive front gate that only opened with a specific code. You leaned out the window and typed it in. There was no speaker this time, probably evidence of newly installed cameras.

“It’s beautiful,” Steve muttered, pulling into the long driveway and following the brick road.

It truly was. Even from where you were, you could see into the mansion as the walls were all practically made from glass. The walls in the back were normal, however, as that’s where most of the business was conducted. There were no swing doors, only large and heavy double doors made from cooled lava rock. And even though your father was a very organized man, the house was littered in trinkets of all origins: professionally stuffed exotic animals, roman and oriental statues, porcelain eggs, multiple pianos, and first editions of some of the most popular books in the world. There wasn’t any set theme for this house, but it was screaming ‘money’.

Steve parked the car away from the others, careful to leave enough room around it to ensure an easy escape if needed.

“Remember what I said - play the part. Leave the smart mouth to me, they know me. It’s what they’ve come to expect.”

Steve clicked his seatbelt and sighed heavily, “I apologize in advance.”

You gave him a small smile, “Nothing to apologize for, Steve. Like I said, this is a mission. Don’t stress about it.”

He shook his head, “Still.”

The sincere look in his eyes sent a tingle down your arms. You cleared your throat, “I feel dirty saying this, but know your place. You may be a Captain but you’re not manning this boat.”

For some reason Steve felt that he truly needed to apologize in advance. For the past several years, it wasn’t entirely real to him. He had not been directly involved. But now that he was here, parked and staring at you - the one person who had a first hand account of the horrors inside - he needed to make sure you understood he would never actually hurt you, or you him. “I trust you.”

You removed your seatbelt and opened the door, “I trust you, too.”

It was windy today, the ruffles from the trees almost disguising the labor coming from the back. You assumed they were still building the reception area. Steve jogged over to your side and hooked your arm in his, his body tenser than yours. Someone opened the heavy doors, immediately swallowing the oxygen for miles with merely their presence. You couldn’t help yourself from a small grimace, lips spreading into a straight line as you forced any other expression besides hatred.

Seda, standing at barely six foot and a smug look plastered on his aging face that worried even Steve. This was the man that had shot you when he was on the run - the man that would most likely do it again.

Seda quickly stepped down the stairs, “Y/N, so lovely to see you again!”

You let go of Steve to walk ahead, arms extended to match the idea of a grand entrance. “Really? Because the last time we saw each other, you shot me in the gut.”

Steve swore he saw Seda’s upper lip twitch. “You hold too many grudges. I was just following your father’s orders.”

You rolled your eyes and finally came to a stop in front of him, arms crossed over your chest. “Obviously.”

“And I’ve finally got the chance to meet Captain America! You’re much larger in person.”

No matter the acting skills one must obtain for this line of work, it was still obvious Seda was speaking through clenched teeth. He scanned Steve up and down, somewhat intimidated.

It was such a sudden shift, one you obviously knew was coming, but the deepness of Steve’s voice still caused unnatural goosebumps to rise. “I get that a lot. Helps in this business, though.”

Seda let out a low chuckle, “I would think so.” He turned and instructed the two men who had followed him out to reopen the heavy doors. “This way.”

Steve tried not to gawk at the amount of decorations and old-timey artifacts he swore should belong in a museum. So much furniture, so much history that shouldn’t mix but somehow worked. And was that… was that a stuffed polar bear?

“So, how you doing, Seda? Besides the usual,” you asked, hooking your arm back with Steve’s.

Seda walked with his head held high, only tilting his head downward when giving a silent greeting to those who walked by. You tried to memorize faces or see if there was anyone you recognized. But your father barely kept the same team for more than a few years. They either left voluntarily and luckily, or were simply never heard from again.

“Excited for the wedding. Jackeline has been running around nonstop on her finishing touches,” Seda responded.

You huffed out a laugh, “I bet she has. She used to have a scrapbook that outlined six different wedding themes.”

“And I haven’t seen the end of it.”

Only a few more twists and turns and you were finally near the familiar hallway that housed your father’s darkest work. The interior design was purposeful, no windows and no cameras. Steve unhooked your arms, opting for a more formal presentation between the two of you. Seda was difficult to please, but your father was near impossible. Better to not have his hands all over his daughter during their first meeting.

“Hey, what’s the wi-fi password? I’m expecting a few important emails today,” you asked before Seda opened your father’s office door. Steve had to restrain himself from blessing the ground you walked on. Bless you for remembering.

“‘Guadalajara’.”

“Thanks,” you mumbled, sending the password to Torres as quickly as you could.

It wasn’t the grand entrance you expected, truly, but you didn’t expect to see your father simply chilling behind his desk signing a few papers. He usually paced, was in a random meeting, or on the phone. Here, he was just… strangely normal.

He looked up, eyes locking with yours for the first time in seven years. “Now, I haven’t seen you since your little weekend trip to Jalisco!”

Yeah, since you had me shot.

Stepping into the office, the smell of cigars was heavy. Musty and daring, enveloping you like the times it did before. But now you had Steve - sweet Steve whose warmth you could feel behind you.

You shrugged, “I’m not traveling much outside the country these days. Too much shit going on.”

Your father stood up and let out a dry laugh, “No lie about that. Seda was telling me how loose the borders were when half the world croaked.”

“Emigration was common, yup.”

He smiled at you, walking over and placing his hands on your shoulders. You did your best not to tense your muscles. “I wish I could have been there. You guys made millions those five years.”

You swore you heard Seda scoff near the corner of the room.

“It’s about time we met! Ernesto Vega,” your father introduced himself, holding out his hand for Steve to take.

It was instant, the change, and you found yourself pushed softly to the side as Steve stepped forward. “Steve Rogers, sir. It’s an honor to meet you.”

Your father was practically beaming, “Y/N isn’t giving you a hard time with all the business, aye?”

Steve chuckled, “None at all. She steps back when asked.”

Okay, maybe he was a better actor than you took him for.

“I can’t believe you even have to ask,” your father hummed, glancing back at you with a disapproving look.

Steve shrugged, “More like ‘ordered.’”

It was scary how easily Steve was making your father laugh. “So, she listens to you? I wonder what that’s like.”

You interrupted, scoffing quietly. “I have literally done everything you’ve asked.”

And without glancing at you this time, your father quipped. “Everything but learn how not to complain.”

You rolled your eyes and met Seda’s stare. He always enjoyed the torment your father caused you. When he ordered you do something sketchy and you objected, Seda always had a front row seat to the slaps and harsh language spit in your face. He had a way of bringing up the abuse in almost every conversation he held with you - like it gave him some form of sick satisfaction.

“Regardless of my daughter’s inability to listen, I was still surprised when she named you as her partner.”

“The whole hero game was getting boring. I needed excitement.”

Your father agreed, “Don’t we all?”

Before he continued, he squinted his eyes at Steve and scanned him once more. Almost like he was double checking his initial choice.

“And you’re fine with breaking the laws of the country you’re the mascot for?”

“America has changed over the last hundred years. Trust me, I should know.”

Steve was answering exactly how you two practiced. You couldn’t help the small tinge of pride that it ignited.

“Oh, I can’t believe you’re older than me. I mean, look at you.”

“The positives and negatives of being America’s science experiment, sir.”

“But here you are now. Working for me.” Your father stepped back to sit behind his desk again. “I’m very happy.”

“Likewise, sir,” Steve replied as he shuffled closer to you, trying to not seem so suspicious. Last time Steve wanted to crawl out of his own skin was when he was barely being introduced to the new world. Times Square really was a concrete jungle, his and Bucky’s old apartment building had been demolished in the fifties, and inflation… don’t get him started on inflation.

“I’d like you to meet my two friends.” Your eyes widened. No, you weren’t supposed to meet them today. You hadn’t planned for this.

“Friends and competition alike.”

You tried to keep your voice steady, “Shouldn’t you warm them up before you invite them in? They’re gonna take one look at Steve and freak.”

Your father motioned for Seda to open the door. “Then prepare your speech quickly.”

Before you or Steve could come up with a game plan, your father called out to the new arrivals. “Amigos! Me gustaría presentarles al hombre detrás de toda mi operación.”

The men summoned were completely different from the last time you saw them. Given you saw Ramirez long before the snap and White even before then, change was destined. Ramirez was skinnier, no more protruding stomach, wrinkles almost nonexistent and eyes lively. He hadn’t disappeared with half the world, but one of his daughters did - so getting her back definitely helped his overall health. White, on the other hand, aged overnight. His hair was now gray, eyelids sullen but eyes wide, and his nose was tilted awkwardly, like a surgery to counteract the powder he sniffed. You couldn’t remember if he was dusted or not.

“Tienes que agradecer a mi hija por esto.”

He did not just give you credit for this.

“No fucking way?” Ramirez spoke, almost like he was out of breath.

Curse your father for not preparing these two. You quickly reminded yourself where your gun was hidden in case things got out of hand.

White stepped forward, circling you and Steve as if you were displayed in a museum. “Do we each get our own Avenger?”

“Maybe in the future. But this one’s mine.”

“I’m an Avenger, too. But okay,” you mumbled, offended by his singular statement. Steve’s lip twitched slightly but the look he threw at you let you know he wanted to smile.

“¿Cómo lo hiciste?”

“Ya sabes cómo es... La gente simplemente sigue mi ejemplo.”

You decided to speak, anything to get White to stop inspecting you like some ancient artifact. “Steve green lights the routes and passages. He’s been a main player all along.”

White squinted at you, “And how long has this been going on?”

“For almost ten years,” you answered.

White shook his head in surprise, eyes wider than you thought possible. His accent was more slurred than you remembered. “And you’re telling us now because-?”

Your father cut in, “The world is still in ruins. If we combine our forces like we discussed before that unfortunate disappearing act, we’ll be unstoppable.”

This seemed to catch Ramirez off guard, as if he truly didn’t remember the conversation your father brought up. You shoveled his reaction deep into your memory. Maribel would have to look into it.

Still, Ramirez played along. “And you’ll be loyal to us, too? Not just Ernesto?”

Steve nodded, his posture straightening. “I would.”

Now, the two new arrivals looked at you. You raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t look at me. I do what he says,” you admitted, nodding your head toward Steve.

They seemed to accept that answer.

“And he’s here to help us move the shipment this Saturday?” White asked.

“That’s the plan,” your father confirmed.

It was time for Ramirez to circle you both. But he did so more casually and without the intent of kicking you in the shins, it seemed. He went to sit on the couch nearest the door, away from the crowd. You could sense Steve tensing up, so you turned your body slightly to the side so you could see Ramirez through your peripheral.

“How do we know we can trust him? What those stars and stripes have to do with us?”

“You hear that Captain?” your father asked, leaning back in his chair with that twisted smile that always made your stomach drop. “Time to prove your loyalty.”

“Are you seriously going to haze him?” you spoke, a hint of a teasing tone on your words. It was time to liven up the conversation, for both your sake, or else your father was sure to go overboard. His hand… where’s Steve’s hand?

“Does she speak for you?”

Steve stepped forward, “No, she doesn’t.”

“Prove it.”

You should really punch your chest to get your heart beating again. Was he going to make Steve try the product? Record something as blackmail? Kill someone?

“Wha-” you began, but were immediately silenced as an arm wrapped around your neck and held you in place. The coldness of the gun’s muzzle tickled just below your chin, still and steady, but nonetheless terrifying. Your father had held you in this position before - hell, most of his men did when asked. But it wasn’t any of your father’s men threatening you under orders - it was Steve.

“Obviously, I’m not going to kill her. You need her for this whole operation to work. But a little roughing up never did any bad.”

He removed his other arm but kept the muzzle under your chin, grabbing both your arms skillfully and pinning them behind your back.

You had never seen your father so pleased. “Why are you dating my daughter?”

Steve chuckled and clicked the safety. No, no.

You scrambled to open your right palm and squeeze what you could reach. Steve seemed to understand right away, and he loosened his grip and placed his other shaking hand into yours. You squeezed tightly.

“Now, that’s like asking a man why he breathes air.”

No matter the position he currently had you in, you still praised his acting skills.

“Perhaps. But I know my daughter. Why you?”

Steve kept a firm grip. “Luck?”

“It seems so. Let her go.”

He released you immediately, clicking the safety back on. Seda was in front of him before Steve could place it back on his person, grabbing the gun and emptying it. Seven rounds tumbled and scattered to the floor. This seemed to please both men, as Steve wasn’t presenting himself with an empty threat. He really could have killed you.

“I’m assuming Y/N has told you stories about me. About my men.”

The floor beneath you was uneven, it seemed, but once your mind stopped playing tricks on you, you settled. You shot a quick glance to Ramirez, his eyes closed and hands clasped in his lap. He seemed distant.

“Only the ones worth repeating, sir.”

“Oh? And which are those?”

“Orders and the like.”

“So, you don’t know much? Nothing interesting? Nothing that could make me seem like the bad guy?”

The room grew hot, whether it was the natural air or the bubbling anger boiling in your stomach.

“Like I said, sir. I ask her what I want to know and she tells me. Other than that, it’s your call.”

The room fell silent as they debated their other questions.

“How much do the other Avengers know?”

You were about to respond when Steve spoke instead. “Oblivious. I’m still the stars and stripes for them.”

White scoffed, “Those symbols don’t mean shit in this new world. Ridiculous of them to still assume you’re the same man.”

Steve’s jaw tensed, “Exactly right, sir.”

This seemed to be enough for your father. He stood from his chair, walking over to shake Steve’s hand again. So righteous and personal, almost like he hadn’t just ordered the assassination of an old friend a few days ago. “I like you, Captain. You’ve boosted my business, you’ve handled my daughter, you’ve made me a lot of money.”

He looked away from Steve to look at you now, laying eyes upon a person he hadn’t bothered to reunite with in person. You had fought so hard not to be in the same room ever again, but now you were. A small little office, holding whatever air you were forced to share, on a mission that could change everything. You hated him, absolutely detested the ground he stood on, blamed him for the fallout, the change, the hurt.

“Seda, you trust him?”

Seda opened the office door and started ushering the other two men out. “I’m getting there.”

Your father laughed, “Always so cynical.”

Ramirez stood from his seat behind you, already gunning to make a good impression on your Captain. He shook Steve’s hand, “Until next time.”

“Sir,” Steve returned the handshake. Ramirez only adjusted slightly, and held his hand out to you. You looked down at it, momentarily stunned from any attention, but shook it in the way you were taught. Firm, short, and ready for business. You grinned at him and he returned the same emotion.

“Two Avengers. Wow,” he mumbled, and tilted his head in a farewell. You watched him go, a silly smile on your face.

You went to take your leave, cautious of being left alone with your father. But as fate had it, he stopped you from leaving so simply.

“Oh, and Y/N?”

You turned on your heel, lips plastered in a straight line. You raised your eyebrows at him, already annoyed from the request he most certainly had, no doubt. “Meet me in a few minutes. Alone.”

You forced yourself to nod, turning quickly and leaving the room. You shuffled down the hallway, Steve hot on your trail and reaching for your hand.

“Hey, hey. I don’t want to leave you alone.”

He tugged you back to him, but you pushed him into the corner room you were originally heading for. You shut the door softly, and allowed Steve to grip your hands in his.

“Well, you gotta. Link our mics. You’ll hear everything.”

“Safe word?”

You chuckled lowly but retracted the teasing attitude when you saw genuine worry written on Steve’s face. “Widow, Steve.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you back there. I couldn’t think of anything else to do-”

You shushed him, voice barely above a whisper. “It’s okay. You didn’t hurt me.”

“I fuck with you all the time but I would never take it that far.”

Where was this coming from? Steve looked like he was about to start hyperventilating. “I’m good. You didn’t hurt me. I’m fine, see?” you placed his hand on your chest, making sure he could feel your heartbeat. “I’m good.”

“You’re good?”

“I’m good.”

Steve removed his hand and placed it over his own chest, rubbing slightly. “I’ll be right outside when he talks to you.”

“I know you’ll be. Now, stand guard, whistle low to alert me.”

“This the room? You know the code?”

It was a simple office as well, but resembled more of a library than a workspace. It was dimly lit, cluttered, smelled of the wooden cabinets and the dust collecting on the books, and lacked any windows as well. You nodded to confirm Steve’s question, heading over to the farthest bookshelf and pushed it away from the wall. The loose dust swooped from the wood surface and into the air instantly, and you had to pause to sneeze down your shirt.

You wiped your nose, “I’m third in command. My father may have some things hidden but I have to know the codes to shit like this.”

Steve leaned his ear on the door gently, “You’re clear.”

You gave him a thumbs up and fiddled with the outside of the safe. It was built into the wall, black in color and definitely made way before you were born. It was quite rusted, the gold numbers on the lock almost faded.

“Let’s hope he didn’t change it.” You turned the dial - seven, thirty-three, eighteen - and it clicked on the first try. “Bingo.”

“Did you have a backup plan if that didn’t work?”

You snorted quietly, “Smash?”

Steve rolled his eyes and pressed his ear back on the door.

Everything inside had been recently rearranged. You figured your father used some of these ID’s when entering the country for the wedding and left them stacked on one another for the quick heist on Saturday. “We’re in luck! Both my father’s and Seda’s ID’s are here, along with-”

You cooed, taking out your phone and opening the camera app. You snapped multiple pictures, with and without flash. “Stacks and stacks of cash.”

You pulled your purse in front of you and pulled out your wallet to make room, shoving it into your back pocket instead.

“Help me put this in my purse.”

Steve left his post to help you shovel the ID’s discreetly into every pocket your purse provided, shoving things into corners so nothing protruded.

“Damn, we gotta leave the money,” you pouted.

Steve chuckled, “What a horrible thing.”

A sudden, boisterous laugh right outside the door caused you to rip your arm away from the safe, thankfully pulling the last of the ID’s with you. You pushed them into your purse, zipping it up. Steve reacted quickly as well, shutting the safe and rotating the dial, pushing the bookcase back into its original position.

“It’s Ramirez and White,” Steve whispered, looking around the room for any help. “What do we do?”

“Ramirez…” you blinked, eyes wandering around the room as well. Think, think, think. The doorknob jiggled. “Trust me.”

You ripped your purse off and threw it to the nearest couch. You hooked your arms around Steve’s neck and jumped to wrap your legs around his waist.

“Oh my-”

In any other scenario, the whimper that left your throat would have been caused by a surge of ecstasy. But you were frightened of being caught, the whimper a blatant signal to just follow your lead.

“Slam me into the wall, Captain.”

The door flew open just as Steve did as he was told.

“And I told him it was ridiculous - oh my…”

You lifted your head from Steve’s neck, wide eyes to accompany your surprised state. “Oh! I thought we locked the door!”

Ramirez covered his eyes bashfully, turning around and staring at the wall. “Don’t mind us, we were just looking for loose smokes.”

Opposite to his intruding partner, White laughed at the scene before him. He dipped low, hands on his knees as he joked. “Didn’t think Captain America had it in him! Been a stiff ever since the ice, huh mate?”

You could feel Steve tense against you, and he froze entirely. You drew your hand up to play with the strands of his hair, putting on your best flirty tone possible. “Oh, trust me. He’s pretty stiff right now.”

Steve seemed to calm under your touch, so he turned his head over his shoulder and gave an embarrassed smile of his own.

“Excuse us again, Y/N. You two enjoy your time,” Ramirez apologized, pulling at White’s jacket to guide him out of the room. Once you heard the click of the door, you jumped from Steve’s grasp and immediately began patting his back.

“I’m sorry.”

Steve chuckled, his blush rising from his shoulders to his cheeks. “It’s okay, you saved us.”

You inspected him closely, a little embarrassed with yourself. It was a bold move, but one that needed to be done. You stood in silence for a few more seconds, each of you adjusting to such a sudden change of breathing pattern.

You shut your eyes and groaned silently, “I need to speak with him.”

“Can I wait outside the door?”

You picked up your purse and swung it around your torso, “No, you need to wait in the car. Or smother Ramirez and White, your call.”

The lines on Steve’s forehead deepened, “Y/N, I can’t leave you alone with him.”

You wanted to argue further because Steve really over exaggerated. You fought a whole army of aliens, robots, and even the infamous Winter Soldier. Sure, you lost the battle with Thanos on the first try, you lost a teammate with Ultron, and gained a collapsed lung from Bucky’s insane roundhouse kick, but you were positive you could take your father. “You’re gonna have to. I’ve been alone with him before.”

Steve placed his hands on his hips and gave you a blank stare. “He shot you last time.”

“Ehh, Seda did.”

“Y/N.”

You laughed softly, “Then wait in the living room.”

“The shield’s in the car. If you need help, I may not have enough time-”

Steve and that goddamn shield. The guy was acting like he wasn’t a super soldier. You were annoyed. Annoyed with a pinch of salt?

“You whip that shield out to save me and I swear to god-”

“Okay, okay. I’ll link our mics.”

He fumbled around on his phone for a few seconds before you heard the softest beep from below your ear.

The last time you had entered that room alone, you left with a bullet lodged deep in your abdomen and with the threat of having it done again. Stumbling and crashing into the walls and random trinkets, leaving your blood stains on anything you used to steady yourself. This time would be different - it had to be. Your father wouldn’t shoot you with the Captain America waiting in the other room. Then again, your father always seemed to top himself each time you were forced to interact personally. In an instant, he dropped the good guy act. Or, hyped joy.

Now, his stare was cold and calculated, posture upright like he was awaiting your arrival. You couldn’t help but smile and roll your eyes, a tiny scoff breaking the silence as he returned it.

“You’re one damn good actor.”

He chuckled deeply, “We do what we have to do in front of the people who threaten our reign.”

You kicked the leg of a nearby chair to turn it toward you. Sitting down, you retorted with a chuckle of your own. “You’re not royalty.”

“We are... you are.”

Third in command. Daughter of the biggest drug lord south of the border? In most cases, you could be considered goddamn royalty. Did you want to be? No, because the title that seemed to fit was ‘a chess piece in the middle of a mad supremacy’. But that was too long.

“So, what is this? You scared my Captain is gonna knock you off your feet and take your place?”

His hands slammed the desk. His little basket of pens and pencils toppled over and spilled onto the floor. “I have waited seven, long years for you to bring that man to me. And each time you defied me. Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right now!”

You remained seated, a blank stare boring into your father’s. “Uh, probably because he would avenge me. Get it?”

He wasn’t one for jokes, though. “It would be so easy.”

Aggravating him further was not the smartest thing to do. And Steve had the same thought as he fumbled with his own thumbs outside, hearing the conversation from afar. He almost wanted to barge in just to put your ass in time out.

But you had seven years to make up for - a little joke here and there shouldn’t hurt much.

“You do know I’m an Avenger, right? Trained by Natalia Romanoff herself?”

You worded your sentence carefully, her alias need not be spoken out loud unless you needed backup.

“Answer me.”

When his nostrils flared, you knew better than to twist the knife.

“Steve didn’t sign the accords. He was on the run for two years before you asked me for him. This is public knowledge.”

He pointed his index finger at you, shaking it wildly. “You lie. Why you lie?”

You had to blink multiple times through your shocked state, mouth agape and involuntarily racks of laughter spilling. He couldn’t be serious. You could only repeat the same thing so many times.

“Like I said all those years ago - He. Was. On. The. Run. No contact. I had no way of contacting him!”

He struggled to grab whatever on his desk to raise toward your face. In this case, he pointed his phone in a threatening manner. “Excuses! Remember the last time you made such a poor excuse?”

The laughing stopped, your mouth immediately shutting. You clenched your jaw to work through your murderous impulses.

You wondered how your hands would look wrapped around his neck. Red and angry, tightening as each desperate second passes, nails forming crescents as they pressed in his skin. If there was a window, you would definitely kick him out of it. Wave goodbye as he fell dramatically. But the mansion was one story high and you couldn’t magically conjure up a window. God, this would be the absolute best time to have Wanda or Loki here to use some of that dark magic. Either way, you just wanted to wipe that shit-eating grin off his face right now.

“He. Was on. The run.”

“And I thought you learned your lesson.”

You stood from your seat and leaned on the desk, arms holding you up and face inches away from his. “You gonna send in your men to remind me? With my Captain a few feet away?”

His lips were trembling as much as yours were - face blotchy with silver droplets of sweat and an angry blush now reaching his forehead. For a seventy-five year old man, he still had such a rage in him that didn’t risk a heart attack. Lucky bastard.

“He best not interfere if it’s what I choose to do.”

Outside, Steve gripped the back door handle to the point it squished in on itself, metal twisting awkwardly and splintering the paint. His free hand was balled into the meanest fist, even his stubby nails wreaking havoc on his pale palm. He was making himself bleed by the restraint. He took slow breaths, eyes closed but ears fully alert. He wouldn’t cry. Not right now.

“I called you back alone to invite you to breakfast the day after tomorrow.”

Whether it was because he knew you were only a few seconds from lunging yourself across his desk to break his neck or because he was tired from all the energy he had just exerted, your father slumped back into his seat as he spoke.

“The hotel has free breakfast.”

He shook his head in complete astonishment, “You’re not getting out of this. I have important business to discuss with each of you.”

You continued to stare him down, “Over coffee?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “I can’t leave the estate so close to the wedding. Your sister is flying in tomorrow and I have to make sure construction is done by then.”

“Right, ‘cause you’re the best father in the world.”

Being in the same room was suffocating, but you couldn’t help but be fascinated by the man. How unbelievably thoughtless yet calculated he could be. How unbelievably fake yet so damn real in all his hidden meanings.

“Jackeline likes to think so.”

Your sister was sweet, sure, and there was an unspoken agreement between the two of you to not fight one another, being the only daughters and all. But you were eight years old when she was born, already tainted by the world in which she was just born into. Forgive your lack of sisterly bond. When you were sixteen, you dipped. Now, at the sprouting ages of twenty-six and eighteen, you two couldn’t be more different.

Actually, yes you could. If she thought your father was a good man, she was entirely ignorant of the world she lives in.

“Good for her. Why don’t we discuss the shipment transport during the most important day of her life?”

“Nice try. That’s what the rehearsal dinner is for - rehearsal.”

You gave your father a sad smile, “You really won’t trust me. After all these years of following your orders.”

“Now, let’s not go bringing up the past.”

You interrupted, “Why not? You’re trusting my Captain and I to help you move that shipment but won’t trust me enough to tell me where it is right now?”

He was back to standing but he was much calmer. “Right now, I trust your Captain more than you. What kind of man would leave everything moral behind for a bunch of criminals? A bad one.”

“You’ve known him for like, two seconds.”

Your father searched his pockets for loose cigarettes. “He left everything moral behind for me. For you. And you left me behind for everything moral.”

Rolling your eyes, you backed away from his desk and headed for the door. “Sometimes you don’t make any sense. Is that it? Are we done?”

“You accept my invitation?”

“Do I really have a choice?”

“No.”

The mansion seemed larger than when you entered, the hallways longer, the walls closing in, the trinkets reaching out to stop you by the wrist. The longer you stayed in this hell hole, the more likely you were probably going to unleash the rage attached to your body in the form of your favorite weapons. Bomb the hell out of this place.

You marched to Steve’s car. He was already waiting, leaning along the passenger door like he was going to open it for you. If he did, you might kill him too. So, you repeatedly snapped your fingers at him and pointed around the car, silently but angrily motioning him to get in. He didn’t need to be told twice. In fact, he thought it might be therapeutic for you to throw the door open and slam it yourself. It was.

Steve started the car. He didn’t need to ask, there was no reason to since he heard everything. And so did Sam. Bucky. Scott. It was being transcribed as you swerved out of the estate. God, you wanted to throw up.

“I’ll tell you when to stop.”

Steve choked on his breath, “Stop?”

You rolled down the windows to breathe in the crisp cold air, teeth becoming sensitive as it passed into your lungs. “Once we get past the cameras and nearby neighborhoods.”

“Did you need-“

“When I say stop, stop. Fucking damn, Steve! Listen to me for once!”

Steve didn’t know why he was challenging you. Your father had just brought up one of the most traumatic moments of your life, basically called you a hypocrite and a coward - he tried to tear you down. And here you were, holding it all together like the champ he found you to be. But he never handled your outbursts well, even if they were completely justified.

“Don’t fucking give me orders if you won’t tell me what they’re for!”

“Stop the fucking car!”

He slammed on the breaks, instincts still kicking in during your argument and he reached his arm out to your side to hold you back from the powerful surge. His body lunged forward, however, chest hitting the steering wheel and horn.

You scrambled out of the car and ran into the woods, feet guiding you through mud and prickly bushes until they reached a more secluded spot. Steve stumbled along after you, nearly tripping over the same rocks you had avoided masterfully.

Before he could ask what you were doing, you pulled your gun from its hidden holster and clicked the safety. Steve’s eyes bulged out of his head just in time to see the first round sound off mid-air. He crouched down to the floor and shielded his head. You shot away from him, obviously, until all seven rounds were dislodged, aimed in the sky diagonally.

Once the last bullet exited, you simply packed everything up. Now calm and collected, you turned around and headed back for the car.

Steve’s voice cracked as he spoke, “Seriously?”

You pushed branches away from your head as you walked, “Seriously.”

“Do you know how dangerous that is? Those bullets don’t just disappear into thin air,” Steve scolded, jogging up to speed walk beside you.

“So fucking what? I’m keeping the rent low in this area, then.”

Steve sighed in defeat, “Talk to me.”

“Sorry, I’m shutting down.”

“Y/N-”

You groaned, tears of frustration not entirely formed, but in their beginning stages. “You already know what’s stressing me out, Steve. Do you need it in writing?”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Steve lowered his voice. “What do you need me to do?”

“Just,” you paused, stopping to face him. You opened and closed your hands mid-air as if that would help you formulate your sentences better. “I don’t know. But when I find out, I’ll let you know.”

This Steve could accept. So he simply nodded, guiding you the rest of the way with his hand gently placed on your lower back.

The drive back to the hotel was fairly silent. The radio provided a calming relief from such drama. Steve would glance at you every so often to check on you, but you were always resting your eyes. This was only the first day of the mission - officially. If you were this drained from one encounter, Steve needed to rethink this whole operation. Whether it was healthy to keep you on, or if the threat was just too large. But no matter the alternatives, Steve understood that this week was going to be difficult either way, and you needed to be present. This was your mission after all. He was just your partner.

Even with a thousand things on your mind, you were still conscious enough to check your surroundings, check-in with the agent posted behind the front desk, and reconnect your mic with the teams.

Steve pushed open your room door and threw the car keys on one of the nearby tables. “Nap time?”

You ignored his initial question, “I didn’t think seeing them in person again would be so draining.”

Steve watched you carefully, somewhat scared that you would pull out your gun again and shatter a window. “It was pretty cramped.”

You started to disarm yourself, tearing off your sweater and holsters clumsily. “And they acted like we were all on good terms! Around you, at least. I know they’re acting for my sister’s sake and then we can go back to hating each other after, but really?”

Steve sat on the edge of his bed, eyes sorry. “I really don’t know what to say.”

You threw yourself onto your bed, burying your face into the pillows. You continued speaking, albeit muffled. “You don’t have to say anything - just let me rant.”

“You’ll tire yourself out, Y/N. C’mon, we gotta draft up this report-”

You lifted yourself up and started smoothing down your hair, “I need a drink.”

Steve pointed to the computer, “The report.”

“A drink.”

“Y/N, it’s getting late. The sooner we draft it, the sooner-”

You grumbled out again, already opening the door and shoving your boots on. “Steve, I need a drink. You know what they do to me, what they’ve done to me, what they continue to do every single day. Now, join me or not but I am going downstairs for a drink.”

Steve paused for a moment, looking around the room hesitantly. “Can I at least take the laptop?”

You threw your head back and walked out the door, “Take the goddamn laptop, jesus fucking christ, c’mon.”

If there’s one thing you were happy about today, it was that you booked a hotel with a mini bar on the second floor. It wasn’t an outright full bar, but it was low lit, clean and the counters were made from fine wood, and there was a variety of flavors to choose from. There were only a few hotel guests spread out and a single bartender. You and Steve took seats at the counter.

“Whiskey sour,” you called for the bartender, trying and failing to give him the nicest smile you could.

Steve settled in his bar stool, “Thought you wanted to drink to drink hard.”

You chuckled at him and extended your arms in a stretch, “I’m mad, not depressed.”

He grinned at your movements - as if just sitting in a bar already loosened you up. “In that case, get me a beer.”

Natasha had called Steve for help after your fourth beer and fifth whiskey. Her coaxing proved to be pointless, each request of a safe passage home seeming to enter one ear and leave the other. And you’ll end up killing her when you were sober enough for sending unwanted reinforcements, but even she didn’t want to fight you. If you wanted to drown in liquid courage, that courage churning itself into raw despair, then she would allow it.

Steve stared at you for a few moments. Head hanging low, a deep frown etched into your tired expression, index finger tapping your glass as if you were debating whether to down it in one go or to leave it. Steve had never seen you like this, guard destroyed and face practically pale, just begging to be left alone. And it seemed the whole bar felt the same way, as there was no music playing and everyone was wallowing in their own grief.

“I can spot you from a mile away, you know?”

Your voice immediately pulled Steve from his own mind and he was surprised you could still form coherent sentences given the amount of empty glasses in front of you.

“I don’t mean to interrupt.”

You scoffed, leaning away from him as he sat down in the stool beside you. “Natasha sent you. Don’t tell me otherwise.”

“I’m not saying anything.”

“Good.”

Steve ordered a beer for himself, and although he was driving, one beer wouldn’t impair him anyway. It wouldn’t even cause a dent in his 20/20 vision.

“Fucking ridiculous, it’s fucking ridiculous!”

The bar patrons seemed to wince simultaneously and the bartender simply gathered a few of your empty glasses to wash. Steve didn’t hush you, didn’t touch you, didn’t try to reassure you. If you needed to cause a scene, it was time. Your silence for the past week had been frightening, but when Tony returned last night, half dead and without the kid, it seemed to be your breaking point.

“Wanda destroyed it. She destroyed the fucking stone and all he did was use another to bring it back.”

Steve took a sip of his beer to disguise his quivering lip, but his eyes had no curtain. His waterline swelled with fresh tears, eyes instantly reddening, an undesired sting pinching the corners.

“Strange must have had a reason. He must’ve, but - how can that reason include the death of trillions?”

“We’re going to find a way-”

“And if we don’t?”

Steve kept his lips on the bottle, incisors biting down only slightly as he took in your rhetorical question. You continued speaking.

“He destroyed the stones.”

“Carol is looking for answers.”

You shook your head and pulled out your wallet, leaving whatever cash you had on the counter before standing up. You stumbled but Steve latched onto your arm and pulled it to hug his waist.

“Loki?” you mumbled, raising your head to lock eyes with Steve. He didn’t know if you were calling him another name or if you were asking for the God’s whereabouts. “Bucky?”

“Hey, stop, stop.”

“Peter?”

Steve could only nod. What use was it to lie to you? Your new vertical position seemed to magnify the true extent of your intoxication as your eyes finally glazed over and limbs trembled.

“Let’s get you home, okay?”

Gripping his shirt, you apologized each time it would crumble and you would accidentally tug it downward. But Steve didn’t care. You were practically limp in his arms, heavy and without proper use of your legs.

“You’re a good man, Steve.”

Steve sighed sadly but couldn’t help the small smile that formed as he looked down at you and found you sporting a silly one of your own.

“A really good man. I’m happy you’re still here.”

Steve paused for a moment, taking in your words and holding back his own tears. If there was a time he wanted to be drunk off his ass, it would be now. He was somewhat jealous of the brief relief alcohol had given you, loose and not fully aware of the drama of the world. “I’m happy, too.”

“No, you’re not,” you slurred, allowing Steve to guide you to his car. You slumped against the passenger door as Steve searched his pocket for his key. “I heard you crying last night.”

Steve halted his search mid-pat, a hard crease forming between his eyebrows as he lifted his head. “I wasn’t-”

“I cry too,” you admitted, a drunken pout on your face. “You don’t have to lie to me.”

Perhaps it was a dirty thing for him to do at this moment because you wouldn’t remember a single word of this conversation in the morning, but he figured there was no immediate harm. He found his key, unlocked the car, and helped you inside. Only once he entered the car himself did he take advantage of your blurry mind.

“I cried for Sam and Bucky. Who do you cry for?”

You clicked the seatbelt on, mind clear enough for safety precautions it seemed. “Poor Wanda.”

Steve nodded and started the car. “Anything else?”

“Did I ever tell you about the time Loki asked me on a date?”

Steve immediately shut off the car and turned to you. “Huh? When?”

You grinned, small giggles bubbling from your chest. “A few months ago. He was so shy, too. I said yes.”

Steve ignored the twinge in his chest, “How was it?”

You leaned your head back and tilted it towards him, your smile faltered slightly. “Never went on it. And now he’s dead.”

The urge to lean over and wrap you in a much needed hug was there, eating away at him since you called him a good man. But he had taken advantage of this situation far too much, so he simply nodded in understanding and started the car again.

“I’m sorry.”

You barely heard him, but you mumbled a quick response before letting the alcohol fully consume you. “Me too.”

You thanked the bartender when they slid you your drink. “I hadn’t seen him since before the world went to shit.” You took a quick sip. “Kinda strange.”

Steve nodded, wondering if he should dive deep into the issue at hand. Instead of outright saying his outdated spiel, he eased into it. He gave you a few needed sips of your drink, at least. “Y/N, can I ask an honest question?”

You hummed, “My toes are already tingling. You could probably ask me what my kinks are and I’d tell you.”

Steve suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, “You never could handle a sip of alcohol.”

Your eyes rounded at his reaction. Perhaps the alcohol affected him in other fun ways that he didn’t know. “Nope, I’m a lightweight.”

Steve contained himself before clearing his throat, “The question…”

“Go ahead.”

He rolled his shoulders and took a sip of his beer. Leaning in closer, he lowered his voice. “If it comes down to it, and god forbid you’re incapacitated, do you want me to kill your father?”

Your mouth opened slightly, the words stuck behind your tongue. You looked down at your drink, as if some special response was swimming in it. You knew your answer, but the way to phrase it was lost.

“I don’t want his blood on your hands.”

“But if it was the last choice?”

You sighed, “If you pull that trigger, they’ll never stop coming after you.”

Steve’s eyebrows scrunched together, “But if you pull it?”

You shrugged and raised the glass to your lips. “That’s my life, Steve. Let me deal with the consequences.”

“That’s just it - you don’t have to. At least, not alone.”

God, you hated how perfect Steve sounded all the time. Whenever he was annoying you, fighting you, or protecting you, his syllables were stretched in the most glorious way, dipping into every crevice of the person they were delivered to and warming inches of body slowly. You wanted him to have somewhat of an evil side for once in his life, but no matter how many times you thought he would explode, he didn’t.

Two years ago, when he dropped you from his life in an instant, you had assumed you finally caught a glimpse at this evil side. It was the only time you were truly scared of him.

“You really are a good person.”

Steve swished his beer bottle around, “I wish everyone would stop being surprised by that.”

“I’m not surprised. I guess I just want to hate you, and I can’t.”

Steve’s shoulders slumped like crumbling mountains and you couldn’t stop thinking about how vulnerable he looked. You wanted to pull him closer and rest your head to his chest, hear his heartbeat and apologize for theorizing a possible hatred.

“Why do you want to hate me?”

“When you wouldn’t sign the accords, part of me saw that as the mascot of America not caring if he invaded and pillaged everything in his path.”

“But I-” Steve interjected, but you stopped him by raising your hand and waving it gently.

“I know why you didn’t. Hell, I helped you escape.”

“Why did you help if you hated me?”

Being vulnerable with Steve wasn’t anything new. You were each other’s support system for those lonely five years, but it all changed the moment you defeated Thanos. So, for the last two years you didn’t quite get along. But here, now, you could always tell when Steve was being honest and open.

“Guess I thought that if you were willing to help me with my family, I should help you with yours.”

His therapist desperately tried to rationalize the experiences Steve would tell, instructing him to look past hard exteriors and accept help from others. That his old friends were still friends, and enemies should never be compared to those he loved. And he knew he was easily blinded when something or someone had the slightest mishap, instantly writing it off as harmful.

He spoke of you often during his one hour sessions - stories of your blatant silliness and crude jokes; how you would poke your finger into his sandwiches when you thought he wasn’t looking; how you almost beat up a kid and his little gang for baiting Peter after his identity was exposed; and how you and Sam had gotten into a bar fight over something so trivial, so unnecessary, that it was almost unbelievable to see you innocently scoot away from the body on the floor in the police video, as if you had nothing to do with it and those few feet of distance automatically cleared you.

His therapist would just listen.

“Did I ever thank you?”

You smiled sadly, “You went into hiding soon after. Then we went to battle, lost everyone, went to battle again, and then…”

“And then.”

‘And then’ wasn’t really something you two liked to bring up. It was still a fresh wound, somewhat patched up, but still open.

You spaced out for a few minutes, both of you enjoying your drinks. You were no longer drinking to get drunk, not that it was your original goal to begin with. You just sat in comfortable silence, reliving the events earlier that day and drafting an internal report.

“What are you thinking about?”

You pursed your lips and thought, clicking your tongue when it finally dawned on you. “This was the first time I saw Marcus White sober.”

Steve sat up straighter, “Are you sure? He didn’t look it.”

“Yeah, he usually speaks quickly and he fidgets. But he was coherent this afternoon.”

“Should that be a red flag?”

You took out your phone and sent a quick text to Torres for him to monitor White closely for the next few days, just in case. “A big one. My father referred to him more often than he did Ramirez.”

Steve tackled every idea in his head quickly, speaking as a new one popped up. “They could be planning a move against Ramirez. He’s close to overthrowing your father.”

You raised your head from your phone, “And the wedding would be a perfect distraction.”

“He would kill his greatest rival on your sister’s happiest day?”

You let out a low chuckle, “This man has nothing to lose. It won’t matter who he topples along the way.”

Steve opened the laptop, silently congratulating himself for bringing it despite your insults, and began drafting the report. The two of you worked for the next hour, nursing a couple more drinks before you sent the final copy to Bucky.

TAGLIST: @dumb-ass-writer @justab-eautifulmess @supraveng @mycosmicparadise @missnighttigress

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ladyyatexel · 3 years

Text

I Went On A Manga Binge

So you don't have to

For those of you who have wisely avoided the shreds of it I've left around the blog thus-far, I had some weird notion to go re-experience Yu-Gi-Oh uuuuuh a week ago? We'll go with that. Time is meaningless.

I'd been able to read a good portion of the early manga at the end of highschool, and somewhere in my stacks and stacks of paper is fanart from this dark time, so you know I cared. I also still own a Dark Magician action figure somehow, so. I'd also watched a large portion of the anime with my brother because it had been laced with some kind of crack and we couldn't look away? I remember when we both were just like shit, wait, don't change the channel, I can't stop looking at it. And the next thing we knew we were waiting for new episodes and I was doing research on the Japanese original because I was that kid.

Anyway, unnecessary backstory out of the way, here are some... let's call them Observations and Consequences of having read somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 chapters (and growing) of a manga primarily hinged on card games from a spectrum of sources ranging from boringly lawful to sketchy as fuck.

Surprise actual character that develops in typical shounen fashion being Jounouchi. My limited experiences with the 4Kids dub and only early manga had not painted him in a particularly good light. I don't know if episodes were being aired out of order or if I had just missed the ones that established that he was making shit up as he was going along, but Wow I liked him a lot more going through the manga than I ever did watching the (dubbed, heavily edited and censored and thrown into a slurry machine) anime. I'd managed to come out with the impression that he was just as reasonably experienced with the game as Yugi back in the day. Wild.

I'm now reading every single comic-style post on Tumblr backwards.

Striking inverse to first point, wow, I don't like Seto Kaiba. Though he gets points for his general philosophy of the future, and the line I read in my sketchy online combo of scans and scanlations in which he said, "If God is in your way, you run him down," was Metal As Fuck. I somewhat shame-facedly admit to enjoying him a lot more as an Abridged Series character. (I watched Abridged as it came out back in the day! The experience of watching the anime with my brother had been so fresh that I got all the in jokes about the way things were edited and dubbed, it was great. Series remains influential part of my life to this day, which is hella weird.)

I almost understand how Duel Monsters works now. I don't want this.

That said, wow a lot of the decisions made in the anime made everything a lot more ridiculous than the admittedly already ridiculous original. I got the distinct feeling in the manga that the Duelist Kingdom stuff we were seeing was designed to be used and exploited in ways that don't make sense in an actual cardgame just played on a table like a normal person and this was part of testing everyone to think higher, differently. Maybe this is obvious to everyone already, I don't know. I had always liked that it was very, 'Not so fast, I'm going to blow up the moon to change the tides,' but I'm not really sure the anime gave enough explanation that this was an extra layer added to things for that event? You can see people actively getting used to it in the books, and people who aren't considering the real or 3D nature of it getting owned, but my memory of anime version is everyone just like, 'oh, shucks, fuck me, I forgot to consider the phase of the moon before i played this card, can't believe I forgot.' No one calls Yugi on any of this stuff because it's valid play in that situation. Plus Yami Yugi had mad trickster energy in the beginning and it suited him to think of ways to do things inside these little simulation boxes the way it suited him to set perverts on fire. I imagine the real card game trying to emulate this element as something that would be to its detriment, but I neither know nor particular care haha

Ryou Bakura.

Really, though. I think he became kind of casualty of 'wow, we have a lot of characters who really aren't able to do anything in this story anymore,' despite the fact that his whole inner life could have been as interesting as Yugi's. I always like thinking about the possibilities of stories in which main character falls into magical world and is given magical item and told they're the hero and then they find out they've been the bad guy the whole time. The first several volumes of manga were about the quiet weirdo kid that no one talked to who was always blacking out and turning into a fucked up version of himsef because he was so attached to his ancient Egyptian jewelry, so like, Bakura could have much the same shit going on. I want to know what's happening with him so much. He clearly doesn't love being possessed, but he's also so drawn to the ring. Despite it having stabbed him at least twice and him knowing it's a danger to him and his friends, he keeps being pulled back into it. You see so much more of him being like, 'Oooh, a creepy thing, I love that! :D' in the manga than ever in the anime, which I'm all about. Also more blood. I'm very about that as well. Though my memory of the anime also made it look very much like normal regular daily Bakura was just a weird facade in places before he ever would have been. I think that was it trying to compensate for what people didn't see from the Toei anime, but okay whatever, that I love everything about this guy is not news, I don't need to talk about Bakura excessively here, I'm pretty sure that's gonna show up on my blog by itself

On a related note though, damn, more of these people need to talk to each other. Can we have some existential crisis support clubs or something. Can we get like some apologies or something? "I respect you as a duelist." "Cool, but you literally built a tower designed to specifically assassinate me and my friends? You were supposed to get Better after I retaliated by putting you in a coma, but you kinda didn't." "Why would the coma have made it better" "I just told you it didn't" ---- "Sorry I went along with the plan of your evil parasite stabbing you, misled you, and then also jumped in and took up some real estate in your head too." "I understand, I also have an evil thing inside me that does things while I'm blacked out." "...no, I was conscious for all of that." "Oh." "..." "..." "..." "Do you like Ouija Boards?" "sure okay" ETC. Like damn we are reading shounen manga because no one is talking extensively about their feelings here and I'm tapping my foot angrily.

Holy shit there are so many mythologies happening at once. The ancient family guarding the Egyptian Pharaoh has a surname that's a Mesopotamian goddess. None of the god cards make any Egyptian sense except Ra, and just like. Baaarrrrely. Somewhere either Evil Ring Bakura or Mar/lik makes a reference to cremation and spirits being taken to heaven with smoke which several things, but definitely not Ancient Egyptian. Marik/Malik meanwhile is clearly trying to head Arabic, along with Rishid, but then, hey, our sister is just Isis. Goddess McGoddess. Sometimes they're the same goddess! Her name could be Isis Isis or Ishtar Ishtar. Meanwhile, all the obviously 'occult because Christians think it is freaky' stuff. ~ancient egyptian pentagrams~~~This isn't a complaint, I guess so much as a 'Wow, I can kind of see the cultural spot the author was coming from and where he was aiming' kind of thing.

Wonder where things would have gone if the card games had not been latched onto the way they were.

Managed to forget how gross the pre-cardgames stuff was on the sexual harassment front. I'm glad there was a sort of explanation of everyone drifting away from being dick heads and that that decision was made. It got way more comfortable to read after no one was bringing Yugi p*rn on VHS.

Yugi looks better with a nose, glad we got that upgrade.

Interesting to watch the series style shift as it goes away from being horror to being over the top cardgames and friendship (with blood!). The first picture of Mokuba is fucking Jarring. Also noticed that the nicer a character is, the less their teeth are defined.

Glad manga did not go as completely off the fucking the rails about Marik's face. I never got as far as seeing him back in the day because college occurred, but I remember seeing pictures and stuff and being like, "what in the Fuck happened to that dude, I think the house style has collapsed in on itself"

Things the author Really Likes: motorcycles, belts, SHOES, holy shit the shoes. These are some of the most lovingly rendered sneakers I've ever seen. All the detail on his characters goes straight to their feet and then it's stretched upward until it forms stiff peaks. Gently fold in 3000 years of trauma and bake face down in a crumb coat of scattered mythology. Remove when you roll two zeros.

Where the fuck am I going to put the extremely large omnibus volumes of this comic I purchased in order to balance out how much I would be reading for free on the internet. I should have grasped that a three in one edition would be Thick and yet somehow I was still :O when it arrived. Have I strategically purchased volumes that contain my favorite parts, maybe, what's it to you will i eventually get the whole thing because incomplete book series gnaw on my soul? yes

Wish the transition from "I've murdered several people in delightfully karmic ways" to "all you need is friendship in your heart and cards in your hand" Yami Yugi/Pharaoh had been discussed more/transitioned better. Buddy, where did you get this approved for television high horse? Please go back to strangling people with yo-yos or at least tell me why you stopped.

I still can't tell anything that looks like a big robotic monster apart from any other big robotic monster. My dude, I can't tell cars apart, all these monsters look the same.

Yami Yugi fascinated me way more in highschool? Maybe because it was still super early and the anime was like 'we need to torture you about his origins WeEkLy. Now I'm just like 'wait hold on, can we go back to Bakura and Marik for a minute, there's some extreme unpacking to do here?' Those two are paying so much more in baggage fees here my guy wow

Violently uninterested in any of the spinoff media

#yugioh #yu gi oh #ygo #there you go i can't imagine any other way you would decide was necessary to tag this #perhaps now that i have thrown this up i can #something #i don't know how i was going to finish that sentence #shut up lady

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syndxlla · 3 years

Text

part six of the Dinner and Diatribes series

part five here

summary: When you see Mando in action for the first time, you begin to recall more and more of your childhood memories.

word count: 4.7k words

warnings: Swearing, passing out, being shot at, Mando kills a guy, mentions of abuse.

a/n: “Be” is the tenth song on Hozier’s album Wasteland, Baby!

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated! I got a little uh *cough* depressed *cough* but I’m feeling much better now, I also wanted to be present for all the holidays and didn’t want to be glued to my phone the whole time haha. ANYWAYS enjoy!!!

“Be”

“We need to refuel.” The Mandalorian said through the modulator. This time, it wasn’t a lie. The three of you were a little less than halfway to Kiros, travelling through hyperspace for almost a full day now. It had been a few hours since the kiss, enough time for the kid to wake up, eat, and play enough to get tired again. He was nestled sleepily on your lap, mindlessly fidgeting with the beskar ball you gave back to him to occupy to little squirt while you sat in the cockpit with Mando. You think the bounty hunter slept while you were down in the Hull taking care of kid. It made you wonder how he ever got rest when he was alone with the monster.

“Already?” You ask, finding it hard to believe you already needed fuel. After you spoke up, the kid drowsily babbled, slowly getting more fatigued.

The Mandalorian nodded. “She’s onto me,” He said to himself. He couldn’t lie to you again, the truth would get back to you eventually, and it would be best to keep it as accurate as possible. “Should be fast.” He explained.

“That’s alright.” You shrug, you didn’t mind, and it’s not like you could change the course. You remind yourself that he does what he wants.

“We’ll stop on Uyter, it was just liberated by the New Republic a few years ago, so it’ll be pretty dangerous.” He began after clicking a few random buttons, “Feel up to the challenge?” Mando asked, the slightest bit of teasing in his voice.

“Oh I’ll be fine. You’re the one we need worry about.” You sighed, sarcastically playing along.

He very lightly chuckled, “We’ll see about that.”

You smirked. Neither of you have brought up the kiss yet, between being occupied with the kid and not wanting to ruin the lingering magic of it, you both made a silent agreement to leave the moment alone. Every time you thought of it, however, you received a wave of shocks through your body, causing your spine to shiver in euphoric bliss. You hoped it wouldn’t be the last time he kissed you. However, you didn’t want to get your hopes up, as far as you know, that was just a short moment of weakness for him. But his words lingered on your mind, “that’s how you can help”. His remark after kissing you implied that it would happen again, but you were still walking on egg-shells in every situation with him. He would have to be the one to make the move every time, you were too timid to be the one to initiate any form of physical contact.

It wasn’t much longer before you were snapping out of light speed, a small but lush planet in your view. “Utter?” You raise an eyebrow, the kid now asleep in your arms.

“Uyter. You-ter.” He enunciated.

“I’m sorry, could you say that again?” You ask, poking your tongue to your cheek, enjoying teasing him far too much.

“No.” He grunted, making you quietly giggle.

“Have you been here before?” This was one of your favorite things to ask him, it was so interesting to hear about his adventures through the galaxy.

He nodded in response, “Capital City has a good Cantina, found a bounty there once.”

Cantina meant actual food, which made you happy.

“So, how dangerous is this place.” You try to ask nonchalantly, like you didn’t really care how dangerous it might be (but you did care, a lot).

“The empire used to have an academy here, a pretty big one too. It’s been dismantled now, but there are still remnants.”

“There are all over the galaxy.” You sigh. The Empire was even able to reach out to Nal Hutta at some points.

The Razor Crest moved into the atmosphere, and before you knew it, the Mandalorian’s ship landed on the surface. The descent was boring, and all you could see for miles and miles was farmland.

“They used to produce food for the Empire, one of my first missions with the Mandalorian’s was to burn the fields.” He explained.

“What? I thought you bucket-heads were neutral when it came to imperial affairs.” You tilt your head as you ask.

“We are, but if the price is right, we’ll work for anyone...”

“How old were you?”

“...Eighteen. I think, not sure about how hold I really am.” Mando cleared his throat, something told you that you are the only person he’s ever told something like that. “It was me and some of my brothers of the creed... I’m the only one of that troupe still alive...” You swear you could hear a little bit of sadness in his voice, but it was hard to tell. You thought you were getting better at reading him, but he’s so mechanical from the outside, it makes you wonder what he’s really thinking. In no way do you want to seem invasive, and the last thing you want to do is offend him, but you couldn’t help yourself from wanting to know more about him, to be...closer to him in some way.

“I-I’m sorry. Let’s just be fast then, yeah?” You reassured.

Capital city was nice, much nicer than Nal Hutta. It was a relatively large city, bigger than any city on your home-world. You were significantly closer to the inner-rim as well, which meant more wealth, prosperity and civilization. You knew this, but that didn’t stop your childlike awe as you looked up at the towering skyscrapers above.

Mando noticed the way you looked up at the sky, “Two hyperspace lanes cross here, we’ll be moving onto the other one after we leave, getting us closer to Kiros.” He spoke up.

“Can we eat here?” You shamelessly ask. He nods in response as he powers down the ship, and stands up from the pilot’s chair.

Uyter was just like Junkfort station but on the surface, bustling and diverse, but running with more crime than the space station. Mando payed a few credits to the Rodian crew at the docking bay, and the three of you were off. The kid was nestled safely in a metal pram, the lid sealed shut, keeping the outside world from distracting him (and vice versa). The carriage followed you, who followed Mando as the trio walked into the heart of the city. This was the first real city you’ve ever been in (that you can remember). And you knew that this was a significantly smaller city than anything on the core worlds. The galaxy was so big, so much bigger than your little shack on the bayou. As you weaved through the winding streets and pop-up shops, you wanted to attach to the bounty hunter at the hip. Although you were mesmerized by the higher level of civilization, you didn’t feel safe, and you knew he would protect you. You remember that this is what every planet is like, every city. They all have a crime rate, they all have dark alleyways and bounty hunters and remnants of the Empire. You’re sure Lothal wasn’t much different from here. Men of all types of species watched as you and the metal man walked through the crowded streets, the hordes of people seemed to part at your expense. It gave you a sense of fulfillment, a feeling of power. When you were seen with the Mandalorian, you were seen as a threat, too. As far as any of these strangers know, you are just as intimidating as a bounty hunter in a beskar shell. In reality, you were nothing more than a naive girl with no childhood and the only useful experience you have has come from a cantina owner and abusive ex-boyfriend on a planet ran by massive slugs. But none of these people needed to know that. That was something you could definitely get used to; in the rest of the galaxy, no one knew your name. It was like a fresh start, and you could become anyone you wanted to be. Hell, you could even become a Mandalorian if you wanted, but life inside of a can isn’t very appealing to you. You hardly know how to shoot a blaster anyways, so maybe life as a bounty hunter isn’t the one for you. You could accept that.

Mando wandered into the Cantina. It was about mid-day, so it wasn’t too busy yet. A few droids worked behind the counter and there were a handful of aliens quietly conversing. The three of you found a place to sit at the bar, and you timidly pulled out some of the credits the Mandalorian gave you a few days ago. “Get something for the kid.” His voice quiet through the modulator.

You nodded before ordering some generic and cheap food from one of the droids. You pull the pram forward before unlatching the lid, letting the little monster see outside again. His eyes adjusted to the light, and turned to look up at you.You hand him the food you gt, and he was immediately happy to be eating. Something about him being a glutton was so cute to you. You hoped he was getting enough to eat, that Mando was taking good care of him. You still have so many questions about who the little monster is and where he came from. How had the Mandalorian came into possession of the kid? What species was he? You know they haven’t been together for very long, but you do know that it’s been long enough that they have a very special bond. Almost like father and son.

You mindlessly ate your food, completely unaware that something might’ve been wrong. You were so used to the silence bounty hunter at your side was so comfortable with that you didn’t think twice when he sat completely still, his visor facing straight forward. “Gotta go.” He said so quietly he might as well have stayed silent.

“What?”

“Hurry.” He cleared his throat. You were confused, but were too afraid to ask what was going on, so you quickly helped the kid finish eating.

“All right let’s-” You began to say but was interrupted.

“Now how did the guild let you get away with that?” A deep and dangerous voice said from behind you. You froze up, and darted your eyes over to Mando, side-eyeing him. You slowly move your hand back to close the metal case holding the kid. It snapped closed at the touch of your finger, slightly startling you with the noise it made. “Heard you’re the most wanted member right now...” The voice from behind you said again, Mando stayed perfectly still and collected, almost like he knew this was coming. He was so good at his job that he probably did, you remind yourself. You looked to him for reassurance again, and he slightly nodded before quickly turning around and drawing his gun, shooting the man behind you two in the leg. He yelled out in pain and you jumped in shock. You stayed frozen in place as the other patrons in the Cantina all stopped what they were doing to look at the scene. The loud blast from the gunfire had silenced the semi-busy establishment, and the only sound was the thud of the man falling on the floor in pain. You turned to look down at him in shock, he wasn’t dead, Mando wasn’t trying to kill him, but the sight of his blood put a pit in your stomach, like you could puke.

“Mando-” You swallowed thickly.

“Hey! Take that outside!” An alien yelled from across the room.

The man on the floor writhed in pain but somehow pulled together enough strength to pull his own blaster out and point it at not Mando, but you. You weren’t sure what do to, and thank the maker the Mandalorian noticed what was happening and acted quickly. He bent down to grab the gun from his hand right before the shot was fired, ripping it out of his grasp and shooting the guy in the head with it instead. As you held your breath, your eyebrows slowly started to knit together, processing what had happened. The murder caused the other patrons of the bar to get rowdy, no one wanted to see that but something told you that this wasn’t the first time.

“I said let’s go.” Mando repeated himself as he dropped the blaster he stole and grabbed your hand, pulling you towards the door. A few people surrounded the man and it wasn’t much longer until yelling could be heard.

“Who was that?” You timidly ask as the bounty hunter tugs you into the street.

“Not sure, but I didn’t like how much he knew about me.”

“Knew about you? He hardly knew anything!” You contradict, trying not to go into a state of shock.

“He knew enough, he knew that I’m wanted in the guild and he knew about you and the kid.”

“Me?”

“If I had let him live, your face would’ve gotten out, you’d never be able to stay in one place for very long.” He explained. The pit in your stomach only seemed to grow.

“You aren’t getting away that easily!” A new voice yelled from down the street, the noise causing Mando to move into a light jog, yanking you forward with him. A few blaster shots were sent in your direction, and it took everything in you not to scream. It had been a long time since you had been shot at. Mando pulled the three of you into a side alley, pushing you up against a brick wall and pulling out his own blaster. He held the weapon up by his helmet and turned his head to look around the corner of the wall, lowering the gun and firing a few shots back. As he worked, you turned to metal cradle and opened it to make sure the kid was alright. As the lid snapped open, big, beady eyes looked up at you, completely unaware of the situation at hand.

“You okay?” You ask before giving an awkward smile of reassurance and closing the case again. You took a deep breath, trying to calm your heart rate. “Can I help?” You as the Mandalorian, who like usual ignored you. “I’ll take that has a no.” Before you could decompress again, he was turning and grabbing your wrist again. The chase continued down the alley, and you were able to make good time before you were being shot at again. Your mouth was dry, and you began to get tired of all the running. Mando must have noticed this because he pulled your arm forward so you were in front of him and he could shield you with his body, the carriage following closely behind. You tried to lead but the alley way led to a dead-end, and suddenly, you were cornered. “Shit, what now?” You turn to ask him. He was already turned around and shooting back at the people chasing you. It was the first time you had really seen him in action, and you had to admit, he was good at it. He took down one, two, three of the people against you, making it look easy, effortless. You stared at him in awe, you knew he would be good at this, you’ve seen Mandalorians in action before, but he was... different. Everything he did had a purpose, the way he moved was like a strictly choreographed dance, and it practically put you in a trance.

More men were coming, and you genuinely wondered how you were going to get out of this. Soon, the shots stopped, but men gathered on the rooftops around the dead-end. You looked up at them in fear, Mando’s helmet tilted up too. “How are we getting out of this?” You muttered, asking out of genuine concern for your life.

“Don’t worry about it.” He responded.

“Oh yeah, twenty men are pointing blasters at me from all directions, I’ll stay calm.” You sarcastically reply. Before you could really think to get scared though, Mando was taking a step behind him in your direction, bumping into you as he was cocking his wrist back. Two dozen small missiles shot from his wrist guard, all of them flying in different directions and hitting man after man, causing them to fall to their deaths as a whistle of power shot towards them. You close your eyes and push into his back, not wanting to see the pain of so many people. The sounds of yelling and pain filled your ears and it was almost like you were dreaming as your memories began to flood to view. “Not here, not now.” You whisper to yourself when you start to recall things from your childhood again.

Like you said, it had been a long time since you were shot at, and the last time you were involved a ship, an old one, one you hadn’t seen since you were little. You memories flashed before your eyes: a man in full armor pointing his gun at you, his voice rough with a thick accent, it was a voice you had heard before. The sight of an explosion in the distance, a man with blaring red swords being flown from a building. A girl flying, you were in her arms, was she wearing a Mandalorian helmet? You weren’t sure, although the memories were vivid, you were getting dizzy and tired. The unfamiliar face of the woman holding you as you flew towards the rafters of a building was becoming blurry, and her helmed face slowly turned into the Mandalorian’s who you were travelling with. You regained your vision for just one more short moment and you saw you were down on the ground looking up at Mando’s. After that, you slowly faded into unconsciousness.

When you woke up, you were back in the Hull of the Crest, your sore back and pounding head lay against the Mandalorian’s rough cot. All the lights were off, and you could tell you were back in hyperspace. Why had this happened again? You were still sick to your stomach, and probably should have gone back to sleep, but scooted out of the bed instead. You rub the sleep from your eyes, and drowsily made your way to the ladder to the cockpit. You slowly climb up it, carefully working not to fall off, you were still very dizzy and weren’t sure of what happened after you regained some of your memories. You eventually made it up the ladder, and knocked one time on the cockpit door before going on. The Mandalorian sat in the pilots chair like usual, his head leaned back against the read rest, sitting perfectly still. In his arms was the kid, sleeping comfortably in the protection of a strong embrace. He was drooling just a little bit onto the bounty hunter’s elbow. You smiled warmly at the image, and assumed he was asleep too. Not wanting to bother his rest, you sat in one of the extra chairs, pulling one of your legs up onto the seat and holding it there with your arms, resting your forehead against your knee. You sat there comfortable for a long time, not sleeping, but just contently enjoying some peace and quiet. If Mando had been awake, he would have said something by now to let you know. It gave you a moment to process what had just happened, and the memories you had possibly regained. They were so vivid it almost felt like you were watching a holorecording, which is why you are so confused on what was real and what wasn’t. Is it possible that all of this was an elaborate mirage? Something your mind was making up to fill in the blanks? Your childhood was a complete mystery up until a few days ago, so what about this experience has triggered your memories to come back?

“You feeling okay?” His modulated voice startled you, and you lifted your head up to see his helmet turned in your direction.

“I-I’m sorry,” Your voice was hoarse, you cleared your throat after speaking. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a burden on you. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’ve never had anything like this happen before.” You admit, trying to explain what was going on. “If you want to leave me on Kiros I understand-”

“Stop.”

“What?” you raise an eyebrow.

“Stop. I don’t care, I’m just glad to see you up and moving.” He sighed.

“Oh?” You eyes widened.

“I don’t think it’s safe for you to be out of the ship, both times you have been this has happened.”

“I know, that’s why I’m saying sorry-”

“It’s not your fault, you’ve spent your whole life isolated, the galaxy can be... overwhelming.”

You thought about what he said, “Why are you being so kind to me?” You timidly speak up. He was a dangerous man, so what had you done to gain his favor?

He shrugged, “Can’t just leave you behind.”

“Yes you could, you’re a dangerous bounty hunter and I’m just... just-”

“The only person to treat me like a man.” He interrupted you.

“Huh?” You weren’t sure if you heard him correctly.

“Everyone treats me as just that: a dangerous bounty hunter. But you didn’t, you looked me in the eyes when you spoke to me, you weren’t afraid to tell me no. I’ll admit, it’s pretty frustrating to not get everything I want when I ask the first time, but I wouldn’t have ever known that if you hadn’t come along.” He explained.

“Oh... you’re welcome? I guess.” You shrugged, not really sure how to respond. “But really, if I’m too much of a burden, you don’t have to keep me around, I don’t mind.” You reassured. He lightly chuckled, “No offense, but you wouldn’t last very long on your own.”

“Hey now.” You teased back, while you understood he wasn’t serious, you knew there was some truth behind what he was saying. “So.. you’re okay with me staying?” You asked after smiling.

“If you want, after Kiros I’ll still take you to Lothal, hopefully by then you won’t faint at any minor inconvenience.” He tilted his head, this one made you roll your eyes, but you still smiled at what he said.

“Sounds like you want me to stick around, too.” You raise an eyebrow.

The Mandalorian didn’t respond to this, and instead turned his head down to look at the sleeping kid on his arm. You followed him with your eyes, your chest filling with warmth as you watched the dangerous man’s fatherly instincts. Somewhere in there, there was a man, and you were determined to find him.

“How close are we to Kiros?” You finally ask, interrupting the comfortable silence.

“Still a few rotations, get comfortable, we aren’t going to need fuel any time soon.” Mando nodded. Sometimes it was so easy to make conversation with him, but a lot of the time he was like a brick wall: impossible to break through. This entire journey you were walking on egg-shells, trying to stay on his good side and prove that you were worth his time. However, at the end of the day, you were only human, and after years of almost complete isolation, constant companionship is starting to sound nice, even if it’s just for a few weeks. You slouch in your seat, letting your foot fall back to the metal ground. You stared up at the glass overhead, admiring the swirl of light speed. You can’t remember if you had ever been in hyperspace as a child, everything is so unclear. At least you thought it was. Now you were unsure. You spent over twenty years being completely content with your lack of childhood, it rarely crossed your mind. As you recall, you remember that there were only a few instances in which you felt like you were missing something. Once when a mother helped her child off of a speeder, and another time when you watched future bounty hunters and criminals play with a ball. You don’t remember ever having friends growing up, but seeing kids interact with each other before they become corrupt from a galaxy of bad made you long for what could have been. If you made it this far without wanting more, why do you suddenly want to now?

“I think I know why I’ve been passing out.” You say, cursing yourself after. He probably didn’t care, you didn’t think before you spoke and now you’ve sprung your own trap. He tilted his head after you spoke, urging you to go on. You took a deep breath, maybe he had some answers, it doesn’t hurt to try and find out. “Growing up on Hutta, I never remembered much...” You began, unsure of how to even go about this. “I would forget simple things, like names or times...” You shrug, considering you were a literal child, you suppose it didn’t matter much. “I know I wasn’t always on that planet, there’s a chapter to my story before then... but no matter how hard I try, I can’t remember what it was.” You sigh. You felt silly, but he didn’t tell you to stop, and something about the situation convinced you to keep talking, “That was until a few days ago... when you mentioned the war.” You cleared your throat after you said this. “I don’t know, it must’ve triggered something in my memory because now... now I’m starting to remember things, strange things, but they’re incredibly vivid.” You wanted to shrink, could he at least confirm he was listening to you? “Both times I’ve... passed out... it was because I remembered something.” A wash of relief flooded your body when you finished speaking, whatever happened next was in his hands. You looked over to him, hopeful that he would respond. You bring your fist to your mouth, waiting in suspense for his response. “Say something, say something, say something...” You think silently to yourself.

“What did you see?” He said, you felt like you could sing after he spoke up, thankful he was even listening.

“Gun fire, bright lights, a helmet that looked like yours...” You listed out, trying to remember all the things you saw, “Flying up towards rafters, a man yelling at me, his voice was familiar...” You recall, thinking hard about the memories. “And the strangest thing was a man with red swords? I know that sounds ridiculous. I had a dream about it once before, but I was very sick, the doctor on Nal Hutta told me I had a fever and that’s why I was having strange dreams but now I’m not so sure.” You falter off as you speak, you probably sound crazy. Mando didn’t reply, you hoped he was absorbing what you had just said. “I know it sounds crazy but I don’t know what to do and until I figure out what’s going on I’m gonna continue to faint at any minor inconvenience.” You finish on a lighter note, hoping to take some of the tension off the mood. He still didn’t respond, and you sighed in defeat. You should have known this would happen. You shift in your seat, and try to fall back asleep, if you’re lucky you could get another hour or two in. So you were relieved when you began to dream about a mysterious boy softly kissing you, telling you everything will be alright. You just wish you could believe him.

#din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #reader insert #Smut #fluff #din djarin fluff #star wars #fan fiction #reader fanfiction #pedro pascal

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alison-anonymous · 3 years

Text

I Want to Write a Mikayuu Series

Okay.

So um.

If you're reading this, HELLO. All of you long time ONS fans probably don't know me, but I'm Alison and I'm a hardcore Mikayuu, Mitsunoa, Gureshin, etc shipper. I've been in the ONS fandom for almost a year and dear god. The amount of people telling me that Mikayuu is queerbait is just making me really sad 😅 I'm a writer, and I'm the type of person who honestly feels like the author of a series should have the ability to choose how a story ends without influence of their readers. I mean, if it's their story, then it should be their ending, right? However, I also do have some qualms when it comes to how this "love triangle" between Yu, Mika, and Shinoa is being portrayed. This is entirely my personal opinion, but I feel like Shinoa seems to be forcing herself to love Yu. I honestly don't think she cares for him in a romantic way, but more of a very deep-rooted admiration or even envy that she's trying to convince herself to be romantic love. And Yu has said multiple times that he values Mika's life above his own, that he doesn't know what he would do without him if he were to die again (I mean the fact that he suffered seeing his best friend and potential lover die a first time was definitely scarring enough, PLEASE STOP TORTURING OUR POOR BABIES). And it's basically confirmed by now that when Mika said I love you in the manga, it was in the romantic sense. Even though I wish, I hope, I dream, and I pray that Mikayuu will become canon, I honestly can't say for certain what I think will happen. I think it could sway any way, with Mikayuu becoming canon, Yu and Shinoa becoming canon, or it being one of those ambiguous endings where it's heavily implied but nothing actually happens. And in order to make myself feel better when stuff like this happens, I tend to rewrite the entire story with the ending that I would have liked to see ;)

You're probably wondering where the hell this stranger is going with this. Well, I want to write a book. A series, actually.

One that's inspired by Seraph of the End.

Now, if you're interested in hearing me out, then feel free to keep reading. But if not, continue on with your scrolling, no hard feelings. But if you do, and I really hope that you do, give me a chance to explain.

I want to write a series inspired by Seraph of the End called Bloodsucker (working title, obviously). And this series is going to be a reimagination of ONS with an ending that I would have loved to see in the anime and manga. I plan to have three main characters (please keep in mind that I'm going to have name changes): Yuichiro, Mikaela, and a brand new character, Epic.

Now, I would begin this series a bit before the anime and I'm assuming the manga begins. I'd start with introducing our main three characters as they meet in the orphanage (yes, Epic would be a part of this orphanage as well) and how Epic and Yu try to make moves to run away only to be stopped by Mika and Akane.

I plan to include a scene between Epic and Akane where Epic tries to run out in the middle of the night only to be stopped by Akane, and this is what caused Epic to develop a crush on her (Epic is a girl btw). Then I would begin the whole shit with the vampires and how they set the world on fire and shit, but instead of the apocolypse, I'd make it so that most of the adults died in the fire while the kids were taken alive (because young blood is better and whatnot). This includes our little Hyakuya family. The directors would have tried to trade the kids lives for their own, and due to their selfishness, the vamps killed them and took the kids anyway.

This would begin my first story arc: the prewar.

Epic, Akane, Mika, and Yu would all be living under the vampires at this point along with the rest of the kids in their orphanage. I plan to include lots of moments of bonding that heavily imply Epic loves Akane even though she doesn't know it yet and Mika loves Yu, but Yu is fucking oblivious. The four begin to plot their escape, but while Mika and Akane (yes Akane too) are making deals with the vampires to help out with their family, Epic is constantly finding herself getting dragged along to visit Queen Krul. The pink haired vamp has a soft spot for her for some reason and often tells her that Epic and her family are "special" or sum shit. And she's super confused and semi grossed out. But none of the vamps ever dare to hurt her so she thinks it's fine. Then one day they all plot their escape and it's much more planned out and lengthy and less rushed than it is in the anime. Things almost seem to work out until the vampires stop them

And Mika and Akane DIE.

I know. I'm horrid.

Epic is standing here in shock as she watches the love of her life die before her and Mika BEGS for Yu to take Epic and run while they can. So while in the series only Yu survives, he obeys Mika and both him and Epic survive this. They're found by Guren (a new character I haven't come up with yet lol) and Yu is super protective over Epic, not wanting anyone to take the only piece of his family he has left (he's a fucking mess without Mika let's just be honest) and Guren ends up taking them under his wing.

Now we hit the second arc. Still with me?

The War.

Hold onto your hats everyone because this is where shit is about to get complicated. So I do plan to have a bit of a time skip into the current spot where Yu and Epic are attending school with Guren as their father figure and they've become very close. So close that Yu refuses to work with anyone else but her. They end up getting onto Shinoa Squad (obviously going to be completely different in my version) and they get put onto the battlefield. But here's the catch. Well, two catches.

Yu and Epic do have demon weapons. I do plan to try to incorporate that into this. BUT the backstory is different. I plan to make it so that the vampires obviously see the humans as fies. Insignificant things that are more playthings than threats. And they didn't want to have to deal with killing all of them, so they sent demons in their place to handle it. But the humans were able to form deals or "contracts" with the demons and therefore turned the vampires' own secret weapon against them.

Now, catch no. 2

So, Epic, Mika, and Yu aren't seraphs in this. But they are something else. I'm going to try to explain this as simply as I can, but each of them (besides Mika since he doesn't have a demon) have 3 souls inside their body:

Soul 1 is their current soul, the one that identifies as Mika or Epic or Yu.

Soul 2 is their demon soul, like what Asuramaru is to Yu.

And soul 3 is their archangel soul (I might change that name later on).

So I'm just going to come right out and say it. In this series, Epic is the villain.

Yes.

You read that right.

Epic is the villain. But she doesn't know that she is. These Soul 3s were reincarnated into the current bodies of Mika, Epic, and Ari (and I know that's not exactly how it works but screw logic this is just a fucking concept) from their lives centuries ago.

These souls existed way before vampires existed and Epic (or Essie) was very close friends with Yu (or Aytigin). Aytigin was in love with Haru (Mika) but for one reason or another, they couldn't be together. Essie wanted to do something, willing to do anything to make the two of them happy. So she made a deal that brought the vampires into creation so that Haru and Aytigin could be happy. She was willing to sacrifice everything that they stood for so that the two of them could be in love together.

She had good intentions, but of course Haru and Aytigin were furious because now the vampires were turning against the humans and they all basically died. Until they were reborn respectively, but unknowingly.

Now picking back up in the present, Yu and Epic are fighting in one of the main battles and the two are very confused when the vampires make a very deliberate attempt not to hurt Epic. They're unsure as to why, but Guren tells them not to worry about it.

Suspicious bastard.

Anyway, it's revealed finally that MIKA IS ALIVE

BUT HE'S ALSO DEAD

Yes he is a vampire. And Yu falls in love all over again upon seeing him, and after a bunch of struggling, Epic gets kidnapped. At first she gets strangled by Lacus and then she gets kidnapped by Ferid who doesn't kill her surprisingly.

Oh and uh... Ferid is nice in this. He's still a fucking creep, but he's a lot nicer than he is in the series. I plan to make Queen Krul or whoever I turn her into be the villain.

Anyway, they take Epic back to the vampire palace or whatever and Queen Krul and Epic are reunited! And Krul is the one who reveals to Epic exactly who she, Mika, and Yu are and this is what sparks Epic's fall to insanity.

I mean, she's the killer. She's the one who brought them into this world. She's responsible for every death the vampires cause.

I would go crazy too.

So, she manages to escape (partially thanks to Mika) and the two join Yu and the others again and it's revealed a second time exactly what is going on. And while no one actually blames Epic on the Shinoa Squad, that doesn't stop people like Kureto and even herself from blaming.

And this causes her demon to go haywire.

She begins losing her marbles, almost killing her teammates and trying to kill herself, all while the three begin to experience dreams or visions of their Soul 3s.

While all this shit is going on, there's heavy romance between Mika and Yu because these two lovers just got reunited and FUCK did they have glow ups but yes -

Oh. And there is another spark for Epic, even though she doesn't think she's worthy of love.

Okay. I'm just gonna say it.

Lacus falls in love with Epic. Yes. You read that correctly too.

I plan to make the two of them get trapped together at some point and they have to work together to escape. It's during this time that Epic realizes he's not all that bad and has some form of self control and he realizes that she's the most interesting thing he's ever met in this disgusting and boring life and damn do her eyes look pretty-

But yes. She forms a permanent alliance with him that he jokes about as marriage and they meet on other occassions too, but lol yes.

Anyway, blah blah blah, more fall to insanity, the Soul 3s take over their bodies on multiple occasions and there's a lot of bonding and fighting and Epic and Mika somehow manage to get some of the vampires on the human side.

And in the end, Epic and Yu basically sacifice themselves to save the human race and kill Queen Krul. It's a very rough ending I haven't quite perfected yet, but Yu has a moment like he did with the King of Salt. But though he inflicted a lot of damage, it's not enough. So while the team is worried about him, Epic takes this opportunity to fix her and Essie's mistakes.

She allows both Essie and her demon to take control of her body and dies on the battlefield. Queen Krul is eliminated. Most of the vampires are gone. The humans won.

Horray.

Epic is dead.

Kinda. Yu and Mika take her back home and this is the preview to the last arc where everyone's in the hospital and Epic's in a coma. Mika and Yu barely ever leave her side and it's only when Lacus of all people comes to visit that she fucking wakes up.

Okay. Are you still with me? Now come with me to the final arc.

The Post-War.

No my friend. It doesn't end there. Because Mika and Lacus are still vamps and life still sucks and I drank too much coffee this morning.

No it's not over yet.

So flash forward a couple years and Kureto and Crew are working as the heads of this city. Stuff is being rebuilt, people are settling down in homes, Lacus and some of the other "good" vampires find jobs, and Mika, Yu, and Epic get a house together (in case I didn't mention before, Epic is pansexual. She loved Akane dearly and I plan to include scenes where she sees her in her mind and dreams like Mikayuu so she's never truly gone, but she falls for Lacus too when he's not being a sadistic asshole). Things are going strangely when

BAM. Epic and Yu come up with a cure for vampirism.

How, you may ask? I don't fucking know, I haven't read about it in the manga yet but before we come up with an idea for it, imma say they came up with it through a spell. They share their findings with Guren and soon all vampires are being cured, most notably Mika, Lacus, and even Rene.

BUT and there's always a but, Kureto passes a new law claiming all vampires to be property. That any vampire or previous vampire or even vampire supporter/owner that tries to disobey these new laws is to be killed immediately. Now Epic and Yu are in jeopardy because their ex-vampires are in danger (Epic and Lacus have been hanging out a lot more and he's proven himself to be a decent guy. Contrary to popular belief, I headcanon him as not really knowing what to do when he actually cares about someone since he's been a heartless vamp for so long. So when he turns to Mika and begrudgingly asks him for LOVE ADVICE of all fucking things, Mika is ready to die). So basically, Mika and Lacus end up getting locked up along with the other ex-vamps (including Ferid which was a pain in the ass) and did I forget to mention that there's a proposal?

Oh yeah, Yu proposes to Mika and the blond still has yet to give him an actual answer because poor baby is still having a hard time accepting that Yu can love a "monster" like him.

But anyways, now Epic and Yu are furious and SHINOA SQUAD IS BACK IN BUSINESS. With the help of Guren and Shinya and everyone, they form a sort of rebellion and blah blah blah they manage to get Mika and Lacus and everyone out and blah blah blah they all get separated and Lacus begins to get INSANELY protective of Epic and ends up confessing his feelings to her before he nearly dies and blah blah blah did I forget to mention that I'm making Mitsunnoa and Kimizuki x Yoichi canon and blah blah blah.

Epic kisses Lacus as an instinct. Lacus kisses her again. Mika accepts Yu's proposal then almost dies AGAIN. I kill off some characters for emotional tugs and after a ton of more fighting and revenge and psychological breakings later, Kureto is killed. And Guren (or someone else haven't decided yet) is the new head of their city.

Epic, Mika, and Yu finally let Akane and the kids go. There's a lot of Shinoa Squad bonding but this is a summary so I haven't included much besides the main three. Epic and Lacus becomes canon. Mika and Yu get married. Guren and Shinya get married. Shinoa gets pregnant.

And everyone gets the FUCKING HAPPY ENDING THAT THEY ALL FUCKING DESERVE BECAUSE FUCK

I do plan to be slightly ruthless like the creator and include a lot of heartbreaking scenes, but it's going to be much different than ONS but I still want it to hold on to some core relationships.

I just want them to be happy. And I just want to make other people happy because fuck I JUST WANT TO BE HAPPY

So. Yeah.

That's Bloodsucker...

So my question to you is... if I wrote this shit.

If I sat down and typed about 30 books roughly inspired by Seraph of the End and Mikayuu and Mitsunnoa and shit...

Would anyone read it?

♡ a.a.

#mikayuu #yuumika #mika x yuu #yuu x mika #owari no seraph #owari no straights #owari no serafu #seraph of the end #seraph of the gay #Mitsunnoa #i wanna write a book #reimagination #fml #send halp #lacus #new character #akane #what am i doing with my life

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supermarvelgirl15 · 3 years

Text

Delicate Type of Beauty- Chapter 2: Coffee?

Summary: You seem to struggle to carry a lot of things. Bucky needs to learn that it's okay to have friends.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes × f!oc-insert

Word Count: 1,705

Warnings: None I think

A/N: This is pretty much a filler tbh lol. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!

Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist

××××××

One more. You could carry one more bag.

Splat.

Maybe not.

You cursed under your breath as you squatted down, trying to grab the bag that you dropped on the ground. Hopefully the contents inside didn’t spill and they were all still good. You should really stop trying to carry more things than you possibly can. It’s just, why would you make multiple trips when you can just take one?

The bags that seemed to fall from your grip every thirty or so feet were meant for the veterans in the shelter that had been built post-Blip. The shelter needed all the help that it could get, so you decided to buy them some sandwiches with a few extra snacks from the grocery store. It wasn’t the ideal breakfast food, but you were sure they would still love them.

The search for your brother so far has turned up empty handed. The security cameras at the docks had somehow been wiped, which immediately raised some red flags. The footage mysteriously cut off as soon as Colton parked his car, picking back up again a couple hours later.

Technology wasn’t exactly your strong suit, so you sent the tape to one of the members of your old SEAL team, Rhett. Rhett was probably the smartest one that was on your team, and if anyone could do it, it was him. So while you were waiting on some feedback from him, you were going to help where you could.

Bucky wasn’t exactly sure why he was out this early in the morning, but he needed to be anywhere where he wasn’t being trapped inside his own head. His nightmares weren’t getting any better and the one last night was a bad one. He was tired, grumpy, and desperate.

He needed something to distract himself. If he tried to get Yuri out this early, it would certainly get him cursed out in Japanese. There wasn’t really anyone else for him to go to anymore, so that just left the option of him wandering around the streets of Brooklyn.

Brooklyn. He grew up here a long time ago and it was barely recognizable anymore. Sure, there were places that were still the same since the forties, but it just seemed different. Maybe it was because he was different.

A familiar sound of curses made him look up from where he was watching his feet, looking around for the source. His eyes landed on you, squatting down to pick up one of the various bags that you had dropped. Why was he always catching you in these situations?

He’s seen you a few times since the first time you met, but it was nothing more than offering a small smile to the other. Sometimes you would say something to him in passing and he would just nod in acknowledgement.

Could he be more friendlier to his new neighbor? Yes, he could be way nicer to you. The old him would have even tried to make a move on you. He just wasn’t in the market for new friends at the moment. Especially ones that knew who he was.

At first, he was just going to continue on his way, not wanting to interact with anybody while he was in a mood. But when he saw you plop down on a bench with that defeated look on your usually cheerful face, he couldn’t not help you.

Bucky glanced around him as he approached you, taking his gloved hands out of pockets. You didn’t seem to notice him, too immersed with checking whatever was inside the bags that you had been carrying.

“Good mornin’,” Bucky greeted you, sticking his hands back into his pockets once again. He observed as your sad look from before quickly changed back into your usual happy one. Then he noticed how you internally did a double take once you realized that it was him speaking to you.

“Morning,” you replied with a smile as you set the bag you were looking through to the side with the others. A voice inside his head made him wonder how someone like you could smile at him like that, but he quickly blocked it out.

He cleared his throat before he continued talking. “You looked like you could use some help,” he gestured to the bags on the bench beside you.

You looked down at the bags, nodding slightly. “I… Yeah, I could definitely use a lot of help,” you chuckled as you stood up. “I’m taking these to the veterans shelter down about three blocks. I don’t want to cause you any trouble by asking you for help,” you licked your lips as you picked up a few of the bags.

Bucky shook his head as he started picking up the rest of the bags. “You didn’t ask. I offered,” he reminded you, starting in the direction of the shelter. You stood there in shock for a moment before shaking it off and quickly followed him.

The walk to the shelter was pretty much a quiet one, neither one of you knowing how to start a conversation with the other. You couldn’t help but try to sneak a glance to his left hand, trying to see if any metal was peeking out. You wondered if he noticed what you were doing, watching as he shifted the bags in his hand somewhat nervously out of the corner of your eye.

Bucky stayed outside as you went into the shelter to drop off the bags of food with the volunteers. He didn’t feel comfortable going inside, not wanting to risk actually seeing someone that would know him. If anyone was going to recognize him, it would be war veterans.

You came back out a few minutes later, waving goodbye to one of the old men before you shut the door behind you. You stuffed your hands into your jacket pockets as you walked over to where Bucky was standing.

“Thanks for helping me. I’d probably still be dropping them on the street if you didn’t show up,” you laughed slightly. Bucky gave you one of his awkward smiles in return, telling you not to mention it. He turned to leave, taking a few steps away from you, but something came over you. You couldn’t let him leave just yet.

“Would you… like to get some coffee?”

Bucky stopped in his tracks, turning back to face you. He knows that he should say no. He didn’t want to let anyone get close to him.

“Sure, why not?”

★

The café wasn’t too far from their apartment building, Bucky finds out. He wondered why he’s never been here as he listened to you tell him how now was the perfect time to go since the breakfast rush was coming to an end. He realizes you were right when you both sit down in a booth tucked away in the corner. There were only a couple other people in there, making the café a nice contrast to the busy streets just outside.

The waitress that took your coffee orders made the place even cozier with her soft spoken voice. You told him that her name was Jolene and that she started not too long before you moved into the apartment across from him. He’s been here longer than you and you’re already making more friends than him. Then again, he wasn’t exactly trying to.

When the waitress came back with your orders, you slipped her your debit card to pay for both of your drinks, much to Bucky’s protest. He tried to argue that he could pay for his own coffee.

You shook your head, blowing into your coffee to cool it off some. “It’s my way of thanking you. Plus, I get a military discount,” you smiled cheekily at him, taking a sip of your drink.

Bucky’s eyebrows knitted together as he looked over at you, the money problem briefly leaving his mind. “You’re military?” He questioned, glancing you up and down. He honestly didn’t take you as a soldier, but some things about you did make sense now.

You nodded as you reached into your shirt, pulling out your dog tags to show him. “I used to be. Apparently my squad was disbanded during the Blip, so they put me in early retirement,” you answered him, the last sentence coming out bitterly.

Bucky nodded apologetically, taking a small sip from his coffee. “It seems the Blip screwed over a lot of people,” he commented, glancing around the café.

You opened your mouth to change the subject, but was interrupted by your phone going off. You apologized to Bucky before looking at it, seeing that it was a message from Rhett. Your heart started beating faster as you read the three words he sent you.

I got it.

You stuffed your phone back into your pocket as you started swiftly sliding out of the booth. “I’m so sorry, but something just came up. I know this is so rude,” you started rambling out an apology.

“It’s fine, really. Everything okay, Kris?” Bucky stopped you, looking at you worriedly. He hoped it wasn’t something he did.

You bit your lip, nodding frantically. “Yeah, everything’s fine. It’s just a, a family emergency. Um, if you give me your number, I’ll let you know when I can make this up to you,” you tell him, your eyes widening once you realize you literally just asked James Barnes for his number. “If you want to, that is. I totally understand if you don’t want to give it to me.”

Bucky laughs slightly, easing your anxiety some. He definitely should laugh more. “Yeah, uh, it’s…” He started reading out his number to you as you quickly typed it into your phone.

You give him another smile as you saved his number. “I’m so sorry. I’ll talk to you later, James,” you said, turning to leave before getting stopped by Bucky’s voice.

“You can just call me Bucky. The only person that calls me James anymore is my therapist,” he cringed at his attempt at a joke. Who tells someone they barely know that they have a therapist?

You didn’t seem to mind as you smiled at him again. “Goodbye, Bucky.”

××××××

@bucky-bunnie @learisa @denimbex1986 @magconfangurl1 (If you would like to be removed/added please let me know!)

#DToB #marvel #marvel imagines #bucky barnes × reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes #winter soldier #tfatws #the falcon and the winter soldier #sebastian stan #kay writes

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tsukikento · 4 years

Text

Empathetic Chapter 12

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

Summary: After your mom, the number 1 hero in America, gets offered a teaching position at U.A., you two pack up your things and head to Musutafu, Japan to start a new life. Pressure for you in America was at an all-time high, and now you’re in Japan, where almost no one knows you, or your family’s past.

This tale starts on your first day of class where your new teacher decides the best way for you to fit in is to fight against the strongest person in your class: Bakugou Katsuki.

Warnings/Genre: This piece will feature some angst and reference to an abusive parent, if you are ever worried about other tw’s feel free to send me an ask and I will let you know. There will also be fluff, slight angst, pining, and slowburn.

A/N: No clue how I got this chapter out hella fast despite losing it all, but it was so fun to write lol! I hope you guys like it, please send me asks with feedback! I’m really excited for the next chapters!

(masterlist)

Once you heard the click of your door gently closing, you released a breath of air you didn’t know you were holding. You looked to your ceiling as your heart raced with your brain actively trying to calm it down.

Your phone was still vibrating, but you knew it was a call this time. You didn’t have the nerves to answer it, however, and simply looked at the various texts Ashido had sent you. The first was from around noon today:

I’m on my date with Kirishima right now and I am freaking out!!

She vaguely narrated her emotions before a more significant one showed up at 2:00pm.

Where are you?? I want to tell you and Hagakure everything!!!!

You smiled, happy you were now included with her list of what you assumed was best friends. Just before you got home, she texted you a series of question marks.

????

Where are you!?!

And then the flood of texts when you came home.

Were you??

Omg

Were you really went on a date with Bakugou?

Sir explodey???

Why did you not tell me about your date with Bakugou!!

You smiled fondly at your friend’s jokes and knew the rest of your night would be filled with her and Hagakure. Genuinely, it was exciting to know you would spend you night with the two excitable girls. Not only were you ecstatic that you could hear about Ashido’s actual date today, but your stomach flipped at the idea of finally telling them about you and Bakugou.

If there was even anything between you and Bakugou.

It felt a little wild that your relationships with your classmates had grown so much so quickly. You spent a moment reminiscing about living in America and how much time you really spent by yourself. It definitely helped that you lived in a dorm with them too.

Drawing yourself away from your thoughts, you texted her back:

It wasn’t a date!!

But I am on my way downstairs rn

You hastily changed out of your nicer outfit and into shorts and a sweater, something perfect for the sleepover vibes you were hoping for today. Only for a moment did you debate taking out your earbuds; you did not want to become stressed by overthinking. They really were hurting at this moment and you were sure everything would be okay.

You took your earbuds off and placed them into their case that had been in your backpack. You then pocketed the case in the front pocket of your sweater. Just in case. You ears thanked you as you rubbed them and you tried your best to ignore the thoughts rushing into your head.

You can do this, you told yourself. Half of it was because of your classmates thoughts rushing into your head, and half was because of the nerves you still had from today. It had been quite some time since you went a long period without earbuds and you feared getting a headache, but the risk was well worth it considering how your ears were begging for a break.

You took in a deep breath and told yourself to finally go!

Slowly and quietly, you opened your door, almost afraid that Bakugou would be watching you.

With no one in sight, you rushed down the stairs, the adrenaline pumping through your veins made an elevator ride seem like the worst and longest possible thing. You fled down the stairs, running on the tips of your feet to make the least amount of noise.

Once downstairs you rushed to your friends with a beaming smile.

“Hi!” You exclaimed as you plopped down onto the couch.

“Well aren’t you smiley,” Hagakure immediately commented, making heat flush up your neck.

You couldn’t help it. You had a great day with Bakugou and a productive one to boot. That and you were about to spend the night with your current closest friends. Although you started out wanting to just forget your feelings, you could absolutely get used to the way he talks to you and time you spend together.

You replied to Hagakure’s comment by just deepening your smile and shrugging. “Ashido! You have to tell me how it went!” You looked to the pink girl, who had a grin just as wide as yours. That’s a good sign. That and she wasn’t currently crying in her room. “Should we get snacks and go up to someone’s room?” You suggested.

“Yes!” Ashido replied, “That sounds perfect!” The girl immediately stood up and practically skipped over to the kitchen which was still occupied by students.

Each of you moved around silently. You grabbed three cups and a bottle of soda while Hagakure and Ashido grabbed their desired snacks to bring from the pantry. You were still quite full from your late lunch, but knew that this night would go long.

As your hands held onto the cool glass cups and plastic bottle, you imagined how tonight would be going.

It will be great! You decided as Ashido and Hagakure walked out of the pantry with two bags of chips and a box of fruit gummies. You felt the giddiness in your stomach rise as the girls approached you. Silently, you all walked to the elevator, arms full and eyes shining.

“We can go to my room,” Ashido explained as she reached out to press the appropriate floor.

The same floor with Kirishima and Bakugou, you silently noted as the doors closed and the elevator began to rise.

When the doors opened to your and Ashido’s floor, the first thing you saw was Bakugou walking towards you. Shock ran through your veins as the three of your exited before the doors closed and then stood still. It must have been quite the sight to see the three of you, practically in pajamas with hands full of snacks.

If it wasn’t clear from that image that you three were going to be talking about boys the whole night, then Bakugou sure must be an idiot.

“Tch,” He scoffed as his hand found the doorknob to Kirishima’s room.

Wait, you thought and you quizzically stared at him. Were he and Kirishima also going to talk about girls?

At the very least, you were sure that they would be talking about Ashido.

Bakugou gave you a knowing smirk. Looks like those two idiots finally got together, huh? Surely you helped them.

Your eyes widened. No one had noticed you weren’t wearing your earbuds yet except for Bakugou.

Obviously I can see you without them, you idiot. I’m always looking. His eyes squinted at you and silently gasped in response.

The blond barked out a small laugh, before opening Kirishima’s door and leaving you three in the hall like dumbstruck idiots. You knew he was directing his laugh at your shocked face, but the girls probably just thought it was at their wild appearance.

“Weird,” Hagakure laughed as she became the first to start walking to Ashido’s room. You and the pink girl followed quickly behind.

Once inside, you all immediately dropped the snacks off on the bed and desk. Before anyone had a chance to speak, Ashido turned to face you.

“Before I get started,” She began, “I just have to say…

You gulped down the lump in your throat. From her thoughts alone, you could tell she was upset and hurt.

“How dare you not tell either of us that you were going on a DATE with frickin’ BAKUGOU??” Her anger roared through the room and you were sure Bakugou could hear his name being spoken.

“It wasn’t a date,” You responded meekly, knowing full well how it looked when you walked into the dorms, a smile plastered on your face and Bakugou held the door open for you.

Ashido scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Sure it wasn’t,” She accused, sarcasm dripping off every word. “We will get to you later, missy,” She promised before jumping onto her bed and grabbing a bag of fruit snacks.

“Anyways,” Hagakure spoke, breaking the silent tension that had formed. “Please! Tell us about your date with Kirishima!” She practically begged as she sat down at the desk and began pouring herself a drink.

“Well,” Ashido giggled, “If you insist.” The smile on her face that had been there since you met her downstairs was a clear indicator of the results. You, however, still wanted to hear every juicy detail she could remember.

You sat down on the bed across from Ashido, certain this story would be long enough to hurt your legs if you stayed standing.

“I asked him Friday night if he wanted to go out. Well,” She corrected, “I texted him. Let me show you.” She whipped out her phone and moved so all of you could read it. Despite this, Ashido read it aloud as well.

“Hey, Kiri! And then a cute heart emoji.” She pointed at the emoji on her phone. “I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch tomorrow or Sunday? I found this new café a few blocks away from school and really wanted to try it out with you!”

“Then he said…”

“Sure! I would love too! Sunday works best.”

“Then I said—”

“Ashido, we can read it,” Hagakure sassed. You sincerely didn’t mind her reading the texts, it was a cute commentary addition.

“Shush!” Ashido retorted before turning back to her phone, not letting Hagakure get another word in. She pressed her off button and the screen went black. She moved to be sitting normally again and continued, “So anyways we set up a time. And we were having great conversations on our walk. I had decided from the very beginning to bring up dating him after we leave the café. So, we just chat and it’s nice and he’s so sweet and cute and—”

“Ashido,” You interrupt, unable to hide your laughter and her rambling. The girl stopped and looked at you, her eyes wide as if unsure why you stopped her. “You were getting off topic.”

“Oh!” She exclaimed. “Sorry! Anyways, we get there, and it turns out it wasn’t just a normal café, it was a cat café! So, we buy an hour and get our drinks and snacks and it was so much fun. Seeing him with those cats was like, amazingly adorable.” She stops talking for a moment to eat some of the fruit gummies. “Also! He literally bought all the drinks and food and he refused to take any of my money which was so sweet. And I feel like he kinda knew? Like, he knew this was more than just two friends hanging out.”

“What do you mean by that?” You asked before getting up to pour yourself a glass of soda.

“Like, he seemed so nervous an quiet at the beginning, but luckily he started warming up after he saw all the cats. Except a couple times he would get super silent and just look at me with this wistful smile. It’s hard to explain, but yeah.”Ashido described. “Oh, and I wore this really cute dress and sneakers with some clips in my hair and he complimented me with this goofy smile on his face. Even he dressed up nicely in a red, short-sleeve button up.

“Oh, wow,” Hagakure mumbles. “So when did you tell him?”

“After the hour was up, we decided to not pay for another hour and just go,” Ashido explained, “They were also super crowded and busy. However, instead of just heading back home we walked to the nearby riverbank and sat on the grass hill. It was so amazing because it was covered in flowers and the sun felt so nice. Kirishima looked so great. Honestly, we ended up taking some photos because it was just a gorgeous time of day.”

“Okay? But when did you confess?” Hagakure repeated. She was getting quite impatient and wiggling around in the chair.

You laughed as Ashido shushed her. “Let me be happy!” She retorted with a glint of humor. Despite her tone, it was clear she didn’t mean anything horrible and you laughed even harder.

“Fine,” The invisible girl groaned and pouted in her chair.

You were tempted to retort and tease Hagakure about Ojiro, but decided not to change the topic when you were getting to the most interesting parts of Ashido’s story.

“So anyways,” Ashido began once more. “When we were done taking photos, we just started talking about this or that, it was very pleasant. Like, he was telling me about his goals after school and he seemed so excited and passionate, it was great.” She paused for a moment and looked at each of us before continuing. “All of the sudden,” Her voice grew louder and her wide eyes put you on the edge of your seat in anticipation.

This has to be the moment! You thought.

“A cart ran by with roses and Kirishima jumped up immediately and ran to buy a half-bouquet. It was like out of a movie!” Ashido exclaimed, her hands coming up to touch her cheeks as they grew a deeper shade of pink that her typical skin tone.

“Awww” Hagakure sighed.

“I know!” Ashido exclaimed. “So after he gave me the flowers, I was blushing so much and I could barely talk and when I said that the flowers were pretty he was like ‘yeah, pretty like you’!” I was literally screaming on the inside.”

It felt like you had butterflies on the inside of your stomach from simply hearing about Ashido’s date. It was so much sweeter than yours, despite you still being happy with your day. Ashido and Kirishima had known each other for years too, while you and Bakugou knew each other for a week. In fact, your day with him wasn’t technically even a date.

“Kirishima is so sweet!” Hagakure gushed while you simply smiled at your friends.

“So did you confess after?” You inquired while Ashido showed off the roses now in a vase.

“Okay, okay,” She fumbled and she put down the vase and got back onto the bed. “I basically didn’t have any words. I did not expect him to be so romantic so all I could get out was a small thank you. He was super red too which was a good sign. I was trying to get up the courage to say something more, but then he started talking.”

“Oh?” Hagakure added, her commentary working well with the story.

“He confessed!” Ashido practically screamed.

“He confessed?” Both you and Hagakure questioned. You stood up from your spot in shock and Ashido followed.

Her energy was at a high as she rapidly nodded, “Yes!”

“Oh my goodness,” You added, completely shocked that Kirishima could build up the courage and also happen to do it at the same time Ashido wanted to. You could not help but think about Bakugou currently in Kirishima’s room. You wondered what the story sounded like from Kirishima’s point of view.

Was he also nervous and getting of topic? Or is he already done with the story?

You were sure whatever the answer was, Bakugou was already over it.

“It was so sweet and I feel like I blacked out,” Ashido continued. “He talked about our friendship and how he admired me and how that admiration slowly turned romantic as we got older. He ended it by saying he wanted to finally be the manliest he could be and actually tell me how he felt.”

“So sweet!” Hagakure added. “Very Kirishima of him.” She giggled at the idea of the scene, but Ashido seemed as happy as could be.

“So what did you say after?” You asked, silently hoping that their date ended with a sweet kiss.

“I started stuttering, but I was eventually able to say that I like him back,” Ashido explained. “Honestly, it was a bit awkward. That was mainly because both of us were smiling like idiots though. He was so cute,” She said for almost the fifth time that night.

“That really sweet, Ashido. I’m glad you guys finally admitted it,” You encouraged. “I’ve only known you for a short time, but it was clear you guys are really cute together.”

“Thank you, (Y/N)-kun,” She smiled before reaching out to give you an awkward hug over the pile of snacks.

“How did the date end though?” Hagakure asked as you both broke apart.

“Ah, yes!” Ashido exclaimed, as if suddenly remembering something important. “We started talking about it all and agreed to go on another date soon but keep things pretty quiet. Like, we aren’t going to hide anything, but we aren’t going to sit everyone down to just tell them.” There was a brief pause, “Well, except for you guys.”

Both you and Hagakure laughed at that.

“And Bakugou,” Hagakure added, which was something you were thinking, but did not want to bring up.

They are accusing me of dating him and I would hate for these teasing jokes to get to him and hurt the small amount of friendship we currently have, you thought as you laughed at Hagakure’s addition.

“Anyways, we eventually walked home and just talked about random things. The conversation started getting back to normal, but halfway through he held my hand and it was so cute!” She explained. “I hope everything can stay normal, just with more romance.”

“Did he kiss you at the end?” You ask, unable to help it anymore.

Hagakure laughed at you and Ashido shook her head.

“No, there were a lot of people outside, so it just didn’t feel right. I think he kinda wanted to though,” She explained and shrugged. “I’m not upset about it,” She smiled brightly, “I’m just happy we finally admitted it.”

You smiled silently at your friend, not quite having the words to tell her how happy for her and proud of her you are.

Hagakure, however, had much to say. “Oh, my god!” She began her speech. “I am literally so happy for you guys! You are both so cute together, like literally from day 1 at U.A., you two have been the sweetest friends! I cannot wait to see you guys in public. Kirishima is already so red around you that a quick kiss on his check with make him turn as red as his hair!”

“That I help him dye,” Ashido interjected, a wide smile spread across her pink cheeks.

“Exactly!” Hagakure exclaimed while wiggling around in the seat from happiness.

As a comfortable and happy silence filled the room, you each took this opportunity to grab some food. You poured yourself and Ashido a drink while Hagakure opened a bag or chips and Ashido ate more fruit snacks. Once you sat down, you phone buzzed and Hagakure and Ashido glanced up at you. Although you couldn’t actually see Hagakure…

“Probably my mom,” You mumbled, hopefully answering their silent question.

They look away and you handed Ashido her drink before grabbing your phone off the soft mattress. You tried to be as silent as you could when it was Bakugou’s name flashing across your screen instead of your mom’s.

You looked up to the girls who were staring at their own phones and unlocked yours as silently as you could.

Shitty hair is literally running through a pros and cons list of texting pinky…I’m sure your night is just as miserable considering how loud pinky and whatever her name is can get.

You stared at it, trying to figure out just how to reply. You bit your lip, wondering whether to laugh and joke along with him or defend your friend.

You tested out a few different options before finally sending:

I think it’s cute…and I’m not the type to complain about having friends who actually talk to me.

You listened as closely as you could, not sure how this comment would come across. If you paid enough attention, maybe you would be able to hear his thoughts.

Is that a quip at me? You heard a voice that you hoped was Bakugou. It definitely matched to most compared to the other voices in this house you could currently hear. Or is she just trying to share more?

You heard a bit more of his thoughts before you pulled away, not wanting to intervene too much into his privacy.

Eventually, your phone buzzed once more.

I am.

Your heart dropped slightly at the short comment. But another text suddenly came in.

As far as I think, all those other extras share way too much about their personal lives.

Other extras.

Other extras?

What does that mean?

Testing the waters, you put something a bit risky.

I’ll make sure not to share my person life with you now lol

You felt so incredibly nervous about your text and the ‘lol’ at the end felt so cringey as you stared at it.

Nah, you’re fine. For now.

You smiled brightly, you couldn’t help it. That was definitely a good sign and you knew it. You felt like such an idiot as you began typing out your reply.

“Excuse me?” You heard a critical voice say from above you.

You looked up to see Ashido and Hagakure in front of you. You shockingly looked at them, wondering what they could need.

“You sure are smiling like a fool for someone who is just texting your mom!” Hagakure accused you.

“Uhh,” You stumbled, not sure what to say.

Before you could get any words out, Ashido snatched your phone out of your hands and ran across the room.

“Oh my god!” She gasped while reading over the short conversation. “Bakugou!?” She exclaimed while turning to phone to show Hagakure.

You didn’t even try to snatch it back because you knew full well that they would find out eventually.

“Oh my,” Hagakure finally spoke. “This is,” She paused and looked at you before looking at Ashido. “Is this?”

“L/N-kun and Bakugou flirting? Yes,absolutely” Ashido rapidly nodded before tossing the electronic device onto the bed. “I’m literally not even mad at him bashing us, especially me and Kiri. I’m just happy that he finally found a girl to like.”

“We should have known too,” Hagakure passionately added while you watched their conversation unfold. “They even went on a date today.”

“It wasn’t a date,” You finally interjected.

“Oh, it wasn’t a date!? Sure, it wasn’t,” Ashido replied with an overly mocking tone.

Hagakure was busting up laughing at this point and was unable to say anything else. Nevertheless, she was trying. “I can’t—I can’t—Oh my—"

“Guys!” You pouted, interrupted the two girls. You took this opportunity to grab your phone off the bed and take your place it into your sweater pocket. “Let me explain,” You pleaded.

Both girls suddenly stopped the smiles, giggles, and teasing. Silently, they sat in their respective seats and waited for you to explain yourself.

“So,” You began before taking in a deep breath, “Yes, I do like Bakugou—”

“I knew it!” Ashido exclaimed.

You squinted your eyes at her in critique. “You knew? Since when?” You questioned, knowing full well that she did not know. She had only known you for a week and only saw you and Bakugou interact once.

“Uhh, today?” She offered, “When you came home with him today?”

Hagkure snickered at Ashido’s response which received her a light smack from the pink girl.

“You guys ready to listen?” You asked, interrupting the snickering clients.

“Yes!” The replied in unison. They sat down and looked at you with anticipation.

“Okay, so,” You thought over your next words carefully. “I don’t know what it is about Bakugou that makes me like him. It’s kind of just everything?” You bit your lip, “Like, he’s super hot.”

“Ew,” Ashido groaned, “You can’t say that about him!”

Hagakure laughed even harder than before considering she wasn’t nearly as close to Bakugou as Ashido was. “He is pretty attractive, Ashido. You have to admit.”

“Stop!” Ashido exclaimed. “Bakugou is literally like a dad, he can’t be hot.”

You laughed at Ashido’s comment, her humor helping you relax more. “Just relax, Ashido! I’ll stop talking about how,” You paused, “You know, he is.”

“Thank you,” She replied.

You smiled before continuing your story. “I’ve talked to him a few times over the week, and it is obviously not perfect. Sometimes though, he just says all the right stuff and it makes my insides twist. Like today, we went to his costume designer’s place because I simply mentioned to him that I wanted to change my costume up a lot. And then he took me to one of his favorite food places.” You smiled at the memory. “It was a really nice day, but obviously not as cute or romantic as Ashido’s date.”

Ashido shrugged, “That’s just how Bakugou is though! Like, me and Kirishima have known each other for years! Bakugou is warming up to you after only a week while it took him months to even consider Kirishima a friend.”

“Very true,” Hagakure interjected. She was enjoying the story, but Ashido knew much more about Bakugou than her, making her opinions not as pertinent.

“I think,” Ashido continued, “You and Bakugou have a lot of potential. In fact, now that I know you like him, I can pay so much attention to your conversations. I’ll be like a spy, I can analyze everything!”

You chuckled at your friend’s excitement, feeling great about telling your friends about your crush on Bakugou. At the same time, though, it also felt silly having a crush on him. You bit your lip while telling yourself not to become too preoccupied with the blond when each of you cared more about becoming heroes.

“And those texts are the first thing I want to analyze!” Ashido explained, “So gimme your phone!”

“No, you don’t have to,” You bashfully replied, not sure if it would be right to allow them to see texts from Bakugou when he thinks it is just her.

“Aww, come on!” Hagakure pressured. “I saw some pretty flirty stuff in those texts!”

“Maybe,” You continued, “But Bakugou is a very private person, you know?”

“True,” Ashido spoke, “But he doesn’t have to know!” The grin on her face was wicked and you could tell she wouldn’t let this topic go.

“Okay,” You gave in, “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” You pulled your phone out of your pocket and unlocked it. The texts between you and Bakugou popped up and you passed the phone to her.

She began reading it out loud because it was difficult for all three of your to read it at once.

“First off,” She said, beginning her analysis, “Just him initiating a conversation like this with you is big! He almost never begins conversations.”

“Not only that,” Hagakure added, “But he was trying to find common ground with you. That can be pretty big for Bakugou.”

“And,” Ashido exclaimed, as if just thinking about this “He even said he doesn’t mind you talking about your personal life while he doesn’t like hearing about others.”

Hagakure giggled, “Ooh la la! Sounds like Bakugou is in love.” She emphasized the word ‘love’ and elongated it in a teasing tone.

Ashido began chuckling along with Hagakure while you felt your cheeks turn red. “You guys are just jumping into things,” You insisted while taking your phone back. “I’m just going to take things slow.”

Since their laughter had died down by now, the girls nodded along with you.

“I think that’s smart,” Ashido agreed. “It’s hard to know how he will react in a romantic situation.”

“You know what might be fun,” Hagakure begins. You each look to her, awaiting her thoughts. “Since we know Bakugou is still in there, we could try and sneak up to the room to hear what they are saying about you guys.”

Ashido immediately had a mischievous smile appear on her face. She almost looked like a Cheshire cat and you knew what was next. “Why would we have to sneak up to overhear them when we have L/N right here?”

“Oh my god, that is so true!” Hagakure exclaimed while shaking here arms in excitement. You could tell she turned to look at you and she asked, “So, what do you think?”

I think it’s a bad idea, but I really want to do it, you thought. You took a few beats to think over all the possibilities that could make it a good or bad idea. You looked to Ashido’s excited face and knew Hagakure must feel similar despite not being able to see her either.

“Okay,” You finally said, effectively giving in.

You almost talked yourself out of it. However, this wasn’t something you did often, it definitely wasn’t going to become a habit, and you were a teenager with a crush who simply wanted to have fun?

“Yes! Yes, yes yes!” Ashido exclaimed while Hagakure got up and began dancing around the room.

You laughed loudly at your two friends, enjoying their humorous actions.

“Okay, okay,” You sheepishly interrupted, trying to calm them down. “I’ll need you guys to chill a bit to hear.”

Ashido saluted you and Hagakure laughed before doing the same, at least you could tell from her moving clothes. The two girls then sat down and awaited your next words.

You, on the other hand, focused your energy on the voices surrounding you. Your head, at this point, didn’t hurt at all, and made you feel even more confident about your decision to take out your earbuds. You had gotten very used to hearing people’s thoughts, but not at all processing the words they were saying.

Suddenly, Kirishima’s prominent thoughts came into view.

Today was so great. I think I’ll take her bowling on our next date.

“Kirishima is planning your next date,” You mindlessly spoke, too focused to watch Ashido. You did, however, hear her shrill scream and the excited thoughts rushing through her head.

“What about Bakugou?” Hagakure asked.

You barked out a laugh once your were able to hear Bakugou;s thought clearly enough. “He’s thinking about how you and Kirishima are absolute idiots…but he’s still happy you guys got together.”

“That’s so sweet!” Ashido exclaimed.

“Aww, nothing about you?” Hagakure asked.

You shrugged your shoulders and focused more on your friends. “I really doubt that he talked to Kirishima about today.” You smiled to try and assure your friends. “I don’t need him to think about me all the time.”

Ashido smiled, her eyes filled with a kind of pity you weren’t sure you liked. Despite this, you knew she had good intentions at heart, and you grinned back as she patted your shoulder.

“Anyways,” Hagakure spoke up after a pregnant pause filled the room. “Let’s talk about something else, this conversation is totally not passing the Bechdel test and I am over it.”

You nodded in agreement and grabbed a handful of chips before sipping on your drink. “I could show you guys the sketches for my new hero costume,” You offered.

Ashido grinned widely, “Yes! You can put on your current one and show us the new sketches.”

“Oh god,” You exclaimed, “My current one is so ugly.”

“Well now you have to show us,” Hagakure laughed.

“Okay, okay! I’ll be right back then.” Happily, you stood up from your seat on the bed and made your way to your bed to grab your hero costume, computer, and sketchbook. A wide smile was spread across your face and you clumsily handled all of your supplies.

Today was a great day, you thought as another person’s own thought rang through your ears.

Fuck, why was today the best day I’ve had in a while? You heard Bakugou’s voice ring through your ears before you reopened Ashido’s door.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bakugo #bakugou #bakugo katsuki #bakugou katsuki #bakugo katsuki x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou katsuki imagines #bakugo katsuki imagines #bakugo katsuki fanfiction #bakugou katsuki fanfiction

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imaginesandinserts · 4 years

Text

Irreverent Drabbles: A Very Derek Christmas

Title: Irreverent Drabbles: A Very Derek Christmas Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader Rating: G Words: 2514

Irreverent Series Masterlist

ONLY READ THIS IF YOU’VE ALREADY READ THROUGH PART 39 OF THE MAIN IRREVERENT SERIES

"You're coming home with me for Christmas."

You look up at Derek as the two of you walk out to the parking garage. It was the week before the whole team would be off for the holidays and it marked the first without Emily. The realization that it was only the first of many more Christmases and birthdays without her was more than you were willing to deal with, so you pushed it to the back, hoping to simply forget about it.

"I have plans," you tell him, hoping he won't see through your lie. You had plans - if plans included sitting at home by yourself and drinking.

"Cancel them. I already booked your ticket."

Arguing with him would be pointless. Instead you roll your eyes with a smile and thank him.

You had a feeling he felt it was his job now, with both Emily and Hotch gone, to make sure you were alright. Like some sort of divine calling from Emily up above. Below? Who knows really, though you'd like to think she's in heaven. If there was a heaven.

*------------*

Fran Morgan had raised three kids almost entirely on her own. All of her children had turned out good, and both of her daughters were married. Now, if only Derek could find a nice girl to settle down with, she could feel like her job was done.

He'd called and told her he was bringing a friend home for Christmas - a female friend. She didn't like that he just called her a friend. Her son should know better than to think he could sneak one by his mother. Derek had never brought a girl home before and now he was bringing one to meet the whole family for the holidays. She wasn't born yesterday.

*------------*

The Morgan family was warm, welcoming, and just what you needed that year. Something to help you forget how shitty life had been lately. A reminder that good things like family and fun and heart were still concepts in the world. Maybe not your world. But other people's, and well, that was something at least.

You and Derek were both conscious of the implication of him bringing a girl home for the holidays. He'd already warned you that his mother would think that the two of you were together and would do her best to worm it out of you. There wasn't anything to worm out, but you both knew that from the outside looking in, your relationship was…odd to say the least.

Derek was every bit the man his mother had raised him to be, especially around you. He made an effort to hold doors open and walk on the outside of the sidewalk and had a hand on your lower back if it was just the two of you. The thing was, none of this was new or a direct product of Emily dying. The two of you had always had an easy and natural chemistry. It was just more of it now that neither of you had anyone else to have this with.

You'd both expected some amount of weirdness after that one time you'd made out on his couch. And yet, nothing changed. He still trained with you. The two of you still shared a bed when you could, because sleeping next to someone was simply nicer. Neither one of you was dating someone so it wasn't wrong or anything, though you still made an effort to make sure neither Reid nor Rossi caught on to the bed sharing.

In Derek's childhood home, his mother led you to the room his sisters grew up in while Derek took his old bedroom. Mrs. Morgan - or as she'd asked that you call her, Fran - intimidated you. She had a look in her eye that told you she saw way more than she let on and that made you a little uneasy despite her kindness and warmth.

*------------*

You were pretty, exactly Derek's type, his sisters had remarked. Fran and both her daughters were on edge, waiting to catch the two of you in a moment that betrayed what they all suspected - that Derek Morgan had brought home a girl that mattered. The three of them watched you like hawks, comparing notes on any little thing they caught.

Desiree had seen her brother bring you a mug of hot chocolate, filled to the brim with marshmallows, because apparently that's how you liked it. She'd stood in the kitchen, pretending to make herself some tea as she watched Derek hand you the mug and tease you about the number of marshmallows you'd demanded. There was a look in your eyes, a sparkle that she recognized from when she'd first fallen in love with Keith. The sparkle he would get in his eyes when she said something that made him fall just a little more in love with her. That sparkle meant something.

Sarah noted that Derek laughed more with you. Her brother was always a fun guy but with you it was like his normally buoyant personality got a boost. He was showing off for you, trying to make you laugh, he was trying and the Derek they knew didn't try for any girl. Girls tried for him. The two of you had taken it upon yourself to finish decorating the tree for their Ma and Derek had watched as you struggled to reach the very top of the tree to put the star on it. Instead of doing it for you, he'd lifted you up, hands wrapped around your waist, as if you weighed nothing and helped you put it on the top yourself. That look in his eyes - that look of pure adoration - that look meant something. How could it possibly not?

Fran had kept an eye on both of your bedroom doors at night, knowing her son wouldn't be able to resist sneaking over to sleep next to his girlfriend. Yet, as far as she could tell, the two of you stayed in your own rooms the entire night. Maybe he was just being respectful because it was his Ma's house. Yeah, maybe.

Desiree had been the one to put mistletoe up around the entire house. Then all three Morgan ladies waited, and waited, and waited. Until finally, the two of you happened to walk under the piece of mistletoe dangling above the entrance to the kitchen. You laughed, the barest of color in your cheeks as you went up on your toes and quickly kissed Derek's cheek. He didn't lean in. He didn't make it linger. It was over in the blink of an eye. All three of them looked at one another, completely confused. Well now what? What would it take to get you two to admit it?

*------------*

"You wanna go out for a bit?" Derek had asked you.

The two of you had been in Chicago for two days, most of which were spent participating in good old fashioned American Christmas traditions. His family had made it really easy for you to forget about your work and Emily and Doyle for a bit. It was a welcome respite.

Derek led you out through the garage, where you nearly stumbled and fell, dragging a tarp down with you. You'd uncovered an old motorcycle that looked like it hadn't been touched in years.

Derek laughs, helping you up. "I didn't know we still had that."

"Is it yours?" you asked, appraising it with some interest. You recognized it as an old 1980s Katana.

"It was my dad's," he explains. "I rode it around town as soon as I was big enough, though my Ma hated it. She was always worried I'd hurt myself."

You chuckle. You could see a younger, more rebellious version of Derek, sneaking out with the bike to pick up a girl.

Derek notes your curiosity. "Do you ride?"

"Yeah. It was really more Julian's thing," you tell him, your hands brushing over the handles. "But I asked my friend to teach me after Julian died. I had his old bike shipped over and rode it all through training."

Derek listens with interest. You didn't talk much about your brother and it was new to see you have some positive familial relationships. "This the same friend from New York that you…," he trails off, but you know what he means.

You smile, feeling a small pang in your chest. "His name's John," you explain, your voice soft. "I haven't seen him in a while. Not since my first Christmas with the Bureau."

Derek doesn't push. If you wanted to tell him more, you would. He can't help but think that John sounds like a cool dude. Your voice got all soft and fluttery when you talked about him. Completely different from when you talk about your ex, Matthew. He wonders if that's all he was - a friend.

The implication that you haven't slept with anyone since your first Christmas with the Bureau isn't lost on him. He couldn't imagine having gone that long without.

*------------*

Christmas morning, Desiree and Sarah arrive with both of their families and the Morgan home is filled with children and laughter and happiness. Derek is a good uncle, you note. He rough houses with the boys and will let the girls paint his nails and play tea party with them. The two of you while away an hour, pretending to drink tea and speaking in exaggerated British accents.

The family exchanges presents. You'd gotten something for all of the kids when you and Derek had gone out. You're not expecting anything, yet Fran hands you two wrapped packages. The first is from the entire Morgan family. Your first night there, they'd all been over for dinner and Fran had made sure to get a photo of everyone sitting around the table. You'd been sat next to Derek and you were both smiling, his hand around the back of your chair. Fran had framed it for you along with an invitation to come back anytime.

"Fran, thank you so much," your voice broke just a bit. Instead of saying anything else and embarrassing yourself, you chose to just hug her and allow her to wrap her arms around you. You understood where Derek got his incredible hugging ability from.

"Oh honey, we mean it. Anytime," she says, patting your cheek softly.

You open the next gift from Derek to reveal a vinyl record of an EDM artist both you and Emily had raved about and would constantly play in the plane when given the chance. You look up at Derek, unsure of what to say, so the only thing that comes out is, "You got me a vinyl EDM record?"

He laughs. "It's a vinyl record because you're bougie now you can have your ratchet music playing from that fancy record player."

You feel your eyes well up just slightly. He'd remembered the artist, he'd obviously gone through the effort of having a custom vinyl record made. And it was Emily's favorite too.

You blink back your tears. Not in front of people. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now let's see what you got me," he says with an exaggerated wink, eliciting a laugh from you.

Derek opens his present to unveil an autographed rookie card to one Walter Payton, legendary running back to the Chicago Bears. You watch in glee as his eyes bug out.

He looks up at you in shock. "How…?"

You smirk, knowing that it was the perfect present.

*------------*

Later that afternoon, you're helping Fran in the kitchen with the gingerbread cookies which Derek and his brothers-in-law are entertaining the kids in the living room. Desiree and Sarah had gone out to grab some stuff from the store for their mother. The news is playing in the background as you and Fran use the cookie cutters to cut out the gingerbread men for the kids to decorate.

Fran is telling you about how, when Derek was younger, he used to sneak spoons of sugar before dinner and then get stomach aches to skip out on school the next day. She can hear you chuckling as your head is bent over the cookie dough. However, the next second she can feel you tense. She looks up to see you frozen, cookie cutter in hand, eyes trained intensely on the TV in the living room. She watches as you and her son exchange a look and you excuse yourself from the kitchen.

You were gone for around twenty minutes and when you returned, your phone was ever present in your hand. You tried to act as though nothing had happened, but she didn't need to be a profiler like her son to know that something had changed.

You faked your way through dinner, before excusing yourself to go to bed early. Fran pulled her son aside and asked what the matter was. She sees his eyes dart to your bedroom door, behind which you'd disappeared moments before.

"The news earlier today, there was a bomb that went off in Pakistan. We've got someone there," he explains. "Someone important."

That look in her son's eyes - the look that she as his mother could read like the back of her hand. That guilty look that tells her that something wasn't quite right, something wasn't quite perfect about the two of you together. In that moment, Fran Morgan realizes, you and her son - it was nothing more than a pipe dream. Oh you mattered, you definitely mattered. But there was someone out there that mattered a little more than her son ever would to you.

She pats Derek's cheek and he leans into the comfort of his mother's touch. Kissing his Ma on the cheek, he walks down the hallway, and for the first time that entire week, she sees him slip inside your room.

*------------*

Derek had seen the raw fear in your eyes as you both caught the news regarding the bomb in Pakistan. You'd excused yourself and made a call to Penelope, asking her to keep you informed on any casualties or injuries. Anything at all.

Derek enters your room that night and sees you in bed with the phone next to your pillow. Your eyes are closed but he knows you're not asleep. He doesn't go to your bed. Instead he sits in the armchair by the window, turned towards you. Going to lay by you now felt wrong somehow. Because Derek. Derek knew even if you didn't.

Sometime around three in the morning, your phone buzzes and there is a message from Penelope. You blink and squint to read the screen in the dark room. Derek has been sitting in that chair for hours, the two of you pretending to sleep though neither one could.

Your voice is heavy as you speak. "He reported for duty this morning," you tell him.

Derek nods wordlessly before standing to go back to his own room.

#Criminal Minds #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds reader insert #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner x you #hotch #hotchner x you #hotch x you #derek morgan #derek morgan x reader

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thathopelessromantic · 3 years

Text

Reckless Good (3/?)

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

Fic Rating: Explicit

Chapter Rating: Teen+

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto/Midoriya Izuku

Note: Thanks so much for the great response so far! And if you haven’t already, please check out some of the other great pieces for the TDDK Big Bang this year!

Todoroki Shouto had accepted his fate as a public figure when he became a pro-hero, but there are some parts of his private life he would like to stay private. When he gets invited to be a speaker in a college lecture series, he goes to the meeting with one goal: to give the coordinator a piece of his mind and finally put an end to people hounding him for information about his family.

The last thing he expects is the curious, and quirkless, hero- and quirk-study professor, Midoriya Izuku, who has no interest in his family’s history, and, somehow, even more ties to the hero industry than Shouto. Intrigued by the professor, Shouto tentatively agrees to the lecture series, unknowingly intertwining their futures.

But the more Todoroki sees of Midoriya, the more questions he has. When a villain attack leaves them living together until the culprits are apprehended, maybe he’ll finally get some answers.

AO3: (x) Chapter One: (X) Chapter Two: (X)

Shouto is, regrettably, not unfamiliar with the process of checking into the hospital, or the protocols in the burn unit, but things seem to go surprisingly quick with a doctor at his side, explaining not only the extent of his injury but the cause. Just a few moments after they’ve arrived, Shouto is whisked away from Dr. Midoriya and Kou to have his burn cleaned and dressed. They run the usual battery of tests, poke him for blood what feels like a dozen times, and after about half a dozen reassurances to various doctors and nurses that, yes, he does know how to care for a burn at home, he’s told he might be able to go home later that night.

The room he’s put in is, admittedly, one of the nicer hospital rooms that he’s visited. It’s part of a private wing made specifically for pro-heroes to get a little peace from fans and the media while recovering, but it doesn’t make him hate it any less. He’s only been alone in the room for twenty minutes or so, but he’s already contemplating a prison break. Let Momo handle the paperwork for his unconventional discharge on her next day at the office and call it good. But the risk of being put on some extra mandatory leave is too great. His doctor and Momo have been on his case about taking care of himself properly for months now and they’d love any excuse to bench him for a few extra weeks, instead of the couple of days he’ll need for the burn to heal enough that he can cover it securely and get back to work.

There’s a short knock on the door. Shouto starts to mentally prepare himself for another argument with a doctor when the door inches open and Kou peeks in. Surprised, Shouto waves to her. Kou smiles back, turning to motion at someone behind her. A moment later the door opens the rest of the way and Kou rushes in, followed by Dr. Midoriya.

“Dr. Midoriya and I are on a secret adventure.” Kou announces in a whisper. There’s a Uravity-themed spacesuit sticker on her cheek and she looks as if she’s recovered from the evening’s events, but her clothes have been replaced by a colorful hospital gown and fuzzy bathrobe.

Dr. Midoriya hasn’t changed his clothes, but he has a white lab coat on over top.

“Oh? What is your secret adventure?” Shouto asks. He shifts to the side and makes room for Kou to climb onto the bed besides him.

“Visiting you!” She announces, happily. “It’s a secret because I’m not supposed to leave the quirk ward, but Dr. Midoriya snuck me out. This is for you. Dr. Midoriya said you were friends!” She pulls two more stickers out of a pocket in her robe and hands them to him; a music note that says Earphone Jack and a nesting doll in Creati’s costume.

“Thank you,” Shouto says genuinely, though he has no idea what he’s going to do with the stickers. But his mind is distracted by Kou’s other words. The quirk ward? Obviously there was a reason the villains had targeted the girl, but that detail had gotten buried in the chaos of everything else. Now he’s reminded of the villain’s words…something about her being the key.

He looks up but Dr. Midoriya meets his eye with a subtle shake of his head.

Shouto lets the subject drop for now, but he’s determined to stay a part of this investigation. He’ll get his answers eventually.

Turning back to Kou, he tries a hesitant smile. “Would you still like that autograph?”

Her whole being lights up. “Really?” She reaches into the pocket of her robe again only for her face to drop. “Oh. I forgot my notebook.”

Dr. Midoriya taps her on the shoulder, holding out a small, heart-shaped notepad and a glittery gel pen.

Kou gasps, taking the items from him with excited thanks. She flips through the notebook quickly looking for a blank page, and Shouto is surprised by how many signatures she’s already amassed. Satisfied with the location, she hands the notebook and pen to him. She’s practically vibrating in excitement as he writes a quick note to her, trying to make it sound a little more personal than his usual scribbled signature.

Just as Shouto finishes his note, there’s another knock on the door. Yet another doctor steps into the room, reading through something in a folder. Her long, silver hair is draped over her shoulder in a thick braid and there’s a sharp horn coming out of her forehead. She seems faintly familiar to Shouto but he can’t place why he would recognize her. At the very least he doesn’t think he’s ever had her as a doctor before. She stops in her tracks when she sees Dr. Midoriya and Kou gathered around his hospital bed.

“Izuku!” she scolds, crossing her arms over her chest.

It takes Shouto a moment to remember Izuku is Dr. Midoriya’s first name. He glances up at him.

Dr. Midoriya leans close to Kou, covering his mouth with one hand to stage whisper to her. “I think we got caught.”

Kou copies him with a quiet giggle. “Oops.”

Shouto closes her notebook carefully and slides it across the bed. Kou covertly slips it into her robe.

“What are you even doing here?” The new doctor asks, exasperated. There’s no way she didn’t hear the two of them whispering, but she seems to be ignoring it.

“Kou just wanted to thank Entropy for saving her!” Dr. Midoriya insists, apparently choosing to take no blame in their “secret adventure.”

“Dr. Aizawa has a quirk kind of like mine,” Kou tells Shouto in a hushed voice while the two doctors argue. “She and Dr. Midoriya are really nice. And funny.”

Dr. Aizawa makes it all click. The light hair and the horn. She was the same little girl Aizawa had adopted during Shouto’s first year.

“We were just leaving, Dr. Aizawa!” Kou chimes in suddenly, sliding off the bed and grabbing Dr. Midoriya’s hand. “Bye!”

Dr. Aizawa shakes her head as Dr. Midoriya is pulled out of the room by a girl a quarter his size. “This isn’t over just because you have a patient protecting you, Izuku.”

Dr. Midoriya sends a bright smile back at her just as the door closes on the two of them.

“I hope they weren’t bothering you too much,” Dr. Aizawa says as she comes over to Shouto’s bed.

He shakes his head. “No, I’m glad I got to see her again. I was worried she’d be a little more upset after everything.”

“Kou’s a strong girl. She’s going to be okay.” Dr. Aizawa says with certainty. “Anyways, I’m Aizawa Eri, I’m part of the hero staff here.”

“Aizawa, er...Eraserhead’s daughter, right?”

Dr. Aizawa smiles and it looks so shockingly like Dr. Midoriya’s, Shouto can’t help but wonder about what their connection to each other is. Especially with how casually she spoke to him. Could they be related? It seems like he would have known if his homeroom teacher had also had or adopted a son his age, wouldn’t he? “That’s right, you were one of his students! Nice to see you again.”

Shouto bows his head in acknowledgement. He knows he met the young girl Aizawa adopted a few times, but his memories of her are fuzzy at best.

Dr. Aizawa checks him over again, asking him a few questions about how he’s feeling and what’s been done already. Finally, she gets to why she’s here to see him. “I’m not sure if you would remember, but my quirk is Rewind. It’s delicate but helpful for healing, especially for many pros. If you remember about how long ago you were burned, I should be able to heal your arm so that you can get back to work without too much fuss.”

“Really?”

Dr. Aizawa nods. “I can rewind your body back to before it happened, but it will rewind your whole body so the closer to the exact time it happened the better, otherwise too many things could change. Do you have a good idea of when it happened?”

“What time is it now?”

Dr. Aizawa glances at her watch. “Almost ten.”

Shouto is briefly surprised by that information. He hadn’t realized how long he had been in the hospital already. “I left the agency after the first alerts came in around 6:30, so it was probably around 7 that I made contact with the villain. I can’t be more exact than that, unfortunately.”

“That should work alright. Would you like to be rewound, or would you prefer to let it heal naturally?”

Shouto shakes his head. Anything to speed up the process. “No, please rewind it if you can.”

She smiles. “Okay, it will be just a moment then.”

Dr. Aizawa pulls on a pair of gloves and takes his arm in her hands, gently, mindful of the injury and the loose bandages protecting it.

A moment later the horn at her temple begins to glow, Shouto has to look away as the warm light grows brighter and then, just like that, it’s over. When he looks back at the doctor, her horn has shrunk a little, losing some of the sharp edge at the top.

“Okay! You should be good to go. How does it feel?”

Shouto moves his arm a few times, relieved that there’s no pain as he moves it. Carefully he peels off the bandages. It looks as if he was never injured, not even a small scar left behind.

Dr. Aizawa looks pleased with the results. “Perfect. Unfortunately it doesn’t work on non-living things so you will have to have your costume repaired separately.”

“That’s fine,” Shouto says. He was more worried about being forced to take some sick leave than repairing his costume to begin with. “Thank you.”

Dr. Aizawa smiles again. “Of course. I’m happy to help.” She pulls a few papers out of her folder and hands them to him. “If you are ready, you can take these to the desk out front and you’ll be discharged.”

Shouto hesitates as he takes the papers from her. An hour ago he was ready to run at the first chance, but now…she was someone who might have some answers…

“Kou mentioned that the two of you had similar quirks,”

“I’m sorry. If you become a part of the investigation I’m sure you’ll find out more information, but for now I can’t disclose a patient’s information.” Dr. Aizawa says before he can even finish figuring out exactly what he wants to ask.

“Right. Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I don’t blame you for being curious, not after everything that’s happened.”

Dr. Aizawa looks ready to leave, but there’s one more thing Shouto has to ask. At least while he still has a chance.

“Can I ask about Dr. Midoriya, then?”

Dr. Aizawa stops with a puzzled look. “Izuku? What about him?”

Shouto's mind goes blank. Everything doesn’t seem like a plausible response. At least not one that would get him anywhere. “Uh, I…I was just surprised to hear you call him Izuku. Are you close?”

Dr. Aizawa studies him for a long time as if she could determine whatever ulterior motives he had for asking just by staring him down. Maybe she could if even he knew what he was doing asking these questions.

“I’ve known Izuku for a long time,” she finally says. “He’s like family.”

The answer is careful, guarded. With the slightest undertone of a threat.

“…Right.” Shouto replies awkwardly. “Thank you.”

Dr. Aizawa inclines her head to him. “Have a nice night, Entropy.”

After checking out with Dr. Aizawa’s discharge papers, Shouto heads back to the agency. Sunspot practically tackles him in the lobby.

“Entropy! You’re okay! I thought you were just going to check on the kidnapped civilian, but then Ingenium told me his friend was taking you to the hospital and that I had nothing to worry about so I should just go back to the agency but I didn’t know why you were going to the hospital or what was happening,” she stutters over her words for a moment, taking a breath. “Was it okay to leave? I didn’t know what else to do but I didn’t know what hospital you went to or why. Were you injured? You don’t look hurt. Is that how you damaged your costume?”

Shouto lets her run on while he goes to his office. He knows she’ll follow. And that it’s pointless to try and get a word in until she runs out of breath.

Sunspot sinks into one of his office chairs as he goes to turn his computer on. He lifts a brow at her slumped form in the armchair.

“Are you done?”

She opens her mouth to speak again but after a moment shuts it again and nods.

“The villain who took the hostage burned me. I hadn’t realized the extent of the injury until later. I’m sorry I didn’t contact you personally so that you knew it was okay to come back, but it was fine that you came back. It wasn’t serious.” Shouto explains calmly. “You said Ingenium told you to come back?” Shouto thinks back to Dr. Midoriya texting in the ambulance and he wonders if the two know each other.

Sunspot nods again. “He came and found me and told me a friend was taking you to the hospital. I assumed he meant one of the paramedics. I didn’t know he was friends with the paramedics. Was that part of U.A. training? Getting to know first-responders closely? Or just a coincidence?”

“I think it’s just a coincidence on Ingenium’s part. Not something you’re missing out on.” Shouto says. “You did good tonight. Go home and get some rest.”

“But-”

Shouto gestures to her before she can argue. “You expended a lot of your reserve helping the rescue crews with civilians trapped under the rubble and then helping me melt the ice. It’s okay.”

Sunspot looks down at herself. The faint glow she normally gives off as a result of having excess energy saved up by her quirk is almost completely extinguished. At the late hour, she wouldn’t be able to get any more energy even if they needed to go out into the field again. Not until the sun was up again.

Sunspot pushes herself out of the chair. “I’m sorry I can’t be more help tonight.” She says with a short bow.

Shouto waves her off. “It’s okay.”

“Good night, Entropy.”

“Good night, Sunspot. Good work tonight.” Shouto says. He catches just a glimpse of her relieved smile as his office door closes quietly behind her.

Alone, Shouto settles into his desk chair, already mentally preparing for a long night. He considers going against doctor’s orders and getting some coffee but just barely resists the temptation. Caffeine might end up making him too jittery to focus and this is important. Writing up a more in-depth report of the event for the police and the agency records is the first priority of the night. But after that, Shouto has some research to do.

Momo finds him like that in the morning. Sometime in the night the combination of the late hour and bright computer screen got to him and he went in search of his rarely-worn glasses to take some of the stress off. His final report and the accompanying paperwork are tucked in a folder for safe keeping, but the rest of his desk is a disaster zone of scattered pages, printed news reports of the attack last night with any information he might have missed, any police reports on the matter he could get his hands on with his current clearance, his own compiled notes.

He doesn’t even realize someone else is in the office with him until Momo clears her throat, placing a paper to-go cup of tea in the middle of his desk, on top of the latest piece he’s reading.

“Shouto,” she says seriously, crossing her arms over her chest. “ When did you last take a break?”

Shouto tries to come up with an answer but his brain is fuzzy at best, street names and potential identities floating at the forefront of his consciousness. “Uh, what time is it?”

Momo sighs, rubbing at her temple with one hand. “ Go home, Shouto.”

“I just need to-"

“No.” Momo comes around the other side of his desk, pulling him up and out of his desk chair by one arm. “It’s almost eight o'clock. You need to go home and go to bed.”

Momo might have had a point, his shift was supposed to end at six that morning and he hadn’t even noticed the time, but he digs his heels in, resisting being dragged from the office to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, Momo is stronger than she looks, and has the advantage of a full-night’s sleep on him.

“Go home. Go to sleep. Don’t come back until Saturday.”

“But-”

“You were injured! You should have called me as soon as you were taken to the hospital,” Momo scolds.

“I got better.”

Momo looks at him curiously. She comes to a stop, scanning him over. Shouto’s sure he looks a mess, still half-dressed in his damaged hero-suit, the top unzipped and tied around his waist. His hair has started to escape the braid he had it in for work and he can see the loose hair floating in his peripheral vision. Not to mention how exhausted he probably looks after spending the whole night scouring the police database. But – he’s not injured.

“What do you mean you ‘got better’? You weren’t really injured?”

Shouto sighs. “No, I was. There was a doctor at the hospital with a quirk who fixed it. Aizawa’s daughter, actually.”

Momo’s brows shoot up in surprise. “I didn’t realize she became a doctor. That’s wonderful.” She pauses. “But not the point. You still should have called someone. Though I suppose I should be grateful you went to get help, at all.”

Shouto rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well…there was a doctor on the scene when I was talking to the girl who was targeted who saw my burn.”

“A doctor?”

“Uh…Dr. Midoriya.” Shouto explains. He isn’t sure if Momo will recognize the name, not entirely sure if he wants her to remember or not.

“The professor from the lecture series?” Momo asks in surprise. “What was he doing there?”

“Apparently he’s not just a professor.”

Momo studies him for a few moments, trying to figure something out. Shouto doesn’t blame her. He’d like some answers about his behavior too. He just hopes she comes to an easy conclusion, like Shouto cooperated with Dr. Midoriya because he sort-of knew him, and not anything else ridiculous. Or revealing. Or uncomfortable.

Finally, Momo shakes her head, brushing off whatever conclusions she may have come to. “I don’t care. Go home. Sleep. Eat something. I’ll finish submitting your reports to the police and I’ll make sure they know you are interested in joining the case searching for the villains who escaped last night, but other than talking to anyone who contacts you about the case, I don’t want to hear about you working again until this weekend.”

Shouto wants to keep arguing, he’s not even hurt anymore, but he knows this is the best he’s going to get from her. He is also unbelievably grateful for all the years they’ve known each other and how Momo knows exactly what he needs to hear to relax, even just a little. “Okay. Thank you.”

Momo nods. “We’ll get whoever it is, Shouto. But you don’t have to do it alone. And you can’t do it in one night. So please take care of yourself. I’ll see you on Friday for dinner.”

Momo waves to an intern, instructing them to escort Shouto to the exit. Shouto wants to protest being babysat the rest of the way to the door, but Momo pins him with a hard look before he can even open his mouth and he lets it happen. Admittedly, now that he’s not pouring over his research to keep himself moving, he can feel exhaustion settling over him.

Though he could still find the way to the damn door himself.

Shouto stumbles into his dark apartment twenty minutes later. He leaves the lights off as he comes through the entrance. The morning sun has started to fill the front room with light, and its enough for him to make his way to the bedroom without tripping over anything. His bed is cool, the sheets still ruffled from the previous morning. Shouto just barely remembers to strip off his ruined hero-suit before he drops into the bed, using his left side to warm up the sheets quicker. In a minute, he’s asleep.

When he wakes again, warm golden light pours into the room from his half-open window. He runs a hand over his face, trying to will away the strange, disorienting feeling of waking up. He reaches to his bedside table, knocking a few things to the side until he connects with his alarm clock. Pulling it close, he squints at the lit screen. It was almost five in the afternoon. Shouto tosses the offending thing away. He takes just a few moments to reorient himself before he forces himself out of bed and into the shower.

He only remembers after stepping into the spray that half of his hair is still twisted into a braid. He swears as he tears the now-wet strands free of the stubborn rubber-band, tugging at the knots there unhappily. He doesn’t mean to stay in the shower for long, but after fighting with his hair for who knows how long, the heat and relaxing pound of the spray against his shoulders eases some of the tension from his body and he wastes time under the comforting water until it starts to run cold. The temperature change doesn’t bother him much, but he figures he’s wasted enough water like that and climbs out.

After drying off a little, Shouto brushes his teeth, and that, combined with washing off the grime of the previous day, helps make him feel a little more awake. A little more human.

Shouto dresses in casual civilian clothes. He finds his phone, dead, in a pocket of his hero-suit before tossing the ruined thing in a bag to give to the support team. They’ll probably just have to make him a new one, but he feels bad throwing it away without trying to salvage it.

His charger is plugged in near the bed, so he goes to grab it so he can charge his phone in the kitchen while he makes something to eat. But in fumbling around looking for the charger, he spots his forgotten glasses in the mess of sheets and pillows on his bed. The ear piece on the right side is bent at a strange angle and one of the lenses is cracked. Shit. Well, he supposes, that’s what he gets for wearing them for the first time in months while running on fumes. He tosses the damaged glasses on his side table and leaves for the kitchen.

Finally, he switches on a few lights.

His apartment is mostly bare, plain white walls with just a few basic pieces of furniture, mostly just there to fill the empty space. The occasional dirty glass or dish that gets left behind if he’s in a rush on his way to work are the only signs of the life in the otherwise dull place. Those, and the three picture frames hanging on the wall in his living room; one of his mother and siblings, one of his graduating class with their teachers mixed in with the colorful crowd, and one of the day he and Momo started their agency. They’re the only decoration he needs. They represent all the important people in his life.

There are a few containers of leftovers in the fridge, and while it would be easier to warm something up and leave it at that, Shouto takes the time to pull out some fresh ingredients. Washing off the vegetables and prepping them while rice cooks is a simple, familiar routine and it helps ground him.

He starts a simple stir fry with chicken just as his phone finally comes back to life, chiming with a number of missed notifications. Lowering the heat slightly, Shouto lets it simmer for a minute while he checks his phone.

A few of the notifications are basic news reports he usually dismisses, though today he saves any about last night’s attack incase there’s been any updated information. There are two texts from Momo asking if he got home safe and if he ate anything. He shoots of a quick reply to her, apologizing for not letting her know right away and reassuring her he’s making food now. He takes a picture of the pan and sends it as an after thought, just in case she doesn’t believe him. There are also a few texts from Kyouka telling him to stop worrying her wife and to stop being an idiot. He responds to those with a few choice emojis and nothing else. She’ll get the message.

Finally, he looks at the emails he missed. There’s one from an Officer Uchida he doesn’t recognize, confirming he (Momo) submitted the right paper work to join the case against the villains from the night before and once the task force has been officially formed he would be contacted with more information. Relieved, Shotuo saves the contact information and sets it as a priority so he’ll be sure to get any future notifications right away. The only other missed email is from Dr. Midoriya.

Shouto goes back to checking his food, stirring it for a few minutes and adding a few more ingredients. His attention goes back to his phone a few times, but he resists going back to it. He’s not sure why, he’s been waiting for this stupid email basically since he left the professor’s office, but suddenly he’s nervous about opening it. He’s not sure what to expect once he opens the list of the professor’s topics. What if he imagined all of this and the professor still wants him to talk about his family? What if Shouto can’t answer any of his questions about how his quirk works? Is it even a good idea for him to talk publicly about how his quirk works? Couldn’t someone use that against him?

Shouto turns his phone upside down, hiding the blinking notification.

He’ll look at it after he eats.

He finishes cooking a little while later. Scooping out a generous serving of rice into a bowl and getting a plate for the stir fry he settles in the living room. He has a perfectly good table he could eat at in the kitchen, but there’s something satisfying in breaking the rules and eating on the couch. Out in the open, casually. He hasn’t lived with his father since he was a first year, but he still takes satisfaction in all the ways he can defy him and the rules he kept in that house.

Shouto turns on the local news channel to watch while he eats. Unsurprisingly, the attack from last night is still the focus of the station. There’s a reporter discussing the widespread damage through downtown on the screen. In the background, heroes and clean up crews are still working to clear the rubble. Shouto recognizes Uravity’s bright pink costume amongst all the grey and black. She’s moving two giant pieces of concrete overhead, some kind of broken metal rods coming from one look particularly dangerous.

A scrolling banner runs across the bottom of the broadcast, asking anyone who might have information about the villains to call in to a hotline, and a separate call for anyone with quirks that might help in fixing the damage done to the roads. There are also short headlines for stories meant to air later that night and a small graphic with the weather.

The camera view changes suddenly and the report comes back into view with a police officer, answering questions about the attack.

What did they know about it? Not much yet, but they don’t think it was random.

Was anyone seriously injured? Thankfully most casualties were only minor injuries and the paramedics on scene took care of most of the civilians who were hurt.

Who were the villains? No one in particular. They don’t think this is an organized group starting attacks. Not like in the past. No one needs to worry.

All safe answers that tell them basically nothing about what happened. Shouto learned more in the two minutes he spent on the radio before pursuing the villain than the news report. He changes the channel. A talk show re-run is showing an old interview with Hawks. Shouto hesitates changing the channel again.

“So, Hawks, it’s no secret that you’ve been a fan of Endeavor’s basically since your debut, and the two of you made a good team as Number 1 and 2 for a while,” the interviewer says in a fake cheerful voice. Hawks gives a stiff smile, placating but revealing nothing about how he actually feels about the subject. “What are your thoughts on the rumors brewing about a civil trial after the allegations against Endeavor from his family?”

‘Tis the season.

Shouto clicks the TV off before Hawks can reply.

Not hungry anymore, Shouto puts his plate down. He ate most of what he had taken anyways. The rest will be fine for leftovers.

Getting up from the couch, Shouto goes back to the kitchen for his phone. The same ignored email is still waiting for him with that mocking, blinking notification light. Taking a deep breath, as if preparing for a fight, he opens it.

Entropy,

I hope you are doing better after Dr. Aizawa’s visit with you at the hospital. Sorry I couldn’t see you off. Here is the list of possible topics we discussed the other day. This is just an abbreviated list of some basic things to talk about. You can obviously go into more detail about anything that might interest you or that you think might be important information for anyone with two or dual quirks to consider.

Thank you for considering being a part of the Hero Talks Series.

Thank you, also, for your help with the attacks last night and with Kou.

Midoriya

Shouto isn’t sure what to focus on first. The dropped title from the professor’s name? Midoriya thanking him for doing his job of all things?

Making the executive decision to focus on none of them for the time being, Shouto opens the attached document with the lecture topics. Dr. Midoriya’s “abbreviated list" is still two pages long.

Somehow, it’s exactly what Shouto was expecting.

#bnha #mha #tododeku #tddk #todoroki shouto #midoriya izuku #tododeku big bang 2021 #fic #rita writes #6.24.21 #fic: reckless good

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