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baepsaesbae · 3 years

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None of Your Business

Pairing— Jung Hoseok x reader

Genre— SMUT, enemies to lovers au, business/professional life au, slight angst, slight fluff, mutual pining bc im a slut for that

Warnings— inappropriate workplace behavior, explicit unprotected sex, face sitting, slight biting, one (1) butt slap, dirty talk, swearing, switch!Hoseok, Hoseok being a god damn nuisance, (also I’m not a business person so if you are and I state inaccurate/dumb things I apologize in advance)

Word Count— 8.9k

Summary— You have a shot at attaining a huge promotion at your company. The only problem standing in your way is the same one that annoyed you in college. Jung Hoseok. How will you manage to spend an entire weekend at a conference juggling impressing your supervisors while simultaneously battling Hoseok?

A/N— This super cool banner was made by the one and only @kimtaehyunq, thank you so much! Please let me know what you guys think. Feel free to leave a comment or send an ask!

The business world has always been mercilessly cutthroat; that’s one of the first things business students learn when they enter college. The competition to get an internship at a top company was fierce. Recruiting has to start at least a year in advance if you even want to give yourself a chance.

Luckily for you, you were the top student in your program. Well, one of the top students. Over the past four years, your position had been flip flopping with some surprisingly competent bonehead who annoyingly plagued your life.

“Excited to be graduating this semester, ___?” an all too familiar voice interrupted your studying.

“Excited to graduate as top of the class? Yes, of course,” you replied coldly.

“Top of the class? That’s a little presumptuous, don’t you think?” the handsome boy sat on your table.

“I think it’ll be pretty much set in stone after this last final,” you returned your attention to your notes.

“Well, even if you’re number one, I think experience matters a lot in this field,” the boy refused to leave you alone.

“Then it’s a good thing I did an internship with one of the top companies over the summer,” you glared at him.

“Oh yeah, how could I forget about the internship that you stole from me?” the boy pouted.

“I was obviously more qualified. And how could you say that when you stole my opportunity to go on a study abroad trip with my favorite professor last Spring Break? I’m still furious that he chose you over me solely because you were sleeping with his daughter,” you retorted.

“That was a coincidence! I don’t know how many times I need to tell you that,” he tried to defend himself.

“Whatever. Do me a favor and leave me alone, Hoseok. Hopefully today will be the last time I’ll ever see you.”

“That’s kind of sad to think about. Who else will get under my skin and annoy me every time they open their mouth?” Hoseok bantered, “Also, I told you to call me Hobi.”

“That would imply that we’re on friendly terms. I don’t like lying, Hoseok.”

“Fine. Good luck on that last final. See you around,” Hoseok hopped off the table and patted your head.

“Don’t touch me,” you grumbled as he walked away.

That was five years ago.

The company that you interned with gave you a job offer immediately after graduation. Quickly moving up through the ranks proved to be an easy feat since your tenacious nature made you the ideal employee.

You were currently waiting outside of the CEO’s office. Seconds felt like hours as you mindlessly bounced your leg. It was eerily silent, and all you could hear were the click clacks of the receptionist’s keyboard as she worked. You looked around at the bleak décor that was a sorry excuse for modernism as you racked your brain. Were you in trouble? Did something happen? You were summoned up for a meeting but had no clue what it was going to be about.

Once you were finally called in, you were greeted by both the CEO and VP of the company.

“___, please take a seat,” the CEO politely smiled, “As you know, I am getting old. I am unmarried, so therefore I have no one to oversee the company after I’m gone. The executive council and I have been looking for people to fill my shoes. Or at the very least, take a seat on the executive council if one of them were to take my place.”

“Your numbers have been exceptional this month,” the VP chimed in, “And every month prior. After much deliberation, your name has been cast into the lot.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Being a member of the executive council at your age was almost unheard of.

“There is one other candidate that has also been hand selected at the other branch. You both are to attend a conference in which you will mingle with executives from other companies. There will also be a time in which you will pitch an idea to me on how to make this company better,” the CEO continued when he saw your loss for words.

“First and foremost I would like to thank you for this opportunity. I will do my best to live up to your expectations,” you bowed to show your gratitude.

“Perfect. The conference is in two weeks. I believe that should give you ample time to prepare your presentation,” the VP shook your hand.

After shaking hands with the CEO, you turned to leave. However, something was nagging you.

“May I ask who the other candidate is?” you inquired.

“Jung Hoseok from the northern branch,” the VP answered without missing a beat.

“Ah,” your brain exploded.

“Do you know him?” the CEO asked.

“We went to college together. I know of him,” you said curtly.

“Well you’ll finally get your chance to meet him. I’ve heard he’s very popular with the ladies at his branch. That’s not pertinent to his skills; however, you can’t blame an old man for wanting to know the gossip of his own employees,” the old man chuckled.

“Of course,” you smiled politely as you excused yourself from the office.

Jung Hoseok? That douchebag? Just your luck to run into him again (to fight for the next step in your career no less!). You think back on all the run ins you had with him during your collegiate days. Nothing but irritating memories of the two of you competing for the top spot came to mind.

Whatever. It didn’t matter who the other candidate was. You had to get to work and come up with a brilliant plan that will impress the CEO. You brushed the thought of Hoseok aside. It had been a couple of years, maybe he wouldn’t even remember you. There’s no need to stress out over something so trivial.

The weekend of the conference had finally arrived. You were instructed to travel together with Hoseok. You waited alone at the airport terminal. If you were lucky, Hoseok wouldn’t show up at all. You weren’t.

“___!” Hoseok called out your name in a sing songy voice.

“Hello Hoseok. Glad to see you haven’t changed,” you were already irritated.

“How are you? It’s been so long. You look great!” he went in for a hug but you turned away.

He stood awkwardly with his arms in the air for a second until he bounced back. He took the seat next to you and began chatting. You answered his list of questions apathetically.

“Did I do something to offend you?” Hoseok finally asked.

“I just think it’s funny that even after all these years, I still have to compete with you,” you retorted.

“Still hung up on that? It doesn’t even matter anymore. We got good jobs and now we’re here. Together! Isn’t that cool?”

“No, not at all. Although I guess it will be nostalgic coming out on top once again,” you smirked.

“Your competitive nature always amused me. You’re so cute when you lose,” Hoseok teased.

“I never lost to you,” you gasped.

“That’s not what that one study abroad trip with Professor whatshisname says,” he cooed.

“Professor Namjoon! You knew he was my favorite, you prick. At least I graduated as top of the class with honors,” you argued.

“My GPA was off by thousandths of a point. That doesn’t really bother me. But I’m glad you have something that makes you happy,” Hoseok shrugged.

‘This is gonna be one long fucking weekend’, you thought.

The flight was short and pleasant since Hoseok left you alone. You wanted to see as little of him as possible during this trip. You intended to get that promotion no matter what.

After the plane landed, the two of you made your way to the hotel that was hosting the conference.

“Hi, last name ___ and Jung?” you smiled at the hotel concierge.

“Ah yes, you guys are here for the business conference?” the concierge asked.

“Indeed we are!” Hoseok chimed in from behind you.

“Alrighty, I got you guys all checked in. Enjoy your stay!” the concierge handed you a singular set of keys.

“Oh, I’m sorry, there must be a mistake. We’re in two separate rooms,” you politely tried to hand back the keys.

“The reservation is for a singular suite,” the concierge explained.

“Probably cheaper that way,” Hoseok reasoned while nodding.

Your fake smile faltered for a second. How the hell are you supposed to spend an entire weekend sharing a room with the most despicable person on the planet?

At least the hotel itself was grand. There was no way you’d ever be able to afford to stay in such a swanky place. The lobby was decorated with ornate marble pillars that were laced with gold trimmings. It even had a fancy fountain in the middle to greet incoming guests, which you thought was a bit overkill.

“Excited to sleep with me, princess?” Hoseok teased, obviously picking up on your annoyance.

“Fuck off. Stay the hell away from my bed and my things,” you spat.

“Who’s to say that you won’t be able to stay away from my bed?” he smirked.

“You wish,” you rolled your eyes as the elevator finally stopped on the top floor.

You led the way to your shared suite with Hoseok. The trip was exhausting; you couldn’t wait to take a nap on your large luxurious bed that was probably topped with Egyptian cotton (one can dream).

You immediately dropped your bags on the side of the room and flopped onto the bed, shutting your eyes.

“Interesting,” Hoseok said.

You ignored him.

“Very interesting,” he continued.

“What? What is so interesting?” you sat up and glared at him in frustration.

“Take a quick glance around the room,” he suggested.

Your heart sank, “No fucking way.”

You loved this trope in fanfics, but in real life? Fuck no, not with this asshole. Yes, there was only one luxurious king sized bed in the room.

“Well, looks like you're going to sleep on the floor,” you smiled sweetly at him.

“The bed is huge, we can definitely share,” Hoseok argued.

“I think the fuck not,” you dropped back onto the bed, “I’m sure you’ll whore your way into someone else’s bed each night anyway.”

“I don’t think I need to, not when I’m already sharing a bed with you,” he flirted.

“Bite me, Hoseok,” you sighed, not in the mood for a tit for tat.

“Are you into that? I’d happily oblige,” he responded as he sat on the other side of the bed.

“I’m afraid that’s confidential information that you are not privy to,” you huffed, turning away from him.

“Are you really going to make me sleep on the floor?” he asked quietly.

“Would you listen to me if I said I wanted you to?” you were curious to know.

“Look, I’ll admit that I can be an asshole, but I’m not a creep. If you’re really not comfortable with sharing a bed with me I’ll sleep on the floor. All I’d ask of you is to spare me a pillow.”

There was a short silence as you mulled over your options.

“Fine, we can share the bed. But I demand a pillow divider to be set between us,” you caved.

“Wahoo! Thank you so much for your generosity, ___. Do you want to use the bathroom to get ready for bed first, or shall I?” Hoseok celebrated.

“I’ll get ready first,” you lazily rolled off the bed and trudged to the bathroom.

You were so tired that you missed hearing Hoseok’s soft chuckle as he watched you stumble to the bathroom. He patiently waited for you to finish before it was his turn to get ready for bed. You were sound asleep by the time he was done.

The blankets were haphazardly sprawled out on your side of the bed. One leg was under the covers while the other was completely exposed. Your mouth was agape with a bit of drool seeping out, and your shirt lifted up to expose some of your tummy.

Hoseok smiled at the sight. Never in a million years did he think he’d ever be lucky enough to see you like this. He pulled down your shirt in an attempt to make you look decent, but there was nothing he could do about your drooling. He tucked you into the sheets properly, making sure that the blankets covered you up to your neck.

He settled into his side of the bed. You forgot to put up the pillow divider. Hoseok stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He turned over to face you in an attempt to get comfortable.

‘She looks so sweet. Almost cute,’ Hoseok thought.

He quickly brushed the thought aside. You were his rival, and have been since the first day of college years ago. He sat up and created a pillow barrier. Bickering with you first thing in the morning was the last thing he wanted.

The first day of the conference was filled with attending various meetings while attempting to make as many networking connections as possible. You got up early and left the room before Hoseok was even awake. The less time spent with him, the better.

Of course, completely avoiding him was impossible. You were to sit with your respective company during the meetings and presentations. The VP sat between you and Hoseok, while the CEO switched between sitting on either side. You were thankful for the separation, but nervous nonetheless.

The CEO would occasionally lean over to ask you questions about the presentations, and he intently listened to your responses. The VP would merely look over occasionally to give you a smile or wink; he acted more like moral support. You knew the entire weekend would practically be an interview, but you underestimated how anxiety inducing it would be.

The higher ups finally left you alone when lunchtime came around. You picked up your lunch in the hotel’s decadent ballroom that had been turned into an eating area. You scouted an empty table in the far corner of the room in the hopes of finding some peace and quiet.

Hoseok had other plans. He saw you sit down at the table and happily followed you.

“Hey there buddy!” he greeted you as he sat down.

“Shouldn’t you be networking with new people?” you rolled your eyes at him.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he retorted as he took a bite of his sandwich.

“I’ve been doing that since before you were awake. I think I deserve a break,” you replied.

“I forgot that you’re quite the hard worker. I couldn’t have asked for better competition,” he said.

“Was that a compliment?” you asked with an amused grin.

“Yeah, and it’s the only one you’ll ever get from me. Is your pitch to the CEO ready?” Hoseok inquired.

“It has been. And no, I’m not going to tell you what it is,” you proudly answered.

“Oh c’mon! Mine is ready too! You’re a damn fool if you think I’m gonna steal your idea. I’m just curious,” he pouted.

“Fine. I’ll tell you if you tell me yours first,” you offered.

“So distrustful,” Hoseok feigned offense, “Okay, so I think offering higher bonuses for working overtime would be a good start. There could even be competitive bonuses in each department for the person who gets the best numbers that month.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” you said at first, “But don’t you think that would just create more animosity between coworkers?”

“I think competition is a healthy motivation factor. It worked for me in college,” Hoseok defended his idea.

“Everyone is competitive in college. Especially in the business schools,” you argued.

“Yeah, but not everyone is you,” Hoseok stated.

“Excuse me?”

“Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be here today if you weren’t always on my ass,” he admitted, “Being your rival was kinda fun. You got flustered so easily, it was almost cute.”

“I do not get flustered easily! Plus, it was always you who was on my ass,” you huffed.

“I see that you still do,” Hoseok laughed, “But seriously. The universe brought us together again so I guess it’s telling me to thank you.”

“That’s uncharacteristically nice of you to say,” you looked away from him to hide your reddening cheeks, “You pushed me too, so thanks for that...I guess.”

“Mhm, no problem buddy. I’ll see you in the next presentation room,” he got up to leave.

“Wait Hoseok!” you called after him.

“Yeah?” he turned around quickly.

“I didn’t tell you my idea--”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s brilliant,” he winked before walking away.

The rest of the day passed by quickly. You retired to your room, exhausted from all the forced socialization. Your mind was stuck on what Hoseok said earlier. Maybe he wasn’t as big of an asshole as you thought. Perhaps you mistook a friendly rivalry for toxic competition.

You were sprawled out across the bed in your pjs when Hoseok entered the room.

“Are you gonna sleep like that?” he asked.

“You’re gonna have to forcibly remove me from your side if you want it that badly,” you replied with your eyes still closed.

“That’s fine,” Hoseok said as he abruptly rolled you over to your side.

“Hey!” you squeaked out in protest.

“It was either that, or I laid on top of you and suffocated you.”

“Hmph,” you let out a displeased noise.

“Oh my god, you’re so bratty. How old are you?” Hoseok chuckled.

“Old enough to know that you’re a meanie,” your response was muffled by the pillow you buried your face in.

“Sorry I’m a what?” Hoseok teased.

“A meanie!” you quickly got up and slammed a pillow into Hoseok, catching him by surprise.

“I’m the meanie? You just pelted me with a pillow!” he cowered away from you.

“And I’ll do it again!” you threatened.

“I don’t think so,” Hoseok suddenly lurched forward, tackling you back onto your side of the bed.

You’re both laughing at this point. Seeing Hoseok up close and personal made you realize how handsome he truly was. Had he always been this attractive? Hoseok’s cheerful laugh echoed throughout the room as he loomed over you, pinning you down.

“I’ll get off if you promise not to hit me with a pillow ever again,” Hoseok tried to say in a serious tone, but his smile betrayed him.

“Sorry, I can’t make such a ridiculous promise,” you sassed.

“God, you really are so bratty. Kinda cute, kinda naughty,” Hoseok tsked.

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” you stuck your tongue out at him.

Hoseok leaned down to whisper in your ear, “Oh, I’m sure there’s something I could do.”

That sent chills down your spine. This was perhaps the most intimate moment you’ve shared with someone in a long time.

“Keep dreaming then, lover boy,” you said. Truth be told, just that one sentence turned you on, but you couldn’t let him know that.

“As you wish,” Hoseok released you and retreated back to his side of the bed.

“Maybe you aren’t as big of an asshole as I remembered,” you chuckled.

“You thought I was an asshole?” Hoseok laughed.

“I did. Maybe I still do. Not that it matters, we’ll never see each other again after this stupid conference.”

“That’s not true,” Hoseok disagreed, “I’ll be on the executive council, so you may see me from time to time.”

“I like the confidence. Too bad it’s in vain,” you teased, “I’m going to bed. Our day starts early tomorrow.”

“Our?”

“The. The day starts early tomorrow. Just go to bed Hoseok,” your turned over to conceal the faint smile on your face. Maybe he wasn’t so bad afterall.

The second day of the conference started off as boring as the previous day. The various presenters droned on about different strategies regarding the improvement of a company with a plethora of charts and numbers to back it all up. The CEO wasn’t as talkative today to either you or Hoseok. The VP still made his reassuring gestures to you, flashing smiles and winks here and there.

“Can I see you privately after the last morning presentation?” the VP whispered to you.

“Yes, of course!” you excitedly answer. Currying the VP’s favor may come in handy later.

After the last presentation, the VP discreetly led you to a vacant corner. His tone became serious as he began to speak.

“The CEO discussed his initial thoughts with me last night. I know I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but he’s currently leaning towards Hoseok,” he explained.

The news made your heart sink.

“I’d rather see you on the executive council, if I’m being frank. My pride is on the line since I recommended you,” his voice lowered, “However, I think there is a way to sway his opinion.”

“Which is?” you eagerly asked.

“Someone might overhear here, meet me in my room in an hour,” the VP covertly handed you his room key.

He walked away without another word. The fact that the VP was on your side gave you a faint sliver of hope. The next hour of free time was spent frantically networking while your mind was obviously elsewhere. Every now and then you heard Hoseok’s voice, and just the sound of it spurred you on to make even more connections. By the end of it, your face began to hurt from all the fake smiling.

You were standing in front of the VP’s hotel room exactly an hour after your secret rendezvous. The door opened immediately after you knocked.

“You’re extremely punctual; that’s wonderful,” the VP observed as you entered, “Make yourself comfortable.”

You scoured the room to find a place to sit. Your uneasiness must have been obvious, as the VP gestured towards the bed.

“Thank you,” you said as you awkwardly sat at the edge of the bed, “What is your plan?”

“It’s quite simple actually,” the VP sat beside you, “I just need to get to know you better. That way I can give an authentic and flawless review to the CEO.”

“So, you’re going to conduct an in-depth interview?” you asked timidly as you noticed him scooting closer to you.

“You could say that,” he voice lowered as he rested his hand on your thigh, “We have about 45 free minutes remaining. I believe you should make the most of this interview, Miss ___,” he smiled slyly as his hand began to travel upwards.

“How dare you?!” you yelled as you abruptly pushed him off of you, “I’m going to report you to HR!”

“Then say goodbye to your promotion. You really think you were chosen just because your numbers have been decent? You definitely were not the CEO’s first choice. He didn’t even know who you were. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be here,” he explained with a shit eating grin.

“Then why the hell would you even bring me up to the CEO? Just so you could try and sleep with me?” you were enraged.

“Don’t blame me for wanting some eye candy to entertain me during this god awful convention,” he smirked.

“Fuck you, you fucking pig,” you spat.

“Ohhh feisty. I like that in a girl. If you leave now, you can kiss that promotion goodbye,” the VP called out to you as you stormed towards the door.

“And you can kiss my ass, and shove that promotion up yours,” you snapped, flipping him off before slamming the door behind you.

Tears welled in your eyes as you made your way to your room. You were absolutely distraught. Had all your hard work been for nothing? Had you been nothing but a pretty sight for men to stare at for the past five years?

You entered your hotel room to find Hoseok laying on the bed. You quickly wiped away your tears; you hadn’t expected him to be there. He appeared to be taking a nap. You watched his chest rise and fall slowly as you snuck into the bathroom. You freshened yourself up to the best of your abilities. Maybe a little power nap would help calm your nerves. Too bad Hoseok was taking up the bed. Fuck.

You left the bathroom to see if maybe you could curl up in one of the corners of the bed. Luckily, Hoseok was on his side of the bed. You set a timer for half an hour and slowly crawled under the covers. Your eyelids felt heavy as you closed them.

“If you wanted to cuddle you could’ve just let me know,” Hoseok’s voice surprised you.

“Well, I don’t. Leave me alone,” you responded.

“What if I want to cuddle?” he asked.

“There is an abundance of perfectly good pillows for you to use,” you sighed, then sniffled a little.

“Are you sick?” Hoseok asked with a worried tone.

“No, I’m fine,” you answered quickly, panicking.

“___, what’s wrong?” Hoseok was sitting up now.

“Nothing, leave me alone,” you turned away.

“If you insist, I won’t push it. Just know that you can talk to me if you need to,” he offered.

You heard him get off the bed. You pulled the sheets over your head to hide your face. You cried silently as Hoseok shuffled around the room, presumably getting ready to leave. Suddenly, he pounced on you.

“Hoseok! What the fu--” you cried out as he yanked the sheets off of you.

“Surprise attack!” he gleefully exclaimed.

His expression quickly changed when he saw your tear streaked face. You looked up at him with puffy eyes. You were too exhausted to hold your cold stare. Instead, you looked away in embarrassment.

“___, what happened?” he asked softly.

“It doesn’t matter. But congrats, you basically got the promotion,” you laughed in defeat.

“You spoke with the CEO?” Hoseok was shocked.

“No, with the VP. That stupid son of a bitch. He--nevermind. I blew my chance, so the job is all yours. I am almost positive that I am unemployed now as well,” the tears returned and you couldn’t stop them.

“Hey, ___, it’s okay,” Hoseok tried to comfort you, “If the CEO didn’t tell you himself, then you can’t be 100% certain.”

“I was literally only invited because the VP tried to get in my pants!” you blurted out.

“What?” Hoseok was dumbfounded.

“He just told me that I’d have the job if I had sex with him. Can you fucking believe that? How long have I not been taken seriously? This has been so demoralizing,” you let it all out.

“Aw, c’mere,” Hoseok pulled you up and gave you a warm embrace, “What did you say to him?”

“I told him to shove it,” you sniffled against his firm chest.

“There’s the you I know. You haven’t changed a bit,” he chuckled, “We can talk to the CEO together tomorrow about this.”

“Why would you help me? The promotion is basically yours because of this,” you sighed.

“I don’t really care for it, if I’m being honest. I’m satisfied with my job now. I don’t want any more responsibilities,” he answered while stroking your hair.

“Then why are you here?” you looked up at him.

“I only agreed to come after they told me that you’d be here,” he admitted.

You didn’t know what to say. Too many things have happened in the past hour alone.

“Don’t get it twisted, I was just curious to see how you’ve been after all these years. Plus a free trip is always enticing. Getting to share a bed with you has just been an added bonus,” he smiled.

Your timer rang, causing you to break away from Hoseok’s arms.

“Guess it’s time to go to more boring meetings. Yay,” Hoseok feigned enthusiasm.

“I’m gonna stay here. There’s no point in me attending anymore,” you stated.

“Nope, you’re going. I’m dragging you with me! You gotta show the VP that he didn’t frazzle you at all. Fuck that guy. Well, not literally,” Hoseok was pulling you out of bed.

Hoseok subtly made sure that you sat between him and the CEO the entire time. You caught him giving the VP dirty looks, which made you feel a little better.

You quickly excused yourself after the last meeting and tried to make a break for your room. Unfortunately, Hoseok prevented you from doing so.

“You got a date for the banquet tonight?” he asked.

“No. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem because I’m not going. Have fun with your date though,” you shook your head.

“Who said I had a date?”

“I’m sure women were basically throwing themselves at you.”

“You’re not wrong, but I turned them all down. I have my eyes set on one gal.”

“Lucky her, I guess,” you rolled your eyes.

“Indeed. Although I still gotta ask her,” he looked around the room as if he was searching for her.

“You better hurry. Isn’t it in a couple hours?”

“Yep. Alright, here goes nothing!” Hoseok rushed off, finally giving you the chance to disappear.

You let out a sigh of relief as the elevator doors start to close. However, someone’s hand shot through at the last second. Hoseok stumbled in as the elevator doors reopened. You groaned. Why can’t you escape him?

“Did she say yes?” you asked with an indifferent tone.

“Not sure yet. Will you go to the banquet with me?” Hoseok asked.

“Fuck off.”

“Alright, well she just said no. Ouch,” Hoseok clicked his tongue.

“Wait, are you being serious?” your eyes widened.

“If the word ‘date’ threw you off, then I’m happy with going as friends,” he proposed.

“I’m flattered, but I’m really not in the mood to party with random strangers.”

“You don’t have to. Just party with me. Why would I let you be sad and mopey all alone in a hotel room when you could be drinking free booze?”

“Is the alcohol is free?”

“Duh, it’s all being charged to the company. Plus dinner is served.”

“Ok fine, I’ll go. I guess I didn’t pack that stupid dress for nothing.”

“Let’s not allow a gorgeous dress to go to waste,” Hoseok agreed.

“You haven’t even seen it,” you suppressed a smile.

“Anything can be gorgeous if you’re the one wearing it,” he winked.

“Oh, shut up,” a small smile cracked on your face.

Hoseok was the first to get ready for the banquet. He wanted your look to be a surprise so he insisted on going first. You were beginning to find his weird yet endearing antics kind of cute.

You weren’t prepared when he came out of the bathroom. You were well aware that Hoseok was a handsome guy, maybe even handsome enough to model. However, you weren’t ready when Hoseok emerged in a grey suit with his hair styled to reveal his forehead. His radiance was comparable to that of the sun, and he only shone brighter when he smiled at you.

“You look good,” you tried to act cool.

“Thank you! I’ll admit I do enjoy dressing up from time to time. But who doesn’t, am I right?” he beamed.

You nodded as you hauled your things into the bathroom. After about an hour, you were ready: fully dressed, makeup done, confidence soaring. You had forgotten how therapeutic dressing up could be.

Your dress was a deep emerald green that was elegant yet seductive. It had a side slit that flirtatiously showed off one of your legs. The neckline gracefully outlined your cleavage while still remaining on the classy side.

“Holy shit. You look amazing!” Hoseok praised you as soon as you stepped out.

“I was only trying to match you,” you said shyly, trying to hide your flushed cheeks.

“I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be the most breathtaking duo there. Shall we depart?” he extended out an arm.

The dinner started out with boring speeches by people you didn’t care to remember the names of. Hoseok elected to sit at the table furthest away from the stage, which was an excellent choice. That allowed the two of you to chat the night away in hushed voices. You both had already gone through five glasses of wine by the time the speeches were finally over.

“The dance floor is now open! Enjoy the rest of the night, and don’t forget that there’s an open bar!” the MC shouted through the mic.

The lights dimmed and a disco ball lowered in the center of the room. People began to crowd the dance floor. You laughed with Hoseok as you both observed various awkward shuffles and sways.

“Wanna dance?” Hoseok yelled over the music.

“I can’t!” you yelled back.

“I’m sure you can! Let’s go!” Hoseok didn’t wait for a reply.

He dragged you to an empty space on the dance floor. The two of you began drawing attention to yourselves as soon as you stepped out. Two beauties were dancing in the open for everyone to see. You shyly swayed to the rhythm of the music and laughed at Hoseok’s silly moves. However, Hoseok began to move in a way that was absolutely bewitching. He looked like a professional dancer with the way he commanded his body to hit every beat. Hoseok had drawn a very large crowd as people began cheering him on.

You were amazed by his stage presence. You’ve always had a thing for dancers, and he looked downright sexy. The song ended and Hoseok gave his audience a dramatic bow, awarding him deafening applause.

“I didn’t know you could dance!” you shouted when he returned to your side.

“I like to dance in my free time! Did you like it?” he shouted back.

“I’ll admit it was sexy,” you laughed.

“You think I’m sexy?”

“Maybe I do,” you winked.

You had more fun than you expected while dancing with Hoseok. He made you feel secure, so you were able to let loose. You didn’t care what you looked like, as long as Hoseok was there with you.

The night progressed and you began to feel bold. A particularly raunchy song came on, as if it were asking you to grind on Hoseok. And that’s exactly what you did. You guided his hands to your hips as you grinded into his crotch

“You sure you wanna be doing that?” Hoseok spoke into your ear with a low voice.

“Absolutely,” you replied.

Hoseok spun you around and gazed at you intimately while he brought you closer into his body. Various body parts were rubbing against each other now. The sexual tension was palpable.

Hoseok’s hands were running up and down your body, and your mouth was dangerously close to his neck. The scent of his cologne was intoxicating. You couldn’t help yourself; you leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on his neck. His low growl was an indication that he liked it, so you kissed him again with more vigor.

“You’re going to have to stop,” he scolded.

“Shit, I’m sorry. Did I overstep your boundaries?” you were embarrassed.

“Absolutely not. But I can’t fuck you out here in public now can I?” he towed you off the dance floor and made a beeline for the elevators.

Thank god no one else was in the elevator, neither of you could keep your paws off of each other. Hoseok’s hands were unabashedly feeling you up and down while his crotch was slowly grinding into yours. Your arms were wrapped around his neck as you planted kisses along his sharp jawline.

Hoseok couldn’t stop whispering naughty things into your ear during the entire elevator trip up to your shared room. His lowered voice sent chills down your spine as he expressed just how eager he was to finally have you. You felt yourself getting wetter by the second.

“I wanted to strip off that dress the moment I saw you wearing it,” he cooed, “God, I can’t wait to see how beautiful you’ll look underneath me.”

“Hoseok, do you ever shut up?” you teased with a coy smile.

“I dunno, you might have to make me,” he played along.

“Maybe sitting on your handsome face will do the trick,” you said as you nipped his ear.

“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

The elevator doors finally opened, and Hoseok quickly dragged you out. He immediately tore off your dress the moment the hotel room door was closed. You did him the same favor as you frantically unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his toned body.

“Why don’t you be a good boy and wait for me on the bed?” you suggested.

“Yes ma’am,” he complied, his eyes never leaving your body.

“Like what you see?” you asked, turning around slowly to fully show off the lingerie that perfectly complimented your body.

“You are so fucking sexy, ___,” Hoseok smiled in awe.

“I’m so glad you think so. You’re not too bad yourself,” you winked at him.

You finally joined Hoseok on the bed. You kiss his body from his abdomen all the way up his chest before stopping at his mouth. You took a second to relish the feeling of his plush lips against yours before he deepened the kiss with a ferocious intensity.

“Wanna try and shut me up now?” Hoseok lifted his eyebrows suggestively once the kiss broke.

“With pleasure,” you responded as you began to position yourself above him, “Wait, do you want me to take this off?” you gestured to your undergarments.

“No need,” he said before abruptly pulling aside your panties.

You slowly lowered yourself onto his face and stopped when you felt his breath on your pussy. Hoseok impatiently gripped your hips and pulled you directly onto his tongue. The sudden contact made you gasp. Hoseok didn’t waste any time getting down to business.

He flattened his tongue out to cover as much area as possible as he licked across your folds. He expertly flicked and lapped your pussy in the perfect places. Your legs began to tremble, and you had to grip onto the bed’s headboard for support.

You looked down to see the beautiful man’s face buried in your pussy; that sight alone was almost enough to bring you over the edge. Hoseok’s hands slithered their way up to your chest, where he began to twist and pull at your sensitive nipples through your bra.

“You taste--so good,” Hoseok panted out from underneath you.

“Should I get off--fuck!” you were interrupted by Hoseok sucking on your clit.

His mouth was heaven sent. Your body began to heat up and soon you lost the strength to hold yourself up even against the headboard.

You cried out as you came all over Hoseok’s face. His face was glistening with your juices as he smiled up at you. He seductively licked his lips to taste you again.

“Your turn?” you asked.

“As much as I wanna see your pretty lips wrapped around my cock, I think I need to be inside you more,” he replied as he repositioned himself.

He stripped off the rest of his clothing. You watched with admiration as more of his skin became exposed.

“You can take off the fancy underwear now,” he said once he caught you staring.

“You don’t want to see it anymore?” you fakeed a pout.

“___, you’re drop dead gorgeous in it. However, I advise you to take it off yourself because I won’t hold back. I don’t want to ruin your underwear, just you,” he replied.

Hoseok mixed in little nibbles while he kissed along your neck. Your voice dripped with bliss as you quietly moaned.

“I guess you do like being bitten, huh? What about this?” Hoseok licked your neck, causing you to squirm underneath him.

“I think I like that too,” you whispered, biting your lip.

You wriggled out of your undergarments, leaving yourself completely naked in front of Hoseok. You pull at the hem of Hoseok’s underwear, eager to see what he was packing.

You were not disappointed. Although he was well endowed, what he lacked in length was made up for in girth.

“Do you want me to use a condom?” he asked.

“I’m on the pill, and I’m pretty sure I’m clean. I haven’t been intimate in an embarrassingly long amount of time,” you admitted, blushing.

“I find that hard to believe,” Hoseok said while kissing around your face, “Since you’re so damn beautiful,” his lips found yours and led you into a passionate kiss.

His hips began to grind into yours, his dick rubbing against your bare pussy. You wrapped your legs around him, bringing him closer.

“Please don’t tease me,” you pleaded.

“What are the magic words?” Hoseok teased.

“Fuck me, Hobi,” you begged.

“Oh my fucking god,” he growled.

He slammed his hips into yours, not giving you enough time to adjust to him. The stretch was intense at first, but it soon turned into nothing but pleasure. Your euphoria grew as he rhythmically bucked his hips into you.

Hoseok spread your legs out as wide as you could go, giving him quite the erotic view that only aroused him more. You tried to stifle your moans, but were failing miserably.

“Don’t hold back baby, let me hear you. Show me how good I make you feel,” he leaned over to whisper into your ear.

You complied instantly, your moans resounding around the room. Hoseok’s position allowed him to hit you deeply with every stroke. Without a word, he pulled out of you and flipped you over onto your knees. He roughly forced your chest down, leaving your ass in the air for him.

“Your ass is so fucking fat,” he said as his hand connected with your bare skin, causing you to shriek.

He kissed it afterward while his fingers teased your clit. He realigned himself with your entrance. This new position was even better than the last. You could no longer hold in your moans even if you wanted to. Hoseok repeatedly hit your g-spot, and you could feel another orgasm welling up within you.

“Hobi, I’m gonna cum,” you cry out.

“Say that again,” he demanded.

“I-i’m gonna cum!”

“No, not that. That’s hot but call me Hobi again,” he chuckled.

“Hobi!” you said with an exasperated tone.

“Yes princess? Fuck, I’m close,” Hoseok’s movements were becoming more haphazard by the second.

“Hobi, right there oh my god keep going please,” you begged, “Hobi...ah shit!” you came undone.

It wasn’t long after until Hoseok followed suit, pulling out to cum all over your ass. He rolled off the bed to get something to clean you up with.

“How are you feeling?” Hoseok asked.

“Better. You?” you answered.

“Doing pretty well. I fucked the girl of my dreams,” he said gleefully.

“Shut up,” you playfully pushed him.

“I’m serious. I’ve adored you since college. I lived for your playful banter,” he began to explain.

“It wasn’t playful,” you interjected.

“Yeah, I know. But that’s what made it fun! All the other girls just wanted to be with me for my looks or whatever. None of them knew the real me.”

“And I did?”

“More so than most. You always pushed me to do my best. I really just wanted to be good enough for you. Kind of silly huh? I even dated that girl in an attempt to make you jealous. Which backfired since her dad was Professor whatshisface who took me on that trip,” Hoseok opened up.

“Hobi I...I’m so sorry. I was such a bitch to you back then. And now too I guess. My competitive side gets the better of me. I was always annoyed by how you were seemingly good at everything. It even irritated me that you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in my life,” you began to apologize, “Oh, and his name is Namjoon. Professor Namjoon.”

“Thanks for reminding me. I hate to admit it but he made me a little jealous. I wanted you to praise me the way you praised him. Anyway, things can change now that everything's out in the open,” Hoseok smiled, “You’re even calling me Hobi! I’ve been dreaming about this moment.”

“Was it everything you ever hoped for?” you joked.

“You said it when you asked me to fuck you, then you said it multiple times while I was balls deep inside of you. So yeah, I would say it was everything I could’ve hoped for, if not more,” he pulled you into his chest.

The two of you continued talking for what felt like hours while cuddling. You hadn’t been this relaxed in ages. You were nearly asleep on his chest when he stroked a strand of hair from your face.

“Tomorrow will be interesting, huh?” he said softly.

“I guess I still have to pitch my idea to the CEO,” you sighed softly, “What a waste of time.”

“It’s not a waste of time if you’re gonna get the promotion,” Hoseok reprimanded.

“I already told you, I’m not. The VP will make sure that you get it. This is good for you. Don’t worry about me,” you kissed his cheek, “We should get some sleep now.”

“Alright. Goodnight, ___,” he kissed your forehead.

“Goodnight Hobi.”

“Fuck, I really love when you say that.”

It was time. Time to pitch your idea to the CEO for no damn reason. You were beyond nervous, and Hoseok could tell. He tried to ease your nerves by giving you a firm shoulder massage as you both waited to be called into a small conference room.

The VP emerged, ignoring your mean scowl, and called Hoseok in to present first. Of course he would go first, no need to waste time hearing your proposal.

It was an anxiety riddled wait. You recounted the previous day’s events, which was a mistake because that only infuriated you. The whole situation was an affront on your character, and you will not stand for it. You debated giving the VP another piece of your mind at the end of everything.

“___, you’re up,” the VP called you after Hobi finished.

“You’re gonna kill it,” Hobi encouraged you, coupled with a pat on the back.

“This is pointless and you know that,” you sighed.

Hobi shook his head in disagreement. It was heartwarming to see how supportive he was being. Maybe it was due to the fact that the job was practically his already. It doesn’t matter now.

“Good morning gentlemen,” you greet them.

“The floor is yours, Miss ___,” the CEO responded cordially.

“I’ll keep it short and simple. I propose that the best way to improve the company is to shorten work day hours and increase PTO days,” you said confidently.

“Is that it? Can you expound on that?” the VP cynically asked.

“Yes, I’m so glad you asked,” you smiled coldly, “Studies show that employees are exponentially more productive when they are happier. Not only will the company become more efficient, but the overall company atmosphere will become more positive. Interpersonal relationships between employees and bosses will improve in an appropriate professional manner,” you glared at the VP.

“That’s a very interesting take,” the CEO said thoughtfully, “Do you have any suggestions regarding the actual work that the company does?”

“No sir. The company has been thriving, so I believe that the way things are running now are proficient. However, as a company, we should always be willing to listen to our employees’ concerns,” you stated.

“You’ve brought up interesting points to the table. As an employee, do you have any concerns you’d like to express?” the CEO asked.

“There is one pressing matter that comes to mind,” you stole a glance at the VP to see him shift uncomfortably in his seat, “I firmly expect that employee/supervisor relationships should be strictly professional.”

“Are you just giving us your opinion on office romances?” the VP sneered.

“I believe that trying to use intimacy as leverage is highly immoral, if not a fireable offense,” you held your ground.

“Of course,” the CEO agreed.

“Then said employee would simply need to file a complaint with HR,” the VP dismissed you.

“What better way to get my complaint heard than speaking directly to the CEO?” you smiled sweetly, “Sir, yesterday the man sitting beside you crudely suggested that I sleep with him in order to gain the promotion. He also alluded that all of my accomplishments are for naught, and that I am purely ‘eye candy’.”

“Is this true?” the CEO asked his VP in dismay.

“Of course not. She’s grasping at straws. Look how desperate she is to get the job,” the VP quickly defended himself.

“I am not lying. I am fully prepared to be fired on the spot. I cannot continue to work at a company that allows this kind of sloppy behavior to go unpunished. Thank you for your time,” you bowed and quickly took your leave.

You released a huge sigh as soon as you were outside of the room. Hobi rushed over to your side. Suddenly, you began to laugh hysterically. Hobi looked at you nervously, obviously concerned about your mental state.

“Isn’t it so funny? All my hard work had just been flushed down the toilet by a stupid man drunk on power. I love that!” you wheezed.

“___, ___ calm down. What happened?” Hobi inquired.

You told him what just went down. A smile crept across his face as you got to the part where you put the VP on the spot.

“I wouldn’t count yourself out just yet dude,” Hoseok shrugged, “All we can do is wait.��

“Yeah, I’ll be the first one to congratulate you on your new job. Then I’ll begin my search for a new one,” you gave him a thumbs up.

The VP stumbled out of the room and angrily stomped towards the both of you.

“You fucking bitch! Who do you think you are? Do you even know what you’ve done? I know people. I’m gonna make sure your life is hell!” he yelled at you.

“That’s enough! You have been dismissed. I do not want to see your face around here again. Clean out your office on Monday,” the CEO ordered, “Would the both of you please follow me back into the room?”

You both timidly followed him, curious as to what he had to say.

“I apologize on behalf of the company for this incident. This isn’t the first time a complaint has been filed against him. Unfortunately, he always told me that they were just futile grasps for leverage and I foolishly believed him. However, his loss is your gain,” he smiled, “How would you like to be my new Vice President?”

You were agog. Hoseok’s eyes widened as he stood beside you.

“Surely there are more qualified people,” you stammered in disbelief.

“There definitely are. But none of them are what this company needs. It takes a special person to have their rival pitch all the reasons why you are a better candidate than they are,” the CEO happily nodded.

“I- he what?” you cast a surprised look at Hobi.

“Oh yes. He spent all his time highlighting your best qualities as an employee. It was quite a shock,” the CEO smiled.

“I will humbly accept your offer. Thank you so much sir, I will work even harder!” you bowed gratefully.

“That brings me to Mr. Jung. The position on the executive council is yours, if you want it,” the CEO offered.

“If the offer is unopposed, then I have no choice but to accept. I will do my best!” Hobi joined in your bowing.

“Wonderful! It’ll be refreshing to see some lively young faces at those atrocious meetings,” the CEO laughed, “Oh, and one more thing. The two of you will have to relocate to the main branch, I hope that’s okay. I look forward to working with both of you.”

You both nodded gleefully. After the CEO dismissed the pair of you, the trip back up to your hotel room was nothing but joyous. It was like you were in a dream that you never wanted to wake up from. You even pinched each other to make sure it was all real.

“I can’t believe you were advocating for me,” you hugged him.

“You deserve it. Your impressive diligence should not go unrewarded,” he squeezed you tighter, “Plus, this ended up being pretty sweet! Congratulations to both of us!”

“We need to go out to celebrate!” you wiggled.

“Yes! Let me take you out,” Hobi tackled you onto the bed.

“Where shall we go?” you playfully ask.

“Maybe we should go explore our new city together?” he suggested.

“Our?”

“Yes, our. And when I say I’m gonna take you out, I mean as a date. Because I want to date you. And have been wanting to for years,” Hoseok charismatically emphasized.

“I’m looking forward to starting this new chapter of my life with you then, Mr. Jung Hoseok,” you press your forehead against his.

“Imma be all up in your bidness girl,” he joked.

“Your business is my business now loser,” you teased back.

Looks like all that hard work had paid off, and there’s no better reward than finally being with Jung Hoseok.

#bts smut #bangtanarmynet #btswritingcafe #btscreatorscorner #ksmutclub #jung hoseok smut #bts angst #jung hoseok angst #bts fanfic #jhope smut #jhope angst #kpop fanfic #jhope fanfic #jung hoseok fanfic

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luxekook · 4 years

Text

RESPECT ✩ namgi

✩ as part of @btswritingcafe‘s mots: 7 collab ✩

✩ pairing: king namjoon x witch reader x king yoongi

✩ genre: soulmate au, fantasy au, angst, smut, fluff, a sprinkle of crack

✩ summary: in a land where the only openly acceptable magic is intrinsic soulmate bonds, what is a lowly witch to do when she is called upon by not just one king but two?

✩ word count: 7.1k

✩ warnings: 18+, cursing, magic, societal oppression, mention of snakes, reader has hella trust issues, begging, general cheesy fluff, smut [dom!reader, dom!namjoon, switch!yoongi, threesome (duh), throne sex (yuh), yoongi gets taken to paris and then the reader gets double teamed (aka double penetration)]

✩ beta’d by: the MAGNIFICENT phia @meowxyoong

✩ banner by: the ILLUSTRIOUS danica @dee-ehn

Magic danced at your fingertips as you summoned ingredients from the shelves behind you. You had been brewing this potion for hours - a tedious and tumultuous process that always accompanied the crafting of wolfsbane. It was a badly kept secret that you supplied the temporary suppressant along with a variety of other magical remedies, spells, and an occasional curse or two.

There were - of course - limits on what you would provide. You did not take too kindly to townspeople that asked for dark spells or soulmate switches. Your fellow magical and supernatural folk in the kingdom of Meridian were ostracized enough as it was by the majority of the wealthier classes. To add on to your bad reputation would be a foolish endeavor.

Magic - it seemed - was a poor man’s trade. Why would the rich deign to ask for help from lowly witches and warlocks when they had access to the best doctors, the furthest overseas markets, and the fattest bank accounts? The occasional upper class individual would stray from the norm and enter your shop, but that was a rarity. And thank god it was.

The rich and the royals often feared what they did not understand – whether it be foreign powers, lower class revolts, or magical beings. For centuries, supernaturals like yourself clung to the outer rim of the kingdom out of necessity. Some who were able to pass as human lived closer to the castle at the center of the kingdom; but, you had long since lost your cover, choosing to openly use your powers for good and for a source of income.

While the two current rulers had lifted the outright ban on supernaturals and magical beings a few years ago, centuries of prejudice and trepidation could not be quickly unlearned.

It always struck you as ironic how easily the magic of soulmates was accepted, but a simple spell of healing, for example, was not. Perhaps the acceptance of soulmate magic was out of the longevity of its presence or the necessity of its inevitability - perhaps a combination of the two. You were taught from a young age that soulmate bonds felt like a welcomed tether to another person - a connection celebrated and cherished. And, in most cases, that rang true.

However, you knew too much to hope for a soulmate of your own, having heard too many stories from your fellow magic wielders. You knew all too much about the severance of soulmate bonds and the pain that accompanied the process – the pain that never left.

Obviously, you were downright terrified of finding your soulmate and the almost certain rejection that would follow over the mere fact you were a witch. You would stick to your spells and your potions, thank you very much.

Giving the wolfsbane one final stir, you reached for the empty bottle next to your cauldron, only to be interrupted by a thumping knock on the thick wood of your front door. Sighing, you set down the bottle and doused the flames beneath your finished brew with a flick of your hand.

Turning to the door, you cast a quick reveal-spell at the dividing barrier between you and the newcomers. The magic dripped down the door, erasing it from your sight.

Kim Taehyung waited expectantly on the other side, body practically vibrating with anticipation. You rolled your eyes. That boy always carried way too much energy with him. He pounded again on your door. You smirked, it always seemed funny when visitors would continue to knock on what was - for you - an invisible barrier.

You waved the spell away with another wave of your palm. Pulling open the door, you failed to get a word in before you were swept into a giant hug. “(Y/n)!” Taehyung bellowed in your ear while he swung you around.

“Tae,” You wheezed, “Can’t. Breathe.”

The werewolf let you stand on your feet once more. “How is my favorite witch?” He asked, looking at you expectantly.

You sighed, chuckling slightly, “Tae, I’m the only witch you know besides Sinestra, and she scares you.”

Taehyung gasped, “She does not scare me! She’s just mean. She threatened to turn me into a cactus last time I went to her shop!” A pout formed on his face.

“Well,” You cannot resist teasing the boy, “She did say that you were being a prick.”

Taehyung shot you a playful glare and mumbled something about damned witches sticking together.

Deciding to let him off the hook, you headed back over to where the wolfsbane was left waiting to be bottled. “It just finished,” You told Taehyung as he trailed after you. “But, Taehyung, you really should just tell him.”

The reason that Taehyung repressed his wolf each month was none other than his soulmate - a human named Jimin. Tae was terrified of Jimin’s reaction to discovering his supernatural side. You thought his fear was justified, but you also figured that Jimin would be accepting of Tae just from how the werewolf described him.

Besides, it seemed inevitable that Jimin would catch on at some point. And Taehyung seemed to know that, too.

Tae’s shoulders sagged, “I know, (y/n). I’ll think about it.”

With that, you nodded and dropped the subject, pouring the portion of the potion Taehyung needed into a bottle. Capping it tightly, you handed it to him, “Here. Remember to take it with food this time, okay?”

He smiled widely, clutching the bottle close to his chest. “Thank you! I will, (y/n).” Pulling you into one more hug, Taehyung waltzed out the door with a wave.

You smiled wistfully at his departure. So full of life, that one was. You just knew that his soulmate would accept him. You also recognized that you were not like Taehyung. You weren’t as vibrant, as gentle, or as beautiful. Would your soulmate be able to look past all your magic and stay for you? You didn't think so.

Shaking yourself from your negative thoughts, you carefully bottle up the rest of the wolfsbane for your stores. Even though you had long since stopped charging Taehyung, there were other werewolves nearby that you sold the potion to for quite a pretty penny.

You had barely begun to shelve the bottles when another knock sounded at your door. Cracking a wry smile, you yanked the door open, “Tae, what did you forget to tell me this ti—”

The knock had not been from Taehyung. Instead, two palace guards stood there, shoulder to shoulder.

Oh, this was not good. Having any lingering association with the palace would hurt your business. It was always best to deal with potentially hazardous situations quickly. Pulling open the door wider, you stood with hands on your hips, facing the two intruders. They both gaped at you, and you arched an eyebrow at them. “Can I help you, boys?”

You took their continued silence as an opportunity to flick your eyes up and down each of the men before you.

The one on the right looked like he had just passed the guards’ test with his widened doe eyes and his flushed pink cheeks. The one on the left looked slightly older but no less youthful as he seemed to bounce on his toes with energy.

Seconds ticked by until - finally - the second guard exclaimed, “You’re (y/n)? The witch?”

“Last time I checked, yes,” You addressed the guard who had spoken. You dubbed him ‘Happy’. “Were you expecting me to look differently?”

“I heard that you were super old! Like over one hundred years old!” Doe-eyes unhelpfully answered before widening his eyes in panic, “Not that there’s anything wrong with being old! I mean, I love old people! But, not, like, romantically! I mean—”

Happy seemed to notice your mood darkening with each word his partner spewed out. Shoving the younger guard aside, Happy puffed out his chest and announced with pride, “We are members of the Royal Guard sent to escort you to the palace, Miss Witch.”

Doe-eyes nodded swiftly next to him, cowering slightly as you continued to glare at him.

“First of all, please never ever call me ‘Miss Witch’. My name is (y/n),” You uttered, completely unamused, “Second of all, what happens if I refuse your escort?”

The guards slid each other a look.

“Ah, I see,” You murmured, mood darkening even still, “Was there an implied ‘by any means necessary’ tacked on to the end of that sentence that I didn’t hear?”

“She’s a mind reader!” Doe-eyes gasped, leaping behind Happy and peering slightly around his shoulder at you.

You rolled your eyes at the sight of his quivering form, “Calm down, kid. I’m not into non-consensual mind reading.” Shooting the baffled duo a wink, you turned to open your door further. “Please, come in,” You insisted. It was obvious there was no avoiding your summons, but that did not mean your business would suffer.

“But our orders...” Happy failed to follow through with his attempted protest as he practically jumped past you into your little cottage. What an intense curiosity that one had, you mused. Meanwhile, the younger guard seemed more trepidatious, practically tiptoeing across the threshold and into your humble abode.

You shook your head at the way the two palace guards were quickly captivated by your gathered crystals, your worn spellbooks, and your wall of potion ingredients. Swiftly, you shelved the rest of the wolfsbane potion like you had tried to do before being interrupted.

Your clients would have to pick it up themselves. Scrawling a quick note to your fellow witch Sinestra about the recent events just in case, you vanish it to her with a snap of your fingers.

“Whoa,” Two awed voices sounded from behind you.

“It went ‘poof’!” Doe-eyes yelled, tugging on the sleeve of his fellow guard, “Did you see?”

“Do you want to go ‘poof’, too?” You smiled evilly, wiggling your fingers in his direction.

“Ah, hyung! She’s threatening me!”

“Get it together, bro,” Happy rolled his eyes. Turning to address you, he asked expectantly, “Ready to go now, (y/n)?”

“As I’ll ever be,” You muttered, grabbing your cloak from the rack by the door. Ushering the two men out before you, you quickly cast your protective charms on your home. Now, no one besides your most trusted clients should be able to enter.

Satisfied, you trailed behind the guards as they walked over to where their horses were tied to one of the many nearby trees surrounding your cottage. At least they didn't seem to be malicious in their intent. Their backs were to you, either a sign of trust or blatant stupidity. Only time would tell, you guessed.

"You'll ride with me," Happy smiled at you as he held his palm out for you to take. You shrugged, ignoring his hand to mount the horse on your own. "Alright then," The guard muttered as he seated himself behind you, "Let's go."

The journey towards the heart of the kingdom was not one you made often. It was only out of necessity that you sometimes ventured to the more expensive markets for key ingredients. The looming castle always stirred up inexplicable and foreign feelings of longing and fascination. You feared that actually entering it this time would be almost too overwhelming.

As the three of you made your way through the town you lived in, you received some tentative smiles and concerned looks from those in which you interacted with regularly. Visitors from the palace were rarities in these parts of the kingdom. You didn't blame people for being concerned by the guards’ appearance and by your departure with them.

The day wore on as you made your way through village after village, stopping only for a quick lunch. All too soon the palace appeared on the horizon. The looks you received from the townspeople were no longer cordial or concerned. They were full of suspicion and condescension.

You shrugged it off as best you could. You had bigger things to worry about - starting with whatever was waiting for you on the other side of the looming palace gates.

The large engraved metal doors swung open with your approach as Happy and Doe-eyes nodded to the guards posted there. Your breath caught in your throat. The castle was magnificent. The stone structure seemed to shine with a silvery sheen. Large stained glass windows gleamed from the many stories and towers adorning the palace. Vines wound their way up the walls despite the best efforts of the gardeners to stem their growth.

You stifled a laugh as one such gardener attempted to do so, but the vine refused to budge. Maybe there was some magic here after all.

Two other palace guards walked over to where the three of you had come to a stop inside the palace gates. Doe-eyes dismounted first and then offered a hand in your direction. This time, you decided to take the olive branch and accepted his assistance.

“Okay, ready?” Happy nodded at you and pointed towards the castle doors. “Let’s go. We don’t want to keep the kings waiting.”

“Oh, no,” You gasped, slapping a hand to your heart, “That would be a travesty.”

Doe-eye’s mouth quirked at the corners like he had stifled a laugh, while Happy spluttered something about respect. The short walk to the front entrance was much too short for your liking. You felt like you were walking to your doom - and maybe you were. The two guards had given you no clues as to the purpose of your summoning. That was such bullshit.

The heavy gold encrusted front doors creaked open as you approached. The foyer of the palace beckoned to you with that familiar pull. You sighed as you took in the expensive decor. From the shiny marble floors to the heavy purple drapery, you could see yourself living here all too easily. Why did you feel so called to this place? Well, you had always thought of yourself as a queen.

Laughing to yourself, you let yourself be ushered down an adjacent corridor to the right of the foyer. You barely noticed where you were headed since your attention lingered on the gorgeous paintings that lined the walls. You probably should have been more alert because you suddenly found yourself at the cusp of the throne room.

The second you entered the room your attention was captured by the two men lounging on elevated thrones at the focal point of the room. These must be the kings, you mused. You had never seen them in person before, but their reputations preceded them. Your magic surged as you neared the kings. Was there a threat nearby? You shift a glance throughout the wide hall.

Courtesans were scattered amidst large marble columns adorned with intertwining gold and silver accents. The majority of those gathered gaped at you in distaste, while a small handful simply spared a few curious glances. You couldn't spot a single person you knew in the bunch - not that you had expected to - nor could you find a source of outright danger.

Still, your magic thrummed louder within you as you continued on your way towards the kings.

Your heart sank. This was not a reaction based on imminent danger. No, you knew what this was; someone here was your soulmate. And, when your eyes finally landed on the two men who summoned you, you had to choke down the hysterical laugh that bubbled up inside you.

King Yoongi reclined lazily on his ornate silver and black onyx throne, his body lax but his eyes sharp. His laser-focused attention on you made your stomach flip. You held his gaze as best you could, taking in the delicate dark silk of his diamond encrusted tunic and the tousled auburn hair on which his silver crown resided. He was beautiful.

And he was your soulmate.

Could he feel the tether between you? Had he known about it somehow before you did? Was this why were you here?

Your eyes slid over to the right, unable to take the heat of King Yoongi’s gaze; King Namjoon’s curious eyes met yours. Unlike his partner, King Namjoon leaned forwards on his gold and emerald throne, avidly taking you in like you were a subject of study. And perhaps you were… You studied him right back. This king was no less intimidating in his scrutiny than the other. His elbows rested on his knees, his hands steepled in front of his face as he stared you down. The intelligence you saw within the depths of his brown eyes clued you in that this was a king that no one could fool.

And, since fate was clearly a bitch, he was your soulmate, too.

You came to a stop before the kings amidst the sea of murmuring courtiers. “Bow,” Doe-eyes whispered to you, urgently prodding you in the side with his hand. You only stood straighter. You bowed to no one, and you certainly would not bow to your soulmates - no matter their status.

“Leave us.” At King Namjoon’s command, the room emptied. Your two escorts remained behind you. “Hoseok, Jungkook, that includes you,” King Namjoon lifted his chin as he swished a hand in dismissal of the two guards.

“But, sire—”

King Yoongi spoke for the first time, effectively cutting Happy off, “Don’t worry, Hoseok. What can one little witch do to us?”

Oh, you could think of a lot of things. Your thoughts must have been written all over your face because King Namjoon glanced at you and immediately let out a deep chuckle.

Glaring at the two men before you, you decided that one way or another they would learn to respect you. The guards you now knew to be Hoseok and Jungkook exited the room, leaving you alone with the two kings - your two soulmates.

Now, it seemed that you were somehow in a staring contest with both of them at once. Fine, if they didn't want to talk, you would.

“So, nice weather we’re having, huh,” Your tone could not be any drier.

“Indeed,” King Namjoon quirked a half smile, and you realized you might be in over your head as his dimple made its first appearance.

You hated the whole power imbalance thing going on right now - the two of them sitting silently on an elevated platform lording over where you stood. Gathering all your dignity and lack thereof, you placed your hands on your ample hips and raised your eyebrows, “Well? Did you summon me just to stare?”

“No,” King Yoongi drawled, cupping his chin in his hand, “But you are quite delightful to look at, soulmate… That is, if this is your true form.”

You let the backhanded compliment simmer as King Namjoon chastised his partner, shooting him a warning look.

“Ah, yes,” You finally say, swiping at a nonexistent tear, “You’ve caught me. My true form is actually so old that it’s partially decomposed. Ah, silly me. I thought I would spare you from the grotesque monstrosity.”

King Namjoon burst into uproarious laughter. “Yoongi-ah,” He wheezed, “You’ve really met your match this time.”

Opposite him, King Yoongi scowled, “It was a fair question! The last witch that we summoned could shift into an owl.”

“You’ve met Helvetica?” You blinked, thinking of the only witch you knew with that ability, “She’s legendary.” Then, it registered. “Wait, what do you mean she was ‘the last witch you summoned’... Why have you been summoning witches left and right?”

“Isn’t it obvious now?” King Namjoon smiled, “We’ve been looking for you.”

“You see, (y/n),” King Yoongi purred your name, inciting a shiver down your spine, “Namjoon and I are also soulmates.” He gracefully shifted to his feet before walking down the few steps to where you still stood.

Circling you like a shark in water, King Yoongi continued, “But we had been feeling lonely despite our connection. We couldn't figure out why.”

“That’s right,” King Namjoon chimed in from his throne, “We tried everything to fill that void.”

“And we mean everything,” King Yoongi whispered in your ear, twirling a strand of your hair around his finger.

“We were quite desperate,” King Namjoon laughed lightly. He, too, rose to his feet and made his way to stand before you.

Your heart felt like it might beat out of your chest from the sheer sensation of being caught in between these two beautiful men. King Yoongi continued to play with your hair from his position behind you. King Namjoon’s heavy gaze pinned you in place with its wicked intent.

“Desperate enough to contact King Seokjin of Andolia and request that his top Seer be sent to us to do a reading.” King Yoongi’s words caused you to jolt back slightly in shock. Andolia was known to be a more liberal kingdom than yours. It was a kingdom of magic, of carnal pleasure, of beauty.

Plus, King Seokjin was practically famous for his good looks and for his love of otherworldly entertainment.

“You outsourced from Andolia? Couldn't you just have asked one of the Seers here in Meridian?” It seemed absurd to you that these two kings reached out to another land so unlike their own for assistance - especially when you knew of at least four Seers in your own land.

King Yoongi and King Namjoon exchanged a look. “The Seers in our kingdom weren't exactly forthcoming, (y/n).” The taller king in front of you withered under your responding glare.

Could they really blame the Seers for not coming forward to help the very kingdom that had rejected them for so long? You certainly didn't think so.

King Yoongi continued, “Well, King Seokjin sent us his personal Seer Moonbyul… And imagine our surprise when she took one look at us and laughed.”

“‘No wonder you’re lonely! You’re missing one,��” King Namjoon quoted the Seer’s past words with air quotes. You had to bite down a smile over the cuteness of his action. “And not just anyone… a witch no less!”

His tone was light, jovial. You couldn't tell his feelings on your magical status no matter how hard you searched his twinkling brown eyes. Turning slightly, you assessed the other king who looked no less unreadable.

Still staring at King Yoongi, you questioned, “Okay, so you knew your other soulmate was a witch, and you just decided to summon every witch in Meridian to check them out? Do you have any idea how much that would scare us?”

The shorter king had the decency to look a bit embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck in discomfort. “I guess we were too excited by the prospect of finding you.”

You fought down the hopeful feeling inside you. There was no way these two actually wanted to keep your bond to them, right? Not in this economy…

“I’m just going to be straight up with you.” You pulled away from their hold and paced away to climb up a couple steps so you were finally the same height. “I think you searched for me because you want to sever our bond.”

The two kings moved to interrupt you, but you just held a palm in the air, “No, let me finish. Look, I’ve already come to terms with the fact that my soulmate wouldn't want to be tied to a witch. And why should I even want to be with someone who doesn’t respect me or my craft?”

You lowered your palm, effectively lifting the unspoken silencing charm you had cast on them.

The first thing that King Yoongi said once he recovered his voice was: “Damn, that was sexy.”

And the second? “I would rather sever my left arm than sever our bond.”

“Well,” You blinked as King Namjoon nodded emphatically besides his partner, “That’s a bit dramatic.”

“Please don’t write us off that easily, (y/n),” The taller king begged, “Don’t you feel it? The tether between the three of us? Can’t you see we were made for each other?”

Oh, you felt it. You felt the pull so deeply that you feared you might lose yourself within them.

But if the spark you felt for them was akin to a flame, you weren’t sure if you were the darkness longing to be brightened or the moth destined to be burned.

Would it be worth it to give up your current life to be with them? Could you leave Taehyung and your little cottage? Could you survive in a court that held no love for your kind?

Your prolonged hesitance clearly worried the two kings before you.

“What can we do to show you how much we want you here with us?” King Yoongi implored, his hand drifting out to clasp with King Namjoon’s.

Staring down at the unified front the kings presented, you realized that your soulmates could offer you so much if you let them. By accepting the bond, you could gain the ability to help others more broadly than just offering simple spells of assistance. You could feel safe and secure. And, you could even allow yourself to love and be loved.

“Hm,” You mused, “I think I need to take a seat.” You lounged on the very throne in which Yoongi had lazed just a half an hour prior.

“Just when I thought you couldn't get any more beautiful,” King Namjoon murmured as he stared up at you as you reclined on the silver and black throne.

King Yoongi hummed in agreement, “We’ll need to make hers resplendent just to even come close to her radiance.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” You lied, secretly basking in the warmth of their praises, “Would I really get my own throne? You’re not planning on shoving me in a far away tower?”

“We were fearful of this,” King Namjoon walked up to the foot of the throne with King Yoongi in tow. Pausing briefly, they both fell to their knees before you. King Namjoon continued, “We feared you would think the worst of us. And for good reason.”

King Yoongi’s gaze pleaded with yours as he explained his partner's words, “We grew up to be scared of magic. We were sheltered from it and were told falsehoods about its ‘malicious nature’. It wasn’t until a few years ago that we first travelled to Andolia and met King Seokjin that we realized how wrong we were.”

“We were ignorant,” King Namjoon said lowly, “We removed the outright ban on magic and supernaturals immediately, but unlearning such prejudiced ways has proven to be difficult for our kingdom.”

You took everything in. You did not doubt that they were being genuine; however, one thought still lingered in the back of your mind.

“If I stay here with you...” Both kings eagerly stared up at you and you rolled your eyes, “And I mean if I do, will you see me as an equal? Will you respect me as such?”

The kings exchanged a confused glance before replying that they already did. You weren’t convinced. You decided to lay everything on the table.

“Okay, but do you really respect me? Or do you just want to fuck me?”

“Do those have to be mutually exclusive?” King Yoongi asked, his hands clenched at his sides as if he was holding himself back from touching you.

Your lips quirked, “I suppose not.”

“Thank the gods for that,” He growled, “I’ve been hard since you sat on my throne.” Both kings moved forward with clear sensual intent, but you sent a wave of magic forward - effectively halting their movements.

Their eyes blazed with desire for you that you were certain was mirrored in your own. You take in the magnificence of the sight before you. Your two powerful soulmates on their knees before you, desperate to touch you, to taste you. Your eyes traveled over the expanse of Namjoon’s shoulders to settle on his black velvet and gold choker. Then, you shift your gaze to Yoongi and his long ring adorned fingers, the smooth skin of his chest that peeked from the v-neck of his tunic.

They really were quite a pair. What in the universe had you done to be fated to such beauty? You guessed you probably shouldn’t question it.

Waving away the magical barrier between you, you began, “Earlier you asked what you could do to show that you want me here with you.”

“That’s right,” Yoongi rasped, his heated gaze locked with yours as he lightly trailed a finger up your calf. Beside him, Namjoon inclined his head in agreement before taking your hand in his.

Trying to ignore the rising tension, you forged onwards. It was important that you made these points before this went any further. “Well, I have some requirements.”

Namjoon cracked a smile, “I would be disappointed if you didn’t, my soul.”

Your cheeks warmed at the endearment but didn’t let it distract you. “I want to draft an ordinance that explicitly declares equity for those with magical and supernatural abilities.”

“Done.” Your soulmates agreed in unison.

You paused. That had been almost too easy… “And also an amendment stating that discrimination against said subjects will not be tolerated by any means.”

“Agreed.”

You were on a roll now. “I like practicing magic. It’s a part of me. I don’t want to have to hide it.”

Namjoon pressed a kiss to your palm, “We don’t want you to hide it.”

“Your magic is beautiful, (y/n),” Yoongi’s hand slid further up your leg, “You should never feel like you have to hide an intrinsic part of yourself - especially around us.”

Your body burned under their touch, but you still held back. Were they just going to agree to any old thing you threw at them? “I also want ten thousand Burmese pythons.”

That took them a second to process. “We can easily get you around six hundred, maybe seven?” Namjoon squinted as he seemed to calculate the math in his head, “I’ll have to talk to our allies about trading for the remaining amount.”

Spluttering out a laugh, you shook your head, “I was just kidding about the snakes, my gods. Although… now that i think about it, maybe one would be cool?”

Yoongi pressed a kiss to the inside of your thigh. When had he pushed your skirt up that high? “Anything for you, my queen.”

It was official. You were ruined.

Your soulmates had effectively stymied your doubts and quelled your fears, leaving you with only the intense desire to be with them.

And so you caved. “That just leaves one last stipulation... You say you want me, need me. Well then show me how badly you want me to be with you.”

The words barely left your mouth before they were on you. Yoongi pushed your legs further apart so that he could get closer to you. His hands slid around your waist, tugging your body flush against him, and he fused his mouth with yours.

You smiled into his kiss as you felt Namjoon sidle up to you and begin to place fevered kisses across your collarbone. A witch could get used to this, you thought as Yoongi’s tongue tentatively swiped across your lower lip. What a good boy he was to not take more than you offered.

Your hands tangled into Yoongi’s silky strands before they came to a halt at his crown. Carefully, you slid the crown off his head and onto yours. Pulling away from Yoongi’s mouth slightly, you murmured, “Well? How’s it look?”

“You look like our queen,” Namjoon whispered hoarsely as Yoongi just looked at you like he might devour you whole.

At Namjoon’s words, you turned to face him, hooked a finger around the choker adorning his neck, and tugged his mouth onto yours. His hand immediately flew up to cradle your cheek as he kissed you as if you might slip away from him if he stopped. You almost laughed at how obvious it was to you now that Namjoon was the more dominant of the two.

He had just mastered the art of patience amongst the other things you only hoped you could have the pleasure of discovering. His teeth playfully nipped at your bottom lip, and you returned the affection in kind.

Meanwhile, Yoongi refused to let you forget about him as he settled into his position of kneeling between your legs. His lips kissed and sucked at your neck while his fingers danced up your thighs, taunting you with their light touch.

You decided you had been teased enough. Tugging away from Namjoon and shifting Yoongi back from you slightly, you paused briefly to focus your magic and then snapped your fingers. Your dress and undergarments disappeared from your body and reappeared a few steps away folded neatly.

“Fuck, I love magic,” Yoongi breathed as he takes in your naked body for the first time.

Without hesitation, you hitch one leg over one of the ornate arms of the chair. “Well?” You arched a brow, looking over your two speechless soulmates, “Are you just going to stare? Or are you going to get naked?”

The speed at which they shed their clothes almost gave your magic a run for its money.

You marveled at the two men before you, their bodies chiseled, their cocks hard.

“How do you want us?” Yoongi asked, practically thrumming with anticipation.

You arched an eyebrow at Namjoon, “Is he always this eager?”

The taller man grinned, “Occasionally, but this level is rare form for him.”

Yoongi scowled, “Please, Joon, like you aren’t dying to sink your cock into our soulmate’s pretty little pussy.”

“Oh,” You sighed, “Someone has quite a mouth on them… Why don’t we put that to good use while Joon teaches you some discipline.”

Not even thrown off at the notion of being punished, Yoongi gladly sunk to his knees before you once more. Namjoon hesitated, and you quickly realized the problem. Summoning your magic, you materialized some water-based lubricant for him.

“Yeah,” Namjoon laughed, “Magic is a fucking beautiful thing.” Taking the lube from you, he leaned down to prep Yoongi. “Ready?” His deep voice sent shivers down your spine. Yoongi nodded.

“Gods yes,” You barely finished your thought before Yoongi buried his face between your legs, his mouth immediately kissing and exploring your pussy. The first stroke of his tongue tore a moan from you as your back arched into the cool metal behind you.

“(Y/n),” Namjoon growled, “Look at me, my soul. Watch me fuck our soulmate while he tastes you. I want you to feel each of my thrusts in every jolt of his tongue.”

Despite not being one to typically take orders, the heat of Namjoon’s words pulled your attention immediately and the sight before you made it stay. You watched enraptured as Namjoon slowly sank his cock into Yoongi’s ass.

Yoongi groaned and the vibrations sent another rush of arousal through you as he continued to greedily tease your clit with his tongue. Your hands dug into his auburn waves, pushing his face harder against your pussy.

Namjoon slid out of Yoongi and then drove back in. The visual of his hard cock pumping feverishly in and out of Yoongi’s pert ass was indescribable when every stroke caused Yoongi’s tongue to thrust inside you and his nose to nudge against your clit.

“How does she taste, Yoongi? Is she as sweet as she looks?”

You scowled at Namjoon for causing Yoongi to pause his worship in order to answer. “She tastes like the fucking sun, Namjoon.”

“Now, that doesn’t even make sense— Fuck,” You moaned as Yoongi’s mouth sucked hard on your clit, effectively shutting you up. Your pulse thundered in your ears as you felt the arousal build and build inside of you. Your legs shook as Yoongi sucked and hummed on your clit as Joon continued to pound into him.

Your eyes focused on the sharp movements of Namjoon’s hip and the flexing of his muscles as he alternated in thrusting and rolling his hips. Gods, you wanted those hips to drive that cock deep inside of you.

“Does this please you, my soul?” Namjoon growled, “Do you like watching me wreck Yoongi while he gives you pleasure?”

“Y-yes,” Your breath hitched as Yoongi teasingly nipped at your swollen bud. “But I want you to wreck me and then I want to wreck you both.”

Namjoon’s thrusts stuttered to a halt as your words connected. Yoongi tore his mouth from your folds. Placing your foot on his forehead, you gently pushed Yoongi back so you could stand, “I want both of you inside me.”

Panting, Yoongi gasped, “Please, please wreck us, my queen.” His lips shone with your essence and you swiped a finger along their seam. Bringing your finger up to Namjoon’s plush lips, you tilted your head with a sly smile, “Well? You wanted a taste, didn’t you?”

Without a pause, he took your finger into his mouth, his tongue curling around the digit, tasting you. His dark eyes remained on yours as he released your finger with a pop. “So fucking divine,” Namjoon groaned, his hands darting out to grab your hips, his hard cock pressing into your stomach.

Yoongi once again mirrored Joon’s actions from behind you. You could feel his hardness against your ass, and you couldn't help but to grind slowly into him. “(Y/n),” Yoongi moaned into your neck as his cock practically throbbed with need for relief.

Tugging Namjoon closer to you, you whispered, “My love, go sit on your throne.”

Your soulmate appeared confused but nonetheless did what you said. Pausing only briefly to admire the way Namjoon looked on his throne, you extracted yourself from Yoongi and sauntered over to stand over Joon.

“You know,” You murmured, grabbing his cock firmly, eliciting a gorgeous moan from the man, “I think I want to sit on your throne, too.” Your hand stroked him teasingly as his head leaned against the back of his throne.

“As you wish, my soul,” He rasped out, his thighs tensing.

With that, you knelt over him. Immediately, Namjoon’s hands rested on your ass and squeezed. “What a greedy boy,” You murmured, placing a soft kiss on his lips, “That’s for Yoongi, my love. Or is my pussy not enough for you?”

As you spoke, you slowly sunk down his thick cock inch by inch. And at the mention of his name, Yoongi practically shoved Namjoon’s hands off your ass and replaced them with his. Echoing your own words, he teased the younger king, “Yeah, Joonie, don’t be greedy.”

Namjoon shot the two of you a half-hearted glare, but before he could say a word, you clenched your walls around him. “F-fuck,” He moaned, his eyes squeezed tight, “You feel so good around my cock, so wet.”

You slid up and down his length, reveling in the building heat consuming you. From behind you, Yoongi slowly teased your other opening. The coolness of his finger assured you that he had done this before. His finger slid into my ass with ease, the lube no doubt helping with that. You both moaned.

“You like that, my queen?” Yoongi growled, beginning to push his finger in and out.

“Oh my gods, yes,” You felt wild from the sensation of being so full of your soulmates, but you couldn't help but want more. “Want your cock inside me, too, Yoongi.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” He responded, pulling his finger out of you. After a moment, you felt the gentle nudge of his cock head against your ass. You stilled your motions, bottoming out on Joon’s dick as you waited with anticipation of being stuffed full with both of them.

Slowly, inch by inch, Yoongi pushed into you. “Fuck,” He bit out, “Joon, I can feel you.”

You felt so satisfied as Yoongi’s hips pressed into you, his cock buried deep inside you.

Namjoon’s cock twitched inside you as he no doubt could feel Yoongi right back. “Please, my soul, I need to fuck you. Let us fuck you,” He begged, gazing down at you with pupils blown out wide.

“No,” You shook your head emphatically, “I’m going to fuck you.”

With that, you started riding Namjoon’s cock. Moving up and down his thick shaft, you guided Yoongi’s hands to your hips as he thrust in and out of you in time to your movements. Every time you sank down on Namjoon’s shaft, Yoongi thrust into your ass. It was exquisite.

You felt your orgasm coiling within you, burning brightly. You squeezed down, trying to prolong the sensation, rolling your hips.

“Godsdamn,” Yoongi moaned, “Your ass is so tight, my queen. I’m not going to last much longer.”

You shook your ass slightly just to tease him. Yoongi responded by biting your neck and muttering, “You’re such a witch.”

“You fucking know it,” You gasped out as Namjoon suddenly rolled your clit between his fingers. Pleasure shot through you as you writhed on top of them. Your walls clenched down as you hurtled towards bliss, your world going white.

You could feel both of them coming inside you, painting your walls. The heat of their releases only added to the intensity of your orgasm as you flew over the edge, milking them with every pulse of your pussy.

Slowly, you came down from your high, breathing hard. Collapsing against Joon’s chest, you nuzzled his neck.

You felt his chuckle before you heard it, “I think we tired her out, Yoongi.”

“Yes, I think so, Joon,” Yoongi replied, slowly pulling out of you, “Let’s get you cleaned up. We have a private hot spring just outside.”

Not one to be outdone, you straightened, hopping off Joon. Placing your hands on your hips, you leveled each of them with a devilish smile, “Hey, maybe I was pretending to be satisfied for your benefits, you old men.”

“Old!?” Yoongi bellowed, so easily riled up.

“Hmm,” Namjoon’s arms encircled you, hugging you to him. Bringing his mouth to your ear, he whispered, “You’re going to be a handful, aren’t you, my soul?”

“Undoubtedly,” You whispered back as Yoongi still fumes over being called old. Yeah, a witch could really get used to this.

1K notes · View notes

still-busy-being-mortal · 3 years

Text

the rising of the moon

word count: 4544

rating: G

fandom: the mechanisms

warnings: major character death

summary: They've lived so long together, perhaps it is only fitting they die alone.

story notes: so this came about as a result of wanting to cry MORE about the mechs. don't ask me why.

features raphaella spouting unnecessary science jargon, ivy being emotionally repressed/depressed, drumbot brian holding a conversation with himself, and the toy soldier being actually emotionally intelligent.

——————

JONNY

It’s a quiet day aboard the starship formerly known as The Aurora. Most of the crew is out, and she’s drifting slowly through a dusty asteroid field. Ivy has stayed aboard to read, and Drumbot Brian was designated ship-sitter, so he’s stayed on as well. When enough time has passed (Is it days? Or decades? No one knows anymore, and no one cares. They are all so tired.), Brian hits the alert switch that will tell the Mechanisms to come home.

Ivy feels the gentle vibration in her brain --the pulse of The Aurora’s beacon-- and she puts her book down before walking slowly to the navigation bridge. Marius’ hand starts to buzz, messing up his note-taking; he apologizes to the rather fascinating asteroid-dweller he’s interviewing and takes his leave. Ashes feels their chest hum, and they turn away from their beautiful, fiery meteor shower.

[read more on ao3, or continue below!]

One by one, the Mechs find their way home. It takes some longer than others, but they all return eventually. Or they should; right now, there are only seven crewmates in the navigation bridge.

“I’m sick of waiting--where the hell is Jonny?” Tim whines.

“I guess he decided to stay in the asteroid belt?” Marius says.

“Woulda been nice to let us know,” mutters Ashes, “So we’re not all sittin’ here for ages.”

Brian stands and raises his hand. “All in favour of leaving and returning in a few decades?” They all agree, so he pilots Aurora away from the asteroid field.

Time goes by, and they do not hear from Jonny. Of course, members of the crew sometimes stay away for long periods of time, but that doesn’t mean their absence is not felt. And Jonny hasn’t appeared to try and contact them at all.

After a while, they vote to return to the asteroid belt. When they arrive, they split up, communication devices in hand.

Ivy combs through her memory, trying to summon any knowledge she has on Asteroid Field 01.18.20. The Toy Soldier moves methodically from meteor to meteor, searching for their lost comrade. Raphaella interviews any inhabitants she comes across, axially coding their qualitative responses to identify patterns in the data. Tim goes to a bar for a drink, irritated at Jonny’s latest antic.

He walks into some nameless, backwater joint and sits at the counter, flagging down the bartender with a lazy wave. He orders and waits, mechanical eyes roving the establishment. And then he freezes.

On the far wall hang a few dozen photographs, all dusty and poor quality. Above the photos is a crudely-done banner that simply reads “Cheers to Our Past Patrons.” One of the pictures is of Jonny.

When the bartender returns, Tim asks: “What’s the deal with the wall of fame, then?”

“Oh, that,” they answer tiredly. “Just sum dark joke the old owner thought up. Them’s the folks who kicked it in this here bar, you see.”

Tim was confused. “You mean those people died here? That can’t be right; my friend’s up there, and he can’t d--he’s alive.”

The barkeep shrugged. “Don’t know, pal. We had to bury most of thems out back, if you reckon you want to check.” He chuckled darkly and went back to drink-making.

Tim quickly finished his drink and went out the back door. He debated alerting the other Mechs about this development, but decided he might as well see for himself first.

He found the makeshift graveyard quickly, small rusty mounds amid the equally rusty asteroid outback. Some displayed names on roughly carved wood planks, but obviously none of them said “Jonny d’Ville” (Tim laughed at the idea of Jonny carrying around an ID). Most were unmarked, however, so he started to dig.

He used his hands, too impatient to try and find a shovel. He came across bodies and bones in various stages of decay, but none that had any chance of being Jonny. About fed up with this ridiculous idea of his, he decided to dig up one more grave. He shovelled dirt and rocks out of the way, until his hand hit something hard and cold. Something metallic. He pulled on it, and came away with a belt. Christ , he thought.

He quickly scooped away the rest of the dirt, revealing the corpse of Captain First Mate Jonny d’Ville. Dead. Tim stumbled backward, hand fumbling for his comm. “Um, mates, I-I found him.”

The Mechanisms were different after that. Yes, Nastya had gone Out long ago, but they had never actually come across her dead corpse , so it wasn’t the same. Marius had examined his body and declared him fully, completely, and irrevocably dead. They had held a funeral, but they were all too much in shock to really remember it. All they knew was that they were down a crew member, without a captain first mate, and terribly aware of their own mortality.

ASHES

About half the crew was in Raphaella’s lab, helping her with some complex kind of experiment. Raph was mixing two viciously green liquids together, while Marius was unspooling wire from a large bobbin. The Toy Soldier was holding an ultraviolet light against a motherboard, and Ashes connected the motherboard to the chartreuse concoction using the wires. After pouring all of the chemicals, Raphaella pulled on some rubber gloves and pulled out a small pocketwatch from her shirt. “Are we ready?” she asked gleefully. Without waiting for an answer, she started the countdown. “Five! Four! Three! T--curses!” The pocketwatch slipped from her gloved grasp and fell into the churning beaker. All at once there was a flash and a bang, and the lights went out. They stood in complete silence for a minute, before the backup generators flicked on.

The Toy Soldier clapped its hands, “That Was Jolly Good! Can We Do It Again?”

“No, TS, look, I got goop on my--wait!” Marius shouted, “Where’s Ashes?” They all turned to look at where the quartermaster had been just moments before. The floor where they’d been standing was a scorched, intricate, dark pattern of swirls. “What the hell is that ?”

“I Do Not Know, But I Will Go Get The Archivist!”

TS returned with Ivy, who took one look at the patterns on the floor and asked: “Who is it that has been time travelling?”

“Time travelling?!” Raph exclaimed.

“Yes,” Ivy said, “Those marks are a perfect exemplar of the evidence left behind when one has been forcibly transported forward or backward in the time continuum. Which one of you did it? Did you happen to bring back any books?”

“It wasn’t us: it was Ashes.” Marius said, “And we don’t think they’ve come back yet.”

Ivy grew very pale. “That is highly alarming. There’s a less than 0.1% chance that a time traveller ever comes back if they do not return instantly after the outset of their journey.”

“Y-you mean Ashes might not...” Marius trailed off, “...Wait a second! That doesn’t make sense! We don’t experience time linearly!”

“That may be true, but we are not forcibly moved through it either. We are at the whim of the narrative flow, and any alteration to that usually produces negative results.”

The Toy Soldier flashed through many emotions at once, though its face never changed. “So Quartermaster O’Reilly Is...Gone?”

“We can’t prove that yet!” Raph cried, fluttering around the lab and grabbing various scientific instruments. “Maybe if I can pinpoint when exactly they’ve been transported to, we can...we can bring them back.”

“That’s quite a long shot,” Marius said.

“What is science if not a shot into the ignorant dark?” Raph replied, rigging up a technological monstrosity. She aimed the thing at the charred spot and clicked a button, causing the machine to emit a pulsating, whirring sound. “Oh, you all might want to close your eyes.”

With a burst of green and a harsh dial tone, the thing spit out a strip of paper. Raph grabbed it and read it intently. She dropped it suddenly, eyes distant and empty. “They are gone.”

The room burst into a cacophony. (“What do you mean?!” “Gone How? Gone Forever ?” “It was statistically unlikely that they could have returned.”) Raph picked up the paper and pressed it onto the lab table. Most of it was meaningless words and numbers, but Raph pointed out a string in the center: “RESULT) DATE: %& INFINITE ROUNDING ERROR $! _ LOCATION: SINGULARITY!UNIVERSAL IMPLOSION. ANALYSIS) CHANCE OF TERMINATION: 100.0% +-0.0 R = 1.0”

“They’re gone.”

RAPHAELLA

The crew was far more disorganized after Ashes left. With no one to maintain inventory or keep the crew in line, The Mechanisms started to fall apart. Raphaella tried for a while to build some kind of time-travelling device, some way of defying the inexorable march of the story, but it was in vain. She was left with only one option; one experiment she hadn’t tried yet.

She carefully laser cuts some metal from the starship once known as the Aurora. She sits in Nastya’s former workshop for hours, bending and twisting and fabricating until she is left with wings; wings more breathtaking than any she has possessed before. Once on, they fan out behind her in a starburst of blue and metallic grey.

But her crew will never see them. In the cover of darkness, she steals away to the airlock. The ship is currently sailing past a black hole (Raphaella has the Messier number and NGC identification memorized, but that’s not her concern now). With one final look backward at the place that had been her home for millennia --the place she thought she would call home forever -- she casts herself into the black hole.

Ivy finds the note she left, succinct and unmincing as ever:

“Addressed to whoever finds this first:

After a brief review of prior literature, I have found extensive holes (no pun intended) in the study of singularities, specifically as it relates to a singularity’s effect on a humanoid body and mind. I seek to rectify this, as well as explore the possibility of horological manipulation, though perhaps my methods are not entirely replicable. It is every scientist’s dream to be on the cutting edge of research, and so I initiate this experiment joyfully. Also, black holes are hypothesized to have magnificent magnetic fields!

Yours,

Dr. Raphaella La Cognizi”

TIM

Tim, Marius, the Toy Soldier, Brian, and Ivy wait. They do not wait together, and they do not know what exactly it is they’re waiting for, but they wait nevertheless.

Time passes.

Brian pilots the ship towards various planets, pointless battles, dying stars. One day, the remaining Mechs arrive at a lawless sea-based war occurring on a planet composed entirely of liquid obsidian. They commandeer a ship (which they dub the ‘Dawn’) and spend decades wreaking havoc as the most formidable group of pirates. But Tim knows something is wrong.

“Tim, take out that vessel off the starboard side.” Brian orders from the prow of the Dawn.

Tim smoothly preps, loads, and positions a cannon to aim directly at the enemy ship in question. He lights the fuse, and the cannon fires. The crew watch as the projectile hurls through the air, arcing like a cold meteor into the distance. They watch it come down towards the enemy vessel. And they watch it miss.

The crew turns to stare at Tim. He’s not nearly as mortified as they expected. In fact, he’s perfectly serene.

“Um, Tim…” Marius starts slowly, “D-did you know you, uh...missed?”

“Yep.” he responds, popping the ‘p’.

“Did you mean to?”

“Nope.”

“And...you’re not upset by that?”

“Not especially.”

(“That’s a fascinatingly abnormal psychological response,” Marius mutters under his breath, jotting something down in a notebook he appears to have produced out of nowhere.)

The crew continues to stare as Tim goes below deck to his bunk, humming slightly.

Tim has known something was off for a long time now. His aim started to err by nanometres, then by millimeters, then more, until he was missing entire ships like today. He’d panicked at the beginning, of course, but now? Now, he was ready to be done.

He’d felt the pressure building up in his head, behind his eyes. He got spurts of tunnel vision randomly, and sometimes his vision just went to static. He gradually lost the ability to see some colors, as the electronic rods and cones went out one-by-one and refused to self-repair. But he wasn’t nervous or distressed or alarmed; he was excited.

You see, he’d been saving something for a special occasion. He didn’t know what ‘special occasion’ entailed, since the Mechs never consistently celebrated holidays or birthdays, but permanent death seemed like a pretty good one. He rooted around in his rucksack, and withdrew a set of shiny silver keys; keys he’d stolen a long, long time ago. These were the ignition keys to the largest gunship existence will ever see, and Tim planned to go out with a bang. That evening, he told the crew he wanted them all to return to the starship so he could be dropped off somewhere. They all agreed, since they didn’t have any real cares anymore, and they set off for the planet Tim had etched into his memory.

Tim sits in the cockpit of the gunship, the planet itself already ruined and smoking from fighting his way to get here. The Mechanisms were long gone, as he’d told them to leave without him. He hadn’t exactly said he wasn’t planning on coming back, but he thinks they understood. With one last grin of pure, unadulterated madness, he kicks the gunship into gear and blasts off.

The ship goes too fast to comprehend, and in an instant he’s shooting across the cosmos, shattering stars and razing entire systems of planets. The universe has never before witnessed such complete and utter desolation. Tim doesn’t process much during this rampage...until he starts to die.

He doesn’t know what he hit, but something has jolted the gunship just right, and he’s flung out the front glass. He knows he should die instantly, and he is, but his eyes are moving faster. They’re replaying his life, backwards, and he wants to groan with the cliché-ness of it all. But then it’s over. Or, almost over. At the very end, so fast, so short compared to the millennia he has lived, he catches sight of a young man in a trench. Bertie. A face he will never forget no matter how much longer he could have lived. And in the moments of blackness before he stops forever, he thinks about Bertie, about what comes next.

Faith is a moot point when you’re immortal, since you’ve quite literally come into contact with gods and demons, eldritch horrors and cosmic powers. But here, at the end of his wretchedly long existence, Tim wonders if he will ever see Bertie again. If he will ever see Jonny, or TS, or Ashes, or anyone ever again.

He dies blind, with their names on his lips.

IVY

Exposition: Ivy is quite spectacular at suppressing her emotions. She’s also skilled at identifying patterns, so by the time Raphaella left, she knew what was going on with 98% certainty. Without much fanfare, she packed her bags (5 for books and 1 for everything else), said goodbye to Marius, Brian, and the Toy Soldier, and left.

She rifled through her memory archives for the quaintest library she knew of, and headed there.

Rising Action: And so time passed.

Ivy read, and organized, and wrote, and...existed. Nothing happened, and nothing changed. Carmilla must have made an error in her mechanization because she’d never been the best at processing feelings, but she was happy, she thought.

Climax: A war came, and her library was attacked. With the numbest, most detached sense of purpose imaginable, she loaded an escape pod with random books she thought should be preserved and fired it out into the void. She didn’t even know she’d been hit until she’d fallen to the floor, blood streaming from a massive wound. She knows she is dying; she’d seen the patterns.

Denouement: Her brain whirs slower and slower, until it stops. The end.

MARIUS

They are not a crew any longer. Brian has firmly rooted himself on the bridge, more robot than man now. The Toy Soldier wanders the ship, searching for its friends who are playing the best game of hide-and-seek that the universe has ever seen. Marius putters along, doing some maintenance, writing down his thoughts, and waiting for his death.

He’d always known this life of theirs couldn’t last. Besides the conceptual and moral implications of an eternal existence without consequences, it didn’t even make sense physically . There was no such thing as a perpetual motion machine, and he was surprised his more rational-minded crewmates didn’t question it more. But now his theory had come to fruition, and his crew, his family , had slowly dropped off one-by-one, like leaves from an autumnal tree.

He’s at a bit of a loose end now. With no people left to talk to, no minds to pick, he doesn’t feel any sense of purpose. It’s not depression--he knows that; it’s more of a...cosmic futility.

He feels one last pull, one last tug of the all-pervading narrative, a tide of finality, urging him towards a certain door. He knows this door, knows what it means when he opens it. But he also knows all things come to an end eventually, so why not go out doing what he always did? Providing the comic relief.

“Time this for me, will you, Aurora?” he calls out. He turns the handle and steps inside.

BRIAN

Since Jonny’s death, Brian has been at war with himself. He supposes he’s always been at war with himself though, and his current moral quandary reminds him uncomfortably of his first.

Sitting on the bridge alone, he decides to have a conversation.

“So the crux of the problem is that we can bring people back from the dead, correct?”

He flips his switch. “Correct.”

He flips it back. “But the dilemma is whether we should bring the Mechs back or not.”

“Also correct.”

“Which we shouldn’t, because they wanted to die.”

“No, we should. We want them alive, right? Using magic is definitely the easiest way to achieve that.”

“But we need our family to be happy. God knows how long it’s been.”

“Is the end goal their happiness or our happiness?”

“If I answer that, will I change your mind?”

“Is altering the end goal really the moral way to win this argument?”

“You know what? Damn you.”

Time passes, and each crewmate’s departure only makes Brian’s contempt for his own inner hesitation grow. He spends years staring out into the cosmos, thoughts whirling just as fast as the dust and gases beyond the glass. He wonders if he will ever die and join his family, or if the degree of his artificiality will render him truly immortal. He hates that thought more than most anything else.

He stops smelling the smoke of Ashes’ fires one day, and wonders if his olfactory systems are shutting down.

He stops feeling the rumble of Raphaella’s experimental explosions, and wonders if his nerve endings are rusting.

He stops seeing the flash of Tim’s gunshots bounce around the corridors, and wonders if he’s gone as blind as the gunner himself.

He stops hearing Ivy’s narration, and wonders if his auditory fluids have finally trickled away.

One day, the lone violin that has been echoing throughout the empty starship fades out, and Brian feels his heart stop.

It restarts of course, but Brian knows.

He knows that it’s finally, finally time. Soon, very soon, there will be no more life aboard this ship. No life, where there had been life for eons. No life, where there had been life immortal.

His sense of taste has never come into doubt, because he can still taste the acridness of the Toy Soldier’s cooking wafting on the air. He decides it’s only right to bid goodbye, so he makes his way back to the kitchen. On the way, he passes the Doctor’s old laboratory. He briefly considers destroying it, bringing down the whole ship in a blaze of fire and brimstone, but he knows that isn’t right; it wouldn’t fulfill anything.

In the kitchen, the Toy Soldier is pulling something pink and grey and on fire out of the oven. “Hey, TS,” Brain says gently, leaning against the doorframe as his heart falters again. “I-I’ve got to talk to you.”

The Toy Soldier spins around. “Drumbot Brian!” it shouts joyfully. “How Have You Been, Old Chap! I Have Been Playing Hide-And-Seek With The Rest Of The Crew For A While Now, And They Are Definitely Winning! Have You Seen Them?”

“Oh, TS,” Brian says sadly, “We’re all who’s left now. Don’t you know? The others have gone.”

He sees the Toy Soldier’s wooden eyes soften, betraying an agedness he’s never seen before. “Of Course I Know, Bean. But What Have We Been Doing This Whole Time, If Not Pretending?”

Brian smiles sorrowfully, and TS matches it. “I just wanted to let you know, TS, that now it’s my turn to go.”

“I Know.” It salutes him. “Goodbye, Drumbot.”

Brain gently returns the salute, and leaves.

He stumbles through the ship, heart failing rapidly now, but he makes it to the airlock. He knows deep down that there’s only one way his story could end. His whole existence has been framed by empty solitude, with his family providing the best aberration one could wish for. With his body more an empty metal frame than a robot now, he opens the airlock and casts himself back into the cosmos, from whence he came, and where he would die.

THE TOY SOLDIER

Its friends are all gone away now, and it knows this. There is no more laughter aboard the starship once known as the Aurora. There is no more gunfire or explosions. There is no more music. The cold mass of metal drifts through the void of the uncaring cosmos, with no living being aboard.

But The Toy Soldier has to be sure; it has to guarantee that it is truly all alone now. So it visits its friends’ final resting places.

It spends some years gazing out the front windows of the ship. The thrusters have been broken for a long time now, and the Toy Soldier doesn’t know how to repair them, so it just sits and watches. It wants to see the Drumbot, so it pretends that it does. Soon enough, out the starboard porthole, it spies him. His metal is rusted and warped, frost rendering most of his face unrecognizable. A drum is still looped around his shoulder. The Toy Soldier tethers itself to the ship and goes outside for a moment, drifting towards the robot. It lays a wooden hand on his deformed chest, and feels that his heart beats no longer. It carves off a long curl of wood from its side, and places it in Brian’s frozen hand.

It returns to the ship. It hadn’t known where Marius had disappeared to, but now it feels the force of the narrative driving it towards a certain room. It opens the door, and a handful of mangy octokittens hiss at it and scurry away. There’s nothing in the room besides a pile of crumpled clothes, a broken violin, and a metal hand, but the Toy Soldier could recognize that style anywhere. It gently twists one of its own wooden hands off, and lays it on the mound.

The Toy Soldier knows that Ivy went somewhere far away, so it closes its eyes and pretends that it’s there. When it opens them again, it finds itself in the charred ruins of some great marble building. At its feet lay bones, a metal flute, and a mess of circuitry, untouched by the ash. The Toy Soldier reaches up, removes a piece of wood from the back of its head, and lays it besides the flute.

The Toy Soldier has a harder time finding the gunner. It’s drawn this way and that, chasing an intangible trail through the stars and galaxies. All of the planets it passes are devoid of life. Finally, finally, it stumbles across an enormous, gaping wreck of a starship, all mangled and smashed to pieces. The ship is so large, it’s drawn smaller asteroids into an orbit around it. On one of these rocky satellites, the Toy Soldier spies a body: a skeleton covered in a long brown coat with a guitar slung across it. A pair of mutilated, metal eyes rest in the skull. The Toy Soldier smiles sadly, removes one of its own wooden eyes, and slips it into the pocket of the coat.

It knows it cannot follow the science officer into a black hole. It does manage to find the sketches of the wings Raphaella designed, so it gathers them up, takes two chunks of wood from its back, finds Raph’s keyboard, and casts everything into the nearest singularity.

After pretending to be at the end of space and time, it finds itself there. There is nothing, absolutely nothing. It removes two segments of wood from deep within its chest and places them in the nothingness, along with the strings of an old electric bass it had found. As it winks back to the ship, it catches the faintest scent of gasoline.

It returns to the asteroid Jonny had died on, the start of their ignoble demise. It visits his grave, in the taupe dirt of the desert behind the backwater bar, and sees all of the trinkets and mementos the crew had left behind. It knows none of them left anything during their makeshift funeral, so that means each of them must have slipped away at some point to come here on their own. Ashes has left their best lighter, Tim a pair of dogtags. Marius left behind all of his notes of Jonny’s disaster of a brain, and Brian has deposited some sun-scorched piece of space station. His harmonica has also found its way here, somehow. The Toy Soldier slowly, slowly reaches into its chest and removes its wooden heart, laying it down atop the mound of dirt and memories. It walks away, and knows that it can finally, finally stop pretending.

AURORA

There is no record of where the Toy Soldier went next. It certainly did not return to the empty ship once known as the brilliant Aurora. The lifeless, soulless, music-less ship drifts on alone through the cosmos, rusting and warping until no one could tell it had ever been a ship at all. Eons pass, and whatever memory the universe might have had of The Mechanisms has been utterly lost.

Until the misshapen mass gets stuck in the orbit of a planet. Molded and formed by the planet’s gravity, the ship is reborn as a moon. And all at once, she comes to life.

As dawn washes over her, the young moon hears a voice. “Hello, dear,” a woman coos, “My name is Dr. Carmilla.”

#hi please read my fic #am i posting it yet again? yes #the rising of the moon #the mechanisms #fiction #ao3

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honeymoonjin · 4 years

Text

𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕟𝕖

𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 eventual yoonji x reader, reader x ??? || 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 2k || 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆 crack

𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 your new roommates may be a little odd, but it’s fine, we’re all only human.... right?

𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 cursing, mentions of blood

𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣 || 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 || 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡

many thanks to @jamaisjoons for the gorgeous banner, she really is the best thank you to @honey-boyyoongi for beta reading this and helping immensely with storyboarding and brainstorming xx

“So: why are you wanting to rent the room here?”

You tilt your head in confusion at the intimidating look the boy across from you is trying to send. “Because… I would like a place to stay?”

He nods with a scoff, eyebrow quirking. “I bet that’s what you want us to believe.”

You blink. “Are you not-? I’m sorry, I thought the ad said you were looking for a roommate. I’m pretty sure this is the right address.”

“Or is it?” He leans forward on the couch, resting an elbow on his grey sweatpant-clad knee. You stare blankly at him as he holds his eyes open, widening them as the lashes flicker. Finally, after a couple of moments of uncomfortable silence, his eyes blink shut for the slightest second and the stern facade drops, him sighing in defeat. “Fine! Okay, you win, you can stay. Rent is one hundred and twenty a week.”

Your attention is caught by the woman sitting next to him, who perks up at this, breaking her apathy to look over in curiosity. “You pay a hundred and twenty every week?” A disbelieving smile stretches across her face as she glances across the young boy to the man on his other side. “Jin, you’re an asshole.”

The third member on the couch shrugs, disturbing the chunky cat that rests its head on his shoulder. “It’s my house. Anyways, Jeanine, was it?”

“Y/n-”

“Margaret, our rules are simple here. Do your share of the cleaning and don’t ask questions. No pets except for Vlad. She’s a vicious hunter and doesn’t like to share.” He pauses for effect, as the tubby grey cat snuffles and readjusts herself, thick paws stretching out. “When she’s… When she’s not asleep,” Jin explains.

Your mouth opens and closes again slowly. The man in the middle senses your unease.

“Great,” he declares dramatically, “you’ve scared her off with Vlad. I told you.”

You knit your eyebrows together. “No, that’s not the problem. I just… You said don’t ask questions but I have, um, several. I don’t even know your names.”

The woman, who had returned to lounging back against the chair of the sofa, sits back up again with an unreadable depth in her black eyes. “Names have power, girl.”

“This is Yoonji,” the boy supplies helpfully, ignoring the hissing noise that comes from the back of the lady’s throat. “I’m Jungkook, and that’s Jin. We’re all super friendly, I promise. And you can ask questions, just not...questions, you know? Like for example if you saw a red superhero suit in my closet you wouldn’t ask me about it just in case I was Spiderman.”

You blink. “Right.”

“I mean, in this case my suit is just for dress-up, I’m not actually Spiderman, but you get me, right? I could be. Does that make sense?”

You pause, unsure how to respond.

Yoonji sighs and raises a perfectly arched brow, her disapproving pout even more prominent with a solid matte layer of the darkest velvet red lipstick. “If I wrote a list of all the things you’ve said that make sense, I’d already be done.” Her gaze flitters to you and you can’t help but gulp in reflex. “Y/n, don’t meddle and we can all coexist here.”

“O-okay, sure, that’s fine. Thank you guys for letting me stay, I really appreciate it.”

Jungkook grins, glancing back and forth happily between his two roommates. “I told you this was a great idea! We’re gonna have so much fun. Let’s do a game night tonight and get to know each other better.”

“Ah!” Jin calls out cheerily, standing with a flourish. “Let’s play Cards Against the Humans, that’s my favorite! I’ll make some jjajangmyeon for us.”

Jungkook bites his lip, staring up at the handsome man, who wears what looks like a very expensive silk bathrobe, patterned with purple flowers. “Jin, are you gonna add… you know?”

“Why else would I eat it? I have to get my five pints a day.” the man declares in a matter-of-fact tone.

Jungkook widens his eyes meaningfully, jerking his head at you, but Jin doesn’t relent. Eventually, Jungkook sighs, and turns to you. “Anyway, Y/n… Can I call you Y/n?”

“That is my name.”

Jungkook ignores his two roommates who both leave out of boredom; Yoonji slinking silently like a cat, disappearing up the stairwell at the back of the house, and Jin hustling down the hallway fast enough so that his robe billows out behind him. “Just sign the lease and I’ll show you around. Jin and Ji like eating dinner before the sun goes down.” He leans in conspiratorially. “They pretend like they’re having an early night, but I totally hear them sneaking out. I think Jin has a penchant for clubbing, and Ji is probably out howling at the moon or something. Or summoning Satan. Who knows. Anyways, I’ll find you a pen to sign. Is a quill okay? We’re out of ballpoints.”

As it turns out, your room is on the second floor. The house itself is impressive, an old gothic two-storey refitted with modern facilities and littered with small details that speak to its occupants; unfortunately, it’s too dark for you to make out what any of these things may be.

Heavy curtains are draped across all the visible windows, the same deep red as the carpet, an odd marbling effect across the fabric. There’s a trail of sconces that lead down the corridor below and up the stairwell, fitted with LED lights in the shapes of flames, flickering in an artificial orange glow. You stumble up the stairs, so plushly lined with carpet that not a single step creaks, and blindly follow the white of Jungkook’s baggy t-shirt through an open doorway, swallowed in black before he flicks the lights on.

“Home, sweet home,” he chimes, flourishing an arm to display the modest bedroom. A double bed lies undressed with a pile of folded linen resting at the end of it, the only other furniture being a small nightstand and a dresser with a mirror, covered in an old, discoloured sheet. He gives a weak smile. “I know it doesn’t seem like much, but… You’re more than welcome to redecorate however you want. The door to your right is the bathroom, and the one across is Yoonji’s bedroom.”

You blink. “Wait, I- Am I sharing it with her? Your ad said a personal bathroom.”

“Oh, Yoonji doesn’t use the bathroom,” he explains easily, taken off-guard when your face crumples up in disgust. “No! Not like that, she just… There’s an ensuite in her room. She has the master bedroom. Sorry, I should’ve phrased that better.”

You sigh in relief. “Okay, right, that makes sense. So you and Jin are on the first floor?”

“Me, yes. Jin has the basement.” He steps forward, flopping himself onto the bare mattress. Staring at the ceiling, he yawns. “So, what made you pick this place? We ran the ad for almost a year and never had an applicant until you.”

Your eyes widen. “Seriously? I just took it up because it was the only place close to uni I could afford. You really are paying $120 a week? The ad said it was $50 all-inclusive.”

Jungkook’s eyes go cloudy. “Hm. I think Jin and I need to have words.” He sits up and twists his torso to face you, eyebrows narrowed in suspicion, though not directed at you. “What else did this ad say? The other two haven’t let me read it.”

You go to answer, but you’re cut off by a long, primal yell, echoing up the stairs. You turn, staring back through the door way in the direction of the sound. “Are they okay?”

When you turn back, Jungkook has hopped up off of your bed, hitching up his sweatpants and rushing over to the doorway, barreling past you. “Jin says it’s dinnertime,” he calls out as he passes.

“Wha-?” You let the air settle from his sudden absence, taking a moment of silence for yourself. “Holy fuck,” you murmur, “what have I gotten myself into?”

—

Dinner is an awkward affair. You had expected this for the fact that you don’t really know them. You hadn’t expected that it would be because of Jin’s eccentric cooking.

Though he prepared the meal, it’s not him that sits at the head of the table. Yoonji, in a velvet black turtleneck and dark wash jeans, impatiently drumming on the mahogany surface.

You sit to her right, with Jungkook directly across from you staring intently at the bowl of steaming ramen that lies between you. Unsure whether you should make conversation with the two others that seem completely uncaring of your presence, you watch him fall into a near-catatonic state, the only thing that moves is his nostrils flaring at the rich smell.

“Boner petite!” You crane your neck as Jin enters from the kitchen behind you, a frilly apron reading Kiss the Cook! tied securely around his slender waist. In one hand is a plate of cuts of raw beef, the delicate pattern of silver fat marbled through speaking to its price, and in the other is a gravy jug. “Dinner is served.”

“Do you mean bon appetit?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Yoonji. Anyway, here we go. Susan, help yourself.”

You thank him awkwardly, not bothering to correct him on your name again. You stare in confusion at the offerings as he takes his seat beside Jungkook, who’s already descended on the noodles like a man starved. “...Um, do you have a barbecue set or something?”

Jin, tongs gripped around a thick slab, still dripping with blood. “What for?”

“For the meat…” You trail off as he lifts up the dangling strip, resting it in his mouth and sucking out the fluid obscenely, closing his eyes in enjoyment. “Never mind.”

“Jin used to be a real chef, you know,” Jungkook explains cheerily, using his bare fingers to pick out some thinner slivers to add on top of his ramen, “he’s shown us so many fancy foods. Like steak tartare. You want some?”

You try to suppress the shiver that runs through your body at the thought of raw meet squishing between your teeth. “I think I’ll stick with ramen.”

Yoonji tucks her raven-black hair behind her ears, exposing the piercings that run up the length of them. “Come on, Jungkook, don’t hog the meat, you pig.” She wrestles the tray out from underneath his hands and slides it right beside her, delicately plucking off more than half of what remains. “Can you pass the sauce?”

Your attention is drawn back to the other end of the table, where Jin is pouring a thick sauce into his bowl, reddy-brown like a mix between barbecue sauce and chilli.

“What is that?” you question curiously, watching it get passed down to Jungkook - who takes a big helping, wiping the spout with a finger and sucking it off absentmindedly - and finally arrives in Yoongi’s hands, the fine china clinking against the metal of her rings.

“Sauce,” she answers flatly. “What does it look like?”

Jungkook bites his lip, looking sheepish. “It’s, uh, very iron-heavy. Yoonji has anemia. It’s an acquired taste, but it’s good. I used to get sick all the time when I first started having this but now I feel better than ever. Want some? Oh- Yoonji, why didn’t you save any for Y/n?”

“It’s okay,” you assure hurriedly, “really, I’m a, um, I have a low immune system so I won’t, um, risk getting sick.”

“Low immune system, hm?” Yoonji fixes her dark gaze on you as she stirs in the sauce with a single chopstick. “You don’t have HIV, do you? Hep B?”

“N-no.” You frown at her. “I don’t have any diseases or anything.”

“Good to know.” Without further comment, she twirls a thick clump of ramen around her chopsticks and shovels it into her mouth, the dark sauce collecting at the corners of her lips, almost the same shade as her lipstick.

Thankfully, while you don’t have a refined-enough palate like the other three, you greatly enjoy the ramen. Perfectly savoury and moreish, cooked to perfection and with just enough broth to keep them hot while you eat. “I really appreciate you letting me stay,” you announce to the table, “and for cooking this wonderful meal. I’m looking forward to getting to know you guys better!”

It’s short, but I really wanted to see how you guys like it! It’s a little different, I know it’s just pure crack atm but I swear we have plot (including feelings, angst, fluff, the works) to come xxx let me know your thoughts!!

#bts x reader #bangtanarmynet #btswriterscollective #btswritingcafe #ficswithluv #yoongi x reader #yoonji x reader #bts fanfic #bts fic #bts series #bts au #bts crack #jin #jungkook

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cursewoodrecap · 3 years

Text

Session 16: No Not Like That

Aw, been a while since I wrote one of these! Anyway: we run into some dickheads and try to solve things the not-murder way for once.

On the road outside Bad Herzfeld, the trolls slowly begin to peel off and go their separate ways. Dr. Kjeller and his new bodyguard Kjell are the last to leave the main road, stopping to say goodbye to the small contingent of humanoids.

“Welp, dis trolls’ moot has certainly been an experience,” Dr. Kjeller sagely intones. “I would not say a success. The two of us are going to tour around and tell all the trolls we can find to stay away. I believe a trolls’ moot is not uncalled for, but we must look for a different place. Ideally one not full of weird fungus people. And, please, if there is anything I can do to help you….well, I guess you’d have to find me first.” He tips his travelin’ hat and departs. Gral tips his mask in return. He’s getting the hang of these Valdian customs!

It seems like the Orcish outriders have already left to report back to Duke Shieldeater, so it’s just us, the Fairgolds, and the beleaguered innkeeper and his daughter. What do we do with the civilians? I mean, we’re headed to Mornheim, and even if we’re gonna fix the water it seems kinda rude to drop someone off in Zombie Town. Flynn offers to introduce Aaron to his innkeeper uncle back in Holzog, to see if he can get a job there.

Flynn and Fiona are gonna stick with us to Mornheim. “Look, you had all the fun up there in Bad Herzfeld; I’m not gonna let the four of you get all the glory. You’re gonna do a big ritual and save the whole town? I gotta see this.”

We spend a couple uneventful days hiking back to Three Oaks Junction, where we’ll split up with Aaron and Rebecca. The DM tries to waylay us with a destroyed bridge over a fast-moving river, but we have a Ring of Jumping and a magical alligator. We’re fine. We roll some bad perception checks on watch and our rations get stolen by Curse Raccoons.

ANYWAY. As we get back onto the major roads, Gral is the first to notice something odd: there’s no carts coming from the direction of Three Oaks. Sure, it’s late evening, but last time we were here there was still a heavy buzz of activity through the busy trade stop. We approach extra-cautiously, making sure the civilians are in the protected center of the group.

The town comes into view, and it’s immediately obvious something has changed. A hasty palisade wall has been constructed around the town, and a banner has been hung over the gate, white with a red insignia of a bloody chain.

Shoshana groans. “AAUUUUGH, are you fuckin’ kidding me?!”

“Um, did the town always look like that?” Rebecca asks hesitantly.

Valeria shakes her head. “Not last week, it didn’t!”

Gral pulls the duo aside and gives them the Cliffs Notes: “We’re about to run into the Penitents. Talk about Rack as much as you can and hide behind Valeria. I hate dealing with these folks, but it looks like they put this place on lockdown, and we gotta make sure y’all are safe.”

Outside the gate, there’s a uniformed Penitent Knight keeping watch over a group of citizens who are digging graves. The gate itself seems to be manned by standard town militiamen, being supervised by another Penitent. Valeria casts a quick eye over the scene with Detect Magic, but finds nothing amiss. As she approaches (we’re wisely letting the paladin lead), a guardsman shouts “Halt!”

She stops at a polite distance. “Kyr Valeria Argent, at your service,” she announces formally. “What’s going on here?”

“By order of the town council, all who seek admittance to the town must submit to examination for heretical artifacts or influences,” the guardsman recites, scriptedly. The Penitent behind him nods in approval.

She meets his eye with an intimidating draconic stare. “We have artifacts we need to bring to the Cursebreaker Knights. Perhaps we can check them at the door and pick them up later?”

“Uhhh,” the guy says, his script clearly not having prepared him for that. “…maybe you should talk to the Inquisitor. He’s gonna want to speak to you about these ‘artifacts.’”

He has us wait a minute, and we take a quick mental inventory. We’ve got an evil skeleton tapestry, spooky lutestrings, the Eyegis, and one (1) entire Shoshana.

A group of six Penitents arrive and escort us stiffly into the town. The place is crowded as all get out; it looks like a lot of travelers have been stuck here way longer than they anticipated. There’s only two properly empty spaces: one’s some sort of enormous construction site, and the other is the area where the circus tent was; it seems nobody’s been brave enough to move into the spot or even clean up the ashy, crumbling remains.

There’s a rather unusual cart sitting among the crowded caravan parking, immediately familiar from the two reptilian beasts of burden hitched next to it. There’s a bit of a staredown happening; two Penitents are remaining remarkably steadfast in the face of two enormous, glowering tattooed figures. We can’t pop over to say hi; our escort is hustling us along and we’re not sure that knowing us would do Lucinius any favors.

Valeria’s about vibrating out of her skin, indignant at all these unfairly-detained innocents, and looks about a second away from drawing her sword and opening up a can o’ Righteousness. But no time for that; we’re being ushered inside the sheriff’s office.

The small-town hoosegow is cramped; there’s been makeshift cages built all along one wall, seemingly as some kind of holding cells, all of them full. Shoshana appraises the prisoners out of the corner of her eye. They all seem to have slight Curse mutations, but so vaguely that it could just be garden-variety weirdness. Sure, that guy could be a werewolf, but he might just be a real hairy dude. That lady looks sallow and corpselike, but not more so than any garden-variety resident of Mornheim.

Shoshana, her clawed hands shoved deep in her pockets, is strung tense as a lutestring. Valeria’s still managing to feign chilly politeness, but both of them are half a breath away from fight or flight.

Gral’s not looking at the prisoners. He’s too busy looking at the guard. There’s two burly Penitents at the door, which is unsurprising, but Gral could swear he’s seen the one on the left before.

He’s pretty sure we killed that guy back at the roadhouse.

The guard doesn’t seem to recognize us at all, but he’s pretty badly scarred, exactly in the way someone might be if they took a hit from a drow soldier’s greatsword.

We’re pulled out of our wary observations by a familiar, unwelcome voice. “Ah. Kyr Argent, wasn’t it?”

“It is,” Valeria allows frostily, as the Inquisitor glides into the room.

“It is good to see you again – in a manner of speaking,” he says, chuckling at his own joke as he gestures to his blindfolded eyes. “Yes, from the descriptions of the heroes who defeated the heretical circus, I suspected I might have the pleasure of working with you once again. What brings you to Three Oaks Junction?”

“Oh, we’re just passing through. Y’know, like travelers do,” she answers, her polite smile showing just a little too much fang.

“Yes, of course. As you can see, this town has become very useful in our war against the Curse.”

“Is it, now.”

“After the incident with the circus, the town council was afraid. Many of them had attended the performance, after all. They were worried that there might be some…aftereffects. Fortunately, my people were nearby, and they summoned me immediately to examine the town for signs of the Curse’s corruption. As we were here, it became clear what an asset this town is – just as the heretics used it to corrupt many at once, we can use it to root out those heretics who hide among us.

“On our first day here, we found one who bore the mark of the curse. I examined him myself. Foul lycanthropy. He was, of course, executed. Now, none pass through this place without our inspection, and we have found many others. You may have seen some of them outside, awaiting a more thorough examination. My work has kept me too busy to give each case the attention it truly deserves.

“The town council has been very accommodating. I have written to my fellows, and we are working on converting and expanding their humble chapel into a true bastion of Rack’s justice, where the divine light of the gods may lay bare the evil that hides among us, that walks the roads of this land spreading its poison.”

Gral mutters, aside, “Don’t think anyone’s walkin’ these roads now…”

The Inquisitor claps his hands briskly. “Now. I understand you are in possession of some artifacts, objects that you are transporting on behalf of the Cursebreaker Knights. I fear for our brothers amongst the Cursebreakers; their mission is noble but they meddle with powers they do not understand. There are things in this wood it is better not to trifle with. Bring the items to me, and I will inspect them. Those I deem acceptable may remain in your protection, but anything too dangerous must be destroyed. Should the Cursebreakers fall to corruption, we would lose some of our greatest assets in this war. Help me protect the Cursebreakers, Kyr Argent. Show me what you are transporting for them.”

Valeria nearly decks him then and there, but a quiet brush of shoulders reminds her of the trembling sorceress behind her. Not here, not now, not when we’re surrounded. If they get an excuse to get aggressive, Shoshana’s sunk.

We busy ourselves with pulling out Weird Yet Harmless artifacts. What kind of random space trinkets did we find, again? Clem shows them the Eldritch Cookbook, and we take a gamble by letting them look at the Pale King’s tapestry, which is a bit large and hard to hide.

“Very well. I will examine these,” the Inquisitor says smoothly, his tone giving no insight into whether he knows we have far more blasphemous things to hide. “Gunter! Find them lodging within the town. Once I have examined these items for corruption, I must confirm that none of you have been corrupted by their presence.”

Valeria smiles tightly. “I’m certain they are corrupted, but not corrupting.”

“With all due respect, Kyr, I have made a study of corruption. Now, because of your…esteemed position,” he says, gesturing toward her rose-emblazoned armor, “you are no doubt on a mission of some considerable importance. I will endeavor to expedite your case as much as I can.”

“Oh, there’s no need to give us special treatment. All the travelers here need to get through,” she responds pointedly.

The Inquisitor’s serene, condescending expression does not change. “You may go,” he dismisses. “I am very busy. As I’m sure you know, the work of good in times of evil is ceaseless.”

Valeria bows to the exact millimeter that politeness requires, and no further. He’s blind, and doesn’t notice.

As we’re ushered back out, Shoshana tries to catch the eye of one of the caged prisoners. They mostly just look scared, not evil, and there’s no sign they recognize she’s also corrupted.

Clem, meanwhile, takes the opportunity to scrutinize the weirdly familiar guy at the door. He looks perfectly healthy, except for all the scars. She elbows Valeria, who confirms with her Divine Sense that this is just a normal dude, not an undead. He’s either one hundred percent living, or whatever nonsense that brought him back from murder is specifically cloaked in a way that would fool a paladin’s senses.

Our escort shows us to a place to set up camp. There are several inns in town, but all of them are fairly occupied at moment. We’re pretty sure that a Knight of the Rose, hero who slew the dread circus, could pre-empt a less fancy guest, but we’re all chill with camping as long as we get to hit up a food truck or something.

We meet back up with our friends. The Fairgolds, who are pretty familiar with Three Oaks, are pretty shaken by the drastic changes. Aaron and Rebecca, meanwhile, are shocked. “Is this what the rest of the woods is like?!” Aaron asks. “I knew things were bad out here, but I assumed once we got out of Bad Herzfeld…”

“Different places have different issues,” Gral explains kindly. “Some are the kind you’re already familiar with. And apparently some places are afflicted with Penitent Knights.”

“Even before that, there was an undead curse which afflicted this place-“

“-Which we DEALT WITH just fine-“ Valeria interjects grumpily.

“-and Holzog’s safe now, but it had its own weird issues we had to deal with too. The Curse is everywhere; you can’t really get around it without clear-cutting the forest,” Shoshana admits.

We get the lay of the land. Commerce has slowed, but not stopped. The Penitents are searching everyone going through here. If they find nothing, they let you go. Most of the crowd is just people waiting for their turn to get checked. We see a few times, though - if something about you pings them as weird, they take you away.

Basically, we are in line at the TSA.

Guess we’ll take a walk.

We skirt warily around a Penitent street preacher who’s shouting something about justice, and casting out evil, and how Rack appreciates your sacrifice in these trying times.

“Sacrifice is a WILLING thing,” grumbles Valeria.

We walk around and do some casual recon. Much of the town is still a perpetual campsite/bazaar, but near the more permanent municipal buildings, several work crews are busy with construction, which the locals tell us is supposed to be some kind of temple. Quite a few rough tents with Penitent insignias are pitched by that area. The town militia is out in force, and it’s much bigger than when we passed through last week. Maybe half of the people running around on patrol are actually trained fighters; most of the new recruits barely even look like weekend warriors. Every patrol, without exception, is being supervised by at least one Penitent.

People are scared, mostly. Nobody around seems happy with the Penitents, but a lot of the people around have reluctantly agreed that Something Had To Be Done about threats like the circus, and there weren’t any other available options. No one’s enthusiastic they’re there, but neither are they vocally critical. Then again, we worry, maybe anyone who’s been speaking out or causing trouble has, uh, disappeared.

We make our way back to our own wagon. If we’re gonna go Get In Trouble, like adventurers do, it’s probably time to part ways with our civilian friends. We pool 40 gold for Aaron and Rebecca (Clem contributing nothing because giving money is WAY too personal; Shoshana giving extra because she’s projecting really hard onto them) and Aaron’s eyes go wide. Oh, right, most people don’t make adventurer amounts of cash? It’ll be enough to get them safely set up in Holzog, with money to spare. They leave to set up their own travel plans, stuttering awkward thanks.

Flynn, meanwhile, grins. “Don’t think you’re getting rid of us that easily. You guys are terrible liars, I know you’re plotting something.”

We admit we don’t actually have a plan, but Valeria is adamant that This Nonsense Cannot Stand.

Let’s go recruit some allies, maybe? Gral wanders within Message range of Lucinius’ wagon, which is very clearly cordoned off and under guard. Bjorn and Ingborg are still there, but there’s no sign of the dragonborn.

“Heyy it’s us, what’s going on? Over.”

“Hello. We cannot leave. The Professor was taken. They wished to search the cart. He explained what he has and what he has found, that he is carrying important research. He would not allow them to confiscate his research, and he went to speak to the one in charge. That was three days ago; we have not seen him since. It is our duty to protect the man, but we have not seen a way to fulfil that duty without getting ourselves killed.”

We promise to keep them posted, and ask them to sit tight so when we make our move, it’ll be coordinated.

Next, Gral and Shoshana go down to the local pub to see if we can find anyone that’s particularly malcontented with the Penitents. We assume religious zealots are not much for hanging around bars. They don’t seem to be much into worldly pleasures, coughzombiecough.

Nobody’s talking too much shit until they get a couple of drinks in them but we do find some people griping, mostly merchants passing through. Pierre the Demish furrier, who we met back at the Holzog roadhouse, has turned up again; apparently the Penitents seized a good deal of his stock. And he’s been reduced to drinking BEER. He has OPINIONS about that. (It does not stop him drinking lots of it; he has to drown his sorrows at being denied worthy alcohol.)

Gral tries to butter him up a bit by letting him ramble about Demish wine. “When you drink a bottle of Demish wine, you taste centuries of tradition in that vineyard! You taste the earth itself, the hands of the farmers. It is sweet and it stings and it is good. What is this? Barley? Hops? HOPS? Hop is a verb, hop is not an object. Hop is for bunnies. The bunnies may eat the hops, and then I will cook the bunnies,” he mumbles into his unsatisfactory beer.

Gral fumbles for sommelier expertise. “I come from a smaller river village; wine tastes different farm to farm. It’s not just about the plants, but the social experience.”

“It is the same for us, yes? A region’s wine is its SPIRIT. You go to the border of the goblin swamps, and the wine there tastes like fire and blood, like the steel of the chevaliers that defend it.” Go to Petit le Fere, it tastes like long summer nights. Go to Marsène, the wine tastes like – have you ever been in love, Monsieur Orc?”

“Uh, n-no?”

It tastes like the first time you and your lover locked eyes and laughed together. That was my favorite wine. This? This tastes like mud with pretensions of alcohol.”

“It’s not the steel of the chevaliers, but it’s the taste of hardworking people. And if the penitents have their way, there won’t be a town here anymore.”

Gral butters the guy up enough to find out a few basic details: there’s about two dozen proper knights, but they’ve got local militia and volunteers to swell their numbers. A lot of people are very keen to get on good terms with the new bosses, whether it’s because they’re afraid of the Penitents or afraid of the things out in the woods that the Penitents have promised to fight.

“I was here to get a blood-red deer pelt with wolf’s teeth,” the trader complains. “I know a chevalier who would pay dearly to have it worked into his armor. And now it has been taken away! For my ‘protection,’ apparently. I had to surrender the rest of my stock to avoid being thrown in those cages.”

Everybody in the tavern seems to be on good behavior – sure, there’s folks displeased with the Penitents, but nobody’s gonna do anything about it; if you look like you might be up to something, you’re gonna get dragged off. And Pierre’s been keeping a low profile ever since he saw that blue dragonborn get dragged down into the basement of the sheriff’s office.

Shoshana, meanwhile, slides over to a tough-looking lady at the end of the bar in militia-style leather armor. “Hey, you look like you’d know the system here. We just got in to town; how long before they search our cart and let us go?”

“A couple days; we got a huge backlog,” the woman, who’s introduced herself as Vanessa, tells her. “Depends on how much they suspect you. Some people, they like to leave ‘em here for a while, to watch ‘em for anything suspicious.”

“You say that like you’re not involved? You’re dressed like you’re with the militia.”

“Technically I am. Second-in-command, or I was, before all this. Not sure who is now. Hell, I was the one making noise at Sheriff Wilbur about getting more muscle after that circus thing. If you folks hadn’t shown up, I dunno what would have happened.”

“So you all get bossed around by the Penitents now?”

“Look, half the kids in the militia right now barely know which end of a spear is up. The Penitents agreed to supplement what we had.”

“…yyyyyeah, it kinda feels like they’re calling the shots, though?”

She sighs. “Yeah. Look, I had the idea that we needed to beef up, bring in experienced vets. I was hoping to get mercs or something, and then they showed up and filled the role. They made some kinda deal with the town council, y’know, they’d provide extra security in exchange for being given jurisdiction over anybody found to be corrupt. Sounded fine to us at the time. See, we didn’t make the connection that if they were with the militia, they’d be the ones making the call who all’s corrupt or not.”

“How many people have been deemed, uh, ‘corrupt’?” Shoshana asks.

“More than I’d like, but not enough to get everyone all up in arms. Everybody’s pretty sure that most people will be fine. Hell, most people probably will be. When someone goes to trial, they take ‘em to the sheriff’s office. That Inquisitor guy looks at ya, says a few magic words, and most of ‘em he lets go. A few get taken to the cages for a further exam. I dunno what that means – don’t know anybody who’s been let go after that. A couple of times he just made a motion and bam, those knights beat the poor bastard to death on the spot and burned all their belongings.”

Vanessa doesn’t look too thrilled about that, so Shoshana decides it’s time to confide a little. “Even with the entire town vouching for me that I helped with the Circus, I’m worried I’m a target.”

“Well, I don’t mean to say anything, but I saw y’all leaving the sheriff’s office. You’re gonna get called in; you’re exactly the type. Even before all those stories about burning down circus tent with your magic powers.” She stares into her beer. “They’ve gotta be crazy. There’s plenty of crazy in the forest for them to deal with, why the hell are they in my town?!”

The problem is, the Town Council, which is what passes for a governing body in Three Oaks, have signed off on the whole deal. “The council’s just three people – the sheriff, Burgermeister Menner, and Remick – he’s the guy who keeps the shrine up and running. They all agreed to have the Penitents come in, but we haven’t seen much of any of them except the Sheriff since.”

Shoshana files that info away for later. “You said the sheriff’s still out and about?”

“He’s – look. Wilbur’s never been the most enthusiastic about bein’ sheriff. We served together, way back, in the house guard of the von Kempt family. Even back then he got the job because he’d been a sergeant. The guy was always happiest taking orders, rather than giving them. And hell, most of the sheriff job was just keeping things running today same as yesterday. But he got pretty spooked by the circus thing. That kinda shit’s scarier than your ordinary pack of wolves or bandits. I tried to get him to do something, but he seems comfortable with penitents calling the shots. He trusts they’re the experts and know what’s best here.”

The Burgermeister’s been pretty busy with this whole thing, apparently, and Remick hasn’t really left his little shrine. The Penitents don’t use that one – they’re more into big prayer ceremonies and dramatically flogging themselves in the street, and they’re starting construction on their own grand temple. Something about “showing faith by constructing a worthy house of worship,” and all that.

Vanessa’s grumbling about the heavy restrictions on the gates into town and the perimeter patrols, so Shoshana strategizes. “Have you had problems with people hopping the fence?”

“I mean, normally, no? Town regulations say go through the gates, but we’ve always had teenagers hopping the wall, or people with business outside who don’t feel like walking all the way to gate – never a real problem, until this whole nonsense. I’m not on patrol anymore, but as far as I can tell people are too scared to try in case they get caught. Probably a good way to get declared a potential heretic.”

Apparently the wall isn’t super well maintained; there’s plenty of places a few charming scamps could get in or out if they’re willing to scramble a little. It’s a trade stop, not a fortress.

We don’t get too much more info around town, and decide to investigate the town council in the morning. We take watch overnight, but nothing happens.

In the morning, we split up to cover more ground; Clem and Gral head to the Burgermeister’s, while Valeria and Shoshana try to hit up the local chief cleric.

Clem and Gral arrive at the biggest house in town. There’s a Penitent standing guard outside the door. They skulk around nonchalantly to the back to properly recon. There’s no Penitents watching the back, so Gral slinks up to a window to peer inside. It’s pretty normal; there’s a woman baking bread. Clem points out that we’ll definitely look like the bad guys if we break into an occupied home, so…the polite approach it is.

“The Burgermeister is not feeling well and cannot see visitors,” the knight at the gate intones.

“We’re here on urgent business,” Gral improvises. “We are the adventurers who defeated the circus; we wish to talk to him about the restoration efforts.” He rolls a properly bardic persuasion check, but it’s still like talking to a brick wall.

However, the door opens behind the stoic guard. “Who is it?” An elegant middle-aged woman peers out at us. “Wait, don’t I recognize you?”

“Yes, we assisted in deposing the circus!” Gral replies warmly. “Gral Omokk’du; I serve Duke Shieldeater.”

“Clementine Haxan,” Clem offers laconically.

“Ah, yes. Please do come in. You left town so quickly, my husband and I weren’t able to properly thank you!”

“We had urgent business elsewhere,” Gral admits, the picture of good manners. “I suppose that’s how life is.”

They make pleasantries with the woman, Meredith, who falls easily into the role of gracious host.

“We had concerns to bring up with the Burgermeister, but what’s this I hear about him being unwell?”

“Yes, he’s been bedridden the last week. A bit of the flu; he’s getting to that age. Mostly it’s just the fatigue, really.”

Clem tuts. “I’m a bit of a medic myself. The flu can be very serious when someone is in advanced years. I could potentially give a clearer diagnosis, maybe alleviate some of his pain?”

Meredith visibly brightens. “I was thinking about sending for a doctor anyway; please come on up, I’ll see if he’s ready to take visitors.”

The Burgermeister has CORONAVIRUS and we’re in QUARANTINE.

She leads them upstairs. “Dear? Aldrich? Remember those people who helped with the circus? One’s a doctor!” She listens for a moment. “You’re tired? You’ve been tired for a week. No, that’s not normal. It’s normal to get a doctor!” She turns back to the two visitors. “He’s being silly, come on up.”

“I don’t need a doctor, just rest!” we hear a harrumphing voice complain.

He is lying in bed in his pajamas. Ah, this is the burger kingdom! No, it’s my burger meistdom

“Hello sir, I’m Clementine Haxan. This is my nurse, Gral Omokk’du.”

“An orcish nurse?” the Burgermeister

“I’m not as experienced as Miss Haxan, but I served as a medic during the Ascension War,” Gral seamlessly bullshits.

“Look I’ve just picked up a bit of a bug and I need rest;” he grumps. “It’ll go away after a bit and I’ll resume my duties.”

“That may very well be true, but gods forbid it’s serious,” Clem says in her best Bedside Manner Voice. “It’ll be good to have it looked it.”

“Ugh, poke and prod me, do what you have to,” he reluctantly concedes.

Clem makes a medicine check with Dr. Wendell’s assistance. The man’s not entirely healthy - his cholesterol is a bit high maybe - but he’s hardly an invalid. He genuinely seems to have some kind of cold or flu, but it’s very mild at this point. There’s no way he should still be bedbound. Maybe it’s just Clem’s standards as an army doctor, but if a soldier came up to her with these symptoms asking to be let off duty the prescription would be “stop wasting my time and go dig latrines.”

Gral insights the guy. He’s not lying; he honestly believes he needs rest. But the way he keeps repeating the word “rest” feels a bit weird. The vibe isn’t “this person feels sick and fatigued,” it’s “this person has an insistent conviction that He Needs Rest.”

“Rest” isn’t a Prisoner buzzword, but Gral’s seen bards cast Suggestion before, and that seems to line up a little too well. Unfortunately, he can’t just Dispel Magic the darn thing; it’s too artful and subtle for that.

Gral decides to fish for a bit more info. “Before we leave you to your rest, how long have you had this flu?”

“About a week? The Inquisitor comes by every morning to update me on the town’s situation. Though I must rest and cannot attend to my duties, a town’s Burgermeister still must keep up with the times!”

“When did you first come into contact with him alone?”

“Oh, I insisted on a meeting when he first came into town a week ago.”

Interesting. The Burgermeister falls ill just in time so that the only information he gets about the town comes from the Inquisitor himself.

Wife doesn’t go out much, armed guard outside

Did he update you on the cage and the executions?

Have been capturing some neer do wells that seek to do harm to town, held for further questioning, some eliminated to protect town like common bandits or beasts.

Saw people in cages! How would you describe them, Clem.

Clem: didn’t strike me as especially dangerous folk

“Well, neither did that ringleader! He only seemed as eccentric as any other traveling performer!”

“Sure,” Gral argues, “but that’s when he had time to prepare his lies and his magic. These scared people in cages wouldn’t be able to hide if they tried. Honestly, the worst I saw was an excessive amount of body hair.”

“Fine, fine, I will inspect these prisoners personally as soon as I feel better, which should be any day now!”

“With all due respect, you fell ill right after this Inquisitor started talking to you. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Miss Haxan says you’re fine-“

“No I’m not! I need rest!” the Burgermeister interjects heatedly.

“We saved the town, and we’ve had trouble with Penitents before. I believe he has a spell on you. Please, let me try to remove it.”

“I’ve no time for your insane ravings, orc. The Inquisitor is a man of faith! Now leave me to my rest. Dr. Haxan, I appreciate your diagnosis, but I tire easily these days. Have my wife show you out.”

Gral knows the effect of Suggestion is only about 8 hours, but it’s subtle mental manipulation; it lasts. If the Inquisitor is coming by every morning, that’s the perfect opportunity to refresh the charm.

The two of them head out, Clem politely prescribing a short calisthenic routine for the man and, oh, he’s on the mend but just in caaaase he’s contagious the Inquisitor probably shouldn’t visit for a few days?

His wife agrees that sounds reasonable, but it probably won’t stop the guy. They say their gracious goodbyes.

Meanwhile, Shoshana and Valeria are headin’ to church. It’s a tiny thing; there are naves for the three gods we expect, but it doesn’t have the traditional empty throne of Oberok and we’d be surprised if it had a proper hidden shrine for the trickster god Guile. There’s a few people around, and luckily no Penitents posted outside.

Valeria, of course, stops at the Rack shrine for a short prayer, still getting used to how odd it is to see him depicted as human instead of dragonborn. We notice a few little notes – the Lethe shrine’s sponsored by the local blacksmith. You too can have a sword or hammer just like these, in our showroom down the lane!

A few folks are doing their daily prayers and making offerings. They’re all locals and travelers; there’s not a single Penitent in sight, which is pretty odd. There’s no services right now, so we head over to the old man who’s cleaning up candle drippings under one of the offerings. Valeria introduces herself, at your service as per usual.

“Ah, Kyr Argent! I remember you, from that blond man’s story about the circus! Keeper Remick, at your service. How may I aid you?”

Valeria asks him how, as a keeper of the faith, he feels about the Penitents.

“Well, in these times, faith is very important. And they certainly have plenty of that. And that’s a good thing, isn’t it? As a paladin, I’m sure you agree.”

“Faith is one thing, but I can’t say I’m pleased with what they’ve misguidedly done here,” Valeria sniffs.

“As I see it, they’re keeping the town safe. The Inquisitor explained it to me. It’s the will of the gods! Desperate times call for desperate measures, and, well, times are pretty desperate when you can’t even trust a circus! With your mind, that is. With your wallet, Guile walks with them, doesn’t he? Anyhow. These Penitent fellows, they seem extreme, but is there any other option?”

“There must be,” Valeria declares. “They’re detaining people at a crossroads, that’s the work of oppression.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far – see, the Inquisitor explained it to me. He is an experienced scholar of the faith, with a keen – not eye, I guess. A keen sense for the corruption that lurks in the hearts of men. I am, to be honest, just a glorified janitor!”

“I’m certain you’re more than that,” Valeria objects.

“Oh, there’s no need for that. It’s a role I’ve found fulfilling, keeping this place and these people.”

“Well, it seems like they’re brushing past this place in search of something new.”

“Yes, heh. I believe the intent is to make this town a bastion of faith. I’m sure that my little spot here will still remain in use, but more glorification to the gods is good, right?”

We botch an insight check and don’t get a real good sense of him. There isn’t the sense that he’s lying about anything – our impression is he believes it’s not his place to stand in the Penitents’ way; they must know better than him. He’s an old man who’s done a noble job, but he doesn’t think he’s cut out for determining who is or isn’t a danger to the town.

We try another tack: “I understand you’re on the town council?”

“I am. Don’t know why, really. We used to have a proper cleric, decades ago. When he died, I was closest thing to a replacement we had! As the keeper of town’s faith, I hold one of the three seats. Burgermeister Menner does most of running the town, but for the big things he calls in myself and the sheriff and we all take a vote.”

“Then you must have been a big part of bringing the Penitents in?”

“Well, Sheriff Wilbur’s the one who brought their offer to us. I did vote in favor, yes. The Inquisitor showed up personally with his people and described the whole arrangement he had in mind. The Penitents would reinforce and train our militia, and those guilty of corruption would be remanded into their custody for justice. It all seemed very reasonable; sheriff Wilbur does his best but clearly he and his deputies aren’t enough on their own, not against this sort of curse. Burgermeister Menner fell ill shortly afterwards, and I’ve been very busy here doing what I can to keep up folks’ faith.”

Shoshana butts in. “Have you actually been out to see the Penitents work?”

“Yes, once. It disturbed me, but I understand it couldn’t be avoided. The Inquisitor suggested it might be best to avoid seeing such things that upset me so.”

“But if it upsets you – wouldn’t you be the one with authority to change things?!” Valeria demands, failing a persuasion check.

“Oh, voting on anything like that has to wait until the Burgermeister feels better.”

“Can’t council members do anything on their own?”

“Like I said, we’d have to convene to vote…”

“Sure, for the big things,” Shoshana argues, “But the sheriff and Burgermeister have their own duties, don’t you have your own authority as well?”

“I - I suppose I could call clerics from other towns to take a look?”

Valeria puts a gauntleted hand on his shoulder and sparkles at him with all her charismatic piety. “You’re not just the keeper of the shrine, you’re the keeper of this town’s faith. I know you can make a difference.”

The dice land in her favor. “Yes!” the old man declares. “I will-I will do something. What is it I should do? I’m new to this. I’ve held this seat for 20 years but, well, doing something is new. Mostly council meetings are that the Burgermeister says I’d like to increase the tolls, I say the gods probably won’t argue, the sheriff says it won’t cause a riot, and then he does it. I am not suited for a crisis.”

“Well, what kinds of things do you normally do?”

“Er, sometimes I have to sit in on a trial and make sure the prisoner has an advocate?”

OH YOU’RE A PRISONER ADVOCATE, HUH. WELL BOY DO WE HAVE SOME PRISONERS FOR YOU.

“Why, don’t the Penitents do that as clerics of Rack?”

We politely do not laugh in his face. No, no they do not.

“Oh, then I must go at once!”

We’re gonna reconvene with the rest of the party, and then will see the gods’ justice done! After lunch!

The four of us, plus the Fairgolds, meet up. Flynn reports that there have been no changes; the Penitents let all carts through but seized some items, mostly books. We swap info about the Burgermeister and Keeper Remick. The town leadership is hardly good in a crisis, but the Penitents have definitely been separating and keeping them down on purpose.

The first step is to bring in Keeper Remick as our prisoner advocate for those folks being held in the basement. The old man puffs himself up with as much importance as he can, aided by all of us backing him up looking tough. “AHEM,” he announces to the nonplussed Penitent guard, “as a member the of town council and keeper of town’s faith, let me speak with your prisoners!”

Silence.

“Can I speak to your manager? I mean leader!”

The Penitent shakes his head.

“Now listen here young man, what seat do you hold on the town council?!”

The Penitent finally speaks. “I have been instructed to-“

“To work WITH the town council,” Remick retorts, showing a surprising amount of backbone. “No matter how much experience you all may have, it is my solemn duty to speak with the town’s prisoners! Allow ,e to do my duty or I will be forced to write a sternly worded letter! APOLOGIZING FOR FORCING OUR WAY PAST YOU!”

The Inquisitor glides up behind his guard, listening to Remick’s speech. “Very well,” he intones in his eerily calm voice, “You may…enter.”

We are brought down to basement. It’s a set of maybe 6 cells, more suited to being a drunk tank than any long-term holding cell. In one cell we spot the distinctive scales of a blue dragonborn, and as our footsteps clank on the stone, an equally distinctive voice begins to shout indignantly.

“You brutes, I demand you return my research materials to me! I was in the middle of some important work when- oh, you aren’t the warden. My goodness! Kyr Argent! I must say, it’s rather good to see a familiar face.” Oh, hi, Lucinius.

The cells are overcrowded – there must be 20 prisoners across 6 cells. Lucinius and everyone else crammed in with him look pretty beaten up. They all look completely normal; the ones with visible mutations have been imprisoned where people can see. These are the prisoners they wouldn’t be able to get away with holding publicly.

Lucinius has clearly got a rant building up. “I explained to them many times that I am a professor from Golden Academy, and they refused to listen! They said my studies are ‘heretical’ and my magics ‘invoke the name of the tyrant god’ – yes, obviously, they were written during the Aquilian empire, they said ‘Oberok’ every other word! It’s not a dirty word! Anyhow. Are you here to let us out?”

“We’re here to be advocates!”

“Oh, we’ve had advocates!” Lucinius huffs. “The Inquisitor is the prosecution, while one of those fanatic knights serves as our ‘advocate.’ It’s quite far from ideal; their position as advocate is that we ought to confess, if we understand the gravity of our crimes. And then they hit us a bit.”

“I’m unfamiliar with the customs of this land,” Gral allows, “but that doesn’t exactly sound like proper advocacy.”

“Well, I certainly don’t know how things are done in this country! I’ve never been accused of a cr- well, I have been accused of many crimes,” Lucinius admits. “I find it’s best never to assume about local customs. That got me into a LOT of trouble with the goblins. Did you know they have a ‘trial by fire?’ I misunderstood it, they just light a big fire to keep the courtroom warm while the trial goes all night. I went to great lengths to cast Protection from Energy! And of course it turns out casting spells as a prisoner is double illegal…”

“Double illegal?”

“Yes, it means they bring in twice as many judges.”

As he rants, the sight of innocent prisoners in miserable conditions seems to be a pretty strong argument. Remick’s fully on board with booting the Penitents out as soon as he can convene the town council.

Gral’s going to make a show of it. Loudly, he declares, “This is a violation of these citizens’ basic rights! We’ll need a full meeting of the town council before any Penitent activities continue!”

The Inquisitor hmms. “That’s…certainly something the Burgermeister could order. But nobody may leave if they have not been inspected. If we cannot continue our inspections, the town would shut down entirely.”

“The lockdown would only start once the Burgermeister declares it, which hasn’t happened yet,” Valeria interjects testily.

We’re politely and pointedly escorted out.

Lucinius shouts after us, “Don’t be long! Tell my bodyguards these people are not allowed into the cart without a warrant signed by someone of noble rank, or at least with a judicial position! Also, contact the embassy! They can’t do this to me, I have tenure-!”

The session closes as we discuss how the hell we’re going to get a Proper Council Meeting with the sheriff out “receiving instruction” from the Penitents and the Burgermeister convinced he’s indisposed. And we’ve got to get at least two of the three to vote the intruders out. That’s not gonna happen without them feeling like they have some way to protect the town from the Curse.

We fondly reminisce that our previous campaign’s party would definitely have started murdering people by now.

#the cursewood #three oaks junction #valeria argent #gral omokk'duu #clem haxan #shoshana bat chaya #flynn fairgold #fiona fairgold #dr kjeller #penitent knights

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excindrela · 4 years

Note

Can I request some vav make out or smut story that will be unfortunately interrupted by other members walk in in the middle of everything and don't stop teasing them about it. With ayno or baron.

Hello Anon!! OMG- so sweet of you to request something!! I never get requests!! Thank you so much!!

Ok, you gave me a choice, and since I usually write Ayno, I decided to write BaRon! I don’t know if this was what you were looking for, but I hope you like it!!

Pairing: BaRon (Chunghyeop) of VAV x female reader (with a cameo by the rest of VAV)

Word Count: 1496

Warnings: Cussing, making out

2020 had been hell on your relationship. First your boyfriend left on a 12 week tour right before Valentine’s Day – only to get stuck in South America and Puerto Rico before his group finally retreated home to shelter from the Corona virus. But then they had been locked up in quarantine for 2 weeks because they had been outside the country… and then the agency had them sheltering in place for another month. So, when the “no visitors” restriction was lifted, suffice to say you were desperate for some physical contact.

It wasn’t like Chunghyeop wasn’t desperate too. But they were staying secluded, and the boys were busy working on a comeback…and then the agency decided to move buildings. Getting alone time together was hard anyway: you had three roommates and he had six…but your boyfriend was a little devious.

Your sweet BaRon had it all figured out. “Ok! Here’s the plan: Jacob is taking everyone out for BBQ. I’m going to stay for the first course, and then I’m going to leave and come get you from work. We can go to the old building- no one will be there. Dinner will last at least another hour, and then the guys will go back to the dorm. We can get a couple hours before anyone starts looking for me.”

It went off without a hitch. He left the restaurant and picked you up in an Uber right as you finished work. His thumbprint passed you into the dark, silent, red brick building. You could still see the outline where the A-Team Entertainment letters and the banners with the boy’s pictures had hung on the wall. It seemed a little sad.

You climbed the silent stairs and entered the still, shadowed practice room. BaRon connected his phone and suddenly the sound system sprang to life with Bruno Mars’ “Versace On the Floor”. He twirled you around before pulling you against him to sway in the darkness. Warm hands & strong arms pressed your body against his as he began leaving soft kisses on your neck.

“I missed you jagiya”, he whispered in your ear before he ghosted kisses all the way down to your shoulder. You sucked on his earlobe as you slid your hands down his well muscled back and on to his thicc ass. He moaned as he fit his mouth to yours. Your tongues fought for dominance with kisses so hot and desperate you almost didn’t feel him glide the zipper of your dress down and the fabric slither to the floor.

Now Camila Cabello was telling you that half of her heart was in Havana, but your whole heart was right here in this deserted dance studio pounding in time with the beautiful man who was very sensually cha-cha-ing you backwards toward the couch that sat in the corner of the studio, while he undid the clasp of your bra with one hand. You admired his coordination as he casually tossed your bra over his shoulder without missing a beat.

You had managed to get his shirt unbuttoned – but not off. You did manage to get his pants undone, and they fell to his ankles in a sudden rush causing you to fall backward onto the soft cushions with BaRon’s luscious body on top of you. No complaints: you’d always had a fantasy about fucking in the studio, and now here you were. Totally worth waiting for.

One of the advantages to dating a dancer was his incredible sense of rhythm. You were enjoying that skill immensely as Chunghyeop’s hardened body ground against your heat in time to Taemin’s “Want” blaring from the speakers. You moaned loudly; head clouded in a love-drunk fog…

Until you were blinded by every halogen light in the room snapping on and your ears assaulted by a high-pitched scream. You let out a matching high-pitched scream in response, as you took in Ziu’s wide eyed horrified expression. “It’s not what it looks like!” you yelled. “Yes, it is. It’s exactly what it looks like!” BaRon replied.

At that moment, alerted by the inhuman sound Ziu was still making, Van, Jacob, Ayno & Lou rushed through the door. They spent half a second looking around in confusion before spotting the two of you on the couch. You knew you should have done something, but you just laid there in your lacy underwear, trapped under BaRon, like a deer in headlights.

Van started laughing hysterically as he turned around and walked to the far corner of the room, holding his sides as he dropped to his knees and pounded the floor, unable to contain his mirth. You felt your face growing hot.

“AAAAHHH!!!”, Ayno cried, covering his eyes, “Chunghyeop-hyung…you should be doing this somewhere alone!!”

“We were alone until you idiots showed up!” BaRon retorted, “What are you doing here? You were supposed to be going back to the dorm after dinner!”

“I forgot my textbook and Ace wanted some sheet music he was working on.” Lou supplied.

As though summoned by the mention of his name, Ace finally strode through the door with the boys’ dog, Cash, hot on his heels. “What the-“ he began as he took in the situation and then spotted the two of you still laying immobile on the couch. “Oh fuck…” he said with a roll of his eyes as he turned and exited the room again.

“Almost…” BaRon mumbled.

Lou looked at the two of you in disgust. “What made you think this was a good place to go for it? We sit on that couch hyung!”

“Well, we used to,” Ace responded dryly as he re-entered the studio.

While everyone was distracted, Jacob had wandered to the middle of the studio and retrieved your discarded bra and examined it, a devilish smile creasing his lips when he had spotted the tag with your cup size. He was now surreptitiously peeking around Ayno trying to get a look at what filled them.

“Cobi! What the hell are you doing?? STOP STARING AT HER!”, Ace thundered, his voice tinged with exasperation as he reached up and smacked Jacob upside the head.

Jacob just grinned, but you turned eleven shades of red and tried to hide your face with your hands.

That seemed to trigger Ayno’s sense of propriety, and he unzipped his flame-sleeved Palm Angels hoodie (the one that cost more than you made in a month), and came over, head turned to the side and eyes averted, to wedge the jacket between you and BaRon and save some shred of your modesty. His chivalrous gesture was immediately ruined, however, as he whipped out his phone and leaned in for a selfie with the two of you. You laid there wide eyed & horrified as BaRon smiled and threw out a peace sign, and you heard the shutter click.

“Dammit Ayno!!” you shrieked as he somersaulted away from you, holding the phone you were desperately trying to snatch just out of your reach. “I swear- if that ends up on your Instagram, I will break both your ankles and you won’t dance for a year!!,” you threatened vainly against the sound of his laughter.

A low growl caused Ayno’s laughter to abate and BaRon to lift his torso and crane around slightly as you leaned out from underneath him to see Cash in the middle of the room…with your dress in her mouth. Van was slowly advancing on her- hence the growling. He reached out lightening quick to grab one end of the fabric, but Cash wasn’t letting go. “Cashie! Cashie! No! Give! Give!” he commanded as the Sharpei tugged and shook her head back and forth. Seeing Ziu start to sneak up on her, she gave a forceful yank while hopping backwards. There was a horrific ripping sound as the dress tore apart and the victorious canine darted between Ziu’s legs and bolted out of the practice room and down the stairs with her prize. “Cash! No! Sit!”, Van hollered as he ran out of the room to give chase, with Ziu right behind him.

You sighed. “I liked that dress. I wore it twice, and now it’s a dog toy.”

Lou shook his head. “That’s it. I’m out. Have fun.”, he said as he quit the room.

“C’mon pabo, let’s go”, Ace said looking unsurprised that both Jacob and Ayno responded to the insult by moving toward the door, “Let’s leave loverboy to it.”

“At least I have someone to make out with!” BaRon called.

Ace laughed, narrowed his eyes, and proceeded to yank his friend’s pants completely off, swinging them over his shoulder as he walked out the door with them.

You were suddenly alone again, and you both burst out laughing. “I’m so sorry”, he said.

“That’s ok. They’re never going to let us live this down, are they?” you said, still giggling.

Chunghyeop’s smile was still huge, his eyes little upside-down crescents, “Nope!” he said cheerfully, “This will live on forever! …but I think we should take our chances with your roommates from now on.”

#vav #baron #ayno #lou #st. van #jacob #ace #ziu #vav fanfiction #by request #thank you anon

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wickedsingularity · 4 years

Text

Until Next Time [Chapter 13]

Banner by PhoenixAlthor @ TDA

The hand on my heart clenched painfully. I stiffened and gritted my teeth. My eyes stung and I couldn't breathe. I was there. I had reached the point where it hurt so bad I didn't know how to live for one more second.

War. We do what we can to find comfort and hope.

Remus Lupin x OC Warnings: Low self-esteem, embarrassment, mention of past injuries, thinking someone was dead, vulnerability, mention of Greyback liking to eat children Words: 2053

Chapter 12 | Masterlist | Chapter 14

Warmth

I thought you were dead.

I'm not sure what woke me. It was still dark around me and for a moment I thought I was home. But then I felt an ache in my body and everything that had happened the previous day came back to me, and with it, an ache in my soul.

My first thought was if my magic had come back or not. I reached for my wand, always keeping it on my bedside table. But it was still on the floor where it had landed when I failed to cast Lumos. My next instinct was to cast a wandless spell to summon it, but I caught myself mid-move. It would be pointless. I pushed the covers off my body and inched towards the edge of the bed, all my limbs sore and tired. I knew that had very little to do with what Remus and I had done, and more to do with the fact that I had drained myself of magic and energy.

I stood on shaky legs, the cold of the floor seeping into my feet and I blinked, trying to see in the darkness. I staggered over to the wall, supported myself with a hand on it and crouched down and felt around for the stick of wood I couldn't live without. Once I closed my hand over it, I imagined I felt the warmth I had felt the day Ollivander handed it to me for the first time, asking me to try it.

Still crouching, I tightened my grip and whispered: "Lumos."

The same feeble wisp of light appeared, barely lighting up the dusty corner of the room, before fading and leaving everything just as dark as before, if not darker.

A sigh slipped from my lips and I toppled over, sliding down the wall, sitting on the cold floor, tears pricking at the back of my eyes.

Had I honestly thought all my magic would be back after a few hours? I was powerful, I knew that. Not the most powerful, but certainly above average. Common sense said it would take a while for that to come back and Madam Pomfrey wanted me out of work for a week.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, blinking away the tears threatening to fall, I told myself; "Patience." Even though I felt very impatient. And useless. And utterly defenceless. How did Muggles handle it?

The cold was starting to make my legs feel numb. I got up on my feet, with a lot of groans and curses, but didn't go back to the bed. Instead, useless wand still in hand, I pulled my nightgown down as far as it would go and slipped out the door and up to a room where I knew I could find warmth.

Remus' door was unlocked. I hadn't even considered how he would react to someone sneaking into his room in the wee hours of the morning, but I realised I should have when the room was suddenly bathed in too bright light and a wand was pointed at me from the bed.

"It's just me," I said croakily, hands above my head, squinting at the brightness. "I didn't mean to startle you."

Remus breathed and the light faded into a soft glow. "Oh, it's okay. I'm still a little on edge since my last stay with the werewolf packs." I padded into the centre of the room, twisting my wand in my hands, suddenly feeling self-conscious. The door slid quietly shut behind me. "What are you doing here?"

I shrugged. "Cold." It felt stupid as I said it. I should have just gone back to bed. There was no reason for me to invade on Remus after having declined his offer the previous night, we didn't have that kind of relationship.

But he moved slightly to the side and lifted the covers. "Come here."

My heart did a funny jump and I felt so silly, so childish and so unlike myself, but my feet pulled me forward and I laid down next to him and he pulled the cover over me, warmth immediately seeping into my bones.

"Afraid I'll hex you?" he joked, nodding towards the wand I still held tightly in my right hand.

"Oh. No. I don't know why I brought it with me. Doesn't work." I hurried to put it on the bedside table.

Remus made a sound, before settling down and laying his arms around me, pulling me close to his naked form, my back against his warm front. "Warmer?"

"Much. Thank you."

We didn't speak for a while. Remus' heat seeped into every fibre of my being as I rested my head on his pillow. This was so unusual for us and so far from what I wanted in my life right now, but the feeling of his arms around my waist, his slow steady breaths against my neck, was having an impact on me. It may not be what I wanted, but it was what I needed. It felt like a knot was trying to unravel in my chest, and I clenched my teeth in an effort to not fall apart in his arms.

"I was so worried," Remus said quietly. I thought he had fallen asleep. "Nymphadora just said you had collapsed and was ice cold. When she brought you in..." He trailed off and I could feel him swallowing behind me. "You had bloody cuts on your face. From the broken window, I suppose. And you looked... dead. I thought you were dead." His voice sounded weak and I had to swallow the knot in my chest.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Don't be. I'm glad you're okay. That you'll be okay."

Silence fell around us again and I glanced at my wand on his bedside table. "I want my magic back."

"How does it feel, being out of magic?"

I took a moment to choose my words. "Restraining. Unsafe. I'm defenceless. I can't even cast Lumos."

"Show me."

I reached for my wand again, a stupid part of my brain thinking that maybe third time was the charm. "Lumos." But it was the same. I dropped it onto the bedside table, wanting to cry.

Remus pulled me even closer if that was possible. "You'll get it back. The evidence was right there. You couldn't have cast anything if it was gone." He buried his face in my hair and whispered. "You'll get it back."

I wish I could be as confident about it as he was. Madam Pomfrey and Albus and everyone said it would come back, and deep down I knew it would, but it was hard to trust that when it was so feeble. But I nodded and told myself again to just be patient.

We fell silent, and I pushed everything from my mind and just let myself revel in the feel of Remus holding me and how toasty warm I felt, how comfortable and safe everything felt right there in this room. But a sound from somewhere in the house made the moment end for me. I wasn't sure exactly what time it was, but someone could be at my room to check on me. And not finding me there, they could start looking and calling for me.

"I should go back to my room," I said quietly.

Remus didn't respond, and I thought maybe he really had fallen asleep this time. I started pulling away from him, but he tightened his arms around me and buried his face in my hair again. I couldn't be sure, but it sounded like he smelled me. But then he nodded and loosened his grip. "I'll go down and cook up some breakfast."

We both slipped out of bed and I padded towards the door, opening it a smidge to see if the coast was clear. Not hearing or seeing anyone, I slipped out and hurried as quietly as I could down the stairs.

I reached the landing and was just about to open the door to my room when Tonks came from the other hallway. "Wotcher," she greeted.

"Tonks! Good morning," I said. I noticed her furrowing her brows, looking me up and down.

"Morning," she said. "What are you doing walking around? Isn't that a bit chilly?"

"I, uh... Yeah, it's cold. Was about to get dressed."

Just that moment, Remus came walking down the stairs, already dressed for the day. "Good morning, Nymphadora."

She glared at him for using that name. "Morning, Remus." Then she frowned and looked at me, then at Remus, and then me again. "I just came to check on you before going to work."

I smiled nervously, if only she had been five seconds slower, or I had been five seconds quicker. "Still shaky and magicless," I said.

"I'm about to make breakfast. Do you girls want any?" Remus said hurriedly, walking past Tonks and me, not looking at us.

"A cup of tea would be lovely, Remus," Tonks said, glancing between myself and Remus again.

"I'll just..." I trailed off, nodded and slipped inside my room.

Embarrassment for the weakness that had made me go to Remus for comfort and for almost getting caught filled me as I slipped into the clothes from the previous day. I really shouldn't have gone up there.

Before going out again, I glanced at the mirror by the door. "Looking tatty, young lady," the mirror tutted at me. My clothes were all wrinkly and a bit dusty, but I was in no condition to cast a freshening charm.

As I came down the stairs to the kitchen, I heard Remus and Tonks chatting.

"It is a long time. Be careful, Remus," Tonks said. "Especially during the full moon."

"Do not worry, Nymphadora." They both looked my way as I entered. "I know them. I am prepared." He was waving his wand over a kettle and it started whistling and steaming immediately. "Tea?"

"Yes, please," I replied, sitting down and helping myself to a piece to toast and butter.

"Nymphadora believes my upcoming mission with the werewolf pack in Wales is too risky," Remus explained as he poured tea into three cups.

"We already know they'll side with... Voldemort, if he decides to recruit them," Tonks explained. "They're under Greyback's influence."

"Which is why I need to be there." Remus handed out the teacups, sat down and helped himself to toast as well. "There are several of them that are not on Greyback's side, but they have nowhere else to go. Some of them are children, Nymphadora."

"Do not call me –" Tonks took a deep breath and collected herself. "I see your point, but I still don't like it."

"Any help we can get for our cause is worth it," I said. "It helps even if they're not on You-Know-Who's side."

Tonks lifted her teacup to her lips but did not drink from it, looking at me over the rim. "Do you think he's taking a too big risk? It's not a secret which side he's on."

"I would lie if I said I wasn't worried," I admitted and frowned slightly. "But we're all taking big risks in this war."

"Nymphadora is especially worried because it was Greyback who..." Remus started and Tonks' eyes snapped to him. He closed his eyes as he continued. "It was Greyback who bit me when I was six." He opened his eyes again but didn't look at any of us.

I stared at him. I hadn't known this.

"And he has a... taste for children."

A chill ran down my spine at those words. I grabbed the steaming teacup and held it tightly in my hands, concentrating on the warmth of it and willing the heat to spread through my body. It didn't. All the warmth he had poured into me while we had been up in bed, gone.

I felt eyes on me and looked up, Tonks was looking at Remus and he was looking at me. "Let's change the subject," Remus suggested.

At that moment, the kitchen door opened and Sirius came shuffling through, dark hair very much in the straight out of bed style. He stopped short, looking at the three of us. "Who died?"

"No one, Sirius," Remus said, the corner of his mouth twitching halfway into a smile. "Tea?"

Chapter 12 | Masterlist | Chapter 14

#until next time #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin x you #remus lupin x oc #remus lupin fanficiton #remus lupin imagine #remus lupin smut #remus lupin angst #remus lupin fluff

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sea-side-scribbles · 4 years

Text

Doubled Back

Parallel Universe, Higgs vs Higgs, I have weird ideas sometimes...

Rating: M

Chapters 2/?

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21860554/chapters/52173571

Higgs shoots himself on the beach, so he won’t go insane.

What ensues from that makes him think it was already too late.

Chapter 1

Higgs had imagined the afterlife to be different, he immediately thought when the shot still echoed in his ears. He didn’t want to be insolent, but he didn’t expect to be lied down on a comfy mattress. He had reflexively curled his fingers into it when he had felt himself fall into the blackness. Soon after, he took his first breath after the shot and puzzled by that, he ripped his eyes open. It was revealed to him that he was indeed just lying in a bed, his heart pounding in his chest.

He felt alive.

He jumped up and stared at the walls that surrounded him. He found that they looked very familiar. He walked over to a notice board and touched it’s cold surface. It felt very real. Still confused, he stepped backwards and let his gaze wander over the widespread network that occupied the whole room. Notes, photos, ripped out pages of books, all combined to one big picture, a sign of his former enthusiastic self. He saw his plan, his faith, screaming at him from the walls. „Amelie, my lord and savior“, was smeared in black all over it.

He backed away, feeling he was about to choke on the sight. It was nothing but a shameless lie. Why was he back here to look at it? Did Amelie send him here to be embarrassed for one last time? There was only one way to deal with her precious altar of lies.

With a war cry, he jumped at his old plans, ripped the pages apart, pulled out the cord that was holding them together and tore the photos apart. Soon, there was nothing left of his great plan than crumbled pieces of paper on the ground. He found that this was really fun, so he eagerly continued his work with smashing everything he could find against the walls.

He grabbed a knife that had lied on the table and started to slice wildly creative patterns into everything he could reach. He ran the knife over every writing he found, until they were barely readable. Finally, he slashed the paddings of the furniture like a furious killer who was searching for his victim that hid in the room somewhere.

The only picture he left intact was one flyer with Fragile’s banner on it, which he placed right in the middle of the shredded board.

When he didn’t find anything more to destroy, he leaned at the door and looked at his work with a satisfied grin. Finally, he saw the truth. Now he had to get out of here though, his past still choked him.

By then he knew that he was in his Homo Demens quarters, so he expected the two guards already who patrolled the corridor. They saluted nervously. They probably heard the noise his little endeavor had caused. One of them however had the courage to approach him, even though cautiously, like Higgs was a wild animal.

„Master Higgs…“

„What?“ Higgs didn’t hide his annoyance. He only wanted to leave, this place was like a cord around his throat.

„Forgive me asking but…don’t you…have a meeting now?

Higgs only stopped walking and kept looking straightforward. „The meeting is cancelled,“ he decided, „be a good boy and give the word, alright?“

„Yes, sir.“ And so he walked away and Higgs could continue his slow escape.

When the guard reached the meeting room and went inside, he came upon a big surprise. The assembly was complete and everyone seemed to listen to Higgs, who he had just interrupted in mid sentence.

„Master…Master Higgs? You…changed your mind?“, he stuttered into the awkward silence. He definitely didn’t appreciate this kind of humor. The look Higgs gave him also sent a cold shiver down his spine.

„Would you excuse me just a minute?“, his master said and walked out, his devastated guard following him.

„How long have you been my guard now?“, he asked sharply.

„For about five years, sir,“ his guard replied in a meek tone.

„And in all that time you didn’t notice how much I hate it to be interrupted?“

„You..you left me no choice, sir.“

He saw his master was slightly irritated by his guard’s candor.

„Explain,“ he ordered.

The guard assumed that this was some drill he didn’t understand yet.

„Just a minute ago you walked out of your quarters and told me that the meeting is cancelled and ordered me to give the word,“ he repeated what happened.

His master’s irritation turned into fury.

„I’ve been here for 20 minutes,“ he snapped. „You’re telling me that you let someone break into my room and let him go afterwards?“

„He…he looked exactly like you sir,“ the guard whimpered, still hoping this was some kind of cruel joke.

His master processed this information for a second before he yelled. „What are you waiting for? Seal the doors and find the man!“

Higgs was about to reach the entrance hall when he heard the alarm. With multiple loud crashes the doors got sealed and soon the room was flooded by Homo Demens that blocked the exit with their guns ready. Higgs watched this show with amusement and surprise. Without any fear, he approached the armed men.

„May I politely ask you what this fuss is about?“

Ruyther stepped forward. He was one of his most trusted men. A sign that this was a rather serious matter. „I apologize, but the order came directly from…Master Higgs,“ he said knitting his brows.

Higgs looked at him with an innocent expression.

„Oh, did it?“, he asked in fake surprise. „Don’t you think I should know about this then?“

Ruyther replied with a concerned expression. „It says we have an intruder, a doppelganger, to be precise.“

Higgs couldn’t believe his ears. What was that shit now?

„A doppelganger, eh?“, he repeated and stroked his chin seemingly deep in thoughts. „Hmm…I wonder what gave him this idea? I hope he’s not completely unguarded now and walking around in our headquarters…“

„Of course not,“ the other man said in a factual tone. „He’s just as guarded as you are, but also a whole unity has confirmed his identity.“

„What?“, Higgs blurted out. „You can’t be fucking serious! I’m here! Ruyther, it’s me! Look at me!“

Ruyther eyed the other man’s face under the hood for a while until he answered: „You’re looking…different to me, sir…“.

That caused the men around him to tense.

„What do you mean?“ Higgs’ voice was menacingly quiet. He also fought the urge to take off the hood but he would never expose his face like that.

„You’re looking…a bit younger…“, his guard stuttered.

Higgs laughed. „Oh, thank you“, he said with a charming smile. „You always find an occasion to flatter me, don’t you? But now I need to go, if you don’t mind.“

He walked towards the men but he only ended up with seven guns now aiming at him directly. Holding up his hands in fake surrender he stepped backwards again. „Aren’t you guys on edge today?,“ he snapped.

„You don’t seem to be very interested in that intruder…“, Ruyther observed warily.

Higgs sighted and wiped his forehead.

He knew Ruyther had a point. He would be eager to find this impertinent imposter if he wasn’t actually dead. He just shot himself minutes ago, he found that was enough shit to deal with for one day.

„I’m busy…“, he said in annoyance, „just arrest him, ask him who he’s working for and do your usual routine…I’ll be back soon.“

His guard didn’t give up.

„Sir, you need to give us a sign. A short demonstration of your powers would be enough,“ he offered sternly and his men shrank behind him. His powers were the last thing any of the Homo Demens wanted to be demonstrated. Especially not when Higgs was in a bad mood like now.

Higgs however realized what he had been missing the entire time. Ever since the beach, to be clear. When Amelie left him, she had taken her powers with her, so Higgs had been powerless when Fragile granted him the opportunity to kill himself and he was still powerless now. He closed his eyes, a reaction to compensate his embarrassment. If he ever met that bitch Amelie again, he would drown her in her own ocean.

But he wouldn’t let her break him this time. He would play along as far as necessary but he won’t be her pawn.

The guards that had stared at Higgs in horror relaxed again when he opened his eyes and nothing bad happened.

„Alright, you got me,“ he sighted. „Let’s look at my imposter with his incredible powers. Can’t wait to meet him.“

„I’m sorry for all of this,“ Ruyther said in all honesty.

Higgs eyed him and his sarcasm turned into sympathy.

„It’s not your fault…you’re just being careful…“

He turned around and let himself be walked off along the hallways. He didn’t look forward to this at all. He was afraid to be exposed by some tar wizard, some level 2 or 3 who could summon little tar drops and faint shadows that looked like a BT for someone who had no clue what they really looked like. And Higgs couldn’t prove him wrong. What a shitty day.

He was glad that the imposter was at least indeed guarded. His office now was crowded with Demens who gathered around the guy. What Higgs didn’t notice was that all of them stared at him in surprise and then looked back at the other one who stood by the desk, trying to find a difference between them. When Higgs saw that the imposter was standing by his desk like he owned this place and was also turning his back on him he rolled his eyes. He noticed that he was wearing an actually very accurate remake of his own outfit too.

„You’ve been very impolite,“ the imposter greeted him with a voice that sounded alarmingly similar to Higgs’, maybe darker. „You didn’t even introduce yourself. Instead you invaded my private quarters and made quite a mess in them. You also seem to be not very intelligent, because you left a sign of who supposedly sent you quite plain to see. Tell me, what am I supposed to do with you?“

„Turn around, you clown, and show me your face,“ Higgs snarled back.

The room fell silent. Everyone seemed to fear the reaction of the guy by the desk.

„Again you’re impolite,“ he stated, shaking his head. „I don’t tolerate this behavior. Sherkoff, teach him.“ He gave a sign and one man stepped forward and approached Higgs with a sternly look.

Higgs straightened himself and followed the man with his eyes. Another one who had known him for years and didn’t recognize him now. The other man held the gaze, even though he saw into the same eyes his master had.

„Are we doing this?“, Higgs asked defiantly but also with curiosity.

The slap he received was much weaker than the man could manage.

„I know you can do better than that,“ the imposter promptly said.

Higgs now looked rather amused. He had never wished to be slapped by his men but he could appreciate a good comedy. When the man hesitated again, Higgs whispered to him in a friendly way. „C’mon, just do it, we don’t want to make this guy mad, don’t we?“ He winked and tilted his head to the side. „I’ve been veeery impolite.“

The next slap jerked his head to the side and he fell heavy into the arms of the guards behind him.

„Good,“ said the voice by the desk. „Now one more time, just to make sure he gets the message.“

Higgs chuckled, even though his face burned. He lifted himself up and offered the other cheek without protest. The third slap sent him flying to the other side. Struggling up, he saw Sherkoff walk away. His punishment was over.

„I give you a second chance to change your tone, intruder. Just try to mind your words this time. I understand that you’re rather - simple minded.“

Higgs shook his head at that insult. This guy had some nerves. But he had made the message quite clear. His men obeyed him for whatever reason and he had no powers. Time to play along then.

„I…thank you for your patience“, Higgs sounded as submissive as he could while trying not to choke at his words. „Please accept my apologies and let me show you my respect by falling on my knees before you.“

„That’s much better…however your offer means that my men have to release you. I hope that you won’t try anything funny out of your mere simplicity. I’d rather not hurt you more.“

„I won’t try anything, sir,“ Higgs pleaded with a clear innocent voice.

The imposter gave a sign and the guards let go off Higgs, who just as promised sank down on his knees and bowed his head.

Finally, the imposter turned around and came closer.

„See, it’s not that hard to teach even the most stubborn specimen some manners. It only takes patience and a strong hand…“ He concentrated his attention to his men for a second and that was all the time Higgs needed to strike. The knife that once had carved his walls now sliced through the thick material of the other man’s suit. Warm blood sprayed out of it and covered Higgs in bright red drops when he led the knife from the bottom to the top up to the imposter’s chest. Soon, his eyes wandered to the other man’s face and the sight made him cry out it shock.

He saw himself, with distorted features, dead eyes staring into his own, his body slashed and bleeding out. When the body hit the ground he realized he had just killed himself once more.

#death stranding #deathstranding #higgs monaghan #higgs

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cheshirehatter666 · 4 years

Text

Day 2 of 50 Days of Prompts (Bakugo Katsuki x Reader)

Word Count: 2,629

Pairing: Bakugo Katsuki x Reader (Quirk: Telekinesis)

Prompt: #41 “Why are you always so difficult?”

Date: April 20, 2020

A/N: So I wrote this yesterday but I tilted my stupid laptop slightly and the whole thing was deleted so I’m sorry if this won’t be as good.

Waking up at 6 AM was not a norm for you, in fact it was far from it, but today was an exception. Today was your best friend’s/crush’s birthday and you were determined to make sure everything you had planned for him went off without a hitch.

Hopping out of bed and getting dressed in a pair of black sweats and tank top, you headed out of your dorm room and started towards the elevator. As you waited for the elevator to come to your floor you threw you hair up into a high ponytail, tying it off with your beloved floral scrunchy, it was a little wore torn but it did the job.

You had finished tying up your hair when the elevator doors opened in front of you to reveal a tired Ashido, she greeted you with a big yawn and a tired “Good Morning” as you entered the small the metal box, with a small smile you let her lean her head against your shoulder as she tried to get a little more shut eye.

“You know, I could have made the breakfast on my own,” you couldn’t help but giggle as you both entered the kitchen and were met with the sight of a tired Kaminari and Sero both leaning on the counter trying to stay awake.

“But what kind of friends would we be if we didn’t help with our favorite hot heads birthday breakfast,” Kaminari yawned as you walked over to the coffee maker to brew your ‘magical coffee’ as the Bakusquad liked to call it, “Also, what better way to start the day than with a cup of Y/N’s magic coffee.”

You just rolled your eyes as you got out the personalized mugs you got for them out of your personal mug collection, “I don’t know why you guys like my coffee so much, its nothing special,” you shrugged pouring the coffee and levitating it to them as you dug out the ingredients you needed from the fridge.

“What do you mean nothing special?” Mina questioned as she placed her mug down onto the counter after taking a big gulp of her coffee now thoroughly awake, “Your coffee is always so good and full of love it would make even the grumpest of grumps a morning person, and these cute mugs you got for each of us just proves you are the bestest friend to have.”

You couldn’t help but blush as Mina gushed over how cute you were for choosing specific mugs for each of them, you whispered a quiet thank you Sero as he put a strip of his tape over Mina’s mouth so she would stop rambling.

“I think what she was trying to say is, thank you for the mugs and coffee,” Kaminari chirped in as he poured himself and Sero another cup. “So what’s the plan for this birthday breakfast.”

After explaining what you had planned to do and what they were all working on you got to work, glancing at the clock to see that you had about an hour and a half before Kirishima brought back Bakugo from their morning workout, which was more than enough time to finish up everything, especially with the help of your three other friends.

As you were finishing up the last of the banana oatmeal pancakes , Mina had sent the two boys to the dining area to set up Bakugos seat, you were pretty sure the two were going to go above and beyond to decorate the one table for their friend. Smiling at the thought you poured the last of the batter in to the pan as Mina leaned against the counter next to you, “So, is today the day you finally tell him,” she asked as you flipped the pancake in the pan. Caught by surprise by her question you almost drop the spatula into the pan, sputtering out a reply of “I don’t know what your talking about.”

“Oh, come on Y/N, everyone knows how you feel about him, I mean your even making him a a birthday breakfast, when everyone else got mugs,” Mina cooed as she took the now finished plate of pancakes from you, “Not that we don’t love our mugs.” You just sighed and followed after her using your quirk to carry the rest of his breakfast, carrying Kirishima’s mug and the new mug you got specially made for Bakugo in your hands, a small lavender ribbon wrapped around the handle of Bakugos.

As you neared the dining area you could hear Bakugo yelling at Kaminari and Sero, cursing them for making such a big deal about today so early in the morning. When they came into view you could see Kirishima trying to calm his best friend as the other two hid behind the hardened hero in training as tiny explosions left the blonds hands. Glancing behind them you couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the sight of the multiple balloons tired to his usual seat and the banner on the back of the seat that said Birthday Boy.

Turning to the sound of laughter he was about to yell at whoever was laughing at him only for the words to die at his throat as he saw you walking over with two mugs in your hands. Realizing that you were using your quirk to carry some plates with breakfast foods behind you, he couldn’t help the heat that rose to his cheeks when he saw that they were all his favorite breakfast foods. You smiled at him as you started to place the platters down in front of his chair, “Happy Birthday Bakugo!”

After placing everything down you handed Kirishima his mug full of coffee and went up to Bakugo with a small blush of your own as you held out the mug you had customized just for him. “I’m sorry about the commotion, I didn’t think the boys would go this far with setting the table,” you giggled as he slowly took the mug from your hands, noticing it wasn’t coffee in it, but what looked like a protein shake. “I know you didn’t want to make a big deal of your birthday, but I figured a big breakfast after training would be okay.”

At the sight of your smile Bakugo couldn’t help but look away from you to hide his red face, “It’s whatever shitty girl,” he grumbled as he took a big chug from his mug and sat at his spot to eat the breakfast you made him, ignoring the knowing look from the future Red Riot. Kirishima couldn’t help but laugh at his friends awkwardness when it came to the small affections you showed him, blocking off the frustrated blasts the explosive boy sent his way by activating his own quirk.

Tilting your head slightly, you shrugged at the not so unusual scene with a small wave and another ‘happy birthday’ you started to head back to your dorm room to finish up the plans for later tonight. With a small glance at Kirishima you shared a hidden nod between the two of you that your mutual bestie didn’t notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------When you got to your room you began bringing down the boxes you had hid in your closet that were full of decorations you had either mad or bought since you started planning your little surprise for Bakugo, seeing that everything was still in tact and organized you just needed to wait for Kirishima to take Bakugo out of the dorms so you could set up, as you stacked the last of the boxes by your door you felt a small buzz in your pocket from your phone. Checking your messages you saw that it was a string of Happy Birthday texts from your families group chat. Yes, today was your birthday as well, but you didn’t want to make a big deal of it with you friends, being that you were a better giver than receiver. No one in your class knew today was your birthday and you planned to keep it that way. As soon as you sent out a ‘Thank you’ text to your family there was a knock at your door, you expected it to be Kaminari and Sero to tell you that the birthday boy had left and the plan could proceed, but what you didn’t expect was to be rushed into your room by the entire Bakusquad, sans Bakugo, and the rest of the dormitory girls .

Before you could even question what was happening you were dragged into your personal bathroom with clothes shoved into your arms, and was told to shower and get changed or else they’d do it themselves. Not seeing another way out you did as you were told, and as soon as you were finished you were rushed again by the girls as they did you hair and makeup. At the end of the entire ordeal you were dressed in a black floral skater dress, combat boots, and a leather jacket, the front parts of your hair braided back in a crown as the rest fell down your back. Looking at your friends in confusion, you were surprised when Sero had wrapped you in his tape and taped your mouth, while Uraraka made you float as they dragged you behind them. Still confused on what was going on you looked towards Kirishima who walked behind looking at you with a sheepish look.

“Mina thought it would be better for you to distract Bakugo for the day,” he clarified as you began struggling in your bindings, “I’m sorry Y/N, I couldn’t convince her otherwise, but don’t worry I’ll make sure everything is set up by the time you get back.”

Still struggling against the tape you tried yelling at them through the covering over your mouth as the brought you to the entry way of the dorms. As they let you down and untied you, they all began to quickly run and hide around the corner in the halls as Bakugo approached your figure. You were still in shock at the way Mina turned the tables on you when Bakugo bonked you on the head to get your attention. “Let’s go idiot, I don’t have all day.” You looked at him in surprise as he he walked out of the dormitory not even waiting for you to respond. After sending you group of friends a quick glare you rushed after the hot head as he continued walking on without you.

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Bakugo had found out that he shared a birthday with you when he was summoned to the teachers office and had accidentally noticed your school profile on one of the computers. He had spent weeks trying to figure out what to get you for your birthday but came up empty, so for you, he swallowed his pride and went to the second closest person to him to ask for advice.

Kirishima was surprised when Bakugo had told him that you shared a birthday with the hot head, but he was even more surprised when said hot head asked him what he should get you. After thinking about it he got the best idea, he suggested to Bakugo that he should take you out of the dormitory and to the mall the day of so that he could see what you’d like first hand and so that they could prep a party for you. It was perfect, because he had to get Bakugo out of the dorms anyways for the party you planned for him.

So now here you both were on the train headed to the mall, oblivious to the red heads meddling. When you got there you had dragged the blond to multiple different stores trying to distract him for a set amount of time, all while said blond was keeping an eye out on what you seemed to like.

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You and Bakugo had spent the whole day at the mall together, you were able to find some school supplies and snacks that you were low on, and Bakugo had found the perfect gift for you. It took him forever to get you to leave him alone for a bit so he could by it, but he was finally able too slip away when you were waiting in line at the food court.

By the time you had both secretly checked for the okay from Kirishima the sun had slowly began to set, by the time the train had hit your station the sky had begun to darken on your walk back to the dorms. When you were about to open the door you felt Bakugo grab hand before you could grip the handle. You turned to look at him confused. “Whats up Baku-kun?”

You could faintly see a small blush on his face as he pulled you away from the door. “Before we go on, I wanted to give you this,” he muttered as he pushed a small bag towards you. You looked down at the bag confused, “But its your birthday Bakugo, you’re supposed to be getting gifts not giving.”

“I know it’s your birthday to dork, just take the bag.” he pushed as you still didn’t take the bag. “No Bakugo its fine, you don’t have to give me anything. How did you even know it was my birthday.”

“Don’t worry about it, just take the damn gift”

“No it’s fine”

This back and forth continued on until Bakugo finally snapped, “Why are you always so difficult?”

Taken a back by his sudden outburst you slowly took the gift bag from his extended arms seeing his face turn completely red, you smiled at him figuring that it was so unlike him to even go out of his way to get you a gift. When you opened it you saw the locket that you were looking at in the jewelry store in the mall, and when you opened it you saw a picture of the Bakusquad on one side, but the other was empty. With slight tears at the sweet sentiment you looked up at him with a watery smile, “I love it.”

Looking at you he rubbed the back of his head a hand in his pocket as he scoffed at your reaction “As I knew you would dork,” glancing at you his expression turned soft. “Let me help you with it.”

Nodding slowly you handed him the necklace and moved your hair to the side so he could clasp it around your neck. Feeling his callous hands clasp the lock you slowly turn around and look up at him, not realizing how close the two of you actually are.

Staring into each others eyes you could feel yourself slowly rise to the tips of your toes as he slowly leaned down. And just as your lips were about to meet the front doors burst open, your whole class shouting out a surprise holding up a banner that said

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY KACCHAN AND Y/N/N”

Surprised you both shot apart turning to your friends as they smiled at the two of you not realizing what they had interrupted. Following your friends inside you couldn’t help but smile at the fact they tricked you into going out so they could set up the party for you too.

Looking around you made sure no one was looking you used your quirk to pull Bakugo down by the front of his shirt and giving him a quick peck on his check whispering a small “Happy Birthday Katsuki.” before skipping away to the group of girls dancing to Jirous playlist.

Placing a small hand to his cheek he whispered a “Happy Birthday Y/N’ watching you dance the night away with your friends.

#katsuki bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo birthday #happy birthday katsuki bakugo #50 days of prompts #bakugo katsuki #bakugo #bnha #boku no hero #mnha #my hero

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mirkwoodshewolf · 6 years

Text

My daughter, the trickster; Loki x teen reader

Okay ya’ll. This request came from my Wattpad, and a long time ago someone had asked if I was going to do requests from IW well......this is what I had gotten and what I had written for the requester a few days ago. Now for anyone who STILL HAS NOT SEEN THE MOVIE PLEASE TURN AWAY AND DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT READ THIS FIC!!! I Also want to open up the tissues and sweet dessert table because like my wattpad readers, you all WILL START CRYING THIS IS PURE, UNADULTERATE ANGST you are about to read. You all will be crying, I myself was crying cause I had to watch the opening over and over and over again just to get the quotes right. But I promise you, the next fic that comes around will NOT be angsty, I’ll try to give as much fluff as I can, maybe even transfer some more wattpad oneshots I have onto here.

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This is the Asgardian refugee vessel Statesman. We are under assault, I repeat we are under assault. The engines are dead, life support failing….Requesting aid from any vessel within range, we are 22 jump points out of Asgard. Our crew is made up of Asgardian families we have very few soldiers here! This is not a warcraft! I repeat, this is not a warcraft!

Was the distress call that was sent hours ago. Half of our people managed to escape with Valkyrie and Korg but the rest of us—most of them were dead. The only ones still alive were myself, my father, Heimdall, my Uncle Thor and his friend Bruce Banner. But I might as well be considered dead.

I was stabbed, beaten, and my wrist broken. Much like Heimdall who was on the ground with a deep wound on his side and my uncle barely moving on the ground as the mad Titan stood over him. One of Thanos’ crazed followed walked over the dead corpses of my people speaking of how those who survived are now considered to be the children of Thanos.

My father stood among them with a weapon pointed right at him as Thanos himself finally spoke up.

“I know what it’s like to lose. To feel so desperately that you’re right…yet to fail, nonetheless”. He then picked up my Uncle by the cuff of his armor that he was forced to wear on Sakaar just a couple of days ago. I could hear him choking on his blood as Thanos walked slowly towards my father as he continued to say, “It’s frightening. Turns the legs to jelly, but I ask you to what end? Dread it, run from it…destiny arrives all the same. And now it’s here. Or should I say…I am”.

He raised his other hand that held the Infinity gauntlet that held the Power Stone that he had stolen from Xandar after decimating it just last week, and it was with this Power Stone, he would soon destroy our ship once his so-called mission was done.

“You talk too much” my uncle groaned out.

“The Tesseract or your brother’s head” Thanos tried to force my father to trade. “I assume you have a preference”.

“Oh, I do, kill away” my father stated bluntly. Thanos grinned and said. Thanos was silent. He and my father continued to stare at each other and that’s when Thanos spoke up once more.

“Yes, I could crush his head. End his life right here and now. But I’ve known the hatred you’ve always burned for your brother, that’s too easy”. He then released my Uncle and that’s when I was suddenly picked up from the ground.

The black hooded son of Thanos had me and took me towards him. I grunted as I tried to struggle but it was all in vain as I was forced onto the ground and he pulled my hair back forcing my head to look up at the Titan. My heart raced with fear as Thanos stared down at me, his eyes cold and soulless.

“But can the same be said for her?” His fingers gently grazed my face as he continued, “I am sorry for this little one, but the child must always pay for the sins of their father”. The gauntlet and the Power Stone came closer to my face.

“No, no! No! No! No!” I tried to fight it and get myself free, but his son wrapped his hand around my forehead keeping my head completely still as the stone finally touched my face and I felt the hot, agonizing pain that came with it as I let out probably the most painful scream of my life.

I kept screaming as the Power Stone continued to literally burn away my skin. I don’t even know how long this torment went on for, but I finally heard my father cry out.

“STOP! LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!!” Finally, I felt the stone leave my face and I was released and left to be a crying mess.

“We don’t have the Tesseract, it was destroyed on Asgard” my Uncle stated. But that was when my father looked to my Uncle before holding out his hand and appearing was the Tesseract. “You….really are the worst brother”.

“I assure you brother; the sun will shine on us again” my father told my uncle as he walked right up to Thanos.

“Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian” Thanos chuckled.

“Well for one thing, I’m not Asgardian. And for another…..never come between me and my daughter again because this time….we have a Hulk”. Suddenly the Hulk came roaring in and attacked Thanos just as my dad came in and shielded me with his body. “(Y/n), my darling, speak to me”. I glared at my father and didn’t say a word to him.

His eyes were full of hurt but who knows if that was even true. See ever since my uncle’s coronation, my father and I have had a—rocky relationship. After I found out it was him who led the Frost giants into Asgard during my uncle’s coronation, I never spoke to him. Then when we fell off the Bifrost, I felt instant regret and mourned for his death as did my Uncle and grandmother.

Then a year later, I find out that he was alive after the fall and had tried to take over Midgard had it not been for my Uncle and his friends, The Avengers. My father was then imprisoned for eternity for his crimes and when he did try to redeem himself by helping Uncle Thor and I with the Dark Elves, he died again this time in honor. And yet again, I find out years later that he had been playing grandfather Odin all these years, never telling the truth.

Again, and again and again it’s always the same with him. I’m his daughter, you think he’d be honest at least to me but no. He always leaves me in the dust, thinking I’ll be left an orphan and not even caring about me. Around the time when my aunt Hela was ruling Asgard, she saw the pain inside of me and even tried to teach me how to control that pain and have me side with her.

When my father and uncle returned from the realm of Sakaar with the last Valkyrie, an army of prisoners, and one of my Uncle’s friends, I took up my sword and fought against Hela until she was defeated by Raganarok itself.

But the pain I still felt never truly went away. Because it’s true. My dad will never change, and to be honest, I think he stopped caring about me a long time ago.

Soon Thanos began to overpower the Hulk which was surprising since uncle Thor had talked about the Hulk being the second strongest after him, I thought he’d give us the upper hand but seeing the Hulk getting pulverized by Thanos, made me believe that nothing could stop this mad Titan.

Thor soon stepped in, hitting Thanos over the head with an iron pipe but it ended up breaking in two and with just a simple kick, my uncle was sent flying across the room before he was bound thanks to snake-head’s telekinetic powers.

With his last ounce of strength, I saw Heimdall reach for the Bifrost sword and he prayed to the Allfathers to give him strength to summon the Bifrost which sent the Hulk back to his home in Midgard. Thanos came over Heimdall and was handed a staff by the same son who once had me in his grasp telling him that what he did was a mistake before stabbing him right in the stomach with the staff.

“NOOO!!!!” both me and my uncle cried out. I looked to Heimdall, the man who was once my tutor for everything that stood in the galaxy. I remember as a small child; I would sneak out of the palace just to see the Bifrost and when Heimdall saw me, he never once told the guards of my presence, instead he tutored me on the entire galaxy. Showed me the stars and the galaxies and what they were like through his eyes.

But now he was dead.

It was then Thanos was granted the Tesseract which held within its cubic barrier, the Space Stone. Thanos took the cube and crushed it in his palm leaving only dust and the Space Stone itself. He took the stone and placed it right next to the Power Stone and he soon felt its power course through his body. Now he was even more powerful than anyone in the galaxy, no one has ever survived holding one Infinity stone, but to have the power over two…..now the galaxy was doomed.

Thanos gave the order to his children that 2 more stones were on Earth and he told them to find them. His children bowed before him and that’s when my father piped up.

“If I might interject,” his children stood up and turned around towards my father as he continued, “If you’re going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena”.

“If you consider failure experience” said Thanos but my father interjected.

“I consider experience experience. Almighty Thanos…. I, Loki, Prince of Asgard…Odinson…the rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief…do herby pledge to you….” It was then I took notice of his dagger taking shape in his left hand as he continued to say, “My undying fidelity”. My father bowed his head to finish off his pledge and stayed there for a moment before raising his dagger right up to Thanos’ neck but with the power of the Space stone, his attack stopped at just a hair length.

“Undying? You should choose your words more carefully” Thanos told my dad as he gripped his hand and squeezed it forcing him to drop his dagger. He then picked my father up by the neck and lifted him up midair and watched as my father squirmed trying to free himself from his grasp.

“You…..will never be…..a god” my father strained out. Then with the sound of bones cracking, he went limp right there in Thanos’ hand.

My heart sunk. It almost seemed inaudible of the scream I had let out. Thanos then walked over towards me and dropped my father right in front of me and said.

“No resurrections this time”. Then using the Power Stone, he destroyed our ship before using the Space stone to teleport him and his children out before our vessel exploded. Uncle Thor was freed of his bonds and he crawled up toward us. I placed my head over his heart hoping that this was another illusion, somehow, he had to be tricking us again. He always was.

Loki, the Trickster. God of Mischief. Now wake up damnit! Wake up! I looked up to uncle Thor and he just looked at me heartbroken as I was, and I cried into his shoulder as we both lay across my father’s corpse until finally the ship exploded.

I was surrounded by darkness. I don’t know how long it was, maybe I was truly dead now. Next thing I knew I heard a soft female voice telling me to wake and I shot up with my daggers on hand and I found myself in a small, crowded ship. I looked to my right to see my Uncle standing there.

“Uncle?”

“(Y/n), oh thank Valhalla you’re alright!” I was brought to a strong embrace by my uncle and I buried my head into his neck and that’s when I took notice that we weren’t alone. Standing behind us was a man, a green woman, another female with antennas, a humanoid tree, a strong, built man with blue skin and tattoos, and a small furry creature. All of them either pointing weapons at us or in a defensive position trying to appear threatening (mainly the girl with the antennas was doing that, everyone else pretty much had a weapon).

“Uncle, we aren’t alone” I said. I was then put down and my uncle wrapped a protective arm around me and he said.

“Who the hell are you guys?”

As I was sipping on some soup, if that’s what they want to call it as the green-skinned woman began to explain Thanos’ quest to claim all 6 infinity stones in order to exterminate half the population and that once he did get all six, he could do it with a snap of his fingers. My uncle said that she seemed to know a great deal of Thanos and that’s when the blue skinned tattooed man said that Gamora was the daughter of Thanos.

My head shot up and my felt my magic surge through me. My eyes turned pure gold and I charged up towards her with my sword now visible in my hand, but I was stopped by my uncle who said.

“Sorry about my niece. It’s just that your father killed my brother, her father”. I pushed his hand aside and growled at him.

“Do not speak of him!” I stomped away to whatever privacy I had in this infertile compartment but there was barely any room that I could hide in and expulse my anger at. So I kicked the nearest thing I could find which was just the wall and I unleashed my Seidr and just let the magical blast shake the ship.

“Hey, Sabrina the teenage witch! Cool it you blast like that again you’ll tear my ship apart!” I heard the Midgardian man yell at me. I collapsed to the ground and held my knees up to my chest and just sat there.

“(Y/n)” I looked up and through my teary eyes I saw my uncle standing before me. I turned away from him and said.

“Please uncle, I—I wish to be left alone”.

“Do you though?” I sighed heavily and lowered my head into my knees. I felt my uncle sit close beside me and he said. “I know what it feels like to lose your father, it’s been barely a week since your grandfather passed”.

“2 weeks actually”.

“What are you sure?”

“Yes, Hela arrived to Asgard 2 weeks ago that’s when she came and took me in after killing all of our soldiers, making me be just like her”.

“Wow, Sakaar’s time difference really is a pain in the ass”.

“You were going somewhere with this Uncle?”

“Right, right yes of course. What I’m trying to say is I know what you’re going through. You’re angry, sad, anxious….”

“No, you don’t understand uncle. It’s not the fact that my father is for once dead, it’s—what I told him before the attack”. I stood up and leaned up against the wall and began to explain, “I saw that he had the Tesseract shortly as we began to head to Earth, we argued and that’s when I finally snapped. I called him a lying, selfless tramp! I—I told him I hated him and that I was ashamed to be his daughter. I told him I never wanted to be associated with his name, that I would be (y/n), Daughter of Sigyn. Just of Sigyn’s bane. I couldn’t take all the secrecies, the lies, the deception! He—I even mentioned I hoped his soul would never be accepted into Valhalla because if I were to die, I’d never want to spend an eternity with him in death. Because that to me wouldn’t be Valhalla, but Hel”.

As tears fell down my face like a river and my shoulders shook with the sobs I tried to contain, I felt my uncle’s arms wrap around me and my head now resting on his chest.

“Your father was—always tough to reason with, especially for the past several years. But if there was anything he regretted in his entire life, it’s the disappointment that always came in your eyes every time he entered a room or was mentioned in a conversation. He told me in an elevator on Sakaar that one thing that held him back from staying was that he was going to prove himself to you, one way or another. He wanted to regain that light that always shined in your eyes every time you looked up at him when you were younger”.

I held onto my uncle tightly as I wept into his chest and I would even punch his chest to release my anger which he allowed me to do. Whatever I needed to get my anger and guilt out, he allowed me to do.

A little awhile later, my uncle decided it would be best to go to Nidavellir to have a weapon that can kill Thanos once and for all. The small rabbit and the humanoid tree, and me were to go while the rest of Guardians go to Knowhere to find Thanos before he got the Reality stone.

“Come on (y/n), we need to get there as fast as we can”. My Uncle said.

“Hate to break the news to you angel pirate but we can only fit the three of us, she won’t fit”.

“Nah she can shapeshift, we’ll be fine come on (y/n)”. I then stepped inside and my uncle wished the morons the best of luck and soon we took off.

Once the space pod left, I stepped out from behind the wall and said out loud.

“Finally, I thought he’d never leave”. The rest of the guardians jumped back, and the Midgardian man said to me.

“How the hell are you here? We just saw you go with your not handsome uncle”.

“That was an illusion. He may have been able to detect my father’s tricks but luckily for me, I never pulled as much tricks on my uncle, so he won’t be able to tell until it’s too late”.

“What do you mean?” asked Gamora as I revealed my sword.

“I’m going to help you kill Thanos”.

*Time skip to Knowhere mid battle*

We were too late. Knowhere had been destroyed. At first when Gamora made the attack on Thanos, I knew it was too easy and it was then we realized that he had gotten the Reality stone and showed us the Knowhere was already in flames, much like my ship had been.

He placed Gamora in front of him and Peter Quill (I had found out their names shortly after we took off) had his blaster aimed right at Gamora. Once he pulled the trigger, bubbles came out of his gun instead of usual gunfire.

“I like you” Thanos said to Peter.

“Then you’re sure as Hel going to love me”. I then came down and managed a hard kick right at Thanos’ face. I skid across what remained of the catwalk and withdrew out my sword.

“The Daughter of Loki, Princess of Asgard” he said.

“I am no Princess, and my father is dead because of you! I’m gonna make you pay for what you did to my people! And to him!” I twirled my sword and leapt forward and let out a rageful battle cry as I held my sword ready to attack. Thanos soon disappeared from my sight but I felt him right behind me, I soon disappeared into a red beam of light just before anything could happen.

“You’re not the only one who can bend reality, you purple bastard!” I then appeared behind him and slashed him across the face with my sword before sending a powerful kick right into his chest. Thanos was now down on the ground supporting a slash across his face and a dent into his chest plate armor. I stood over him and I pointed my sword down at him and said to him the same words as he said about my father. “No resurrections this time”.

“Indeed”. Suddenly I grabbed by my hair. Thanos disappeared into red mist much like before and I was turned around and the real Thanos stood behind me holding me much like he held my father. “You are more sprightful than your father was, perhaps I should have sought you out to retrieve the Tesseract all those years ago instead of him”.

I squirmed in his hold as he now held me by the throat squeezing me, just he had done my father.

“But it would seem my child, you will suffer the same fate as he did”. Then something happened that not even Thanos could expect. His eyes widened as he felt something go right through him.

“The Infinity stones you’ve obtained so far may have given you the powers of us Gods, but not even you can dodge an attack if you can’t see it coming!” Standing right behind me was me holding my sword piercing through myself in order to get right to Thanos’ weak spot. He groaned in pain and that’s when I heard Quill’s voice say.

“Yeah! Take that yah big purple bastard! Way to go Princess! Now vanish that illusion and we’ll get the hell out of here with that gauntlet of his”. I chuckled and said.

youtube

“You really think I’m the real (y/n)?” The me that spoke flickered red signaling that she was just an illusion.

“But—why? You damn, stubborn kid why’d you have to go all kamikaze on yourself?”

“It was the only way to ensure he at least got a scratch on him before he got anymore stones. That and for my uncle to see that at least one of us got to him for my father’s death”. My illusion spoke. While the real me with my own sword still piercing through my stomach as well as Thanos’ smirked weakly and I choked out.

“Long live King Loki. Long live…..my father”. Thanos then kicked me and I phased through my illusion and the last thing I felt was weightless.

I felt free, at least now he was weaker than when he started and at least now….I hoped my dad was watching this somewhere and that he was proud of me. Wherever he was. Next thing I knew, I was on solid ground, my sword pushed further into my back, the blade almost piercing entirely through, my arms extended outward like I had wings, my hair in full display around me like a Halo, and a pool of blood coating me as I felt the last ounce of life leave me.

And what I may have forgot to mention, my sword the one I had used to stab Thanos and give my life for the galaxy, was a gift from my father.

When I awoke, I found myself surrounded by bright light. I felt around the center of my stomach to feel no blood or wounds whatsoever. I stood up and walked around before hearing a voice behind me say.

“I see you made it, my Princess”. I turned around and I saw a very familiar face.

“Heimdall” I stated happily.

“Welcome to Valhalla, your highness”. I embraced my mentor when I caught sight of another familiar figure. The long black hair, the green cape, the different clothes after Sakaar and the battle of Asgard…..it was him. I looked to Heimdall and he nodded to me once before walking away from me.

I cautiously walked up towards him, much like a frightened lion cub till I finally stood beside him.

“When you were first born, I looked down at you and said to myself ‘I am not worthy of this child’ ‘she deserves better’. And for years, I’ve continued that road with all my fake deaths and tricks. But when Thanos finally ended my life,” he fully turned towards me and placed both his hands on my shoulders as I refused to look at him not because of anger, but of guilt. “The one person who I thought was more than happy to see me gone, had proven me wrong,” my father lifted my jawline up so that I was forced to look my father in the eye as he continued, “With the heart of a lioness, and the strength and soul of a Valkyrie. You are the only person to ever truly land a blow to Thanos. And I….Am honored to call that person, my daughter”.

I remained silent until I finally broke down and embraced my dad as tight as I could.

“Oh, daddy I didn’t mean any of those things I said!” I sobbed out.

“Oh my sweet pet,” he separated me from him and I wept.

“I was just so angry and I—I am proud to be called your daughter, I hoped that you would be here. I didn’t want to be alone anymore, and I said to you…..I said that I hated you, I hurt you and….”

“Hey, my sweet girl, it’s okay, it’s okay”. He held my head over his heart as I whimpered out.

“I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry for everything I—”

“All is forgiven, all is forgiven my sweet,” he whispered comfortingly. He held onto me tightly as I snuggled further into his embrace.

We now sat together looking at Valhalla’s endless paradise garden together watching the sunset. I was leaning against my dad’s lap as I felt his hand softly stroke through my hair and scalp. Now knowing that even in death, my father and I would still be together for eternity and I would not have it any other way.

#Loki Laufeyson #loki x reader #loki x teen reader #loki imagine #loki infinity war #infinity war #Avengers infinity war #infinity war requests #loki fanfiction #loki #Loki Laufeyson x Reader #loki angst

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imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch · 7 years

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I Love You, You Pay My Rent: Chapter Nine

First Chapter (Prologue)

Previous Chapter (Chapter Eight)

Nico had been living with Will for over a month now. Since they’d agreed to fake date, and since Nico had impulsively invited him to Percy’s engagement party Nico had been in two minds whether either of those decisions had been good rational ones. The party at least had seemed so far in the future that Nico had thought he’d never have to deal with it and so the moments of mild panic generally gave way to a blasé sense of calm.

And now here he was. Anything but calm.

Nico knew Percy had a part time job but he thought Percy’s dad must have stepped in to help out with the engagement party costs. They’d hired out a small club and evidentially controlled the playlist since the strange mix of cheesy eighties tunes and heavy dance tracks mixed in with a couple of rock songs and girl power anthems was pure Percy. The heavy pounding beats were very familiar from all the house parties Percy had dragged him too, even if the pearlescent balloons, banners, and fancy buffet table seemed all too fancy and grown up to be associated with Percy Jackson.

“Where are the dolphins?” Will asked. “You promised me tacky dolphins.”

In the two seconds they’d been in the room Will been checked out by several of Percy’s friends and handed a plastic champagne flute by an appreciative waiter. Nico had to grit his teeth and remember that while he could act jealous he wasn’t technically allowed to be jealous since, technically, Will wasn’t his.

It was kind of hard to remember that though, when Will was still holding his hand.

It was probably in solidarity since Nico had been jittery the entire taxi ride over, and had almost told their driver to turn back around three times. It was only the fact that Will was next to him that made him stick to his course. He didn’t want Will to think he was a coward. He could face Percy. He could face Annabeth and all their friends. He could do this.

Will nudged him gently and Nico remembered Will was waiting for an answer. He blinked and tried to remember what Will had said.

“Dolphins, Nico,” Will supplied, obviously realising his mind was elsewhere. “I was expected to be visually assaulted. This is almost tasteful.”

After the five-text long essay on dolphins containing more facts about the aquatic mammals than Nico knew what to do with plus at least ten too many exclamation marks, Nico had also been expecting dolphins anywhere. But Will was right, there wasn’t a grinning not-fish in sight.

“Maybe his best man talked him out of it,” he said.

“Isn’t that you?”

“The other one. The better man. The one who actually helps with stuff.”

Will passed his champagne to Nico and obtained a new one. It was handed over with a wink and Nico held back a scowl with difficulty. People used to think he was frightening. What had happened? Why did people suddenly think it was okay to flirt with his (not-)boyfriend?

Oh god his boyfriend.

He was out, in both senses of the word, with Will and why had he thought this was a good idea? Maybe he should just go home and drag Will with him and they could watch a film or get ice cream or really do anything but this because -

“Hey Percy.”

“Will! My future biology tutor! I am so glad you came! And you dragged Nico with you! It’s an early Christmas miracle!”

Will’s answering smile was smaller than it should have been and though Nico still wasn’t sure why Will was so uncertain around Percy he drew closer. Percy, oblivious enough to Will’s hesitance, noticed that. He raised an eyebrow then his gaze dropped down to their linked hands and stayed there, eyes wide, mouth hanging open.

Percy seemed at a complete loss, train of thought utterly derailed. Nico couldn’t help but supply the words Percy couldn’t get out so sure they’d be of horror or evulsion or accusation or disgust or all of the above, and he withdrew further. He wanted to shrink away, run away, be swallowed up the shadows, the ground, something. Why wasn’t Percy saying anything?

He took a step back bumped into Will, and something in Will seemed to steel.

“Didn’t you hear?” Will asked, waving their linked hands, his grip suddenly slightly tighter. His tone was light enough but Nico thought there was an undertone to his words.

Percy managed to regain himself and his grin came back, easy enough as though the sudden uncertainty in his expression had never been there.

“Nope,” he said with perfect cheer. “Neeks doesn’t tell me anything. How long?”

Will adlibbed some answers to Percy’s questions. Nico barely heard him. He’d (sort of) told his told crush about his new (sort of) boyfriend and nothing bad had happened. In fact, after the initial moment of shock that had seemed like an eternity but probably had really been no longer than a second or two Percy had moved on so quickly that Nico was a little stunned. He just didn’t seem to care that Nico was dating Will.

No, that was a lie. He looked happy for him. He kept sending Nico big happy grins, and thumbs up when he thought Will wasn’t looking. He was already fairly tipsy so his sense of timing wasn’t exactly the best but Will’s small smile and fond rolling of his eyes at Nico suggested Will didn’t mind too much. In fact, he seemed a tiny bit more relaxed too.

“Is there somewhere I can put my jacket?” Will asked eventually, interrupting Percy’s probably well-meaning curiosity tirade of questions, letting go of Nico’s hand to shrug it off.

“Cloakroom,” Percy said, pointing back towards the entrance.

“I’ll be right back,” Will told Nico.

“Soooooooooooo-“ Percy said the second Will was out of earshot, managing to drag the single word out for an inordinate length of time. “You and Will.”

He threw an arm around Nico’s shoulders and corralled him over to a side booth. Nico was surprised to find he barely noticed the touch, apart from acknowledging that Percy’s arm was heavy and he wasn’t thrilled with being dragged off. It surprised him and he examined Percy more closely.

His friend looked the same as he always had: messy dark hair sticking up like waves on the ocean, sea green eyes. He had swapped his usual uniform of hoodies and jeans, was dressed to impress in a light blue shirt and a nice pair of jeans. He was still attractive, maybe more so than usual in his smart-casual outfit, it was just that Nico didn’t really care anymore. It registered, but it didn’t matter. And something in his chest eased a fraction more at the revelation, the final crushing tendrils of love loosened and deadened.

“Come on,” Percy said, nudging him. “Seriously? You’re going to go silent on me?”

Nico shrugged.

“I don’t get why you care so much,” Nico said but he couldn’t quite summon up as much animosity as usual.

“I want you to be happy,” Percy said simply. “I thought we’d been through this Best Man. And Will seems like a good place to start. He’s pretty cute right? I mean I’m engaged now and straight but if I had to choose a dude – actually it would probably be Jason.”

Once upon a time that joke might have hurt. Now Nico just rolled his eyes.

“You’re not funny Jackson,” he said.

“I’m pretty funny. Come on though give me something here,” he said. “What’s he like?”

Nico sighed but he thought about that.

“Nice,” he said eventually. “And we’re done Jackson. Look you’ve got guests arriving.”

“Ah they’re Annabeth’s friends,” Percy said with a shrug but he did get up.

“Drinks are on me,” he said as he went to leave. “Try and have fun for once in your life. Enjoy the fact half the room wants to jump your boyfriend.”

Nico went bright red and tried to choke out a witty reply but all he could do was watch in mild horror as Percy disappeared with a final wink his way.

Nico was sure his cheeks were aflame when Will rejoined him a moment later.

“Everything alright?” Will asked, sitting down closer than Nico expected. Nico did notice Will’s touch, where their arms rested against each other he could feel the warmth of Will’s bare forearms through the thin material of his shirt. It made his mouth dry and his heart thump as nerves crowded him.

Nico nodded anyway.

“Surprisingly yes,” he admitted softly.

“You didn’t tell me you weren’t out to everyone,” Will said gently. “It was pretty brave coming here.”

“Pretty stupid you mean,” Nico said. “I’ve got to go through that like seven times.”

Will suddenly grinned.

“I can kiss you in front of everyone if you like. Get it all out of the way in one go.”

Nico laughed because it was all he could do. He was intensely relieved his cheeks were already red. He shook his head, a little too forcefully as he tried to clear thoughts of the two of them kissing.

“That can be the last resort. Defcon 5 or whatever.”

Will glanced at him and Nico wondered what he was thinking, but Will was hard to read not only because it wasn’t quite light enough to make out his expression. In the dim light his golden lashes and light blue eyes looked dark, and Nico could barely make out his freckles. Still even with his favourite features masked Will was, in Nico’s not-at-all biased opinion, still the most beautiful person in the room. Nico wondered idly whether Will would really go through with kissing Nico, if Nico got drunk or self-destructive enough to ask.

“I think you mean Defcon one,” Will said teasingly. “It’s backwards to what everyone thinks. Or wait maybe it is Defcon Five and I’ve convinced myself into thinking the right way is wrong and –“

Nico let him babble and tried to calm his heartbeat down. If he could just keep Will in this booth for the rest of the party maybe he’d actually make it through in one piece with his heart un-broken.

“Oh I love this song!” Will said suddenly interrupting his own monologue. “Let’s dance. Oh unless you want to hang out in this booth all evening. That’s good too.”

Nico vaguely remembered agreeing to dancing when Will had been worried about Kayla and that was the only reason he let Will catch hold of his wrist and pull him out to the dance floor.

Oh who was he kidding, he was a self-destructive wreck who would trade a future of heartbreak for one night of pretending Will loved him back.

The dancefloor was already crowded and so they were forced to dance fairly close together. Even without that it was different to how they’d danced in the flat, when Will had been seeking a distraction. That had been carefree and slightly hysterical and more than anything it felt like two friends rocking out in their living room. Which it had been.

Maybe it was the alcohol. Nico had insisted they go to the dancefloor via the bar, intending to take up Percy on the free drinks thing so he could be tipsy enough to cope with the fine line that existed between Will being his boyfriend (which wasn’t real) and pretending Will was his boyfriend (which was).

But he didn’t feel that drunk. He’d been careful. After all there was the other fine line to toe which was not getting so drunk that he forgot himself and ended up making out with Will in a cupboard.

Maybe it was just that Will was happier tonight. Except he didn’t think that was quite true either. Will was acting the part of himself well but Nico knew him well enough by now to know it was just acting. He was being very careful, Nico thought, and deliberate. In the taxi he’d been perfectly happy holding Nico’s hand, as though he’d forgotten he was even doing it. In here every touch seemed carefully calculated to seem like they were close but in actuality he was a galaxy away, his eyes distant and his thoughts unreadable.

It made Nico want to move closer to try and reach him. Except he couldn’t. Will wasn’t his. Which meant Will wasn’t his to fix. This was one night of pretending and then this was all over.

The thought made Nico pull away slightly. Will looked at him questioningly.

“I’m going to get a drink,” Nico said and pushed his way through the crowds of people before Will could follow him.

At the bar he bumped into Piper.

“Nico!” she said. “It’s good to see you. It’s been forever right?”

Nico concurred that it had indeed been forever and muttered something vague and hopefully unactionable about meeting up with her and Jason some time. He liked Piper well enough: she usually knew when he had too much of socialising and was good at getting Jason to stop mother-henning and for that reason, and many more, was a good fit for his friend. Right now though his mind was a million miles away and he wasn’t really in the mood for small talk.

“You okay?” Piper asked. “Percy – uh, he mentioned you were dating some guy called Will? He was mostly furious at Jason for not telling him but then he worked out Jason hadn’t known either.”

Nico clenched his jaw against a very real desire for Piper to tell Piper to get on with it.

“Percy said he seems alright,” Piper prompted. Nico shrugged unhappily, unsure what he was supposed to respond with. Yeah he’s great, I think might be falling for him only catch is he’s not really my boyfriend. He didn’t think so.

“Look Nico if this about –“

The guy behind the bar handed Nico his drink, and relieved for a distraction he downed it without thinking and then slid down off his stool.

“Gotta go,” Nico said. “Don’t want to leave Will on his own for too long, he doesn’t know anyone here…”

He left his excuse trailing as he walked off as fast as he could without it looking weird. He couldn’t see Will on the dance floor and began to panic that Will had gotten tired of his vanishing act and left. He was turning back to search for Will when he bumped into Jason. Normally Nico would be more pleased to see his oldest friend but now he just felt impatient and oddly jittery.

“Nico is everything alright? Piper said you left in a bit of a hurry.”

“Fine,” Nico said shortly. He couldn’t see Will by the bar so it couldn’t be that Will had got bored of waiting and come to look for Nico.

He shouldn’t have downed his drink. He could feel the alcohol rushing up to his head, making the room sway. He’d felt too nervous to eat any dinner which probably hadn’t helped either. Maybe if he grabbed one of those fancy little snack things he’d be able to walk in a straight line – snacks maybe Will had gone to get snacks.

“Nico!”

“Oh were you talking?”

Jason stared at him, then sighed and for the second time that night Nico found himself being steered off.

This time Jason took Nico outside onto the fire escape where the cold air helped clear his head slightly but chilled the rest of him. He hugged himself to try and keep warm and waited for Jason to finish worrying.

“Nico? You want to talk?” Jason asked

“Never,” Nico said. “Great talk. Let’s go back in.”

“Does Percy know about -?”

“No, Jason. He does not. I’m not an idiot, I know you don’t spring a hey I used to have a major crush on you on your best friend at his engagement party. I know I don’t get out much, but I’m not socially inept.”

“Used to,” Jason quoted, with an eyebrow raised slightly. “You really are over him.”

Nico froze.

“Yeah,” he said. “I guess I am.”

“And Will-?”

“He exists Jason,” Nico said irritably.

“I never said he didn’t,” Jason said with a quick laugh, raising his hands in slightly panicked surrender. “That wasn’t where I was going with that. I just want to make sure you’re happy.”

“Never been happier,” Nico said which sounded fake even to his own ears. He could tell Jason was picking up on his discomfort. He wanted to head off Jason going down completely the wrong path and assuming Will was some kind of shallow rebound, or worse that Will was a terrible boyfriend so he sighed and bit the bullet.

“Look you want to meet him?”

Jason tried, and failed, to hide his excitement.

“Really?” he asked. “Cos’ if you don’t want to I’d totally understand, if it’s a new thing and you don’t want to like introduce Will to everybody just yet that’s fine –“

“Geez, Jase you’re starting to make me regret offering.”

“Let’s go meet him!” Jason said cheerily and quickly before Nico could change his mind.

Back inside the music seemed all the louder and Nico still couldn’t see Will anywhere.

“Uh he really does exist,” Nico said as they completed a lap of the dancefloor. “Percy’s met him and everything.”

Except as his boyfriend Will kind of didn’t exist and he got the feeling that by introducing Will to Jason he was going to complicate things. Like a lot. Still he now couldn’t think of a way to shake Jason off without making everything even weirder so he continued with searching for Will, Jason in tow.

Eventually Jason got bored of seeking out Nico’s fantasy boyfriend and Piper dragged him off to dance.

“We’ll catch up later,” Jason promised. “I really do want to meet him.”

“Sure,” Nico said a little noncommittedly, already walking off.

The club really wasn’t very big so he really didn’t understand where Will could have gotten to. Unless he’d left. But Will wouldn’t do that. He knew they weren’t dating but he was pretty sure they were friends.

He went back out onto the fire escape to get some air. The club was stifling and the pounding music and Percy’s attempts to drag him into a dance had made him feel claustrophobic. There he found his not-boyfriend leaning against the railing and looking out at the night sky.

“There you are!” Nico said trying to hide his relief in teasing. “Thought you’d skipped out on me – hey I didn’t know you smoked.”

Will looked down at the cigarette in his hands like he’d forgotten it was there.

“I don’t,” he said with a shrug. “Someone just handed it to me.”

He seemed to shake himself out of his daze and gave Nico a half smile. It was the sad smile and it instantly had Nico nervous.

“I was looking for you,” Will said. “Thought maybe you’d run off with someone prettier.”

“Nah,” Nico said. “I’m relying on you to pay for the taxi back. You’re stuck with me now.”

Will smiled, a little more genuinely this time.

“Aren’t you cold?” he asked, apparently noticing Nico shivering.

“Aren’t you cold?” Nico countered. “How long have you been out here?”

“I’ll admit I kind of lost track. I was thinking.”

“A bad idea,” Nico couldn’t help but say. It was worth it to see Will’s smile flicker on again, even if it was very momentary.

“I need to talk to you,” Will said quietly.

“Is this the part where you fake break up with me?” Nico joked nervously. “Because I wasn’t kidding about the taxi ride home: I forgot to get cash out.”

Delay the inevitable, delay the inevitable.

“I promise to get you home,” Will said with a slight smile. “But Nico I –“

He paused, like he was struggling to find the right words. Nico couldn’t read his expression; the night was too dark. His stomach felt like he’d accidentally swallowed a ball of lead along with the alcohol. Maybe he was reading too much into this. Last time Will looked this cagey after all it had been the start of their fake relationship not some disaster.

(So it would be kind of fitting if this were the end of it.)

“I’m not –“ Will began.

“Hey Nico there you are,” Percy said bursting out of the door, bringing a wave of warm air and loud music with him.

“Jason wants to do toasts or something before everyone gets all drunk and teary. I said it was probably too late. Oh uh – sorry I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

“No it’s fine,” Will said with infinitely more patience than Nico had. It was probably good Will had answered since Nico’s answer would probably have been to shove Percy over the ledge.

“Go on in Neeks, I’ll just – finish this,” he held up the cigarette that by his own words he had no intention of smoking. Nico stared at him but Will just gestured like go on and Nico had to let Percy pull him away.

Next Chapter

#Will Solace #Nico Di Angelo #will solace/nico di angelo #solangelo #percy jackson and the olympians #fandom #writing

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jsmulligan · 7 years

Text

Rebirth

Somewhere in what used to be the southern portion of the United States of America. 5 years prior to the events of the Destiny main campaign.

The air was still and stifling. Titan Claney Beamard stood watching as a small group of civilians loaded into a transport ship. Three days ago, the Tower had received a distress call from a small settlement in the area that had come under attack by a band of Fallen. These people had managed to eke out a living in the years after the Collapse, somehow avoiding notice of the alien scavengers. A Hunter had discovered the settlement years ago, and they had declined her offer of an escort to the Last City. They were determined to make it on their own, so the Hunter had wished them luck and left behind an emergency communication device. It seems as though their luck finally ran out.

Claney had been part of a strike team comprised of himself, another Titan named Iniko Tosia, and a Hunter named Jarus Corbin that had been sent to assist. They had barely arrived in time. As their ships screamed through the sky on approach, they saw the Fallen breach the ramshackle wall the settlers had built around their town. The humans had obviously put up quite a fight leading to the break in their defenses, as Claney could see a surprising number of Dreg and Vandal corpses scattered around the perimeter. Even at that moment, Dregs were dropping as they worked to pry at, and widen, the hole they had made. The townspeople had taken many casualties as well and it was clear they could not hold out much longer.

The three Guardian’s transmatted into the chaos. Claney dropped into the middle of the town’s defenses and immediately began taking heavy fire from the invading Fallen. Shields barely holding, he began firing his heavy machine gun into the breach. The resulting shrieks from the Fallen brought cheers from the harried defenders. The Hunter and the other Titan came down outside the city on the other side of the enemy force, presenting a second front for the Fallen to worry about.

The new arrival threw the Fallen into disarray, but it lasted only a few moments. A Captain in their ranks was able to rally its troops, regrouping away from the breach, using the wall to protect them from the more numerous defenders while turning to face the smaller force that had appeared outside. Vandals with wire rifles spread out in an attempted to flank the two Guardians, firing from multiple angles while Dregs attempted to find cover behind rocks and damaged vehicles to take potshots at them.

Iniko grinned inside her helmet and summoned a grenade. Throwing it as hard as she could, it sailed past the huddled Fallen, sticking to the town wall and blasting lightning back in the direction it had come. Several enemy fighters were thrown forward as the Arc energy lanced into them.

“Ha! How about that ‘nade?” she shouted to Jarus.

“Yes, yes, very nice. Now how about we kill the rest of them before celebrating.”

Jarus took aim with his sniper rifle, picking off several of the Vandals before having to take cover himself. Arc bolts peppers the trees, ground, and rubble around them. Iniko focused on the Dregs, trying to take them out as they leaned out of cover to shoot. A three round burst from her pulse rifle caught one Dreg in the head, puffs of ether escaping as it fell dead.

Claney emerged from the breach, now having switched to his scout rifle. It kicked in his hand as he fired several shots at nearby Fallen. This distracted them enough that Iniko was able to charge forward, closing the gap. The Captain shouted a warning to his Dregs, but he was too slow. Iniko leapt forward, gathering Arc light to her on the way down, slamming into the ground in the middle of the Fallen. The shockwave of her Fist of Havoc spread outward, lifting the Fallen caught within its range, flinging them aside as they died. Simultaneously, Jarus activated his Golden Gun, firing pure Solar light at the remaining Vandals, bringing them down.

The threat neutralized, the Guardians stepped back through the breach to aid the remaining population. There were cheers and thanks, of course, though it was also apparent that the display of power had also made some of the people wary of the three. Humans weren’t supposed to be able to summon lightning in their fists or magically producing flaming weapons. They had all heard stories, of course, but actually seeing it in action was a something different. Some of the unease lessened when Jarus removed his helmet, his dark skin and easy grin clearly as human as anyone else gathered there.

Over the next couple days, the Guardians had helped repair the town and the breach in the wall. The offer to move people to the Last City was made again, and this time many of the townspeople had decided to accept the offer to be relocated. A transport ship was called and arrived on the third day. For those that wanted to stay, the transport dropped off food stuffs and weapons.

The transport lifted into the air and turned east, beginning the long flight back to the Tower. Iniko left immediately after, while Jarus has to extract himself from a small crowd of women who seemed very sad to see him go. Claney prepared to join them in orbit, when a glint of light caught his eye. Something metallic was moving near the settlement wall.

Claney drew his weapon, a scout rifle he’d won in an Iron Banner event the previous year. Keeping an eye for any other motion, he cautiously approached the place that he had seen the flash. He relaxed suddenly when he discovered the source. It was a Ghost, flitting near the wall. It seemed be searching for something.

“Hello, little one,” he said, but the Ghost offered no response. Instead, it turned suddenly, swaying back and forth a few times, before darting away. Curious, Claney followed the small, star-shaped object as it crossed a field and disappeared into a stand of trees.

“Should I be jealous?” the voice of his Ghost, Elgan, questioned in his coms.

“Quiet, you,” the Titan replied, “I just want to see where it’s going.”

“A Ghost out here, alone? There’s only one thing it could be doing, trying to find its Guardian.”

“There are Fallen nearby. Not exactly a safe place to be poking around,” Claney said, glancing around.

“There are Fallen everywhere,” was the retort. “If I had stopped searching due to their patrols, you’d still be dead.”

As if on cue, a Fallen called from somewhere nearby. A hunting call. They’d seen something. Claney was willing to guess it was the Ghost. An electronic trill sounded from just further up in the trees. As quickly as he could move through the underbrush, Claney crashed his way forward, concerned for the fate of the little Ghost. The Traveler had produced the Ghosts with its dying breath, and they’d already lost so many. He’d die before he let the Fallen kill another one.

They came to a stop when they found the ruin of an old house, obviously abandoned for decades. Most of the structure had collapsed, and vegetation had over grown what remained. Something about this scene seemed to trigger a memory, a sudden feeling of familiarity, but Claney pushed it away. Light flickered inside, and Claney got a glimpse of the Ghost, it’s shell expanded, light emanating out of it, directed to something out of his field of view.

The Fallen called out again, closer now. Claney ducked into the ruin of the home just as the Ghost collapsed back in on itself and let out a worried sound. Looking at the ground, the Titan saw the body the Ghost had revived.

There lay a red-haired human girl, no older than 13 or 14. She was clothed in a body suit, but the Ghost had not given her armor, nor had it completed the revive process, as she was not breathing. Elgan materialized near Claney and scanned her.

“Why did you stop?” he asked the other Ghost.

“She’s too young,” the other Ghost replied in a masculine voice that sounded very young itself. “She can’t be a Guardian. What do I do?”

“You’ll finish reviving her before the Fallen find us, we’ll take her back to the Tower, and then figure it out from there,” Claney snapped. The Ghost bobbed up and down in the familiar nodding motion, then opened his shell again, bathing the figure in Light.

She coughed suddenly and sat upright, blue eyes darting around in panic. When they saw Claney, she screamed and scrambled back from him as quickly as she could before she collided with a wall. Her Ghost tried to move in to introduce itself, and she swatted it out of the air. Claney knelt down, bringing himself to her level in an attempt to appear less threatening. It did not work. Reaching around frantically, the girl grabbed a chunk of the crumbled wall and threw it at him.

“Okay, you need to quiet down and stop doing things like that,” the Titan said. Remembering Jarus and the townspeople, Claney scooted away from her and brought his hands to his helmet. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to take my helmet off. Please don’t throw anything at my face.”

He removed the helmet and set it on the ground, revealing fair skin and close-cropped red hair, almost the same shade as hers. He tried giving the most reassuring smile that he could. The girl seemed to calm down a little, and she looked at him curiously.

“My name is Claney,” he said to her calmly and quietly, “Claney Beamard. I’m a Guardian from the Tower. I’m here to help you. I know things don’t make any sense to you at the moment, but they will soon. Right now, we need to think about getting out of here, otherwise some bad people are going to come. Will you come with me?”

Claney offered his hand to the girl, but she shook her head, pushing back against the wall as hard as she could. He sighed and lowered his head before grabbing his helmet and rising to his feet. Leaving the girl’s Ghost to try to calm her, he turned and walked through the crumbling doorway.

“I wouldn’t trust our luck enough to assume the Fallen didn’t hear that scream,” his Ghost said through internal coms. “We’re going to have to move very soon.”

“What, just transmat her with no warning, rush to get her to the Tower, and have a panicked teenage girl destroy my ship or throw things at me as I try to fly? I’ll pass.”

“We might not have much choice.”

The Titan sighed again and turned to reenter the building. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an object flying through the air toward him. The shock grenade landed at his feet and he dove through the door quickly, rolling as he hit the ground, coming up to one knee and drawing his scout rifle in one smooth motion.

“Fallen!” Elgan announced unnecessarily.

Claney located a Dreg at the tree line, presumably the one who threw the grenade. One squeeze of the trigger and its head disappeared, leaving behind a puff of ether. Almost immediately, a squadron of Shanks appeared, firing arc blasts as they emerged. Claney took two quick steps to move closer to the girl. Concentrating on the Void, he flung out his arms, putting a Ward of Dawn up to cover the both of them.

“Ghost, get some armor on that kid,” he shouted. The Ghost bobbed again, quickly breaking down portions of the ruins and fabricating some basic armor around her. While it covered her, Claney stepped out of his bubble to return fire at the shanks. Each exploded in a shower of sparks and metal after a few shots. Emptying the clip at them, Claney started to reload when something hit him hard from behind.

While he had focused on the Shanks, two stealth Vandals had slipped around behind him. The nearest was bringing its swords down at his head as he turned to face them. He brought is scout rifle up quickly to block the cut. It deflected the blow, but shattered the rifle.

“Elgan, get me something else quickly!” Claney shouted to his Ghost. Dropping the broken weapon, he swung his fist, striking the Vandal in the side of its head. Tapping into the Void again, he swung once more, this time the contact released the energy, causing the Vandal to howl in pain as it disintegrated. Another scream sounded, and Claney looked to see the second Vandal advancing on the girl who was throwing anything she could get her hands on at the alien while crab-walking backward.

“I’ve got something,” Elgan said, and Claney held out his hand. A shotgun materialized in his hand and he brought it to bear quickly.

“Hey!” he yelled at the Vandal, drawing its attention before letting loose a stream of buckshot. Two close-range blasts took the second alien down. Claney turned to the girl and held out his hand again. This time she took it and he raised her to her feet, handing her the shotgun.

“We don’t have much time, so I’m going to say this quick. Whoever you were in your past life, I’m going to guess you weren’t a soldier like most Guardians. To be honest, I don’t think I was either. Regardless, your Ghost should have given you some basic knowledge in the revive process. Do you know how to use this gun?”

The girl nodded her head quickly, shifting the gun around in her hands to hold it properly. Arc bolts struck the structure around them or fizzled against the Titan’s Ward while he spoke.

“Good. Now, you see this bubble around us? It’s called a Ward of Dawn. It will stop any shots or anything they throw at you. You stay inside it. If one of them comes in, you shoot them. You’ll have five shots before you need to reload. These are ammo synths,” he held out some green and white objects. “Activating them creates ammo for the gun. I’ll leave some here if you need them. Elgan, give me another weapon and then call for the ship.”

The Titan held out his hand and his Ghost transmatted in an auto rifle. Giving the girl what he hoped was a reassuring pat on the arm, he stepped out of the Ward of Dawn to take on the rest of the Fallen force. The girl gripped the shotgun, watching intently as the armored man leapt into action. All around, the Fallen fell one by one, either shot by the auto rifle or taken out by a grenade. She saw several shots hit him as well, and he staggered, but never stopped moving until the last of the attackers was down.

“We need to get out of here before more of them show up. Will you come with me?” the Titan asked as he returned to her side and the Ward of Dawn winked out of existence. The girl nodded. Claney braced for the familiar feel of the transmat at it transported the two of them to his ship, a Phaeton class ship he had named Lost Days. Once aboard, he removed his helmet again. She watched him do it and then reached up, unfastening her own and removing it. There was still uncertainty behind her blue eyes, but most of the fear had faded.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

“Yes. Thank you,” she replied, glancing around at the cramped interior of the ship, eyes taking in every detail.

“Good. Like I said before, my name is Claney, and I am a Guardian. I’m going to take you somewhere safe, okay?”

“Okay,” she said with another nod.

“I know things are strange, and I bet you’ve probably noticed that your memory is fuzzy at best. Your Ghost, that little spiky guy floating right there, he’ll talk to you about what is happening while we fly to the Tower. Do you at least remember your name?”

“My name…” the girl thought for a moment, her face twisted in confusion. “My name… is Celeste.”

“Well, Celeste, it’s nice to meet you,” Claney stated, settling into the pilot seat of the ship. He set course for the Tower and began the long flight home.

Celeste settled in on the bunk toward the back, and her Ghost flittered over to her. Its shell twisting and turning as it thought about the best way to approach her. It had nearly figure out what to say when the girl took the initiative.

“Hello,” she said, reaching up a hand and tapping her finger against one of its edges. “So you’re a Ghost?”

“Hello, Guardian” it said in its soft, boyish voice, “yes, I am a Ghost. Your Ghost. I’ve been searching for you for a very long time. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. Now… tell me everything,” she said eagerly.

...

So this was my first “Tales We’ll Tell” entry, showing the first meeting of two of my OCs. I wrote it after the two characters ran into each other in my longer (eventually novel-length) fiction “A Not So Simple Patrol”.

Claney is my main. Celeste eventually becomes a Nightstalker. Jarus you may remember from his brief appearance in “Home Alone”.

Bit of a headcanon note: It is generally assumed Guardians don’t age. I am going with a “stop aging at physical maturity” premise simple because... well, just because. When it comes to non-dead humans, the whole “lifespans tripled” bit led me to thinking that aging slowed at that point, otherwise you’ve have 30 year old children. While there is nothing in-game to back me up, it’s something I decided to work with.

#Destiny #Destiny the game #fanfiction #Tales We'll Tell #OC's #Claney #Celeste

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breathofaknight-blog · 7 years

Text

[Closed thread: Twilight War]

LEANDROS, usurpxrregalis

If you want to join PM me and usurpxrregalis.

HYRULE, one month before the Twili Invasion.

...

Captain Leandros smiled, glancing up at the warm, sun-soaked sky. It was a pleasant spring day, and a fair one for his small parade. Behind him, a small one hundred man band of mounted warriors trailed past him, recently reinforced with some new recruits from the northern provinces.

Leandros was preoccupied by a recent entanglement he had with lady Faralda, who had very nearly proposed to him during his brief stay in Castle Town. In addition, his family had its own charming dilemma’s he had to see to. He hoped his mother enjoyed the gift he had gotten her, and that his sister was well. There had been time even to briefly speak to the grave of his father. As far as his person was concerned, the Hylian captain felt blessed by goddesses for his good fortune. It was his favorite time of year, and after a good moment of relaxation, he had been given his favorite commission; border patrol on the eastern fringe.

His patrol route would be a slow march from near the Temple of Time, on to Zora’s domain at the very end of his route in upper Lanayru. It was a route that guaranteed danger from Moblin warbands, many lesser beasts, Gerudo remnant, and possibly, if he was lucky the odd Darknut. His troops were adequate as well, suitably capable of survival training, and all able to ride. There was an above average number of women in the force, and Leandros made special note to ensure their safety amongst the other new male members of his band. He tolerated no dishonor or indiscretion amongst his ranks.

At his side, a bored man hummed a pastoral Hylian theme, the company standard casually hoisted in an arm, lying on his shoulderblade. Opposite him, his second in command rode alongside.

“Meridia” Leandros began, glancing over to the woman. “How was Kallus? You didnt mention how things went.”

“Kallus isn’t a man you need ask about any more my liege” Meridia snapped back, making a face wrenched in disgust.

“Hm? Did something happen? I had already picked out your wedding gifts” Leandros said with a warm smile.

“That pig is unfit to lick my boot-heels! Can you believe I found him in bed with the help? I tossed him out of hearth with several kicks to his self-righteous rear! The lecherous bastard.”

Leandros huffed. “The nerve! To cheat on a maiden like yourself, and for common-born trash. Don’t worry Meridia. If you need anything I’ll be here.”

The two had been on three patrols now and were fast friends. Meridia. with her firey temper and drill-field voice being an excellent counterpart to the calm and aloof leadership style Leandros favored.

The column left Hyrule Cast Town’s gates and the group glanced back to the seat of their government.

“I wonder what it is like to live up here, with the lords and the princess” Leandros wondered aloud.

“Much easier and far less important than the work we do, Captain. Those people know nothing about the hard work it takes to keep this peace!”

Leandros offered a shrug, and blew a whistle.

“COMPANY! Halt! Present arms!” The line of cavalry immediately drew blades, with no less than three sleepy recruits dropping their blades, much to Meridia’s seething rage and verbal admonishment. Leandros stifled a chuckle. Greener than a hero’s tunic. Keeping these children alive for the patrol would be a hard task indeed, but one he was thankful for.

Leandros could scarcely imagine this peace ever ending. As the wind picked up the banner of the company, and the triforce flew proudly, the old feelings of natrional spirit stirred within him. He loved his job, and his people.

With a smile, he led his men into the idyllic countryside of Hyrule field, waving at peasants and merchants as they made their way to the patrol route.

///

Three months Later, outside of Hyrule Castle.

General Vann glanced at the strange material clouding the sky, and then at the army summoned on short notice about him.

“This is all that we could find?”

“Yes sir, other army units were too far to reach. Reports are still coming in about attacks within Hyrule field. Shadow forces they say, with dark magic-”

“Stop your mewling. The Princess has commanded us to protect her people. That is exactly what I will do. Whoever they are we will beat them.”

The General confidently strode in front of his forces. The current army was roughly 80,000 Hylians strong, mostly of the castle garrison and Town garrison, but some Hyrule field Interior regiments as well. Of the entire army this was but a small sum of the full might of the kingdom, but it would certainly be more than enough to crush whatever pathetic upstarts were upon the field.

“Sound the horn, alert the captains. I want an address with my men” General Van barked.

“Yes lord!” exclaimed a soldier, and soon all 80,000 soldiers fixed their eyes upon their commander, the knights and footmen gleaming in their fantastic arms and armor.

“Warriors, I’m afraid that we are gathered here to educate some fools on Hylian military discipline. So, in case any of you forgot, allow me to remind you why we will win here today, on this historic field.”

The general smirked. “We are the chosen warriors of the Goddesses, beloved most throughout all the world. We have Hylia’s blood in our veins, prayers upon our lips, and wisdom and courage within our hearts. Nothing has ever usurped our dominion. You stand atop the world, masters of all you see before you. Every dominion and every race bows to us as liege lords of this land. Our skill and discipline is unmatched and our weapons and armor are superior to any empires, now or before. With me as your commander, victory will be ours, and we will be personally blessed for our courage by her Majesty herself!”

The general nodded, thinking this to be a good start, then bellowed out a final rousing word “and the first of you to strike home gets a sack of my finest wine! Urrah!”

“URRAH!” the soldiers cheered, grinning. None, except perhaps the knights and a handful of infantry units, had seen combat at all. Only a few knights had ever participated in a organized field battle.

The army turned toward the west, and saw a great darkness emerge unnaturally on the horizon... The army waited, curious as to who would dare challenge Hylian supremacy...

[Your turn. This is going to be bloody. Be sure to throw in some professional Twili troops/mages along with the creatures.]

#of Hylian Purity #Hyrule's word #zelda roleplay #zelda rp #botw rp #legend of zelda roleplay #legend of zelda rp #oc: Leandros #Leandros #Twilight Princess #loz:tp

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westword-stories-blog · 7 years

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CrossSwords - Chapter Eighteen

The Castle was quiet, now that the majority of the participants had left back to their home town, others decided to reside in the Farza Town as a permanent resident. Others have disappeared without question and a few have decided to go on a little quest. This made Erie feel at least somewhat happy that everyone getting together made a difference on one another. The fact was that Erie was actually a pretty nice person who cared much for everyone she knew. But of course she couldn't show this since she was one of the higher ups in the Varska Knights.

She made her way to her suite where she would take off her heavy suit of armor. A silver breastplate, shoulder guards, chausses' with silver metal covering the main bit, greaves and sabatons. After she took off everything from the waist down she finally removed her helmet. Her long, orange hair fell right down to around past her shoulder blades. The only piece of armor she was left with on was a body piece made purely from chain mail. Once she took that off she was now only wearing a body suit that extended her entire chest, waist and went down past her thighs while the sleeves stopped at her elbows. There was a small zipper on the back of the suit starting from her nape going way down near her waist.

She pulled on the zipper, making the "zzt!" noise it would always make, having it reach her waist until she huffed softly. Slowly pulling each limb free of the grasp from the suit she finally was out of the body suit and gently placed it aside. "What a day..." She said to herself then walking over to a dresser, grabbing a fresh pair of clothes then placing them aside. She then opened one of the three doors in her room, one leading to the hall, the other to a personal armory and the one she was entering to a private bathroom.

The Commander of the Knights took an hour long bath, wanting to make sure she was feeling clean and refreshed. She exited the bathroom with a refreshing sigh. She covered her body up with a long, white, fluffy towel and walked over to her bed, sitting down near the clothes and body suit. "This really is taxing on a woman.." She spoke softly then suddenly came a knock on her door. "Commander Erie!!"

This startled the woman as she jumped up right and widened her eyes. "W-Wait don't come in!"

"Ah--? Okay. Well, Come quickly to the war room!" A voice yelled from the other side of the door. She was confused but she knew she had to handle this. "Damn it, no time to be comfy..." She clicked her tongue then tossed her towel to the side, grabbing a new body suit from one of the dressers and fitting into it, awkwardly she zipped the zipper right up the the nape of her neck and then got suited into her armor pieces.

Chapter 18: Time of Peace ( Part One )

Erie stomped down the rather empty hall, passing by various doors, statues and banners, taking a few turns until she reached a door at the end of a hall. She opened the door then walked forward, shutting it behind her. In front of her was a flight of stairs that led downward. She didn't think she would have to visit this room again for a while. So she descended, holding onto the wall as she made her way down.

When she got to the bottom there was a long hallway ahead of her, dimly lit by a small lantern every few meters. She walked down the long hall, her armor filling the place with noise as it clashed and clanked around.

When she finally reached the end of the hall there stood another door, she opened the door and walked inside. The room she entered wasn't a big room, but it had a table in the middle and there stood King Rose, Valerie, Matthew, William and now entering was Erie.

"My King, what's the problem..?" Erie asked the large man who was in charge of Varska Kingdom, the kingdom that reigned over the Mainland. "Commander Erie, it's been brought to me that one of the various villages and towns have been attacked yesterday.."

Erie - The Knight Commander gasped at this then walked forward, looking at the King. "W-What..by who..."

Rose looked up at Erie then back down. "Reports say bandits, but I don't think bandits have ever left the village engulfed in flames..." He stood there in silence for a solid minute before speaking once more. "Also..It's been said that, whoever attacked that village took something with them. One of the items of long past. The body of the Dragon's Flute"

"..The Dragon's Flute..?"

Rose nodded his head slightly. "Legends say it can summon a Dragon and if you can convince it, it may help you with whatever you want for a large price. But there are three pieces to this legendary item. The body piece, head piece and bottom piece. These three pieces exist within the Mainland as treasures. The Body was in the recently razed Ein Town. The head is in this castle and the bottom is the treasure belonging to Till Village."

Erie slammed her hand on the table. "If.."

Rose looked back up, as did everybody else who was quietly listening in on this conversation. "...If they're getting the pieces, wouldn't that mean they're summoning it!? Shouldn't we be protecting the villages with treasures even further?!"

"Yes, I agree with you, Commander." Spoke Matthew who had his arms crossed, standing beside Valerie who was staring at the table with trembling eyes. "While I think sending more reinforcements to the villages, I don't think it will help very much..See, the village that was attacked held an important treasure. As such, it needed to be heavily guarded. But whoever attacked was capable of destroying that place until there was nothing but charred wood and ashes. See...If we send reinforcements, we're just sending Knights to an early grave." William spoke up finally after standing in silence for a solid half hour.

Erie placed her hand above her face, looking pained. "Damn it...What do we do then?"

"We could send a large amount of knights to the villages and even have one of the higher ups go along too." Matthew suggested.

"But the nearest village with a treasure is more than a days travel!" Valerie stated, which made Erie's choices very limited.

"Damn it! It'll take too long!" She exclaimed then looked down to the side. "...It'll take too long, but we have to try." Erie closed her eyes to gather her thoughts, taking in a deep breath. "We have to say something to the public, they're going to get scared, but if they stay within their houses due to fright. It may lower the chances of a high body-count if they ever attack Varska Castle and Town." Erie stated with a long exhale.

"Come on, let's set the event up..."

~ ~ ~

There was a certain wind to this day. We were about a day and a half away from Stacia Village and we were walking down a path with no destination within visible sight. Bradley heaved and slumped over slightly. "How long is this trip to Concord?" Asked the young man facing the slightly older one. "Well, Concord is the name of the nearest town to the Kingdom of Gaia-"

Ceri then popped from her slightly straight stance then darted her eyes to Jackson. "Hey, I gotta question."

"...Yeah, what is it?" Jackson turned his head over to the woman facing him.

"If the Kingdom of Gaia got it's name from the nation, why isn't Mainland called Varska?" She questioned, which made Jackson smile slightly.

"Well, for the longest time, Mainland was the entire country and the vast majority of it had yet to be discovered. But eventually people migrated and moved to the furthest reaches of Mainland to name their own place. The reason why our current 'Mainland' isn't called Varska is simply because the King has yet to make the change in name. It will happen eventually but for now it's name is Mainland. I personally think he hasn't changed it because it's the only remaining nation with the 'Mainland' title."

Ceri looked down in thought then nodded simply. "I see.."

"Anyways, the place we're headed - Concord is about a 2 week travel if we move fast in daylight. 1 and a half if we never stop moving..." He said while the sun gently reflected off the surface of his black-rimmed glasses. I finally then saw something approaching in the distance among all their blabbering, pointing a finger ahead of myself. "Hey, there's some trees coming up, this is the second forest we've crossed since leaving Staica, right?" I asked to which Bradley confirmed my question.

Before we approached the forest there emerged another group of people traveling the opposite direction of us, towards the Village we recently departed from. Ceri waved at them and they waved back, we exchanged some words then parted. Apparently they're headed to Stacia Village for a drop-off of supplies. Didn't know villages needed that kind of support but it could be for building that house Tessa earned.

We'd been traveling in the forest for the rest of the day until the evening sky was visible through the trees. We decided to call it a night and set camp up in a clean patch. In front of me was a small fire that emitted the burning red glow to help us see around our area. Meanwhile Bradley went to get more wood to burn, Jackson is still setting up our two tents and Ceri went to a nearby lake to bathe.

"Well, the tents are as set up, well..to the best of my ability anyway." Jackson sat down beside my eating self. I was munching on a handful of berries I was gifted at the village we had just left from. "You know, I thought by the end of the tournament. I would've shared some smiles and maybe made a friend...

Never would I have thought I would've went on a quest with 3 other people I just met awhile before the tournament." He fell silent after saying this, only staring up at the night sky. "..Yeah, I agree. I thought it was going to be a really fun time. But then suddenly my best friend gets taken away to some place I don't even know where, I get some vague mark on my hand by some supposedly malicious group and suddenly I'm miles from home..." I said in a bit of a melancholic voice, my gaze was fixated on the ground.

Suddenly the flame cast in front of us blossomed with more fire, it caught my attention and I looked up to see a male with a few more small logs and twigs in his arms. "Well, don't get so sad. At least you're doing something a lot more worthwhile then well, becoming a knight or something."

Jackson snickered then nodded. "Yeah, as cool as it sounds...Most knights are just stationed someplace and rely on a biweekly care package. I personally like the situation I'm in. We've established ourselves as a group, a clan, a fighting force. We're the ones who will make a difference in our world. We're nothing like the groups like Citadel, Solar Flare or even the Compassing Justice for that matter. But I do believe we can at least do some good, case in point: Tessa." Jackson let out a short breath then looked to the flame in front of us.

"I wonder if we'll ever do more than help small-time." Jackson added before falling silent. "Well, once Ceri returns we should head to sleep." He said while getting up and retiring to a tent. "Well, I might as well do the same, I'll see you tomorrow, Vince."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow.."

~ ~ ~

Almost a week had passed since the report of one of the villages being attacked. In this time-frame another one had been attacked: Till Village.

The fact that this place had been hit next was proof that whoever was attacking these places had the intent on getting "The Dragon's Flute". An item that would summon a specific Dragon to call, and if you could bribe said dragon it would help you with whatever endeavors you had in mind, the only problem was that the Dragon in question was a difficult one to convince and that he prioritized payment first rather than the helps and needs of whoever called him.

But it was okay. Because in order to actually make the flute work they needed the last piece, the head of the flute. So even if they did get both pieces they needed to plunge deep into the cellars of the castle in order to obtain it.

Today, King Rose stood in front of a large balcony settled around the front side of the castle. There beside him on both sides stood Valerie and Matthew who both seemed a bit uncomfortable at the time. Behind King Rose was a small group of knights and of course, leading these knights was Erie who was standing to the side of the balcony, standing straight and tall. Her sword was unsheathed and she had the point of it on the ground while she held the bottom of the grip with both hands, the sword itself reached up to past her waist.

The King raised his hand as to calm the citizens and people below who were all gathered around the gate of the castle, looking upwards at the royal figure.

"Attention my people!" The King spoke up after a long half hour of having people stand there confused and concerned. "We've lived in this Kingdom for a long while, some just leaving our world and some just joining it. All is quiet, all is peaceful..

But no longer."

There was a sudden uproar of gasps and murmuring before he raised his hand once again. "Do not worry. It is not war, famine or disease. However, it is brought to my attention that there are a wide range of bandits razing villages within my Kingdom. And so, I thought it be best to pass this word unto my followers.

My people! For the sake of your protection, and for the sake of my care. Please do stay in your homes until further notice. Our Knights will carry out supplies to each house and settlement. And if our town, our castle is ever attacked...I hope that you will all be smart and stay calm. For now, that will be all." The King bowed his head to his people who all seemed a bit shocked at his word. For the past long years it had been peaceful and no malice would take place for the longest time, not since the fall of the Sacred Eyes.

But they did not know that the Sacred Eyes was making a come back, and this time they were aggressive and merciless...

~ ~ ~

The consistent sound of a hammer against metal was satisfying to hear, the slightly dark skinned girl sat on a chair on a porch, under a small roof while watching the road of the village she had finally worked her way back into. The sun was slowly setting but there was enough light to see clearly, just being able to enjoy a mundane life was all Tessa wanted. She was happy. Ever since coming back to the Village she couldn't stop smiling, in fact. There wasn't ever a moment where she was frowning since her return.

"Alright, Tessa!" A burly voice called out, she turned her head to the right where the voice was calling. She got out of her seat and walked towards the source of the voice.

There stood a man, a blacksmith who finished his work after a long while. "Here it is.." He gestured her over where he and she would walk, eventually coming into sight of a suit of armor and a sword which was still cooling. She was taken aback at how the armor stood there, just about her size.

"You wanted a set, here you go." He said to her, smiling. The armor was mostly a thick leather with Iron covering a majority of the vital areas: Chest, legs, arms and neck. "Thank you! This is really cool! Can I try it on?!" She asked the man with a beaming smile.

"Of course, I don't see why not."

And with that, she ran off with the armor, leaving only the sword which would probably reach to her chest.

Once she came back out she was outfitted in the armor which hugged her body perfectly. She stretched and moved around in the set for awhile before returning to the blacksmith. "It works great, old man! I'm really really thankful!" The man simply laughed then nodded. "Well, if you're that thankful maybe you could stop callin' me that? I am housing you until you get your own after all."

"Oh, right..Uh, sorry!" She said with a nod of her head.

She took in a deep breath before taking the sword off from the rack, holding the grip in her hands and squeezing. "..It doesn't feel too heavy, nor is it too light." She gently brought it up and down then smirked. "This is perfect."

The man approached her in a laugh then she darted her eyes at him. "Stand back.

I wanna practice with this thing." She said while exhaling, he understood then returned to inside of his house. When he was gone she stepped out of the area and walked to a small field nearby the village. Taking swings at the air, vertical, horizontal, stabs and parries. She had already experienced some fights from when she was known as the "Forest Bandit" so a sword wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

Just then she heard a scream from her village, she turned around and saw that people were running and fighting back some strange silhouettes. Immediately she knew she had to do something so she began to run on back to her village which was in the middle of being attacked.

"They're approaching!"

"This has been fun, really. But it's time to end this little 'battle' okay?"

"Not..Again..."

CrossSwords Chapter 19: Time of Defense ( Part Two )

#stories #fantasy #Westword #CrossSwords

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