#1 hour tin roof rain

[relaxedbybakar]

Listen 3 Minutes & Fall Asleep with Hard Tin Roof Rain at Night | 1 Hour...

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[placeinthemiddleofnowhere]

Reign down on me - Part 1

Pairing: Ghost x Hybrid!reader (eventual poly!141)

No use of y/n or mention of gender/race

Summary: Reader is a wolf hybrid in a world that treats them like second class citizens, given a horrible start in life after being thrown into the military with no preparation. After years of struggle, they're finally taken away from their base by Ghost, now a permanent member of taskforce 141 reader struggles to come to terms with the fact that perhaps there's a life there for them - if only they reach out and accept it.

Warnings: hurt/comfort, Angst, abuse mentions, self doubt

-🐺-

The sky was dark and sheeted in heavy fog by the time that Ghost had finally come for you. It was the first time you’d seen the man in the skull mask, but not the first you’d heard of the name of his Captain. Your ears twitched at the familiarity as he spoke it, his gravelly voice sending shivers down your battered back. 

“I’m here on behalf of Captain John Price, he called ahead about the hybrid.”

You’d lifted your numb head from the concrete floor when you realised you recognised that name, painfully craning your neck just to see who’d spoken it. You tried to work the stiffness from your muscles, popping joints and rolling them as far as your bounds would allow. Water was tumbling off you like a dam all the while, creating little murky puddles all around you. Despite the flimsy tin roof above, the rain had been relentlessly blown onto you for most of the day.

As usual it was your fault you were suffering, you knew well enough you could’ve avoided the punishment. You could’ve chosen to suck up your pride. Though as your mind cycled back through the day, you wondered if maybe it was all inevitable. Perhaps they pushed you as a way of giving a last sordid goodbye gift. 

A morning lashing followed by the announcement that you were being transferred to an unnamed team, being sent off to pack up your meagre possessions, finished off by a full day tied up and abandoned on the floor of the outdoor kennels. Somewhere through the first few hours of being left there you’d begun to feel a tiny spark of anticipation at the idea of being taken away. You’d wondered if things might be better somewhere else. 

However when the mysterious man strode into your line of vision, you were right back to feeling hopeless. Every inch of the unyielding cold was digging it’s way into your aching bones, but even through that you were shivering now at the idea of being taken away by him. He was a giant, all shadows and wide angles, black cloth with a stab of white around his face. You fixed your sights onto his mask and felt your teeth almost shatter as you realised it was a skull. Was this big terrifying bastard your new handler? 

“Ah, yes…Lieutenant,” there was an awkward pause, the handler clearly felt much the same as you about the behemoth. “Just over there. You’ll have to fill out some paperwork before you leave with it, but you can have a look first and decide if you want to finalise the decision.”

The man nodded and gave a grunt, his eyes narrowing at the mention of paperwork. Oh great, you thought, he’s pissed off and now he’s about to come meet me. There was no escape from him though. You were completely trapped, hands bound tightly behind your back with thick corded rope and legs similarly tied. There was nothing for it, but to wait for him to realise that the pathetic wolf staring up at him was the one he was getting stuck with. 

“This wolf’s been serving out the last of its punishment today,” the handler said, running a nervous hand over his stubbly blonde head. 

You glared at him, throat tightening as you valiantly repressed a growl. He’d always been an asshole to you right from the very start, he revelled in the chance to pull you down a peg or twelve, and that day he’d really outdone himself. He’d hit you with the leather strap until his veins were popping out of his ridiculously oversized arms and then he’d sneered all the way through tying you down for the day. He’d been taking particular joy in telling you ‘act like a bitch, get treated like a bitch’ before leaving you stuck there.

While most soldier hybrids were treated comparatively well, given the nature of the work you did, the base personnel took particular exception to you. Right from the very start, from the day you’d been dumped there as a mere child you’d been marked as the black sheep and there wasn’t a single day that you weren’t reminded of your lack of favour. You’d arrived a shitty kid with a chip on their shoulder and come through it a shell of that past self, never quite escaping the claws of your contentious past.

You were thinking about just how many times you’d been left to rot in that exposed kennel when you finally locked gazes with the Lieutenant. You wondered how he’d see you through those cold unblinking eyes as they peered at you through the front bars. Would he want to hurt you too? 

Of course he would, you thought, they all do. 

“Why’re they tied like that? What sort of punishment is this?”

You jumped at the harshness of his tone. There was a knife edge drawn in it, meant to preface an attack. 

“It’s our version of a time out. Although with the amount this one’s been in here it’s more like a permanent residence.”

You huffed out a breath, watching as the man puffed up his chest. A useless inflatable shield. He wasn’t going to fold and pretend that he wasn’t being harsher than normal to you. He was quite happy to let the other man believe that you were deserving of the treatment. In fairness you had bitten him not long after you’d come back from your last mission, you’d been out of patience and he’d crumpled the last straw in your back. 

“And how long has this timeout been?”

The way the Lieutenant spat the word, it dripped into your ears like venom. You winced as you watched him fold his arms and openly glared at the handler now, sending the other man stuttering backwards a foot or two. 

“Only a half day, Lieutenant,” the handler faltered. 

“Fuckin’ hell, you trying to kill them before they go? What are we meant to do with a half drowned wolf, eh? Its been raining all day, they’re soaked and shiverin’ like a fuckin’ newborn, how the hell do you justify that?”

“You have to appreciate that this is a-”

“I don’t have to appreciate anything. Get that door open now!” the Lieutenant ordered, interrupting the fumbling mess in front of him. 

The handler visibly paled and suddenly thought better of trying to justify his work. He shakily got to work rattling his keys into the door, and yelped when the masked man shouldered past him, staying firmly planted outside while your cell was invaded. 

You whined when his shadow descended on you and tried to pull away, attempting to try and get into a better position to fend off any attacks. However he was on you before you could so much as shift a muscle. 

His gloved hands were quick to undo the knots keeping you pinned down and even quicker to trap you to the ground when he noticed you squirming and splashing your hands through puddles just to get away from him. It was like being held by a stone statue. He was relentless, keeping you pasted down to the floor before dragging you against him and rubbing those solid hands of his up and down your sides, willing your circulatory system to jump into a sprint. 

Your energy was too busy being directed to your head though. The jolt of human touch was nothing like you were used to, and knowing who it was coming from was enough to send you into overdrive. His warm hands and rough voice left impressions up your spine and in your head, his scent burned in your lungs. Notes of spicy orange peel and gunmetal wafted around your head, somewhere faintly you swore you detected traces of cigar smoke.

Suddenly you were thrown back to being sent out on a mission with Price, he wasn’t so bad to work for, he’d treated you well enough and even gotten some food for you afterward. It made you wonder if maybe the big man he’d sent wasn’t so bad too. Not that you’d treat him as anything other than a threat for the time being of course. 

“You with us, darlin’?”

You jumped when you realised he was finally talking to you. Your eyes connected with his, landing on those stormy blue irises before you let loose a growl. You couldn’t help it this time. Your body was kicking into its usual instincts in lieu of having any idea of how to act. Those same instincts had you flinching straight after, waiting for the retaliation. 

“None of that now,” the man chastised softly, “C’mon, stop your growlin’. You’ve gotta warm up, pup, don’t fight me.” 

Where most handlers would have slapped you or kicked you or even cuffed you round your big fluffy ears for all the noise you’d made, this man didn’t even huff at you. He just continued to rub your arms and legs and tried to coax the curl out of your shaking tail. Your usually silvery fur was drenched into a damp grey and clung wetly to his gloves as he ran his hands through it.

“Leave my tail alone!” you snarled, finally breaking free of the spell you were under. 

Your tail had been snapped and broken enough times that it was stuck permanently lopping to the right. You weren’t going to let him do any worse to it. You attempted to twist and break yourself out of his hold but the man was steadfast in keeping you locked against him. His hands fastened to your waist and back and unfortunately pressed harshly against a big welt that scorched you as soon as his fingers pressed there. You howled out a scream in response.

“Hey! Hey, easy now. Stop, I’m not trying to hurt you. Keep still. Easy!”

As if you’d listen to him. You thrashed about to no avail, breathing harshly as you fought through the bubble of anxiety that enveloped you. Your lungs were working so hard to pump that you distantly worried they might explode. Every cell in your body struggled against the masked man, but no matter what you did you weren’t a match for him in your weakened state. 

“Fuck sake, stop standing there being useless and get me a towel,” the Lieutenant shouted over you, calling over to the handler. 

“You actually want it?” The handler questioned, his face a picture of horror as he watched you screaming like a banshee against your prospective new leader. 

“Well I’m not leaving them here to freeze, am I? Get me that towel and tell your superiors to mail the paperwork, we’re leaving.”

“It’s not standard policy to-”

“It's not standard policy for me to rip your spine out your throat, but I just might do it,” Ghost threatened. “Go!”

…

You’d been bundled into a car not long after that, pinned fast to the Lieutenant’s front like a half-dead butterfly. After struggling for a good ten minutes with him, wrestling to keep the towel off you, you finally gave in. Being so good as to allow him to wrap you up and dry you off, roughly sweeping the fabric over the worst of your drowned tail, ears and hair before situating you in the back next to him. The driver started the car and got to moving without a word.

You sat ruefully folding your arms over the soaked towel, hair and fur poking in all directions, watching as your old base faded to a pin prick in the distance. The smell of your damp clothes drying was turning the air stale, but you could hardly focus on that as your mind tried to make sense of everything that had happened. That and your smarting back as it burned against the hard cushioning of your seat. 

Meanwhile the Lieutenant’s voice was a gruff murmur as he spoke to his Captain, he was quietly updating him on the situation. You didn’t really bother to listen, ears pinned to the back of your head as you tried to figure out how to proceed with your new and strange circumstances. 

Most hybrids would eventually be chosen to permanently join teams, but there’d never been any interest for you before. Plenty of Captains would praise your skills and openly admire the work you did, but you were very purposefully told after every time that they’d take a look at your disciplinary file and go running for the hills. It made you wonder what Price had seen in you. You weren’t even convinced you’d been that impressive given you were only assigned to him for a tracking mission. You hadn’t even brought anyone down or had to push yourself very hard at all, you’d only needed to locate his man and report back. 

“Hey Ghost, should I turn up the heat?” 

Your eyes flashed to the rearview mirror, catching eyes with the driver that had broken the silence. He watched you back unflinching. Ghost? You turned and faced the man next you, tilting your head when he looked up at the driver. 

Was his name really Ghost? 

“Your wolf’s shaking,” the driver continued. 

You locked eyes with Ghost again, feeling your heartbeat more than you’d ever had in your life. It felt like it’d been locked in a cage barely big enough to fit. Your tail curled when he ended his call and turned his attention solely on you.

Interrupting the higher ups was never a good thing. You gulped. 

“You still cold, pup?” He asked softly. 

You frowned at him, feeling your ears peek up at the repeated use of the nickname. You were long past being a ‘pup’ anymore. Though for some reason it didn’t feel as patronising as it should’ve. 

“I’ll be fine, sir,” you said, answering stiffly. 

“Didn’t ask if you’d be fine, I asked if you were cold.”

You flinched at his words, already knowing you must be drawing out his ire. It wouldn’t be long before had you back at whatever base he was taking you to and was tying you up to a disciplinary post, you thought grimly. In most cases you knew you could bear the punishment and would quite happily spurn him, but knowing the full size of Ghost you weren’t so sure you’d walk away quite as well as normal from that one. 

You thought carefully before answering him again. 

“I am a little cold, sir,” you shrugged. 

He nodded and motioned for the driver to go ahead and soon the car was filled with warmth, your shaking subsided but didn’t cease. It wasn’t all due to the cold. 

To make matters worse that wasn’t the end of the interaction with Ghost either. Now that he was off the phone he was giving you a proper look over. It felt as if he were assessing every inch of you while you stared back at him, willing yourself to keep your eyes from naturally casting down. Did you measure up to his expectations? 

“Are you ok?” he asked, breaking the bubble of silence that had enveloped you. 

You frowned. What did he care?

“Fine, sir?” 

“Are you asking me if you’re fine?” he snorted. 

You could see the twinkle of a smirk in his eyes. The corners were pulling upwards and you swore you caught a twitch of a smile behind the black material of his lower mask. 

“Do you care either way?” you asked, raising your brows at him. 

He lost his smile at that. 

“I appreciate honesty, pup.”

That was it. He snapped the tether to the tiny frightened wolf inside of you that begged you not to antagonise him and finally, you felt brave enough to push. The real animal inside was allowed to bark and howl uncontrolled. 

“I’m being taken away to god knows where by Mr.Bonejangles and now he’s asking me to be honest with him after I’ve spent the whole day out in the elements with a whipped back. How do you think I’m doing?” you growled.

Now that the heat was properly thawing you out, you were feeling every ounce of your irritability spark to life. Even while you waited for some kind of reprimand, you held firm through your tensed muscles. If he hit you then you would do everything not to flinch from it. 

Test me, asshole. Just do it. You won’t see me break.

He didn’t lash out at you though, he’d already proved he wasn’t like your handlers at your base, but this more than confirmed it. Instead he took a breath and kept his measured gaze on you, letting you know that he was perfectly in control of the situation. 

“My name’s Ghost. I’m taking you down to London, and you’re going to join the 141 with me as your handler. You’re going to be serving under John Price, you did a mission with him and Kyle Garrick about a month back. Do you remember them?” Ghost said, his voice even and clear. 

You blinked back at him, not even bothering to hide your surprise that he’d wanted to give you answers to the questions you clearly had. Now you were truly curious. It wasn’t often that anyone bothered to fill you in on what was happening, you were usually expected to just accept whatever happened and to keep quiet even if you couldn’t. Ghost actually wanted you to talk to him.

“Price is the one with the dodgy beard. And Garrick… he’s called Gaz right? The Sergeant?” you said slowly, still not quite believing you were being engaged with. 

Ghost huffed out a laugh. 

“That’s right. You’ll see them again in the morning, and you’ll get to meet Sergeant MacTavish as well. For tonight all you gotta worry about is getting clean and fed and having a decent night’s sleep. We’ve got a few hours till we get to the base though, so for now you can ask me whatever you like.”

You tilted your head at him and immediately got to work testing this new boundary of yours. Your ears were perked up like antennas as your brian buzzed with activity. You’d never been in a position to ask whatever you’d liked before. 

“Why’re you wearing that mask?” 

He rolled his eyes at that, causing you to shrink back. Ok, so maybe you weren’t really going to get to ask whatever you liked. 

“Gotta hide how handsome I am,” he said, leaning back in his chair and giving you an amused side eye.

You snorted at that and unclenched your hands, letting your sharp nails come away from the chair before it tore. A smile even curled its way onto your lips. 

“Not because you’re an ugly bastard then?” 

“Negative.”

You snorted again.

“So lets see, I apparently have a model handler and a new and very experienced team that I have the honour of being express delivered to. You’re letting me speak more than any of those bastards ever did in a whole day and you’ve not punished me once yet. I can’t help but wonder why you’d choose me for this, especially after you saw me back there,” you said, pursing your lips as if you might come to any conclusions on your own. “Anyone would tell you I’m a liability, but you still took me anyway. Why?”

Ghost raised his brows under the mask, the blackout makeup below shifted and you swore you could make out some of his exposed pale skin out of the corners. You watched him intently, trying to make out any hint of insincerity or anger where there was none. 

“Price said you were good. I trust his instincts.”

“No questions asked?”

“None,” he confirmed.

“Even after seeing my disciplinary record?”

“It raised a few eyebrows on the team, but Price was happy enough with what he saw on the field that he wanted you as long as I did too. And like I said, I trust him,” he sighed when he met your eyes and you still weren’t convinced. “Besides, your record’s a shit show from base but you’ve been getting consistently solid reports back for the last ten years you’ve been getting sent out. I’m willing to bet that that stunning display of incompetence I saw earlier was probably a good indicator of why you’ve not been performing very well at home.”

“Stunning display of incompetence,” you repeated, not able to help the bark of laughter you let loose afterward. 

“Exactly, pup,” Ghost smiled.

You felt something inside you dislodge, like a brick had come out of the fortress you’d built around yourself. While you weren't rushing to fawn over your new handler, but you were willing to offer him more than just your contemptible obedience. Something about that sent a small shiver down your back, but even still you were able to lie back in the chair and let it leave you. 

You didn’t have it in you to ask anymore questions after that. Your head was an overspilling cup already, you didn’t want to drown yourself with anymore knowledge. So instead you let the easy silence take over and looked off into the distance, watching with heavy lids as the car tore through fields and towns in equal measure. 

Your eyes kept closing in a series of syrupy slow blinks, one second you were driving through a hedgeway of trees and the next you were in open blue fields of sky darkened wheat. Somewhere down the line your eyes closed for the final time and you gently arrived into a dreamless sleep, letting the darkness and warmth envelop your aching body. 

…

You had the feeling that you were being lifted. The sudden shift in the air from warm to cold paired with the sensation of being jostled was enough to tip you over the edge of consciousness. In seconds you were looking for something to attack. 

Your eyes snapped open and you went in for a bite, just about to close your teeth around an arm when that same appendage snapped back and fastened your neck against a hard wall of muscle behind you. You growled and panicked, heart hammering and body struggling in a flash of snapping canines and flailing limbs. 

“Hey! Stop your nonsense.”

You stilled at the words, instantly recognising the rough manc accent that they’d come from. You breathed a little and came back to yourself, remembering that you weren’t at your old base anymore and you weren’t being captured by an enemy either. You were being taken somewhere new, not a base or a prison or a kennel, you were being brought toward a bungalow. 

“Where are we?” you asked feebly, frowning at your unfamiliar surroundings. 

“Just outside the base, darlin’,” Ghost rumbled. “This is my home, for now.”

“Why are you taking me to your house?”

You angled yourself against Ghost’s tight hold and frowned up at him, searching his face for any sign of bad intention. You’d invaded houses as part of your job, but never had you stayed inside one since you’d lived with your family. You couldn’t understand why he’d want you to live with him when you knew as well as he did that there were specialised barracks for hybrids in every military base. Why would he want his work invading his personal space? 

“I don’t want you staying at the base until you’re more settled,” Ghost said, pulling one of his hands from you so that he could get his keys out his pocket. “You can choose to stay there if you want after the first few weeks, but until then you’re staying here with me.”

Your ears flickered as the loud jingling of his keys rattled through them and you whined, oversensitive and overtired. He let his remaining arm relax around you and held you close to his chest, shushing you all the while. His spicy aroma filled your senses again and you let your whines die down to low whimpers, hoping that he’d just put you down and leave you alone soon. 

“Sh, It’s ok, pup. I know it’s been a long day, but I just need you to hold on a little longer, alright?”

You nodded and let him carry you through the doorway and down a dark hallway, setting you down on a cool tiled floor before turning on the light. You glanced up at him sheepishly and blinked furiously at the bright blue bulb, having to rub your eyes before you could properly check out your surroundings. Once you rubbed the sleep from them you realised you were in a bathroom.

“You think you can shower yourself and get changed into something for bed?” he asked. “I can run you a bath and help you wash if you need?”

“No, shower’s fine,” you said quickly, not wanting to go through any further humiliation.

“Good, I’ll leave your things for you here and let you get on with it then,” he said, setting down the hold all you’d packed just next to you. “There’s a clean towel there on the rail for you, the blue one. Once you’re clean and changed you can come to the kitchen and get some dinner. It’s just at the end of the hall.”

You checked to your right and sure enough there was a clean fluffy towel waiting right on the heated rail for you. Ghost nodded and took himself out of the room, closing the door with a soft snick and leaving you alone for the first time since he’d picked you up. 

You shivered and chanced a look at yourself in the bathroom mirror, quickly averting your eyes when you realised just how pathetic you looked. Your hair was a mess, your fur was thick with matts and your skin was plastered with dirt. You were a sore sight. You growled at yourself for getting into such a state and stalked into the joint bath and shower, not bothering to wait for the water to heat before yanking the shower on. 

Cold water jetted out and shocked you into awareness, drawing out another low whine until it started to heat up, letting you properly set to work washing all the filth away. There were a couple of bad matts that came out in thick clumps, but other than that you were glad for the shower, pleasantly surprised by how warm it could go. The heat bled through your skin and into your tired muscles and before long you were just standing there enjoying the water, already done with washing yourself. 

You didn’t want to push your luck though. So with an unwilling jostle from your survival instincts you turned the shower off and got yourself out, not wanting to risk Ghost barging in and asking what was taking you so bloody long.

Soon enough you were finding out that being wrapped in one of Ghost’s towels was also quite pleasant. These weren’t anything like the raggedy old towels from your base, like the one sitting sadly discarded on the floor, no these were warm and soft on your skin. Where the other towel scratched this one soothed and you found yourself smiling, feeling your tail wag as you found comfort in the gentle material and lingering orange scented steam. 

Again, you couldn’t stay like that forever. So you dug through the clothes in your bag until you found an old pair of sweats and tugged those on, taking care to gently pull your tail through the specially stitched opening that had long been fraying with age, and then shrugged on a baggy t-shirt afterwards. Finally you were ready and able to go see Ghost. 

You put your towel back on the rail and neatly piled your dirty things in the corner as you weren’t sure what to do with them, then marched from the bathroom and down the hall, depositing your bag outside the doorway. It wasn’t hard to pick out Ghost’s scent even in his own house, even as you now smelled like him after using his Soap. His aroma now mingled with the smell of chicken and chips and your mouth watered as you came into the room, fixing your eyes on where Ghost now stood. He was leaning over a hot oven, pulling out half a rotisserie chicken and a tray of golden brown chips just as you’d walked through the threshold. 

“How was your shower?”

You raised your brows, still taken aback by how much he cared about your feelings and opinions on things. 

“Good, sir.”

“You don’t have to call me sir when we’re not on base,” Ghost said, throwing you a glance over his shoulder. 

You’d noticed that he’d dressed down since coming home. He’d shed his layers and changed out of his soaked clothes into a pair of jeans and black tee, wearing a black balaclava over his face instead of his skull mask. However you realised when he fully turned around with the plated food that it still had a skull painted over it. Cute. 

“Here, I’ve just heated up some leftovers for tonight. Nothing great, but try to eat up, you’ll need energy for tomorrow.”

“This is all for me?”

You frowned when he set the plate in front of you and looked up wide eyed. He was selling it like it was crap, but it was miles better than the tinned slop they served you on the base. This was fresh, this was the type of stuff you got as a treat when you were sent away on deployments. The crispy chicken skin was already tearing through the teeth of your imagination, your mouth watered at the thought of the sensation. Even knowing it was a little shrivelled from overcooking it was still going to be one of the tastiest meals you’d eaten in a while. Some small part of you wondered if it was all some kind of trick. 

“Yeah, all yours, pup. C’mon eat up, then off to bed,” Ghost urged, giving you shoulder a small squeeze. 

You shrunk from him, but successfully resisted the urge to snap. You couldn’t lash out after how nice he’d been, so you begrudgingly had to allow him the unnecessary physical contact. Putting it out your head, you instead lowered your head to your plate and gathered up your fork, ready to wildly stab at the bits of chicken and crispy chips. You could feel your tail swishing behind you, though even in present company you didn’t care. 

You happily set about finishing your food while Ghost sat across from you, intently typing and reading things on his phone. The light from the device bounced off of his eyes, the fake blue light pooling thick on top of his shrunken pupils. You only realised you’d begun to stare at him when he looked up and seemed to smile at you. 

“Don’t get distracted, finish your dinner,” he chastised. 

Your ears pinned to your head in embarrassment and you focused back on the plate, not looking back up until the plate was empty and your belly was pleasantly full. Your tail twitched happily behind you and you leaned back in your chair with it, closing your eyes so that you could bask in the pleasant heavy feeling that was starting to overcome you again. 

“Ah ah, you’re not sleeping here. C’mon, to bed,” Ghost rumbled.

You opened your eyes again and blinked up at him, glowering under the weight of your exhaustion. Whatever bed you were imagining him having for you, you couldn’t imagine it’d be that much better than the rickety wooden chair you’d planted yourself on. Of course you’d forgotten all the nice things he’d allowed you already, and your mind was imagining something like your sleeping arrangement at the base. 

And once again your expectations were blown out of the water. He gestured for you to come follow him and with a sigh and a sharp crack in your knees you rose from your chair and huffed off down the dark hallway with him. The wood creaked as you both walked across it, groaning more heavily under your new handler’s larger steps. You didn’t have to walk very far fortunately for you. 

Ghost stopped at a door that was just next to the bathroom and opened it, ushering you in front of him as he got the lightswitch. You let him lead you round and looked into the room as it flashed to life, surprised again to see how much better your circumstances had become since leaving your original base. 

“I’m sleeping in here?”

“Yeah, this is your room. You’ve got a few blankets and pillows there on the bed so you can arrange it however you like. I know some hybrids like to nest and some don’t, so its up to you how you want to keep it. All I ask is that you make sure it’s kept clean, and I will be checking.”

You barely listened to him as you stared at the bed in front of you. It was a real bed. Not a stuffed foam pillow on the floor, not a mattress bundled in the corner, not cold barren concrete, no. It was a real bed with legs and a springy mattress and a cornflower duvet cover and an assortment of pillows and blue blankets to match. 

“I’ll let you put your things away tomorrow, for now I want you to lie down for me. You need your tail brushed and I want to check over your back.”

All at once your chest collapsed and the happiness you’d felt left your body entirely, every inch of it dropping from your ears and tail. You turned around and looked at Ghost, stopping him in his tracks just as he was taking a step toward you. He paused when he looked down at the snarl you now wore. 

“You’re not touching my tail, I’ve brushed it already myself,” you rumbled.

“And you’ve done a piss poor job of it. Go lie down and let me take a quick look,” Ghost said, his tone forceful and even. 

You growled then, letting the engine in your chest roar to life. Even if he was being nice to you, this was a step too far. You didn’t like it when people touched your tail or ears, usually it meant tugging and pulling and pain. Whenever you felt someone's hands on them it’d bring bile up everytime, your body ready to process the agony it was about to experience. 

“Alright, I can see that’s an issue for you,” he sighed, placing his hands on his hips. “What if I make sure not to touch it with my hands and just run the brush through, would that be ok?”

You paused and considered his words, growls dying low in your throat. Maybe this was the lesser of two evils, you thought. After all, if he wanted to brush your tail then he more than proved he could overpower you, so perhaps this was the only way to keep him from putting his hands on it. Unless you wanted to put vicious intent behind your attacks, the kind that would get you put down like a dog, then you had no way of actually making him stop. 

“Fine,” you snapped.

“Good. Lie down then,” he commanded, disappearing into the gloom of the hallway after. 

He reemerged again just after you finally lay down. He walked in on your internal battle, one part of you wanting to squeal with joy at how soft the bed was and the other wanting to jump up and bite the hand that held the brushes and lotion bottle. The main thing that gave you pause was knowing that the other handlers you'd known would’ve beat you black and blue for growling at them and questioning their orders, meanwhile Ghost had adjusted his plans just to suit you. He proved again that he championed your comfort. 

“I’ll make this quick, I promise,” Ghost soothed.

He sat down on the bed beside you, causing it to dip and groan under the new weight. It forced you to roll toward him too. You huffed when you came into contact with his side and scrambled to correct yourself, trying to maintain some modicum of distance from him. Once you were settled again, he placed the brushes and lotion bottle down next to you and lifted the thick toothed brush bringing it to your tail. 

You scrunched your eyes shut tightly and grit your teeth. You already felt like you were going to bring up your dinner. You couldn’t help but picture him ignoring his past promises. However instead of living up to your dark imaginings, he placed one hand on the small of your back and let the other drag the brush down your tail snagging almost immediately on a big clumpy matt that you’d missed.

“See, couldn’t let that sit there and build up. You’d end up with a skin infection,” he grunted. “If you don’t want me touching there that’s fine, but you’re going to need to help take the clumps out, ok?”

You stiffly nodded your head and opened your eyes again, feeling your cheeks heat when you realised that Ghost was staring down at you. You gulped down your embarrassment and reached your hand back, digging into your tail and pulling at the clump that the brush had brought up. 

Ghost grunted his approval and let the brush run through again and again, only pausing when it would stop at a tug. It started to become rhythmic, the noise of the brush cutting through your wiry fur and the dull thud whenever it hit a snag. He never once tried to touch you without your permission. 

“How long has your tail been twisted like this,” Ghost asked, interrupting the sound of the brush. 

You tilted your head, trying to think back to a time when it didn’t curve off to the side, you hadn’t remembered it being straight in so long. 

“I think it was fully broken when I was around sixteen maybe,” you said softly. “The doctors tried to set it properly, but it just wouldn’t come back no matter what they tried. I’ve learned to balance with it like that though and it mostly works like it used to - just a little range of movement lost they said”

“How did it break?”

You shivered at the memory. Ghost must’ve felt it underneath his hold on you because he stopped his brushing for a moment and let you speak. 

“Sergeant Maddox got mad because I couldn’t complete the training he’d set that day. I was tired from being out in the kennels the night before and I didn't have the rest of the run in me. He yanked me up off the floor by the tail and it just…snapped.”

You couldn’t see Ghost’s expression properly, but you could hear his anger through the seething breath he let out. A string snapped in your body, you felt the heat coursing from him, you tensed. Though you were soon relaxing again when he got back to brushing, silently continuing on with the rest of the treatment.

The process only lasted a couple of minutes, thankfully it wasn’t as bad as you might’ve thought, soon enough the brush was sliding down your tail like it was a boat sailing through a silver river. The second brush he’d brought, the one with the finer teeth did the same in a matter of three clumps and for a second you were grateful to be able to sleep. You smiled to yourself and got ready to readjust yourself for bed, but Ghost stopped you, his hand still firmly on your lower back. 

“You said you got lashed earlier. I need to check your back first then you can sleep.”

You whined but didn’t bother to properly protest. It would do you no good anyway. He lifted your shirt and let out another seething breath, cursing to himself about something to do with ‘the staff being leagues below incompetent’ and curled up a little, willing him just to be done and to take his venom away from you. 

“These marks aren’t good. I’m going to put a little bit of cream on you to help keep them clean. It’ll sting a bit but I’m sure you’ve dealt with worse.”

You nodded, signalling for him to proceed. He carefully worked the cream into your back, withdrawing when you hissed at the pressure or when he’d covered a particularly bad area. Though in time that was done too and he was twisting the cap back onto the bottle in no time. You breathed in a sigh of relief and worked your way onto your side, turning away from Ghost and his annoying efforts to treat you well. 

He laughed at the movement and gathered his things, rising off the bed and letting you get comfortable. Before you could think to pull up the sheets and get them over you though, Ghost took care of that for you. He stretched the duvet cover over your body and gently stroked his hand down an area of your back that he knew had been missed from your punishment. 

“G’night, pup. Sleep well and just shout if you need anything.” he murmured, voice soft as he retreated from the room. 

He turned out the light and shut the door, leaving you to lie there in the darkness with your wide eyes growing wetter with every retreating step you heard. You were more awake than you’d been the whole day, your mind was racing and your lungs were labouring hard under your heavy breaths. Somehow you tried to process the fact you’d just had someone tuck you in for the first time in…maybe ever?

You let out a little sob and buried your head in the covers, eyes streaming tears before you could bully yourself into controlling them. It felt like you were a new recruit all over again. Your head raced with images from your early years, lying in the bunkroom with all those strangers around you, wondering when your parents would come back, scared shitless of the big shouty human men that seemed so quick to anger. 

You weren’t scared of a big man trying to shout at you and punish you anymore though, now you were scared of the big man that wanted to treat you softly and give you a good home. Hard punishment felt like something you could do, but nice treatment with soft blankets and consenting touches and warm bellies full of food? That terrified the fuck out of you. 

You silenced your cries with the covers and jammed your fingers into your skin, willing yourself to shut up and go to sleep. Even while the salt stung at your cheeks and your skin protested under your sharp claws, the greatest pain felt like the sheer humiliation of enjoying Ghost’s affections.

You liked that he was babying you and taking care of you!

weakling. 

You growled to yourself and threw your head into your pillow. Fuck him. You ignored all your racing thoughts and blocked them out, scrunching your eyes closed and focusing instead on the white dots that crossed your field of vision. You wouldn’t be so weak tomorrow, you promised yourself. You wouldn’t let him dote and treat you like a puppy, you would be strong, you vowed, he’d see what you were really capable of then. 

#simon ghost riley #Simon Riley #Ghost #mw2 #ghost x reader

[spidervee]

easy (like you) • jake seresin x fem!reader

↳ marbles series // part 1

summary: jake doesn’t always think before he acts and you tend to do enough thinking for the both of you. this is the story of your friendship and five years spent apart; your budding romance and broken hearts. part one -> on a rainy afternoon you run into an old friend and realize that some moments make a friendship

words: 3.1k

warnings: 18+ only; cursing; reader's nickname is jersey; no use of y/n; frat parties and football players; flirting and sexual tension; heavy making out and some touching; virgin!reader; protective!jake; childhood friends to strangers to almost lovers; thoughts and validation always appreciated; not edited because reasons; part one of eight

You start work at the campus library on a Tuesday, the sky overcast and dull with the threat of rain and the air laid heavy with humidity. It’s still July, early enough that the semester hasn’t quite appeared on the horizon and the library hosts only a few scattered patrons, mostly graduate students who arrive upon opening, settle into a secluded corner, and hunker down for six or seven hours of frenzied typing. In their hunched shoulders and the dark circles under their eyes, you catch a glimpse of a possible future self—there are a few versions of her running around in your head these days, vying for attention and the plans to make themselves your reality. 

Fewer patrons translates to fewer books in circulation and your boss grants you the kindness of reshelving, suggesting it will help you familiarize yourself with the place. You appreciate the opportunity to get lost amongst the stacks, the smell of old books curling into your nostrils as you run your fingertips along delicate leatherbound spines. In the months to follow you’ll learn that your affections are torn between the aged Romantic poetry collections on the fifth floor and the crisp new medical textbooks that live on the second. But on this particular Tuesday, your first of many, you find yourself in the company of Walt Whitman—and the myriad of scholarship surrounding him—when you hear the telltale sound of a downpour against the tin roof overhead, as if the sky has opened up and let loose all its fury. Cringing, you suddenly remember the exact location of your umbrella—hung neatly off the back of your closet door in the dorm room you share with another freshman on the entirely opposite side of campus.

If you’re lucky, the rain will stop by the time your shift is over in—you check your wrist for the time—twenty-six minutes. 

You’re not. And it isn’t. 

In the front vestibule, you briefly debate the merits of dashing through an apocalyptic storm versus camping out underneath one of the uncomfortable-looking cubbies on the Humanities floor. 

“Wanna share?”  

A voice, thick with the Texan twang you’ve not yet grown accustomed to since moving back to Austin last month, draws you from your inner turmoil. Glancing over, you wish you’d just been decisive enough to scurry back to the safety of the stacks because there’s a man standing next to you who you’re pretty sure is a movie star, with his straight white teeth and his chiseled jaw and his carelessly confident posture. 

“Better yet,” he grins at you, offering you the handle of a bright orange umbrella emblazoned with a University of Texas logo, “Why don’t you just take it?”

There’s something familiar about him but you choose not to ask, lest he think you’re flirting with him. Still, the boyish grin that tugs at the corners of his lips is one that sends you reeling into years earlier and you nearly stumble over your own feet as recognition barrels into you. 

“Jake?” 

He blinks and for a moment you think you’ve made a mistake. But then he’s tilting his head and pulling expensive-looking aviators down the bridge of his nose—why the fuck does he need them in this weather anyways—and really looking at you. 

If you weren’t sure before, you are now because, sure, you might have been only thirteen the last time you saw Jake Seresin, but there was no forgetting those sparkling green eyes and the mischief that constantly simmered just beneath their surface.

“Holy shit, Jersey? That really you?” He sounds happy, if more than a little disbelieving, when he finally speaks. Inwardly, you breathe a sigh of relief that he remembers you as well—you’re not sure you could have survived the mortification otherwise.

“Yeah,” you try for a small nonchalant grin, as if your entire world hasn’t just exploded, “Hi.”

“Hey.” Jake laughs, and the sound is deeper than you remember—well, no shit, you tell yourself, he’s a man now. “This is fucking insane,” he says, his smile deepening and as puts the umbrella into your hands. “Here. Lead the way.” 

You’re not sure what possesses you to simply do as he says—take his umbrella, open it up against the wind, and start walking. A small bit of guilt eats at you because you’re not tall enough to maintain coverage for you and Jake so he’s getting drenched as he walks quietly alongside you, the wind and rain creating too much noise for real conversation anyways. His longer legs are easily keeping pace with your own hurried strides and, with that iota of guilt subsiding, you almost laugh at the confidence Jake exudes, as though he knows he looks good soaking wet with a t-shirt clinging to a lean and muscular chest and locks of blond hair sticking to his forehead, falling into the greenest eyes you’ve ever seen. It’s comical and you wonder if you’ve fallen asleep somewhere between the 19th century romance novels and awoken in a weird parallel version of your boring reality. 

What other explanation is there for running into the boy you’d first met in the seventh grade when your mother had been transferred to Austin for work? The boy who’d laughed when you told him you’d just moved from New Jersey but you absolutely were not from there, thank you very much, and who had bestowed the city’s name upon you as a way to playfully torture you for the two years you spent living down the street from him. The boy who you’d wanted to be your first kiss, more than anything else, who’d told you he was going to be the best pilot the Navy had even seen and, no Jersey I will not join the Air Force it is not the same thing, The boy who you’d wept over when your parents announced you were moving, again, because it wasn’t fair that you had to leave behind your entire life (Jake) and all your friends (Jake) and everything you loved (Jake) all over again. 

You’ve not much time to contemplate your unexpected reunion because soon enough you’ve reached your dorm building and are diving for shelter underneath the awning in the entryway while Jake takes his umbrella back, not that he’s got much use for it now. You mumble a shame-faced thanks, which Jake quickly shrugs off, insisting that the flu he’s doubtless going to catch will be worth helping you. 

And then, the words you’ve been hoping and fearing. “I’ve missed you, Jers. It’s been too long.” Jake reaches out to brush a drop of water off your shoulder in a way that is all-too-familiar. “You should come by mine,” he suggests, “We’re having a welcome back party next weekend.” 

*** 

Standing on the porch of Jake’s frat house the following Friday, you try not to imagine yourself as fresh meat, an unwitting feast for a house full of horny pledges. 

You’d spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to choose an outfit that you’re still not entirely thrilled with, worried that the thigh-kissing hemline sends the wrong message and that the red lipstick is too bold a choice. So worried, in fact, that you’d almost tapped out and just curled up in bed, but your roommate had already invited her boyfriend over and you really, really weren’t in the mood to listen to them try to have sex quietly while you awkwardly drank tea in the shared living room and pretending not to hear the bed creaking. 

So, with no other option, you slip into the house, hoping to go unnoticed for as long as possible as you’ve only rehearsed two bits of small talk on your walk over and have absolutely zero opinion about the Longhorns other than to smile and nod. 

A drink, that’s what you need. 

Unfortunately for you, the kitchen is empty save for one very large blond man who looks like he could play linebacker—you think, at least, as you’re not sure what size linebackers are meant to be in relation to all other football players. 

He begins talking and you can’t even pretend that you don’t know his words are directed at you because you’re the only other person there and he’s asking you about your name and your major and why’re you all by yourself, cutie and how’d you find your way over to this party?

Opening the fridge allows you a moment of reprieve from the conversation, its hum a gentle comfort as you mindlessly rifle through the various beers stocked on otherwise bare shelves. 

“Uh, Jake invited me.” 

“Seresin?” He sounds disbelieving, as though Jake Seresin would never have invited you to a party like this. It makes you wonder how much he’s changed since you once knew him. He’d obviously gotten hotter—Jake had always been a cute kid, the one that adults weirdly laughed over being a future heartbreaker. But you had the sense they weren’t wrong. That day at the library, before he’d realized it was you, had he thought you were some other girl, one he’d bedded? 

Things go downhill from there and before you know it, you’ve lost all personal space mr. maybe a linebacker and can’t quite seem to work your way out from where he’s wrapped a thick arm around you.

Jake finds you like that, and, for a moment, when his eyes meet yours he looks annoyed. Then, his expression shifts in such a way that it makes you wonder what he saw etched upon your face because he scowls and puffs his chest out at the man next to you.

“Tyler, get your fucking paws off my girl.” 

The man—Tyler—who’s been monopolizing your space immediately takes a step away from you and you welcome the relief of no longer smelling the beer on his breath. He mumbles an apology to Jake, something about not knowing, and you don’t keep track of where he slinks off to, instead focusing on how intensely Jake is watching you. 

“C’mere,” Jake breathes, reaching out and tucking you into his side, the smell of his cologne instantly making you feel safer—this, a smell you don’t mind at all. In a swift motion, he pulls the Longhorns cap from his head and sets it atop yours, grinning as it falls ever so slightly over your eyes. “No one else is gonna bug you if you’re wearing that, Jersey.” 

“Thanks,” you mumble, a little embarrassed at needing to be protected—or wanting to be. 

“And don’t you leave my sight.” 

You want to protest, argue that he should have met you at the door instead of being distracted by pretty girls in short shorts and crop tops, but he’s smiling at you again in that way of his; the one that makes your heart flutter. 

*** 

Somehow, you end up in Jake’s bedroom, two beers deep and a little tipsy and still wearing his cap, though now it sits backwards over your hair. 

“Never imagined I’d see you again, sweetheart.” 

“Sweetheart,” you roll your eyes to hide the pleasure such a nickname gives you, “Does that work on all the girls ‘round here, Jake?” 

“You’d be surprised,” he shrugs nonchalantly, spreading his thighs wide as he falls into a seat on his bed, and motioning for you to come nearer. You hesitate—Jake’s grown up now, but isn’t he still the same little boy you used to skip rocks with out by the pond behind his family’s barn? Aren’t you still the same shy little girl hiding a biting tongue between worrying lips? 

“Hardly,” you counter, taking a step closer to Jake, weighing your options carefully in your mind as you do. He doesn’t seem bothered by your slowness, watches you from under thick lashes as you kick across his bedroom floor, in your socks now because you’d kicked your sneakers off at his bedroom door. 

“So, first thing’s first,” Jake chuckles, changing the topic, “Why Texas?” 

The question catches you off-guard and you have to stop yourself from opening and closing your mouth as you formulate a response. This was decidedly not one of the rehearsed topics of conversation. Since when had Jake asked deep questions? 

“I missed it here,” you reply, because it’s the only thing you can think to say and it’s an honest answer. Because you did miss Austin, and the late nights you’d spent by bonfires in Jake’s backyard and the way he’d helped you learn to ride a horse and the treks through the corn fields on that horse. 

“Don’t be shy,” Jake coaxes, “You can say that it’s ‘cause you missed me.” 

By now you’re standing between his thighs and looking down at him, at the way his arms are taut where they’re supporting his weight and the way his gaze is tilted up to drink in your features and the way his shirt is unbuttoned just a bit more than when you first saw him downstairs. 

“Jake.” Your voice is little more than a whisper and suddenly everything seems serious. Jake’s hands move to the backs of your thighs as he sits up a bit straighter, his eyes near level with your chest, though he keeps them focused on your face. 

“You’re so pretty, Jersey,” Jake breathes against the fabric of your dress, “Always been so pretty and so sweet.”  He gives your legs a little squeeze and you part them slightly so he can slip one hand between your thighs, resting it just above your knee. You’re worried at how embarrassingly warm you feel and think, for a moment, you need to step away because you should not be doing this. 

But then another voice, a louder one, asks you why shouldn’t you? You’d been hoping to have your first time before starting college and now, with the semester only a couple weeks off and Jake magically reappearing in your life—why not? 

“I had such a crush on you when we were kids,” Jake continues with a chuckle, his fingers drawing little circles on the sensitive skin between your legs. “Wanted you to be my first kiss so bad. Damn near broke my heart when you moved again.” 

No, no, no. He can’t be saying things like that. Can’t be giving utterance to the thoughts you’ve long-since buried because that’s truly not fair. Still, his words send warmth blooming through your abdomen and you feel your panties getting wet as Jake’s fingers continue their exploration. 

Gently, Jake’s other hand guides your wrist towards his crotch, leading you to press your palm flat against where his jeans are bulging. You can feel him harden further under your touch and you gulp, unsure what to do, gently rubbing your open hand up and down his zipper a few times. 

Then his lips are on yours and he’s kissing you as though he’s been starved, as though you’re the thing keeping him tethered to this world. He squeezes you between his thighs, pulling you ever closer to his body as he forefinger finds your underwear and swipes carefully across their seam and you gasp at the sensation. 

It’s all a bit overwhelming—your brain fuzzy from breathing in through gasps between kisses, your fingers trembling where they toy with the buckle of Jake’s belt, awaiting instruction, your ears ringing with the music from downstairs and the pounding of blood in your ears. 

And you can think of nothing to do so you stop, a little panicked, a little afraid, and entirely confused. Your shoulders have tensed and your hand has frozen in its spot on Jake’s lap where you simply stare at it, willing it to move. 

“You don’t seem super into this.” Jake says lightly as he pulls back, hands immediately withdrawn from your body and thumbs hitching into the pockets of his jeans. He doesn’t sound angry, just matter-of-fact. You’re knocked back into reality like you’ve just been dunked into a cold swimming pool and pull your own hands back, wringing them together. 

“I am,” you insist, “I’ve just…it’s…” 

He tilts his head to look at you, as though he’s trying to read some great cosmic truth in your sudden hesitation. Then he sighs. “You’re a virgin, aren’t you?” 

Good lord,  hearing it out loud is mortifying. You want to up and run, but Jake is there, wrapping an arm around you and shaking his head as he pulls you gently into a seat on his lap—it strikes you as ridiculous that you think it gentlemanly he’s avoiding placing you near his hard-on. 

“I can’t,” he sighs again, “Not without buying you dinner, taking you to some museum you’ll love and try to explain to me, and truly earning it. Earning you.” 

“But, I want to,” you protest, trying not cringe at how whiny you sound. 

“Really? 

You say nothing, which is more than enough of an answer for Jake and he slides you from his lap to his mattress. 

“I can’t go home,” you whisper, “At least, I don’t think I can.” Jake looks concerned and you launch into an explanation about your roommate and her boyfriend and not wanting to be rude or spoil the delicate beginnings of a friendship. 

Jake nods along, amenable to the story even though you’re certain it’s silly, then stands and moves over to the unkempt bookshelf on the other side of the room. He rummages around for a long moment before turning back to you with an open gamebox and a devilish smirk. 

“You still play Scrabble?” Jake asks, tossing a stray tile up and then deftly snatching it out of the air. 

“Still not particularly well,” you shrug, “I’m bad at exploiting the bonuses.” 

“Figured you were still a nice girl,” Jake teases and you feel your stomach twist at his words. “Let’s do this. I’ll order a pizza, you’ll kick my ass at this game, and then we’ll see where we’re at, yeah?” 

You nod, grateful for his tact, if more than a little surprised at it. Maybe Jake’s three older sisters had managed to teach him a thing or two, despite the constant bickering you remember. 

“Yeah.”

Jake smiles and sets to work putting the gameboard out. “I meant what I said last week,” he says without looking up, “I missed you, Jersey.” 

“Missed you too, Jake.”

You don’t kiss Jake again that night. In fact, you don’t kiss Jake again until two years later.

#jake seresin x you #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin blurb #jake seresin drabble #jake seresin #jake seresin fic #jake seresin series #jake hangman x you #jake hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin #hangman seresin #hangman x you #hangman x reader #hangman fanfic

[itstheghostofmypast]

🎶You Read My Mind🎶

Five x Autistic Wife

Powers: Chronokenesis + Psychokinesis

Disclaimer: I have no intention of offending anyone with this piece. I am aware that autism varies on a broad spectrum and types- however, this particular request is heavily based on the requestee's suggestions and personal habits. Please read the summary in which the request is mentioned, then proceed onwards. Thank you and I love you all

Requested by: @ffrankierrae

Request: Five x Autistic Wife where the Wife’s special interests include but are not specific to Rock Music (Specifically the Band Queen, David Bowie and Elton John), Marvel, Movies: Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, Grown Ups 1 & 2. She had the best sarcastic timing and the most sarcastic mouth and remembers small details about people. The rest of the Umbrella Academy seem to quite like her.

He was exhausted, tired, done with everything, and plain right depressed. For eleven years he had roamed around aimlessly, trying to survive the apocalypse, trying to live through another day, trying to look for a way to go back home, and suddenly one day a strange lady came to him with an opportunity he could not refuse. A part of him believed that this was the best fate could give him, while his more sane side pushed him to use this opportunity fate had given him for his advantage, being in a place where time meant nothing, yet everything had given him an idea- a way to go back home and save his family.

Unfortunately, the exchange was not easy, and his concept of equivalent exchange may have made it seem like a goal that would have been easier to obtain, the day-in and day-out murders were soon taking a toll on him. At the age of twenty-five, he had killed more than his age, he had killed without mercy- no, he was told to kill without mercy, no mercy was to be shown to any man, woman, or child, for he was only 'fixing' the cogs of the machine that had rusted up the timeline. Or so he was told, which is why, on his 25th birthday, he sat at a bus stop in Berlin, trying to wipe the blood off his hands, alone with his thoughts. It had been an entire family, his file had not mentioned why they were being disposed of, why had the Commission felt the need to murder a family of seven off the plant- seven, just like his own family.  

If it wasn't for the rain muffling out the world and the echoing sounds of the screams that had erupted in a peaceful home, because of him, just an hour ago- he probably would have killed himself too. So, he sat there, on that cold metal seat, furiously rubbing his fingers with a damp, blood-stained handkerchief, how much more of this could he take? The cold night made his warm skin burn, he had blinked out of the house and into the rain, then to the bus stop, but the split seconds he had stood under the rain had completely drenched him. His wet clothes clung onto his body as if trying to squeeze him to death, an act of vengeance on the behalf of everyone he had murdered over the years. Tossing the rag aside he sighed, leaning back in his seat, staring up at the tin roof, the rain hammering against it. He was supposed to have a backup on his mission, yet, he ended up doing it alone. Honestly, he didn't need the backup or a partner, but he wouldn't mind blaming someone else for these heinous but necessary crimes. Deciding to blink back to the motel he stood up, only to spot something or someone running towards the bus stop, squinting through the curtain of the rain, he tried to make out the cloaked figure.

"What the -"

"Oh  my god!' She gasped, hopping onto the step and then the ramp, "Oh..My God, I hate this city." She whined, trying to catch her breath, the droplets slipping from the edge of her cloak and pooling around her feet. Standing up straight she pushed off the hood, blinking at him, taking in his form, from his blood-stained clothes to his slicked-back hair, to the way his tie hung loosely around his neck- they didn't tell her he was good-looking. 

The stranger, the woman, had been staring at him dead in the eye- great, he had two options, the first being to blink away and pretend no one saw him, potentially risking his future plans or getting rid of her right now-

"I work for the Commission, so killing me won't really be a smart idea."

"What-"

"I'm Y/N, nice to meet you-"

"Get the f*** out of my head."

"You aren't creeped out-"

Her thought broke off when he disappeared with a flash of blue. She would be lying if she were to say that did not excite her, hands trembling. She slowly did a one-eighty turn, trying to see where he had gone, only to stop when she could not spot him. A small pout found itself on her face, humming to herself as she unconsciously slightly swayed side to side, thinking of what to do next-

"Why were you late?"

"hmm?" perking up at his voice, she smiled, turning to find him at the other end of the already small platform. "Who? Me?" pointing at herself she looked around, "My iPod broke. I had to get it fixed-"

"What." He blinked right in front of her, causing her to squeak and take a step back, averting her gaze, "I said my-"

"I heard what you said." He hissed, wanting to strangle her- not literally, but maybe if she was a dude he may have punched her in the face.

"Well, i- it's important to me!' she mumbled, "I use it to distract myself, the music, it calms me down, the overstimulation is necessary for me to be able to control my powers and the stimulation has to be relevant to the mood, which means if the song is sad, that affects the rate at which I can control my powers and- HEY" she yelled, reaching out to grab him but he blinked away, to the seat once more, staring at the iPod. 

"That's nice and all, really, but tell me how listening to I'm Still Standing gets you in the mood to murder people, hmmm?" he asked, staring at the tiny device, noticing the crack at the edge of the screen, "Tell me something ...Y/N, is it?" he asked, still not looking up at her.

"What." she spat back, shaking with anger.

"Are you a liability?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her properly for once, why did the Commission send him a partner because he needed one, or because she needed one?

"Excuse me?" 

The rain suddenly stopped-  no, it froze in motion. Suddenly everything was all too still, he could feel nothing around them, yet, he could feel everything. Eyes meeting hers, his breath hitched, noticing how she was floating above the ground, staring right at him- waiting to kill.

"I am no one's liability- assume that once more and you'll be dead like your siblings." her voice boomed in his head, causing him to wince, stopping the urge to cover his ears. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that would do nothing. Alright, no, she wasn't a liability, they partnered her up with him to control him- shit, this thing- woman- was his collar and he was the commission's pet. 

"Your thoughts are exhausting and confusing." 

"Then get out of my head," he called out, trying to stand up, but his body refused to move, he could blink but decided not to- he wasn't going to take any chances.

"Alright, we've both asserted dominance and shown how strong we are, now let's stop this, shall we?" he thought, deciding to communicate with her through his thoughts.

"Apologise."

"What."

"Apologise for insulting Elton John."

"I...I wasn't insulting Elton John though-" suddenly the loud splashing of the water crashing against the ground took over, causing him to cover his ears, clenching his eyes shut at the booming sound.

"Oh, sorry about that, I thought you- I mean, you know, I kinda like his music and others too, I could show you my collection-" she walked over to him, offering her hand to help him stand up as if she wasn't almost on the verge of killing him mere seconds ago.

Glaring at her hand then at her, he ignored her gesture and stood up, blinking at her, slowly handing her the iPod back- "Here" stuffing his hands in his pocket he mumbled while walking away, "Just don't come in my way or something."

She watched him walk away, mumbling to himself- already considering him a friend. "Well then, don't be an a** then " she said catching up to him. He glanced down at her, yes, he was sulking, he almost had his a** handed to him. Exhaling loudly he continued to walk in the direction of their motel, noticing how it was still raining but above them, an invisible dome-like barrier was blocking it out their heads. Glancing at her to ask her about it, he realized how she was now wearing her headphones, the barely audible muffled music mixing with the pattering rain, as the two walked silently together. He was wary of the notion of her reading his thoughts again, which is why he chose to not think of anything too important on their way back, he'd need time to control- be able to ensure she didn't become an obstacle.

🎶🎶🎶

"Why of all times must you think about how we met-" she yelled over the gunshots, sliding across the hall to hide behind a pillar, noticing how he had blinked behind the opposite pillar.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT READING MY THOUGHTS?" snapping back he tossed something to her, praying to God it didn't get shot in the way. He could've blinked there, but that would've made it easier to target both of them- this way at least one of them would be alive.

Catching the iPod she plugged in her headphones, and placed them on her head, turning up the volume. Her voice rang in Five's head, "Grab the file and leave the building."

"Of course, I'm not dumb" he mentally snapped back before blinking away. Rolling her eyes in return she took a deep breath before slowly walking away from the pillar, 

She keeps her Moët et Chandon In her pretty cabinet "Let them eat cake, " she says Just like Marie Antoinette

The music boomed in her ears as she stood straight, staring directly at the men who were aiming at her, fingers itching to press the triggers. Exhaling through her mouth, she focused on the words of the song, rather than the threat pouring out from the general before her;

A built-in remedy For Khrushchev and Kennedy At anytime an invitation You can't decline

With a wave of his hand, they fired, and a herd of bullets rampaged towards her as she stared at them, still and patiently. The air around them slowed down, everything around them included; much like the night, she had met Five. Once more, everything was frozen still, the bullets lined up in front of her, only a few inches away from piercing through her.

Caviar and cigarettes Well-versed in etiquette Extraordinarily nice

She stared at them, squinting at the serial numbers, then looked passed the small metal pills to the men in uniform, frozen in place- as if a movie on pause-

"For the love of God, hurry up!" his voice rang in her head- interrupting her song as she huffed.

She's a Killer Queen Gunpowder, gelatine Dynamite with a laser beam Guaranteed to blow your mind Anytime

With a snap of her fingers, several shots screamed across the building, followed by the wails of those who were now punctured through- all of them, dead. A river of blood flowed below her feet, as she was hovering above the ground, trying to find an exit.

"I'll tell you where the exit is if you change the song."

"Killer Queen is a great song."

"I never said it wasn't- but I did say STAY OUT MY HEAD!"

"Oh come on Five, I know you love to listen to the song I'm listening to when I'm on the job."

"And this is why no one at the commission likes you."

"Right back at you," she called out, slamming the door open, setting foot into the humid summer night. He stood there, leaning against the car door, arms crossed, file in hand, frowning at her in all his glory. Rolling his eyes he stood up straight, and opened the car door for her, "Get in." With a chirp, she zoomed past him and got in the car with a, 'thank you~'.

🎶🎶🎶

There's no time for us There's no place for us What is this thing that builds our dreams, yet slips away from us

The two weren't the best of friends, but Five had come to realise, earlier on- around their second mission together- that she was not at all a liability. In fact, she was better at handling herself than him- unfortunately, the same couldn't have been said about her ability to keep hold of things- especially her iPod or her headphones. Around their third mission, she had landed on her butt and ended up smashing her headphones into bits, let's just say, everyone in the vicinity ended up exploding. Afterwhich, Five had to get her a new pair so she could calm down- that and because her new fixation on bees had creeped him out very much.

"Please, stop, I don't even like honey!"

"What? That's so rude, it takes approximately 550 bees 2-3 weeks to produce one pound or 454 grams of honey and around-"

" 2-3 days for a strong colony of bees to fill 10-frame honey super with honey during a strong nectar flow, yes, we've established that, thank you very much."

Who wants to live forever? Who wants to live forever Oh ooo oh There's no chance for us It's all decided for us This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us

He had adapted to the hyper-fixations, wasn't even a problem, but the only thing he wasn't able to adapt to was her snarky responses- some quick-witted rude ass-

"Five, do you want to pick the movie tonight?"

"Hmmm?' he glanced at her, no longer thinking about whatever the hell he was, hands still gripping the steering wheel. "What was that?"

"You seem to have been on edge all day, do you wanna pick a movie tonight?"

Ah, yes, movie night. Another trait Five had to give in to, or rather a habit, after every mission, the same night, she would watch a movie- often the same set of three or four movies. Last month it had been Alice in Wonderland, a month before that it was something else- it wasn't that she'd watch the same movie every night, sometimes, she'd watch it in parts, ensuring that the point she left the movie at acts as a cliffhanger. Or sometimes, she'd watch the same movie in different languages- yes, he realized how even though he had to spend thirteen years of his life and more to learn various languages, this punk had been learning languages through her favorite movies- Reginald would have died at this method.

Who wants to live forever Who wants to live forever Ooh Who dares to love forever Oh oo woh, when love must die

"What if I say, no movie." he perked up, choosing not to look at her. What was she going to do- yes, he had been testing the waters for a while now. The problem was not with her, but with him. He had known her for almost four years, and in these four years, he had not thought of going back or working on going back, in fear of her reading his mind. Sure, by now he could tell when she was in his head, he couldn't initially, in fact, not a lot of people could- according to her, he was the first one to do so.

"What do you mean get out?" she asked, looking around their surroundings, they were in the car and he was still driving, so where did he want her to go? 

They had just come back from a mission, sure they were in a compromising position, it was either him or her and when she told him to blink out he did. She wasn't disappointed by that, they had hardly known each other for a year, but she was a wee bit sad. Dying because of a lack of energy to fuel her powers was a bit humiliating- the only Commission agent with the power to alter time, she was useless in her own time of need. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes, listening to the ticking of the bomb that lay beneath her chair- well their chairs. Five had already blinked out, she had told him to once she heard his thoughts, he had enough energy to only blink once, which is why she had urged him to leave,

"What-"

"Five, save yourself- I would rather it be me than you."

She had expected him to argue, but he just nodded before blinking away, leaving her alone in the arms of a death that she had welcomed herself. Or so she thought, for when she was busy counting down her seconds, she heard him, 

"I'll kill ya if ya read my thoughts again."

With that, he had blinked them out mere seconds before the place set up in flames. So yes, now that all was good, she was unsure of why he had suddenly asked her to get out.

"Not, the car. My head. Get out of my head."

"B-but I'm not-"

"BULLSHIT!" he slammed the brakes, causing her to jerk forward, the only thing saving her from flying out of the windshield was the seatbelt (wear them seatbelts, kids).  He turned to glare at her as if he was ready to kill her, "You think I can't sense you? Think I don't know you're looking through my thoughts like a f***ing archives closet?"

"Y-you can sense it?"

"Of course, I can! You're easy to sense! When you're here" he pressed his index finger beside his temple, "I feel like slamming my head in a wall because it just adds to the rampage of thoughts already swirling in my head- and I can hear you repeat to yourself, over and over again because you read the shit out loud- and MY GOD IF YOU EVER THINK OF THE SECRET LIFE OF ARABIA EVER AGAIN WHILE YOU'RE IN MY HEAD-"

"It's a good song though-"

"I AM AWARE BUT I DON'T NEED IT SPIRALING AROUND MY HEAD WHEN I'M TRYING TO SLEEP AT NIGHT."

"Understood." she cleared her throat, staring ahead, "Only during missions."

"Good."

She had stayed true to her word, but that didn't mean he trusted her with his life. More importantly, he was sure she could do it any other time he wasn't attentive enough to keep his guard up. That was another issue he had been meaning to resolve. For almost four years he had been extra alert around her, extra attentive, extra guarded, testing her limits. He wanted to prove to himself that there was more to her than genuinity. A while ago, something had dawned upon him, something so vile and distasteful that the thought of it almost made him puke, he had begun to enjoy her company. Hence, he wanted to know if it was even worth taking a tip in this river-

"Then I'd say okay."

"What?"

"I'd say okay, I'll watch one myself, Boomer."

"Okay, that's it, we're watching Le Corbeau"

"BUT THAT SO BORING - and it's in black and white, Five!"

"Hey, you shouldn't have offered it, if you couldn't handle it."

"Fine."

But touch my tears with your lips Touch my world with your fingertips And we can have forever And we can love forever Forever is our today

What Five did not expect was that night, she would end up sleeping on his shoulder, sure the movie was boring her to death- halfway through he thought that she'd get up and leave. But never in a million years had he thought they'd end up like this, because now as the credits rolled by on the screen, he sat there, back pressed against the couch, stiff as ever, her head resting against his shoulder. He could feel her body heat, the scent of the shampoo that was still present in her freshly washed hair was intoxicating. At first, he had thought of moving her, waking her up in the process, but for once he felt comforted by the presence of someone next to him. He realized how soft her features were, how peaceful she looked when she was asleep- possibly because she was too busy being herself when she was awake- if anyone could see her right now, they wouldn't be able to tell how she could kill a hundred men under a minute. 

Who wants to live forever Who wants to live forever

Chuckling to himself he brushed the hair off her face, before resting his cheek on the top of her head, staring at the credits, wondering if one day he'd be able to open up to her, without the fear of being pushed away. He knew this feeling wasn't on the surface level, no, he had realised how being able to stand her, had enabled him to accept her more and more each day. He could see past her hyper-fixations, the obsession with Elton John, and that smart mouth of hers- no, that's not all she was, she was a person that could see through him without reading his mind at this point. Someone who could notice the tiniest details about him, he didn't know what it was or how she did it, but she'd know. Like tonight, asking him to choose the movie, knowing there was a lot on his mind. How did she know that? He wasn't even thinking about his family tonight, no, he was thinking about how to save her- and he knows she read his thoughts, he knows she knew he could blink only once and she chose to save him, told him to leave her behind.

Forever is our today Who waits forever anyway?

Groaning, she reached up to the side of his face, resting a warm hand on his cheek, receiving the instant reaction of him jerking away- only for her to hold him still. 

"Stop thinking so much."

"Were you reading my mind-"

"No, you bounce your like just a wee bit when you're thinking in overdrive."

At that statement he gently gripped her wrist, pulling her hand off his face as he turned a bit to peer down at her, only for their eyes to meet. Staring at each other for a good minute, he could feel his body leaning into her, faces inches away, his body on auto as his mind completely blanked out, only to pause as he felt an invisible force hold him still.

shit.

"I-" he muttered only to stop when she pressed her finger on his lips, staring at him with a gentle expression. Her words rang in his head, "I don't want to start something if it's temporary." 

He frowned at her statement, "Y/N, everything is temporary."

"Then why start?" she asked out loud, sighing as she got up, pulling away and staring around the room, arms crossed over her chest, "It's best not to right..." mumbling she began to walk away, deciding to head to bed first.

"Wait-Who wants to live forever?" He ran after her, gripping her by the arm, making sure it's not too rough, "Please, I- I just need someone to trust...for once."

Sighing she looked up at him, placing her hand on his, "Do you know how depressing that song is-"

"But it's true...and I...Every time you play that damn song I can only think of us" he whispered, averting his gaze- tired. That's what he was, he had been chasing something all his life, at one point it was to learn how to time travel, then it was to survive, then it was to look for a way back home so yes if his lonely, tired, useless presence needed some form of love, Delores too would think he deserved it. 

"But...I'm-"

"Hasn't been an issue, we established you aren't a liability- I mean you practically almost killed me the next minute." He snapped, causing her to chuckle, "No dummy, I thought your tone-deaf hearing was busy insulting Elton John."

"Ah yes, she's powerful yet clueless-"

"Don't rub it in."

"Understood" with that he swirled her around, grabbing her face, holding her in place, and crashing his lips on hers, making sure to leave her mind blank for once- leaving her wanting more. Pulling away with a giant smirk slapped across his face he winked at her, earning a surpised expression from her, satisfying his ego. 

"Didn't expect that, did ya?"

🎶🎶🎶

Starting on a new footing wasn't as easy as they thought it would be. Although they worked great as a team, both would become overprotective- a bit too much. Where she would try to create force fields around him to protect him, he'd end up blinking her out of places without asking her.

"Enough"

"Me? You're the one covering me with an invisible blanket."

"I will not argue with a thirty-year-old man."

"So mature of you-" he blinked away before the cupboard that she threw at him could hit him.

Nonetheless, for a while now, she had been listening to one song on repeat, before she'd get into a fight, during her fight, after the fight- she'd only stop when she'd feel his hand on hers, trying to get her attention.

Can anybody find me, somebody, to love?

He wouldn't pull her earpiece out, or tap her shoulder aggressively as people at the commission did. Speaking of the commission, many noticed how the two had developed a bond, but none dared to ask the depths of which this bond lay. Too afraid to piss off either one of them. 

Ooh, each morning I get up I die a little

Can barely stand on my feet

(Take a look at yourself) Take a look in the mirror and cry (and cry)

It was around the age of thirty-one that Five had asked the Handler to permit him to work at the commission office for a while, claiming that the recent stress of the battle was taking a toll on his performance. Though that was never why he asked that, no, recently, he had noticed that the love of his life had slipped into some form of turmoil.

Lord, what you're doing to me? (Yeah, yeah)

I have spent all my years in believing you

But I just can't get no relief, Lord

Somebody (somebody), ooh, somebody (somebody)

Can anybody find me somebody to love?

He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew something was wrong when he had walked into their shared motel room one night to find her staring at the broken music device. Approaching her like a cautious cat, he placed the take-out food on the coffee table and walked over to her. Sitting beside her on the floor as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey..." He whispered, pushing away the stray hair covering her face, "What's wrong, darlin?" 

I work hard (he works hard) every day of my life I work 'til I ache my bones At the end (at the end of the day) I take home my hard earned pay (goes home) All on my own (goes home on his own)

Shaking her head she stood up, picking up the broken device and tossing it in the bin. Brows knitted in confusion, he felt something bubble up inside him, only for him to swallow back his pride and ask her again, "What's wrong-"

"I think I'm in love with you."

"What."

"I said-"

"I heard you." He blinked right in front of her, preventing her from walking away any further, "Then why are you upset at that-"

"Because I realized you said everything is temporary since you plan on leaving."

"How did you - did you read my mind-"

I get down (down) on my knees (knees) And I start to pray (praise the Lord) 'Til the tears run down from my eyes Lord, somebody (somebody), ooh, somebody (Please) can anybody find me somebody to love?

Scoffing she shoved past him, "We've been together for years now Five, YEARS. And you think I'd need to read your mind to know what the F*** is going on in that big head of yours!" she yelled at him, grabbing the nearest object and throwing it at him. Unfortunately, the book she threw at him missed its target when he blinked to the other end of the room, glaring at her, unsure of how to respond to the situation.

"Well!?" she called out, reaching for something else as he stood ready to blink again, "But you can't tell what I'm thinking of, can you?" At that very statement, he paused and chose to let what she said sink in, only to groan when the second book smacked him square in the face. The loud smack had him tripping as she gasped, running to him, grabbing his face to inspect the damage, frowning at the blood dripping down his nose, "Why didn't you move!?" she hissed, grabbing his hand and leading him to the washroom.

Got no feel, I got no rhythm I just keep losing my beat (you just keep losing and losing) I'm OK, I'm alright (he's alright, he's alright) I ain't gonna face no defeat (yeah, yeah)

"Do you really think...I don't love you?" he asked, pressing a bloody cloth against his nose, trying to ignore the pain. Sighing, she gently tipped his head back, taking the dirty cloth out of his hand, observing the damage, "I know you think it's temporary." Letting out a breath of relief when she noticed the blood had stopped gushing out, cautiously pressing a chaste peck on his forehead as some kind of apology. "I...didn't think it would hit you."

I just gotta get out of this prison cell One day (someday) I'm gonna be free, Lord

"I didn't think you assumed I didn't love you." he whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer, burying his face in her shirt, mumbling, "But then again, when do we ever talk about our feelings?" She could hear his voice crack, even if it was muffled, even if it was the slightest crack, she knew he was no longer lying or hiding how he felt about her.

Find me, find me, find me somebody to love Anybody, anywhere (find me)

"Then why don't we?" she asked, running her fingers through his hair, massaging his head, "Why- can we take a break from the commission, would that cause you any problems? With going back and all-"

"I don't know." he sighed, peering up at her, "But I- I didn't want ti take you because it's...a suicide mission."

"I'd go to the ends of the earth for you, silly." she smiled down at him, "And pull you out when it gets too dangerous because remember, no one is more important than you-"

"Ya really have a way of ruining the moment, don't ya?"

"I suggest you start your plan by making us official-"

"I will...but I won't propose to you with a broken nose on the toilet."

"PROPOSE?"

Anybody, find me somebody to love, love, love, love, love (somebody to love) Find me, find me, find me love

🎶🎶🎶

That was how the two spent their years to come, at least till they were well in their fifties, staring at the portal. They had spent several years working on a way back to the past, working out all the little kinks while keeping up with the commission's shit- honestly, he had to get her a new iPod after she broke the first one- when she broke his nose too. He didn't mind it, but she had become so possessive of the device that when a colleague once asked if they could see it, she had practically hissed at the poor soul.

"You ready?" 

"Ready for you to shave your hideous mustache? Yes."

"I said I'll only do that if it actually works."

With that the two had jumped into the portal and landed on the ground with a loud thud, well, he had landed on the ground and she had landed on top of him. Getting off him she stared at him, who was staring back at her-

"Shit"/ "You look like a spoiled brat."

Hence, when she was seated in the kitchen, facing the siblings, she was still staring at Five. She wouldn't like it, turning thirteen again meant she had little to no control over her powers, once more, the most she could do till the age of fifteen was read minds. She remembers doing that as a child to calm herself down, but she knew readings his mind now would be like running into a truck.

"Don't read their minds." He hissed, slapping the sandwich in front of her, glaring at her, "Not mine either, punk-"

"Please, go put on some shorts your size shorty-"

"Shorty I- you know what" he took a deep breath and turned to his siblings, "What's the date? The exact date?"

"The 24th." 

"Of what?" He hissed, turning to glare at his wife who snorted at the short answer.

"March," Vanya replied, looking at Allison who shrugged at the weird kids in front of them.

"Oh- I'm married to him by the way." She pointed at Five while staring at Allison, "And don't call him an a** again, even if it is in your head."

"Excuse me?" she gasped, extremely offended, looking at Five who raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged, "You heard the Mrs."

"It's been 17 years." number one, ignored what his brother had said, hoping he wouldn't argue back.

"It's been a lot longer than that."

"Where'd you go?"

"The future. It's shit, by the way." he paused before glancing at Y/N who was quietly eating, he had never thought that she'd make a cute teenager, "Most of it is."

"Thank you, I made a cute adult too."

"Shut up." he exhaled through his nose, glaring at her and then at Luther's new question.

"It's been a lot longer than that."

"Where'd you go?"

"The future. It's shit, by the way." he paused before glancing at Y/N who was quietly eating, while her other hand pressed the ice on her burning skin, "Most of it is."

"How long were you there?"

"Forty-five years. Give or take."

"So what are you saying? That you're 58?"

"No, our consciousness is 58." he sighed, irritated by how long this was taking, "apparently, our bodies are now 13 again.

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense" Diego snapped at the two, only for Y/N to chuckle, "It would if you were smarter."

"Amen to that." Five said before grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet, ignoring how Diego had gotten up to fight.

"Are we going to ignore how two children are married?" Klaus pitched in, earning a smile from the girl, "You look like someone who likes Elton John." She proclaimed.

"I very much do, Ma'am" Klaus chuckled, playing with the strings of his -Allison's- skirt.

"Good to know you aren't as tone deaf as your brother." she said watching Five walks out of the kitchen without her, being the busy bee he usually was. She knew he had waited more than half of his life to come to this very moment, to fix it, so of course, for once, she was to catch up with him, she didn't mind that though.

"ARE YA COMIN' OR WHAT?" he called out, the sound of his thumping footsteps echoing around the mansion, she'd have to catch up with him, but she knew he'd wait for her too.

"Wait-" Vanya looked at Y/N who stopped with an inquisitive look, "Yes?"

"Why- I mean, we just-"

"Oh, we're here because of this secret mission I don't think I'm supposed to tell you of."

"You sound delusional." Diego snorted, looking everywhere but at the kid.

"Your thoughts sound delusional- but then again so do Five's," she said as she walked out of the kitchen, "Must be a family trait. Lucky me."

The remaining siblings exchanged a look, knowing damn well that the presence of the two was not just a coincidence, in fact, it was probably something much more serious. Little did they know, they'd have to save the world from ending twice- and letting it end for the third time. Though one thing was clear, throughout the entire horrid turn of events, they learned one thing, Mrs.Hargreaves would die and kill for her snappy, grumpy, old, drunk mess of a husband"

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

A/N: Please forgive the poor formatting, I'm about to diE. But, I hope you like it @ffrankierrae - really tried to keep it close to the request as much as possible.

TUA Taglist: @imaginesfire  , 

@placidpluto  , 

@achingwoundforaheart

 ,  @esmaada  ,

 @samyourneighbor

 , @xuenihao  

 @whoreofscience  , 

@navs-bhat ,

 @yuuki4646  , 

@simpformoonkight  ,

 @crowleysqueenofhell  ,

@anapotatowriter  

@sibsteria  ,

 @ryugujitr  , 

@imherefortea  ,

@jeeminyo ,

@ryshio

@winchestertitties

thank you, you lovely people for choosing to be part of my taglist ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧₊˚)

#fluff #angst #five x reader #ben hargreeves #diego hargreeves #five hargreaves x reader #five hargreeves #five x y/n #klaus hargreeves #tua x reader #vanya #tuas3 #luther hargreeves #sloane hargreeves #allison hargreeves #victor hargreeves #five x you #fluff and angst #fluff and feels #fluff and comfor #autistic reader #requested #powers

[everything-fine-n-peachy]

Popcorn on the Roof (Mark au)

Popcorn on the roof  - the sound of rain, particularly when it’s heavy on a tin roof.

The Post Grad Series  Warning: Low Pressure Area 

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Pairing: Mark x oc Genre: fluffy angst Warnings: none  Word count: 1.5k  Song: Obvious Bicycle by Vampire Weekend TLDR: Mark grapples with an existential crisis On days like this when the sky was clear and the breeze was just right, one should seize the moment and enjoy it while it lasts. But on days like this, Mark still liked to pack an umbrella. You can never really be too complacent, he thought. 

“Mark, you’re zoning out again.” Mackenzie poked at his cheek when he got that glassy look for the second time on their date if you could even call it a date. 

They sat on a bench just outside the city on a particularly slow weekend. The local fair would be in full swing, drawing crowds to the pier and away from their little park at least for a few more hours. 

Mark scratched the back of his neck and gave her a sheepish smile, “Sorry. Gosh, you don’t deserve to be on such a boring date.” 

“Don’t be a sad boy Mark, it doesn’t suit you.” 

It was incredible to him that Mackenzie even allowed him to take her out after last week. Not after he told her about a particularly attractive offer of a music production master class with a paid internship abroad that would begin in the next month.

“We don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to, but all I’m saying is you shouldn’t have to pretend like you’re fine when you’re not. Don’t even do it because we’re on a date.” 

“I don’t even have anything planned,” he sulked.

“We can just be here, we don’t need something elaborate.” 

“I don’t deserve you,” he said with a sigh  Mackenzie clicked her lips at his statement. “Again, we don’t like sad boys here.” 

Mark couldn’t help but giggle, the first time for that day. He was fully aware that he and Mackenzie weren’t exactly about to go steady but was it such a crime to want to be here long enough until they actually were? To want something just for the sake of his own joy for once? 

All his life Mark knew exactly who he needed to be. A good son to his parents, a responsible friend, a helpful classmate, a diligent student, and a role model that everyone could lean on. 

This is who I am, he’d tell himself. It felt good to meet people’s expectations. 

But who he wanted to be was a question that he often opted to push aside. It interfered with the character he was already so good at playing. There were days when he couldn’t even differentiate between who he actually was and who everyone else wanted him to be. It was best to just survive now and think later. 

On some days, he felt like he needed to dip his flesh and bones in molten gold just to deserve that spot on everyone’s pedestal. Even amongst friends the need to seamlessly be funny without being too careless, be cool without breaking too many rules, and be a good little church boy without sounding too naïve, all of that was suffocating. 

Surprisingly even music, which Mark loved dearly, become a prison for him. Everybody had an opinion on what he should achieve by a certain age or where he should send demos next. Suddenly just the music wasn’t enough. 

So he found himself back where he began, in his bedroom with a guitar. But If anyone had asked Mark Lee how his life had been in the past three months, he’d for sure answer that it was the happiest he’d been in a long time. Really, there was only one reason for that. 

To Mackenzie, Mark was only Mark. And for the life of him, he couldn’t remember a time when he could just be exactly that; himself. 

There was no need to act or to contort himself into painful angles just to please anyone. He could be goofy and she’d laugh. He could go on for hours about his crazy theories about life and she’d listen. He could be completely silent and she’d sit there with him just like they were now. 

“You know, I’m so glad I didn’t become a priest?” 

“Because then if you were, you’d actually be bitchless forever?” 

The breeze carried Mark’s laughter all the way to the next street, the sound bouncing around as if looking for the right place to perch. It was otherworldly in the sense that Mark couldn’t be further from jovial at this point.

“You know what? We’re all a mess so don’t pretend you’re not. If you’re confused, then be confused.” She turned to face him making sure to emphasize her next point. 

“I’ve been ghosted and led on in this lifetime, but what I shall never be is pitied. So don’t stay if you’re going to say it’s because of…” Mackenzie trailed off, “you know, for whatever this is.” 

He looked at Mackenzie and he could almost feel the moisture in his eyes turn into tears. Mark smiled fondly and grabbed her hand, opting to stare up at the sky. 

“I’ve always done right by everybody. I guess I just feel like… like I don’t know what I want anymore.” 

Mackenzie instinctively squeezed back whenever she felt Mark fiddling with her hand. Despite the straight face, her chest was heavy, and her throat felt dry. What else was there to say? 

“You love music. If this is a one time chance, wouldn’t you regret not taking it?” She asked. 

“I-” 

Just as Mark was about to respond, the rain started falling in large droplets. They fell heavily on the stone path and soon enough it was a full-on shower. Mark could hardly believe his shitty luck. Like wherever he was, the clouds seemed to follow him anyway, even with the clearest skies. 

“Jesus, it can’t get any worse than this,” he mumbled, grabbing the umbrella from his backpack. He pulled Mackenzie closer to him, making sure to shield her from the cold. When they finally reached the shelter, they were both exhausted and dripping despite the umbrella. 

“Isn’t it appropriate,” Mackenzie snorted. 

Mark was bewildered, only able to muster a frown. 

“Doesn’t this give you Deja vu? When you first asked me out three months ago, we were also running through the rain, now we’re… here.” 

His feet moved on their own. One in front of the other until he could envelop Mackenzie in the tightest embrace. He didn’t have enough words to explain how much he wanted to stay. He wasn’t even sure of what he wanted to say. So they end up huddled together at the bus stop, the sound of rain filling the silence. 

When the bus arrived 10 minutes later, they wordlessly collapsed on their seats, relieved to be away from the cold. Mark’s gaze stayed trained on the window, the rain relentless. Mackenzie’s head rests on Mark’s shoulder. He assumed she’d be asleep after such an ordeal. 

Did he regret stalling before finally telling Mackenzie about the news? He wasn’t sure. But it wasn’t like he’d have the guts to. Not when he was having the best time of his life; seeing the same city but with a fresh set of eyes.

Mark smiled to himself recalling fond memories of late nights on the couch with his guitar while Mackenzie peacefully dozed off, long walks to cafes he’d never heard of before, tissues and revelations when they both managed to get a little too drunk, even that very first morning he mistakenly ended up in front of Mackenzie’s apartment. For someone supposedly lost then, it was ironic to feel like he was finally home. 

He snuggled closer to Mackenzie, putting a kiss on the top of her head. Was it too much of a stretch to say that it wasn’t about wanting to leave but more about not physically being able to will himself to do so anymore? 

What do I want to be? 

At first, Mark wanted to be successful in a field he loved. He’d given his heart and soul to get where he was, but even then something was missing. It wasn’t like he wasn’t passionate anymore. He would be lying if he said that the chance to work with artists equally as dedicated as he was didn’t allure him at all, of course, he still wanted that. 

But Mark also wanted to be happy. 

As he looked down at Mackenzie tucked under his arm, blissfully unaware of the storm he was cooking up in his head, he realized that right there was the joy he’d been looking for. Right in his arms. As it turned out, joy wasn’t something searched for outside of himself. Rather, something elicited from the inner depths of the soul by a force strong enough to make you realize, you were always enough, to begin with. 

Mark couldn't fathom how to part from all of these new things dear to his heart. So he held on tighter, at least, for the rest of the ride home. 

#nct scenarios #mark lee scenarios #nct dream fluff #mark x oc #mark lee #nct dream imagines #nct imagines #mark lee imagines #nct fanfic #mark imagines #mark lee fanfic #nct soft hours #writer mark lee #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 fluff #strangers to lovers #please stream CHILD #MOLO celebration #mark lee nct fic #mark lee angst #nct angst #nct dream angst #nct 127 angst

[fantasticfiaskos]

31 so-called hours: 

0: wedding toasts, dance battles, shirtless serenades, I’m clearly not ready to trip. Star-crossed.  A sister. I remember nothing. 

1: handshakes and hugs, rosé and rooftops, smiles and sunglasses.  

2: discovering the secret life of snails, aliens and all the laughter souls share over inconsequence

3: the first and only real goodbye because every other one since has only been “until next time”. She exits to the sound of book clubs and scheduling and loose promises 

4: she sleeps. I wait. 

5: more sleeping 

6: butterflies; the nervous ones, the guilty ones. the guilty ones because they are actually nervous ones for something that is so off limits. And then there she is. Sleepy eyed, and bright. A strawberry sun on a grey afternoon. 

7: misty, mossy, casually serious. Gravel, grass, cobblestones and brooks. The music of water. The overcast skies keep their secret of rain, for now. Asian architecture melds with nature’s kiss. Is that ginseng? 

8: Devin. Hes not the kindest guy and he has poor diner etiquette. Definitely not the guy to sit on the same side of a booth as you. 

9: a family of bananatrees. It’s complicated. It hurts sometimes. It’s home. 

10: quiet corners, benches and bamboo. Conversation flows quicker than streams or thought. The heavens start to whisper their secrets. Are humans good? Why do we hurt ourselves? Why don’t we love more? The world tests her. It all feels so far away. But not her, she’s here. She sees me. My soul stirs. I see her. It spills from my tongue unconcerned with the head and my lips catch the words just before the air carries them off. I edit. It’s off-limits after all. “I think that’s what I like so much about you” I say a bit sheepishly amidst the realization of what was on its way. Words disappear as quickly as they came. Eyes lost not in eyes but their beyond. I feel she feels it too. She isn’t sure what it is. She isn’t thinking about it. Laughter swallows us and we are back in the garden. 

11: closing time was an hour ago. My shoes are untied. Weird. We are kicked out. She doesn’t love skiing. 

12: Thai food. Firelight. Blankets and a booth. She orders a salad. She won’t let me pay. We talk books and she gets an idea.

13: 20 questions!! 

14: I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this way. She is present. Radiant. Effervescently curious. Where did she come from? She asks, “What scares me? What does winning mean to me?” I tell her… it all feels similar to naked but also just as honest. I have no interest in editing for her. It’s important that she knows the full truth somehow. Every answer. Her point of view is beautiful. 

15: a bar, a very cheery bartender. Radlers and rain on tin roofs. She is poetry in motion. Effortlessly butterflying between the social nuances of connecting one on one, charming the bartender and taking in a public space. I feel so lucky that she chose me to connect with. I wonder if she is like this with everyone. I doubt it. I wonder if Devin knows how lucky he is. Somehow I doubt it… she runs out of questions. But has 2 to go to 20. We laugh it off as something to take up next time. We hug. She has friends and work awaiting her. I’m changed, maybe forever. 

16: BEST. DAY. EVER. I sleep. I can’t. I write. I wonder… 

17: gardens again. Mountaintop ones. Gift shops and grottos. We ride the elevator up. It’s interview time. My turn. She likes Tim Burton. She wears white hoodies and textured magenta tights. I love colors. Could she be more stunning in her frump? She’s into soccer. I bet she’d beat me. Water splashes against the windows as we meditate out across to Washington. Silence and curiosity. The sun sets, it’s no Amazonian, rain forested dawn but it’ll do she says with a twinkle.

18: we walk amongst the flowers. The religious undertones can’t hide the divinity here. She’s different. Heavier. Something weighs on her. She’s still there, just buried under some worry. I have to dig a bit. We walk the labyrinth. It’s a twisting metaphor for life. We pass each other 15 times as we bob and weave and joke about sour patch kids and the Beatles. She reminds me of a babe. I remind myself to stop taking girls here when they are soul-searching. We reach the center. I turn. I wait. I love her music taste. I watch as she comes to me. I think of kissing her. I take that thought, bubble wrap it up, return it to sender and meet her approach with a smile instead. 

19: we sit on a bench. We watch the grass grow misty in the afternoon haze. Today is not about me I realize. Two souls not ready to look at each other but oh so content to be near each other. She’s grieving. It’s for a life she hasn’t lived. It’s unfair she says, the loss of yet another dream. She knows it’s over in her heart. Back to the drawing board. She hates starting over. She must. She knows. I watch. I want to hold her. Comfort her, but know it’s not my place. Her soul is a museum today, look but don’t touch. We are kicked out again. We have a habit of disagreeing with the passage of time. 

20: she’s a vegetarian. She knows a spot. I get the veggie burger after stopping for a bottle of wine on the way. Her favorite is sauv blanc. It’s “Just in case” I tell myself knowing all the same that this is the end for today… craft Cocktails and neither of us finish our food. We say it’s because we’re full. It feels like we are winding down. I check my feet and they’re crossed. I’m tripping. She’s leaving in a week. Driving back with her parents. We make loose plans to meet up before she goes.

20: We don’t. 

21: Weeks pass. Months float by. Plans for a Norwegian reunion waylaid by the fiercest foe in the year of 2022. COVID lays my eager heart to rest, even while it dozes unaware on a lazy afternoon of a year of my life. Years drift on. Unremarkable, dormant really. 

22: Lightning on a summer’s day. 

“I MISS YOU 

I MISS YOU

I MISS YOU”

Lights up my digital display. Out of left field like Haley’s comet making her triumphant return, she flirts with my atmosphere. We agree that it’s been too long and we owe our hearts the pleasure of each other’s company. 

23: There she is! Has it really been 2 years? It feels like weeks and decades simultaneously. We test the room. Looking and not looking at each other. Is that thing between us still there? It is. A knowingness filters our mood. We walk. We talk. She’s smaller than I remember, frailer perhaps. She talks of her failing body. Health eludes her. She feels empty. A cup already drank that is still being sipped from in absent-minded thirst. She’s too kind to repackage herself for those nearest her. But that essence is still there. This time it’s more on the surface. It’s the depth she cannot find. Old laughter finds new homes in quick lines and quicker looks. Her sun kisses look just as I remember. Radiant. I’m sad for her. I want her to feel full. She says she has trouble eating. She talks of choosing and choice. Why not me she asks more of the universe than anyone at our bartop for two. 

24: I tell her of my mother. The slow heartbreak of losing something you always thought you’d have. The slower deeper heartbreak of realizing it may have never been there in the first place. She seems to understand more than the words. Unbridled honesty again flows from me. Why is it so important that she know? I’m always open, but not like this. I wonder if she’s a wizard. The thought makes me giggle out loud. She likes corn. She drinks pink prickled pear. How does she see through me?! I feel like I couldn’t hide if I tried. I don’t want to. I tell her that my memory of my mother fades nearly as quickly as my mother does. “Who was she actually?” she asks. “I’m trying to figure it out”, I answer. She cares. I can tell. She’ll be brilliant at this kid thing I find myself thinking. 

25: she talks of Daniel. I speak of Mari. Both disappointments in life. Both not where we wanted to be. We grab beers and she listens. I tell her of my heartbreak, of how it shaped me. I can tell heartbreak has shaped her too. She gets it. But unlike me, there is still love there. Daniel still holds a promise. She does not share my luxury of unencumberedness. Time warps around this beer and this moment. Seeing each other across a galaxy, a life, a beer, a small picnic table. Unclear if it was our connection, the weed or the spiked, spicy, dirty hot chocolate weaving it’s spell, but whatever it was, this felt real. More than most moments. All of a sudden the boys come. They grab beers and she joins in without missing a beat. There’s that sun of a butterfly I saw before. Again time has disappeared. 

26: she asks if I want to come to dinner. We are late. She doesn’t want this to end I feel. Neither do I. We challenge each other in a stein-less stein off. She smokes me. I’m rethinking my frailty thoughts from earlier. She emanates this inner strength born out of proud determination. Life cannot beat her down. She has decided to be happy one day I sense. Dinner is homey. It’s family. It’s warm. They seem surprised to see me. It’s a roast. I spend the evening chatting with relatives. It’s cozy. I meet in and out of towners. Glow sticks. Dance parties. Chaos. The air is thick with the sweet recklessness of children. Its loud. It’s life. It feels natural. I hardly see her all evening. I don’t mind. When eyelids grow heavy we take our leave. She seems excited that I fit in. I imagine that she liked that I could float in the sea of bananatrees. I play songs on the drive. She ponders. 

27: I’m home. I get out. I’m unaware. I tell her that if she’s ever single, I’d love to ask her out. I leave. I’m an idiot. How could I not see it before? 

28: LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE! Sweaty, steamy, sauna induced brother in law. A bond forged betwixt him and I in Bjørn Borgs. She comes up in conversation. I tell him how I feel about her and a light comes on deep in the mist-tinged air of my mind. How is this sunrise of a realization only now dawning on me? I knew back in portland, I knew yesterday over beers. I know now. She’s my undone shoelace. She’s my crossed feet. She’s my falling. I need to tell her. She’s down for one last hang before I leave again. 

29: why am I nervous? I carry extra trips of liquor to delay the hello. I’m so silly I think. There she is in all her present-ness. I eat ribs and chicken wings. These are not her favorite things I think I read in her. A mother, though neither of ours, asks how the wedding was. “Wasn’t I supposed to find love? How’s that going?” Oh, better than either of us could have imagined I smile to myself. I look for an excuse to cuddle her, caress her. It’s nice having her so close. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable but damn is it electric gently pushing her leg over to the other side of the couch. This all feels so adolescent. It’s so fun. But I can’t, I remind myself. She’s still holding hope and hands with a future that won’t look her in the eye. 

30: we definitely walk the talk. An hour and a half later we find ourselves across town. That whispered secret of the sky yet again unsealing it’s lips in song. We look for cover but our best bet is just heading home. It’s a long way back. It’s wet. Our feet keep us moving, but time does it’s utmost to arrest us. We debate souls. Light speed. Fate. What we’re doing here. She wants answers but knows she won’t find any. I tell her my thoughts. She disagrees. But wants to know more. She is talking, more than usual, I wonder if she’s nervous too. Or perhaps she’s just more awake this time. I wonder if she’s also sad I’m leaving. Probably wishful thinking I tell myself. I realize I’m delaying. Avoiding what I really want to tell her. I could talk to her for eons. I want to.

31: we make it home, damp and eager for the shelter. She drives. I think. I feel. She scares me. She asks me “well, what else do we want to say to each other?”. I tell her of my fear. I’m scared of how deep these feelings could go. I know she’s unavailable but I can’t explain it. I know she’s my next. It feels too right. I think she feels it too. She just can’t say it. I comfort myself with the thought that her silence is cuz she won’t admit it to herself. Maybe that’s my pride. Maybe I’m just hoping her heart walked the same labyrinth mine did and she’s actually too nice to say otherwise. It’s these little doubts that make love so eternal. So worth pursuing. My heart feels full. Like really full. I’m loving this. We say goodbye and I tell her I’d like to choose her. She asks if I’d like to leave it on eye contact or a hug. I love her questions. Eye contact wins the eternal struggle between those two heavyweights. I don’t want to stop looking at her. She is sublime, as always. She tells me tears are imminent. I apologize. I tell her home is where the heart is. I only want to be where my heart is. To lay, playful in sheets, forever. I leave her slowly. I wait in the doorway as she starts to drive. I consider running out again. I want to kiss her, to say a real goodbye. It feels like I won’t see her for years although she reassures me it won’t be. Some part of me doubts her. I decide it’s not the time, but it’s unclear if it ever will be.  I’m now 0/2. 

32 and counting: she turns 31 this month. She feels like time is moving so fast and yet there is so much left to go. She feels fear, but more than that, she feels sadness. This wasn’t what she saw for herself. She chose it after all. Why can’t she be chosen back? All she’s looking for is a man who doesn’t break out in hives when he hears the word commitment. I want to fill her with all the capacity she knows she has in her heart. If I know what I want, do I push for it? Or let it come to me!? I never know in love. I often let things flow their course in life but could this be my event horizon? The light of her strawberry sun eclipsing the pull of my life’s gravity? I’m up to bat. The count is 0/2. The pitch is a curveball. I don’t know if it’s my time to swing.  

This is nothing like Hayley’s comet I realize. There is nothing familiar about this type of falling. If we orbit each other at all, it is lightyears between lifetimes and lightyears again. She is new. She is next. Choice feels like too conscious a word. She is inevitable. It all makes too much sense not to be. And yet here she is, in the most impossible of positions. She doesn’t even know if she likes me like that. She can’t open or even look at that box now. And yet I send her poetry and foul out to left field in hopes of recreating some of the magic we found in her front seat. I can’t, I know. She has to decide this on her own. She hates disappointments. She hates starting over. Deep down she hates not being chosen even more. I want to choose her. But she isn’t ready. I write a poem, I write two. I decide to let her go. All I want to do is call her. That feels like asking a cat to stay in your lap all day. She will come snuggle when she wants to. Nothing worth having ever comes easy. I wish her the best. I want to see her tomorrow but know it may be years. 

33: I already can’t wait for 33. 

#star crossed myth #poetry #soulmates #find your happiness #lovesick

[nauticallyhypnotical]

Sunflower Fields (work in progress)

Read more here

It was the thunder that boomed overhead that roused Penny Baxter from her slumber. She rubbed at her eyes as she sat up, ignoring the ache of exhaustion as she swung her legs over the side of her twin-sized bed. The small digital clock on her bedside table was blinking, indicating that the trailer she shared with her mother, Pam, had, at some point in the night, lost power; this was a common occurrence during storms.

Groggy, Penny shuffled first to her table to switch on the lamp. Now squinting from the offensive light, she moved towards her desk, picking up a comb and working at the knots in her copper-colored hair. For now, the only sound throughout the trailer was the echoing pitter-patter of raindrops against the tin roof. Penny cherished peace and quiet whenever it was given to her – her relationship with her mother was turbulent, to say the least, and avoiding conflict meant avoiding Pam completely. Unfortunately for Penny, ever since Pam lost her job as cashier at Joja Mart, if she wasn’t drinking at the saloon, she was home picking fights.

Deep down, she knew she loved her mother. That was her mom, after all. They were all they had left after her dad walked out on them. Penny never understood how it was so easy for him to leave. She knew Pam was difficult, but for him to just throw her away, like she meant nothing to him was worse than anything her mom had done to her. But just because she loved her mother, that didn’t mean she liked her or liked being near her. It was quite a conundrum.

Penny sighed deeply as she began to plait her hair, manipulating the braids into two buns that rested against her neck. She walked over to her small wardrobe and picked out a modest yellow dress, seemingly unfit for the weather that raged outdoors. However, she loved dresses, no matter the occasion. In fact, she loved them even better in the rain—it was a secret pleasure of hers to go in the middle of Cindersap forest on rainy days and twirl around as the skies cried over her. Of course, it often left her shivering, but she always felt free doing so. She felt like the protagonist in her favorite novel Siren’s Call, Lily Adams.

In Siren’s Call, Lily gains the courage to break free from the bonds holding her back from a life of happiness. Penny felt she could relate to some of Lily’s struggles, and only wished her inspiration gave her the same courage.

Penny listened as the rain slowed until it only dripped, dripped, dripped outside. Carefully, she opened her bedroom door and peered out, looking for any trace of Pam. Satisfied when she found none, she stepped into the kitchen and quickly out the front door. The cool morning air kissed her cheeks as a gust of wind blew past her, and she inhaled the fresh petrichor. It often rained in the valley during the spring season, as Pelican Town sat along the coast of the Gem Sea.

Pelican Town itself wasn’t very large, but the surrounding wilderness enclosing the town stretched on for miles. The closest city, Zuzu City, was over an hour away. It didn’t seem like much to outsiders, which were few and far in-between, but to Penny, it has always been home. She had lived at 2 River Road her whole life and had taken up the role of teacher to two incredibly smart second graders, Jas and Vincent. She felt sad for Jas’ home life; her guardian, Shane, spent more nights at the Stardrop Saloon than he did with the girl, and Penny knew all too well the effects an alcoholic parent can have on a child. She was thankful she at least had Marnie, the kind older rancher that lived just west of the town, in Cindersap Forest.

At 1 River Road lived one of her oldest friend, Alex Mullner. The Mullners, Evelyn and George, were an old married couple who took in their grandson when Penny was eight. Alex was only a couple years older, she would later find out. Penny never met their daughter, Alex’s mother, as she had gotten sick and died when he was a child. His father was a cruel man who currently sat behind bars for drug possession charges. Alex didn’t like talking about him, but when Penny’s dad left and things got worse with her mom, he opened up to her about his childhood.

Penny had always loved the Mullners, spending quite a bit of time with the couple even apart from Alex. She often helped Evelyn maintain the flowers in town, and the older woman taught her how to bake and sew her clothes. The yellow dress she had on was one of the first ones she made on her own. George was a bit rough around the edges at first, but eventually he’d tell Penny stories about when he was younger, when he and Evie (as he’d lovingly call his wife) first got married and moved here after their honeymoon. He’d told her about his job working in the now-shut down Joja mines back in the day, and how he’d lost the use of his legs after an incident involving the collapse of one of the mine shafts. He was lucky to only lose his legs, he’d say, but he still lives with pain from the accident. Others that day weren’t so lucky.

Alex was outside stretching when he saw Penny sauntering over to him. He greeted her with a smile as he took out one of his earbuds, and as he did so she could faintly hear the beat of rock music emanating from the device.

“Hey, Penny,” he said as she got closer. The cool air had already begun to cause her porcelain skin to flush, a rose hue dusting across the tip of her nose and her cheeks, accentuated by her red hair.

“Hi, Alex,” she says cheerfully, “going for a run?” The brunet man nods. It had been his dream, as long as Penny had known him, to one day become a professional gridball player. He was always fiercely dedicated to his passion and was always seen running around the town or tossing a gridball for practice.

“I’m running laps around the mountain today,” he says. He brings an arm up to scratch at the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I just hope I don’t run into that weird goth kid up there, gives me the creeps,” he was talking about Sebastian, the elder child of Robin Carter, the local carpenter. Penny knew Sebastian a little bit, having been friends with his younger half-sister, Maru; she’d been to their house many times throughout the years.

“He’s not weird,” Penny said defensively, “you just don’t know him.” Alex smirked and held up his hands in defeat.

“Right, sorry to talk about your boyfriend like that,” he teased. Penny blushed with embarrassment. Though she didn’t mind the man, she could never imagine being with Sebastian of all people. In fact, the person she admired was already standing in front of her. Alas, he cared more about gridball and Haley Anderson than he was interested in her.

Sure, Haley was beautiful. She had thick blonde curls that cascaded over her shoulders, was never without glossy lips and she always smelled like coconuts when she walked past. But she had a heart of stone, and, for as long as she knew her, referred to Penny as “Pocket Change”. Penny would never understand how someone as nice as Alex could fall for someone so wicked.

“It’s not like that!” Penny exclaimed, “I just know him enough to know he’s misunderstood.” Alex’s grin got wider.

“Right,” he says, drawn out with sarcasm.

“Anyways, what are you doing out and about? Got anything planned for the day?” He asks her. She shakes her head.

“No, I’m just going for a walk to clear my head. Been thinking about a lot recently,” she says, looking up at a bird’s nest in the tree beside the Mullners’ house. Three little baby robins were crying out, asking for food from their mother who had just flown in.

“Oh, yeah?” Alex asks. “What about?”

“Well,” Penny starts, “if a certain gridball player were to go pro, who would keep her majesty Haley Anderson entertained and away from me?” Alex just laughs and reaches a hand out to pat her endearingly on the head.

“You know, I actually think you two would get along,” he says. “You just gotta give her a chance.” Penny scoffs. Her? And Haley? Friends ? Pigs would sooner be flying.

“Yeah, right,” she says. “Go on your run, maybe you’ll clear your head, too, and stop saying such crazy things.” Alex’s toothy grin doesn’t falter as he shakes his head and puts his earbud back in his ear. He turns to jog up the mountain and Penny heads in the opposite direction, going west of the town towards the old, abandoned farm. Penny heard stories from Granny Evelyn about the farm in its prime, back when the old farmer McGuckin was young and full of life. She’d wished she could have seen it in all its glory, before the land was reclaimed by weeds. Years of neglect were unkind to the cabin that sat at the northern most part of the property, several of the windows had been broken and the roof was in various states of disrepair. It was hard to believe, seeing the state it was in now, that anything beautiful had grown here at all.

Just as she had reached the bus stop, she heard several voices talking over each other. She got closer to the sound and saw Robin, the mayor Lewis Mitchell, and a third figure she didn’t recognize. He was a bigger man with black hair and glasses, wearing a navy-blue suit.

“This land will be perfect for further Joja Co expansion,” the bigger man said. Robin immediately started to argue.

“Mayor Lewis, you cannot let him take more of the town! He already wants the community center, how long until he pushes us all out of our homes?” she pleads. The suited man scoffs.

“Oh my, we would never push anybody out of their homes! That would be bad for business,” he chuckles nervously. Mayor Lewis tugs at his collar anxiously.

“Well, Robin, McGuckin never willed the farm to anyone in his family, and no one else is going to do anything to the land. This could be good for the economy,” he tries to reason. Penny couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Before she could think, her body moved on its own, her voice surprising her as she calls out “you can’t do that!”

Suddenly three pairs of eyes are on her. Penny tries not to sink into herself as she once again says, “you can’t give him this land.” Robin looks from her back to the mayor.

“See? That’s two against two. If you’re so concerned, why don’t we have a vote?” She spoke.

“Mayor Lewis, how much is the old farm?” Penny says, voice shaking slightly. She couldn’t believe what she was thinking of doing. She had a little bit of money saved from doing a few substitute teacher gigs in Zuzu, money she had to keep hidden from Pam lest she drink it all away. She just hoped it was enough, please let it be enough...

“50.000g,” the mayor says after a moment of hesitation. Penny’s shoulders sink. She was about fifteen short.

“H-how about a down payment? I can give you everything I have, and once I get the farm cleaned up, I can pay you more?” Tears threaten to spill from her eyes as she looks down, hands clenching the skirt of her dress. Mayor Lewis ponders for a moment before he sighs.

“Penny, are you sure you can handle it?” He asks. She looks up at him, determination lighting up her green eyes.

“I know I can,” she says, and a huge grin spreads across Robin’s face behind the mayor. He looks between her and the suited man before reaching over and grabbing Penny’s right hand, shaking it.

“Well, Miss Baxter, come by to my house later and we can sign some paperwork, but for now you have yourself a deal.” Penny couldn’t believe it. She was about to be a homeowner. She was about to be a farmer.

She still had to tell her mother.

#stardew valley #fanfic #mdni #wip #sdv penny #sdv haley #no farmer au #penny is the farmer in this one

[baenxietydad]

we should take a walk, and look at all the flowers

they're homosexuals, your honor

there was the shitpost one, now the gross and cute one

Slow Burn - Kacey Musgraves

In Tennessee, the sun's goin' down But in Beijing, they're headin' out to work You know the bar down the street don't close for an hour We should take a walk and look at all the flowers

It's giving Hatfish on their silly little forest walks, Mu-yeol pointing out every edible or medicinal plant and Hatter's just like

and the song in general is about kinda gradually coming to love someone, very gross, very sweet

Lover Boy - Phum Viphurit

Time and toys may fill my heart with joy I'll know peace when I'm your lover boy I'll be your new school soul Silver and gold New desire Friends on fire Call me, "Lover boy" ... Darling, I got my trust issues Warning, you stay away

You Are Mine - The Avett Brothers

You are mine The edge I need when I am out of line The air I breathe when I believe I'm dying I guess you are there

We're So In Tune - Kississippi

I'm feeling kinda dizzy Getting tender for you No drama, you just bring My heart so close to Passing it's limitations It's such a bad design It's not an invitation I gotta catch my ride

Playing the same song Like I'm playing my cool Hard not to fall in love when We're so in tune

This song is go girlypop but it is unfortunately also the most Hatfish song to ever Hatfish

남자가 사랑할 때 (Man In Love) - Infinite

But like, specifically I need you to listen to Kim Tae-rae of Zerobaseone sing the part after the rap verse on Boys Planet because that's good stuff right there

Like a young child, I keep laughing for no reason I control myself by saying that I’m different from others

When a man’s in love, he wants to stay by your side There’s always so much he wants to do for you When I’m in love, I want to give everything in my life to you With just one expectation, your heart When I’m in love

Look carefully – if you feel this, that means he’s fallen for you

And you thought I wasn't gonna find a way to put K-pop on here

Everywhere, Everything - Noah Kahan

Drive slowly, I know every route in this county Maybe that ain't such a bad thing I'll tell you where not to speed

It's been a long year and all of our book's pages dog-eared We write out the ends on our palms, dear Then forget to read

We'll Never Have Sex - Leith Ross

Oh, you kissed me just to kiss me Not to take me home It was simple, it was sweetness It was good to know

You look perfect, you look different I don't wonder about your indifference If I said you could never touch me You'd come over and say I looked lovely

...

Depollute me, gentle angel And I'll feel the sickness less and less Come and kiss me, pretty baby Like we'll never have sex

I could actually write a thesis paper about how this 1:39 long song is Hatfish af.

Drink The River - Gabe Lee

And I can't drink the river to dry the land Bury the ocean beneath the sand But I can love you Until the tide pulls me under by and by

Rain On My Tin Roof - Seth Avett

And if there were ever a reason to stay Turn off my phone and become one with you and my bed It's the rain on my tin roof

The amount of times Hatter has to remind him he needs money for Nemo's tuition to keep him from calling out of work tbh

200% - Akdong Musician

MORE K-pop for the masses

It must be L.O.V.E 200% sure of that I want you really I mean really Really, I like you and my reddening face is evidence for that

Canon that Akmu is some of the Korean music Mu-yeol will try to get Hatter into lmao

Around Your Room - Kississippi

Throw your heart at me, I'm a sucker for you That's something that you might say and confidentially I'm a sucker for you too 'cause my heart's stuck that way Nothing's gonna change, gotta love that belly ache

This song makes me so FERAL about Hatfish, particularly this lyric

Steady when you are around me A babe in the woods for legitimate longing

Excuse me??? "A babe in the woods for legitimate longing" in your 40s and 50s because someone wants to love you, I'm weak

Twin Human Highway Flares - The Mountain Goats

Can't believe y'all thought there wouldn't be a Mountain Goats song, wow, that's clown behavior.

Sunset spilling through your earrings all over your body When we shut the motel room door behind us, we knew we'd hit the motherlode On the day that I forget you, I hope my heart explodes

Chateau Lobby #4 - Father John Misty

People are boring But you’re something else I can’t explain ...

First time, you let me stay the night despite your own rules You took off early to go cheat your way through film school You left a note in your perfect script: "Stay as long as you want," and I haven’t left your bed since

The Genius breakdown of the lyrics is *chef's kiss*

Strawberry Queen - Charles Wesley Godwin

Felt like Adam next to Eve staring at a fruit of God So I wrapped a bow around my heart and placed it in a box of cherry wood I asked her if she could take that box and do it good She smiled and said she would

*inhales* Okay, listen, the VIBE is more fitting than the actual lyrics of the song, let me explain. The singer is from West Virginia, he's a proud Appalachian man, and his wife who he wrote the song about is from Florida. He wrote this song about how he never, ever thought he could be with someone that wasn't also from the mountains, not from his culture/background, who didn't understand.

And that very much parallels Hatfish! Mu-yeol never would have thought he'd pursue someone who checked all three of these boxes: A. from the West, B. a human, and C. most importantly, a sorcerer. Sorcerers and fairies have MAD beef in Korea, sorcerers were barely on his radar to interact with back in Korea let alone befriend and catch feelings for. So yes, this is on here for how perfectly the song's energy matches!

Bring Your Love to Me - The Avett Brothers

Bring your love to me I will hold it like a dandelion One I want to save, one I want to keep From the breeze that follows me and no one else I can only stand here still And I can only hope you will Keep me in focus long enough to tell I'm trying to help

#i'm so emotional about how mu-yeol's cultural foods are at the center of them catching feelings that it's in the aesthetic lmao #r: hatfish

[ashleyluc]

After traveling to Vietnam and connecting with lushes green fields, banana and coconut trees, and fresh seafood, and the people. The feeling makes me feel alive and feeling of life and living again. How everyone enjoys the moment and evening time is meant to connect with each other singing, dancing, eating and chatting so connecting away from our phones. The fishes swim on the street up stream when the rain comes down and mud crabs walk across the streets. While eating dinner, geckos are in the walls and you can hear the geckos sounds with the rain hitting the tin roofs. I ate wholesome food, nothing processed for an entire month and my body loss weight from meditating am, swimming am and pm walking and napping midday. Lessons learn about my body and mind.

1) always keep moving and take each simple task of everyday chore and think of it not as chore but mindfully be in the moment and do it for the love you have as your home as your sanctuary. When you cook for your family and not eat out is love for them feeding wholesome food.

2) sight, sound, smell, taste- each ritual and habits add up to forms the life you are living so be in the moment and live for this moment

2a. sight - green plants, flowers, anything alive in nature I have never seen before. Always stimulate my eyes with something new - keep art, travel, musicals, fashion, green plants, and nature near by and as equally as my job requires me to be inside, I will equally make time ti be outside because overtime it adds up the time spent equally

2b. sound - simply sophisticated podcast, a mindful meditation podcast, classical music, sounds of nature: morning birds, night geckos, rain, oceans sounds, kindness speaking to each other, voices and compassion for your own mind

2c. Smell of fresh air, smell of the ocean, smell of yummy food, perfume, scents if lavender, lemon grass, eucalyptus, smells of all sorts that relaxes

2d. Taste: food wholesome food not process that is fresh to feed this beautiful body I was born into and grateful for all its features. When my weight lifted, my feet feel better and I can wear heals again, and no longer eating late and no processed food so the mornings feel light in intestine no longer feel heavy as if there is a rock in there, and drinking so much more so everything is feeling great. Constantly moving doing everyday things that require physically activity, but most importantly add time to play and relax.

3) mindfulness: think everything is easy and it will be so anxiety and stress for worrying about tomorrow disappears, when my mind drifts from this very moment I stop and pause and just refocus back on my task and will bring me to the present and enjoy the moment so I don’t feel overwhelmed. Love mindful meditations and listening to the Simply Sophisticated Podcast and reading whatever perks my interest and making it appoint to stick to my daily rituals because it adds up each action little by little adds up to equal life.

4) I live my life and design my own style no matter what others think I have always been a little quiet rebel moving against what is wrong and enjoy helping others find peace and happiness.

Wishlist of things I want to change at work:

- Throwing away my work chair and replace with seated ball

- add soft fury carpet in my office

- a box of sand for me to dip my feet in so I can meditate and feel the sand

- a box of grass real so I can feel my feet on it

- slip on shoes clean inside my cube

- always step away from computer for every hour of work day

- 15 min breaks for outdoors walk or mediate

-lunch connection to talk to humans, yoga, meditation, sleep, walk

- bring plants to office and life back to office

- scented face spray, lotion

- basket of fresh fruit not junk to snack

[relaxedbybakar]

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[lom-journal]

Tuesday July 25/23- Traveland this morning 1st thing, New Kitchen roof Hatch!

Everyone got up early this a.m. First Peter and then Luca and Bella and I stayed an extra 1/2 hour. But, we are all caught up except the Starling Dish m because we are using the wi-fi! The rug, and closing of the slides! Hopefully it will be done this morning! All going well! No other plans for today! Rain ☔️ in the forecast! We arrived for 7:30 but, waited until 8:00 a.m. and Peter dealt with a New Boy Jason ! Our bus 🚌 is still sitting outside at 8:30 a.m. Peter thinks we’ll be here all day! Appointment means nothing I don’t think! Jason said he would like to keep the bus an hour or so so the Sealant gets harder! This was 10:00 a.m. He’s going to check out the Screen blind! I finally had a Poop 💩 at Traveland! I think I had a small poop 💩 at the park once we got home We left Traveland about Noon and we got thePark and our spot 12:30! I set up the window and they did their best to adjust the Screen Blind in the Front Window! I’m exhausted but, before the day is out I would like to do the picture shelf! But, I’m doing Laundry 🧺 a big load as well! The Kitchen Sky Light looks great and has a touch of blue cap 🧢! They treat you nice there but, I’m Glad to be back in the Park #64! The Sky Light was costly but we need one in the kitchen! Traveland especially Bill is a god send! The box 📦 Pictures are done as well put boxes and tins in Basement !

[warningsine]

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of people hunkered down Sunday in monasteries, pagodas and schools, seeking shelter from a powerful storm that slammed into the coast of Myanmar, tearing the roofs off buildings and killing at least three people.

The center of Cyclone Mocha made landfall Sunday afternoon in Myanmar’s Rakhine state near Sittwe township wind speeds up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour, Myanmar’s Meteorological Department said. Earlier, the storm passed over Bangladesh’s Saint Martin’s Island, causing damage and injuring people, but turned away from the country’s shores before landfall.

Myanmar’s military information office said the storm had damaged houses, electrical transformers, cell phone towers, boats and lampposts in Sittwe, Kyaukpyu, and Gwa townships. It said the storm also tore roofs off of sport buildings on the Coco Islands, about 425 kilometers (264 miles) southwest of the country’s largest city, Yangon.

Rakhine-based media reported that streets and basements of the houses in Sittwe’s low-lying areas were flooded, and that people in low-lying areas were trapped in their houses and unable to communicate. Much of the area is cut off from telephone and internet service after high winds crumpled cell phone towers.

More than 4,000 of Sittwe’s 300,000 residents were evacuated to other cities and more than 20,000 people are sheltering in sturdy buildings such as monasteries, pagodas and schools located on the city’s highlands, said Tin Nyein Oo, who is volunteering in shelters in Sittwe.

Lin Lin, the chairman of a local charitable foundation, said earlier there was not enough food in the shelters in Sittwe after more people arrived than expected.

Titon Mitra, the U.N. Development Program representative in Myanmar, tweeted: “Mocha has made landfall. 2m people at risk. Damage and losses are expected to be extensive. We are ready to respond and will need unhindered access to all affected communities.”

On Sunday morning, several deaths caused by wind and rain were reported in Myanmar. A rescue team from the country’s eastern Shan state announced on its Facebook social media page that they had recovered the bodies of a couple who were buried when a landslide caused by heavy rain hit their house in Tachileik township. Local media reported that a man was crushed to death when a banyan tree fell on him in Pyin Oo Lwin township in the central Mandalay Region.

Authorities in the Bangladeshi city of Cox’s Bazar, which lay in the storm’s predicted path, said earlier that they had evacuated hundreds of thousands of people, but by early afternoon it appeared that the storm would mostly miss the country as it veered east, said Azizur Rahman, director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department in Dhaka.

“The level of risk has reduced to a great extent in our Bangladesh,” he told reporters.

Strong winds accompanied by rains continued in the Saint Martin’s Island in the Bay of Bengal in the afternoon, but feared tidal surges did not take place because the cyclone started crossing Bangladesh coast at low tide, Dhaka-based Jamuna TV station reported.

About a dozen islanders were injured, while some 300 homes were either destroyed or damaged, leading Bengali-language Prothom Alo daily reported. One woman was critically wounded, it said.

U.N. agencies and aid workers in Bangladesh had prepositioned tons of dry food and dozens of ambulances with mobile medical teams in sprawling refugee camps that house more than 1 million Rohingya who fled persecution in Myanmar.

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar with a storm surge that devastated populated areas around the Irrawaddy River Delta. At least 138,000 people died and tens of thousands of homes and other buildings were washed away.

Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune city, said cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are becoming more intense more quickly, in part because of climate change.

Climate scientists say cyclones can now retain their energy for many days. Cyclone Amphan in eastern India in 2020 continued to travel over land as a strong cyclone and caused extensive devastation.

“As long as oceans are warm and winds are favorable, cyclones will retain their intensity for a longer period,” Koll said.

Cyclones, giant storms similar to those known as hurricanes or typhoons in other parts of the world, are among the world’s most devastating natural disasters, especially when they hit densely populated coastal regions.

#Bangladesh #Myanmar #news #Cyclone Mocha

[miyu-writings]

Baker!Gray AU

Still looking for a title for this fic... *loading*

For some reason, decided to post here.

Chapter 1

Rain had started falling, the camp becoming even more grey and muted than usual.

Large drops started pelting down on the cheap tin roofs – most of them leaking and not helping much in the ways of insulation.

Not that it was of much use to those who were working outside.

The dreadful silence that reigned was only broken by the rain, the noise of the workers and of the harshly barked orders.

Natsu was cursing under his breath while he struggled to shovel the mud. It had been dirt at first but then quickly became mud and, the more rain fell, the more it liquefied and escaped the shovel. All the while, he was sinking in the mud, it had started to slide inside his shoddy shoes and making the scratchy fabric of his uniform stick uncomfortably against his skin. Unfortunately he would have to endure the discomfort until the uniform dried out, it was not like he had another uniform – or any choice, even.

The war between the countries had started eight years ago. The population at large in Natsu’s country didn’t know the reason to it – Natsu didn’t know the reason to it – but when the time came, he had been called to help in the war efforts. And, unfortunately, things hadn’t stopped there. Apparently both countries had created camps where they put the prisoners of war to work – for the opposite side.

Unfortunately the war machine was still grinding happily while destroying the innocent people and their lives. And it didn’t look like it would come to a stop anytime soon.

Natsu and his squadron had been caught and split – the Borings found it safer to separate the Brights, lest they manage to try and create an uprising at the camps. Which, was a very unlikely possibility as the prisoners were worked to the bone while in harsh conditions, minimal amounts of food and drink and just a couple of hours of sleep.

It was exhausting.

That was the less awful option, Natsu had quickly discovered. Being a slave working outdoors trumped being an experiment or a pleasure slave.

It was hard, trying to survive though. The beatings were a constant, the guards always looking for something to punish them for or just letting their sadist nature come to the fore.

Natsu had always thought of himself as strong and able to find something positive even in the most negative of situations but now he was having quite the hard time coming up with anything.

A whistle shrilled above the racket of the rain and it was time to go for the next shift.

Natsu and a handful of others found themselves mending the fences that separated the camp from the woods. It was being slightly less protected as a pathway for escape because few dared brave the woods – more so when these woods harboured a plethora of scary and dangerous creatures.

Then again, no-one had been foolhardy enough to escape the camp so far. The prisoners were worked so much that there just wasn’t any energy left to do anything but sleep the allotted amount of time.

But now, Natsu was working his numbed fingers against the rain, the cold and the sharp wire. His fingers kept getting cut, split open by the barbed wire, but the blood was quickly washed away.

On the other side of the fence there was a bush – its foliage a greyish-green colour – it was as if there was a grey light focused on the camp, encompassing everything and sucking the life away from everything.

Some strange strength seemed to infuse Natsu’s being. His spark had been nearly snuffed out but now, maybe due to being the closest from anything natural than he had been in months, the spark of hope was back.

But he had to stay in the normal downtrodden way for there was a pair of officials talking behind his back.

They were talking in hushed tones but Natsu had always had great hearing…

The language barrier would prove to be a bigger problem but Natsu had gotten a better grasp in it since he came to camp.

“He said that tonight will be it. During the changing of the guard.” The taller one, a man was saying.

“Isn’t that cutting it too close?” a woman said in answer. “We don’t know-“

“It’s our chance.” The first person reaffirmed. “We will do it.”

At that point Natsu turned surreptitiously back and looked at the officials. They didn’t seem to be of low patent, if the insignias on their jackets were of any sign. The woman locked eyes with Natsu and a shiver that didn’t have anything to do with the rain and cold raced down his spine.

It strengthened Natsu’s resolve.

‘I’m going to try to escape tonight.’

That was it.

#

If there was a boon that the terrible weather had brought it was that the prisoners were piled onto the barracks and allowed to have their first full night of sleep. In turn, they hadn’t gotten the rotten scraps that passed for the evening meal.

At this point, Natsu didn’t care. He had been controlling the time to try to be outside of the barrack by the time to official had let slip earlier.

He asked to go to the latrine and the guard didn’t go all the way into the stinky place with him, as was usual, and preferred to stay back under the protection of a roof.

After getting inside Natsu did his best to merge into the shadows. His pink hair, at least, was quite the pale shadow of how it used to be – and Natsu hoped that he could remain unnoticed.

Then the sound of a commotion ripped through the blanket of almost silence that had been brought by the rain. Loud voices raised during arguments, there was a loud crashing noise.

Natsu ran.

He had to get to the fence that led to the woods. He had to.

Lights flickered and amid the chaos, Natsu took his chance. The bit of fence he’d been working on earlier was quite lax so Natsu managed to slip through the wires. He didn’t mass them unscathed but he passed and so he dove into the nearest set of bushes and waited.

The commotion seemed to have calmed some but then, the alarm rang.

He’d been noticed.

But no-one seemed to be coming to inspect this one fence. And then…

“Go check A5 of the perimeter. I’ll finish here.”

It was a woman’s voice – it rang familiar to Natsu even.

He barely dared to breathe as the squelching noises of the boots on mud got closer and closer. The woman leaned forward, with a quick yank she straightened the wires.

Once again, Natsu locked eyes with her – even though he was mostly hidden by foliage.

The woman’s expression seemed to smooth out, she gave Natsu a tiny nod before turning around.

“A2 of the perimeter is clear.” She bellowed while striding towards the centre of the camp.

Thunder started rumbling in the skies.

The rain wasn’t stopping.

Natsu crawled into the woods, well beyond the few traps that had been laid out not very well.

Only after he was what felt like a considerable distance from the traps did he get up and started to run.

He was going to escape!

#

After running as fast as he could, Natsu had to stop. The rain had weakened into a drizzle but the sky was still very overcast and keeping the sunlight from peeking through.

It was not a bad thing. Hopefully it would wash away the traces he must have left behind.

At this point Natsu’s adrenaline had more than run out and what little energy he had was only due to his stubbornness.

He’d drank some water along the way so thirst wasn’t exactly a problem but he needed food.

He finally stumbled to a stop, leaning heavily against a tree. He took a look around, assessing the surroundings.

The trees in this area of the forest didn’t give out edible fruits – at least none that he could smell but, then again, he couldn’t quite trust his nose yet – and as it was late autumn, he couldn’t hope to find any berries.

A sudden noise brought him back to his senses.

‘I have to keep moving.’ He told himself while trying to shake away the tiredness from his arms and legs. A couple of slaps to his cheeks and he was awake enough and ready to keep going.

However, since he had stopped, now everything felt harder, his tiredness was dragging him down, his legs felt like lead and his eyes were in imminent danger of closing. But at the same time, the rough fabric of the prisoner’s uniform was clinging to him, the wetness was beyond uncomfortable and some mud had dried on his skin in some places and it itched.

Knowing that he couldn’t keep going, Natsu tried to find a safe spot to rest. Hopefully it would be safe enough to keep him away from whatever beasts roamed the forest – who seemed to have stayed away from him so far – and from anyone that might be in his pursuit. While stumbling about he ended up finding a hollow tree trunk and managed to slip inside.

It was a somewhat claustrophobic space, how the walls closed in on him but there was an indentation inside that allowed Natsu to let some weight off his feet as he was mostly sitting.

But inside was also drier and warmer. And placing the large chunk of moss and the bush back over the entrance was the finishing touch to his momentary hideout.

Of course that as soon as the most important thing got somewhat sorted, his body started with its demands. Namely his stomach.

Natsu had through that the stay at the prisoners camp had conditioned his stomach to stop growling with demands for food but apparently now that he had had a brief, almost there sense of freedom, it was back to loudly demanding food.

Natsu hoped that the growling noises didn’t attract attention – it would be nice if they did the opposite and scared away any beasts that might be around instead.

Then, Natsu went out like a light.

#

It was nearly sunset when Natsu woke up again. He left the hideout carefully after having tried to tune in on his surroundings and saw the orange tones in the slivers of sky that broke through the high foliage of the tree tops.

‘Damnit, I slept the whole day through instead of putting more distance…’ he thought irately at himself at the same time he slapped his thigh.

Letting out a huff, Natsu started walking again. He was completely lost but, on a hunch, chose a direction and kept going. He hoped luck was on his side.

To his surprise, it seemed to be because, well into the night, he crashed into one of the most delicious scents he’d come across in quite a while.

He had stumbled into what looked like a spontaneous orchard – though maybe it was too generous to call it that? Then again, it was ass o’clock, he couldn’t see much – and it didn’t take him long to climb the nearest tree. He became surrounded by the sweet smell of apples and taking a bite into one of said apples was nearly an orgasmic event. At least to his taste buds it was.

Natsu devoured the first apple – it was so small that three bites were enough to eat it – and quickly plucked a second one and ate it too. He wanted to eat more but, at the same time, he knew that he shouldn’t. His state of sub-nutrition would most likely react badly if he ate too much too fast. He still remembered one or two things that had been taught a long time ago.

His only option was to pick a bunch of apples, use the ratty shirt as a bag of sorts and keep walking. And still hope luck was on his side because if he was going to wander about topless, his chances were going to worse in no time without a doubt.

He really had to keep going and find some actual shelter. Maybe one of the ghost villages that had been increasing in number during the expanse of the war. But until then, he just had to keep going.

That was how the days that followed were.

Natsu found a place to sleep during part of – if not the whole – the day, he rationed the apples and kept walking as much as possible.

It was on his tenth day that he neared the first traces of active civilization – a town. But he couldn’t risk being seen. Yes, he currently looked more like a man from the wilderness but if the uniform wasn’t going to expose him, the hair certainly would.

Natsu took off, quickly walking in the sun’s direction. Grumbling about his luck abandoning him. Only to go back on his muttered words in no time as he found himself in a small clearing that had a strange set of buildings sitting there.

This place seemed idea – at least at the moment.

It was close enough to but still quite far from the town and it looked empty.

The buildings were actually two different buildings that had been seemingly slapped together.

One part was clearly the habitational area and it even extended to above the other building part, almost as if added as an afterthought.

The other part looked like a storage or garage of sorts and would most likely be his safest bet. Even if someone were using the building, the living area was more probable to be the one used, right?

With that in mind, Natsu quickly yet carefully approached the metal doors.

They opened without any trouble as they were unlocked. That made him relax a fraction.

Inside it was dark and something in the air seemed to irritate Natsu’s nose. Unfortunately he had lost his scent ability as everything was catching up to him and he was on the early stages of sickness. His nose getting shot was the first of the serious signs that he was in for a rough time.

The darkness and the feeling of actually being indoors for the first time in he didn’t know when, all of that was suddenly overwhelming.

Natsu took a few steps inside and collapsed against the wall, instantly passing out.

#

It was nearing his usual time so Gray better start getting things ready for his workday.

Unhurriedly Gray went down the stairs and to change things up a little, decided to get into the workroom through the outside door. He wanted to see the night sky.

He opened the door, feeling in a good mood to the point of whistling a tune, flicking on the switch.

But something felt strange, like a disturbance in the room.

It didn’t take any time to zero-in on the cause.

Slumped against the wall was a man. Apparently unconscious.

“Who the fuck are you?” Gray all but bellowed.

+++

I'm back to being excited about this one. Yes, a bit "not so great because of the setting that inspired it and actual RL stuff happening" but...

Think I'll work on it during the week. But need to find my notes because I'm lowkey forgetting some details. Me and my silly ideas and tidbits...

Will link this to AO3 soon. As soon as I have a title, that is.

#fairy tail fanfic #gratsu #fic: baker!gray au

[bearcina]

I posted 14,671 times in 2022

That's 1,820 more posts than 2021!

151 posts created (1%)

14,520 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@deloreandarling

@deadly-operating-system

@thebadwulff

@boss-of-armadildos

@mens-rights-activia

I tagged 452 of my posts in 2022

#bear babbles - 143 posts

#ophelia amana - 79 posts

#the outer worlds - 65 posts

#bear writes - 28 posts

#ada/the captain - 21 posts

#zora blackwood - 18 posts

#zora blackwood/female captain - 14 posts

#fanfic - 13 posts

#tow ada - 11 posts

#ada/female captain - 11 posts

Longest Tag: 118 characters

#and the colors the healer would wear that match the locals and how her new dress and wardrobe are especially luxurious

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Masterlist

13 notes - Posted January 19, 2022

#4

I Think I Prefer To Stay Inside

Rating: General Audiences

Portal (Video Game)

Relationship: Chell&GLaDOS, future Chell/GLaDOS

Tags: lonely glados, glados missing Chell, it's rainy at Aperture

Part of We Have Science To Do series, this is part 1/?

Words: 552, written 8/31/2020 (💀 sorry it took so long to cross post here)

GLaDOS realizes that it's lonely down in the once-salt-mine without her favorite test subject around. It's raining. She longs for her unpredictable anomaly of a test subject.

It was raining above Aperture, pitter-pattering against the tin roof of one of the many sheds. A camera whirred, scanning an endless wheat field, capturing bits of the starry sky in the distance.

Pitter-pattering rain, not particularly heavy or too light, just enough to hydrate the soil again for the wheat to grow another few inches in time for it to be frosted over and die for the beginning of fall, which was just twelve days away- scientifically speaking.

The facility was quiet, the buzz of nuclear reactors far away, no bubbling of acid pits in tests, and the fan system in her chamber was running quiet and efficient for the first time in months. Microphones were turned off, the endless drone of the buzzing of lights ground away at her patience- the co-operative testing units were powered down, having been far too annoying to be of any use. Her circuits buzzed with useless energy, calculating stray needs for electricity on the hundreds of test chambers awaiting in standby.

Her crows had died last week. There wasn’t even a cawing of a single crow through the facility.

Empty. The facility was empty. No matter how hard, how far down she reached with cameras or just curious pulsing of wires and flickering lights, there was nothing but Herself. It was all just her facility- everything was Hers.

The facility had been slowly cleaned, panels put back together, turrets melted down, old weighed storage cubes melted down and remade, and that awful potato plant was finally trimmed back down into place, only encompassing the Bring Your Daughter To Work Day rooms. Even then, that wing of the facility was left to its own devices, locked away to hopefully be forgotten about, at least until she needed the plant trimmed again.

She looked out the cameras mounted on the shed again, far off as she could view. The rain drizzled onto the camera, clouding the lens, filling her chambers with the gentle pitter-patter of rain on the tin roof. A puddle of rainwater was forming near the door of the shed, an old indent of where something very cube-like had sat for weeks. It was gone, the wretched thing. It had sat there for three weeks, scorched and covered in soot and dIrt, before it was retrieved by the ex-test subject.

She missed her test subject. Science had been ground to a halt, her co-operative units far too predictable after three months of unending, unproductive, “testing.” All the humans that had been kept were vegetables, not worth the time of an hour to revive, just for it to not be able to breathe on its own.

Not a single test subject left in her facility.

She was just content to listen to the rain and watch the wheat field, hoping for her test subject to return back to her.

And eventually, her test subject did come back. She was dragging along the scorched companion cube, the once bright-orange jumpsuit torn and soiled with blood and dirt.

GLaDOS was happy to open the door to the shed, an elevator ready to bring her favorite test subject back home, even if she would have to clean the facility and fix her wounds.

Maybe after all of this Chell would prefer to stay inside, just like she does.

14 notes - Posted January 19, 2022

#3

Olarom!

17 notes - Posted January 17, 2022

#2

Just a few fun Ophelia's for the evening!

Top is based on the Anti-Riot Iconoclast armor, bottom is her in her sleepwear! I'm excited to doodle more, since it wasn't as hard drawing the armor as I thought!

18 notes - Posted June 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ADA and Captain Ophelia Amana in this cute little picrew!!! rb and toss your blorbos in!! 💖💖💖

I finally decided Ophelia 100% does space buns for her hairstyle instead of the junlei style I chose in-game 😂

21 notes - Posted June 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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