#I swear I feel like I just came out of quarantine | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ilguna · 5 months

Note

Supply Run: Can I get #24 from prompt list 2 with Joel Miller?

☼ stepping stones (Joel Miller) ☼

warnings; swearing, undisclosed age gap, death mention, murder mention.

wc; 2.4k

prompt; 24. "Don't let your fears dictate your life."

notes; i'm picturing game joel in my head. and this is set in boston but before he smuggles ellie.

A couple months ago you made the mistake of telling Joel a little secret about yourself when it comes to him. It happened during a game of Texas Hold’em with Tess and a few of your other friends in the quarantine zone. It came so casually, mostly because you weren’t entirely sober, and you knew that Tess was talking over you, anyway.

You didn’t expect him to hear, much less remember what you had to say, but it must’ve been one of those facts about you that he knew he should save for later. Which you can’t hold against him, because you would’ve done the same thing if you were in his position.

When you told Joel that he can pressure you into succumbing to any request with just his gaze, you were halfway kidding. You were referring to the game you were playing, because while you’re normally good at keeping a poker face, he always manages to crack you without doing it on purpose.

You knew the moment it came out of your mouth that it sounded stupidly flirtatious, but you meant it earnestly. Joel is one of those people where you feel safe enough to open up to him, trusting him with practically everything. Even though it’s difficult for him to do the same.

You’d like to say that Joel liked you from the beginning, but the truth is that he kept a fair distance and a sharp eye on what you did. He could tell just by looking at you that you were trouble. Or, at the very least, you came from it. When you joined the Boston quarantine zone almost five years ago, it was done out of desperation.

And you weren’t exactly the friendliest face around, something that you couldn’t help. Tess later told you that you had this specific look on your face, as if you were always waiting for someone to jump out at you. Which probably wasn’t far from the reality you were living at the time.

Joel had a feeling that you came from a group of hunters, judging by the way you seemed to be prepared to defend your belongings at every turn. Since there was a period of time where he’d done the same, he couldn’t come down on you too hard, but everyone knows that the next generation of hunters are more brutal than the last. It’s because supplies are scarce to come by out there with every passing week.

Still, you preferred to be outside of the walls and not under the rule of FEDRA for the longest time. The only reason why you ended up changing your mind was because a group of travelers came through your hunting group and wiped absolutely everyone out.

You managed to escape by yourself. If there were any other survivors, you never got to find out, because you were trying to put space between you and your camp that they were taking out. And when they found out that you were still alive, they didn’t let you escape so easily. You think they were afraid that you’d come back for them.

So, they ambushed you repeatedly. The first time they did it, they had too much confidence in themselves. They came in daylight with just two people, thinking that it’d be more than enough to bring you down. Once they were dead, you moved a few miles further out, toward Albany.

Well, they tried it again, coming in the daylight with almost eight people to bring you down. Fortunately, you’d scavenged in the area frequently, mostly because no one else liked going toward the big cities. You only had to bring down one person in order to secure your way out, but they followed you.

You basically drove them straight through the heart of the city, the infected did a bulk of the work for you. It didn’t deter them, especially since a few of them had survived the attack. The final time they came was during the night, and you’re still not sure how they managed to find you in that office building. You covered your tracks.

Regardless, they were so set on revenge that they abandoned the camp they killed your group for, and settled into chasing you across Massachusetts. You went straight to the Boston quarantine zone, knowing that they’d have a hard time trying to get you, then.

The initial plan was to stay long enough to get your shit together, before going back out again. The longer you stayed, the more you decided that you liked the relative normalcy. You didn’t mind working, having a place to call home, food on your table almost every night. As soon as you started making friends, the nail on the coffin was sealed. You haven’t been able to bring yourself to leave since.

That’s why you can’t bring yourself to agree to what Tess and Joel are asking of you. It started out as a choice, but with Tess not feeling any better from the cold she caught earlier this week, they’re both telling you to help them. Which brings you right back to what you were saying ago with Joel making that face.

His steely eyes are piercing your soul right now, trying to get you to cave. You stare back at him, trying to replicate the intensity, but he’s so much better at it than you are. So, you resort to your words instead.

“I already told the both of you I’m not interested.” You raise your eyebrows, tearing your eyes from Joels, to Tess, who might as well be glued to her bed. “I don’t want to leave the quarantine zone.”

“You’ll hardly be going that far.” Tess holds her hand out in the direction of the window. “It’s just a few miles out. That’s where you’ll meet Wayne, he’ll give you the pills, and then you’ll come right back. Joel and I will do the work of bringing it to a different part of the zone.”

“The mileage doesn’t bother me, it’s being out there.”

“What are you so afraid of?” Tess scoffs. “You used to live out there.”

“Used to.” You emphasize. “It’s been five years, Tess. It’s not going to be a quick adjustment.” You turn your attention to Joel, shaking your head. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to find someone else, or do it alone.”

“We don’t have anyone else.” Joel says. “I can’t take the trip alone, I need a partner.”

You shrug, “I guess you’re going to miss the trade, then.”

“(Y/n).” Tess sighs from her bed. “Don’t make me get up to kick your ass.”

“Try.” You roll your eyes.

She ignores your comment, sitting up a little. “You have to miss it out there a little, don’t you want to experience it again?”

“I do.” You have no issue admitting this. “But I don’t want to get hurt.”

“You’ll be with me.” Joel stands up from where he’s leaning against the wall. “I’ll have your back.”

Your mouth opens, going to tell him no again, when you hesitate. You know that he’s not lying, Joel is the best person you can ask for while being outside of the walls. You can’t remember the last time he came back with a scratch on him after navigating the streets for days at a time.

He recognizes your hesitation, pushing it. “Don’t let your fears dictate your life.”

When you look at Tess, she has this knowing smile on her face. She’s won, and she knows it. You close your eyes, shaking your head slightly, and then you let out a sigh.

“Fine.”

There’s a moment of silence as Joel looks at Tess. “I told you she’d come around.”

She tilts her head, face impressed. “I guess you were right when you said she had a soft spot for you.”

Your eyes narrow at Joel. “Don’t talk about me like I’m not standing right here.” You tell them, crossing your arms over your chest. “What’s the plan, then?”

“Joel will take you to the apartment we regularly sneak out of before midnight. You’ll meet Wayne a few miles out, Joel will trade him, and then you’ll come right back.”

“Easier said than done.” You look at Joel to see that he’s giving you a halfway smile. “I still need gear.”

“One step ahead of you.” Tess waves her hand. “You’ll just use my bag, everything you could ask for is in there.”

You press your lips together, but give her a nod, agreeing. You wish that you still had your old backpack—FEDRA confiscated it as soon as they could. The only things you were allowed to keep from it was an old family picture and your knife. Everything else got thrown away or cycled into their own weapon supply.

You had a really nice gun, too.

“Tonight it is.”

—

For someone that didn’t want to do this a few short hours ago, you find yourself glad that you caved and agreed. It was anxiety inducing for the first hour or so, as you jumped at every sound and searched every shadow. But it’s like riding a bike after a while—you get the hang of it.

Besides, there’s not many infected surrounding the quarantine zone due to the consistent FEDRA patrol. By the time you realized they were there, Joel had already taken them down and was moving onto the next house. This eased your mind considerably, allowing you to relax and mindlessly follow hi,.

A part of you is disappointed that this had to be done during the night, and not during the day. Not only would it be easier for you to see, you like inspecting the area around to see how it’s changed over time.

When you brought this up to Joel, he wasn’t very impressed, remarking that had you listened to them earlier in the week, he could’ve arranged that. Since it’s so late and they’re going to miss their window, there’s not much of a choice left in the matter.

You couldn’t help but to roll your eyes at him. You weren’t looking to complain, you were actually going to skate directly into a conversation about what he likes best of the great outdoors. You decided that it would be best to leave it, despite knowing that he would likely realize as soon as you asked.

There are times where you can’t tell if Joel wants to have a quiet day or if he’s willing to let you chat his ear off. He seemed pretty fine earlier this afternoon when you were visiting Tess, but when you regrouped with him in the apartment complex, he was gruff and slightly irritated.

It makes you wonder if it was something that Tess said after you left. He did tell you that he was going to stay back with her for a little while longer to talk about the deal with Wayne. That way he’d be able to catch you up to speed on the way to the fire station, which is just outside of Brookline.

Why you’re traveling so far for a bag of pills is beyond you. And you would be mad about the distance, because Tess blatantly lied to you, but it’s not the first time she’s successfully deceived you. It’s your own fault for believing her.

The pills must be pretty important if you’re going out of your way like this. You know they make a pretty good income with smuggling. They’ll be so well-off sometimes that they’ll slide extra ration cards your way, as if they aren’t practically made out of gold.

Either way, Joel hasn’t let you in on what’s happening. You’d say he’s forgotten, but he’s got a pretty good memory. He’s choosing to keep the reasoning from you. Which could be for a number of reasons—like he’s afraid you’re going to freak out. You’d like to think you’re level-headed enough to hear him out first.

A sigh escapes you, pace slowing. Joel glances over his shoulder at you, seeing that you’re not walking as quickly as before. He matches your speed, even turning his body to look at you better.

So he is open to conversation.

“Curiosity’s going to kill me.” You start, Joel raises his eyebrows. “You said that you were going to fill me in, and I’m all empty.”

He looks away from you. “Tess told you all there is.”

“Did she? ‘Cause all she said was that we’re picking up pills from Wayne.”

“That about sums it up.” He says.

You squint at the back of Joel’s head, not liking the answer. Maybe you read the situation right earlier. “Okay, sure.” You murmur, looking away from him, to the houses off to your left.

It’s quiet between the two of you for a few minutes. This must be burn for Joel, because he ends up clearing his throat. “We’re supposed to work out an agreement with him.”

Your eyebrows twitch. “What?”

“Tess and Wayne got into a fight last month, he said he’d settle it the next time we met.”

You come to a stop in the middle of the road. “Are you telling me that we’re walking straight into an ambush right now?”

“No.”

“What was the fight over?”

Joel hesitates, “Tess cut his payout.”

You stare at him for a long second before looking away, around at the neighborhood you’re walking through. There could be dozens of people in these houses, and you won’t know until it’s too late. You’re not sure what was going through their heads with leaving a detail this large out, but Joel was right to try to keep this from you as long as he could.

Sometimes you wonder why you even consider yourself a friend of theirs.

“Do we have enough to make it up?” You ask, he shakes his head.

“Honey, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“You were going to let me walk into a fight blindly.” You raise your eyebrows. “How do you even know Wayne?”

“He’s a friend of Bill’s.”

Your face drops completely, as you reach up with one hand to grab your temples, turning away from him with another sigh. You met Bill once, and it was before you’d joined the quarantine zone, but it was while you were on your way there. You ran across him by accident, and got the full force of his insanity and violence.

“If he’s anything like Bill, then we need to go back to Boston.” You point down the road you’ve been walking. “I’m not prepared to deal with something like that.”

Joel reaches up, hand grabbing your shoulder to squeeze it. “I’ve got you.”

this was part of my 3k celebration!!

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topazy · 10 months

Text

Inside, outside

Pairings: 10k x reader, Addy Carver × sister reader

Warnings: Swearing

Chapter: 5.02

Doc follows behind George for a few miles as she leads you to Camp Altura. The camp was built around a college campus, which had minimal damage. As you stepped in closer, you were able to see different stalls selling blankets, hot food, hand-made soaps, and fresh fruit and vegetables.

“This place is pretty impressive.”

“Hey, guys!” George calls over from a fenced-off area. “You gotta go to quarantine first!”

She points you in the direction of a tent to revive a medical test that would determine if you were alive or dead. Then you could move onto the second stage and fill out forms to register as a citizen. The third part was being assigned a temporary job until they found a permanent one suited best to the information you’d given them.

Doc and Sarge passed with flying colors, but the doctor checking 10K seemed concerned. “I'm having a hard time finding a pulse,” she says, feeling his wrist. “Any near-death experiences? Going into the white light? Loss of appetite?”

“Sometimes everything’s in slow motion.”

The doctor gets 10k to remove his top half of clothing to scan his body with a UV light. You swallow hard, glancing over to the other side of the tent. You see Doc and Sarge watching with the same expression on their faces, no doubt fearing the same thing as you. What if 10K was still technically dead? The doctor pushes him forward to inspect his back and notices the mark on the back of his neck. “What is that? It looks like a healed-over bite.”

“Oh, that… that was me. I sometimes get a little carried away in the bedroom.”

10k looks mortified at first but then clicks onto your lie. Smiling, he looks up at her and shrugs. “I picked a biter.”

Unconvinced, the doctor begins to feel his neck and then his chest. She roughly pushes her thumb over where his heart should be, causing 10k to wince out in pain. “Any heart problems you’re aware of?”

“Not till you did that,” he says, trying to pull away from her, but the doctor only pushed her thumb in deeper.

After a tense few moments pass, the doctor finally smiles and says, “There we go; we got a pulse.”

When it’s your turn to sit in the chair, you hand the doctor the paper with your name on it. It felt so strange seeing your name in black and white on the medical form. 𝐘/𝐍 ‘𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚’ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐤. You were unsure whether to even include your first name since nobody calls it anymore, but you chose to in case Addy ever came looking for you.

She looks between you and 10k, who was putting his top back on. “Another Beck, siblings?”

“Married.”

“But not siblings?”

Sarge scrunches up her nose and says, “that’s disgusting.”

You nod in agreement with Sarge while opening up your mouth for the doctor to inspect your teeth.

“Anything can happen in the new world,” she deadpans.

“Ew.”

“Any zombie bites? Mortal wounds? Organ failure?”

You shake your head.

The doctor feels around the inside of your mouth, giving you a disapproving look. Considering how hard it was to keep hygiene standards up while running from the undead and trying to save the world, your teeth were in pretty good condition. The doctor narrows her eyes at you, then turns to tell Doc and Sarge they should start queuing to register because the lines were long. She asks you question after question without giving you a chance to answer. Frowning, she starts to feel around your stomach before moving her hands further up your body.

You swat the doctor's hands away when she feels your breasts. “Eh, excuse me!”

“Hmm,” she starts to scribble down on the piece of paper, shaking her head. “I’ll organize a scan for you. It will probably be later today so they can do a safety evaluation to figure out the best place for you to work.”

10k steps forward, his eyes wide with worry. “Why does she need a scan? Is something wrong?”

“No, just to see how far along the baby is.”

"I’m pre—” Before you can complete the question, you hear a thud. You look over your shoulder to see 10k has passed out. “I’m not…I cannot be.”

She hands you a small yellow tube to pee in and says, “Let’s find out then.”

Oh shit.

—

“Okay, so now that you’ve registered for citizenship and are certified alive, you’ll need to wait outside in the line on the left for housing and a work permit,” the doctor explains. She smiles at you. “Well, not you, mommy; you’ll be off work for at least a couple of days.”

This wasn’t happening; there had to be some kind of mistake. You couldn’t be pregnant. You glance at 10k, who was toying with the bandana on his head; he hadn’t said anything since two pink lines appeared on the stick the doctor dipped into your urine sample.

“I know this is a shock, but I do have more people waiting to be processed.”

You stand first. “Uh, thank you.”

Stepping out of the medical tent into the camp, you first spot Doc and Sarge, who are waiting for you both. “Fuck, we can’t tell them.”

10k nods in agreement, “we cannot tell them or anyone.”

You go over to retrieve your bags and weapons, which you made to hand over upon arrival. Soon as Doc waved over to you, you knew it would be impossible to keep a secret like this from him. 10k thinks the same because he says, “I don’t know how long I can be around him before I break.”

“We can tell Doc, but nobody else. I don’t want anyone to know anything until... I don’t even know.”

“Until we are finally sure things are safe?”

“Yeah,” you sigh. “Our team is our family; this affects them, and I don’t want to freak everyone out until it’s absolutely necessary. How are you feeling about it? Your head took a pretty hard hit when you hit the ground.”

10k Let’s take a deep breath. “I’m not going to lie; I’m terrified. But we’ve made it this far.” Seeing tears build in your eyes, he pulls you in for a hug and kisses your forehead. “We’ve made it through much worse; we just need time to get our heads around it.”

Taking his hand, you walk towards Doc and Sarge in comfortable silence. Just as you reach them, George appears with a large smile on her face. “Hey guys, I’m glad to see you made it in. Did you get your work assignments?”

“Sure did.” Doc replies. “You’re looking at a future intake examiner. I guess they liked my bedside manner.”

“I’ve been assigned gate duty with the volunteer militia,” Sarge pouts.

“So have I,” 10k says.

Sarge seems a little happier that she and 10K have the same assignment, but she struggles to hide her disappointment. George picks up on it as well, “it’s only temporary. Once the referendum passes, you’ll be able to work anywhere in New America. I personally like Pacifia, my home, but there’s something for everybody.”

You liked the sound of that. Personally, you either wanted to live in an open area like a forest or a farmhouse. You knew it would be a long time before that day came, but having that goal reminded you how worthwhile all the shit you’ve been through was.

George’s dark eyes land on you. “What about you? What’s your work assignment?”

“I don’t have one yet,” you shrug.

George nods her head; she looks like she’s going to say something but notices the nervous glance between yourself and 10K and changes the subject. “Well, if there’s anything I can do—one moment.”

You watch as George orders men who are guarding the fences to be less rough on a woman who’s the new type of zombie. She calls for Dante to hand her one of those little black biscuits and feed it to the women, making her much calmer. Without those biscuits, camp would be screwed; it was the only thing that stopped people who had died from turning completely Z.

—

After a quick shower and a hot meal, you go with the rest of your group while they are on gate duty. You didn’t want your first day in the place to be alone, especially since you’d got an appointment for a scan later on that day. Even though the doctor confirmed you were with a child, you didn’t feel any different; the only difference you felt now was a massive weight pressing down on you for keeping it a secret. But knowing so many things could go wrong, it was best to keep it quiet for now. At least that’s what you told yourself.

“Warren! Murphy!”

“Oh my god! Roberta! You are indestructible! Look at your hair,” Doc says, pulling a brunette into a hug.

It takes you a few seconds to fully register. Warren was standing in front of you. She was alive. You jump to your feet and rush towards them. “I can’t believe Murphy actually found you. I was so sure both of you were gone.”

Warren hugs you tightly. “I’m glad to see you. I’m so glad you guys made it this far; I was worried I’d never get the chance to see any of you again.”

Whatever happened to Warren when she supposedly died changed her hair back to its natural color. You liked it; she looked more like herself again. Murphy’s skin still remained bright red. Although Altura was the longest zombie-free outpost in North America, you couldn’t shake the niggling feeling that it could all change now that Murphy had arrived. Seconds after the thought crosses your mind, Murphy causes a scene by refusing to go for his examination.

Seeing Dante step forward, you jump in between them and say, “Listen, he’s got a phobia of scientists.”

Doc starts to try and defuse the tension but stops talking when Warren and George smile at each other. They walk towards each other and hug. It turns out they were old friends who saved each other's lives at the start of the apocalypse.

—

The outpost was more impressive than you first realized; it even had its own bar—not that you could drink for a long time, but it was nice that others could. When you first entered the bar, you were pleasantly surprised to meet Simon Cruller, better known as Citizen Z. It was crazy to think how many times he’d saved your asses without ever actually meeting you.

“Oh my god, what is that?”

You try not to barf as a citizen places down a large glass of green tequila before sitting down beside 10k and saying, “Do not let me drink this; I have a wife and kid.”

10k tilts his head and looks at you with wide eyes; you could already see the sweat gathering at his hairline. You had agreed to sit down with Doc and gently break the news to him that night, then, in a few days, tell the others, but the unknown elephant in the room had caught the attention of Sarge, Simone, and Doc, who were all staring at the two of you, waiting for one of you to say something.

Doc suddenly lunges forward, “Reds alive! She’s here with some dude, and they have a kid!”

Before either of you can answer, glass shatters from the other side of the bar, and two drunk men begin to shove each other while arguing. Sarge and Simone go to intervene, while Doc stays behind. A baby? How long have you been apart from her? Keeping track of time in the apocalypse was never easy.

“Sorry kids, I thought you would be over the moon to—”

10K suddenly lunges forward, downing the green tequila he burns loudly before wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. He looks at Doc and blurts out, “Astra’s pregnant, with a baby!”

Doc leans back into his chair and says, “Oh my god, I mean congratulations. You guys must be—”

“Terrified.”

“Nauseated.”

“What’s going on, gang?” Warren asks, walking towards you.

“Nothing, nothing,” 10k scrambled to his feet. “I need some fresh air.”

“Yeah, I’ll go with you.”

—

“You guys should go talk to her,” Sarge says, motioning her head in the direction Red was going.

While walking around the stall area, Sarge caught up with you and 10K; if she sensed something was going on, she never let on.

“Yeah, it would be nice to catch up with her and find out how she vanished into thin air.”

You start to approach her first, watching as she smiles brightly and talks to someone, but when a man hands her a baby wrapped in blankets, you quickly turn and head in another direction. It was too much. Starting a new life, finding out you were growing a new life, Warren coming from the dead, and now seeing Red with a family—it was too much for you to process at once.

“Astra! Astra, wait!”

You run until you start to feel physically sick and sit down on a patch of grass. Pulling your chest up to your knees, you quietly sob. You lose track of how long you’re sitting for; you only lift your head when footsteps approach from behind. “I’m sorry, Tommy.”

“No need to be sorry.”

“Red?” You wipe away your fallen tears and stand, saying, “You’re really here.”

“And you’re alive!” She rushes over and embraces you in a hug that you desperately needed. “I spoke to 10K; just to be clear, I’m not married, but here you are. Congratulations.”

You pull back and chuckle. “I’d say I wish you were there, but it was kind of chaotic.”

“Isn’t it always? What kind of wedding was it?”

“It was a spur of the moment, word-dying type of wedding.” She laughs, thinking it’s a joke. “Red, I’m so sorry about everything that happened before you left. I’ve missed you so much; I should never have left you and taken off like I did.”

She offers you a kind smile. “What’s done is done. Now we can only look to the future, and for the record, I’m sorry too.”

You squeeze her hand, “friends.”

“Fri— what was that?”

You both look over to the building the voting was going on in to see smoke coming out from the side of it. “I think a bomb just went off.”

#z nation #10k x reader #10k x you #10k z nation #inside outisde #z nation x reader #z nation 10k #z nation fanfic #murphy z nation #z nation doc #z nation fandom #z nation fanfiction #10k #10k/reader #10k/you #tommy z nation

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bipanicoverthegravessiblings · 3 months

Note

Okok hear me out on this,

Ashley x Yandere!Reader

I'm curious as to how that one will play out

Can you tell I had fun writing from a Yandere POV?

Ashley Graves x Yandere!Reader

You’ve seen her in passing

During the quarantine of that apartment building just down the road from your own

And while walking to the nearest bus stop to take you to your dead end job, you’d pass by the fortified building

You never paid it or its tenants much mind

Until your eyes wandered….and you spotted someone

A couple people to be exact-

Both had black hair and pale skin, a man and a woman. The man was smoking, looking out uninterested

But it wasn’t him who caught your eye…

The woman. Her messy black hair tied into a low ponytail. She was sitting precariously on the balcony’s edge, her expression as unamused as the man

She was poking him, to which he kept swatting at her hand to stop her. She didn’t.

You tried to study her features from your view point on the ground

Perhaps you stared too long, as she turned her head to look down at you

You continued to the bus stop after getting caught

But the woman still plagued your mind

She was so pretty…so alluring…

Something drew her to you

Maybe it was the fact that she was out of reach from you

Locked away in the apartment like a bird in a cage

To be observed and marveled at

Whatever drew you to her…

You loved this feeling

Your life was a routine that’s grown dull: wake up, go to work, go home, sleep, repeat.

You’d run on autopilot so long you honestly were convinced you’d become a robot

An emotionless husk traversing through life

Until you saw that woman…

….you needed to keep this feeling.

You needed to see her again.

Your steps slowed as the familiar fortified building came into your view. You’d been coming back here for a few weeks now, and each time it felt like there were more precautions put up. Ambulances too.

Your eyes worriedly scanned the balcony’s, though you released the tension in your shoulders as you spotted your caged bird. A gorgeous woman with jet black hair and captivating cherry blossom eyes. Like a beautiful raven…

She was just heading inside from the balcony, making you swear under your breath that you failed to get her earlier to observe her more. Perhaps you should start getting here earlier…

It frustrated you that you couldn’t just- walk in. Move here to have a chance to bump into her naturally rather than ogling her from the ground. It was closer to the bus stop anyways, so it was practical too.

Though…you were reminded as to why that option wasn’t available. The quarantine was just one obstacle, but the other showed his face…

Walking on to the balcony, lit cigarette in hand, the man you had first seen entered looking annoyed. Perhaps having been chewed out by your raven. He folded his arms over the edge, taking a drag of the cigarette as his eyes wandered and landed on to you.

If the woman was a raven…then this was the dog who guarded her cage. You hated the man, and he hated you. The glares he gave you for eyeing your raven made that clear enough.

You still didn’t know their relationship, but given the similar hair and features, you presumed they were related. Protective older brother perhaps.

Your poor raven…having to not only deal with being locked away, but her mean guard dog not letting her have any fun. Any enrichment. How was she supposed to be marveled and looked upon if he chewed out anyone who got too close.

You narrowed your eyes a final time before speeding up your pace. You needed to catch the bus anyway.

Even on your days off you visited

Eventually moving along like you’d go to work

Only to circle back the long way and avoid being seen

One of these days though, you caught an odd sight

You never moved so fast in your life. Hunched over in a bush, you moved some of the foliage to observe what you just witnessed.

Your raven had escaped! Joy!

….with her guard dog- less joy.

You had no idea what was going on. To your knowledge, the quarantine was still going. And from what little you saw before hiding, it appeared they had jumped the fence. So- they really did escape. They must have.

And now they were walking away…

Once a good distance, you emerged from your bush and followed suit. There was no way you were losing her. You wanted to see where she was going, just had to make sure you didn’t get caught. The two paused at a bus stop, sitting down and chatting- likely about their escape. You were hidden, as best as you could, behind a telephone pole- observing. Where were they heading?…

The bus soon rolled up, the two clambering on to god knows where.

And you followed.

You followed your raven, who you finally learned the name of from her dog barking it to her in frustration.

Ashley

A gorgeous name for a gorgeous woman

Oh- and the dog’s name was Andrew. Or whatever.

But it quickly became obvious you weren’t the only one following them

Some other bastard had tailed them just a week after you had

And you’d be damned if you were going to let him cause her harm

You leered from your hiding spot beside the motel, eyes narrowed as you looked out for the hooded figure that terrorized your Ashley. And appear he did.

He approached the motel, making his way up the stairs and opening the door. He disappeared inside. This was your chance…

You knew Ashley and her dog weren’t in there. No, they had gone….somewhere. Truthfully, you didn’t know. And you hated that you didn’t. But this was important. You unsheathed the knife you had purchased from your pocket, quietly making your way to the room. You readied your knife, raising it above your head, as you entered. The door was unlocked.

Scanning the room, there was no sign of the hooded figure. But you saw him go in here…so he was somewhere. Your eyes landed on the closet across the room, right in front of you. It stared at you menacingly, inviting you to come closer. You did.

With your knife readied, you stalked over to the wooden closet. Your hand hovered over the knob, and you took a quiet breath as you psyched yourself up for this. Opening the door unleashed an onslaught of knives flying at their opponents. You were stabbed. He was stabbed. You’re pretty sure some parts of the wall were too as you tussled with the hooded man. You managed to have the upper hand, as he seemed shocked to see you here. Likely expecting your raven.

That rage, the rage that stemmed from him likely wanting to cause your Ashley harm, fueled you in the fight. Allowing you to deliver a finishing blow to the bastard’s head. He stopped squirming. Stopped struggling. Stopped living. He was dead.

You sat there, blood coating your clothes- you couldn’t tell if it was his or your blood. You panted, staring down at his lifeless corpse underneath you. Your gaze lifted, and you couldn’t believe what you saw.

Standing in the doorway that you left open, was her. Your raven. Your cherry blossom eyed goddess. Ashley Graves. Her eyes were widened in shock, her guard dog close behind her with a conflicted look on his face. It was mainly shock from what you could gather though.

You smiled, a dopey- dumb smile as the sight of Ashley warmed your insides.

“Hello,” you greeted, like you hadn’t just killed a man, “How- How are you?”

#the coffin of andy and leyley #ashley graves #tcoaal #x reader #ashley graves x reader

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gardens-light · 2 years

Text

No Longer Playing Pretend

Content- Brief mention of attempt sexual assault in first few paragraphs. (Go to the sentence starting with 'Boom.' If you'd like to skip.) P in V. Anal sex. Swearing. Brief mention of porn. Smutt & Fluff.

You clutched onto the towel as shock waved over your body as you exited the shower cubical. A wave of uneasiness crept up your body, causing your stomach to turn, as your gaze fell onto Todd. One of the senior agents of the B.P.R.D. He sat on the metal bench in the open space of the lockers within the women's communal showers. Being mindful of the wet floor beneath you, and Todd's perverted stare, you walked over to your locker. Turning the key that was already in the lock.

"This is the women's showers, Todd. You should leave." Your firm tone hiding the nerves that crept up your spine.

A sly smile came to his lips, "apologizes, but I was looking for you."

"Your apology is noted. But as you can see I'm busy at the moment. You can talk to me later."

From the corner of your eye, you watched his predator like movement as Todd approached you. "Perhaps I could assist you."

"Not necessary and highly unprofessional. Please leave."

Todd used his height to loom over you, as he rested his forearm against your locker. Forcing the door shut. "Now, now. I'm being nice. Perhaps I could help with the towel? Or perhaps putting on your panties."

You flinched away from his touch, taking a step back. Clutching onto hem of the towel tighter, as it rested against your bust. Todd slightly shifted his position over you, cornering you into a tight spot. The cold metal of the lockers against your back, made your shivers worse. You tried to avoid his lusty glare, but Todd placed a gentle thumb under your chin and tilted your head upwards. Your eyes closed, feeling the heat of his breath upon your face, caused your stomach to turn.

"I see you hanging around with the freaks here. Why waste your time with them? When you could be with a real man."

You slapped his hand away as it tried to move from your chin to your shoulder. "Don't touch me! Leave! I want you to leave!"

His smile turned into a menacing grin as Todd leaned closer, whispering in your ear. "Leave? But your body language is inviting me. Begging for me. I've been so nice to you, it's only fair you repay that kindness."

Boom!

Bang!

Splash!

Shuttering at the sudden sounds that echoed, you pressed yourself harder against the tiled wall. As you felt Todd slightly jump away from you.

"Ah! Hellboy? What the fuck? You can't just use fire arms openly outside of training or missions!" Todd's voice was filled with frustration.

Water leaked onto the floor from the now broken pipes within the ceiling. Cracked and shattered tiles laid at Hellboy's feet as he casually lit his cigar, with a wooden match. Todd adjusted his suit and tie, clearing his throat before speaking.

"I see you put into Quarantine for that! And not to mention entering the women's showers!-"

"Exactly. The women's. I may be Quarantined for open use of my gun, but what would happen to you, if I mentioned I caught you sexually harassing?."

Todd snickered, "sexual harassment? Please, we're clearly in the middle of something before you rudely interrupted."

Hellboy checked the bullets in the revolver's chamber, as his stare narrowed onto Todd. "Now, Y/N asked nicely. I won't" he aim the gun at Todd's head, the agent now shaking.

"P-Put your weapon down Agent Hellboy! Or I'll-"

"You what? Use that tiny pistol? My baby can pack more heat and deliver more damage. Now, as I said, I won't ask nicely. Get your fucking hands off my girl, before I shoot you."

Todd's breath got stuck in his throat, his words stumbling out of his mouth. Apologies and excuses flooding out, but Hellboy casually checked the revolver's chamber before giving it a spin. And aiming it at Todd's head. "Now, I'm going to give you on the count of three, to take your sorry, pathetic ass outta here. And should you even look, think or even walk in the direction of, Y/N. I'll carve your name into a bullet. That is if I don't shoot you now, that is."

The click of the safety being pulled caused Todd's feet to scamper out of the lockers. You released a heavy sigh and breathed deeply, as a wave of relief washed over you. Your eyes opening as Hellboy slowly approached you, placing his gun back into it's holster.

"You alright? Did he touch you?."

You took another deep breath before speaking, "No, no. He didn't and I'm fine, just... a little shaken up."

"Y'know we can get his ass reprimanded. Make sure the only job he'll ever be able to get is at a local fish and chip. Perhaps a fruit and vegetable store, if we're nice."

"No, No. Just... leave it, please. Last thing I want is Manning and the Professor questioning me."

"Forget Manning. The Professor will believe you, no matter what-"

"Hellboy. Please. Just leave it be."

Grudging at your decision, Hellboy placed a gentle hand upon your shoulder in an attempt to comfort you. The pair of you stood in silence for a brief moment.

"Your girl huh? Y'know that's gonna slip out" you spoke in a soft tone.

Hellboy shrugged as a little chuckle left him, "ah I just said whatever for him to back off. Besides nobody would believe it. You and me? Everyone knows we're just friends."

True. Everyone in the B.P.R.D could see the friendship and professionalism bond that was shared between you and Hellboy. Since your first day stepping onto the job, he showed you more respect out of all the new agents. Weather it was because you never stared at his filed down horns, or simply because you treated him and Abe no differently than you treated the rest of the team.

You weren't afraid to swim in Abe's tank, or turn the pages for him whenever you read together in the library. Hellboy enjoyed the friendly competition between the pair of you, whenever you were in the shooting range for training. Or joking using a picture of Manning as target practise on the dummies.

And just as predicted, Todd took Hellboy's words seriously. Telling everyone within the Bureau that you and Hellboy were am item. The rumours of him catching you two having sex in the women's showers spread like wild fire. Besides Manning giving Hellboy a lecture on professional boundaries and keeping things private. The rumours worked more into your favour, with the Professor questioning Todd why was he in the women's showers in the first place. And not being able to provide a believable and logical explanation, Todd was ordered have two months off. Along with training on 'Appropriate Mannerism in the Workplace.'

With Todd out of the picture, agents and staff of the Bureau started to question weather the rumours were true. So you and Hellboy decided to have some fun and cause a little bit of confusion.

For months, you both publicly exchanged flirtatious comments and playful banter, weather face to face in the Bureau. Or over the intercoms during missions. In the cafeteria during meals, whenever Hellboy wasn't with the Professor, you carelessly sat in his lap. Casually eating your meal, while everyone stared or attempted to avoid eye contact. Of course, Hellboy was taken off guard and you laughed when he went stiff as a board, after the first couple of times. Sometimes even staged a make out session within the hallway, just to annoy Manning that little more.

it got to the point where Abe couldn't tell the difference between your pranks, and genuine affection. Even you and Hellboy got caught in awkward moments when it became unclear to yourselves...

***

"They've been at it for hours."

"Yeah well... try not to think about it."

"I mean... really? That long? I know he's a demon or devil, or whatever. But her? How much can the human body take?"

"Dude! I really don't want to have this convocation! Hearing them is bad enough! Thankfully my shift is ending so some other poor ass can listen."

You and Hellboy shared cheeky grins and snickered with laughter, as you both casually played the board game Monopoly upon his bed. While some graphic porn played in the background. Loud enough for the guards who stood outside of the large, circular safe like door. The lewd sound affects played off your phone, which stood near the makeshift TV unit. Which held six or seven, box like TV's from the 90's that was casually stacked on top of one another.

"This is the best prank! Those guys are gonna be scarred for life!" you said between giggles. The lewd sounds loud enough to drown out your convocation.

Hellboy shrugged as he moved the silver car, six spaces on the board. "Meh, deserves them right. I get sick of those guys trying to pry into my business. Trying to act all casual and smug, whenever the old man wanna talk to me."

You took the dice, rolling it and taking your turn. Moving your silver piece three spaces along the board. Collecting money as you passed 'Go.' "Do people really try to butt in that badly?"

"Uh-huh. Stupid basters, I know why. It's because I look like this." Hellboy gestured to his face, "I see the fear in their eyes. Even those who claim they're 'my friends', or 'co-workers.' I see it.'

You felt your heart sink a little in your chest as he continued. "People freak and call out absurdities from the street, whenever I come into view during missions. I see and hear on the news, 'The Devil Walks Among us,' 'Demon of Destruction.' Religious whack jobs claim I'm here to bring 'The End of Days.'"

"Hell! Only freaky goth chicks and greedy prostitutes, fuck me at the local strip club."

You spat out a bit of your drink, as you went to take a sip from a beer. Hellboy snapped out of his daze and patted his face dry, using the hem of his black shirt. "What the?-"

"Dose the Bureau know about your little 'hobby?'" you questioned.

"What? No! Could you imagine Manning's face? Fuck, he'll have a heart attack. The dude never shuts up when the press takes photo's of me." Content with the mess he managed to clean up, Hellboy saw the curiosity growing in your eyes.

"What?"

"Oh! U-Um, nothing! Nothing!" your words stuttered as you snapped out of your daze.

"Y'know I can easily read you out of all people. You're like a book. C'mon, tell me. I see your mind wondering."

You hesitated before speaking, "do you... do you really have sex? Like at the club, do girls just take you in a private room...?"

Hellboy raised an eyebrow, actually needing to think hard about his answer. Not certain if you were curious of the clubs activities or his. "Yeah... the club allows girls to fuck clients, but only if they pay money first. It's quite a lot, so not your 'average Jo' can offered such 'service.'"

"And you?" your mind begun to control your speech. Forgetting yourself for a moment. "Do you stick with one position? Or do the girls allow you to move them around?. Can they fit all of you in?"

Hellboy's shocked face said it all. Realizing what you just asked, your cheeks reddened from pure embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cross boundaries! Honestly was... just curious."

An awkward silence begun to grow over the pair of you. Both only realizing that the lewd sound affects stopped ages ago. Only a red battery flashed across your phone screen. You shifted your body into another sitting position, now crossing your legs instead of knelling against the bedsheets. Little fires begun to spark in your stomach, as vivid imagines of Hellboy undressing played in your mind. He caught you glimpse at his crotch a few times.

Feeling your cheeks burn even more. You quickly raised onto your feet and stood beside the bed, "I-I'm sorry! I should go!"

"Wait!" Hellboy took a step towards you, but tripping over his own feet causing him to knock you onto the floor. He cradled your body and cupped the back of your head with his stone hand, protecting you against the impact of the tiled flooring. His muscled frame hunched over you, as he knelt against the ground. His thighs on the out side of yours, as he straddled your hips.

Both of you breathing heavily as you gazed at one another. Your shocked and innocent expression awakened his arousal. The ambers ignited into a passionate flame within him, as his eyes trailed down your neck and seeing your cleavage. Your tight tank top highlighting the curves of your torso and the full size of your breasts.

"Let's make our own noise."

Your eyes widened, "Hellboy?."

"Our jokes and pranks. Sure that's all they were when we started, but now! My mind can't go through one day without picturing you in lewd and sexual positions. And if you stay... I'm afraid it wouldn't only be mind that be wondering."

He gently rested your back against the floor, as he moved his stone hand away. Straightening his posture as he sat on his legs, trying to even out his weight without hurting you. The little fire within you begun to burn warmly, as you felt his erected crotch slightly touch your inner thighs. The black leather of his trousers restricting and outlining his cock.

"I want to ravish you! Kiss every inch of your skin, and leaving no part of your body undiscovered! Would you, Y/N? Would you allow a demon such as myself to bathe in such pleasure?."

You wrapped your arms around his neck, looking up at him with a warm smile. "I'll allow a man, such as yourself to bathe in such pleasure."

Pulling your hips closer to his, as Hellboy cradled the small of your back. Kissing your lip with a hungry and passionate touch, as he grinded against you. His crotch hardening against the leather, as his hands slid down from the small of your back, groping your ass in a strong, merciless grip.

Unamused with your muffled whimper. Hellboy pulled away and pressed his erection harder against your soft spot. His firm grip clamping onto his ass again, "I said. Let's make our own noise!"

Pulling down your top and exposing your bare breasts, Hellboy placed his mouth over one, while cupping another. A surprised moan left your mouth, as you felt him bite hard into your flesh. Well knowing it's going to leave a mark tomorrow. You cradled the back of his head and played with his raven locks, as his tongue grazed over your nipple. His hand of stone gently sliding under your hips, as you arched your back. Attempting to put your breasts closer to his face.

Hellboy's stone hand caressed the curves, his fingers tracing over your spine. Before sitting upright against your hips again, you gazed down at him with great anticipation. Eyes widening with excitement, as he unbuckled the leather belt upon his trousers. Unfastening the zip and allowing his erection to merge through.

Assisting him in the removal of your jeans. You wrapped your legs around Hellboy's waist, gasping as you felt his index and middle finger gently rub your clit, before pushing through into you. His stone hand moving from the small of your back, to the back of your head. Cradling the base of your skull in his palm, as his hungry kisses marked your body. From your neck, down your collar bone to your cleavage.

Your hips bucked in time with the thrusts of his hand, feeling his fingers curl and touch inside you. The wetness of your pussy dripping down his hand.

"Fuck me Red!"

Soon, the tip of his cock teased your entrance. Hellboy watched you with a devilish grin, as you seductively bit your bottom lip. You clutched onto his strong biceps, bracing for strong support. A heavy moan, almost like a growl escaped Hellboy as he pushed his hips forward. Propping himself up, resting all his weight onto his palms, your hands sliding onto his shoulders, as he held his arms side to your head.

Your eyes rolled backwards and your hips rocked in a gentle sway, as Hellboy steadily pushed his dick deeper into you. A mixture of moans and whimpers escaped you, as you felt him stretch your insides. Your body adjusting to his size with each gentle thrust, feeling his cock goes deeper, until his whole length was in you. The fire inside your abdomen sparked into wild fireworks, as Hellboy quickened his peace. Ripping pleasure and moan from you with each thrust, your legs locking around his waist and your back arching again, as his cock reached your cervix each time. Never have you felt so stretched but so full, at the same time.

Your hands ran down his shoulders towards his chest, as you gripped tightly onto his black shirt. Feeling your body quiver and ache, as it submitted to Hellboy. You heard him purr into your ear, as you gasped and moaned close to his.

With a final thrust, his cock pulled out with a satisfying pop. Hellboy allowed you to catch your breath, before turning and bending you over. Supporting your weight on all fours, your bare ass exposed to Hellboy as he massaged your buttocks. His fingers relaxing and getting closer to your exit.

Holding you by your waist and knelling against the floor. Hellboy continued to massage your buttocks, as his cock gently slid between your cheeks. With each slow movement of his hips, he pressed his cock a little more into your exit.

"Good girl, Y/N. Good girl." he purred.

Each rocking of his hips against you was slow and gentle. Only pushing a little more, once he was satisfied and knowing you could take more of him, without it hurting. Hellboy continued to prise and massage your buttocks. Showing more mercy than he did to your pussy.

After showing your behind some love. Hellboy carefully pulled out and rolled you onto your back. His devilish grin widening, pleased of the unravelled mess he turned you into. You cheeks flushed as heavy breathes left you. Although your body ached of being stretched, it still begged for more.

"F-Fuck Red."

"You took all of me. Good girl, baby. You're body was meant to be ravished."

He crawled over you and placed a passionate kiss upon your lips. As he thrusted into you, his cock invading your entrance once more. While his hand slammed your ass.

#hellboy #hellboy x reader #hellboy 2004 #hellboy 2019 #fanfic #gardens light #hellboy fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfics #fanfic writing

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jadespeedster17 · 1 year

Text

A Father of Spores

Summary: Grian hasn’t been feeling himself since coming out of the decontamination room. Though he has a clean health, and no more shrooms are growing on or out of him, he still feels weird all over. He keeps hearing Scar’s voice too, but the man isn’t any where to be seen. And Mumbo has him staying away from the main areas where the resistance has been hitting, as par for the course after exposure. But, that didn’t stop Cub from paying him a visit.

Warnings: Mentions of Body Modification, Brainwashing, Body Horror, Corruption, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Cannibalism, and Altered Reality.

No Beta lol, give into the spores please.

The usual after decontamination was a period of which one had to quarantine away from any and all forms of the mycelium. Which meant Grian was stuck in his simple house away from the main area of infection, which was mostly the outskirts and inner city. Luckily his area was mostly untouched, and made for some time he could gather his thoughts. Truth be told he didn’t remember alot of it. Mumbo was being vague on purpose, so he could only guess it was bad. His arms and back were healing up fine at least, no more shrooms growing out of them. And he was taking it slow for the time until the week was up to head back to work, once they were sure all signs of infection were gone.

It was... dull, boring, going on day 3 with Grian doing a movie marathon of the Scooby Doo films... they were bad but in a cringy good way. He was also was watching Mystery Incorporated, and trying to keep his mind off things as he petted his cats. Lately it’s been.. odd, he swears he hears Scar’s voice in his house. But, each time he turns around, no one is there, and not a sign of spores in sight.

Maybe he really is starting to lose it? Maybe it’s a prolonged effect of after exposure? He had heard altered state of mind was a common side effect for a few days, so... he tried not to let it get to him.

He finished peeling the potatoes for a pot roast he was making, getting started on cutting them into 4′s when there was a knock at his door.

“Hm?” Grian looked up confused, could that be Mumbo? Maybe even Impulse or Doc coming to check on him? The latter was more likely as Mumbo knew better than to go to someone during quarantine period, he was target number one after all. Washing his hands quickly, as another knock was heard, he walked over to the door.

Opening the door after turning the lock, Grian looked outside, and felt his inside turn cold at the sight before him.

Green and black fugus like stuff ran up the side of his face, creating these horns that poked out from black hair. The eyes were pure black with blue orbs looking at Grian, glowing blue shrooms grew out the side of the face as well and along his shoulders. Cub smiled brightly at Grian, “Helloooo Grian.” he said cheerfully to him, the horns flicking a bit like cat ears.

SLAM!

Grian had his back to the door his heart rate rising as he looked startled a bit in disbelief. He stood there in shock, staring at the ground. For a second, he wondered if he had imagined it.

More knocking behind him as it vibrated through his back. “Grian.” Cub’s voice said, “I promise I won’t make more shrooms grow in your walls or couch. I just came to talk.” his tone almost a slight whine to it, playful and teasing.

Rubbing a hand over his face, Grian groaned in annoyance as he stood up again and opened the door again peering at Cub around the corner. Cub was smiling brightly at him still, despite the stuff growing out of his skin and face, the smile was the same as Grian remembered it. Opening the door fully Grian sighed, “... Don’t try anything.” he grumbled before allowing Cub inside. He was an idiot, but frankly he knew Cub could force his way in if he wanted. So, civil was the best course of action, and calling the cops wouldn’t do shit, as that last time the happen Scar infected them all.

Cub walked in and did take off his muddy shoes in the mud room, Grian closed the door again, but didn’t lock it just in case. He looked at Cub who was petting on his cat, she didn’t seem to mind purring away happy to see him again. Cub smiled at Grian, “I’ve missed you.” he told him, “Didn’t mean to be gone so long, or cause you to get a new couch before then.” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with a fanged smile.

Shifted a bit Grian made a face, “Darn well better be, that was a good leather couch.” he grumbled a bit as Cub did laugh, it... sounded off, it was Cub’s voice but also distorted a bit. He looked at the other and sighed heavily, “Hungry?” he asked him curiously, trying to keep calm and even voice.

The horns flicked as Cub perked up, “A bit, any meats will work, or anything mushroom and vegetable related.” he said walking with Grian to the kitchen taking a seat at one of the bar stools.

“Mushroom related?’ Grian asked confused as he put the potatoes into the pot.

Shrugging, Cub leaned on the counter, Grian was gonna have to disinfect things again. “I mean, fungus is cannibalistic by nature, we eat dead things, even other dead shrooms.” he explained. “well, it’s not really ‘cannibalism’ as we don’t have the same moral standing as most humans. Just a way of life really.”

Grian hummed at that looking intrigued as he put the pot on high and sat across from Cub. This felt painfully familiar, days and nights they spent together when dating just chatting and laughing. Before Cub got infected, before he fell off the face of the earth for 6 months and came back... looking like this.

“Been a long time, huh?” Cub smiled at him calmly, “I’ve missed our nights together, Scar likes hearing me talk about you. He really likes you.” he chuckled faintly as Grian looked at Cub with sad yet curious brown eyes. His feathers shifted a bit as the faint sound of chuckling was in his head, but it was gone as quick as he heard it.

A pause in the air as Cub hummed faintly, “he wants to see you again,” he said slowly, “the father I mean, Scar, he wants to get to know you on a personal bases, as I talk to highly of you.”

Grian said nothing as Cub watched him without blinking, in fact the other didn’t see to blink at all. A moment, before Cub continued, a sad, and quiet sigh escaping his mouth. “I wasn’t forced like this Grian.” he said, as it shattered the silence like glass, and Grian was now looking at him with wide eyes. Cub gave a sad smile, “I was very willing.”

Wide, and shocked brown eyes looked at Cub, that... that couldn’t be true! He remembered Cub being among the ones that went missing when the Father Spore had made his appearance, after he infected the building Cub had been working in. The day he came back, stumbling and a bit dazed in Grian’s door and near contaminated the whole house beyond repair... before vanishing again.

“I know, hard to believe.” Cub said calmly with a shrug, “but I’m not lying, i have no real reason to lie like this. Trust me, the brainwashed ones are obvious compared to ones like me. We are gifted with more freedom of will, our thoughts are more our own, but we are still connected to The Father.” he explained to Grian messing with one of the shrooms on his arm. As he did so it did spew out some blue powder, which Cub cleaned up from the counter.

Ones like Cub couldn’t produced heavily spore pollen like Scar, but he was still contagious through contact. Even more so than some of the others infected, but Sculk was a very advance form of fungus that grew in the darkest parts of the world.

Chewing on his lower lip for a moment, Grian narrowed his eyes at the table, the silence stretched as this info sank in. “Why?” he finally asked after a long moment of his thoughts swirling around, taking in the fact Cub, his Cub, became this monster like creature.

Another shrug, Cub sat up a it, “The Father isn’t just some guy infected with overgrown mushrooms Grian... he’s something much more powerful and more than a mere man now. He’s the new age coming, of which all will be either connected or food.” he said in a matter of fact tone. Then a grin, “I know sounds very ‘Cultish’ doesn’t it? But it’s the honest truth, Scar speaks often of his plans to me, of how not all will be infected, but used to spread the spores with their decaying bodies.”

Another round of insides being dunked in cold water, Grian swallowed hard at that. They had.. suspected that was the plan, given some were killed by Scar and found with lots of mycelium and shrooms growing out of their dead bodies. But, to hear it from a source, it just made it all the more scary.

“I was tired Grian,” Cub looks out the nearby window in thought, “I loved you so much, but other parts of my life were just so dull. I felt like I was doing things on a loop, and felt empty without you or other connections.” He seemed lost in thought for a moment then a faint smile, “Then I met Scar, he broke into the building, and spoke in a charming voice. He was cunning, threatening, but gentle and so calm. The building was over run with spores, mycelium, and Scar gave all us a choice. To accept his gift, or be the example.”

Grian stared at that as Cub stared outside at the darkness, there were many bodies that day, all taken over by mushrooms, that area was still under heavy rules, no one was allowed inside it. It was a prime area to be infected, and the process to get rid of it was slow and with little fruition. Thus it was blocked off from the general public.

“I accepted to go with him, me a very few others. I was actually the first to speak up that I’d go. On the promise of a new start, something more...” Cub spoke again catching Grian’s attention again. “He was so... gentle Gri, he cupped my face, smiled at me so lovingly, and promised all that and more.” a near whisper, reverently, and in so much awe.

Cub looked back at Grian, “He took me to his home, the resistance base as you know it, and carefully helped me through the process. It was scary at first, I won’t lie, but the results are worth it.” his eyes almost glowed, “We are a part of him, and he of us. We are his children, Grian...” he reached out, but paused looking at up Grian with longing, loving, and pleading eyes. “I want you a part of us too, Gri, to feel like this. Loved, cherished, wanted.”

They stared at each other for a long moment, before there was a hissing sound, Grian turned and swore rushing to the stove as he turned it down before it could mess up the burner. Once he was sure it wasn’t going to boil over, Grian looked at the contents in the pot, eyes narrowed a bit as Cub’s words rang in his head over and over again.

Cub was clearly infected badly, but, he spoke so highly of how he was now. The idea of what Scar wanted in the end was terrifying. Though he could picture it clearly, the grass gone, now a soft purplish grey, perhaps a few more trees here and there, tall shrooms also that grew, the air cleaner and clearer than it ever had been.

‘What a beautiful imagine, no?’

Scar’s voice in his head as Grian gripped the handles of the pot tighter. He frowned a bit, before getting out some food for him and Cub. Placing the bowl in front of his old flame, who didn’t take his eyes off him once.

For a while they ate in silence, Grian messing with the food and Cub adding a mushroom to his happily. Then he spoke up, “I don’t know Cub,” he admits after a long moment, “I... just don’t know.”

His thoughts were jumbled, a mess, and he just wasn’t sure. He was afraid, scared of what he’d become, repulsed by the idea of letting mushrooms grow out of him. But the way Cub spoke of it, a painful longing. What would being loved like that taste like? What would it feel like? To be cherished so easily? he had felt that with Cub, and in that moment in the office with Scar. And, Grian would be a liar if he said he didn’t want that.

‘I could give you all that and more, my song bird.’

Cub finished eating and smiled at him, “you don’t need to answer right now Grian.” he said gently to him, “The Father can wait, even though you might see him later.” he smiled, then paused, “Oh... wasn’t suppose to say that.” he said.

“What?’ Grian looked at cub, “What do you mean? What is he planning?’

Shaking his head, Cub stood, “Can’t say Grian, secret and all,” a teasing wink, “if you joined us though, I could tell you so much more. All I’ve found out about what we are.”

A glared from Grian, as Cub smirked at him, “But for now,” his eyes gleamed over green and his voice changed, “tell no one you saw us here, little bird.”

Grian froze at that, eyes widening... he felt like something fogged over his mind and he nodded to Cub. Cub smiled at that, eyes turning back to blue, he bent down for a moment, “Until then my flower.” he ghosted his lips over Grian, but didn’t touch them. And slowly pulled back from the dazed bird turning and leaving.

It wasn’t until the door clicked shut did Grian blink back into awareness. He looked around at the empty bowl, and some of the sculk on his counter. He felt... sad that Cub was gone, and he was alone again.

Sighing after a moment, Grian got up to start disinfecting the counters and bleaching the bowl. His mind lost in thought as he went through the motions.

Maybe if he wasn’t distracted by his thoughts, he might have noticed when he moved, his body who puff out these faint purple spores. Or might have also noticed that the blue of his feathers was turning a bit purple as well.

#tw body horror #tw body modification #tw corruption #tw cannibalism #tw mentions of death #Grian #cubfan135 #Sculk Cub #cub/grian #goodtimeswithscar #The Mushroom Man AU #hermitcraft #hermitshipping

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otterlyfoolish · 5 months

Text

Eat Crow

(Zombieman x GN!Reader)

Warnings: Mentioned Human Experimentation, Animal Death, Abandonment, Implied Child Abuse/Neglect, Swearing, Blood & gore (come on this is ZM), self-harm (ZM does some reckless things), there's probably other things in here that I can't think of right now so if you're particularly sensitive maybe you should just avoid this,

Tags: Pining, borderline romance, strangers to friends, maybe lovers (in the future), Reader is starved for any kind of companionship, Unstoppable force & Immovable object, oneshot, angst, comfort (very barely), open-ended ending, so much build-up for a fucking oneshot, not edited so sorry

Word count: 11k

Summary:

Zombieman had what he thought was a simple case: "Find the source of the toxins in the assigned area."

One of his specialities is investigating contaminated or toxic areas - places that only robots or cyborgs could reach, areas where organic matter struggled to make it out alive. Other heroes would be dispatched to a monster infestation, and he would be sent to the local ghost town. This was fine to him - he would describe himself as more of an investigator than a hero anyways. So, in one way, this task was like no other.

In another way, he's never seen a case as peculiar as this. A product of human experimentation, just like him. He's never really had a case like this before. Curiously, they didn't seem to want to admit it. He can't blame them for their decision either - especially not after he found out some reasons why. And it's not like he could have found out the normal way - after all, what's considered poisonous to a dead man?

So, he couldn't quite complete his investigation - at that point, he couldn't really confirm or deny his suspicions. That is until he saw their touch wilt a crow's life within seconds.

...Well, the crow is already dead. You just have to eat it now.

-----

Ao3 Link here, if you prefer reading there!

A/N: I'm mostly writing this to ward off my impulses for the other idea I have for ZM - I can't start another multi chapter fic on him when I've not even finished the other one I'm writing right now... (TBH if I just dedicated my time writing this into that, I might have been able to finish it... Uhhh I just won't think about that)

I've kept this on the drafts so long, but now I've finally vomited it out (I ran it through a spell checker, not even edited) - I hope that it's coherent because I struggle editing so much, and I don't know if I have it in me to make it more articulate than it is... Uhhh story isn't fluid sorry (>>_>>)

But if I used the wrong pronouns for the Reader (anything that's not they/them) please feel free to point it out since it is supposed to be Gender-Neutral!

---

"QUARANTINED AREA AHEAD"

"TOXIC WASTE NEARBY"

"LEAVE NOW"

The danger signs were littered everywhere.

From the very moment he even came near the location - even miles away, he was warned not to approach. As he got closer, the signs and fences only increased in frequency. Just a few caution signs at first, illustrated by the humble exclamation mark. Then the potentially comedic skull and bones - pirates would be overjoyed at the sight of so many of them. And finally the unnerving biohazard symbol appears. He's never liked the look of it - maybe because he doesn't understand what it was actually supposed to be, or maybe it reminded him too much of Dr. Genus' lab - the same symbols were also hung up everywhere, the scientist liked to be organised after all.

The final hurdle was in sight now - a chain-linked fence with barbed wires that had rust collecting on the bright red sign that hung brazenly on the door.

"DANGER: YOUR LIFE IS AT RISK FROM THIS POINT FORWARD"

He nodded at the final warning as if letting the inanimate object know that he acknowledges the danger, then swung his axe against the metal lock, easily snapping it in half. Time must have also wore the lock down, helping the process of decay because it behaved far too flimsy.

If most people showed me as much concern as these signs did, then I would be out of a job.

He pushes on the door, the hinges on the door creak loudly as if it was doing a drum roll for his demise. As he walks through, he's careful to shut the door behind him and lock it with another one - the one he brought in preparation for this. As he does so, he notices that the key for it must have fallen out on the way over. It was his fault for not repairing the hole in his pocket after tearing it from his last brawl.

No way out now I guess...

He takes the cigarette out of his mouth and rubs the cherry on the back of his hand before he drops it on the floor, crushing it with his black boots. Just as quickly as the cigarette left his mouth, another replaces it, the lighter coming up as if joined together with the cigarette. The nicotine was too addicting, he didn't mind the lethal poison that accompanied the chemical potentially affecting his body.

He's been critiqued on his bad habits by a fellow hero before, the smoke was just flat out unhealthy to have near people, so he should stop.

(He puts it nicer than what was actually said - Tatsumaki had gathered the all of the smoke in the room with her powers and stuffed it back into his lungs, hissing out hostile remarks as she did so. The product of a particularly bad day. Apparently she couldn't find any monsters to kill, and that caused her foul mood. It doesn't help that he was probably the closest thing to a monster she found that day.)

Even so, Zombieman couldn't disagree with the comments made, and though he never stopped smoking, the thought always flashed in his mind for the briefest of moments.

But this time he lit it without any guilt of others. This was a completely isolated area, where the air was already considered toxic to all organic matter. What's the harm of adding a little bit more poison in the air?

He dragged a large cloud of smoke out from his lips as he exhaled, almost like a sigh of relief from the long journey. Almost drearily, his eyes followed the grey mist drift through the air before it quickly dissipated into the atmosphere, the very last remnants of it lingered in one spot before fully turning transparent. His red pupils slowly fixated on that spot as he spotted the building he was headed towards.

...Break over. Back to work.

His arm slung the axe over his shoulder, resting the weight of the metal head in the crook of his neck as he continued his descent to his destination. He walked with calm confidence, not fitting of a man that's entering a toxic waste zone, but that suited him.

The thrill of an investigation was too addicting, he didn't mind about the dangers that had been constantly waved in his direction.

Perhaps the danger even added to the thrill of it.

-----

"Toxic waste land...? Hm." He murmured to himself as the read over the file they sent him. The low clicking of the train wheels was just as faint as his voice as he spoke. Zombieman positioned himself to a quiet corner of the fairly empty train, the folder in front of him messily sprawled out, but in a fairly controlled manner.

He had requested it to be in paper format, call him old-fashioned, but he viewed the information to be more tangible that way. Besides, he often breaks the phone the Hero Association provides him anyways. Once Child Emperor had leaped at the opportunity to make him an 'unbreakable' phone after hearing the staff members talk about how this was the 'fourth one this week', it had a pretty good run, but he still lost it in the end.

...It makes him feel bad to bother the kid for another one, so he'll just do this until Isamu notices and chucks him another. He'll treat it more carefully this time, he didn't realise just how much shitter the one's he gets from the Hero Association is. Isamu really was a genius, but he didn't want to pressure him too much.

He flips through the information provided, it was choppy. The testimonies didn't seem clear, and there wasn't a lot found by HA. Well, a lack of information never stopped him. His red eyes scanned the pages, picking up what he deemed the most vital snippets of data and committed it to memory.

"...Laboratory...", "...Mithridate...", "...Antidote...", "...Pancea...", "Dozens died from poisoning", "...Scientists Evacuate...", "...Local Town Falls Sick From Mysterious Illness...", "...Abandoned Area...", "...No Organic matter found in the vicinity..."

He concluded after reading it, there used to be a remote laboratory out this far that was focusing on creating strong antidotes. But it seemed that they weren't able to control it effectively enough, and apparently some sort of sample hadn't been contained properly had caused many of the scientists to die from poisoning. It seems that even though they tried their best to clean the place and dispose of the source, there was still trace amounts lingering and many workers became sick. The entire building was forced to evacuate - and a few years later, apparently some of the people that had lived nearby had to be admitted to the larger general hospitals. It started happening too frequently without any obvious cause and people started moving away. Satellite scans showed that the grass around this place slowly started dying, and bird avoided migrating near the area all together.

All in all, an typical case for him. He predicts the following days to be somewhat laid back. His only objective was to find what was the source. The implication in that was that he didn't even have to get rid of it, only report back.

There was something bothering him though. Like when you feel your feet shift a little too much - you're nervous but you don't know why. Or when you felt a pair of eyes watching you, but you couldn't place who in the crowd of people would spend so much time on you.

Current suspicion: There was something more to this case.

They could simply send one of their many drones to check out the area, scope out if there's a leak that's causing the increase of toxins detected. But they sent him.

His first thought: They suspected there was a monster there, and wanted him to kill it.

He could do that, they often do when they're worried about a particularly dangerous monsters most heroes couldn't defeat without wearing it down massively. But they didn't say anything in the report - they kept it hidden from him. To feign ignorance of the missing piece of the puzzle before even asking him for assistance.

...But why?

He's never shown hesitation to brutalise monsters. It's written in his fucking Encyclopedia page - something Bang had showed him after his disciple had pointed it out to him, and the old man just had to pass on the message, chuckling at the descriptors. Something something about how gore and death followed him or something along those lines.

...Is it related to Dr. Genus?

He clenches the paper a little too tightly, crumpling the otherwise pristine pages. The Hero Assocication might have had an inkling to his past. He never talked about it much, but did they find out? He wouldn't put it pass them - staying private in this day and age was getting more and more difficult by the day even if it would do both parties good if they stayed in their own lane. If they did know about his days of being an experimental sample, why were they assigning him to this case?

...Was this their way of turning their cheek the other way? By letting him confront his own past alone?

"...Sir?" He hears the train conductor walk over to him, nervously eyeing him up as the scowl on his face grows deeper at the thought of meeting the Doctor again. "This is the last stop." He hears as he snaps out of his thoughts, tilting his head up to look at the lady.

"...Thanks."

"...Are you sure about getting off here? There's nothing for a few dozen miles..."

"I'm sure. Thank you." He said, picking up the axe he had placed on the wooden floorboards, but didn't raise it above his head to rest on his shoulder like usual. Instead, he kept the metal head close to the ground, the blade pointed towards him and never her. He didn't want to alarm the lady.

"No, it's fine... I've not seen someone get off at this stop for perhaps a couple years now... It's nice to see people still come here in this little corner of the world - you know there's a forest a hour or so west from here? Beautiful place, you should check it out." She rambled on, the smile on her face causing the corners of her eyes to wrinkle. "Used to go there when I was young, took this same train out. I'm just a little too old for that now."

He nodded politely at her, taking note of the sun spots speckled on her skin. "...You're still younger than me, so there's no need to talk like that."

Besides, it's a privilege to be able to age. I'm sick of looking at the same damned thing everyday.

"Oh, aren't you a charmer..." She laughed, slowly escorting him down over to the train doors. He trotted after her, his boots made a small sound with each step he took. "Don't forget, the next time this train will be here is at eight tonight. Don't be late or you'll have to spend the night camping." She said, only getting a simple nod from him before the doors closed on her.

...A forest? I guess the toxins or whatever hasn't spread that far yet then...

As he walked away, he raised his axe back up and slammed it back on his shoulder, resting it there. Something of an reminder that he's on duty.

He's grown used to the weight of the axe.

-----

The building is fairly large - almost industrial. He could see it as a speck in the distance, but as he approached, he see that it's size wasn't anything much to be scoffed at. Definitely not at big at the ones he's seen at HA, but still, impressive.

As he approached the laboratory, he could see a... Fully-clad yellow figure running full speed at him.

Like second nature, he pulled out the guns from his sleeves and swung his axe back down to his midsection, his palms tightly gripping the weapons. It couldn't be a civilian - they would be fatally ill at this point from being this close to the site.

His blood-coloured eyes scanned the person (or perhaps monster) sprinting up at him. At closer inspection, he could tell that it was a human wearing a hazmat suit.

...Zombieman slowly retracted his desert eagle back into his trench coat and the axe also returned to its last position. There didn't seem like there was an danger yet, more so someone he needs to interrogate.

...Maybe there's still some people working here without anyone knowing?

They were... waving at him? He raised his thin eyebrow at them, shifting over to a more relaxed stance than before. He waited for them to approach - and as this mysterious figure got closer, he could hear muffled shouting from them as their hand waving in the air got more frantic. He noted that in their other hand, there was a blue gas mask.

He debated snuffing out his cigarette, but kept it in his mouth. It's not like they would be affected judging by the protection they're already wearing.

By the time they were close enough to him so that he could hear their words, it didn't matter since they were huffing out their lungs trying to breath in as much air as they could. Sprinting must have been hard - the hazard suit and heavy boots didn't help do them any favours either.

"...Are you alright?" He asked, staring down at him as they doubled over. The sound of their heavy breathing was clear even through the thick suit.

Regardless of their exhausted state, they sluggishly yanked him down to their level and slapped the spare gas mask onto his face. "...uckING STUPID!"

The impact of the plastic against his face caused him to glare at them with squinted eyes as he took the mask. He didn't bother dodging it - it's not like the action was malicious anyways. The force of which the firm plastic wasn't painful enough for him to make a noise, but he still grunted from the shock of their actions. "...What'd you say?"

They didn't respond, seeming satisfied with the fact he taken the respirator from them already and just crumpled back over on their form. He gave them a moment to gather their breath. "...Don't you know that this is a toxic area...? What the hell are you doing without any equipment...?"

He crouches down to their level, seeing as they were still catching their breath and he couldn't quite hear between their suit and the small distance. "I don't need it. What are you doing here?"

They tilted their head over to him, seeing that he had taken the blue mask off and just hung it around his neck by the strap. "...I live here."

Live? Not work?

"...Then don't you know that this is a toxic area?" He parroted the question back to them, trying to look into their eyes, or face, only to see that the glass they see out of is a reflective surface. Only his red eyes locked on with his own. His

"The inside of my house is safe, when I go out I wear this." There's something about the way in which they said it which made him think that they had rolled their eyes at him as they spoke.

"House?" He brushed off their attitude quickly, he didn't really care about it to begin with anyways, "what house?"

"Why would I tell a stranger where I live?" They snapped back, getting back up on their feet. Zombieman quickly followed suit. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I'm a Hero. I've been sent here to find the source of the poison in this area." As if on cue, their head tilted at him in disbelief. He goes on to answer further, hoping it would dispel any more of their suspicion. "...You can call me Zombieman."

He could tell even without any facial expressions to help him nothing he said was convincing. "...Alright, 'Hero Zombieman'... If you've been sent here to investigate, then why didn't they send you off with any equipment with you? We both know that this isn't the safest place to be."

A reasonable question, he supposes. He just hopes that the answer he gives them is just as logical in their eyes. "I can't die - hence my name."

"...Can't die?" They repeated slowly, taking a few steps back from him. He could see the distrust in their body language, and he wanted to fill the gap quickly - they probably had a lot of information on this area he didn't. "...Don't lie to me, everything dies."

He nodded at them, trying to indicate that he acknowledges their suspicion then pulled his gun back out. They're not given much time to react to it, as the muzzle was pointed at his temple, his finger on the trigger. "I'll prove it."

Just as he pulled the trigger ever so slightly, he notices in that split second they've close the distance between them instantly. Their hands shooting out to tear the weapon out of his hands-

Only for him to tilt it ever so slightly upwards from its original position in surprise - instead of the bullet going through his skull at a straight line, it was just angled slightly differently, shooting through the top of his skull.

They froze up at the sight - the pink of the bone and the pink of his brains, the smell of blood was thick and metallic. They could smell it even through their suit, and nothing about their protection could block the sight of his hand. Limp. In your grasp.

Zombieman examined at them from the corner of his eyes, feeling that their hands was trembling slightly through the thick gloves they wore. It was from either the sight of his skull being blown open or the fact they thought he was now dead.

...I wanted to close the gap between us, but not physically...

"...Proof enough?" He asks, moving his head to face them. They practically leaped back, even in the chunky boots and protective gear they were wearing, they found themselves a couple feet even further than before.

...Was that too much?

No, I only shot myself. That's nothing.

...Am I too numb to gore compared to the average person?

"...Yeah. Yeah. I believe you." They say, their voice shaking as they watched the hole slowly fill itself back up again. First the grey matter in the brain, then the pink plating of the skull, and finally his pale skin and dark hair. It was as if nothing had ever happened - the only proof that they had was the dark streaks of blood that ran down his temple and the small splatters of flesh that had ended up on them. They did their best to quickly compose themselves."...So... Uhm... Do- do you need anything...?"

He nodded, feeling a twinge of guilt at their reaction. Yeah, it was too much to witness. Next time, he'll just cut his hand off or something. "Could you get me into that laboratory? I want to inspect it to see if I can find anything inside."

"...I can do that, follow me." They agreed, probably still in shock and stiffly placed one foot in front of the other, their hands having the same nature of movement - almost mechanically.

He was quiet for a minute, looking around the building. He wanted to ask more questions about them, but he had a feeling he needed to build back some sort of foundation of trust again if he wanted any good answers. Short, snippy ones aren't bad, but more detail is better this time.

"...What's your name?" He starts off simple.

They slowly moved their head over in his direction, stopping in their tracks. He briefly thinks for a moment that asking for that was too soon, but when he hears your name slowly uttered from your lips the thought is gone. He could sense the uncertainty of his character coming off in waves, but you still chose to tell him.

He nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

"...And I don't think I'll be able to forget yours." He could hear you mumble faintly as you took long strides over to the entrance door. "Mr. 'Can't die'..."

...I don't mind if you were able to find a way to change that name of mine.

He didn't correct your words, and accepted his newfound alias. "How come you have access to the lab?"

It took you a while to respond, at first he just thought you didn't hear him or maybe you were busy fiddling with the keypad on the door, but it seems that you were considering telling him or not.

...Zombieman lowered his axe, resting it at his side. He may still be on duty, and it's not even the weapon he used to shoot himself, but it's not like he needed it this very moment. And if it helped soothe your worries even a little, then it will have been worth it.

When you get the door open, you turn back around to face him. He still can't see your eyes, but he could feel yours staring at him - cautiously inspecting him and his intentions before opening the door. "...This is where I live." You answered him.

...Huh, it worked.

He hummed appreciatively through his cigarette, reaching up and holding the door open for you. You paused your movements for a moment and nodded back, "...Thanks."

"No problem." He replied back, then followed after you, shutting the door after himself. When he walks in, he realises that the entrance is double sealed - one door after another to ensure that as little toxic gas leaves or enters. "So, you live in a lab...?" He says, practically repeating already known information in the hopes you'll slip out a little more data for him to piece together.

"Mhm. There's lab equipment everywhere." You say, though not intentional, your tone was pretty dismissive. It makes him wonder if he should play the long game or the short game.

He sticks to the former - besides, if he's really pressed up for time for whatever reasons, he can resort to more... forceful methods.

You open the other door, pressing even more buttons on the security system before beckoning him to follow through, holding the door open for him. "Quick - if you're there for too long, the doors will automatically shut and won't open without a special password."

"Oh." He nodded, the sounds of his boots increasing before the heavy door clicked securely shut. The two of you were now locked in together - he wonders if you're more anxious than him about the situation. One hand hand, he could be locked in with a mad scientist and be subjected to experimentation once again. On the other hand, he was a man that doesn't exactly have any indication of sane mental health paired with the fact he has a fair variety of weapons on his person ready to go any moment.

...They should be more scared than me.

"Do you work here?" He asks, trying to place down the foundations of trust.

"Yeah...?" You say, your thick gloves grabbing the other and pulling them off. "I'm... something of a researcher. Or something along those lines." The way you said it could be viewed as avoidant, or simply distracted - judging by the way your now exposed hands was fiddling with the hazard suit, taking it off and throwing them into a large plastic container off to the side of the door. Presumably to be disinfected and reused. "I've just been told to stay here until the toxins reach an acceptable level. Then I'm free to leave."

He narrowed his eyes at you, taking mental notes on your choice of words and actions. It was entirely unconscious behaviour, akin to second nature - Zombieman was already crafting a mental corkboard of everything he knew about this place and you. You took the final piece off, your large headpiece, finally revealing your face to him.

His eyes fixated on you, his red irises re-examined your figure, taking new mental notes to add to his corkboard. His eyes found their way following a sweat drop that traced the side of your face, a small trail of liquid trailed down your facial features before the head of it became too small to follow anymore. He briefly wondered it that sweat was a shade or two darker than it was supposed to be, but concluded that it was just the lighting of the room. "...Hot in that thing, huh?"

"...Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess I'm not really used to it..." You say, not noticing him observing you.

...Not used to the hazmat suit, I don't recognise them from the list of scientists provided, and they're uncertain about their role.

Current thoughts: You've turned out more suspicious than he thought.

-----

Nervously, your eyes kept glancing over to him, drinking in every detail of him that you could with each glance. At first, you thought it was the glass of your suit playing tricks on your vision when you spotted his red eyes, but even when you took your headpiece off and looked over him again, they were still red.

Blood red, to be more specific, especially now that you had a very, very recent reminder of the colour of blood.

His skin was almost porcelain white, but there was something of a grey undertone to it. His hair was a ink black and his getup didn't have a single drop of colour - the only thing you could even perhaps suggest that had a hue was the buckles of his (many) belts strung tightly against his chest. Everything combined, this monochrome sense of fashion contrasted with his striking red eyes and dark eye bags made it incredibly easy for you to focus on his face. Basically a sinkhole of attention.

Zombieman... From that name, you'd expect more decay, but...

...He's handsome. You concluded, as you kept finding your eyes shifting over to him as you showed him about the place. But he's also scary. Why would he shoot himself to prove a point...?

"Are you gonna show me around...?" He asked after what must have been you staring a little too long at him.

"Sorry." You say, turning your head away from him. Despite looking at him so carefully, you couldn't pick up on his mild discomfort. You try to remedy the situation, giving a honest reason to your actions should suffice, right? "...I was just thinking that you're very visually appealing."

The answer seems to shock him, or at the very least, throw him off his feet a little. His eyes widened at your response before he tilting his face slightly to his right clearing his throat into the sleeve of his trench coat. His left hand seemed to tighten his grip around his axe. "...Thank you."

You think that you shouldn't have said that - was he uncomfortable? You don't really have much of a chance to interact with people, and it's leaves you wondering your next move.

...Should I apologise? What did I do wrong? Is there such thing as too honest?

On quick glance back up at him, tells you that if he did feel uncomfortable by you, he's recovered. He's leaning against the plain white walls with his axe by his side. You note the fact he still hasn't raised it back onto his shoulder - whatever the reason for this, it somewhat made you feel more relaxed.

"...Uh, I'll take you around the first floor first...? It's mostly just like laboratory equipment, but it might help you?" You say, trying to gauge his reaction.

He simply nodded, and as you took your first step, so did he. You glanced back to see that he was a step or two closer behind you than before as you walked down the large white hallways.

...I hope that he leaves soon.

Just before you stepped through into another set of doors, there was a few equipment littered on the walls of the lab. Coats, gloves, masks. Though, you've used and ruined most of them at this point.

Please, please, leave.

You watched him place down the gas mask you had given him earlier alongside the other ones lined up on the wall for anyone to take. The others were faulty at this point, the one he put back down was one of the only ones that still functioned at this point.

It's not safe here, even for you.

-----

"...That thing..." You say, gesturing to him, your index finger waved over his face a couple times. "...smells terrible. Do you need it or something?"

He raised one eyebrow at you, wondering if his breath smelt for a moment before realising what you were saying. "...My cigarette?" He asked, taking it out of his mouth, bringing it a little closer to you to confirm your request. Your lips tightened and your eyebrows narrowed at the distance decreasing. So it is. "I suppose that I don't need it."

"Yeah, that... cigarette." You say, slowly rolling the word out on your tongue as you took a step back. "If you don't need it, can you get rid of it? There's vents all over the place, but I'm worried that smell will linger if you keep using it."

"...Sure, do you have an ash tray or something of that kind?" He asked, rubbing the lit part of the cigarette over the back of his hand. The burning sensation felt like it was shorter each time - the initial burn from the very first time he put out his smoke was almost exciting to feel. Now, it feels like pointless rebellion.

You looked at him, blinking. It took you a second to respond to him, trying to think of what would be suitable. Your eyes glanced around the room, landing on the shelf of conical flasks, before the blanket hung up on the wall that's placed there in case of a fire emergency.

...He thinks he likes the way your features scrunched up as you rapidly skimmed through all of the available items. You looked like you were in in deep thought over something rather minor - maybe he likes the way you took him so seriously, or was it the way you were so confident you could find a replacement within the confines of the room within seconds?

It didn't take you too long to find something. "...There's sand bins. Will that do?"

"Mhm." He nodded, and you walked over to the bucket filled with sand - presumably, it was to put out fires, but it could also be repurposed for a more crude use. Your hands wrapped around the bucket's handle, planning to bring it over to him, but he simply just followed after you and smothered the cherry into the sand. There was no chance of it catching fire now.

You nodded at him, then pointed at another table with glass equipment on top, giving a rather detail explanation to him as you picked up different parts - he was barely listening, his mind quickly filing away this odd morsel of information about you as he got back to his actual work.

...Have they never seen a cigarette before?

I mean, public smoking places are less and less common nowadays, but still...

He thought your behaviour was strange, but it'd be rude to point out. He let you continue guiding him around the lab. Besides, if you felt comfortable enough to tell him to stop smoking, then you must be somewhat amicable towards giving him more intel.

-----

The two of you finish the tour of the first floor, and you glanced over to the clock on the wall. "...I'm gonna head off to lunch. You can join if you want." You say, walking away from him and into another room. He peered in - seems like a break room for staff. He debated joining you, or wandering off on his own to investigate.

The former wins as he argues that he could just wander about later. It didn't seem like you were rushing about to get him to leave quickly anyways. If anything, he'd say you enjoyed the company judging by how he often caught you waiting for him to catch up when he spotted something of interest. Or when you stared at him intently when he spoke, taking his questions to heart.

...Or it could be for another reason. Tons of people flocked to Amai Mask for one big reason, Zombieman just... never suspected he'd be on the receiving end of the same kind of attention.

...'Visually appealing.' What is that supposed to mean?

As he enters the break room, he spots you waiting patiently by the microwave. There's a rather large pile of delivery boxes collected in the corner of the room. Perhaps one would feel shame at a 'guest' of sorts seeing the mess, but you didn't seem to care much. Upon noticing him, you opened the microwave door and added another packet of food.

I guess I'm eating too now.

He stands next to you, pretending to also wait for lunch, but in reality he just stared at you from the corner of his eyes. It doesn't take you long to return the action, your pupils also shifting over to his direction.

The two of you share eye contact until you turn away and go back to staring at the packets of food spinning around in the microwave. He lets out something of a cough, then goes to check his phone, (It's not like the could just whip out the files he had brought with him right in front of you anyways), maybe you were on the lists of scientists, and he just doesn't remember you that well.

Your eyes are casted away from your lunch, catching the glimpse of movement in the corner of your eyes. "...Whoa, you have a real nice phone..."

He tilts his head up at you, then turns the screen off before giving his device a quick spin for you to see if you wanted. You nodded at this, as if you were some sort of phone collector inspecting the goods before buying.

"No," he shakes his head, giving it a closer inspection as he spun it despite already giving it a verdict. "It can't even withstand falling off a skyscraper."

"...I don't think that's a good way to measure it." You say, a ghost of a smile on your lips. "Here." You fiddled with your pockets, before pulling out what he thinks is a brick at first as you carelessly held it out to him. "Here's one I found a couple years ago. Under my Dad's desk."

"...Maybe I do have a nice phone." He says, staring down at the device as you let out a small laugh out at him.

The phone was pretty old.

The equipment in the lab also looks quite old, but I don't know enough about it to know if it's actually old, or if it's just old compared to Isamu's hoard of equipment.

It seems like you had enough money to deliver food to yourself, but not enough to fund your research. You probably aren't being paid.

Probably because you aren't a real researcher.

But his conclusion just brings more questions than answers - why would you stay out here if you aren't getting paid well? You've been tasked with staying here until the toxins have subsided, but why would you do that? Money clearly wasn't the reason - maybe it was something more personal. His eyes meandered across the room until it landed.

Maybe it was your Dad.

"...Say, your dad worked here too?" He asks, slowly reaching out to take the phone from you, feigning fake interest in the device in your hands. His cold fingers brushed against your skin making your breath hitch - practically throwing the phone away from yourself.

He caught it before it collided against the surface of the table, but he wasn't even looking at the phone anymore as his eyes shifted over to you, examining your body language quickly to figure out what caused that reaction from you.

You held one hand in the other, your eyes fixated on him, one foot back and holding your breath as if you were waiting for one of you to drop on the floor. The two of you shared a look, the room sinking into a tense quietness. Just as he was about to speak, apologise, anything that felt right to say, you babbled something to dispel the tension.

"O-Oh! Yeah!" You exclaimed, slowly taking your footing back to it's original position. He didn't care so much about the answer anymore after your reaction but still, he listened. "My mother did too. Uh, both of them worked together. H-here."

"Huh..." He nodded, accepting the fact the two of you will skip past that moment. He felt his hand tingle from where your skin touched it - it was almost the same sensation as the one he used to get when pressing the lit part of the cigarette against his skin. Burning, hot. Maybe painful to a normal person but an fleetingly exciting moment to him. "And then you started working here too?"

"...Uh, yeah. Been here for a long time." You say, the words slow to come out. Your eyes drifted away from him and your hand slowly reached back over to the phone he had caught and placed on the table before retracting it back into your pockets. "Actually, I've been here... for a really long time."

He nodded, "how long?"

You didn't answer him at first, only tilted your face over to his direction. You looked... lost. Like you weren't sure what you were doing, or what's even going on. A sense of distant confusion with a vague or faraway goal. "I... don't know."

He frowned. You didn't seem like you were bad-intentioned, but you also seemed like a vital part of this mystery. "How come?"

You pursed your lips, turning away from him again before the microwave went off. The beeps echoed through the silence of the lunch room.

"...Lunch is ready." You say, opening the door of it. "You don't have any allergies do you?"

"No, but even if I did," he made some sort of general motion towards himself. You made a 'Ohh' sound. Some colour returned to your face that he didn't quite realise had left it.

...They don't know? How is that possible?

Also, their parents worked here, and now they do as well. They're most likely staying here not out of choice - are they trapped here? Threatened to stay? Guilt? You couldn't pay most people to stay in such a dangerous area.

"I've just been told to stay here until the toxins reach an acceptable level. Then I'm free to leave."

...What kind of messed up family business is this?

Zombieman could only see the rabbit hole grow deeper the longer he looked in - yet he'll jump head first anyways. He was never much for self preservation.

That same trait comes the thought: if he touches your hand again will it burn the same thrilling way?

-----

After you showed him around the whole lab, he concluded that there was nothing there was still working - and even if there was, it wasn't anything large-scale enough to cause such a large waste area. In fact, the only experiment he saw was you spitting into a test tube and then running it through a machine. Something to do with how it can detect what kinds of chemicals are inside it.

But that machine was clearly broken since he recognised many of the listed items inside to be toxic. You had explained that you had fixed it up after finding it in the storage room, but since that room wasn't well maintained, there was a chance that the toxic air was just stuck inside it now. At least, that's the conclusion you came to, and he didn't see a reason to deny it.

Apart from that, it was mostly you just explaining what each room was and the equipment inside. The tour was over quicker than he thought - but there truly wasn't anything noteworthy. The past researchers had taken all of the papers with them, so he couldn't snoop around to see if there was any information he was missing. It didn't seem like you were trying to hide anything either. You've always seemed like you were honest - perhaps a little apprehensive, but most of that was mostly because, well, he was a stranger in your home.

"That's all... I think I'll get going to bed soon, do you need anything or..."

"No, that's all." He said. "I think I'll get going."

"...At this time?" You ask, seeing him walk out to the door, trying to open it. His hands pressed randomly against the wall's buttons. Quickly, you walked over to him. "Are you going home?"

"I've missed the train, so I can't really go back, but I've been given a recommendation to visit a forest." He says, watching you as you brushed his hands aside to help him open the sealed doors. It burned like before, "I think I'll go check it out," he thinks he wants to feel it again."...Then I'll probably come back with a fresh mind."

"...Seriously?" You asked, pulling the door open for him. "You're gonna spend the nights in the woods?"

"Well, it takes a while to walk over. By the time I get there, it might be sunrise." He says, walking through the first set of doors. Your eyes nervously switched between him and the door, unsure if he was really going to walk back out into the toxic wasteland. "Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow. Or if I find the source of the poison, this will be the last you'll be seeing me."

"...Yeah. That's... fine." You nodded, now trotting over to him, hand hovering over the keypad to let him out. The inner set of doors shut tightly behind you, a slight hissing sound as the air was compressed in the room, ensuring that none of the toxins got in as the vents whirred faster in anticipation. "Here, I'll let you go."

He paused, looking over at you. "Don't you need your hazmat suit?"

Your index finger stopped over one of the buttons as you started pressing the password to get out. "...No, it'll be fine. My parents said that I have a higher immunity to this sort of stuff anyways."

"...Okay, if you say so." He nodded, accepting your words. Every rotting bone in his body was screaming that there was something off about the way you said it, but his heart didn't utter a single peep in protest. He wonders if you're hiding the truth from him judging from his physical reaction to your words.

You nodded back at him, your eyes flicking back up at his for one more time before the door opens, a small gust of wind blew his hair back a little as the heavy entrance opened itself - exposing the two of you to the chilly evening air. "...It's nice meeting you." You say, your words as distant as you could muster with your almost wistful expression.

"...You too." He nodded simply, taking a step out, his boots landing on the dirt footing outside. He paused then turned his head back, speaking again as if he couldn't leave without finishing his all of his thoughts. "Real pleasure to meet you."

You blinked at him repeatedly, taken aback. There was... a slight smile on his face? You weren't given a chance to respond back before the doors let out loud 'beeps' rapidly and the doors slammed down.

He turned back around, taking a couple steps forwards as he languidly pulled out a cigarette and his lighter. His eyes casted over the cherry of the cigarette, watching it catch a flame as he took in a deep, slow breath, inhaling as much of the smoke he could. Impatient, he'd usually call himself for trying so hard to get the taste of the poison as quick as he did just moments after lighting it. It's just getting him more hooked on the nictotine (if he could be anymore addicted), it'll kill him faster (if he could die). But this time he won't fault himself even with all the negatives.

Smoking won't help relieve this... feeling, but it won't make it worse either, he supposes.

His boots forcefully move his body forward as he let out a low grumble.

Move. He urges himself. This is ridiculous. I barely know them.

"Wait!" He heard from behind him, and he found his head turning around without his input. "...I have some sort of car in the lab. Do... you want me to drive you to the forest...?" You ask, holding something of a car key attached to the lanyard around your neck, jangling the sliver object.

...Zombieman knows that it's not the first time you smoke you become addicted. It's the second time.

"Yeah, that's be great." He responses, the cigarette practically falling out of his mouth as he spoke, but he barely cared, only catching it in his hands and crushing it in his palm. It burned - but he barely felt it.

He didn't know that infatuation worked in a similar way to chemical addiction.

-----

You drove him over to the forest, his voice quietly murmuring out the directions for you to drive him. He had made some sort of comment on the car being a off-road vehicle, but you didn't fully get what he was trying to say.

The interior of the car was cold, the heater was very slowly warming it's way up. He insisted that it didn't bother him, but even so, you tried cranking that bloody thing up all the way. There's not much fuel in the car to begin with, but you didn't mind using it on him. It's not like you were going to be driving again.

"Keep going straight, try to avoid that rock if you can." He says, his hand motioning towards the obstacle on the ground.

"O-okay..." You nodded, trying your best to keep the car steady. There was practically sweat dripping down your arms from your nervousness. "Like this...?"

"Mhm." He nodded, "do you not drive often?" He asked, noting your anxious features that was crawling it's way up your face.

"No, uh, can- can you tell...?" You say, pressing the accelerator a little harder, making the car go faster.

"Well, we've been either going 20 or quadruple that. You've not really decided on a constant speed to drive at." He said, pointing a finger at the speedometer. "Also, I've been the one controlling the stick shift since you keep putting it in the wrong one."

"...Ah."

"I think you don't even know how to drive, but I don't really mind." He says, leaning his arm out the window as he blew out another cloud of smoke out of the vehicle. "You got the air bags, so you'll be fine even if we crash."

"...Maybe I'm just a really bad driver." You mutter, feeling your face grow hot even in the cold breeze that came in through the window.

"It's not a maybe." He says, turning back to you, "but it doesn't matter. I appreciate your help. I'll teach you how to drive for real after we get to the forest."

You raised an eyebrow at him, "You can drive?"

"...Eh." He makes a non-committal sound until you shot him a questioning glance, making him answer you properly. "...I don't have a valid licence, but I can drive."

"...So you're just as qualified as me?" You laughed, "or perhaps just as unqualified as me?"

"No, I've passed before. It's just that I've not driven in so long I don't know if I pass the current standards." He answers, maybe a little quickly as you chuckle at his explanation, not exactly buying his answer. "I should still be valid to drive."

"What are you, a old man?" You laughed, the car slowing down as your foot released the pedal, your mind too distracted by what he just said to properly process both things at once. "How could your licence just expire?"

"I had a licence before I was used for human experimentation and I've not had the time to try to renew it." He answers causally, taking in another breath of the smoke before breathing it back out. "I think."

You almost completely stopped the car before turning your head back over to him. "...Huh?"

He turns back to you, staring back into your eyes as your face grew pale at his words, unsure of what to say in response to him. "It's not a secret. I just don't talk about it."

"...Oh." You nodded, then took your hands off the wheel and your foot off as well. "...Is that why you can't die?"

"...Yeah." He nodded, then blew out one last cloud of smoke before he rubbed the light out on his skin again. There wasn't a moment of hesitation between his actions and words - he's too used to the pain he inflicts on himself. The slightest pink tinge on his skin from the burn is gone within less than a second.

The car let out a splutter, filling in the silence that took place in the car. Then stopped dead in it's tracks. "...Uh oh." You glanced down at the screen in front of you, trying to see what went wrong. "...I think we're out of fuel."

"...Mhm. Yeah." He agreed, glancing over to you. "It's fine, we're mostly there anyways." He says, nodding his head forward as he indicated towards your destination.

Your eyes casted over to the view in front of you - you didn't even realise until he pointed it out, but the two of you reached the forest he was guiding you to earlier.

It was dark, the bark of the trees was jet black against the faint light that shone down on the trees. You could barely see past them to see their fellow family. You've never seen them before in person - it was much larger than you had expected. The air smelt... clean.

Even so, it doesn't keep your attention for long as you looked back over to the man next to you. His pale skin contrasted strongly against the darkness outside, his red eyes shifted over to you, and you could pick up on the slight tinge of metal from the dried blood from earlier.

He didn't look human. He didn't have the warm undertones of blood running underneath people's skins. His response to pain was too lukewarm. He had no reaction to being in such grave danger. 'Zombieman' fit him.

"...Shall we go?" He offers, clicking open the car door for him to leave. "You can stay if you want."

"...No, I'll join you."

But he was still far, far more human than you were.

-----

The two of you wandered out into the woods. You flicked your flashlight on while he bravely moved forward in the dark, unafraid of any possible dangers that would be lurking in the woods.

"...Are you looking for something in particular?" You asked, your eyes flicking back over to him as you carefully shined down towards the ground to see where you were placing your heavy-duty boots.

"No." He replied back, still moving like a man on a mission. "The train conductor said that I should drop by here if I had time. I have time."

"...Do you think you'll find your source of poison?" You asked, your voice wavering towards the end, almost backpedalling last second in the hopes he didn't hear you.

He tilted his head backwards, glancing back towards you when you asked. "...I think it's from your home. I just don't know how yet."

*...How honest.

Well, I suppose that he doesn't really have anything to be afraid of anything he can't die. There's not much reason for him to lie.

"...I see." You nodded, your palms feeling slightly clammy after his answer.

...I wonder if he opened up about his past in the hopes that I'd also be more honest with him.

He continued to stride ahead, not taking any particular detours, walking in a straight line forward as he dragged his axe across the ground. It was still low to the ground.

...I hope not. Because I think it's working.

Then, you heard a branch snap off in the distance. You froze up instantly, your feet stuck on the dirt as your head swung over in the direction of the noise as you tried to find the source.

Finally, Zombieman stopped walking, standing still as he tilted his head in the same direction as the sound, the two of you almost perfect mirrors of each other.

"...We have company." He says, as he takes a step over to the sound, swinging his axe upwards to lean rest on his shoulder as he began to stroll over. You think you heard the metallic 'click' of his gun as well. "Let's give them a proper hello."

You flicked your head back and forth, from him to off in the distance of where the car was. Even if your vehicle couldn't move and was useless, you'd still rather go and hide in there over wherever the hell he was waddling off to. "C-Can we not...? If I die, I die."

He didn't acknowledge you maybe he didn't hear, only pressing on and got further and further away from even as the flashlight didn't reach that far ahead. You flipped a coin in your head to decide your choice to join him or leave. You mentally cursed yourself. Repeatedly.

...I guess I'm going too...

Even your feet protested against your brain's decision, but you ignored it and willed them to go on.

It didn't take long for him to stop in front of a bush, looking down at the source of the sound. You think that he's already taken care of the problem before you step past the shrub blocking your vision to see what he was looking at.

"...That's a crow...?" You murmured, your eyes fixed on the bird struggling to get off the ground - there was a sense of pure curiosity even at the sight of the animal in pain. "It's... small."

Zombieman barely paid attention to your words - it wasn't that he didn't find them interesting, it's just that he want to focus his efforts on something else right now.

"Mhm, it might be young." He nodded as he stepped out from behind the shrub. The bird started letting out sounds - perhaps to try to warn the man to step back, but he continues forward. "I think the wing is broken." he explains, pointing to the broken branch next to the animal with his axe. "I guess it hit the tree pretty hard and this is the result."

"Oh," you watched him crouch down to the bird, gently picking it up. It squawked louder as he picked it up to inspect it. "...So, do we help it?"

"...I don't know if we can." He replies back, picking it up with both hands, leaning the head of the axe in between his head and his shoulder as if he was taking a phone call with it. "...Have you ever taken care of a bird before?"

"...I've barely even seen a bird before, I'll be honest." You say, the works almost slipping out without you thinking much of it. He flicked his eyes over to you questioningly but didn't verbalise his thoughts. He was still intent on playing the long game.

"I guess we can take it back to the car for now." He says, his fingers clutching onto the torso of the bird firmly as he tried to support it's wing. Do you have any equipment in the car?"

"Maybe...? There's stuff in the back, we could try helping it." You say, nodding along with him as he began to walk back out the woods, you walking in front to guide him out with the only source of light between the two of you. "...Being a hero must be hard work." You mutter under your breath, your eyes flicking back to him practically cradling the animal in his arms as he steadily supported it to prevent it from hurting itself anymore. It's stopped crying at this point. "You even have to tend to the needs of even animals."

"Nothing worth doing is easy." He responses, picking up on your quiet words, his boots unshakeable even as he stepped on multiple uneven tree roots. "...Besides, this isn't my usual work. I investigate dangerous areas or suspects. My information isn't useful without someone to put it to good use. Helping others is inherently heroic. What I do isn't." He says, almost putting himself down as he spoke even if he didn't intent to. His tone was blunt and factual - he wasn't looking for reassurance.

"...Someone has to be the tester. Any important situation needs one." You say, your words sounding almost rehearsed as you spoke. Like you've heard it many times before. "...You fill a role no one else can."

He shifted his attention away from the crow, his head lifted up to look at you as you spoke. You didn't turn your head around though, only faced forward. He couldn't see what kind of expression was on your face.

-----

You opened the car door for him, letting him gently lower the bird onto the passenger seat of the car. The warm air that was somewhat there from the car heater was no longer in the vehicle, now it also reached the temperature of the cold air around you. Neither of you minded, but you still couldn't help the goosebumps crawling up your arms as a strong gust came every so often.

"Go watch it, I'll go check the back of the car." Zombieman said, resting the animal down before he swiftly walked away to open the boot of the car.

"O-Okay..." You nodded, briefly watching him move away from you two before you looked back down to the bird.

It had black ruffled feathers, and bright dark eyes. Eyes that seemed to stare deep into your inner being. It let out another echoing caw as it tried to fly again, getting up on it's feet. You quickly stepped forward, trying to discourage it's escape with your body. You hoped that you didn't actually have to touch it.

It stared up at you, then cried loudly. Clearly something of a battle cry as it then tried to fly - but was only able to hop forward.

You let out a fumbling cry of shock, your eyes seeing it fall off the car in slow motion. You had to catch it- You aren't wearing gloves- You can't touch it-

You have to catch it-

Your body moved on auto-pilot as your hands shot forward to catch it from falling to the dirt floor. Your brain knew, it fucking knew what would happen if you touched it, yet it still commanded it to move forward due to whatever fucking human nature you had left.

It's feathers grazed against the skin of your hands. Your body froze. It was warm. It was warm to touch even in the cold weather cooling the both of you down.

"Good catch," you heard distantly. You felt like you were submerged in a pool of ice water - you struggled to hear whatever was around you. Your eyes were frozen in place. Your body didn't listen to you. "Here, I found a first aid kit in the back."

You didn't process his words. You only watched the lively bird stumble on it's footing as you caught it. It blinked at you with something you'd call indignant anger. It would be right to be angry at you in a moment.

"You can put it down now," Zombieman said, clicking open the clasps on the box and pulled out some bandages. "We need to support it's wing with something strong." He carried on, unravelling the white gauze.

When he saw that you didn't listen to him, he reclarified for you. Maybe you didn't know what to get. "A straight strong stick should do. Go find one."

You still didn't move, and he finally looked up. He stared at you questioningly, not quite understanding the guilt ridden expression on your face until he looked down at your hands.

The black feathered bird was flopped over on your hands, it's eyes closed. It slumped over on it's wings and feet in a strange way. It's beak was open wide, trying to get something out that was never really there.

"...I think..." You say, your head turned over to face him, but he didn't really think you were looking at him. "I think your investigation is over."

...The crow was getting colder.

-----

"...I'm kinda like you." You started, sitting down in the car with dirt in stuck in your fingernails. You insisted on burying the crow before you explained everything. It was a request he easily granted - you had dug into the soft soil with your bare hands and covered the corpse with the same hands that killed it. "I'm... also like this because of human experimentation."

"...Go on." He said, nodding along.

"The lab, I'm sure you already know this, but they wanted to create antidotes. Something that would cure any poison. They obviously experimented on animals, but in the final stages, they wanted to test on a human subject. It was almost to fruition I think. And... My parents brought me in. I grew up in the lab." You sighed. "I wonder if they're even my real parents... What if..." You trailed off, the suspicions had clearly been weighing in your head for a long time. "...Never mind. That doesn't matter anymore. Anyways, one of the vials they gave me apparently wasn't the correct one. I started absorbing the poison in my body, almost like a storage box. No one realised at first."

"...Something happened, huh?" He said, picking up on your choice of words.

"...Yeah, they gave me some particularly strong poison or something to test out how my body would respond to the antidote they prepared. They didn't anticipate that I'd be able to absorb it alongside with the antidote." You let out something of a dry laugh. "That... was the last time I ever touched my mother. They cleared me to leave and I went up to her to say hi. She... collapsed on the ground, convulsing seconds later. After that, no one approached me without hazmat suits again. They quickly stopped working, after something else happened and they fled. My father was the last to go."

"...And that's when he gave you the instruction to stay until the level of toxins were acceptable?" He asked for confirmation. To which you nodded at him.

...Seeing everything fall into place has never felt so unsatisfying to him before.

He gave you a measured nod, his eyes never leaving the sight of your hunched over figure. "...So he sends you money to keep you somewhat alive?"

"...I don't know if he knows if I'm still alive." You shook your head. "Hell, I don't know if he's still alive himself. It's been... years. I only have the bank transactions from him as m only form as contact. I... still don't know if I killed my mother or if she's recovering somewhere."

He let out a quiet curse under his breath, leaning his arm against the window as you continued speaking.

They lived like this for years. Years.

"...I know what that place is, Zombieman." You say, your nails pressing tight against your skin, digging in. "I didn't want to admit it."

"...A prison?" He tried guessing when you didn't speak for a while, only to be met with a humourless laugh.

"Coffin. It's a coffin for me. I was born into a live burial - I'll live and die there." You say, your voice completely monotone. It was like a reporter going about the facts of the day. "The furthest place I've been from here. This... forest. And just by going once, I ruined the place. I can't just... leave. This was already a mistake."

He listened to you, watching the way you clutched yourself for some sort of support. He stayed quiet, examining your features carefully. Nothing on his corkboard prepared him for this - but perhaps his own personal experience of being on the other side could help.

He slowly forms the thoughts in his head - there wasn't much he could remember when he first left the lab he had escaped from, but he tried his best to gather what he could. What would have comforted him best? Well, probably the death of Dr Genus.

It was just a tad too slow - you had began speaking again.

"...When are you going to end me?"

He turned his head over to you, too quickly. "What?"

"You found the source of the poison." You say, leaning over to him from your seat. His breath hitched as you got closer. "You've known for a while, haven't you? So when are you going to do it? In my sleep? With a gun? Or an axe?"

It probably doesn't help, but at the mention of his weapons his eyes find their way over to their positions. "...I'm not going to murder you." He says, but didn't get up. He let you look down at him from where you were - it was probably the little bit of power you still had over him in your eyes. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"I made that crow die." You state, your retort coming back far too fast. "You saw me. One touch from me killed it. It was barely even a few seconds."

"...That doesn't warrant the death penalty." He sighs. "Nothing you've done deserves punishment of any kind, it's not your fault. None of it."

You stared at him with an unreadable expression on your face, he struggled to place what you were feeling at the moment despite it being the most vital time for him to be able to. "...I have a question," you say, almost reluctant to interrupt him. "If there was something that could only cause harm, why keep it?"

He doesn't given himself much time to think of his answer, knowing that the longer he took the more insincere he would sound to you. "I know many people who's only speciality is violence." He starts out, leaning a little closer to you as you took a step back from him, giving him more space. "...We call them heroes. Or monsters, depending on their intentions."

"...Are you one of these people?" You ask, your words feeling heavier than he expected for such a short question.

"I'd say so." He responded, his voice flat as he continued speaking. "...But a lot of people suspect me as a monster too. "

"...You're more than that." You said, tilting your head at him with scornful befuddlement. You looked upset, but not at him.

"Aren't you the same?" He mirrored the simple question to you.

There's silence from you, until he hears a small sniffle and you bring up one hand to wipe at your eyes. He's frozen solid for a second until he reaches over to a box of tissues nearby and offered it to you.

"No..." You shook your head. "No thanks, my tears will just melt it... Tried it, trust me..."

"...Yeah, that's what tissues tend to do in liquid long enough." He cracked the dry joke, trying to lighten your mood and still offering the box to you, just slightly further away.

"...No, they're..." You pinch the bridge of your nose and let out a shaky sigh as you forced yourself to bite back the tears. "My tears are corrosive. Highly corrosive."

"...Huh." He said, putting the box aside and stood up. "Would you like my coat instead?"

"...Why on Earth would I want that?" You say, the last of the tears running down your face as you stopped wiping it with your hands.

"...It's work clothes, I can get these replaced for basically free. It's cheaper than those tissues." He shrugged, trying to make another attempt to cheer you up seeing that you had stopped at this point. They were more stressed tears than anything, so your crying wouldn't have lasted long anyways.

You blinked at him before letting out a laugh, "no, no... It's okay... I don't want to accidentally hurt you. I'm fine now anyways."

"Mhm." He nodded, watching you sit back down on your seat. "...You know, I have a really, really smart colleague. He might be able to help you leave if you want."

"...Really?"

"He's the smartest person I know. And I've been kicking around for a while." He states a chuckle on his lips as he spoke. The only other person he could think of being close to Child Emperor was Dr Genus. There wasn't a chance in hell he'd let him anywhere near you.

"...Do you think he'd be willing to help?" You ask, the lilt of your voice going up a little higher, a sense of hopefulness leaking into your tone. "Or wait, would he be safe? I don't want to hurt him by accident..."

He nodded at your concerns as you spoke. "I've seen him analyse venomous monsters during the heat of battle and create antibodies on the fly. I think there's a strong chance."

"...Wow, he sounds really smart. Is he a hero like you?"

"Yes," he nodded, something you'd describe as pride adorned his features. "He's more of a hero than me, though. I could learn a lot from him."

"...I think you're far more of one than you think you are."

He's silent, staring back into your eyes. It takes the both of you a moment before either speaks. His voice breaks the silence gently, his words slow and purposeful as he spoke.

"...I think we should get going soon. We need to catch that train."

#zombieman #zombieman x reader #one punch man #opm x reader #OtterlyFoolishWritings #someone who can't die + someone that kills everyone they touch = love story #or at least a potentially funny dynamic imo #tbh i feel like I could write a (short) multi-chapter fic off this idea but I Probably Won't because I have issues with Time Management #other running thoughts are that I wanted to write more about MC's past #I feel like they could be very fun to write and then delve into with ZM as he gets to work sniffing shit out #But I wanted to keep the “”vibe“” of mystery even if you knew all the plot twists from the summary before hand #x reader

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5sosfanfictioncatalogue · 7 months

Text

Friends To Lovers (2) Masterlist

part one

A Daydream Away (I Wouldn't Know What to Say if I Had You) (ao3) - orphan_account michael/luke, minor calum/ashton T, 4k

Summary: The problem with falling in love, Luke thinks, is that you never really stop falling.

Bleeding heart (ao3) - exhiled_spirit luke/ashton M, 35k

Summary: Time changes. Some would say that all of his wishes came true and in some way they did. That's why he stopped wishing upon the stars like he did when he was a naive child. Because all those wishes led him up to this moment in time. A time where Luke stopped wishing upon a star and instead felt himself become one. Each and every day he felt his mind leaving his body and float away. It's only a matter of time now until he's leaving the atmosphere and becomes a floating rock himself. A rock without its glow, just a cold hard rock that no one sees and cares about.

Or Luke's past relationship haunts his ever waking moment and everything comes crashing down during the highly anticipated Meet You There Tour.

Blossom (ao3) - FayeHunter michael/luke E, 9k

Summary: Luke's been hooking up with his friend, Michael for a bit now. Too bad he's just a little in love with Michael. Too bad Luke doesn't know how to tell Michael or if Michael feels the same.

crimson and cream (ao3) - galacticsugar luke/calum T, 3k

Summary: Luke’s it for Calum. He’s always kind of known it, he’s just been patient. Waiting for some intangible thing that will make the time right. He’s not waiting for Luke to realize Calum’s it for him too. Luke also already knows. He just hasn’t quite realized he deserves to have what he wants.

Crush (ao3) - Calumthoodshands (tndart) luke/calum T, 3k

Summary: It's Calum's birthday, and Luke agreed to come - against his better judgement. Because how the hell is he going to talk to the guy he's had a crush on for over half a year now?

desert sunrise (ao3) - citiesbelow michael/calum, past michael/crystal E, 15k

Summary: AU in which Michael ends up single early in quarantine and Calum has been pining for him for years, but even when they get to Joshua Tree, he’s determined not to say anything out of fear of ruining their friendship. He can’t keep a secret forever, however, especially not from his best friends.

does this deafening silence mean nothing to no one but me (ao3) - orphan_account michael/calum E, 11k

Summary: Michael feels everything for Calum, and he needs to know if it's mutual.

fate lines (ao3) - kaleidoscopeminds luke/calum E, 44k

Summary: Calum makes decisions based on things that happen, and his life is a result of his series of choices, not some higher power pulling the strings. But there’s always an anomaly to the rule. To be discounted if looking at a trend, but there for a reason.

Luke Hemmings is Calum’s anomaly.

Because one thing Calum does know for sure. He met Luke Hemmings for a reason. He’s just never been sure what that reason is.

(not) just friends (ao3) - galacticsugar michael/luke T, 4k

Summary: His eyes land on the folded paper, drawn in by Luke’s scrawling handwriting.

Specifically, on his name in Luke’s handwriting.

Casually, like he’s being watched, Michael picks up the paper and carefully unfolds it. It’s from one of those hotel room pads, branded with the hotel logo, which Luke improved with some artful squiggles. At the top, it says Michael Mix, the peaks of the Ms rising high above the rest of the letters, both words underlined twice. And below that, a list of songs.

Oceans in Wildfire (ao3) - babybluecal luke/calum T, 5k

Summary: The one where Luke is an optimist and Calum swears he's not a pessimist

over and under (ao3) - kaleidoscopeminds luke/calum E, 9k

Summary: “We really need to stop doing this.”

“I know.”

Luke says he won’t do this again.

They both agree they won’t do this again when they’re dressed, in Luke’s living room and not his bedroom, when Calum’s about to leave to see his other friends and Luke’s going to the studio to write.

It’s easy to agree not to do it again when Calum’s not touching him.

peach and clover (ao3) - galacticsugar luke/calum M, 7k

Summary: “Now the fuck what?” he asks, shaking his head helplessly at Calum. “Try to find a hotel further away? Hike a few miles at midnight?”

“Clover Leaf Motel,” Calum says, pointing out the window next to them. Luke has to crank his neck around to see it. Across the street and down the block, there’s a dilapidated-looking building with a glowing neon sign out front. Vacancy. “I didn’t mention it earlier because it seems like kind of a last resort type of place, but, uh…”

“That’s where we’re at,” Luke says, chuckling humorlessly at the motel’s logo—a four leaf clover, which would normally seem pretty ironic given the state of the motel, but Luke can’t deny there’s comedy in the situation. Somehow, they are actually lucky that this place exists.

put the stars in our eyes (ao3) - burstintocolor (anchormate) luke/calum M, 25k

Summary: Ben hangs up, leaving Luke still reeling. His family thinks he and Cal are dating. And they weren’t surprised. They’d been waiting for it. His mum cried because she was so happy for him. And worst of all, he hadn’t had a chance to correct Ben. Luke rolls over on his bed, burying his face in his pillow and letting out a groan.

or, luke's family thinks he's dating calum. luke doesn't correct them.

Snow in Love (ao3) - plushyluke luke/ashton, michael/calum T, 7k

Summary: "in that cold instant, ashton put his hands back on the steering wheel. watching him back out of the parking space was torment. luke felt like there was a beast inside of him, clawing and desperate to be set free. aching to get ashton alone. to spend a second with him uninterrupted."

or ashton takes the 5sos boys on a snowy vacation, and luke is disappointed that it wasn't an opportunity to hook up.

sugar rush (ao3) - galacticsugar luke/calum E, 6k

Summary: It’s pulled so tightly across Luke’s throat. It’s a miracle the string hasn’t snapped entirely.

Luke’s a little sweaty, colorful smudges of the chalky candy rubbing off against his skin. Would they taste sweet or salty under Calum’s tongue?

Summer Love (ao3) - orphan_account luke/ashton T, 18k

Summary: Luke goes to summer camp for the first time. His counselor, Ashton, is perfect in every way.

take a picture, it'll last longer (ao3) - fiveandnocents luke/ashton E, 11k

Summary: “Did you look at them?” Luke asks, one arm over his eyes, beer can dangling lightly in the other. Based on the cans that Ashton has to kick away to sit at the opposite end of the couch, it’s not Luke’s first of the day.

To be fair, he had just gotten broken up with earlier this week, so maybe this is more of a multi-day scenario. Ashton can’t really blame him. It’s not shaping up to be a week of Luke’s greatest hits.

(or: Luke’s nudes get leaked. Ashton copes.)

The Games We Play (ao3) - im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance luke/calum, michael/mali E, 30k

Summary: Michael has always warned his friends to keep away from his boyish little sister, Lucy (Luke). But what happens when Lucy secretly allowed Calum to get a little too close to her? Will something blossom between them? Was it Love or simply Lust?

Tidal Wave - @ashtcnirwin (elivigar) luke/ashton E, 127k

Summary: A story about figuring out how to handle the difficulties life throws at you, on your own and with the help of loved ones.

Where You Go, I’ll Follow (ao3) - fourdrunksluts, reversecow calum/ashton, michael/luke E, 211k

Summary: This story follows Calum, Michael, Luke, and Ashton on their journey to self-discovery. Through first loves, heartbreaks, and friendship, this is the behind the scenes of what the cameras didn’t show through the years

#5sosfanfictioncatalogue #5sos fanfic #friendstolovers #friendstolovers masterlist #masterlists

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inevitablemoment · 1 year

Text

“can you hear me?”

Word Count: 400

Warnings: Starvation, overworking, exhaustion, fainting

Fandom: Who’s The Boss?

Pairings: Tony Micelli x Angela Bower

I know, I know. I really dropped the ball. I got a little overambitious, thinking that I could do each prompt every day, but I was wrong. I should’ve learned my lessons from previous challenges that I’ve done.

But, I’m finally writing for Who’s The Boss? It quickly became one of my favorite shows in quarantine, and I’m so excited to finally get content out for it.

Enjoy!

————————

Despite the fact that she had sequestered herself in her bedroom and her back was beginning to hurt, Angela resisted the urge to lay down. It felt like an Olympian feat to keep her eyes open and she thought that she could feel the bags under her eyes.

She didn’t even look up when she heard a knock at the door. “It’s open.”

She heard the door open, keeping her eyes on the papers until she heard the person entering speak up.

“Dinner’s gonna be ready in five,” Tony told her.

“Just put some leftovers aside,” Angela waved off, despite the hollow cramping that was building up in her stomach.

“You said the same thing yesterday,” Tony reminded.

Angela sighed. “Tony, I’ve been stuck on this pitch for days, and I’m finally close to a breakthrough.”

Tony leaned over the side of the bed to look at the mess of papers scattered across it. “The convenience store account? I thought Mona...”

“Well, it turns out that she had a good excuse for not coming into work this week-- the flu,” Angela muttered.

“Angela, you still need a break,” Tony tried to convince her.

Angela shook her head. “No, I’m gonna lose my-- I’m not even hungry right now.”

She was quickly proven to be lying when her stomach growled. Her entire face flushed red.

“Ignore that,” she said.

“Kinda hard to,” he sounded like he was trying to sound teasing, but his concern was more prominent.

He took hold of her hands and tried to help her to her feet.

“C’mon...”

“No, Tony, I’m fine,” Angela tried to argue. “I swear, I’m fine--”

Her words came to a halt as her eyes closed, feeling herself falling forward without any volition of her own. Tony caught her in his arms, his chest tightening up. He could feel her ribs poking through her clothes and the vibrations of her rumbling stomach against him.

“Ange? Can... can ya hear me?” he asked, gently patting her face. “Angela?”

He began to pull her closer into his arms, carrying her bridal-style back towards the bed. She began to come to once her back was to the mattress. She looked up at him, her eyes suddenly looking so big and so small at the same time.

“T-- Tony?” she murmured.

Tony sighed, relieved. “I’ll bring some food up to you. That sound okay?”

Angela nodded. “Yeah.”

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ozma914 · 5 months

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Covid Keeps Quarantines Coming

I'm not even sure how to start when it comes to Covid. As a writer I'm a professional smart-ass, but with this I got my ass kicked, and didn't feel too smart about it.

Illness or injury traditionally accompany our vacations: Last December Emily and I came down with the flu when we were supposed to visit her family and friends in Missouri. This year we decided to head down on a Thursday.

On Wednesday we started to feel a little ... off. By Thursday morning we had to call it--we couldn't risk giving her father whatever bug was now traveling with us. It wasn't until Friday night that we began to suspect the modern medical boogieman, Covid. We missed the trip, we missed Saturday's Holiday Pops concert, and I felt so bad I couldn't even write. By the time it was done I had to contact my editor at History Press to push back our deadline for the Haunted Noble County book, because I'd planned to use half of my vacation to work on it.

The only question left: Could I turn it into a funny blog?

It doesn't LOOK like 102 degrees. No. No, I could not.

The only thing we did was marathon the TV show The Expanse, and unsuccessfully try to listen to Good Omens on audiobook. (We kept having to go back when one or another of us fell asleep.)

You know, watching TV and reading books wouldn't be such a bad vacation. The problem is that for the first couple of days we were unable to enjoy anything, and in fact we were too sick to sleep. You heard that right. Over that first weekend I, who can't function on less than eight hours of sleep, stayed awake for twenty-fours straight. Even Nyquil wouldn't put me out.

Then, for a week after that, we were too sick to stay awake. That was the period during which we kept having to go back and decide what we remembered last from the audiobook.

"It was Agnes Nutter and the book, wasn't it?"

"No, it was Adam and the Them meeting the dog."

(We were both wrong: It was Crowley terrifying his house plants.)

I took this photo of Emily at the same time the one above of me was taken. She's in there, I swear.

Part of it--let's face it--is that I'm no spring chicken pox. When I was in my early 20's I once rode the back step of a fire engine to a mobile home fire on the edge of town--while running a fever.

This truck, specifically. What an awesome truck.

A couple of years later I rode a different engine to Kendallville, to a tire fire so big it could have been seen from the International Space Station, if there'd been one at the time. I was coughing up junk that looked like it belonged in an alien invasion horror movie, despite never getting into the smoke. Yet there I went, for twelve hours. Our Chief later ordered me to go home and go the hell to bed.

No more.

It's not just that Covid is bad. My normal temperature runs around 97.6, and by the time it hit 100 not only could I not go to a fire, I couldn't pick up the TV remote. (Thus the marathon of one show.) It reached 102 at one point. My skin kept trying to crawl away to somewhere cooler, or so it felt.

Emily was running about a day behind me, so I had the pain of knowing what she was about to go through. She's still got a terrible cough weeks later, while mine is just awful. We were like the grandparents in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, just laying there in a lump. Christmas preparations? Hah! We'd bought a new, pre-lit tree, but we never even got a chance to fluff out the branches, let alone decorate it.

I kinda like it like this, though. Yes, it's black.

I was so sick--brace yourself for this--I lost my appetite.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've completely lost my appetite, and I was in the hospital for most of those. I dropped six pounds. This is not a recommended diet.

The moral of this story is, of course, don't get Covid. We didn't mind at all being quarantined, at least not until the chocolate ran out. (Everything tasted salty or metallic, except chocolate.) Other people in this area passed away from it, so we count ourselves lucky now that we're feeling 50% better.

Yeah, I'm exhausted all the time, but I work nights--I was already halfway there, anyway.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter

Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/

Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter

Substack: https://substack.com/@markrhunter

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914

Remember, books aren't effective as masks, but they're great for quarantine.

#humor #family #coronavirus #pandemic #quarantine #corona virus #health #medical humor #medical stuff #firefighting #writing

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stardust-static · 1 year

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I swear to you I don't know why it is but when I get sick I get super down and like have this feeling of hopelessness. Bailey's going to be at work the next 5 days so he won't be home to hold me. Which is honestly the only thing that makes me feel better. I absolutely need affection when I'm sick or else I get the sadness real bad. My family used to get so mad at me growing up because I'd make them hug me and I'd get the whole house sick. My dad would always get mad and banish me to my room and call it quarantine. 😅

The first day I was unwell I slept almost all day and Bailey was going about outside doing his gardening and I just wanted him to lay down with me 'cause I had the sads and I needed love, but he was dirty from outside so he couldn't cuddle and had things to do before he had to go back to work. Fine.. Then he came in and I heard him heating himself leftovers from the dinner I made him the night before. I hadn't eaten all day. All I had were liquids. Granted I had zero desire to eat anything. Especially not pasta and had plans on eating an orange and crackers and cheese for dinner, but still! It's the principal. He should have asked. So I layed there and cried, because I felt that was really unthoughtful and then I thought about an entire breakup scene about this situation. This is how mad and emotional I was. 😂

Then I got up to grab myself an orange and he was like "oh you're awake now. How are you feeling?" and I was like " yeah.. still feels awful but don't worry about me. I'll just grab myself something to eat and drink." And he was like "what? Babe!" And I walked to our room and shut the door. Then angry because my hands were too weak to peel the stupid orange and now I'm peeling an orange on my bed like a savage. He came in and apologized and peeled my orange for me and made me laugh. He just thought I was sleeping and didn't want to wake me up. After he showered off his day outside he cuddled with me and I was so happy. I was like "I love this man so much!", But also I literally broke up with him in my head over not making me dinner. 😅 Kinda unhinged, but ya girl gets emotional when she gets sick! Bailey knows this.. but yeah we're good. The next day he brought me my comfort sick meal for dinner which is a happy meal with chicken nuggets.

And the other thing I've gotten emotional about lately is my best friend who I don't hear from nearly as often because she's gotten married and had a baby and they've been house searching, but yeah I just started thinking about her yesterday and started to cry and thought about how she doesn't need me anymore or look forward to talking to me. Got real sad about that. Today she let me know that they got a house and we had a beautiful conversation about how much we love and miss each other and made plans to see each other when I feel better. yeah.. I need to stop being sick so I can disassociate from my overload of feelings. I've been crying way too much lately. Today I was watching snippets of "The Help" and crying. I need to rewatch that movie... It's a good one. 🥲

But yeah the first two days of being sick were just me being really cold and achy with a stuffy nose and no appetite. Nothing too crazy.. Then Bailey woke me up last night to let me know that I was drenched in sweat. So now I'm just really hot and I've got chills, a sore throat, I made myself have a waffle today because it was the only bland thing that didn't make me want to hurl, but then I most definitely did hurl. Liquids are all I can keep down. If I feel this bad tomorrow I might do my least favorite thing and go to urgent care. I usually just tough it out when I get sick, but I think my throat is getting sores and I spit up blood today. So yeah.. I feel like I'm perishing. Also my house is grossing me out and it's all I can think about. I have 4 white long hair animals. I need to brush them at least twice a week and vacuum just as often. Well I missed my vacuum day twice. I was already behind before I got sick. Now there's so much dog hair everywhere and it's freaking me out but every time I get up I get woozy and I just feel really weak. The hair is all I can think about though and Bailey can't help cause he's at work all day and night. So yeah.. these are my current qualms with the world, void.

Also there's dishes in the sink, but fuck 'em I guess. I'll get to them when I can I suppose...

*is actually really bothered by the dishes in the sink and knows it will keep me up at night if I don't clear them before bed*

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zeejeythedoodler · 2 years

Text

"I miss my wife."

Fizz Alvin looked up at the gargantuan feathered form of Nelly Armweak. It was the first time the T. Rex had spoken since they entered the module. The feathers around her neck were standing on end from agitation, making her appear even larger than she was. Fizz had long since gotten used to her size, however, so he was unfazed by this.

"We haven't even left the ground yet." He said.

"Oh, shut up." Said a voice from his right. It belonged to Nickel Rollins, a therizinosaurus who had seen better years. His massive claws were surprisingly delicate on the control panel in front of him. "You went through a month of quarantine just like us, just because you didn't have a family to miss doesn't mean we didn't either."

Fizz took the hint and stopped talking. Nickel intimidated him, as loathe as he was to admit it. He was only a velociraptor after all, a rather small dinosaur by any standard, and he often wondered how easy it would be for him to get impaled by one of those claws. Too easy, he figured.

A voice came over the radio, "mission control to Bronto 11, prepare for takeoff, over."

Fizz pressed a button on the main console, "preparations underway, over." He said.

"I swear to Diplodocus," said a different voice, "if you don't stop your yakking and get your feathery asses up there, I will personally kick them into orbit!"

"Thanks, Markus," said Nickel, "we'll take that into consideration."

Fizz leaned forward into his seat. He didn't want to admit it, but he was nervous. Not just because he was sandwiched between two titans, but also because he was about to be careening into the sky in what was essentially a tin can with fireworks on one end.

It didn't take long before they were ready for takeoff. Fizz looked up through the windshield as the countdown started. He tried to remember what his therapist told him. If he concentrated hard enough, he was sure it would work.

"Five…" came a voice over the radio.

Long breath in, long breath out.

"Four…"

Concentrate on your inner thoughts.

"Three…"

Let the world around you fade away.

"Two…"

Feel the stress dissipate.

"One…"

Nope. Not working. "Shit shit shit shit shi-"

"liftoff."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"

The rocket soared into the sky, leaving behind a trail of smoke and debris. If Fizz had stopped screaming at any time during the duration of their flight, then he would have noticed the ground below him getting smaller, and the sky around him turn from blue to violet to black, and then he would have seen the stars: pinpoints of light sparkling and shining in the darkness.

When they reached orbit, Nelly spoke up: "what a beautiful sight!" She said.

Below them, spread out in all its glory, was the Cube. From this angle, all they could see was the face they and everyone they knew had lived on their entire lives, but soon, other faces would come into view; other worlds unlike anything known to dinokind.

"It certainly is." Said Nickel, "it's a shame we won't have long to enjoy it, though, considering all the air Fizz just wasted."

Through the chest rest of his chair, Fizz mumbled something that sounded like "sorry."

#writing #writers on tumblr #dinosaurs #sci fi #space

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moonflowerchanniesgirl · 2 years

Text

Zemblanity

Pairing: lee know x female reader

Genre: angst, idol lee know x choreographer reader, ex fwb, ex best friends

Warning: much angst, mentions of sexual relations (no outright explicit scenes), mentions of miscarriage, depression, swearing

Summary: You never meant to meet him again, and after years of dodging him all the feelings and memories hit you all at once.

Length: 5k

Authors note: this is not an accurate representation of stray kids or any of the idols mentioned but an interpretation based on an idea that stems from them.

A few weird time stuff going past and present. Some painful stuff. Part 2 Serendipity

“No absolutely not,” you said as you rushed to walk away from who you had thought was your closest friend. But no friend would have asked that of you, especially knowing what you had been through.

“Wait! Please just hear me out,” Saerin said as she grabbed your arm preventing you from getting too far.

“There is no way in hell I’m going to be working with him at all! Let alone for weeks!” You screamed at Saerin as you tried to tug your arm from her. You didn’t manage to accomplish much as her grip only tightened.

“I wouldn’t be asking this of you if I had any choice either!” Saerin raised her voice and that's when you finally quelled your anger to look at her. At all the time you have known her she only raised her voice on one other occasion. The dark circles under her eyes were very prominent and she clearly looked like she hadn’t slept in days. In the face of your silence, Saerin finally let your arm go. “The situation is complicated so please just hear me out,” she pleaded.

You walked over to the mirror of the dance studio and sat down back against it, facing Saerin. You didn’t want to hear her out. In fact, ever since the moment, she brought up his group you just wanted to run out of the dance studio. To keep running until you could blackout and forget about every memory that came from just hearing about him.

“You know Ryan was supposed to be the one to be working with them right?” Saerin asked as she sat down in front of you.

“Yeah.” You knew about the arrangement and how excited everyone was that one of your choreographers had been chosen to work with JYP to choreograph for Stray Kids for all of their Kingdom performances. Saerin had of course come up to you before agreeing to make sure that you knew that you wouldn’t be interacting with anyone from JYP since they were going to work with the JYP dance team. Yet not even a week later the situation had drastically changed.

“His mom suddenly fell sick and he had to fly back to the US to take care of her. He flew out this morning and no matter what with quarantine time, he won’t be back early enough.”

“So why can’t you or Minah unnie take care of it?” You asked already knowing the answer.

“You know that neither she nor I can make boy group dances as well as you can. In fact, the whole reason JYP wanted to work with us is because of the work you did with ONF on Road to Kingdom.”

There was nothing you could say to combat that. You had been there when Saerin received the phone call from JYP asking to work with you because of how impressed they had been with your dances for ONF. She of course had declined for you but instead managed to push Ryan forward claiming that you would be too busy. After sending them a portfolio of Ryan’s work they finally agreed.

“Ryan signed the contract last week and he was supposed to meet with and start working with them in two days. We won’t be able to handle the penalty fees and there’s no way he can work with the time difference. I wouldn’t have asked you if this wasn’t the last option available. I’m sure they’ll agree to rework the contract without penalty fees if I told them that you were taking over for Ryan.” Saerin said as she pulled you into an awkward sitting hug. “I’m so sorry darling you know I would have declined if the contract wasn’t signed.”

You could only numbly hug her back as your brain tried its best to look for another solution. You and Ryan were the only ones in your dance team that could choreograph boy group dances. You could have asked one of your dancer friends for help but that would mean losing the contract to another dance studio and, as much as you knew Saerin would tell you she was fine with it, working with JYP was quite a big deal. The four of you had worked so hard to build Serendipity Studio up from nothing and this was your first deal with a major company. There was no other way out.

“What are we going to do if… if he finds out?” You finally ask the question weighing down on your mind, still heavy after all these years. The reason you had left everything behind, the reason you went by a pseudonym, and the reason you had freaked out when Saerin asked you to choreograph for Stray Kids.

“Oh baby, don’t you think that maybe… maybe it’s finally time you told him? He’s still asking about you after all this time you know.” Saerin tightened her grip on you as she felt your tears wet her shoulders.

“I can’t…” The two of you stayed like that on the studio floor for hours, just you crying while Saerin held you tight enough to stop you from completely breaking apart.

The JYP building that you had been avoiding all these years looked so large and daunting in front of you. As Saerin had predicted, they were quite happy to alter the contract so that you were now officially taking over from Ryan. You weren’t quite as happy but you knew what you had to do. There was a part of you that thought, maybe he wouldn’t even recognize you, it had been four years after all. You tightened the mask around your face and patted down your bangs (freshly cut in attempts to disguise yourself to the best of your abilities). After you exhaled a long breath you finally walked through the JYP doors.

“Today you’ll be meeting with all the dancers that you will be working with for these next few weeks. The song is ready so if you want to work on that here or at your own studio that is up to you. Here are a few files on what they are looking for with this choreography. The kids wanted to meet with you today but I think they’re busy getting fitted and styled all day,” the young man who introduced himself as manager Kim said as he handed you a few stapled-together pieces of paper and a USB stick. He led you to one of the JYP dance studios and knocked before pushing the door open.

You and the dancers in the room greeted each other as the manager left. A part of you was much more relaxed knowing that you wouldn’t be meeting with Stray Kids today. You knew that you had to meet them sooner or later but maybe if you were lucky you would meet them much much much much later.

“My name is Ember and I look forward to working with all of you in the next few weeks.” You introduced yourself with the dancer's name you had given yourself after you left your previous dance troupe. It was the only name you now used in the industry, one of your many precautions to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to locate you.

The other dancers and you had a brief discussion before they all left since they weren’t needed for the first performance. You sat down to read through the papers manager Kim had given you. The first page was a brief explanation of the song and how 3racha had remixed their song Miroh to get a stronger more wild feeling to it. The main theme they wanted to work with was wolves as it tied in with one of the songs they thought would be fitting for the finale. The explanation had been written by Chan and you smiled faintly to yourself as you thought back when you had met the man all those years ago.

“Hi I’m the leader Chan! It’s so nice to finally meet you, you can’t believe how much I’ve heard about you.”

You remembered blushing at the bubbly young man as you shook his hand and wondered what exactly he had heard about you.

“I know he won’t tell you directly but thank you so much for choosing him to be on your team, it’s always been his dream.” You said as the two of you looked over at him.

You snapped yourself out of your memories as you flipped the page and saw that it was a breakdown of the members and their strengths. The page also included their pictures and for the first time in a long time, you saw him. He wasn’t smiling in his photo and honestly, he looked a little pissed off but you knew that was just his tired face. He didn’t look that different from when you had last seen him, a little leaner, the soft brown hair now a darker color but he was still the same Lee Minho. You hurriedly flipped the page again before your emotions could completely take over. The next page was the page of lyrics while noting down whose part it was so you could place them in the center position.

You walked over to the computer and plugged the UBS. There was one file there and you played it, the sound of wolves growling and Stray Kids voices filled the room. You felt yourself almost break apart again when you heard his voice on the track. The way he whispered his line brought back the memories of the way he whispered to you in the mornings when he had to leave before you woke.

It was all too much and you had to pause the track to breathe. As soon as you did pause the track though you felt anger seep into your emotions. You pinched yourself hard in the arm because you were so mad at yourself. After all these years of working hard, you couldn’t let your emotions keep you from doing a job well. This was a job that you needed to complete, that would bring more spotlight to your little dance studio. You couldn’t fuck it but by wanting to cry every three god damn minutes. With a few deep breaths you put the song on repeat and emptied your mind of everything except the music and the way you remembered the Kingdom stage looking.

A couple of hours later you had pretty much all the members' positions planned out when you heard the knock on the door. You looked up from where you had been scribbling on the back of the papers to see the door open and manager Kim walk in…except it wasn’t just him that walked it, 8 familiar-looking men followed him.

“I’m glad you’re still here, the boys had some time in their schedule and they wanted to greet you as well as see if you needed them for anything.”

The boys lined up beside manager Kim and did their “Step Out! Hello We are Stray Kids” greeting which finally shocked you enough to stand up and bow in greeting back.

“Hello I’m Ember,” you said as you straightened up and tried to look anywhere but at one specific boy. As you looked at the other members you could feel yourself smile softly at how much taller some of them had grown.

“You guys have about half an hour to discuss things, I’m going to go check with manager Lee to see what time your meeting tomorrow is.” Manager Kim said as he left, leaving you alone with the boys.

You quickly adjusted your mask still thankful that none of them recognized you. You were so busy not looking at Minho that you didn’t notice the way he narrowed his eyes at you or the way Felix looked at him with confusion.

“I’m sure you read the briefing but I guess we should do individual introductions,” Chan spoke with a smile as he motioned for everyone to sit down. “I’m Bangchan the leader but you can call me Chan or Chris whichever you prefer.” You only nodded because you couldn’t tell him that already knew that. Chan looked over at the person next to him and the introductions continued from there.

“I’m Seungmin, I’m one of the vocals, dancing isn’t one of my strong points but I will do my best.” Chan pretty much launched himself at Seungmin engulfing him in a bear hug as if to say ‘that’s not true’. Seungmin had been one of the members that had grown quite a bit since you last saw him.

“I’m Changbin, one of the rappers, and I have the best hips in the team,” Changbin said as the rest of the kids just laughed. You noticed how Changbin seemed to have grown as well, grown wider and fuller with muscles.

“Please ignore Changbin, I’m Han Jisung but you can call me Han or Jisung.” Jisung said with a soft smile and you were happy to see that his cheeks still looked squishy and soft.

“Or quokka,” Hyunjin said with a laugh as Jisung whined next to him. “I’m Hyunjin, one of the members of the dance team, I look forward to working with you.” Hyunjin had much longer hair than the last time you saw him and he seemed to have grown prettier.

“I’m Jeongin the maknae, it's very nice to meet you,” Jeongin bowed slightly as he finished speaking. It was when you looked at him that you could really see how much time had passed. He looked so much bigger from when you had last seen him at their debut party.

“I’m Felix another member of the dance team! I must say I’m so excited to work with you. Out of all the road to Kingdom stages ONF’s performance of Everbody was my favorite. I can’t wait to see what dances you will make for us.” Felix said as he sat up slightly more while the rest of the kids all nodded and murmured their agreement.

All of them except one person, of course, the one person who had not looked away from you this whole time even when he was supposed to introduce himself after Felix. You finally looked over at him and barely concealed the gasp that wanted to leave your mouth. Looking at a photograph and looking at the real thing was completely different. The photograph didn’t capture the intensity of his eyes. The same intensity you had felt countless times before as he hovered over you, as he danced toward you as he and you ate together, as the two of you said your last goodbyes. You had to calm yourself once again because you couldn’t afford to jump to conclusions. Maybe that was how he looked at everyone?

Felix elbowed him to get him to finally snap away from looking at you. He glared at Felix who only looked more and more confused.

“Hyung, your introduction?” he asked as Minho turned back to look at you this time with much more of a pronounced frown on his face.

“I’m Lee Minho or Lee Know, but you already know that, don’t you?” He asked and you felt the temperature in the room suddenly drop.

Fuck. He knows. That was all that you could think of as he continued to stare directly at you. The mask, the bangs they were all useless as he probably knew it was you the moment he first saw you.

“Of course she knows, it was in the briefing papers,” Chan said with a laugh clearly thinking that it was just Minho and his weird sense of humor. “Now if Embernim if you don’t mind introducing yourself a little more.”

“Right of course,” it was your turn. “Just call me Ember, I’ve worked as a backup dancer for a while but started making choreographies two years ago. I’ve worked with quite a few boy groups and I guess you all know that I was in charge of all choreographies for ONF while they were on Road to Kingdom. I look forward to working with you all.” You spoke almost on autopilot as you did your best to look at every member except Minho even though you could feel him glaring at you. In the corner of your eye, you could see him open his mouth about to speak when there was a knock at the door and manager Kim walked in.

“Alright Kids times up, let’s get you back to the dorms. You will be meeting with Ember again tomorrow at two if that works for her.” He looked over at you and could only nod to confirm the time, wondering if it was possible for you to fall down the stairs and break all your bones to avoid the next meeting. The kids slowly started to file out each of them saying a version of “bye” and “see you tomorrow”. In the end, it was just Minho, you and manager Kim left in the room.

“Managernim you take them back first, I’ll get a cab, there are some details we need to work out for tomorrow.”

You felt the panic rise in the chest and you wanted to throw up right then and there as manager Kim left the room with a soft “don’t stay too late Minho.”

Now it was just the two of you in the room. The two of you and the weight of the heavy silence.

“Take the mask off,” Minho said breaking the silence. You could only comply as you knew that there was no point in continuing to wear it. He already knew and he clearly wasn’t going to let you leave without answers. Answers you knew that you weren’t ready to give him. You took off the mask and finally looked back at him. You saw a hint of softness appear on his face before it hardened again. “Why are you here?” He asked and you slightly cowered at the anger in his voice.

“You guys requested for me t-” you started to answer before he harshly cut you off.

“No, why are you here now? After all this time? After all the time I spent trying to find you?”

You had to bite down harshly on your bottom lip to try and hold yourself together and keep the tears from coming out. You knew exactly what he was talking about and how hard he had tried to find you after you left the previous dance group. How he had called every member of the group trying to see if anyone knew where you had gone. How you made Saerin lie to him with tears in your eyes begging her to not let him know. How you only went by Ember to make sure he couldn’t find you by your real name. All that went down the drain at this very moment when he had recognized you with one meeting.

“Really after all this time you aren’t even going to say anything?”

“I’m sorry,” you clenched your hands hard enough that you were sure your nails were digging into your skin.

“That’s not it,” he finally looked away exasperated as you searched for what else you could say. “Why,” he finally said as it was obvious you didn’t know what he wanted you to say. “Why disappear without saying anything? Why disappear at all?” He asked and you could see how red his eyes were as he was holding his tears back.

“I-” you quickly clamped your hand over your mouth. You couldn’t tell him. Not now, not ever. What would even have been the point of leaving and hiding if you were just gonna spill the beans now? “I have nothing to say.”

“Really? Nothing?” He laughed but it was a hollow laugh, as hollow as the look in his eyes. “You don’t think I deserve an explanation?”

He did but you couldn’t give it to him. Not without spilling the deepest secret that only Saerin knew. “I’m sorry Minho, I have nothing to say.”

He once again laughed but it sounded much more painful than if he cried. “Just answer me this then. Did I mean anything to you? For you just to leave my life so easily?”

So much, oh so much, there weren’t enough words to describe how much he meant to you but you couldn’t tell him. “I’m sorry Minho,” was all you could say.

He left in a rush as he slammed the door behind him, you finally let yourself cry, alone, crumpled on the floor of the dance studio just like that day many years ago.

“It was a call from someone from JYP,” Minho said as he climbed back into bed grabbed your waist, and pulled you close against him.

“What did they want?” You asked as you placed one hand over the one he had on your waist. You turned to face him when he didn’t answer you. His brows were bunched together and he was clearly deep in thought. You gently kissed between his brows and they relaxed under your touch.

“They said they were considering adding me to their debut lineup for their new boy group.”

“WHAT?” You exclaimed as you tried to get up only for him to pull you close against his chest.

“Yeah…I’m still not sure I heard them right, maybe I’ve been dreaming this whole time.”

“But you’re not even a trainee? And they’re just going to debut you?”

“They said something about a competition show, I’m supposed to meet with someone tomorrow to discuss things further.”

“Oh Minho, if it’s true I’m so happy for you I know how much you wanted to be an idol since you were young.” You knew about all the failed auditions he went to, all the hours he spent practicing even after your actual dance rehearsals, and how he looked at BTS with awe and envy when you guys went on tour with them. Minho and you had been in the same dance troupe for two years, the two of you joining at around the same time. Being the same age (aka younger than the others) you had spent an immeasurable amount of time together. You were best friends that shared the stage and sometimes each other's beds. You weren’t officially together, neither seeing a need to put a label on anything. You had proudly told him that if anyone asked you would just refer to each other as “my biggest fan” and had left the conversation at that.

“What if I do meet up with them and they see that maybe I’m not suitable to be an idol after all?” He asked quietly in your ear, voice just loud enough for you to barely hear him.

“Then it’s their loss because they’re clearly blind,” you told him as you kissed him deeply.

You did not fully understand the arrangement Minho and JYP entertainment had, Minho had tried to explain it to you a couple of times but you were still just confused.

“So they just showed this Chan dude videos of the auditions?”

“Hey, that’s my maybe future leader you’re talking about.”

“Okay, so they showed your maybe future leader audition videos because he wasn’t happy with the other dance-focused trainees?”

“Yeah.”

“And he picked you so they called you?”

“Exactly!”

“So is this Chan dude JYP’s son or something?”

“HEY!”

You watched the first episode of the show with the rest of your dance group. Minho had taken a leave, not yet quitting because he still wasn’t sure that he was going to make it. It had been 6 months since you last saw him since he needed to spend all the time practicing and getting to know his future potential group mates. When you saw him on the screen you felt yourself tear up seeing how much he fit being on tv.

He called you after he was eliminated and the two of you cried together. He told you that they wanted him to train some more with their team so he wouldn’t be back just yet. You told him how proud you were and you told him that JYP could go fuck himself for springing this on him and then taking it away. You cried with relief when they brought him back. You were there on the final episode, next to his family and everyone cried over how his dreams were finally coming true. That night you finally met his members and then the two of you slipped away from the celebrations. You spent the rest of the night with him holding onto him as tightly as he held onto you.

“I looked at the final contract and there's a dating ban for three years,” he said as soon as you opened the door. That was one thing you loved about him, he always went straight to the point.

“I see,” you said not quite sure what else to say.

“And with everything planned for our official debut… I don’t think I’ll be able to sneak out and see you for a while. I told Chan one of the cats was sick and he finally let me leave.” The two of you sat facing each other.

“Your poor leader, you’re going to end up sending him to an early grave with how much trouble you give him. He’s already so stressed that all his hair has gone white.” You tried to crack a joke to lighten the mood but the expression on Minho’s face didn’t lighten one bit. With a sigh, you grabbed his hand and held it in yours. “Minho it’s alright, I understand, I’ve worked with idols before, we both knew what your life would be like moving forward.”

“I just didn’t think everything would happen so fast.”

“I know, but it’s okay, you got this I know you do. Just promise that even after you get a million fangirls dying for you to call them honey, you’ll still remember your biggest fan.” You spoke while cradling his face against your hand. He leaned in and closed his eyes, relaxing entirely in your palm.

“And I’m still your biggest fan, idol or not, nothing will change that,” he turned his head a little and kissed your palm. You giggled at the feeling and he smiled gently at you.

“Let’s make the most of this as our last day together then,” you stood up rather suddenly and headed toward your bedroom a stunned Minho taking a few minutes before following you.

You couldn’t really say that you broke up when you were never really together. You still texted and called each other when you had free time. Or more exactly when he had free time. His schedule was almost always packed full and he sometimes would only manage to respond to you after a week but it warmed your heart that he still tried to make an effort to stay connected with you. You never said out loud how much you missed him but you did start taking on much more work, adding dance lessons and rehearsals to fill the void that Minho left. When you collapsed Saerin was sure that it was due to exhaustion until she saw the blood.

It wasn’t strange for your period to stop or be late so you never imagined that you could have been pregnant. Finding out you were pregnant while finding out you miscarried was the nightmare that you never knew you could have. You didn’t cry, eat or speak for two days just trying to process the fact that you had been pregnant with Minho’s child. You knew that you were too young to try and be a mom, that Minho couldn’t afford to have a child this early in his career but when you closed your eyes all you could see was you and Minho holding your child.

You couldn’t tell him. He already had too much going on that you couldn’t tell him. You saw the messages he sent asking why you weren’t replying to him and you knew that if you heard his voice you would break. So you did the one thing you knew you needed to do. You ran away. You quit the dance group, blocked Minho’s number and got a new phone card. Took everything from your apartment and prepared to go back to live with your parent’s in the countryside. Saerin had found you before you got on the train and dragged you to her apartment. She didn’t trust you to be alone so she quietly quit the dance group too. Then she kept watching over you as you healed while she started her own dance group with her two other friends. It wasn’t easy but eventually, you could dance without being reminded of him. You joined Saerin’s dance group and soon, it became a four-way partnership.

After all these years you were finally able to see a post of him and not want to hide away or cry. You could hear his song play in a cafe and not plug your ears but you still couldn’t tell him.

After seeing him you so wanted to explain yourself, to tell him everything, and maybe hope that the two of you had a chance of going back to how you were. Maybe he would hold you, kiss you and make you feel the love that you had missed. Or maybe he would hate you… and that was the thought that made you dry up your tears, once again swallowing every part of you that wanted to run to him for comfort.

#skz fanfic #stray kids #stray kids fanfic #lee know #lee know fanfic #stray kids fic #stray kids imagine #skz imagine #angst #lee know angst #lee minho angst #stray kids angst #lee know fic #minho fic #lee minho fic #moonflower writings

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buckyownsmylife · 3 years

Text

You and I - Henry Cavill smut

The one where Henry comes over to fix your computer

Warnings: reader is a henry fan, pandemic theme, lockdown and quarentine-ing, little bit of second-hand embarrassment?, heatwave, henry is feeling deprived in this one, oral sex (f), masturbation (f), dirty talk, brief hairpulling, the name of God in vain, Henry’s monster dick, laughing and teasing while fucking, hand over throat but no actual choking, orgasm control, p in v, unprotected sex

Word count: over 3k, ‘cause I got no chill

A/N: this was inspired by a tik tok someone requested me to write a fic about it. Obviously I took it in a different direction because can I ever follow guidelines? No. I do love this fic, though. Thank you to @lokiscollar for giving this a read for me!

Y/N’s P.O.V

Driving to a secluded location to spend lockdown in felt like a wonderful idea. There was a working wi-fi connection, so I could work remotely from the seashore cabin without any problem whatsoever, and the view was obviously to die for.

I did not expect someone else to have the same idea as me. The cabin next door had been occupied on the same day that I arrived, and much to my surprise, I recognized my new neighbor as someone I never expected I’d come to meet in my entire life: an actor. An actor I actually had a crush on.

Thankfully, the situation didn’t exactly call for mingling. I ran off to hide inside my cottage as soon as I realized who he was, occupying myself with fixing everything for the next day instead of daydreaming about the man next-door.

There would be time for that later, once I got in bed. But weirdly enough, that was the only time I really thought about him during those first weeks of quarantine. Every once in a while I’d get the random wave of curiosity about what he was doing - what did Henry Cavill get up to while spending lockdown by himself? But that was pretty much it.

I woke up every day, had breakfast, worked and then went to bed. Sometimes I’d sit by the balcony and watch the birds fly, taking in the scenery and breathing in the salty water. Even as a kid, I’d always loved the sea. It was comforting, so it made sense for me to turn to it in such a stressful time.

Sometimes I’d hear a bark or two, reminding me of the man who was staying in the other cabin, and it made me smile. I always did like his dog, whenever I saw pictures of him.

I hoped they were alright and that the absence of any human contact wasn’t getting to them, even though it was getting to me. I could feel my own social abilities - which weren’t exactly stellar before - slowly becoming decrepit, and I was scared to think of what my first human interaction would be like once lockdown was over.

I just hadn’t anticipated it would be come so soon.

The morning began as it usually would. I took my shower, I had my breakfast, and I sat in front of the computer with my coffee in hands, ready to start working for the day.

Only the computer wasn’t ready for it, too.

“What?” I talked to myself - something that had become more usual the longer lockdown went on. “Oh, no, no, no…” The situation was looking drearier the longer I stared at my lifeless screen.

Looking up at the clock, I considered my options. Even supposing I could get someone to come to this middle of nowhere to fix it, there was no way I’d be able to get it done before work started.

Sighing, I pushed away from my designated desk to call my boss. Thankfully, he understood and I was left to repair the damn thing and come up with a solution for the next day.

My heart ached at the prospect of having to abandon my refuge because of an electronic malfunction. And that is, if there even was anyone willing to fix the damn thing, considering the pandemic and the rules of social distancing. That’s when suddenly, an idea popped up.

I remembered all the fuss a few months back over a video of Henry assembling a computer all by himself. There was no way someone with that much hardware prowess couldn’t at least know enough to fix this simple laptop.

With that thought in mind, I gathered all of my courage to leave my little shack and make my way to the neighboring cabin. I took a deep breath before knocking on the door, and after a few seconds of silence - he was probably surprised and certainly not expecting anyone - a voice sounded from within.

“Who is it?” Now, I had thought this through. If this man came as far as I had come to this damn forgotten town, it was because 1) he wanted peace and quiet and 2) he was as terrified of the virus as I was. So I knew what I needed to say - what I would like to hear if the roles were reversed.

“It’s your neighbor. My name’s Y/N. I’m so sorry to disturb, but my computer broke and I need it to work and you’re the only person I’m 100% sure has been socially distancing for long enough not to put my life in risk.” After all, I would have seen if someone had come to visit him. I didn’t need to say this because both of us knew it. “Would you pretty pretty please come and check it out?”

Silence followed my question and I sighed, rubbing my sweaty forehead as I knew this was a long-shot. “I understand if you’re unable or uncomfortable doing so, I just figured I’d ask. Thanks anyway!”

I had already turned my back to his front door when I heard it swinging open, the pitter patter of paws following close behind. My eyes took in the man in front of me for only a second before looking down at the dog at his feet, head tilted in interest as he analyzed me.

Immediately, my eyes lit up. “Kal!” I exclaimed, kneeling down to let the animal sniff me so I could pet it. My heart stopped working for a second when I realized what I’d done, though.

“Sorry!” I looked up at him from my kneeling position, trying to ignore how awkward it was, considering what I was close to. “I-I do know who you are, I’m not gonna lie about that.”

I straightened up as he kept looking at me in a way I couldn’t quite define. Neither could I determine how it made me feel, just that it made me avert my gaze so I’d stare at my feet.

“So… Are you gonna help me?” He chuckled at my question, closing the door behind him and taking a step in my direction, making me fumble as I instinctively stepped back.

“Sure.” It was the first thing he spoke to me, but we walked back to my own place in silence. He had his hands in his pockets as Kal followed us closely, his tongue hanging outside his mouth as he happily explored the outside for this little while. “Come on in.”

The way the cottage was set up left little space for him to wonder where he should be helping me. The desk in which I had prepared my set-up stood right by the wall to our left, and there he went without me having to point it out.

I watched a drop of sweat roll down the nape of his neck and fall under his tank top, distracting me as I licked my lips at the sight of it. Then his head turned to look at me and I realized that he was waiting for an answer to a question I hadn’t heard.

“Yeah, huh?” He chuckled again, making my face feel warm - an not (only) because of the overwhelming heat.

“Is it okay if I disconnect the wi-fi?” I wave my hand dismissively, shrugging.

“As long as you’re able to fix this, you can do whatever the hell you want.” I got the impression that I amused him, but he didn’t say anything else as he got to work on my (seemingly) dead computer.

Minutes went by of complete silence, safe from the sounds of typing and metal as Henry worked on the machine and I tried not to bite my nails. Finally, he pulled away from the screen and put his hands on his hips as if assuming some sort of decided stance - but if it was a good or bad thing, I couldn’t tell.

“Tell me, doctor.” I asked, pushing myself away from the sofa to approach him. The smell of a man’s sweat really had no right to be this arousing. “Is it life or death?” Henry turned to stare at me with a quirked eyebrow, and in the seconds it took for him to answer, I was once again distracted by just how hot he was.

“Sorry, what?” I asked when he became silent and I realized he’d asked me something I hadn’t heard once more. His smile said he was annoyed and entertained at the same time. “Sorry, you’re hot, it’s hot, and I can’t think straight,” I sighed, brushing the hair away from my eyes as I pressed my palms against them, trying to pull myself together.

“I swear to God, I’m not crazy.” I tried to look him directly as I said that, but was surprised at what I saw when our gazes met. There was a peculiar sense of yearning that he exuded, something I couldn’t quite place but that took my breath away all the same, especially when he took my silence as an invitation to invade my personal space.

“If you want me so badly, all you have to do is ask.” Silence fell heavily and I was out of breath just from his words - not a good sign. My throat felt dry, too dry, so I swiped my tongue over my bottom lip as I struggled to say something.

“W-why, though?” He tilted his head to the side, eyes inscrutable while he judged my question, trying to understand where it came from just like I was trying to understand his interest in me, when he suddenly smiled.

“I figured it’s a nice way for you to pay me back.” It took me a second to understand what he was referring to, and then my eyes darted from the computer to him, my mouth falling open in offense until he started chuckling. “I’m joking!” But even so, the question remained…

“Sweetheart…” He spoke, voice low and velvety as two strong hands suddenly enveloped my hips. “You’re seriously underestimating how hot you are.” I didn’t know what to say, so I had to make sure I’d hear him right.

“M-me?” A predatory smirk took over his face, slowly. I gulped under its intensity, feeling much like prey as he started to back me against the couch. I fell on top of it with a gasp, and another one escaped me when he used my ankles to pull me closer.

“I wanna eat you out.” It was all I got as an answer, but I can’t say that I minded it. As he dropped to his knees before me, pulling down my underwear before spreading my legs for his eyes to take in, it felt like I got a response from the gesture in itself.

“Do you know how long it’s been since I ate pussy?” The unexpected question made me choke on my own saliva, as he chuckled darkly in amusement at my bashfulness. I could only breathe through my mouth when he leaned down to run his tongue on the edge of my lips, slowly acquainting himself with my taste, making me moan softly.

“I-I definitely and decidedly don’t.” He seemed to like this answer, understand that it delimited exactly the type of fan that I was: the kind that knew what he was and what he liked - his dog, his computer - but not someone who was obsessed with his entire dating history, eager to know his every secret.

The longer Henry ate me out, the clearer it became just how long it’d been since he’d done this. It was obviously something he liked - the way he buried his face against my cunt and engulfed it entirely with his open mouth showed so. And the fact that he licked me and sucked me like he was a starved man? This was a man denied of a pleasure he genuinely enjoyed, that much I was certain of.

“Do you like this?” He asked once he inserted one of his thick fingers inside of me, already stretching me beyond what I could do with my own hand.

“How could I not?” I managed to moan a response, making him chuckle.

“Show me how to find it,” he instructed, eyes sparkling with determination. “I want to find your sweet spot.” I’d never had someone I was with so interested in giving me pleasure before.

Hypnotized, my fingers circled his wrist as best as I could, slowly moving him to run his digits over the top of my channel. He knew when he found it because I cried out for him, closing my eyes momentarily.

“Cum for me,” he ordered, and how could I deny him that, especially when he was looking at me with those darkened eyes? He milked my orgasm until my pussy had stopped clenching around him, but the second that it was done, he growled, getting up to his knees. “Gonna fuck you now.”

He pulled me by my hair, making me moan out loud as he slowly inserted his monster cock inside of me. “Oh, God!” His groan had me panting, cunt clenching around his thickness. I couldn’t understand how I was able to take it, but I was glad that was the case. “So… tight…”

Through his grip on my hair, he pulled me to deposit quick kisses down my jaw. “You take me so well, darling.” It was a compliment I was proud to receive, even though I wasn’t too sure how I managed to earn it in the first place.

“I honestly don’t know how,” I admitted, gasping when he slowly dragged his cock out to slam it in me, but I instinctively pulled my hips away, earning an amused chuckle from him.

“Come back here,” he ordered, already pulling me back to spear me with his painfully hard length. I’d have to be inhuman not to cry out at the feeling of his bulbous head bumping against my cervix. “Are you scared?” He joked as I bit on my bottom lip not to give in and laugh. “You think I’m too big?”

“You’re more than enough, I’ll tell you that.” Now, that had his own laugh escaping his chest, making my body tremble underneath his, inadvertently getting some friction between the both of us. It earned me a moaned out, “Yes…” that got his attention back to where I hoped it would be, and as his eyes settled on me, I briefly wondered if I was prepared for what was to come.

“But now that you got all of me inside of you, do you really want to go?” The whispered question made me shiver. I never expected him to be the type to talk dirty, but then again, I never expected I’d be fucked by him, either.

“No.” It was all the permission he needed.

“Then let me fuck you hard.” And hard he did fuck me. He was hard inside of me, it probably would have been painful for him if he wasn’t so desperately trying to alleviate it by frantically fucking me against the couch.

It was the most deliciously torturous experience I’d ever gone through. I had to bite my lip while I held onto his shoulders for dear life, trying to stop my moans from escaping because I was sure that for once, I’d become a screamer.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Henry didn’t appreciate my efforts to keep his ears from deafening. “What’s wrong?” He questioned, fingers tightening on my hips. “I thought you wanted this.”

Confused, all I could think to say was, “I-I do.”

“Then let me hear you,” he insisted. “You know you can scream all you want. We’re all alone up here on the coast.” Well, he wasn’t wrong. And with that reassurance, I allowed my head to fall back and my mouth to fall open, my moans flowing freely from my body as Henry kept fucking me.

“This is so much better than touching myself in search of a release,” he mumbled at some point, like he was talking to himself. “I was so damn lonely and you have such a tight little pussy.”

Being fucked by him felt like a religious experience. Henry somehow knew the map to my pleasure, easily bringing me to the brink of bliss before I had even managed to wrap my head around this turn of events.

My moans grew louder as I climbed higher and higher, but before I could fully tip over his hand curled around my throat, not constricting any air, just calling my attention.

“Ask for permission, baby.” Just the order had me clenching around him, prompting him to release a moan of his own. All the while, I was groaning in frustration, trying to control myself or say what he wanted me to say, but all that came out of me was, “Goddamn! You can’t say stuff like that.” Henry’s laughter flowed freely once more, making my heart skip a beat. “Why not?”

“Because you’re a fucking movie star and I am not up to fall in love with you.” That had his eyebrows raising in surprise, the smile disappearing from his face before it came back as a teasing smirk.

“Oh, so this is a one-time thing.” The taunting manner in which he said it surprised me in turn, so I hesitated before nodding. I mean, of course it was, right? He didn’t even know me. This was strictly sexual and physical, I would not be fooled by my own hormones. “My cock is not enough for you to want to get to know me some is that it?” … Was he testing me?

“Yes.” His smirk only grew at the word. “This is a one-time thing.”

“We’ll see about that.” His fingers ran down my body to graze over my clit. I sucked in a breath, trying to keep it in, knowing I was going to lose. Eventually, as my thighs began to tremble, I gave in altogether.

“Please, let me cum, please.” His eyes softened at my broken and desperate plea, hand gripping my cheeks as he finally nodded.

“Keep staring at me as you cum,” he commanded, still just as bossy. “Show me how pretty you look when you cream all over my dick.” That was all I needed to succumb to the pleasure he was subjecting me to.

I felt his cock, still hard as it pumped rope after rope of cum inside of me, and by the time I was able to open my eyes again, he was panting over me, sweat dripping from his forehead onto my face.

I didn’t have the time to think about what I should do - push him away, try to pretend this didn’t happen - because the second I began to adjust on the couch, he pulled me to rest against his chest.

“Let’s stay here for a little while,” he quietly asked me. “Then we’ll figure out if there’s enough room for me to take you in your bed.”

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