#Like no one is completely bad or good there's gray everywhere but damn if some don't show it more than others | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ignitedbynatsu · 3 years

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He Makes You Feel Insecure ~ Gray

A/N: as promised here is the first one shot in the HMYFI series. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know who else you want me to write for! As you can see I decided to ditch the summary since I’m not very good at it oop- 🤭

Warnings: insecurities (feeling like you’re too clingy)

genre: angst to fluff

Other versions:

Laxus ~ Erik/Cobra ~ Bickslow ~ Gajeel ~ Natsu ~ Jellal ~ Freed ~ Sting ~ Rogue

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Gray had just come back from a job with Natsu and the crew and to say he was in a bad mood was putting it lightly. He wanted nothing more than to go home and go to bed.

It was no secret that he and Natsu weren't always on the best terms, but for some reason, he was working even more on his nerves putting the ice-magic user on edge.

If Erza wasn't there he would've punched the dragon slayer right there and then in the face, but he didn't want to deal with her wrath, so he just cropped it all inside.

After he grumbled a goodbye to everyone in the guild he made his way home, where you were patiently waiting.You knew how tired he gets after he went out on a job, so you decided to make his favourite food and even picked his favourite film to watch tonight.

Once Gray was home, you immediately greeted him by the door with a wide smile. "How was the job? I made your favourite food"

"I'm not hungry" He replied in a rather cold tone.

"Oh... Okay." You said a bit taken back by his tone and answer, but you didn't want to let that ruin the mood "How about we watch a film? I got your favourite"

"No, thanks," He declined once again as he made his way further into the house with you trailing behind."Is everything okay? We could just cuddle if you want?" You suggested carefully, noticing how tense he was.

"Fuck (Y/N)! Can't you see I want to be left alone?" He suddenly exclaimed making you flinch at the sudden rise in volume "I don't need you making me food, I don't need you picking up after me after I throw off my shirt, I don't need you to cling on me every second of the day! Can't you see that you're smothering me? You are not my mother so stop acting like one! It's like you're suffocating me. I can't go one minute without seeing you everywhere. Just give me some space, God damn it"

You took in his words carefully as you slowly nodded at his little outburst. If you looked over all your actions you couldn't help but feel like he was right. You were almost 24/7 with Gray, so he wasn't wrong. Had he always thought this and had it now only come out?

"I'm sorry" you softly spoke, afraid to set him off further.He ignored your apology and went to your shared bedroom, slamming the door shut after him. You once again flinched at the sudden sound. Tears start pricking in your eyes as your mind went over everything that just happened.

You didn't mean to smother him. To you, it seemed like small acts of kindness. You didn't mind cooking for him as it was something you enjoyed doing. He always threw his clothes God knows where, so you made sure to pick it up, so he wouldn't lose it. As for the attention, you didn't see yourself as a clingy girlfriend, but he was right that you were around him almost all the time. Being in the same guilt meant having the same friends and even going together on missions from time to time.

It wasn’t the first time you two had an argument. You knew he was just frustrated and stressed. Most of the time it blew over by the next morning, but this time it kept running through your head. You quietly grabbed your coat and made your way over to Lucy. You didn't want to upset Gray even more, so you decided to give him the space he wanted.

The next morning when Gray woke up, he noticed the cold spot where you normally laid. He frowned at not seeing your figure but just thought you had gone to guilt early to help Mira-Jane as you did from time to time.

He got dressed and wondered what he had made for you this morning only to see you had nothing prepared for him. As he looked around more he noticed that the plate with his favourite food was still on the table, along with the unwashed dishes in the sink. That was some very odd behaviour for you.

Maybe you had overslept and were in a rush this morning? He shook it off and went to the Guilt only to see that you weren't there either.

"(Y/N) and Mira went out to do some grocery shopping," Cana said as she noticed the frown on the boy's face.

"Gray! We have a new mission! Let's go!" Erza called out to him as Natsu sprinted out of the guilt followed by Wendy and Lucy who were laughing about something.

As the night fell the group got back from the job. Normally you would sprint up to Gray and engulf him in a hug, but today you hardly lifted your head at the sound of him coming back. You were carelessly chatting away with Cana as she chugged down another glass of wine.

“Hey, babe,” He said as he came up behind you and sneaked his arms around you.

“Oh hey,” You replied and gave him a small smile before continuing your story. When he noticed that even Cana looked at you two weirdly, he knew something was up.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” He asked.

“Oh, I just made plans with Levy to go out and get something to eat-“ He cut you off before you could completely deflect him “please?”

You nodded your head at him and followed him outside. You didn’t miss the reassuring Lucy had sent you and gave her a small smile back.

Once you were completely alone, Gray sighed heavily “Is something wrong?”

“No why?” You asked as you chewed the inside of your cheek nervously.

“You’ve been kinda off today, you didn’t even give me a kiss when I came back from the job. Why is that?” he clarified.

“I thought you needed more space” You answered softly as you stared at your feet.

“More space? Is this about the argument yesterday?” Your silence confirmed his question, making him take your hands in his “(Y/N), look at me. I am so sorry about yesterday. I was in a terrible mood and shouldn’t have worked it out on you”

“You were right though, I am too clingy,” You said softly.

“No, you’re not. You’re perfect. It was never my intention to make you feel insecure about that. I promise you I do not think you are smothering me. You’re just incredibly kind, and I was an asshole for making you feel that way.” He assured you.

“You really mean that?” You asked unsure.

“With all my heart. I really am sorry for making you feel that way, my love.” He apologized as he pulled you into a hug, not planning on letting you go anytime soon.

“Good, ‘cause I don’t know how long I would’ve lasted without hugging you” You mumbled in his chest.

His laughter vibrated against your cheek, making you automatically smile as well “You have no idea how much I love you”

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whatifyoulivelikethat · 3 years

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that kind of morning, m | jjk

pairing(s): jungkook x reader

summary: You’re really bad at waking up. Big sleepyhead with foggy memory kind of bad. Your brain is on autopilot. Hm, kind of hard to pilot when everything seems out of place. And you’re mildly hungover. Ow. You just ran into a muscular chest. Who could that be?

warnings: rated M (18+) for language; morning after a wild night; graphic descriptions of sexual acts and a tiny bit of smut–while on the phone (fem reader, nipple play, dry humping, hint of a handjob); non-idol!BTS; basically sleepy and slightly hungover reader trying to piece together life lmao

–

Most people make their worst decisions at night.

Not you. You make your worst decisions in the morning.

Maybe it's because you don't drink coffee.

"Ow!"

Was your bed always that high? Huh. You squinted in the sunlight filtering through the window, far too bright for your sensitive eyes. Instead, you occupied yourself with sniffing the t-shirt you were wearing. It smelled clean, like fabric softener. Also, it was white. Generally, you didn't buy white shirts since they dirtied easily. A miracle that this one wasn't stained.

You stumbled through the bedroom door – was it always that far? – and smacked your nose into a wall.

"Ow!"

"Ah!"

A moving wall. Wait, not a wall. A shirtless guy. Oh. It had been that kind of night.

You rubbed your nose. "Erm, hello. You're still here, huh?" you mumbled.

The guy blinked at you. "What do you mean? This is my apartment."

Oh. That's why everything seemed unfamiliar. Now that you looked at him, he was pretty attractive. Long dark hair, large brown eyes, dark brows, shapely pink lips with a mole underneath his lower lip. He had two more on his nose and cheek. Lightly tanned skin and a cute confused face. Huh. Nice muscles too. Good for him.

"Alright, I'll be on my way then, uh..." you trailed off awkwardly, pushing past him. The events of last night were hazy and your head hurt a little, although not so bad that you couldn't function. You were just poorly functioning because you weren't a morning person.

"Do you want coffee or something?" the guy asked, following you. He sounded a little worried.

"Nah, I don't drink coffee," you muttered, holding onto the wall as you walked down the unfamiliar narrow hallway. "Stains your teeth."

Speaking of teeth, your breath was probably awful. Hopefully that poor guy didn't breathe near you. Come to think of it, this wasn't what you were wearing last night. It was probably his shirt, considering the large size. Where were your clothes? Oh, look, a bathroom.

"I could order us some breakfast," the guy continued as you stuck your head into the bathroom and saw the sink. There was a black toothbrush and a crumpled tube of toothpaste, definitely not yours. A black cup for rinsing one's mouth, with a winking emoji printed on it. A black shirt bunched up and half-falling off the sink. Deodorant. Cologne. You picked it up and sniffed it. A clean scent. Didn't make you want to throw up. Awesome.

You flicked on the faucet and shoved your hands under it. Cold. Fuck. Whatever. You cupped some and brought your hands to your face, dripping water everywhere, and cursing under your breath before gargling some. Best you could do. You spied something red out of the corner of your eye. What was that? You squinted at the towel rack through the mirror, water trickling down your chin. There was a thin scrap of ripped lace fabric on the hanging white towels.

The guy was still talking.

"I can get you a spare toothbrush? Do you want some cleanser to wash your face?"

He had a pleasant voice, a little deep. Clear, smooth. Made you think of a cool, refreshing breeze.

Wait.

Were those your red panties on the towel rack?

You winced at the mirror. Welp. Those were done for. Didn't look like you could salvage them. You suddenly felt a chilly draft on your bare ass. Your arms were still dripping water as you leaned down and splashed your cheeks. Guess you'll just have to figure something out. You turned off the water and wiped your face off with your palm. A white hand towel appeared. You took it, seeing the guy's tattooed hand and arm. Sexy. He had an emoji tattooed onto his knuckle of a sheepish, crooked smile.

Kind of looked like you, at the moment.

You dried your face and hands.

"Thanks, but it's fine, I'll just go home so I don't bother you," you said, folding the towel and placing it on the sink before moving past him and his curious expression.

"You're not bothering me. I want to make your morning comfortable."

You noticed your red dress from last night on the ground. The thin straps were torn off and there was a distinct, dark stain down the front. Hmm. You vaguely remembered scooping your tits out and smashing them against his hard dick and dropping a stream of spit down your chest for lubrication before furiously tit-fucking him and making him cum all over your collarbones and neck.

Ah.

Well.

That dress was fucked.

"Can I borrow this shirt? I'll give it back," you said, turning around to see the guy's face bright pink, staring at your dress on the ground.

"Uh, yeah, sure, whatever you want," he rambled, shifting awkwardly. He was wearing light gray sweatpants. You looked down. He shifted away quickly, but it was pretty hard to disguise that tent.

You scratched your head. Hm. "Say, uh..." you trailed off again.

He blinked with those big chocolatey eyes. "Oh, um, Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook."

He stuck his hand out. You shook it, fitting your hand in his, suddenly remembering when you grabbed it and put it between your legs, smearing your juices from his wrist to his forearm and grinding onto his muscle, flexing your opening on his skin as he moaned darkly into your ear.

Ah.

You let go.

You were probably past handshakes, but, oh well?

"Right, erm, Jungkook, do you know where my jacket is?" you asked sheepishly.

Jungkook whipped his head around, sending his black hair flying everywhere. "I think... it's in the living room?" You remembered running your hands through that hair, panting in his face as he shoved you against the wall, two fingers on your clit and rubbing furiously, those big chocolate eyes watching you come undone under him.

He moved past you and you flattened against the wall, not touching him. Hm. This increased clarity as you continued to wake up was starting to make this more and more, uh... less chill? Weird? Awkward? You followed him at a slight distance, lifting your head to see his back. Your eyes widened. Long red scratches up and down his defined back, caused by your fingernails as he fucked you violently into his bed, your thighs clasped around his waist and his name in your mouth, his thick cock making your pussy so tight and full that you felt like you were going to explode, so completely jammed with pleasure that you couldn't stop moaning.

Erm. Hm. You kind of needed panties with the sudden leakage happening down there.

Oh shit, did you use protection? You frowned as you screwed up your eyes to think. Yes. You did. Jungkook had grabbed them from his nightstand and spilled the whole box, thus causing you both to scramble to detach one in your and his haste.

For.

Er.

Fucking like animals.

You both got one condom and ended up using both.

"Ah, here."

You reached out and took your long-line black leather jacket from Jungkook. That's right. You'd worn that red satin dress with this jacket and black high heels. You spied them by the mat at what you assumed was the front door. Jungkook wasn't looking at you. His face was red. You slipped on the jacket. Smelled the rum still sticking to it. Right. You went to the club, got a drink, and Jungkook had knocked into you, spilling it into your jacket. It was an accident, but that was fine, because Jungkook was hot and you bribed him into talking to you by asking him to buy you another drink.

Super cute with his apologies, nervously speaking to you all night before loosening up with a few drinks and beginning to tease you, little by little, until you were in his apartment, getting your jacket slipped off your shoulders and his mouth on your newly exposed skin.

The memory made you reach up to touch your left shoulder. You winced. Peered under the jacket and shirt to see a giant purple hickey.

"Oh... er, sorry..." Jungkook sputtered sheepishly. "You seemed really into it at the time."

There was damn waterfall between your legs now.

"I was," you replied, a little too quickly. "Uh, I mean, I am. Was great."

You facepalmed. Jungkook jumped, startled that you slapped your own face.

"Sorry, I'm not a morning person. What I meant to say was last night was amazing and I had a great time," you sighed. "You were wonderful. And hot. And sexy. And I'd do it again."

Jungkook blinked at you with those big chocolatey eyes.

"O... oh."

He seemed torn on whether to believe you or not. To be fair, your voice was hoarse and you sounded half-dead. Plus, your speech was a little cliché. Sigh. You struggled to retain brain function, shaking your head roughly. It always took you a long time to wake up and it was worse when you weren't home doing your usual routine. You furrowed your brows, raising your head to frown at Jungkook.

Hold on.

"Don't you work for my dad?"

Jungkook started, eyes shifting.

"Er... yeah."

Did you just fuck one of the waiters at your dad's high-end restaurant? All night?

Huh.

What are the chances?

You were going to have to see Jungkook later that night, since you were the hostess.

"You know, Jungkook," you said, realizing why you had spoken to him last night, why it was fun and familiar banter, why he was so cute to you, and why it had been such a good chance. "Let's not tell my dad about this."

Jungkook's eyes went shifty again. "Yeeeeeeeah... let's not."

Your dad meant well. He was loud and brash by nature and scared every human being that hadn't lived under his roof for decades. Speaking of living under his roof... Maybe you shouldn't go home smelling like rum and Jungkook's cologne, wearing his t-shirt and no panties.

"You... sure you wanna go home?" Jungkook asked, chewing on his lip. You noticed he looked a bit disappointed. Sad.

"Actually," you sheepishly began. "Maybe I shouldn't. Not until Papa leaves the house." You twisted your mouth to one side and poked your index fingers together. Awkward. "Your offer for breakfast still stands?"

He brightened. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. What do you want?" He held up the phone form the coffee table. "We can order something."

Your eyes shifted to the phone. Ten missed calls.

"I would call Papa first," you muttered, walking forward and taking the phone from him. You felt his body heat, the closeness of his bare torso. He smelled nice. Jungkook made a surprised noise, only now realizing he had picked up your phone by accident. You slipped your other arm around him and pulled him to you, inhaling his scent. He made another squeak of confusion as you pressed your lips to his warm chest.

Mmm. Nice.

You phone vibrated violently and you answered it without looking, kissing Jungkook's skin softly, hearing him gasp and stifle his moan as the sharp bark of your name blasted from the phone speaker.

"Where are you?!" Your dad was yelling at the top of his lungs. Jungkook shivered under you. He probably thought your dad was pissed, but he was only worried.

"I'm fine. Slept over at a friend's since I went to the bars last night."

"Oh, fuck, sheesh," your dad grumbled, swearing repeatedly. Your lips began to travel and Jungkook was smacking your arm impatiently, shaking his head, mouthing at you, are you crazy, what the fuck are you doing, before he clenched his jaw and tipped his head back as you began to lazily lick his dark nipple, feeling it harden with your touch.

"Are you eating?" your dad barked in your ear.

"Mhm, can't start the day unless you eat," was your reply, grinning around Jungkook's nipple as his face was becoming more panicked by the second.

"That's right," your dad huffed. "What are you eating?"

"Korean."

Jungkook gave you an exasperated, pained look that quickly turned to ecstasy, placing a hand over his mouth and muffling his moan as you sucked in his nipple, bringing your hips into his sweatpants, the tent returning.

"Hah, fine, would it kill you to fucking call so I don't think you're dead?" Now that you were an adult, your dad didn't bother filtering his cursing anymore.

"Ah, sorry, sorry," you replied, very apologetically and sweetly, grabbing a handful of Jungkook's ass and ramming his rock-hard cock into your crotch, clamping your thighs around it. Jungkook was flailing his one free hand and pressing the other over his mouth, trying not to make a fucking sound.

"I'll remember next time. Promise, Papa."

You heard your dad let out a puff of air. "Hmph. Fine. Don't forget you have to work tonight. I'll let you have the day after off..."

You raised your eyebrows, switching sides and slowly flicking your tongue on Jungkook's nipple, thighs sliding back and forth on Jungkook's clothed length. He was losing it above you, muting his cries and rutting against your thighs to match your pace and add more simulation.

"I thought the other hostess was on vacation for a couple more days?"

"I asked your mother to cover for you," your dad grunted. "You should have some free time while you're still young. Have some fucking fun before you die. That's why I work."

"Ah... okay, thanks Papa. I love you."

"Love you too," was your dad's reply, not so gruff anymore, but warmer and kinder.

He hung up.

You dropped the phone from your ear.

Jungkook gasped a lungful of air, throwing his hand aside now that he could finally breathe, turning into a high-pitched yelp when you yanked his pants down, shoving his cock between your thighs again, but skin on skin this time, angling him down, the head smearing pre-cum in your mid-thigh. Ah, yes, what a pleasant surprise it had been when you saw this pretty cock for the first time, looking so perfect squashed between your tits.

"B-But breakfast..." he choked out between moans.

"I'm getting it," you panted, grinning, sliding up and down his hot stiffness, feeling it twitch. "Best to have some protein in the morning."

Jungkook clenched his jaw, horny and indignant.

"Korean? Really?"

You switched to your hand, kneeling down as you stroked his stiff length hard and fast, giving him a devilish open-mouthed smirk, wet tongue sliding out.

"Hey, I didn't lie."

wondering how Jungkook feels about all this? that kind of evening.

masterpost

#jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook fanfic #jungkook smut #bts smut #jungkook scenarios #jeon jungkook smut #jeon jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x you

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x-chubby-reader · 3 years

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Hey, how about hcs Ushijima,Terushima, Bokuto and Kuroo getting jealous when their chubby s/o being hitting on right before their eyes 🥴 what would they do? Might as well do nsfw a lil' bit? 🥺

Thank you! I love your works ❤🥰

Jealous Haikyuu Boys + !NSFW!

Ushijima, Terushima, Bokuto, and Kurro x Plus size reader

A/N - Hope I brought this to justice. I loved this idea a lot but I think they might have made them a little toxic- Also sorry for this being very overdue with writing, but as most of you know my motivation for lots of thing is shit. Also Thanks to @livieeee for basically helping to edit and give ideas for this. I also may add to the other characters NSFW as I accidentally gave Bokuto the most detailed part

Lowercase intended

Not proof read

NSFW included

Cursing

The Characters are all aged up for this Headcannon

Ushijima

we are all very aware about how blunt he is with things

not one to bottle things up

if he doesn't like something, he will voice his opinion

ushijimas blunt ass will sat whatever he wants if he deems that its true

doesn't everyone want to know the truth about things?

he also isn’t one to be easily jealous over things too

his confident ass knows that he’s got you in the long run anyways

he has complete trust in you, your his rock

ushi knows that you wouldn’t go off to flirt with some douche just for the fun of it

the first time that he had ever found himself jealous was when you had dragged him out to your friends birthday party in college

he wouldn’t of even gone if you hadn't forced him out to be social and to make some friends with people his own age and should get out of the house for something other than practicing with the volleyball team he was on

since the party had been for your friend finally becoming of legal drinking age, of course there had been alcohol

oh i wonder how this liquid luck could get you into a predicament?

you had needed to go to the bathroom, so you gave your boyfriend a little wave before leaving

it should of only taken you about five minutes, and ushi knew that

so when you took over twenty he decided to go looking for you

while he was searching for your thicker frame, you had been quite preocupied with something else

there was this guy, completely drunk off of his ass, who wouldn’t leave you along

“are you lightning? because your my mc-queen”

just really icky and shitty pick up lines

homeboy was so touchy too omfg like back up ass hat

you hadn't even noticed the amount of time that had passed until you felt a strong hand on your shoulder

boy did that make you jump

and he looked pissed

~Nsfw~

homeboy really said posessive~

ushi literally ripped you away into the bathroom as you had been stuck in the hallways for god knows how long

for once his touch wasn’t gentle with you, it was more rough and less caring

he’s so rough with you right now oml

to make the story short, you won’t be walking easily later

he wants to make you yell out, to show everyone in the premis know that you are his

“how about you let everyone know who you belong to, sweetheart~”

his buff ass literally is holding you up, just fucking railing into you

only stops when he deems that you are done

he even apologizes if he hurt you too badly

cleans the both of you up with one of the guest towels hanging, before walking you ever so gently out to grab a cab and make your way home

Terushima

while the two of you had been out shopping for god know what, you happened to spot an old friend

he was ole of those guy friends that were overly touchy, but you never had really minded it since he was just being nice

your friend had been very high energy and affectionate, but they always meant well

so your boyfriend, terushima, had just smacked a smile on his face and acted as friendly as could be

But he was jealous of all the attention you were giving him

hey you couldn’t help it, you haven’t seen the guy in years

hello? teru is your boyfriend, not this guy!

the look on his face when you exchanged numbers to meet up later

you would of thought that you had just shot his puppy dear lord

he was so god damn sad

“he’s totally trying to get into your pants y/n!”

“no he isn’t teru, he’s just being nice”

“y/n, no-”

your so oblivious to it

terushima has two levels jealously

he goes from pout-y little kid to complete asshole in a matter of seconds

homeboy is black and white with his personality, there is no gray area with him

even though he isn’t one to keep quiet about something he doesn't like, he did it anyways for your sake

though he glared holes into him

eventually when he had left ho boy did terushima give you an earful

you heard even more when he found about how you made plans with before mentioned friend to have dinner

it was just so the two of you could catch up after the many years that you haddn’t seen each other

“its just dinner”

“y/n its like he’s trying to date you

“can you chill out?”

“no! what? are you dating him now???”

okay he can be a little high strung sometimes, but its something you can tolerate

~NSFW~

remember how you had given him your phone number?

yeah, that may be important

while you had been getting ready for your little ‘dinner date’ with your friend, teru had still been glaring at the back of your head

you could see his annoyed look from the mirror, but you payed him no mind

hey, he would get over it sooner or later

your phone decides to start ringing, and its the guy

teru looks at it, then at you, then back at the phone

he hits answer before handing the phone to you

you decide to start talking, everything is in a friendly tone

and then he decides to play around a bit

a little nip here and there, nothing more nothing less

just to see what his little doll face can handle

then soon he escalates it more and more

soon lurking hands become groping and nips became hickeys

though you had to pretend that everything was hunky dory on your side of the phone

homeboy on the other line didn’t even think anything of it

“hey are you okay?” he had asked once when you particularly couldn’t handle his stimulation

“y-yeah i’m great right now...”

his hand would slip and dip into places that you had forgotten about until now

just the smooth and slick friction would bring heat to your face, though

that’s when teru had taken the phone back

“screw off your asshat, never call her again!”

and he never did, even if you say him in public, he would walk the other direction

Bokuto

the two of you had just been out window shopping and peaking into stores on a saturday

when a store employee had started talking about a popular television show that had aired yesterday, you hadn't thought anything of it

in your mind it would of been rude to ignore them completely,

what if they were just having a bad day and you little small talk and brightened it just a little?

you didn’t want to have something like that on your consensus

bo had been standing beside you the entire time, and you hadn’t even noticed the way he had stiffened and almost seemed to puff up, like an owl

there had been one person who did notice bokuto’s uneasiness

baby boy had thought that the two of you had been flirting when he walked by

omg he looked so sad

he went from being all perky and happy to looking like a deflated balloon

it was pretty pathetic

sooner or later the worker had felt so awkaward that he left, that’s when you had noticed his discomfort

he had waved if off until the two of you had gotten home, then you finally cornered him and asked

“whats wrong?”

he just rolled his eyes to himself, “you should know!”

yeah just the buffering circle above your head for that one

you really had no idea

“i seriously don’t bo...”

“yes you do, in the store that worker was totally flirting with you!” he had finally spoke out

oh...

that had made sense you guessed

even though you had apologized to him, he had still been down, even needy

~NSFW~

bo had just been clinging on you for the past hour

if your standing, he’s right behind you, just looming

he became a shadow or a lost puppy, following you everywhere

his arms always found their way to your generous waist, holding onto you as if you would be blown away if a gust of wind decided to make its way though your home

as you had tried to walk down the short hallway that connected your bedroom to the living room, bokuto had stopped the both of you

he looked down to you before grabbing your wrist

bokuto half dragged and half lead you to the shared room you both shared since you moved in together

he had pushed you, not carefully may I add, onto the futon bed

koutarou soon climbed on top of your plush frame, his face lightly dusted in a red hue

one of his hands wandered down towards the plush button that resided between your thick thighs

the other had cradled the back of your head, pulling you back lightly so he could have more access to your neck and collarbones

bokuto lightly kissed your skin, it didn’t matter if imperfections or not

now this would have been more of a sweet moment if you hadn’t noticed the almost mocking circles you felt at your core

“am i good enough for you now baby owl?”

you would of answered him if you were able to form words, but the amount of stimulation that he was able to give you simply from the tips of his fingers was astonishing

damn boy he got magic hands

you had opened your mouth but no words came out

that had made the two toned haired boy let out a laugh

the only thing that you thought to do was to wrap your arms around his broad back

“speechless, huh” he had taunted you, a smirk on his face

he just kept up his happy little circles, the stimulation bringing a warm, almost butterfly like feeling to your abdomen

it was if he filled an empty part of you, and you needed him to survive

the tightness in your core had started to bubble, feeling as if you were going to top off the edge and boil over

your former speachless self was soon a babbling mess, telling bo how much you did need him

and even after you had reached and passed your high, he hadn't stopped, he loved the way your words flowed from your mouth in light, breathless pleas

oh he wasn’t even done

play nice you two

Kuroo

out of the two of you, kuroo had always been the more jealous one

baby boy is passive aggressive about it too

he doesn't do the keeping it to himself kind of bullshit

just completely straight to the point

he dosent often become jealous either

kuroo trusts that you wont get flirty or ‘advance’ on anyone else, because you have him for that

why would you need anyone else when he’s right there?

he has the confidence that all of us are jealous of

you and i know that this boy gives little insults to almost everyone

just in a joking and playful way, because that’s just how he communicates to people

but if someone decides to push it

ho boy

mr. rooster man slowly gets more and more passive aggressive

literally they turn into thinly veiled threats

you could practically see the steam coming out of his ears

so imagine his reaction when the waiter at a restaurant had decided to get a little too cozy with interacting with you

kuroo had been sitting right across from you, a pissed off look slapped over his face

who was this asshole and why the fuck was he going after his little kitten?

he had kept his mouth shut but raised an eyebrow at your plush form

it was as if he was asking if you were going to let this guy keep his shitty advances up

you just thought he was being friendly, but according to kuroo he wasn’t

when he had figured that you weren't going to stop him, he spoke up

“lay off dickwad” his voice had been laced with the utmost hate, you had never heard him ever use that tone before

with that, he had grabbed you by the arm before leaving, not paying for the two glasses

~NSFW~

the two of you had gone home in his car

no words had been exchanged between kuroo or you

“you were so into that, weren't you y/n” the bed-head boy had muttered to you, almost in a mocking way

you couldn’t think of a reason on why he was acting like that, so you had just kept your mouth shut until he would drop you off at your apartment

his hand that usually resided on your plush thigh while he was driving was currently white knuckled on the the steering wheel

even though he was looking at the road, he looked completely pissed

no plea for him to talk to you would make him speak up, it was as if he was stuck in thought

even when he had dropped you off at your flat, he seemed to still loom over you

when you took out your keys, he took them from your hand and opened the door himself as if you were suddenly incompetent of doing anything for yourself

“need someone to do everything for you huh? just too dumb in the brain to do anything...” kuroo had sneered to himself

“okay what the fuck is your problem you asshole?” you had finally spoken up, really what was this jerks deal with you?

homeboy had glared at you before pinning you against the wall in your own home as if he owned the place, “oh so now you talk, you were so fine with that guy in the restaurant huh? completely preoccupied with him to forget that i was there...”

suddenly everything is making sense right now, the puzzel pieces are fitting together

homeboy was jealous and you had no idea, you just though he was being pissy for no reason

he just sighed, putting his head in the crook of your neck, “idiot...”

kuroo had finally turned his head to look up to you, a slightly sad look on his face

oh you felt like complete shit, homeboy looked so down that your heart hurt

you leaned your head slightly down so you could give the top of his head a lil kiss kiss

homeboy almost seemed to purr from the affection

he slung his arms over your shoulders, it was as if he was leading you into the minimal living room that you had

the two of somehow ended up on the crappy couch you had, him on top humming happily down below at you

sandwiched happily together

“i’m still disappointed in you...” he muttered, looking down at you

“oh bite me” though you paused before thinking, “how about i make it up to you?”

kuroo had smirked, “and how are you going to do that?” he questioned you

it was as if you had suddenly forgotten how to speak, a burning heat spreading from your cheeps to the bridge of your nose

lets just say that you did not expect that answer from him in the slightest-

his slender hand ran up the side of your torso, as if he was memoriizing the peaks and valleys of your figure

“i’m the only one who can make you feel like this,” kuroo had muttered cockily, staring into your eyes

he had no shame making comments like these, why should he?

his fingers snuck under the elastic material of the underthings you had currently been wearing, teasingly testing the waters and rubbing fether-like circles over your sensitive bits that were located on your chest

“are you ready?”

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helliontherapscallion · 3 years

Text

Recovery? (Adrenaline Junkie Part 5)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

Spotify Playlist (collaborative)

Warnings: PTSD, sleep paralysis, hallucinations, swearing, mentions of death/injury, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation (marked so you can skip if it’s a major trigger for you), self harm (also marked), phantom pain syndrome

Word count: 3,722

Disclaimer: I have not experienced PTSD, sleep paralysis, hallucinations, or phantom pain syndrome, so I’m sorry if they aren’t portrayed correctly

When a wild bird can’t fly, it’s defenseless. It feels trapped even if it can still walk away. It feels alone even if it’s surrounded by other birds. If a bird loses the ability to fly, a piece of it is missing. A piece of itself. Something that it values as something unique to it and only it. It loses most mental stimulation and becomes numb until it can feel freedom again.

It’s been about two months since you respawned and you honestly felt so restless. You wanted to fly through the sky again, feeling the air move freely between your feathers. You wanted to weave in and out of the clouds. You wanted to feel something other than fear. When you’re not scared, you don't feel anything. You missed skydiving. You wanted, no, you craved the feeling of adrenaline flowing along every little nook and cranny in your cardiovascular system.

You found out that you get flashbacks whenever you see someone or something hulky and covered in a dark green color. You still haven’t told your family about this, you thought that it was something silly to be afraid of. You tried your hardest to avoid Philza the most; he always wore his favorite color with pride. You still haven’t apologized for screaming death threats at him when you were going through an episode.

You only had one other major hallucinogenic episode since the first one, but it wasn’t as bad as the first one.

You woke up in the middle of the night with the moonlight beaming through your window illuminating the silhouette of The Warden standing in the corner of your room. You willed yourself to open your mouth to scream for your brothers, but you couldn’t move. You could only watch it.

The telltale glowing drool fell from the corners of its wide mouth, mixing with the blood dripping off from its long claws. Its chest rhythmically glowed as the things writhing in it managed to squeeze through the small gaps between the bony confines of its ribs. The white wisps flew around your room freely, bouncing off your walls with thuds and eventually settling to float in front of your face.

You watched with wide eyes as their permanently gaping mouths struggled to form words. Somehow, you could see desperation in their empty eye sockets. A flurry of whispers met your ears, but you couldn’t make out anything they were saying. It was too jumbled.

You heard The Warden slowly drag its feet along your carpet over to your bed. The wisps started to thrash about and scream as it reached out and scooped them all up easily with a single swipe of a hand. It shoved them into its mouth and they reappeared behind the confines of its ribcage, the screaming getting louder and more distorted as they got swallowed. Multiple voices were shrieking with agony and anguish as The Warden turned its attention towards you. It bent over and hovered its face over yours as its drool and drops of blood started to drip onto your cheeks. You felt its rancid breath fan over you. It had hints of iron and rot.

Your mind was screaming at your body to move away, but you couldn’t. You didn’t have control anymore. Your breathing picked up as you felt your heart beat out of your chest. It just hovered over you doing nothing, like it was enjoying seeing your fearful eyes. Like it enjoyed the feeling of having complete power over you.

Your breath caught in your throat as it got closer to you, its mouth getting dangerously close to engulfing your entire head. You squeezed your eyes shut and tried with all your might to move any part of your body. After a while, your head slightly moved to the side. Gradually, you worked your way up to moving your head fully to the side. You felt all your muscles activate at once as you shot up from your bed with a strangled gasp.

You frantically flattened your body against the wall, reaching a shaking hand between the wall and mattress to grab the iron dagger you hid there. Holding it defensively in front of you, you scanned the room. There was not a single thing out of place. Everything was just as you left it before you went to bed.

You covered your mouth as sobs threatened to burst from your chest like the wisps in The Warden’s. You brought your knees up to your chest and buried your head in them. You didn’t sleep for a few days after that.

Other than the major episodes, your imagination placed The Warden everywhere you looked. You saw The Warden whenever Philza walked past you. You saw glimpses of it whenever you looked into the woods at night. You saw it behind you in the mirror reaching for your other wing. Sometimes, you thought you could hear the screams of the wisps in the distance.

Your entire family was constantly hovering over you; you always had at least one of the boys with you at all times. They wouldn’t let you out of the house.

Out of all of your family, Wilbur was probably the lesser of the evils. He didn’t judge you or question you, he just let you do your own thing. He would softly pluck the strings on his guitar and sing to you while you would lay on his bed. Those moments were one of the only moments where you would fully let your guard down and relax.

Hangouts with Techno were also pleasant, but he hasn’t looked you in the eyes since he helped you during your first episode. That was the only downside to it though; he would give you some of his mythology books to read or read them to you. His voice always soothed you as a kid. Sometimes, he would give you a hug when he saw that it was a rough day for you.

Tommy’s hang outs were kept to a minimal, the family didn’t trust him much because they thought his rambunctious and extrovert personality would overwhelm you. You were alone with him only twice out of the last two months. Usually, you both would lay on his bed and just talk about his life with the jukebox running softly in the background playing the discs that you and Philza gifted him during his first birthday with the family. He tried to get you to open up to him, but you always deflected. He shouldn’t know how fucked up you were, you vowed to protect him when Philza first brought him home. You would always protect your little brother, even if it was from yourself.

Before the incident, you would’ve killed to get more alone time with your father. But now, you tried to avoid Philza at all costs. You couldn’t help but see The Warden whenever you saw his tall form, green clothes, and large wings. When you had to hang out with him however, you wouldn’t look at him. You two would usually go to chop down trees or cook dinner together.

You felt incredibly guilty that you still haven’t apologized to him for everything you’ve put him through. Whenever you brought yourself to glance at him, he was always looking at you heartbroken. You knew that the outcomes of your first death gave the entire family some form of trauma, but you saw that it hit your dad harder than the others. You did threaten to kill him in graphic ways and you did hit him in your panicked stupor. You really needed to apologize for that. You probably should tell him about your silly little fear of green. You were going to wait until he was in his pajamas to apologize; they usually didn’t have much green.

You loved your family of course, but you were always the type of person to require some alone time to function, even before the incident. You felt incredibly drained physically, mentally, and emotionally. It took you a tremendous amount of effort to get out of bed in the mornings. You didn’t see any meaning in life anymore. Everything was gray and the only thing you actually felt was fear, so you didn’t see any point in getting up. The only reason you left your bed was because your brothers would coax you out. Everyday was monotonous.

*************************SUICIDAL IDEATION/SELF HARM*****************************

Your mind was always coming up with intrusive thoughts about killing yourself. When you did the dishes, you always imagined yourself gliding blades vertically along your wrists and just letting the blood pool out and mix with the dishwater. When you cooked breakfast, you would imagine placing your hand inside the burning flame of the stove. When you were staring out of the window at night looking for The Warden, you would imagine yourself disappearing into the woods to look for a creeper to blow you up. When you passed the potion chest, you imagined chugging poison so you could feel something before you died. Whenever you used an ore during crafting, you always thought about going back to the cave so you could be put out of your misery again. It did a damn good job at killing you the first time. Who knows, maybe The Warden would be merciful this time. The most common thought was finding a tall cliff or mountain and jumping off to finally feel the wind between your feathers and the adrenaline running through you for the last time. You daydreamed about that last one a lot.

The little scrapes you got on the little tasks given to you by your family gave you a smidge of pain. A smidge of feeling other than numbness or suffocating fear. So, in a desparate attempt to feel something, you started to cut yourself You have a dagger hidden in your room that your family didn’t know about and you constantly wore a long sleeved cloak to hide your wing so you could easily hide the cuts. It would give you some light in the dark abyss that was your current mental state.

Sometimes, you would make small cuts on your wrists and thighs when everything was too overwhelming, but the relief it gave you wouldn’t last throughout the day. You were scared to cut deeper. You didn’t want to deal with infection or smuggling healing potions underneath your family’s noses. You would probably get caught and they’d take away the very little freedom and control you had in your life.

**********************SUICIDAL IDEATION/SELF HARM OVER*************************

You grunted in discomfort as you chopped some wood with Philza behind your house. It was a bad day for the phantom pains in your absent wing, you felt shooting pain and itchiness along where it was supposed to be all day long. You heard him pause his actions and walk over to you. When he placed a gentle hand on your shoulder, you squeezed your eyes shut as you remembered the way he grabbed you the day you respawned.

“Are you alright hun?”

Shrugging off his hand, you continued to chop lumber. “I’m fine Dad.”

“Are you sure? You looked like you were in pain.”

You sighed, “It’s… it’s just a bad day for the pain.”

“Where does it hurt? I can go grab you a potion.”

He sounded like he always did when he talked to you, concerned. You wanted to be treated like a normal person again. You didn’t like it when your family walked on eggshells around you constantly, it made you feel like a stranger in your own home.

“My right wing hurts. And potions don’t help, I’ve tried that. There’s nothing you can do.”

He paused for a second. You imagined him furrowing his brows and tilting his head lightly to the side as he contemplated what you said. It was the first time you opened up to him about anything. “...Your wing still feels things?”

You grunted as you swung the axe down onto the log, “Yeah, it feels things sometimes. It’s mostly a shooting pain or an itching sensation where I don’t have a wing. There’s nothing I can do about it, so I’m learning to live with it.”

“How long has this been happening?”

Your mind flashed back to the conversation you two had a year ago. “Since I lost it.”

“Why don’t we turn in for the night? The sun is starting to set and we’ve got enough wood to last us a week.”

You silently nodded and bent over to pick up the logs you chopped. Grabbing as much as your arms could hold, you put the planks into the chest next to the back door. Turning around to grab more, you jumped back when your eyes met with Philza’s chest. His hand was outstretched towards you. You hugged your body as you looked away from him.

“(Y/n), you’re not okay. Please just let me help you.”

“...I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m fine.”

“You haven’t spoken to anyone about your emotions, bottling it up isn’t good hun.”

“That’s because I don’t have anything to talk about.”

He sighed, “Why don’t we get your brothers to cook dinner so we can have a little chat. Meet me in your room.”

Wordlessly, you walked back into the house and straight up to your room. Sitting on the bed, you put your head in your hands as you waited for the inevitable vulnerability. After a couple of minutes, you heard a gentle knock on your door. It opened to reveal your dad smiling at you.

Glancing back at your hands, you slipped your hand under the sleeve of your cloak to pinch the skin so you could try to ignore him when he walked over to sit next to you. You turned your head away from him.

You felt the mattress shift under his weight when he sat next to you. You felt his breath tickle the top of your head as he spoke to you, “please, talk to me.”

“I’ve already told you, there’s nothing to talk about Dad.”

“...You’ve been seeing The Warden whenever you look at me, haven’t you?” He sounded so broken. It must be hard to have your own child avoid you because you reminded them of their murderer.

You were quiet for a few moments while you battled against the tears that threatened to leak from your eyes. Swallowing thickly, you shakily said, “I’m sorry Dad, I’m so sorry. I-I see it when I see you. I see it everywhere.”

“Hey,” he gently said, “it’s alright. Nothing’s your fault, you can’t control it. Is there anything… specific that reminds you of it?”

“...Yeah, I see it vividly when I see something tall and… and dark green. I can’t help but to see it when I see you.”

He felt his heart sink. He always wore green, no matter the day. He was basically torturing his child just by being around them. God, what kind of father was he if he didn’t realize that sooner? He felt like a failure.

You spewed reassurances at him when you heard his breath hitch. “Dad, it’s not your fault, you didn’t know about it. It’s just a stupid fear and it’s my fault for not getting over it. I-I’ll do better. I can-”

“Stop. Nothing is your fault and it’s certainly not stupid. You’re traumatized, (y/n), you’re traumatized and it’s nobody’s fault except The Warden’s,” it sounded like he was trying to convince himself. “Would you feel more comfortable if I changed clothes?”

“You- you don’t have to. I don’t want you to change anything because of me.”

“(Y/n), I’m your father. I’ll do anything if it means you feel better, I want to help you get better. Changing what I wear isn’t a big deal. I’ll be right back.”

“You really don’t have to, Dad.”

“Nonsense, I’m going to go change. It’s really not a big deal.”

He stood up and speed walked out your door. You felt awful, he was changing because of you. Because you were scared of a fucking color. You needed to get a grip. You were weak.

The door opened again to reveal Philza dressed in an old white t-shirt and gray sweatpants. His wardrobe was very limited when it came to colors other than green; it was strange seeing him in anything but green. You felt a little more at ease around him, but you still couldn’t look him in the eye. You still felt guilty.

Sitting next to you again, he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “It’s been a while since I’ve worn these, I uh forgot how comfy they are.”

You two sat in an awkward silence. It was obvious that he was lying to you about liking them. He was shifting his wings around uncomfortably and shifting on the mattress. With wings, it was hard to find fabric that didn’t irritate the base of the wing. The base of the wings were more sensitive than any other body part.

“You’re lying.”

“Lying? About what hun?”

“About being comfortable. They’re irritating your wings aren’t they? This is why you shouldn’t change anything about yourself for me, I just screw things up for everyone.”

“No you don’t-”

“Yes I do, Dad. Let’s be honest here, I’m a complete fuck up. I mess up everything I’m near. I messed up the family. Everything’s different because of me.”

He moved to kneel in front of you, placing both his hands firmly on your shoulders.

“Look at me, (y/n).”

When you didn’t make any move to look up from your tightly clasped hands, he gingerly moved your chin up and put his hand back on your shoulder. His face was stern and his blue eyes were blazing. Oh god, you really fucked up didn’t you? You knew you shouldn’t have told him anything.

“You are not a fuck up. Do you hear me? You. Are. Not. A. Fuck up.”

“But-”

“Ah,” he sharply chided, “I’m not done. You aren’t a fuck up. You couldn’t control what happened to you. You didn’t know that you’d die when you went into that cave. You didn’t know that you’d lose a limb. You didn’t mess up the family, you could never, ever, do that… (Y/n), change was bound to happen sooner or later. Everything changes, that’s just how life works. Even if we didn’t want change, it’s inevitable.”

He could tell from your bloodshot eyes and wobbling chin that you were about to cry, it was always your tell as a child. In that instance, he saw you as the kid that came running to him after you scraped your knee. An innocent kid that always saw the good in the world. He pulled you into his chest and gently wrapped his wings around you, humming the song he would sing to you when you had a nightmare as a child.

“It’s alright, hun, let it out.”

You finally broke, throwing your arms around him and sobbing into his chest. Your body shook with muffled sobs as you released all the pent up emotion you’ve been deprived of in the last two months. It felt nice to talk to your dad again, to be close to him again. For the first time in two months, you felt completely safe. Your dad will always protect you.

“It’s been so hard Dad,” you blubbered out. “I don’t know what to do. I’m broken, Dad. I can’t be fixed. I feel so empty.”

“Hun, no. You can be fixed, it just takes time. We’re here for you. Me, Technoblade, Wilbur, and Tommy. We’re always going to be here for you no matter what. We’ll help you.”

You fell silent as your body convulsed with silent sobs. You two sat there for what seemed like hours before you finally ran out of tears. You pulled back from him and wiped at your snotty nose.

“I never apologized for what I said to you two months ago. I-I shouldn’t have said any of those things. It hurt you in ways that I’ll probably never understand, and… I’m sorry Dad.”

“(Y/n), you don’t have to apologize. You were scared and you were trying to protect your brothers. That was really brave of you to do, I’m proud of you.”

You threw yourself at him again in a tight, one-winged hug. He chuckled as he hugged you back.

“…Thank you Dad, for everything.”

“Anything for you,” he glanced at the clock you made on your wall. “It’s almost dinner time, let’s go see if your brothers burnt down the kitchen.”

You genuinely smiled at that, remembering the last time your brother cooked together. It was a couple of years ago when you and Philza were coming back from visiting a nearby village. Philza thought it was a spectacular idea to give your brothers the task of cooking dinner. That day, you two came home to a fire engulfing the entire stove and your brothers arguing about whose fault it was. Since then, they weren’t allowed to cook together.

“That’s a good idea, remember the last time they cooked together?”

He chuckled. “Don’t remind me, I nearly pulled out all my feathers cuz of the stress it gave me. I think it even gave me a few gray hairs.”

You snorted. “Well, they’re quiet. Too quiet. We need to go down there before they burn down the house.”

He kissed your hair before you stood up and started to walk to the kitchen. He followed suit, throwing an arm over your shoulders and pulling you into his side. Surprisingly, they didn’t burn down the kitchen. Instead, they actually cooked dinner well. Some of it was burnt, but to their credit, they hadn’t cooked together in a while.

At the dinner table, you felt like you were part of the family again. You laughed with your brothers when Philza scolded them for something they said. You felt like there was a giant weight lifted off from your shoulders. Of course, you were still traumatized and had other issues you had to work out, but now you knew you had your family to help you through it. You wouldn’t ask for anything different.

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526 notes · View notes

tbtssstuff · 3 years

Text

Not All Bad || myg

Summary: You were working at a hybrid shelter and in a desperate need for money, you take the position to take care of the rare panther hybrid. Turns out it would be a lot harder than you thought.

Pairing: Panther Hybrid!Min Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Word count: 2.6k

Masterlist

-TJ/ TacoAdmin 🌮

AN: Thank you so much for the request! I hope it was okay

Working for a hybrid shelter was rewarding in the sense of it brought you joy to help out the hybrids find a new home, but it wasn’t the best for your bills.

You were struggling a lot so when you saw that there was an opening with a higher pay at the shelter, you applied immediately. You weren’t sure why the other guy left, but at that moment you didn’t care.

Only thing on your mind was paying your bills that were due in a week.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Y/n?”

You look up from your lunch to see Namjoon, your best work friend, standing beside your table.

“Yeah,” You munch on your sandwich, starting to speak with food in your mouth to which Namjoon scrunches his nose at you, “This job will get me more pay, which I need, and I’m still helping hybrids, which I want to do. It’s a win win.”

“Do you even know what you will be doing?”

“No.”

Namjoon shakes his head at you, pulling the seat out to sit down. “You’re going to be looking after IT.”

You hated the term that the shelter used for the rare panther hybrid that was being kept here, but you also knew it was because it didn’t have a name. Or if he did he refused to tell anyone.

“Namjoon you know I don’t like that.”

“I know I know, but I’m worried. The last guy quit because IT- Er the panther hybrid was a handful. He was bad news Y/n.”

Gathering up all of your things, you stand and boop Namjoon on the nose, smiling when it scrunches up. “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Then you turn and walk away.

“Just don’t get hurt okay!” He calls after you.

The area housing the rare black panther hybrid was broken down and honestly if he wanted he could have escaped. It was amazing that he had been here for almost ten years and still didn’t try.

It was also dark down there, like no one ever turned on the lights. It was a little depressing.

Pushing open the door to the room, you instantly reached for the light switch only to have your wrist suddenly pinned to the wall, effectively holding you in place. A warm sensation became present beside you as your registered someone was there, feeling the faint tap of a tail hitting your leg.

IT was there.

“Just what do you think you’re doing, human?” He growled. “Who are you?”

You swallowed thickly, genuinely terrified for the first time in a long while, scared of what he was planning on doing if you didn’t answer him.

“I I’m…”

The words seemed to be caught in your throat. A mouse caught by a cat.

His yellow eyes pierce into your soul, rendering you immobile. Here you thought this was going to be an easy job, but the last guy did quit for a reason.

“Well?”

“I I’m the new handler.”

“Handler? I didn’t think they would find someone to replace the last guy.” IT groans and finally releases you. “Damn it and I was hoping to have some alone time.”

You didn’t say anything as IT wondered from beside you to the corner, but you did slowly inch your way to the light switch, finally finding the courage to turn it on and for the first time not only did you see the conditions of this room, but IT as well.

First the condition of the room.

The walls were tall and pale, but there were scratch marks everywhere. The lights were flickering, which was probably why they weren’t on because they looked like they could just blow at any point so what was the point? But the thing that got you the most was that there was no furniture in the room.

No food or water station, nothing to play with (if IT even did play, but you never heard of him doing so), but most of all no place to sleep. Just a hard concrete floor.

No wonder IT was so hostile. He wasn’t given even the basic hybrid, let alone respect.

No one seemed to care about him and that alone broke your heart.

Second was him.

He looked thin and pale, contrasting greatly with his ink black hair and ears. The uniform he wore, just a simple dark gray shirt and pants that all hybrids wore in the shelter, was too small for him. It looked like a child hybrid’s outfit and it was even a little ripped around his arms and legs, presumably from him moving his arms around.

“What the fuck are you looking at? Huh?”

Your eyes snap up to his, yellow eyes once again staring into your soul, he seemed to do that a lot. Just seemed to look into everyone.

“T the room.” You manage. “It’s a little bare isn’t it? There is no food or anything, not even a bed.”

IT just shrugs, stretching out his arms and laying down on the ground.

“I like it like that.”

Why was he even talking to you? He never talked to any of the other handlers, so why did he feel instantly comforted by you? The moment he saw you he felt like that and he couldn’t stand it.

Never again would he let his guard down in front of a human.

“Oh.” Was all you could say. You felt like there was nothing else to say especially because you watched him turn over away from you, indicating he was done talking.

So just before you left IT to himself, you took his food and water that the cafeteria provided you out of your bag, along with a couple sweet treats that you snuck in, and put them all in the center of the room. You didn’t know if IT even liked sweets, but you just felt the need to bring them.

With one final look back at him, you left.

A month has passed since you started taking care of IT. Still having to call him by that because he refuses to tell you anything about him.

Every day was the same. You show up three times a day to give him breakfast, lunch, and dinner, each time leaving him a bit of candy with his dinner, and comes back one last time to gather up the dinner trash.

You were always happily surprised to see that he always ate the candy. Slowly you feel like you were getting him to warm up to you even if he never talked.

“Hey.” Opening the door you search the darkness for his yellow eyes, “I’m here to gather your trash.”

Once again you were met with silence, but after a month of this you were used to it. Basically you were just talking to yourself and hoped he listened.

“I asked them to include more meat in your food, which I’m glad they actually did this time around. It took me weeks of arguing with the lunch lady. I was actually this close to just bringing meat myself to give to you.”

You start gathering up the bowls and candy wrappings, completely unaware of the figure in the shadows moving towards you.

“What they have been feeding you for the past ten years is so not enough for a panther hybrid. They didn’t give you anything to help with your carnivorous needs, let alone for you to develop any muscle mass, which explains why you are so thin and frail.”

“Why do you care so much?”

You jump at the sound of his deep voice, instantly reaching for the lights to switch them on and was surprised to see him so close.

“W wha-”

“Why do you care? By now anyone else would have left by now, but here you are. Not only are you still here, but you continue to come at a scheduled time and fight for me to get better things, better than I ever deserve. What gives?”

Was he really asking you why you were treating him with decent kindness? Just how deprived had he been?

“I… I don’t think you are that bad. As much as you like to play the big bad cat, you just want someone to be your friend.”

IT hissed at you, roughly releasing you and backing back into his corner, glaring his yellow eyes at you.

Sighing you pick up all the wrappers you dropped when he scared you, preparing to leave.

“Yoongi.”

You stop and turn around, eyes wide. “W what did you say?”

“Yoongi.” He repeated. “It’s my name.”

Smiling, you reach from the lights again, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Yoongi.”

Little moments like that went on for the remainder of the year. Little by little Yoongi would open up to you more. Not in the sense that he would talk about his past, but he wouldn’t ignore you when you talked and would actually remember things you told him before.

He grew in muscle size and you had gotten him bigger clothes. Yoongi no longer looked like the scraggly hybrid you saw back in March.

Humming happily, you entered the employees only section of the building, getting ready to clock in for another day of talking to Yoongi. It became the best part of your day.

“Good morning Namjoon.” You greet your friend as you open up your locker, smiling at the photo of you and Yoongi hanging up. It took several weeks of whining for him to agree and it was your favorite picture, you even had it as your phone wallpaper.

You put your bag in your locker, but not before pulling out a new candy you wanted Yoongi to try. He said he was a fan of strawberry and the store where you get his candy stocked a brand new strawberry flavor. Of course you had to get it for him

“Y/n?”

.”Hmmm? What’s up Nam-”

You freeze as you see that Namjoon was looking at you with sad puppy dog eyes, something he only did when he had bad news.

“Namjoon what’s wrong? Is it bad bad? Because I really wanted to show Yoongi these candies I got him.” You lift up the bag. “See? They’re strawberry and he likes that flavor.”

“It’s actually about IT - er I mean Yoongi.”

“What about him?”

Namjoon looked away from you, scratching the back of his neck.

“Namjoon? You’re scaring me.”

“Well he’s okay I can tell you that, but he has been adopted so he is no longer here.”

“Yoongi was adopted?” Namjoon nods. “That’s… Amazing! Good for him! Do we know who? Is he nice? When did it happen?”

“Yesterday after you left work, a really rich guy came to adopt and when he was looking around he saw the sign for the rare panther sign and wanted to see him. Honestly I wanted to stop him, but this guy was so charming that I took him back. You should have seen him with Yoongi.”

“Was he nice?”

Namjoon’s eyes brighten and he nods. “He’s so nice! Like extremely nice and you could tell that Yoongi didn’t want to laugh at his jokes. In the end the nice rich guy adopted Yoongi and took him home.”

You wanted to feel happy for Yoongi and you were, but you were sad that he was gone and that you didn’t get to say goodbye.

“That’s good! Good for Yoongi. I’m happy.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Huh?” You blink, turning around to put the bag of candy back into your locker, “Yeah of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be? See?”

You point to your mouth, a big bright smile on your lips, but your eyes were spilling tears you weren’t aware of.

“I’m… Happy.” Your voice breaks as Namjoon wraps his arms around you, pulling you close and patting your back.

You cried in his arms for a long while. You were missing your friend and now he was gone.

“Good morning.”

Namjoon put your coffee on the table, smiling at you. Ever since Yoongi left a month ago Namjoon has been trying everything to cheer you up, Coffee, cakes, lunches, everything he can think of. Really he was the best friend that you could have wished for, but you missed Yoongi.

You haven’t heard anything from him and it’s not like you expected to, but it would have been nice. You wonder if he likes his new house. If maybe he found someone to replace you. He was always there for you, listening and giving you such good advice and you thought he would always be there, but that was a stupid fantasy. Of course he would be adopted. Who wouldn’t want an amazing hybrid like Yoongi?

You did.

You wanted him back in your life, but it seemed like you were nothing but a passing handler to him. Which wasn’t all bad because you were there to get him ready to be adopted and you did your job.

You also just didn’t expect to fall for him over the year. Everything about him you love and miss. From his fluffy hair and tail that was only fluffy once you convinced him to finally take a bath to the way he would hug you when you left. His warmth always comforted you, but now it was gone.

“Good morning.”

“Did you see the limo out front today?” Namjoon asked, opening his locker.

You shake your head, “No. There is a limo? I wonder if another rich guy is here to adopt. That’s good.”

“Always thinking about the hybrids through and through. You really are a nice person, Y/n.”

You freeze at the sound of a familiar rough voice behind you, slowly turning to see Yoongi standing cross armed in the doorway. He was dressed in a black hoodie and ripped jeans, looking nothing like he did when he was here.

Gone was shelter Yoongi, this was a new, more happier Yoongi.

“W what? Yoongi?”

“Are you never not going to stutter around me?” He chuckles.

You bolt out of your seat and over to him, wrapping him in a hug, your face hurting from smiling so much. You hadn’t smiled like that in a month.

Yoongi wrapped his arms back around your tiny frame. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you more. How are you here?”

“Well the boy wouldn’t stop moping around since I got him home and when I asked why he said it was because of a beautiful woman that he loved. He left without telling her how he felt.”

“Hoseok.” Yoongi whined and you looked to see a bright looking man in an expensive suit. This must be the rich man that adopted Yoongi. “You promised you wouldn’t say anything.”

Hoseok laughs, his mouth turning into a heart shape smile. “But if I didn't, who would?”

Yoongi sighs, turning back to you with a slight smile. “He means well, but he is right. I didn’t get to tell you, but I am in love with you. The time we spent together meant more to me than you will ever know and I hated how I left.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It’s mine.” Hoseok pipped in.

“But I still should have said something.” Yoongi sighs, his grip on you tightening. “Hoseok said I could see you whenever I wanted if you would allow me.”

“Are you kidding?! Of course! I always always want to see you.”

Yoongi smiles big, leaning down to kiss your cheek.

“Then I will always always be around.”

#castlebangtan #bts x reader #bts hybrid x reader #min yoongi x reader #yoongi x reader #not all bad #bts request #tacoadmin #tbtsstuff

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ncssian · 3 years

Text

A Favor: Part Thirteen

Nessian Modern AU

Masterlist

a/n: merry christmas

***

Nesta and Cassian agree to take separate cars to Velaris— not because they’re so afraid of being discovered together that they’ll risk global warming, but because Nesta has a preceding event and tells Cassian not to wait up for her.

After a rushed Secret Santa with the boys at Emerie’s apartment, Nesta drops by Gwyn’s place and leaves a small parcel at the doorstep. She doesn’t have time to knock and make conversation, but the gift is the least she can do after Gwyn surprised her the other day with a copy of a highly anticipated romance book weeks ahead of its official release.

“The library got early copies and I borrowed this one for you,” she said out of nowhere one afternoon, handing her the book. Nesta blinked in shock, not realizing that she and Gwyn were close enough for such acts of kindness. Even if their conversations felt like they’d been friends for much longer, they’d only known each other for a couple of weeks. It was then that she realized that’s just how Gwyn is. She does nice things because she can, not because social bonds or etiquette compels her to.

Guilt isn’t something Nesta feels often, but she was ravaged by it when she thought of not repaying Gwyn’s kindness. She couldn’t bear the idea of imbalances or debts being created in her relationships with her new friends, and spent the last two days searching everywhere for a decent gift to make up for it. She’ll have to text to make sure Gwyn got her present later tonight.

After a two hour drive (she might have taken detours to stall), Nesta is in the hallway leading to Feyre and Rhysand’s penthouse apartment. The door is cracked open enough that laughter and music float out to where she stands, and her fingers tighten on the bag carrying her sisters’ gifts. She checks her makeup in the hall mirror one final time, assuring that not a smidge of her perfect armor is out of place.

An in-and-out operation, she tells herself, flicking a lock of hair away from her face. She’s prepared for this.

Walking up to the half-open door, she’s struck down by the decision of whether to knock before going in or not. Luckily, the choice is taken away from her when the door swings open on its own, and Feyre is on the other side.

“Nesta,” her sister says in surprise, in a good or bad way Nesta doesn’t know.

Nesta blinks. “Did you know I was here?” She gestures to the door.

“Oh, no...” Feyre pokes her head past Nesta into the hallway. “Actually, I was checking to see if the pizza guy was here yet,” —she looks back at Nesta— “but this is even better!”

The slight strain in her voice makes Nesta think otherwise.

She doesn’t play along with the game. She doesn’t even comment on how they’re having pizza on Christmas Eve. Feyre adds after a moment, genuinely this time, “You look beautiful, by the way.”

Nesta glances down at her dress, a skintight ruched piece that shows more chest than usual, and then back up at Feyre’s designer jumpsuit. “So do you,” she says, her voice more flat than she’d prefer it. But she means it. “Can I come in?” she gestures inside, hoping to put an end to this conversation and her nerves.

“Right, duh,” Feyre laughs, grabbing Nesta’s gift bag and waving her inside. “Elain’s in the kitchen if you want to see her. Grab a drink and make yourself comfortable.”

Nesta steps past the door cautiously, eyeing the penthouse as if it’s her first time here. The winding iron-railed staircase is to the right, leading up to the second floor which holds all the bedrooms. The living area sprawls to her left, and through a wood-paneled threshold across from her is the dining room and kitchen. If anything is different from the last time she visited, it’s that the place is now considerably more lived in: pictures, hand-picked art, and other signs of life and love decorate every inch of the apartment, to the point where it makes Nesta feel like a home invader.

She’s so busy absorbing this place she doesn’t belong in that it takes her a moment to realize the room has fallen silent.

She turns to the living area, and her eyes land on Cassian first. He went so far as to put on a suit for tonight, and he’s watching her with a stunned quietness that makes her proud of her own outfit choice.

Nesta knows there are other people in the room, but she really can’t bring herself to care. Her hands twitch at her sides, instinctively reaching for him—

“Look who finally decided to show up,” a smug voice drawls.

Nesta looks away from Cassian to find that just about everybody else is staring at her, too. The voice who spoke up is that tiny woman named Amren, and she’s watching Nesta now with a sharp glint in her gray eyes.

Slick discomfort coats Nesta’s insides at Amren’s tone, and she lets her hands fall behind her back so they can’t reveal her anxiety. “Merry Christmas, everyone,” are the first words out of her mouth.

“’Sup, Nesta,” Cassian is the only one that bothers to respond. His tone holds none of the closeness or intimacy it usually does— it’s been replaced with a removed, almost strained friendliness instead.

Remembering that seeking him out for comfort is not an option tonight, she tries to find somewhere else to look.

In the span of a second, she spies Mor’s curiosity, Rhysand’s vague distaste, and Varian’s hesitance, before finally settling on Azriel’s bland look of disinterest. His phone dangles lazily from his hand, and he looks about two seconds away from going back to it and ignoring her completely.

It’s his detachment that grounds Nesta enough to remember her words. “I’m going to…” she gestures vaguely toward the kitchen, “get some food.”

“I can help—” Feyre starts.

“No, thank you,” Nesta quips, then hightails it out of there. The conversation, along with Nesta’s heartbeat, restarts as soon as she’s out of the room.

Following the short hallway connecting the dining space to the huge kitchen, she freezes when she finds Elain standing before the dual range oven, staring intently down at her phone. She curses herself silently— how did she forget her other sister would be waiting here right after being told so?

Elain’s head snaps up at the sound of Nesta’s heels on the tile, looking flustered. She quickly tucks her phone into the pocket of her apron before she realizes who she’s looking at, and a wide smile overtakes her beautiful face. “Is that really you?” Elain marvels in her lilting southern accent.

The words hit Nesta bluntly for some inexplicable reason. She shakes it off with a blink and smiles back, far more subdued than Elain but still genuine. “Lain,” she greets kindly, like they’re two old friends picking up right where they left off.

It’s Nesta’s fault that things are like this, she knows. She hasn’t bothered holding a real conversation with her closest sister in months, and now she’s in the same room as her hoping she won’t have to face Elain’s disappointment for her distance.

“Oh, get over here, how’ve you been?” Elain crosses the sleek kitchen and waves her into a hug. Nesta awkwardly pats her back, and is held even tighter when she tries pulling away.

She only manages to detach from Elain when Elain’s apron pocket vibrates. Stepping back, she takes her phone out and silences it before tucking it away once more. “So,” she grins when her focus returns to Nesta, “how’s the lone wolf life treating you? Isn’t it great to be back at your old apartment?”

“It’s good. I’m doing good,” she nods along. Nesta hates small talk more than anything, but this is the least she owes Elain. And the least she owes herself, if she’s being honest. Even if she knows she will never truly be fit for a life of socialization.

She takes things a step further and nods to the oven, asking, “What are you cooking up?”

She knows she’s done something right when Elain’s dark eyes light up, and she starts rattling off the three-course menu she’s prepared for tonight. (“What about the pizza on the way?” Nesta asks. Elain’s face darkens. “Don’t get me started. Some of the people in that living room have the taste palate of five year olds.”)

Nesta takes a seat at the island and falls into the age-old rhythm of listening to her sister talk, her heart feeling bruised and soothed at the same time. How similar and different they are now from the people they were ten years ago. Nesta doesn’t know if this is a good thing or not.

***

“That’s the thirtieth time you’ve checked your phone since Mor started telling her dolphin story,” Cassian mutters to Azriel sitting next to him on the couch.

Az clicks his phone off and turns it facedown so Cassian can’t see the screen, his face remaining blank the entire time. “I can’t help it if I’ve heard the dolphin story a hundred times already.”

“You’ve been staring at that thing the entire night,” Cassian calls him out. “Anyone on there more interesting than us, dear brother?”

Az snorts, not bothering to look at him. “Like you’re one to talk.” He reaches for his glass of liquor on the side table.

Cassian frowns as the chatter drowns out his murmur. “What do you mean?”

Azriel takes a sip from his drink, not replying. “When do you plan on letting us back at your cabin?” he says instead.

Cassian snorts. “It’s not like I’ve been keeping you away from it.”

“You turned Rhys and me down every time we made plans about coming over.”

“Because Nesta was staying there.” He is very, very careful about the way he says her name. Even talking about her is walking a thin line.

“She moved out a while ago, though,” Azriel continues. He leans back into the couch. “Speaking of Nesta, I don’t remember her being that hot. Did you see her in that little dress tonight?”

Cassian tenses, dull anger sliding over his bones and under his skin. “We all fucking saw her,” he says tightly.

Az clicks his tongue. “Damn. A woman like that shouldn’t be wasted in a small town.” His eyes slide over to Cassian’s with a dark glint of amusement. “You mind sharing?”

In that moment, Cassian is presented with the option of punching Azriel in the face. Hard. It’s only due to a divine miracle that he doesn’t.

Even with his temper, Cassian knows when he’s being played with. “How did you know.” His voice is flat, cold.

“You have ‘Nesta’s bitch’ written all over your face.”

Goddammit. Cassian clenches his teeth, saying nothing. Can everyone see it, or only his closest brother? How long has he known?

“I had my suspicions,” Az says simply, “when you ran out of Thanksgiving dinner like your ass was on fire after she sent you that thirst trap.”

Cassian blinks. Of course; the bastard peeked at his phone the last time they were together. No reason other than that.

“It wasn’t a thirst trap,” he grits, on high defense now. “It was a perfectly appropriate photo that you never should have seen.”

Az’s lips twitch upward. “Could’ve fooled me with the way you reacted to it.”

This— this is exactly why he doesn’t want anybody to know about him and Nesta. Because even though a weight has been lifted off his chest with Azriel knowing, an even heavier weight has started to sink in his stomach.

For months, Nesta has been his alone. And the idea of opening their relationship up to others’ opinions and judgements...

“Cass?”

He breaks his death glare at Azriel to find Feyre standing over the couch. He blinks; when did she cross the room? “Yeah?”

“You okay?” She glances between him and Azriel, clear-cut concern in her eyes. “You’ve been a little out of it tonight.” These last several weeks, actually, he knows she’s thinking.

He pulls his best Nesta face, all emotion carefully hidden behind a wall so blank it’s almost dead. “I’m doing fine,” he says simply. “Don’t worry about me; worry about Rhys spending all of your money on cards tonight.”

When Feyre still looks hesitant, Cassian summons his signature smile, the one that puts everyone and their babies at ease. He knows he’s succeeded when Feyre’s shoulders sink and she smiles back, nudging him in the arm. “Alright,” she says begrudgingly. “Just don’t keep pulling that long face. It’s Christmas Eve.”

***

Nesta is still hiding out in the kitchen while Elain finishes up a roast chicken when Feyre wanders in, eager to play the doting host.

Nesta pauses in the middle of telling Elain what she got earlier today for Secret Santa, waiting for Feyre to interrupt or insert her opinion, but Feyre only leans against the kitchen entrance and waits for her to go on.

“... So I thought it was hideous, but she insisted I keep it,” Nesta finishes cautiously.

“Who insisted you keep what?” Feyre speaks up.

“My friend Emerie got me a Christmas sweater.” Nesta waves a hand. “It looks like it came out of the recycling bin of a thrift shop, but I think she legitimately expects me to wear it tomorrow.” She huffs a lighthearted laugh, remembering how she and Emerie had cackled over the tacky gift together.

She finds she doesn’t mind talking about Emerie to her sisters. Rather, it’s something that brings her pride, like how she imagines new parents talk about their babies.

“Ain’t that amazing?” Elain speaks from where she arranges the chicken onto a platter, her back turned to both sisters. “While we were worried this whole time about Nesta being holed up in her room, she’s been going out and making friends.” Her voice is tight with a forced cheerfulness that only their mother could have taught her. Nesta stiffens in her seat at the island.

“Oh,” Feyre says shortly, blinking. “I see.”

The easiness Nesta had from talking about her friends slips away, being replaced with her usual mask of steel and ice. “See what?”

“Nothing,” Feyre defends, moving to lean against the island across from her. “We barely ever speak anymore, Nesta. How are we supposed to know what goes on in your life these days?”

“Well, I’m telling you now,” Nesta says coldly.

“She’s also in therapy.” Elain still hasn’t turned around from the stove. “How exciting.”

Nesta whips her head toward Elain in disbelief at the information spilled. So she is angry at Nesta for avoiding her calls.

“Therapy?” Feyre looks taken aback. “For what?”

Elain swoops in before Nesta can choose between scoffing or rolling her eyes at Feyre’s question. “Who cares what it’s for?” She finally turns around, bracing her hands on the counter. “Does it even matter?”

Nesta tastes venom on her tongue, and it wants to be spit in her sisters’ direction. “If you have something you want to say, Elain, say it. The passive-aggressive act makes you look like a fake bitch.”

Elain flinches, and Feyre looks away to hide her tired disappointment. “We still can’t have a single conversation without you going from zero to a hundred, I see.”

You haven’t even seen a hundred yet. “Tell me,” Nesta demands. “What did I do to mortally wound you this time? Is it the fact that I have a life away from your incestuous circle, or am I missing something else?”

Feyre scoffs incredulously, throwing her hands in the air. “It’s the fact, Nesta, that you have it in yourself to be good to everyone except for your sisters! When it was just me you hated, I could accept it fine, but then you left Tennessee and shut Elain out, too. With no explanation.” Hurt dances across her face. “It’s been years and it’s only gotten worse. And after months of near silence you show up here like—like you would rather be part of any family except ours.”

She keeps saying we, like her and Elain’s feelings are one and the same. Like they’ve talked about this before.

Nesta crosses her arms. “So you are mad I have friends.”

“How is that your takeaway from this?” Feyre has to struggle to keep her voice down.

Nesta’s heated eyes cut to Elain, who’s been silent during this whole exchange. “And you agree with her? Or is there something else you’d like to add?”

Elain opens her mouth to respond, but Nesta doesn’t give her the chance. “If I haven’t changed, then neither have you two,” she seethes. “You still think this is the fucking Disney channel or something, where we’re all best friends who have sisterly sleepovers and text each other good night. Wake the fuck up,” she bares her teeth. “Stop expecting things from me and just be happy I’m alive and doing well— because that’s the bare minimum that I’ve always given you!”

But no matter what Nesta says or does, they will never understand her. She will never be enough for them. The realization sinks in with a rattling finality at the resigned look on Feyre and Elain’s faces: like they didn’t hear a word she said. Nesta wonders when they stopped listening.

A throat clears behind her, and she whirls to see Feyre’s boyfriend at the doorway. His pretty-boy face is drawn tight, barely hidden rage simmering in the violet of his eyes. “Pizza’s here,” he says curtly.

Elain blinks tears out of her eyes, spinning back to the counter to pick up the platter of chicken. “Of course,” she says quickly, “the rest of the food is ready too.”

Feyre leaves the kitchen first, then Elain, then Rhysand with a final deadly glare at Nesta.

Nesta doesn’t know how long she stands there in the same spot, unmoving. Only when her phone buzzes from the island countertop does she turn.

Gwyn: did u get me a vibrator for christmas???

***

Cassian hasn’t looked at her all night.

Nesta doesn’t know what she expected when she told him they couldn’t be together in public, but it wasn’t this: him, laughing and talking with everybody at the table save for her. Like she isn’t even sitting there.

Nothing has changed. Least of all her.

She swallows around a mouthful of dry meat, feeling herself slip back into that old, familiar role: the background character. Except tonight is different, because everyone saw Elain’s watery eyes and Rhysand’s furious stare when they left the kitchen, and now Nesta is being ignored on purpose.

The buzzing in her head is louder than any conversation going on at the table anyway. Whether her sisters would believe her or not, Nesta had made plans. Plans to call more often, to make amends for the years of radio silence, to reintroduce herself to Feyre and Elain as a better sister. Not now, but one day— when she finally learned how.

Plans that were all dashed in the span of one conversation. Her knuckles turn bone white around her fork. So much for getting better.

The longer the night goes on, the more hurt and rage swells in her chest, until she fears she can’t say a word without screaming. How long will it be like this between her and her sisters, between her and the world? As if Nesta owes them all one thing or another: her time, her energy, her best smile and her affections. Why does everything have to be an exchange, and why is she always the one giving something up?

Cassian is the one person who always let her be, adjusting to her whenever she couldn’t adjust to him. But she’s having trouble remembering that fact when he won’t even spare a glance her way. When he’s sitting there laughing with Mor in a way he never laughs with her.

“And what about you, girl?”

Amren’s voice drags Nesta out of her haze, and she realizes the woman is speaking to her.

Nesta doesn’t like the way Amren speaks— with barely hidden cruelty, like she takes joy in watching people squirm.

Nesta blinks. “What?”

A slow smile creeps up Amren’s red mouth. “I said,” she repeats, “are you finding the pay for your work at Night Court sufficient?”

“Amren,” Cassian starts, but Nesta is already on her feet. The table falls silent.

“I have to...” she mumbles unintelligibly. She can’t come up with an excuse. Shaking her head, she leaves the table without finishing her sentence. Leaves the dining room and the whole damn apartment.

***

The slam of the door shutting echoes through the penthouse. No one speaks for a long moment, and Cassian finds himself filling the silence: “Was that necessary, Amren?”

Amren sneers. “What did I do?”

Because he’s counting down the seconds until it’s acceptable to go after Nesta, Cassian indulges her. “Not everyone has it in them to play Mean Girls with you whenever you feel like it.”

“Yeah, but did she have to ruin dinner over it?” Mor snorts, reaching over and plucking a roasted Brussels sprout from Nesta’s nearly untouched plate.

Feyre stands up. “I’ll go after her—”

“Don’t bother,” Cassian says, earning a raised brow from Azriel. Elain looks inclined to agree with Cassian until he adds, “I’ll check on her. You don’t need to stress, Feyre.” With a reassuring smile, he pushes out of his seat and heads for the door.

Each casual step toward Nesta lasts a million years, but he finally reaches the hallway beyond the apartment, letting his facade drop in the same breath that the door shuts behind him. Relief wracks his body when he finds Nesta waiting for the elevator, still here.

“Nes,” he calls, hurrying after her.

She punches the elevator button repeatedly, as if that’ll get it to hurry up. He catches up to her and takes hold of her hand, turning her around—

She snatches her wrist out of his grip like she’s been burned, her fingers flexing with pent up emotion. “Not tonight, Cassian.”

“I’ll go home with you, you can tell me what’s wrong—”

“No.”

“Why the hell not?” he demands. She never shuts him out like this.

Nesta stares intently at the elevator doors. “Go back to forgetting I exist.” Her voice is flat.

He scoffs in disbelief. “You’re not serious—”

She whirls on him so quickly he almost stumbles back in surprise. “You didn’t look at me once the entire night.”

Cassian stills, stunned. Is that what this is about? “How could I have?” he laughs, shaking his head. “You’re the one who doesn’t want anyone knowing about us!”

“So you pretend I’m not there at all?” Hurt flares beneath her angered words.

“I can’t do both.” He fights to keep his voice low, aware of the thin walls. “I can’t look at you and not have everyone see what I feel for you— you’re all over me.” Even Azriel sees it, for God’s sake.

“What’s the truth, then?” she hisses. “Are you a terrible actor or a great one? Because in that apartment I forgot we were even in a relationship.”

“You walked in looking like that,” he gestures wildly at the black sheer mesh hugging her body, “and I was supposed to, what? Act like we were friends?” He hasn’t spent all night nearly losing his mind trying to fulfill Nesta’s wishes, trying not to let his feelings show, to get dragged through the mud for it.

“Is that your best excuse?” Nesta sneers. “I used to be too boring to spare a glance, and now I’m too sexy?” She steps closer to him, bringing them chest to chest. “We were good distractions for each other in your lonely little cabin, but deep down you know we wouldn’t last a day in the real world. That’s why we haven’t told anybody, Cassian.”

Cassian knows a spiral when he sees one, and he’s fighting not to get dragged into Nesta’s. “I know this isn’t about me.” He closes his eyes, praying for calm. “It’s about whatever happened with Feyre and Elain tonight.”

Which is the wrong thing to say, from the way Nesta’s face reddens. “Don’t even fucking go there.”

He doesn’t realize that the elevator has dinged open until Nesta reaches out her arm to stop the doors from closing. “You know nothing about me,” she says heatedly. “You were sad and desperate for acknowledgement when we first met, and you’re the same way now. You haven’t. Learned. Anything.”

Cassian almost wishes she would scream senseless things at him like she used to do whenever she was upset— because this refined wrath of hers is so much more hurtful. And it makes him angry, too.

He leans in until his nose is brushing hers. “If this is one of those things where you try to push me away by being cruel, I’m not fucking buying it.”

Like a switch is flipped, the flame in Nesta’s eyes flares out. He sees that dead nothingness and knows he’s lost. “You don’t have to buy it,” she says simply. She steps onto the waiting elevator, and he doesn’t try stopping her. She doesn’t want to be stopped.

Nesta gives him a final look before the doors shut between them. “And I wore this dress for you, asshole.”

Cassian stands there long after she’s gone. Not knowing what to do next.

A muffled laugh breaks through to him from the other side of the walls, and he realizes that everyone has moved back into the living room. Turning around, he goes back inside to his friends.

***

;)

taglist: @ladywitchling @sjm-things @thewayshedreamed @drielecarla @valkyriewarriors @superspiritfestival @aliveahaahahafuck @cupcakey00 @sayosdreams @rainbowcheetah512 @claralady @thebluemartini @nessiantho @missing-merlin @duskandstarlight @lucy617 @sleeping-and-books @everything-that-i-love @cassianscool @swankii-art-teacher @awesomelena555 @julemmaes @wickedqueenoffantasy @poisonous-bloom @observationanxioustheorist @gisellefigue08 @courtofjurdan @theoverlyenthusiasticwriter @wolfiixxx @cass-nes @seashade @royaltykxx @illyrianundercover @queenestarcheron @monstrousloves-explodinggalaxies @humanexile @that-golden-lyre @agentsofsheilds @mercy-is-alive @cassiansbigwingspan @laylaameer01 @verypaleninja @maastrash @bow-dawn @perseusannabeth @dead-on-the-inside666 @jlinez @hungryreadingaddict @anidealiveson @planet-faerie @shallowhighwaters @ghostlyrose2

#nesta archeron #nessian #cassian #ncssianwrites #a favor #nessian fic

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ilooklikeaburntchickenugget · 3 years

Note

Hi, I love your writing. I really want to make a request where the readers have eating disorder but works in the modeling industries. She is like dating Gerard, but they were in a super big fight because of her eating disorder, as well as her constant traveling for fashion weeks, and at the end, they make up, and Gerard is helping her getting better, and stuff like that. I really love your writing, can you please write one? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Title: Poisons A/N: I actually got two requests for something like these. The endings for both requests were slightly different, but here’s the first one. I didn’t really edit it, just because I haven’t updated much content in forever, but here you go! Pairing: Gerard Way (probably late Black Parade era) x Model!F!Reader Word count: 3,170 Warnings: Eating disorder, swearing, angst, drama, there’s just a lot.

Okay, so this was not what Gerard expected to come home to.

The man expected to go back to his New York apartment, shared with his gorgeous girlfriend, and for everything to be perfect. Well maybe not perfect, but perfect in Gerard’s mind.

He wanted nothing more than to just eat some chips, not having eaten in 16 hours due to his flight and partial distaste to airplane food, and curl up with his girlfriend, hugging every inch of her curves.

Instead he came home to a house that was nearly empty of any food, only a few protein shakes resided in the large fridge. This was already a huge warning sign Gerard looked out for. His mind attempted to justify itself, thinking that maybe he was jumping to the worst of the worst conclusions. No, you were probably just traveling so much that you weren’t at home enough to actually buy food.

He sighed, moving to one of the cabinets he knew the take out menus were hidden in. Opening it up, he picked up one of the cheap paper menus covered in dust, shaking it with his hand to get it off. Great, these hadn’t been touched in months.

After debating mentally between Chinese and Italian, he moved to your bedroom, in hopes to finally see the love of his life after months of being absent on tour. There you were, peacefully sleeping in bed. Jetlag, he knew.

He carefully removed his shoes, moving to his closet to change his airplane clothes to more comfortable ones. Climbing into the warm bed beside you, he placed his hands on your hips as he always had. His initial smile soon turned into a frown.

Even under the large hoodie you were wearing he could feel the painful outlines of your ribs. Grimacing to himself, he heard a small sigh fall from your lips. “Gee?” You coarsely called out.

“Mhm,” He hummed back, kissing the top of your head despite the pure disappointment towards you that coarse through his veins.

“What’re you doing? Weren’t you supposed to be gone for another week?” You asked again, still half asleep.

“The guys and I decided to cancel the last week where we were just supposed to travel, I missed you too much.” He smiled lightly, moving your hair to the side to kiss your neck.

“Mmm,” You hummed quietly, your consciousness growing back. Within seconds realization hit you, your eyes internally going wide, not wanting to show anything to Gerard, and you pulled away from him slightly.

“Babe,” He sighed, “We’re not doing this again.” “Doing what again?” You tried to pretend to not understand what he was saying.

“You’re a gorgeous, talented model,” He began with a soft smile, “But don’t go into acting, you’re not good at it.” “Gee, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You fired back.

“Take off your hoodie,” He insisted, “Now.” “Gerard, what the fuck?” You scoffed, “Take off my hoodie?” “You heard me,” He stated, “Take it off.” “Why would I take it off?” You scrowled.

“So I can confirm that you haven’t been eating like you’re supposed to.”

“Gerard, please-” You begged, now falling off your pedestal of lies. He sighed heavily, rolling his eyes.

“Why haven’t you?” He asked, looking at you, “What has caused you not to eat again? I thought we were over this.”

“I don’t think that’s your problem.” You snapped. You rarely if ever did so, but this was only further confirmation that you hadn’t eaten in a couple of days. You were cranky.

“Damn right it is my problem.” He sat up next to you, his face had gone completely serious. There were traces of anger in his eyes, his pulsing veins along his muscular arms told you all you needed to know. He wasn’t only infuriated with your habit, he was disappointed.

A word you hated. You absolutely hated. The way it sounded, the meaning, how it made you feel. “Please,” You begged him, your once bright eyes gray from the torture you had put yourself through. “Please what?” He asked, his tone still somewhat harsh.

“Just don’t be mad.” You pleaded. You could see his eyes scan over your face, looking for any signs that you were lying. He found none.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes to clear his head he nodded lightly. “Alright,” He said barely letting out a breath, “But you need to tell me everything.”

And you did. Most of it at least. You explained how your insecurities resettled themselves in your mind, starting the moment he left for Tour. You talked about how you were getting more gigs and all due to your tinier size. You explained how skin and bones was basically the new trend.

He sat and listened to you. And he believed it, because he knew it was true. But naturally, he also was a human lie detector. Especially with you.

“Okay,” He began, “And what else?” So maybe that one small part your left out was something that you really didn’t want to admit. Gerard had this strong distaste for most of your model “friends”, ya know, the ones who are naturally tiny and eat salads 24/7, never genuinely enjoying a single meal. The one’s who flashed their designer shit everywhere they went, who posted bikini photos every other day and managed to somehow photoshop themselves into complete Barbie dolls. It made Gerard’s blood boil, he never liked you hanging out with them. Because are them you were not Y/N, you couldn’t be. And that made you even more secure.

“There’s nothing else.” You lied. He looked you in the eyes, waiting another moment.

“I’m gonna give you one more chance to tell me the truth,” He sighed, “What else?” “I said nothing.” Your tone was adamant. He rolled his eyes in disbelief.

“You lied to me,” He began, “You just fucking lied to me. We’ve been over this how many times?” “I didn’t fucking lie to you,” You stuck up for yourself, moving further away from him.

“Another lie, damn Y/N.” He sighed, “We’ve been dating for three years, and you still can’t trust me.” “I do trust you, Gerard.” “Then why are you lying to me?” He asked, his tone going to a much harsher pitch.

“Ya know what?” You said, grabbing your pillow violently, getting up from the bed, Gerard looking at you with no emotion. “Fuck you.” You stated.

“Are you seriously gonna leave?” He asked, rolling his eyes, “Immature.” “No, I’m going to the fucking couch where I don’t have to sleep next to a complete dick.” You fired back, going into your closet and grabbing a spare blanket. “You didn’t mean that.” He scoffed.

“Then why the fuck did I say it?” You marched out of the bedroom, flipping him off to which you heard a sarcastic laugh.

This was far from how you had planned his return. You were gonna stock the fridge and pantry, ya know, not give him a chance to think you weren’t eating, and probably have dinner made. You would eat a small portion, making the excuse you had a big lunch with your friends, and bam! Everything would be okay.

But naturally, shit didn’t work out and after numerous insults thrown at each other you found yourself on the couch silently sobbing. You and Gerard had never gone that far, ever. This fight was beyond messy, it was a complete dumpster fire.

You wanted no more than to apologize to him, but you also wanted an apology from him. You should’ve told him everything, that was on you. But he pushed your buttons and he knew what he was doing. It only took 15 minutes, before you heard his soft footsteps coming from the bedroom, and his warm arms wrapping around you, to which his shoulder became one to cry on. His slow and soft coos calming you down, as he began apologizing over and over again, clearly more mad at himself at this point. “Sugar, I’m so so sorry,” He apologized, “I was just really upset.” “I know,” You sniffled, “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have called you a dick.” You looked up at him. “Well, I was kinda being one.” He lightly smiled, to which you giggled in his chest. “Just promise me, you’ll start eating again.” “Gee-” You were about to make an excuse when you were interrupted.

“Babe, you have to.” He began, “Remember what your manager said last time?” You sighed, remembering. Yep, they would place you right in a psych ward. “So here’s what’s gonna happen. We’re not gonna tell anyone, but I need you to start eating, okay? We’ll go gradually, start small and build up. Together, okay?” You nodded, placing you head on his shoulder.

“I love you,” You smiled, looking up at him. “I love you too.” He smiled right back down.

-Six months later-

"Gee, that’s too much salt!” You scolded as he put a tablespoon of salt not a teaspoon into the cookie dough you were making.

“Oops.” He looked down to which you smiled lightly. You took a chunk of it placing it into your mouth, and he did the same. You couldn’t help but gag at how much salt was in it. “Salty.” He admitted, and you lightly nudged him.

“Yeah, ya dork.” You smiled. “That’s what happens when you add too much salt.” He lightly laughed, wrapping his hands around your waist from behind and placing his head on your shoulder.

“So what’re we gonna do to fix it.” “Nothing,” You said, “We could like, triple the batch, but that would be way too much.”

“Don’t forget we’re seeing the guys tonight,” He smiled, “They’re gonna eat this shit up.” You sighed, nodding.

“Maybe it isn’t such a bad idea after all.” The two of you spent the next half hour adding more of every ingredient, thankful that your apartment was stocked with food to use.

Carefully, you placed as many trays as you could into the oven, closing it and setting the timer. Giving Gerard a quick peck on the lips, he went off to review some emails as you checked your phone. Of course, the group chat was buzzing.

You sighed as you open the text chain reluctantly, scrolling through only to see your name pop up numerous times. “Y/N, where have you been?” “Yeah, fr, we have been out to lunch with you in forever.” “Why are you ignoring us?” “Really? Now you’re being a fake friend.” “Guys, I’m okay.” You simply responded, “Just really busy.”

“Uh huh, you’ve been doing boutique stuff for months.” “Literally nothing even big.” “Not since that Prada show.” “It’s Gerard, isn’t it.”

And just like that, you were about to light these girls up. Gerard was the only one willing, and quite frankly able, to get you out of the huge hole you had dug yourself into. And damn, now these bitches (I hate misogynistic terms against women, but I think it may fit here) were really gonna act like the good guys. “Don’t bring Gerard into this.” You simply responded. “It has to be him.” “He’s not even worth it.” “You could have any guy in the world, and you chose him.” “He’s way out of your league, and you’re still on your knees for him. Smh.” You knew damn well they were trying to get to you. None of these girls had had any true romance, only summer flings with football players, actors, and singers. Granted, Gerard was a singer, but he made good music. He was an artist at his core, singing was just apart of that art. It didn’t take you more than a moment to remove yourself from the group chat, and block all those girls. The real fake friends. The timer went off, which startled you a bit, but placing your phone down with a heavy sigh, you turned it off, to check out the cookies. The top row was done, which you were going to take out. Naturally, the tsunami of inappropriate texts from who you would once call your “girlfriends” was still flooded in your mind, and like a complete idiot, you reached in, touching and grabbing the sheet. With you bare hands.

“Shit!” You yelped, dropping the pan on the open oven and rushing to put your hand under cold water.

“Y/N?” You heard Gerard rush in. You looked up at him, and judging your hand under water, and the cookie sheet which had clearly gone through it, he took a slight sigh, first going to examine your hand. “You alright?” You nodded despite the tears forming in your eyes.

It wasn’t even the burn that hurt. It was the fact that you knew you let those girls get to you so easily, and the just embarrassed yourself in front of Gerard. You knew he didn’t find it embarrassing at all, it was an honest mistake. But still, it embarrassed the shit out of you. “Baby,” He cooed, moving your head up with his fingers under your chin to see the tears that were now slowly cascading down your red cheeks, “It’s okay.” He said lightly. You nodded, placing your head into his chest and sniffling a bit. “What happened.” “I was just distracted,” You admitted, “Forgot the oven mitt.” He nodded, holding you for a moment longer before he knew you were okay, and going to pick up the mess. “Gee, I can clean it up, I made it-” “No, no, please, just worry about your hand, okay, sugar?” You nodded, attending back to it.

The bright red mark across your hand didn’t want to budge, which you were fine with, considering it didn’t hurt as much, just stung a bit. He managed to clean up all the cookies pretty fast, putting them on the stove top to cool, and quickly going back to you. Giving you a kiss on the top of your head, it was his way of messaging he didn’t want to push the topic. But if you wanted to talk he’d be there to listen. It wasn’t but a few hours later that the guys came over. The mistake from earlier was long forgotten, other than the mark on your hand.

The guys were honestly some of your best friends, just like they were Gerard’s. They truly cared about you, just as much if not more than you cared about them. All of them knew about your struggles, and they were honestly your number one cheerleaders.

So the looks on their faces when they saw you healthy again was one that you could not pay for. It was definitely a lot of pride in you for doing it, and it made you feel even better about your decision to get healthy again.

Honestly, you loved the relaxes atmosphere of just hanging out. Sitting next to Gerard with some water, as he drank a Diet Coke, and some of the guys had beers, some opted otherwise. You could theoretically drink as well, but you didn’t want your boyfriend to ever feel alone or strange not drinking alcohol, considering his rough past with it. So you typically opted for a non alcoholic beverage.

It wasn’t until after the guys were gone and you were in the shower that Gerard figured out what was wrong. Your phone kept buzzing, going off constantly. He had never once checked your phone without your permission. There was a huge element of trust in your relationship, and he never felt that there was a reason to. He knew your passcode, you two had openly shared each others in the case one of you needed to use the others phone, but when he picked up yours and saw all those girls name pop up he scoffed.

He knew he probably shouldn’t have done it, but he opened your phone, scrolling through the messages. Some of them you had yet to block, and they were obnoxious. He went into the group chat where the messages were flooding, reading from the beginning of the day until now.

Pissed was an absolute understatement. If it wasn’t for the sound of the shower you were in keeping him aware of his surrounding, he probably would have smashed your phone. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he placed it face down on the counter right where it was, resorting back to your bedroom in some hope of calming down before you got out, not making anything too obvious.

Everything was fine, completely normal. The two of you laying in bed together, doing your typical night time routine of reading a bit, maybe watching something, it really depended. You could feel how tense Gerard was, even by your head just leaning on his shoulder. His muscles flexed together, twisted into tight knots. You weren’t sure what had him so stressed, there wasn’t a need for him to be, right? “Babe?” You asked, to which he quietly hummed, “Are you alright?” You had caught on quickly, like you always had. And now he had cursed himself for looking at those messages. Transparency, he remembered, transparency.

“Honestly,” He sighed putting his book down, “I- I- I saw those messages.” He stumbled on his own words. You gave him a confused look, “The ones the girls sent.” You let out a sigh. Oh shit, he thought, thinking the worst of the worst. “Please don’t listen to them,” You insisted, “You know you’re not the reason for any problem in my life?” “Of course not,” He scoffed, “You’re totally fine. It’s just, how they treated you that bothered me.” “Gee-” “Y/N, we’ve talked about this.” He turned to you, “I’m not a controlling person, I try my hardest not to be. But damn, those girls are complete poisons. They’re hurting you, they’re doing far more harm than good. And I hope that doesn’t make me sound like a manipulator or anything, but even you’ve admitted you’re a lot different around them.” You sighed and nodded.

“I know, I just-” You began, “I’ve spent so many years of my life surrounding myself with people like them that it’s hard for me to know what to do without that, ya know?” He nodded.

“You don’t need a bunch of model friends thought to still be a great model.” You nodded.

“I’ll cut everything off with them in the morning, okay?” “Babe, you don’t need to rush it,” He said, “I mean, sure, the sooner the better, but this is your timing okay?” You nodded.

“Do you think everything will be okay?” You asked him next.

“Well, after they very possibly blame you for everything over text and try to put you down a psychological spiral, because that’s what they do, then yes, everything should be okay.” He smiled to which you nudged him. “You’re making this so much easier.” You sarcastically said, “I don’t even know why I ask you.” “Because you love me.”

#gerard way #gerard way fanfiction #gerard way x reader #gerard way x y/n #gerard way x you #gee way #my chemical romance #my chemical gerard #My Chem #my chemical gee #my chemical romance x reader

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talesofsonicasura · 3 years

Text

Stone Novas

Ch 4: Exposition

Astra's secret is revealed to Team Monkie Kid much to her dismay! A challenge is wagered, plots are formed and soon wills shall be tested. CH3 CH5

Megapolis' Docks, Secret Base

To say Astra was upset would be an understatement. She was thoroughly pissed off for one good reason. Sun Wukong, Monkey King and 'Great Sage Equal To Heaven' didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. And the feeling to flay him grew as Mei poked at the Frontier Brain.

All of them had hustled back to the Secret Base after MK had blurted out her otherworldly origins. Luckily, no one else was there to hear it. When the young man had accidentally sent himself flying out of the Weather Station, not only did Wukong appear to take away his invulnerability but also told him about her Battle Observatory.

He didn't mention Macaque oddly enough or her taking his clothes, no doubt to keep some of his pride. The reactions from Sandy, Pigsy, Tang and Mei were expected once they got back into the base after a silent ride. Dumbfounded disbelief from MK's boss, curiosity from Tang, awe and wonderment from Sandy, as for Mei…

"Are you human or is this a disguise?! Wouldn't that make Bao Chang, Lupe, Mars, and that giant bird Siegfried alien animals?! Are there any dragon Pokemon where you're from?" A thousand questions alongside her wild poking and prodding. Astra didn't mind someone being curious but this was aggravating.

Having enough with the mildly rude treatment, the redhead grabbed Mei's hand tightly. "I would love to talk if you stop scrutinizing me like a Noctowl pellet." Astra let the raven quickly scoot away, slightly embarrassed but still had that same vigor. The Frontier Brain massaged her head, carefully picking her next words before speaking.

"I am human but from an alternate Earth. Instead of demons, we have Pokemon that can be found everywhere whether it be land, sea, sky and even space itself. During my free time, I usually explore various worlds by traveling through Ultra Space but I am actually the Frontier Brain for the Battle Observatory."

Mk had heard about the facility Astra owned from the Monkey King although neither of them knew what it really meant. Picking up on the young man's confusion, the ginger continued her explanation. "Where I'm from we have something called Pokemon Battles."

Mars connected his tail into the base's computer, the screen switching to display a battle between two trainers and their respective Pokemon: a bipedal rhinoceros covered in orange stone plates and a smaller bipedal chinchilla with large white fur that curled like locks of hair.

"Trainers bring out their Pokemon to battle and give them instructions. When all Pokemon on the opponent's team is unable to battle, the Trainer whose team is left standing wins. No Pokemon are forced to battle without their consent and no killing is allowed." The chinchilla-like Pokemon took down the much larger opponent with a strong blow to the head, spirals appearing on the eyes of the knocked out rhinoceros Pokemon.

Mars then changed the screen to display six different buildings, one of them being the Battle Observatory. A picture of Astra stood in front of the observatory as a shadow silhouette stood at the other 5 facilities. "There are tournaments that test the mettle of both Trainers and their Pokemon, the Pokemon League but we'll be discussing my domain, the Battle Frontier."

Battle Frontier, just two words that sent a shiver down the spines of everyone in the room. MK, unlike the rest of his companions, had a look of determination but also hope in his eyes. Something that made the redhead smile brightly.

"Trainers have to face the Frontier Brains, powerful trainers and their Pokemon that can rival the strength of the Champion for each respective region. Those who defeat a Frontier Brain, earn a symbol of their success, a badge for that gym. If someone manages to collect 5 of these badges, then they can become a Frontier Brain for their own facility. This is my badge, the Nova Badge!"

Astra then took something out of her pocket. It was a metal badge that resembled a fiery meteor from the red flame locale surrounding the yellow star shape and the center was a gray X bearing sharpened edges similar to a stake.

"Only those with conviction to face the burning flames of tribulation and strife can earn this badge. One of the reasons many trainers call me the Battle Frontier's Shooting Star." The redhead didn't even flinch when MK and his companions had suddenly gotten into personal space.

"Woah! That is the coolest thing I have ever seen. It looks really well made too! I wish I had my own badge but I really don't like fighting." Sandy stated with mild disappointment. Astra patted the big aquatic demon on the side and gave him a kind grin. "I can make you a custom badge if you want, Sandy. Send me a design and I'll have it ready in a few days."

The redhead chuckled at the sudden bone crushing hug she had gotten from a very happy Sandy. Pigsy was a bit indifferent to the whole otherworld thing. "As long as you come in peace then I don't really care about your origins. Plus you have a good head on your shoulders considering what happened back at the Weather Station."

Every member of the Monkie Kid team knew where the restaurant owner was getting at. All of them would've been captured by Red Son after MK got taken out of the fight. They couldn't forget about the people that might have been hurt or worse without Astra's intervention.

Something that raised a question for a certain bandana wearing young man. "Hey Astra, can I talk with you outside for a moment?" The Frontier Brain gave MK a confused look before nodding. Mars could fill in any questions the rest of the group had anyway. Neither of them said a word until the two adults were back on the boat.

It was here that Astra saw the brunette's carefree attitude dissolve into disappointment and shame. She had a bad feeling about this. "Do you think I'm worthy enough to be the Monkie Kid?" Now the Frontier Brain really hated where this was going.

"Back at the Weather Station, I was practically useless during the whole thing. I hurt Sandy with the staff and nearly got everyone captured because of my invulnerability ego. I even flung myself out of the building with my own weapon! Sometimes I feel like being able to pick up the Monkey King's Staff was a huge fluke. I…"

MK didn't get to finish when Astra gently caressed his cheek, a warm motherly expression on her face. "It's ok to feel like this, MK. You are new to this whole experience but I know for damn sure that your achievements aren't fake! I read about you saving the city from that huge Demon Bull King fiasco some time ago."

She pulled him into a side hug and turned to the open ocean. "When I first started out as a trainer, sometimes I doubted if I could even become a Frontier Brain. There were times that I wanted to give up but my friends and my Pokemon gave me the courage to keep trying. Look at me now, I achieved my goal alongside my faithful partners. Remember that 'the strongest mountain started as a stone.'"

MK then felt something metallic in his hand and stared down in shock to see a colorless Nova Badge sitting on his open palm. "I want you to hold onto this badge, little Kubfu. When you have found and mastered your full potential, face my team to fully complete that badge. If the Monkey King's training isn't sufficient, I won't mind stepping in for some proper training."

Astra's grin sharpened, the sun making her apple green eyes glow like emeralds and her flaming red hair burn like fire. "I might not have magical powers but I definitely can teach you how to wield a staff. A lot of my Pokemon would also love to help you master your newfound magic. What do you say MK? Want to take your training to the next level?"

The young man looked at the Frontier Brain. His uncertainty became hardened determination. "Please teach me how to become stronger!" MK bowed his head in respect, a sign of a student ready to learn under their master. Astra's smile grew from the young man's response. Now she had a few things to do before she started training MK.

Flower Fruit Mountain, Water Curtain Cave

Siegfried let out a mighty caw as he soared through the air. The Frontier Brain was currently seated on the Raven's Pokemon back with her goggles keeping any volcanic ash away from her eyes. All of the monkeys who saw the large Steel/Flying Type quickly scattered or watched Siegfried fly through the curtain of a waterfall.

This particular waterfall was shielding a cavern that held a small wooden shack within its stone walls, Sun Wukong's home. Once Siegfried landed and was recalled to his Pokeball, Astra went over to the house. She had spotted a large ancient mural to the side depicting Wukong alongside three other people.

A pig demon, fish demon, and a human monk riding on the back of a horse as Wukong sat on top of his cloud with a fillet on his head. It was quite eerie but not for the soft golden glow that lined the characters. No, it was the fact that they looked too much like Pigsy, Sandy and Tang that unnerved the redhead.

Astra walked up to the door of the small home and gave it a hard knock. The door opened to show a disgruntled looking Monkey King who was probably asleep earlier from the yellow pjs decorated in peaches. The demon quickly straightened himself upon seeing those apple green eyes glare into his own ambers. "Fancy seeing you here, Astra. Want to come in?" Wukong nervously laughed, he knew he was in hot water.

"You told MK about my origins WITHOUT my permission, jackass! What in the absolute Distortion World were you thinking?!" The redhead harshly poked the monkey's chest, every word burning with rage. The Monkey King raised his hands innocently despite Astra looking ready to skin his hide.

"I can't keep such information from my successor! MK had the right to know and I trust the kid to keep a secret." Wukong took a step back when the Frontier Brain snarled and dragged him down by his pajama shirt so they were at eye level.

"You are an idiot of the highest caliber and a poor teacher! I read the story about MK fighting that giant bull demon and saw him recklessly using your staff back at the Weather Station. Have you even given him proper training at all?!" Astra hissed, glaring daggers into the demon's fiery amber eyes.

Wukong nervously smiled at the accusation which didn't help with what he said next. "The kid did defeat Demon Bull King and came out of both fights completely fine. We've been practicing some hand to hand combat too. MK just needs to believe in himself, even just a tiny smidge." The Monkey King's world turned upside down in seconds as he hit the ground.

Astra sat on top of him, her legs straddled between his so he couldn't move while she held him up to her face with an iron grip. "You are an incompetent fool that clearly doesn't know what he's doing! Did you know MK asked me if he was even worthy of being your successor? That he thought of his achievements as a mere fluke, you insufferable Stunfisk?!"

Wukong's smile dissolved into a shameful frown. Did he really make his student believe that he was a failure? The mere thought made his heart sink. "I'll be taking over MK's training from now on since it's clear you are ill suited for the task." He instantly froze. Did she really just…?

"What do you mean you're taking over?" A look of anger and shock crossed Sun Wukong from the Frontier Brain's words. Astra didn't seem to care about the Monkey King's growing temper. "You heard me. Unless you start taking MK's training seriously, then my Pokemon and I will do it instead. I may not have powers but I can teach him to wield a staff. My team can handle the magic part since you're shit for this job."

Rage boiled underneath the demon's skin. What gave this human the right to say he was an unsuitable teacher? It's his powers and his staff! Who did she think she was to say that to the Monkey King, Great Sage Equal To Heaven, Sun Wukong?!! He'd- The monkey demon immediately stamped that thought before it could continue and instead turned his head away.

This wasn't about him. It was about his student MK. Astra had a point, the young man wasn't ready at all and if a tougher opponent came along… The look of remorse on Wukong's face was enough for the redhead's rage to slowly simmer down.

"How about a compromise? If you are that serious about helping MK, then battle Bao Chang." Sun Wukong immediately looked at the human woman in surprise. "It is said that someone's true intentions can be revealed in the heat of battle. Clash with my darling Monferno at the Battle Observatory on the morning of next week and show me how far you will truly go for your disciple."

The redhead got off the Monkey King so he could get back onto his feet. He could see in those apple green eyes that Astra wasn't fooling around. His only chance. "Alright. I'll accept your challenge. Where do we meet up since we're going back to your world?" Wukong's question only got him a chuckle from the Frontier Brain.

"Ask your apprentice, he'll tell you." With that said, Astra walked away from his home leaving the Monkey King to his thoughts.

Megapolis, Astra's House

The sound of a hammer hitting steel echoed across the small forest. It was from Bao Chang who was fastening a brand new windowsill to the upper floor of the old house, a paintbrush wrapped around his tail too. Astra and some of her Pokemon decided to fix up their brand new home after returning from Flower Fruit Mountain.

Bao Chang worked on replacing the windows, Lupe disposed of any garbage he found, Mars scanned for any issues with the infrastructure and Siegfried helped transport any of the heavy goods such as furniture or any stuff that can be exchanged for extra cash. Aniani kept watch in case of an accident or intruder, as for Astra…

"Sticky Web, Arachne!" A large blob of webbing struck the worn pillar. The substance slipped it into the cracks with the wood, Astra then placed a large metal sheet onto the sticky goo. "El Dorado, melt that metal a bit with Incinerate!" Quickly stepping back as a stream of fire hit the steel plate.

The intense flame caused the alloy to slowly curl around the pillar's surface until it was fully enveloped. Another stream of fire went down where the two ends to the sheet metal converged, sealing it together. With a short inspection of the plating, Astra gave a thumbs up to the two Pokemon responsible.

One Pokemon was a shockingly large black spider around 12'3 in size, six long yellow legs with the bottom half black that had medium sized water bubbles on each joint, a big water bubble that encased their head, two large blue eyes bearing light blue horizontal wave shaped pupils with three smaller triangle blue eyes on the forehead, four large fangs at the bottom of the head, a vertical tannish brown streak with two horizontal ones on the top of the abdomen and a small yellow stinger on their rear.

The other one was a 1'3 dark gold gremlin, eyes were light gold diamonds cut in an hexagon shape, two fin like ears bearing two points on each side of their head, a small emerald on their chest alongside a small jade and light gold crystals on the back, three fingered claws, three fur like spikes on the elbows and three toed bearing sharp claws. On their left arm was a dark violet wristband that held a black, red and violet jewel inside.

"Looks pretty stable. Got a few more support pillars to go, think you can handle it Arachne and El Dorado?" Astra first looked at the large spider then to the small gremlin Pokemon. The large spider Pokemon named Arachne did a small nod while the little gremlin El Dorado gave a thumbs up.

The Frontier Brain shortly paused as a serious expression overtook her face. Her focus was on the corner of the room that was unnaturally darker than the others. "Arachne, Bubblebeam over there!" The large spider took a deep breath before letting loose a rapid stream of dark blue bubbles.

In seconds, a purple outlined shadow cudgel emerges and promptly bursts every single bubble with a single swing. Macaque took a step out of the shadows, clearly impressed from the fang filled grin on his face. Astra only sighed at the sight of the shadow demon.

"I guess you do have some decent senses to detect me. Nice improvement on this dumpster pile by the way." The Frontier Brain rolled her eyes at the intruding monkey, both Pokemon beside her had their guard up. A sight that made Macaque chuckle.

"Usually I am not that defensive unless near a potential threat. I just didn't know that you used to eat humans before we met." Astra spoke, her arms crossed and an offensive edge to her voice. Dismissing the shadow cudgel from his hands, the demon gave the redhead a mischievous look.

"I knew you overheard me and Sun Wukong the other night instead of going to your room. Had me surprised when you still treated my wounds while keeping calm from your steady heartbeat. Pretty brave and bold, Apple." Macaque walked closer until he was standing in front of the Frontier Brain.

The demon could still hear her heart remain steady despite their close proximity, a thought that made his tail wag happily. "What do you want, Macaque? Because I'm pretty sure spying on someone isn't a proper visit." Astra didn't feel like playing around at the moment. One demon had already gotten on her nerves, she didn't need two.

"Straight to the point I see! What I want is to train under your tutelage." Astra looked at the shadow demon like he was crazy. She let Macaque continue with his explanation. "My clash with the Monkey King proved my training methods are ineffective, training dummies can only do so much. What's a better sparring partner other than a Frontier Brain?"

The redhead kept her eyes on the monkey as he circled around her, Arachne and El Dorado stayed silent. Both Pokemon were waiting for any sign of a threat. "So how about a deal? I help around your observatory and you let me battle your Pokemon in exchange. I can even help fix up this rusty junk heap as a bonus." Macaque offered, a calm yet manic grin etched on his face.

Astra mulled over the proposition in her head. She wasn't stupid or naive. Macaque and Wukong had a nasty history paired with a mile wide grudge. There was also the chance of manipulation for the Frontier Brain since the monkey demon might have abandonment issues, inferiority complex and probably low esteem.

Taking his offer could lead to two scenarios. He'll end up taking revenge on Sun Wukong, possibly dragging anyone associated with the Monkey King into it. Or two, she could learn their history and might be able to help both demons before their sour relationship leads to a much bigger problem down the road.

Whatever the case, these two needed help. "Fine but you must listen to what I say and respect any rules that I make. By the way, if you try to use whatever you learn against some innocent soul…" Astra's eyes sharpened, her teeth on full display from the huge snarl and a dark aura came off the redhead in waves.

The sudden malice was enough for Macaque to take a step back in instinctual fright. "I won't hesitate to show you why I'm the most feared amongst my peers in the Battle Frontier. Angels, demons or gods, nothing will save you from my wrath. Got it, little Alolan Rattata?" The shadow demon quickly nodded at the Frontier Brain's threat.

In seconds the frightening aura quickly vanished as Astra clapped her hands happily. "Splendid. For now, you'll be helping El Dorado and Arachne with enforcing the support beams. Arachne is my dear Araquanid while El Dorado is my sweet Sableye." Both Pokemon waved a hand or leg in Arachne's case in greeting to the demon monkey.

Macaque was about to say something when the redhead threw two small cards at him. Quickly catching them, dark amber slightly widened to see they were Pokedex Entries for the two Pokemon before him. Although the one for El Dorado looked different since the Sableye in that picture was violet instead of gold.

"'Araquanid, the Water Bubble Pokemon. Bug/Water Type. The water bubble around Araquanid's head can be used to carry Pokemon they consider as friends to safety or drown potential prey. It has a habit of storing things it likes in its water bubble so their trainers have to be extra careful to not get dragged in. This Pokemon likes to savor its meal and can also launch the bubbles from its legs as another way to capture live prey.'" Macaque looked warily at the giant spider before reading the other card.

"'Sableye, the Darkness Pokemon. A Ghost/Dark Type-'" The demon monkey went silent for a few seconds. 'What in the absolute hell?' Macaque shoved the thought in the back of his head before continuing his low mutters.

"'-It digs up gems with its sharp claws then uses its sharp teeth to devour them in the deep darkness of caverns. This diet caused Sableye's eyes to become gemstones and some of that material to float to the surface of their bodies. It's feared for the misconception that these Pokemon can steal the souls of people when their eyes glow a sinister color in the dark.'"

The shadow demon paused to look at the card then the small Darkness Pokemon. He blinked a few times before pocketing the Pokedex entries into his jeans. Macaque had a feeling this won't be the only time Astra decides to make him feel uneasy. Shrugging his shoulders, the monkey resigned himself to his fate and got to work with the repairs.

Megapolis, Flaming Foundry

Deep underneath Megapolis, there laid a massive factory unknown to others. This facility was the Flaming Foundry, where every mechanical creation was manufactured to assist the Demon Bull Family. A family of three who seeked to rule the world in an age of darkness and fire: Princess Iron Fan, her husband Demon Bull King and their child Red Son.

Standing in front of a large screen was Red Son alongside two others. One was a huge minotaur type bull demon around 15 in size, powerful bulging muscles to red violet fur that seemed to almost synthetic, bottom jaw covered in a heavy steel plate with similar steel under burning yellow eyes, a gold bull nose ring, gear similar to that of a barbarian: steel pauldrons, multiple straps on the chest that held a gold furnace like slot at the center, dark grey pelt around the waist similar to a barbarian's, slightly long tail, sharp clawed fingers, large fangs and strong gray hooved feet.

The other was a woman about a ft taller than Red Son, soft tan complexion, two large black horns on both sides of her head, long raven hair, red lipstick on full lips, thin but buxom form hidden under a beautiful red traditional Chinese dress, and heeled sandals. They were Red Son's parents, Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King. Red Son seemed mostly healed from his encounter with Team Monkie Kid minus a few bandages.

All three of them were watching the large monitor, it was on the news which covered the Weather Station. The broadcast was about none other than two of Astra's Pokemon rescuing civilians who were trapped inside. "-No one knows what these strange creatures were but the families of those who were trapped inside are truly grateful for their assistance."

Red Son then changed the feed to camera footage from the Weather Station, most of the audio was fried courtesy of Mars' hacking the mainframe earlier. "I can see why your plan went asunder, my dear son. You said this woman's name was Astra?" PIF questioned, looking at her only child.

The red haired demon did a short nod before answering. "Yes from what Noodle Boy called her during our battle. All those creatures appear to follow her command; unlike Noodle Boy's group, she's very competent in both strategy and execution. The marks of a tactician."

DBK looked inquisitively at the footage. His attention darted from Bao Chang tearing apart their soldiers using various elements, to Lupe destroying his troops with powerful acid then blasting his son away in a giant laser, Mars stealthily hack into the Weather Station's mainframe and finally Astra's conversion of a broom handle into a weapon that melted through titanium steel. He's seen that type of cleverness before, it got him trapped underneath a mountain for 500 years.

"It appears the little thief has made a powerful and dangerous ally. Get as much information on this 'Shooting Star Astra' and 'Battle Frontier'. Even better if you somehow manage to capture her." DBK glared at the Frontier Brain's picture, a dark grimace on his face.

"This human woman could change everything."

And that's it! Sun Wukong has been challenged by Astra while Macaque and MK are accepted for training as things slowly begin to change in the background with some of the LMK villains.

Astra isn't someone who would beat around the bush when seeing a possible problem. Especially considering her status as a Frontier Brain and just how dangerous this new world is proving to be.

She is the type who wants to be prepared for the worst. To her, Sun Wukong and Macaque's 'relationship' is an issue just as bad as MK's current training routine.

Moving onto Astra's Pokemon, her team is the Pokemon she had caught during her journey to become a Frontier Brain, not exclusively just six Pokemon. Her Pokemon has two different movesets which is reserved for either exploration or gym battles. I'm bringing this up now to not only clear up any confusion but especially for upcoming chapters.

And for anyone questioning why Astra didn't do anything to Sandy for hugging her, it's because only touches with any romantic sort of sense are a trigger. Stuff like hugs don't bother Astra.

Next chapter is the battle with Sun Wukong! Before I go, I am currently working on a story for my Broken Toys AU! Someone asked if I was going to release all the information first before writing it.

The answer is actually no. I will be posting some stuff for the au like the monsters MK has and his relationship to them but the really juicy ones will be coming once a few chapters are posted.

Until next time folks, see you back in Megapolis.

New Pokemon added! El Dorado the Sableye and Arachne the Araquanid

Astra's team: Bao Chang (Monferno), Siegfried (Corviknight), Lupe (Garbodor), Aniani (Necrozma), Arachne (Araquanid), Mukasa (Zarude), El Dorado (Shiny!Sableye).

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swan--writes · 3 years

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BJ’s V-Day

In which BJ fucks with reader’s chocolate, and reader is Upset.

It’s still Valentine’s Day in some places, right? Shut up. It’s been a busy day.

Warnings: food, swan-typical language

It started at the coffee shop. (Of course it did.)

You ordered the same coffee that you always did, from the same barista you always saw, but something was different that day. The coffee was darker and colder, and more viscous than usual. It was almost sour, and the way it sloshed around in the paper cup made your stomach churn. When you frowned at the barista who had made it, he gave you a too-wide grin and an unnerving wink. (His teeth were so pointy, was that normal?) You scurried out of the shop and onto the street of your small Connecticut town. You had not been back since.

That was only the first of February.

Next came the florist’s. You had been to the florist every week since you moved to this small town. It was cozy enough that you didn’t feel pressured to place a massive order, and you preferred small business flowers to the grocery store selection. And you loved fresh flowers. (Everybody has their thing, this was yours.)

Now, you would swear that when you chose your bouquet, it was beautiful. The blooms were fresh, the leaves were perky, and the roses were vibrant.

By the time the florist had packaged it for you, it was a red and black mess right out of an early My Chemical Romance music video. Great for art. Kitchen counters? Not as much.

Of course, you were too nice to say anything. You simply had to contend with half-dead roses, wilting on their stems. They were all blackened edges, wrinkled petals, and falling leaves. The florist gave you an even wider grin than the barista had, and you walked out even faster than you had the coffee shop.

It was only day four.

After the roses – which had only lasted two days in your house before the blooms fell dead away (literally) – was the truffles. This was almost your breaking point.

All of the convenience store chocolate was discounted for Valentine’s Day, just five days away now. It was on your way home from work, and you couldn’t force yourself to just drive past it. So, in you went, and there you bought, and then you went home. You had gone through the self-checkout, but one of the cashiers kept giving you sidelong looks.

At the convenience store, you had tried to ignore them, but they were all you could think about when you bit into the first truffle. The chocolate shell was mostly fine, if a touch bitter. The filling was dust. (Literal, actual dust.)

So, like any rational person, you spent the next fifteen minutes gagging over the sink, then grabbed a knife. You sliced clean through every single truffle. Most of them crumbled from the pressure of your knife, and all of them were the same. Truffle after truffle – two full boxes – were all filled with dust.

Well, all but one.

In the center of the second box, there was one truffle that did not crumble. It was densely packed with a thick, old piece of paper. The paper felt leathery between your fingers when you picked it out of the chocolate shell, almost like parchment.

When you saw what was written on it, you all but stabbed your knife through it.

Bad coffee? Okay. Dead flowers? Fine. But nobody fucked with your chocolate and remained in your good graces.

The next five days only upped the ante.

Your trusty diner somehow dropped every single Valentine’s Day éclair on the floor as soon as you arrived. Your supervisor lost her box of valentines before she could hand them out at your office. Your set of Valentine’s decorated mason jars somehow fell from your entertainment center and shattered when you walked by. (A good four feet away from the table, because that made complete sense.) But the final straw came on day fourteen, first thing on Valentine’s Day. (Of course it did.)

When you opened the door to take the trash out, you felt it knock something over. It was mostly dark outside, and you didn’t fully see what it was until you brought it inside. Once you were under proper lighting, you saw that you were holding a black teddy bear about the size of your torso.

When you shook the bear to make sure there was nothing inside, however, the head immediately twisted off and flew away to who knows where? A foul-smelling green slime began oozing from the severed neck. You shrieked and dropped the bear. Slime and wet dirt spilled onto your kitchen floor.

“Oh my--no, y’know what? Fine,” you groused. “Fine! I give up.” You backed away from the decapitated bear and stomped through the kitchen to your living room.

Your house was old, and you could hear the creaking of the floorboards underneath the banging of your steps. You could hear the sizzle of whatever the slime was doing to your kitchen floor. And you could hear the wind that kicked up when you spoke the words from the parchment you had found in your discount truffle.

“Beetlejuice!”

Something in the house groaned – a low, ominous sound.

“Beetlejuice.”

A layer of fog covered your windows. (Several layers.) It crept in at your window corners with a draft, and a gray murk. It nipped at your ankles, and leapt at your wrists, and seemed to amplify the sizzling in your kitchen.

You swallowed. “Beetlejuice!”

Lightning flashed. You closed your eyes, but it didn’t do much good. The wind whipped around you. You tried to turn your face against it, but it was everywhere and coming from all sides. Without thinking, you covered your ears and stumbled back a step.

Then, all at once, it stopped.

When you opened your eyes, you saw your demon boyfriend leaning on the doorjamb with his back to you. Beetlejuice gave a low whistle when he saw the teddy bear he had left you eating a hole in your floorboards.

“Damn babes, you’re gonna have to get someone out here to fix that.”

Rather than humor him, you glared at his back. His suit jacket was barely holding together, and you could see a long, thin strip of his shirt through it. “The mason jars? Really? You know I loved those.”

Without moving his feet, Beetlejuice’s head turned fully around to face you, nose wrinkled in a grimace. “Those cheap old things? C’mon baby, you can find a hundred of them at literally any Purgatory yard sale.” His eyes lit up. “In fact–”

“Oh no, I’ve had enough of that place. And hey, what have you been doing in town this month anyway? You said you’d be tied up until March.”

“Oh I was, sweet cheeks.” Beetlejuice waggled his eyebrows at you. You walked up to him and slapped his arm. “Whoa, babes!” The force of it seemed to radiate through his entire body. (Corpse?) His knees wobbled, his hips jostled, and you could swear you heard rattling from somewhere near his ribcage. “Easy! I’ve been doing a lot of strenuous physical activity this month.”

“Oh yeah? Fucking with me almost every day has been strenuous?”

“Hey, you coulda just summoned me when I asked you to.”

“You didn’t ask, you ruined my bargain-bin chocolate.”

“Oh, forgive me.” You rolled your eyes at his tone.

Beetlejuice turned around on his feet, facing you with his shoulders. Then he groaned, reached up, and spun his head around. “Whoa!” he cried. His head rotated a few times on his neck before finally coming to a stop.

When he brought his hands down again, Beetlejuice was holding the oozing teddy bear’s head. He held it out to you.

“I’m sorry for fucking with you all month.”

You gave him a look, but melted when you saw the pink creeping through the roots of his otherwise green hair. “Fine,” you conceded. “But you owe me.” Against your best self-preserving judgment, you took the stuffed head from him. A few clumps of wet dirt fell from the bottom where it was still severed and onto the floor. You kissed its cheek anyway, and only winced a little from its coldness.

Beetlejuice took the head back, flung it back over his shoulder, wrapped his arms around you, and dipped you. You gave a very undignified squeak that you would never admit to later.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, babes,” he growled.

“Happ--mmf!”

please like and reblog if you are so moved

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boop-le-snoot · 3 years

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masterpost ☀️ main masterlist ☀️ taglist

previously on...

Two chapters over the weekend because I was ✨ inspired ✨ and my neighbors can't stop fucking (noisily!) and I'm,,, envious.

Strange adventures in Hell. There are descriptions of desperation and doom, lots of magic and - hear me out - forced/reluctant hand holding 😌 Oh my God, they held hands!!!

"What. Were. You. Thinking?!" Strange was seething, his enormous figure and broader height towered over me, the blood-red of his cape vibrating, the only spleck of colour in the grey and dusty dark world.

"I had no choice in the matter," I replied as calmly as I managed, gritting my teeth, memories of our past stand-off fresh in my mind. We could have bickered until the end, until one of the beasts flying overhead spotted us and decorated the bleary grounds of this forsaken planet with the crimsons of our life blood. "I think it's best if we get to safety first, argue later. I have no desire to become somebody's lunch."

That much was true: I had taken a good look at our surroundings as soon as I recovered from the vacuum-like sensation of being pulled into a magical gateway; the visibility was terrible, the planet's natural light very scarce. Several suns were hardly visible in the sky, their rays barely penetrating the mists and the ashes freely floating in the air.

There was oxygen even if breathing in a full lungful seemed impossible; I tried not to think about the contents of the air, or the possibility of radiation poisoning, as the multiple amulets and charms seared into my skin where they rested under my clothes. I had four bottles of water, some bandages and salves and a sacrifice for a single ritual to my name and absolutely no conviction that Mother Earth would be able to hear the call of an earthling gone so astray.

But it was hope, so I held on.

"Fine," Stephen sighed, suddenly looking tired and weary, glancing around with furrowed brows. "Let's see if I can open a portal," his hands did that complicated set of gestures that I'd grown to associate with a golden circle and sparks on the ground. The thing flickered, once, twice, before disappearing, as if the Sorcerer's magic had run out of batteries. "Yeah, I thought so," he whispered to himself, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"The bad news first, please," I interpreted his hesitation with a realistic outlook on our predicament.

"I can't open a portal just anywhere on this planet. We need to find a... Rift, of sorts," the man was anxiously looking around. "And those things, they'll smell us... Right about now," his eyes shot up at a winged, rapidly approaching shadow. "No good news, I'm afraid."

I allowed myself a small sigh of disappointment, keeping a tight leash on the panic slowly creeping up my body. The feeling of determination, the power of Gaia within me was still present, laying in a cozy dormant ball slightly south of my solar plexus. "Give me your hand, please," I reached out to Stephen only for him to promptly recoil.

"You should've thought about the consequences of your actions, I'm not going to hold your hand because you're scared shitless," his words were sharp but they lacked the venom. He wouldn't, or couldn't, meet my eyes.

"I know you have scarred hands. I'm a healer and you don't have to feel embarrassed or ashamed I, I've seen worse," I stated in my best 'mutant nurse' voice as Stephen's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. "Those things can't sense me. And I know they won't be able to sense you too if we have skin-to-skin contact. So unless you want me to get under your... Robes," I gestured to the layers upon layers of clothing he had wrapped himself in. I considered the possibility of his whole body being covered in scars, too, and couldn't help the pang of sympathy. "Take one glove off and give me your damn hand before this trip to Jurassic Park goes full pterodactyl massacre!"

I saw the thing in the sky open it's mouth - but no sound came out, the clouds reducing it's outline to a vaguely triangular shadow. There was something very unusual about this planet's atmosphere.

With a couple of jerky movements, Stephen slid off the glove from his left hand, looking away as his large, dry, warm palm encompassed mine in a gentle, trembling grip. It made no sense to interlace our fingers, so I help onto him like a child holds onto their parent; the size difference of our hands and his imposing aura surely made me feel like one.

We stood a foot apart, watching the shadow in the sky begin to circle the place we stood in, it's gaping maw opening again and again, before it zigzagged across the sky with a strong dash of confusion, it's graceful glide becoming a series of rapid turns and twists. With a final inaudible shriek, it flew off into the dusty greys of the horizon, becoming a dark spot far away in mere seconds.

The silence was so loud in this world. Like the eerie stillness of my, undoubtedly haunted, apartment, I was eager to dissipate it with something beyond our combined heavy breathing. "Please don't tell Tony," I timidly gave our touching hands a sway. "He'll never leave it alone."

A chuffing noise coming from above had me whip my head up to see Stephen holding in a puff of nervous laughter; his shoulders dropped slightly as he eyed me in turn. "What makes you think I won't tease you about it?"

"You wouldn't dare," I took mock offense, rising my leaking nose to the skies.

The grumble and the eyeroll I expected, the smirk that faded into a ghost of a smile I did not. "We should go. Usually there is a rift within a few miles of every location everywhere," he tried to keep the content expression as he spoke but the storm in his eyes betrayed his concern. They were so blue, I felt like I was drowning.

I let myself to be tugged in a direction - everything seemed exactly the same, a never-ending ashen wasteland with the occasional dark grey rock that crumbled to dust as soon as the heel of my shoe touched it. My light blue sweater quickly became the colour of rotten wood, a sickly, dull monotone between brown and gray.

The complete lack of any kind of natural noise brought out the desolation of this wretched place; if we gripped each other's hands tighter, neither of us chose to acknowledge it. It was too easy to get lost in your own mind when the surroundings were dead set on rebuking anything that was in any shape or form alive.

I caught myself thinking that this must be what people think Hell should look like.

Strange walked briskly for the most part, periodically clearing his throat and eyeing me when I struggled to keep up with his long strides. It could have been an hour, or maybe two, of aimless wandering and rapidly imploding portals accompanied by Stephen's increasingly overcast face before I made the man stop and offered him a water bottle, which he insisted we split between us two.

It didn't take me a tarot reading to figure out our chances were grim. Needless, I gave him the same look I give to injured, scared mutant children when they come to the bodega for the first time; a look of quiet temperance.

And then we walked, and walked again, as Stephen grew moodier and moodier, marching on with the force of a seasoned soldier, only taking breaks when I forced him to stand still and breathe with me. As cautious and closed-off as he was, I pressed onto the fact of me being a healer of sorts, and he relented if briefly, always reluctant, always seasoned by a great dose of bewilderment.

"Do you feel that?" Stephen's stride halted, both feet firmly planted on the ground.

The ground had tremors had coming from deep within, small shocks that could have been easily missed if not for the complete lack of sound on this world. My nod was mute, I didn't trust my voice not to break when I clearly knew there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, endless fields of nothing all around us.

"Hold onto me," promptly, I was grabbed and pushed into his chest, his long arms easily picking me up, encouraging me to wrap my legs around his waist. "Hold tight, I might need my hands," my face grew hot as I wound my arms around Stephen's neck, clinging to him like a monkey, a palm resting on the soft fine hairs if his nape. It felt too intimate somehow, in the wake of imminent danger.

The Cape that previously swayed behind him in rhythm with his steps billowed, the red fabric of it tough as it levitated us a few feet above the ground. I felt Stephen tense with each tremor; within moments, the surface shook and stuttered more and more, cracks appearing in between the dust, turning the plains into a marble-patterned patch of darkness.

We rose above it, high enough that I could see the veins resulting from the quake stretch far out into the wasteland, jagged, abrupt lines of even more concentrated darkness. And as quickly as the quake started, it was over, leaving little evidence as the ground settled.

Stephen floated us to a larger patch of the ground, criss-crossed with thinner, less prominent lines, poking the ground with his foot before allowing it to fully bear our weight. He was shaken, there was no doubt. "That was... Something," he stated lowly.

"Mhm," I hummed, fighting the urge to frantically look around, forcing my hand from clutching at his palm like a lifeline. I had decided on a plan while I was busy playing baby koala - not that there were many other options except to wander these god forsaken bare badlands until our painful demise. "Listen, Strange, I'm aware you don't hold my people in particularly high regard but you're going to have to trust me on this," my words came out derisive as I placed his palm on the back of my neck and kneeled, forcing him to do the same behind me.

The contents of my bag greeted me grimly with out last bottle of water and the couple knick-knacks that gathered the black dust on them. I hastily poured the water into a bowl, dipping my fingers in it, and added the crushed bones to the mixture.

The time that was required to make a paste-like mixture, I used to address a bewildered Stephen. "This is a last resort. I don't know if it will work, we're not on Earth," I briefly breathed my distress. "I don't even know how far we are from home. But I refuse to die here, in this grotesque Hell, without putting up a fight and Gaia has always looked out for her flock. I might get very, very sick if this is successful."

The warning had him attempt to object before he cast a long look around us, shoulders sagging, as motioned for me to continue, those piercing blue eyes boring into my face. "Tell me what do I need to do," his voice quietly attempted to soothe my very obvious fear.

I was terrified, both of dying, nameless, faceles in this world full of Nothing; the prospect of withering away after depleting all my resources was, perhaps, equally unappealing, but dying on my home planet sounded better than dying here. "Have faith," I replied curtly, beginning to chant softly under my breath as soon as Stephen's expression hardened.

My eyelids grew heavy, limbs filling with lead and molten lava as I summoned the forces of Mother itself; my body was aching, exhausted by answering her call as it was. The warm ball in my chest that previously comforted me grew, spreading its smelten power through every vein, every vessel. No part of my body was left cold. A sense of purpose filled me, pushing me forward, driving me to move, to run, to leap.

"This way," even to my own ears, my voice sounded pained. It felt as if I was walking through swamp waters, full of clay and debris, each step taking my barely coherent form through an individual bog full of pins and needles. The force of Mother Nature burned inside of me, enraged at the state of her surroundings.

Stephen spoke to me but all I could hear was mumbling, thousands of voices, low and shrill, unintelligible to the human mind. I could feel the sorcerer's pain; the itch and burn in his throat, the constant, dull throb in his scarred, broken hands. His hand in mine only intensified the situation and I fought with his injuries like I fought with the black dots in my eyes, I forced down the unpleasant sensations, setting fire to them, letting the reigns of control on the raging inferno within me slip just the smallest, tiniest bit.

The steps of his long feet stuttered as I felt the discomfort lessen yet I simply towed him along. Time leaked through the cracks in my eyes, which were mostly unseeing anyways. The useless things grew blind at some point, not that I noticed it on the greys and blacks of the surrounding scenery. It was harder to walk, my breathing grew laboured with the extertion as we finally reached the place that felt right.

"Here," I rasped, voice so quiet it could have been mistaken for a breeze. I craved to feel it; the soft puffs of wind, the sound of running water. I had called for Earth and she demanded its child back.

The portal appeared without a stutter even though Stephen's hands shook; I saw the uneven channels, the energies traveling through them at an uneven pace. As soon as I pushed through the wormhole, coming to my senses in an unfamiliar, light room, I fell to my knees.

Stephen's pained moaning told me he was probably experiencing the same stinging, burning sensation on his skin; my eyes, they were the worst - my eyeballs felt like they were melting, leaking out of my sockets into thick, gelatinous tears streaming down my face. I blindly groped for the sorcerer's hand, directing the forces within me to soothe his hurts much like I had done in the wastelands.

"Strange?!" A masculine, shocked voice exclaimed before footsteps crashed into my sensitive ears with the force of an elephant herd. "Oh my God, they're here! Tony, come!"

"Stop fucking screaming," Stephen gasped out as I felt him curl into himself.

"Friday, scan them," I recognised Tony's voice, the tiredness and desperation standing out in it more than it did in the rest of the whispers in the room.

"They appear to be experiencing a sensory overload. I would recommend to engage Peter's Cooldown mode," the mechanical voice replied, barely audible. The noise still grated on my ears after spending... How long were we gone?

"Do it, Fri," Tony's soft footsteps reached us; I smelled the spices of his cologne next to my and Stephen's prone forms. "You gave us a scare there," the tone was admonishing but gentle.

"We were scared shitless ourselves," I attempted to speak, only now noticing how grating my voice sounded. "We were in Hell," I mumbled to myself, slowly removing my hand from Stephen.

"That," he coughed up the word, breathing through his nose before speaking again, his voice sounding much better than mine. "That place was as close as possible to biblical pits I have ever seen," there was shuffling and gentle murmurs as the two men ensured each other of their presence and well-being.

The burning sensations receded back to my core, the embers of the fires dying out, leaving me feeling like deflated beach ball, all shell and no filling. With a groan, I rolled over onto my back right in the middle of the pristine carpet on the floor, forcing my eyes open and breathing through the pain until I could somewhat see the champagne coloured ceiling without black dots obstructing my vision.

Shuffling noises reached my ears as a familiar round face with light red hair came into my line of sight, Wanda's gentle features concerned. "Star, do you need to go to medical?" She eyed me almost suspiciously but the question was earnest.

The idea of a doctor fixing a magical burnout was bizarre to me, as if it ever was that easy; I chortled sardonically. "No, Wanda, there's nothing wrong with me that a doctor would be able to fix," I replied honestly. "I should call Odette."

"I've called, she said to notify her when you return," Sam's voice was gentle as he approached. I could feel him glaring daggers at a rapidly reddening Wanda. "She was the one who said you'll definitely come back," he offered me his hand.

I had to choke down a moan of relief as I grabbed it. The warmth, the life of another human being, the precious gift of a beating pulse under my fingertips was divine. "You should listen to her. She knows her stuff." It was easy, talking to Sam as if he was an old friend. He had one of the most pleasant auras I've seen on a human being.

"I'm a doctor," Stephen suddenly perched up, sounding almost bashful. "And I can aid the healing process," he stated over Tony's disgruntled mumbling. "If you can explain to me how the hell you managed to hold a... an entire sun's worth of energy!" The more he spoke the more bewildered he became, tone growing in pitch, ending the sentence with an exclamation.

"I don't know," I replied with a sigh. The whole indignation in this man, I was not prepared to face. "When I took this up," I gestured vaguely to the burned, bent metal adornments I began to remove off my body. "I thought I was going to get an increase in tips and a better outlook on life. Help my friend with her asthma as much so she wouldn't have to use her inhaler every time she gets suprised or scared," my jewelry hit the floor with a dull clank, piling up into bent silver I wouldn't even be able to cleanse and repurpose.

Sam whistled lowly, poking at a necklace that had twisted on itself, a grotesque spiral of dull ashen grey.

"I certainly didn't think that a bleeding mutant accepting his fate as cannon fodder will call for the Earth itself," my tone grew vicious. Exhaustion was nesting in my bones. "And that Mother Nature would take over my body, pour lava into my veins and bleed recklessness into my thoughts. But here I am, freshly out of Hell and alive and kicking."

A stunned silence was interrupted by Tony's frantic whispering. "You are not leaving my penthouse for the foreseeable future," as the weight of the incident set on him. The knuckles of his hand clutching Stephen's dirty tunic turned white.

"I am," Stephen eyed me with a strange look in his eye, as if he was seeing me for the first time. His eyes then turned to Tony, who'd began rambling, arguing with Stephen. The sorcerer stopped the word vomit with a grim confession. "I'd be dead if not for Starlight. I'd be meat and bone, splattered across a barren, radioactive land in the deepest, darkest pits of the universe."

I felt my face droop in slow-motion. My throat flexed, swallowing a thick lump of filthy mucus, I coughed up, "Ra-radioctive?" As soon as I could work my voice without it squeaking.

Taglist: @couldntbedamned @mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins2 @mostly-marvel-musings @persephonehemingway @schemefrenzy @lillsxd @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites @xoxabs88xox

#practical alchemy #bun writes #stephen strange x reader #tony stark x reader #stephen strange x reader x tony stark #tony stark x reader x stephen strange #im zoomin with a bag full of creepy

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buglife · 3 years

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Perhaps a meeting between Dadmaster and the White Lady?

“Do you think that they might be okay with taking students again?”

Mato thought for a moment, walking beside his child in the restored Royal Gardens. They were just enjoying the quiet sights for a while, when Ghost brought up the possibility of teaching nail arts to the guards and knights of the realm. The question was a surprising one, which for a moment worried the beetle that something may be going on that he wasn't being told about.

“They might be, why do you ask?” He leaned down to look Ghost in the eyes. “Are you worried about something?”

“I just...I can’t be everywhere at once, even as a god.” They admitted, averting their gaze as though ashamed of the fact. “I want my people to be protected, even If I can’t be there. I don’t need protecting, but they do.”

“Well, that’s a fine reason as any.” Mato answered with a reassuring tone to his voice, glad to hear that nothing nefarious was going on. It was just Ghost being Ghost, worried over everyone's safety again. “You indeed can’t be everywhere, and perhaps more people knowing the nail arts would be a boon to the kingdom.”

“I thought so too, but there’s only you, me, Uncle Oro and Sheo, and Grandpa Sly who know how to even teach it. I can’t teach everyone by myself.” They gestured to themselves and their current 'mortal' form. They were certainly not as large as their twin, Hollow, nore were they even tall enough to reach Mato's shoulder. Even being a god, they wouldn't be able to instantly teach a rather intensive and practice heavy technique like the nail arts. It would have to be done the old fashioned way with actual teaching. They were right, they couldn't do it all by themselves. They would need some help.

“Did you ask Sly about this?” Mato thoughtfully replied. “He was the one to teach us, after all. He’d be able to help you for sure.”

Ghost nodded their head. “I asked Grandpa Sly and he said, and I quote, “I trained enough kids, now I want to enjoy my goddamn retirement.”

“Then what did he say when you offered to pay him?” Mato crossed his arms and raised a brow, anticipating the answer.

“Where do I sign?” The void being snorted in amusement, shoulders shaking with the effort to not burst into outright laughter. Mato was not so reserved.

“HAHA! Of course that old miser would!” Mato bellowed a deep belly laugh and slapped Ghost so hard on the back it sent them stumbling a little. In the corner of his eye, he could see the posted guardsmen stiffen at the interaction. “To be honest, I think he also wants to be able to brag about being able to beat up knights and guardsmen all day without getting a treason charge.”

“That and I think Uncle Oro would be down with It too. He’s that kinda guy.” Ghost chirped, eyes now full of mirth. They didn’t seem to mind being bodily hauled around by their father, despite their status as a King. “He likes putting bugs who are a little too full of themselves back in their place, and I saw some of the new applicants. I think he’d do a lot of good here.”

Mato hummed in thought. Oro was very different from the rest of the brothers, and even Sly. He'd need special motivation and he wasn't always swayed by Geo. “What do you have in mind to get him out of his hovel and here in the city?”

“I think he wouldn’t mind if I offered to give him a private candy chef on call that I will employ.” They drummed their claws together, amused by their own cleverness. “I remember that he used to train me in exchange for honey I’d sneak out of the Hive. Imagine what he’d do for whatever sweets his heart desires that could be made on demand?”

“There’s my little tactician! That will get him for sure.” Mato beamed with pride, not like Ghost had to do much to get him to be proud of them to begin with. “Sheo I think might just be too busy with his husband right now for teaching beyond his art school.”

They nodded in response and smiled up at their father, who quickly reached down to give them a gentle noogie. They didn’t bother trying to escape and accepted their affection without so much of a flinch. Good. Mato released them after a chitin crushing hug and set them back on their feet.

“You know I’m proud of you, right?” He asked softly, deciding to voice the thoughts he was having. It was one thing to feel pride for someone, it was another to let them know that you thought as such.

Ghost nodded, a bit of gray coloring the shell that made up their face, nudging a few pebbles with a foot. “I know, thanks Dad.”

He was about to comment further when a little dragonfly suddenly dropped out of the air and pancaked into the cobble stones below them. Both Nailmaster and King leapt backwards from the sudden noise and movement, drawing their nails together in a smooth motion through instinct alone. Then, when nothing outright attacked them, they took a second look.

It was a messenger to be sure. The dragonfly was wearing a bag and a hat that denoted them as a member of the messenger corps. At first Mato thought that the bug was injured from the crash, but the amount of scrapes and cuts alone couldn’t have been caused by just hitting stone. They wearily reached up to hold out a hemo-stained letter, somewhat reeling from the hit they took, antenna bent and crooked.

“Messenger Stikks, reporting with an urgent message from Kingdom’s edge!” The dragonfly slurred, struggling to focus enough to hold the letter out straight. They closed one eye and narrowed the other, adjusting their grip so that the letter was actually in front of Ghost and not a few feet to the left. “Antlion larvae have dug in from the wastes and they are everywhere!”

Ghost took the letter and read it quickly. Then read it again. They finally put the paper down and sighed, all the humor they had merely seconds ago sucked out by the reality of their station.

“Something the matter, my child? Do you need help?” Mato had yet to release his grip on his great nail, moving the other hand to rest it on their shoulder in an act of comfot.

Ghost shook their head with a huff of annoyance. “This wouldn’t be a problem if the coliseum would have just left the larvae alone. The letter is from the head Fool, apparently they caught a few, which then escaped, and now is tunneling under the arena and is causing sections to collapse on itself. They are requesting aid from me as per our treaty.”

“Well, they are called Fools for a reason.” Mato could only shrug at that. “Even I wouldn’t mess with a doodlebug.”

“...A what?”

“Just a nickname for them.” Mato bent over and picked up the dragonfly. “You alright son?” He looked the bug over. They were kind of smooshed and bent up, but it seemed like they’d be okay after getting some medical attention.

“Aye aye, sir!” The dragonfly saluted and missed, causing them to punch themselves in the head with a CRACK.

Mato was then holding a completely unconscious bug. He winced and waved over a guard, handing the poor bug over to be taken to the nearest doctor. Ghost was trying to not laugh, obviously feeling bad for the poor bug, but Mato had to admit it was kind of funny.

“You sure you don’t need help, Ghost?” Mato asked again, once the guard and dragonfly were gone. He focused hard with his dad powers to determine if Ghost was going to tell the truth. God King or not, they were still his kid and he’d be damned if he let them run off and get themselves hurt.

They shook their head. “No Dad, I will be fine. I’ll just have to pull out the larvae and then set them loose out in the wastes. Nobody else has to get hurt today.”

He nodded. “As long as you’ll be okay. I trust you to know your own limits.”

“I will.” They tilted their head up in a smile. “Feel free to wander around for a bit, I’ll be back soon and we can meet up with Quirrel and Hollow later for dinner.”

“Sounds good to me, come back safe.” He gave them a short hug and a pat to the back.

They nodded and stepped back, suddenly dissolving into liquified void, seeping into the stonework and vanishing from view. It was a very blink and you miss it type action for sure. Teleporting was different from bug to bug, but Ghost sure did know how to make and exit when they needed to make one quick. Soon the last bits of excess void evaporated and not a single trace was left behind that the King was even standing there. Well, with nothing else to do but wait, he decided to take their advice and take a look around. After the palace was built over top of the old one, the gardens were also revitalized. A lot of work had been put into the place and once things were green and blooming again, it was opened up for the public. It was fairly peaceful and offered a lot of nice spots to simply sit and reflect should one want to.

He decided that perhaps the best thing to do was to find such a spot and meditate for a while. Ghost had given him quite a bit of information to consider. The idea of teaching the nail arts to the next generation of warriors was a interesting one and he wasn’t quite sure how to implement such an ambitious plan. Perhaps a school would have to be made. He’d have to talk to his own father and brothers as well about it. Perhaps a solution would come to him once he emptied his mind for a while.

He walked around gardens, looking for a quiet spot for Ghost to find him later, when he was stopped by a sight that made him question his vision. He blinked a few times to clear his eyes, but he still saw the same figure that used to be everywhere before the infection began.

The White Lady sat on a stone bench, idlily watering a patch of flowers using a simple watering can. Mato could see no finery on her or any mark of a station beyond a civilian on her person. She was dressed simply in white robes, the roots on her head curled up and branching outwards in a mess of tiny white leaves and petals. She didn’t seem to notice him, giving the flowers on the ground a drink as she hummed to herself, her eyes closed in either thought or contentment.

To be honest, it Mato didn’t quite know what to think at first. Most of the citizens of Hallownest gave little thought to their previous Queen. Before Hollow was even locked into the temple, she had fled her people and her home to wall herself within her personal gardens, taking one of the great knights with her. When it was clear that Hollow wasn’t going to be able to hold back the wrath of the Radiance, the King also fled, abandoning the kingdom to their fate. Most remembered this, and cared little about the fates of the rulers who vanished during the kingdom’s darkest hour, leaving the common bug to fend for themselves with no leadership and no help.

They weren’t remembered fondly, regulated to history books and a cautionary tales of pride and cowardice.

It was only years of training that kept him from fully succumbing to rage. How dare she! How dare she sit here all pretty in the palace gardens, like she never allowed the king to murder their own children and abandoned every bug that looked up to her when things didn’t work out perfectly? The same lady who annexed an entire section of another people’s land for her own personal gardens? The same Lady that sat a scant few meters away from the home of those she most hurt?

And why was she here? From what he understood, Ghost did not like her one bit. Even gentle and sweet Hollow only recalled moments with her to be painful and refused to further elaborate on the matter. He got most of the story from Ghost, and what he heard made him livid. He often wondered what he would say to the former king and queen should he meet them again, and now he was being presented with such an opportunity.

He took a few deep breaths. As far as he knew, she was no longer his Queen nor any sort of authority over him anymore. He would get a few answers, no, he demanded them.

He approached her, no longer masking the noise of his movements as his boots crunched a few discarded dead leaves. She paused in her humming and turned her face to fix her startling blue eyes on him. Mato stared back, unafraid and resolute. She balked slightly from the force of his stare, but composed herself by sitting up and gently smiling down on him.

“Hello.” She said, her voice soft and whispery, like a breeze through the leaves of a willow tree. “How can I help you?”

“What are you doing here.” Mato demanded. The question was short and very much to the point.

“Me? Well, my child-”

“They are not your child.” Mato hissed, cutting off her words with an enraged snarl. “You don’t get to call them that, not after what you and the pale bastard did to them!”

She seemed taken aback for a moment, narrowing her eyes as her roots shuddered, before she seemed to slump into herself. She turned her head away for a moment, taking in an audible breath as she turned it back to glance back at the Nailmaster. “You act as if I don’t regret what we were forced to do.”

“You always had a choice.” Mato countered. “You could have done anything other than let thousands of your children lay dead at the bottom of the abyss. Have you even gone down there to see them? Offer some sort of rites like any parent would do for their deceased children?”

“It does not matter, Ghost has-”

“King Ghost.” He once again corrected her. Only family got to refer to them by their name alone and fiercely guarded such a privilege. Especially since they had to pick their own name. The Lady and the King didn't even feel it fitting to give them something as simple as a name.

“Yes." She sighed, "King Ghost has informed me that their siblings besides Hollow now reside within the void... at rest, which is now a part of them. Empty rites and platitudes will not bring them back, nor erase what I have...what we have done.”

Mato stared at her for a moment, scanning her face and body for any hint of lies or manipulation. To his surprise, he found none, just an old woman who was full of regrets.

“Then why are you here?” He finally spoke and crossed his arms in front of him. “My child obviously knows that you are here, why let you in? You told them to kill their own sibling and take their place in a plan that already failed, just to hold the mad goddess at bay for a scant few more years while you could still hide in the Gardens and play pretend. Why?” He could barely keep the fury from his voice as he spoke. He could see her flinch with each accusation, her eyes blurring with what might be tears, he couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that was he was saying was impacting her in some way, and he was happy for that at least.

She was silent for a moment, the roots and branches that made up her head curling in on themselves and shuddering slightly. A few leaves and petals dropped to the stones below and rapidly lost their otherworldly shimmer. “I don’t know, to be honest.”

Mato narrowed his eyes behind the hard shell of his mask. “You gottah be shitting me.”

“I speak the truth.” She shifted in her seat so she could face him fully. “All I know, is that one day, King Ghost arrived where I have made my exile. They commanded me to unroot myself. I could sense the brand on them, the pieces of my husband and I that made them, and the spark of a higher power, so I obeyed. It took time to unroot myself, but once I did they commanded me to unbind myself and to come with them.” She paused a moment to look up, as thought remembering a feeling or a snippet of a memory. “I had diminished myself, made myself weak. I could no longer see, so they commanded that I reside here to recover. I did so, and when I saw them for the first time I was astonished and humbled. I had believed that perhaps that they would take revenge and have me executed or banish me to the wastes, but... they did not. Instead, they told me that I will do what I was meant to do and I was not permitted to run away again.”

Mato was silent, listening as the White Lady spoke, watching her face as it went through a range of emotions. Regret, bitterness, elation, joy, shame...all flickered through her pale face and shimmering eyes.

“My sentence was to bring life back to the kingdom, as it was my duty long before the Pale Wyrm even chose Hallownest to rebirth himself in. I would, as they put it, ‘have to clean up my mess’ and I have been doing as such.”

“I did notice everything get greener.” Mato muttered. He had noticed the yields from the farms were also quite abundant and rich. The kingdom should have gone through a period of famine as they rebuilt, but there was food. Nothing refined at the beginning, but nobody went hungry. “Was that you?”

She nodded, serene as she put her watering can to the side. She lifted one of her roots from the ground, leaving a neat little hole that she dropped a single seed into. “Yes, I am a goddess of life and fertility, it brings me joy to know that life has begun anew.”

“Are you a prisoner here, then?” He looked, but saw no chains, no shackles, and not even the delicate weave of spells or magic. Nothing that could force her to stay here.

“Goodness no.” She shook her head, eyes curled up in slight amusement. “There is not a place I could run that my ch….my king could not find me. Nore do I expect that they are such a god to begin with. I am here as they said, to clean up my own mess. Nothing more, and nothing less. I have been given my own home here.” She gestured to a cottage nestled in among the trees, just barely out of sight, most likely for her own privacy. “I have no need to leave, nore am I under duress. I simply am.”

Mato’s rage was beginning to cool somewhat. From what he understood, his child had decided to grow beyond the pettiness and childish ways of the former higher powers, and instead, enact rather wise and mature decisions. With a start, he realized that he may have had a hand in that decision. He thought back to a moment, a scant couple years ago when rebuilding hasn’t even started yet.

“Dad?” Ghost asked. They had just had their first molt, resting their now slightly bigger body against their twin sibling. Hollow was in bed, their head and body haven just gotten new fresh bandages. It had been only a bare few months after the death of the Radiance, and Ghost had had some time to sit and think about their situation.

Of course both of the void siblings were a mess after the final battle, and Mato had commandeered an empty home in Dirtmouth to care for them both. Herrah had awoken from her slumber and was there to care for Hornet, but she had Deepnest to restore. Hornet jumped back and forth between both homes, bringing honey from the Hive and silken bandages in the effort to bring Hollow back to some semblance of wellness.

“Yes, my child?” Mato had adopted Hollow instantly, the poor injured bug still was very much a child despite being the tallest bug they’ve ever seen. He coaxed Hollow into opening their mouth and letting him stick another spoonful of light broth inside. He patted them gently when they did, helping them get ready for the next spoonful.

“How did you learn to forgive Uncle Oro?” Ghost was staring at their new set of arms, clenching and unclenching their hands. They tripped over their new telepathy a few times, but they were able to be understood. Mato stayed steady enough to get another spoon of sustenance in his largest child, but was quite surprised by the question.

“That’s quite a question, Ghost. What suddenly brought this on?”

Ghost was silent for a few moments and Mato gave them time to get their thoughts together. Hollow tried a chirp of encouragement, but Mato tapped them on the snoot. No chirping, only soup for the moment. They harrumphed and took another spoonful, which earned them a nice rub to sooth the healing cracks in their face.

“Uncle Oro hurt you and Uncle Sheo, really bad.” Ghost started. “But now, you are all okay again. How did that happen? What do you do when someone hurts you, but you don’t want to be hurt by them anymore?”

Ah, there it was. No doubt this had something to do with the sibling’s awful, awful parents. He didn’t want to accidentally poison his child with his own bad memories, nor the awfulness of why the situation actually happened in the first place. Instead, he decided to be completely honest.

“Well, Sheo and I were hurt, yes. We took space for ourselves to sort out our feelings. By then, the infection was in full swing and we didn’t know how the other was doing. When you let us know that all three of us were still alive, that’s when we knew there was a chance.”

Ghost looked up, tilting their head backwards so they didn’t have to get up from where they where lounging. “A chance?”

“Yes, the only time a chance to fix something between someone is gone, is when they are gone themselves. When we realized that we were all still alive, I knew that a chance still existed to get my brothers back.”

Ghost nodded, listening closely. Hollow subtly curved their head to listen as well, and Mato suddenly found himself with the full undivided attention of two children. He would have to choose his words carefully

“So, a few weeks ago, we both went to see Oro, and we talked. We talked about how we hurt each other. We talked about how we were sorry. We talked about how we can improve ourselves and move on. In the end, we decided to give each other a chance again, at least for one last time. Obviously, Oro wanted to be back with us again, because we worked it all out. We missed each other a lot, so I found that we could forgive each other and start again.”

“Uncle Oro is still really grumpy though…” Ghost added as an after thought.

“Oro was always a grumpy little bastard, that hasn’t changed.” Mato laughed. “ What changed however, is that we realized what we all did to cause the problem in the first place, and apologized. Now it’s just letting time go by to heal the wounds and give everyone a fresh chance again.”

“That’s it? Just time and a chance?” Ghost tilted their head to the side, eye’s narrow as they did their best to grasp the concept. Hollow moved their head just enough to give their smaller sibling a nuzzle. Ghost sighed and shifted so that they could hug Hollow back with nuzzle of their own, melting into the cuddle pile.

“If you think they are worthy of a second chance, than yeah. If not, than don’t give them a third.” Mato stopped assaulting Hollow with soup for the moment, letting them have a bit of a break for a cuddle. He took the time to look over the bandaged socket where their left arm used to be. He’ll have to ask Sheo and Smith if they could do something about that. "It's up to you to even consider giving that chance. If you don't want to, nobody is going to blame you for that. It's your decision alone and nobody can force you to do otherwise." He waggled the spoon at Ghost to further get his point across, as well as a subtle unspoken 'I will beat anyone who tells you otherwise with this spoon'.

“Thanks, Father.” Ghost looked up, eyes shining with resolve. “I think I know what to do now.

“They are giving you a second chance.” Mato spoke aloud once he finished with his memory, startling the White Lady with the suddenness of his voice.

“I’m afraid I don’t..” She looked confused by it all, looking Mato up and down as though he suddenly went crazy.

“They are giving you a second chance to be in their life. Both theirs and Hollows.” Mato’s voice took on a hard edge again as he pointed to her. “They are deciding if you are going to hurt them again, as they are not going to give you a third chance.”

“You mean...they’d want me to be…” her eyes widened and glistened with moisture, speaking some delicate hope that still resided within her. Mato knew he could never understand her particular pain, nore did he feel like she even deserved to have that hope after all this time, but that was not his decision to make.

“I don’t think they want you as their mother.” Mato took no joy over crushing that bit of hope, but she needed to know the truth. “After all this time, I don’t think they can let you be that intimate with them, at least for a very long time. Of course I’m speaking of Ghost, not Hollow. But for Ghost, I would shoot for just being a friend, someone they can trust again. Maybe it can evolve into something else besides that, but who knows what the future can hold."

"It is clear that you do not like me, or approve of my presence here at all. So why tell me this?" She bent her head down to regard Mato as though searching for the punchline to a cruel joke.

"Because it's the truth, and yes, I don't like you one bit, but the ones Ghost choose to be in their life is not up to me. If they want to give you a chance along with Hollow, than so be it. It's their life, not mine. BUT..." He stopped slouching and pulled himself up to his full height. "If you hurt them again, either of them, I will make you regret that. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "I do."

"Good, then we have nothing more to discuss." He turned on his heel and left, not even giving her a wayward glance as he left her behind. He could have dragged more answers from her for sure. Even if they only needed one vessel for the plan, they could have taking in the 'rejected' ones and cared for them. Was she even there when the selection was taken place? Did she also leave Ghost to fell back into the abyss, never to see light again for years, maybe decades? Too many questions, and he doubted he'd get satisfying answers to any of them. Perhaps for now, it was best to let it go. Ghost or Hollow will bring it up on their own time and he would do what he always did, be there when they needed it. He loved them, even if it was later in their lives than he wanted it to be.

He wished he could have been there from the beginning. How different would they have turned out if he could have scooped them up at their hatching and carried them away to raise and love? All of them, not just those two, every single cracked shell in the abyss belonged to an individual child. He didn't know how, but he figured he'd have enough love for them all if needed. Perhaps he was feeling jealous that she could have had that, but chose to throw it and her own children away instead.

Too many feeling and not enough answers. He needed to get some meditation done and sort himself out before Ghost came to find him again. It wouldn't do for them to see him angry and conflicted like he was. He marched along until he found a nice, quiet section of the gardens and sat. He folded his legs under himself and let his cloak fall around him, emptying his mind and falling deep into the calming waves of meditation. He let the feelings come and wash over him, letting himself experience them without becoming consumed. The memories and the experiences were neatly sorted as he pulled himself together where he'd be able to experience them again should he wish to. Soon, there was nothing but calm. Everything was in it's right place and Mato let himself drift away into the nothingness and soothe his heart.

He started back into reality when he felt a tug on his cloak. He instinctively looked down where he expected a tiny void creature to be tugging on his cloak, looking for hugs. When he didn't see them down there, he looked up to see his grown child tugging on his cloak, eyes curled up in amusement.

"Hey Dad," they said with a giggle. "Sorry to wake you, but I'm back."

"That you are." Mato replied with a 'smile' of his own, standing up to stretch. He must have been sitting for a while, as his legs began to buzz with pins and needles as he worked the numbness out. "How did it go?"

"Well. The larvae were moved with no more injuries. The Fools will have to fix their own coliseum, since it was their fault it got damaged in the first place." Ghost giggled again, something amusing must have happened, and no doubt they were saving it for dinner later.

"Let me guess, there's more too that?"

They nodded, vibrating slightly. "Yes, but I want Quirrel and Hollow to hear it too. They'll get a kick out of it and you'd spoil it if I told you now."

"Then let's not keep them waiting." Mato mock bowed. "After you, your majesty."

"Dadddd noooo." They waved their hands around, trying to get him to stand again. "That's embarrassing! Monomon doesn't do that!"

"She isn't allowed to bow because it gives her cover to get smoke bombs out of her veil without getting caught." He countered with a laugh.

Ghost just sighed dramatically and grabbed his hand, dragging him off towards the palace where dinner and company awaited. Mato found that he couldn't stop laughing, letting his child drag him around just for the fact that he could.

It was then he realized that he pitied the White Lady. All these little moments she willfully gave up, never to experience it for the foreseeable future. It struck him as very sad that she would give up such a thing, but he decided there was no use in trying to understand why.

After all, he would be too busy coming up with ways to spoil his own children, and that thought would consume most of his days, as It should be.

---

Heyo another request down!!! Next up will be SIBLING DAY!!!

Also antlion larvae are terrifying, but the fact that they have 'doodlebugs' as their nickname is strangely endearing.

I feel neutral about the white lady. Yes she willfully participated in the plan and no in no way innocent, but boy did she make herself suffer for it. Hence here, Ghost gave her a chance to just be who she was before, just god doing god things, without having to balance a kingdom. She just has to help clean up the mess she left her kids to deal with and can't run away when the going gets tough again. To be honest, I feel like she's a lot happier now to just have her nice little private cabin in the gardens with no royal responsibilities and the hope that one day she may have more than a professional relationship with Ghost and Hollow.

Hollow knows she is there, but is working through their own feelings before they decide on what to do about it. They love her so much but remembers the pain in being constantly rejected and treated as though they were already dead by her. It's complicated, but there are therapists in the kingdom now and that will help over time.

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moonknightly · 4 years

Text

and you keep me holding on : santiago garcia x reader (seven)

Word Count: 1.8k+ — a short one today, fellas

Excerpt: “Some nights he goes to the bar and finds a warm body to bring home, one that doesn’t care about the wedding band on his finger or the women’s perfume coating his sheets or that goddamn stuffed wolf that now occupies what was once her side. Some nights he sits on his kitchen floor and drinks himself into oblivion.”

Warnings: I said a few bad words. This chapter is pretty light.

[SERIES MASTERLIST]

OCTOBER THIRD — ZERO

Santiago hates October. He hates October so fucking much, he can’t even put it into words when he’s asked to explain himself after he casually mentions it to one of his co-worker’s, someone who wasn’t around a year before when his entire life went to shit. He hates talking about it, hates thinking about it, doesn’t know how he could even begin to explain it.

So he doesn’t answer. He only shrugs, and rolls his eyes when he looks up and catches the horrified expression on his captain’s face.

Santi’s past the breaking down and the sobbing. He’s past the uncontrollable emotions and the erratic behavior. He doesn’t need people to continue to be so careful around him, he just needs things to finally get back to normal-

He stops before he can continue on with that thought, with that wish, because nothing will ever be normal again. Not like it was, at least. He takes a deep breath and reminds himself that he has a new normal, a new routine.

He wakes up in his new apartment each morning, fixes the covers and pillows on just one side, makes breakfast for himself and only himself. He showers by himself, pays for one coffee from his new favorite coffee shop. He does the grocery shopping, does the laundry, remembers when the bills are due all by himself, no longer looks to the fridge for a sticky-note reminder. Some nights he goes to the bar and finds a warm body to bring home, one that doesn’t care about the wedding band on his finger or the women’s perfume coating his sheets or that goddamn stuffed wolf that now occupies what was once her side. Some nights he sits on his kitchen floor and drinks himself into oblivion.

That’s his normal. That’s his routine.

He fucking hates it and he fucking hates October, but it’s his life now, and he’s just going to have to get used to it.

And so he ignores the look on his captain’s face, ignores his co-worker’s persistence, and shuts his computer down the second it hits 5 o’clock — another unfamiliar part of his new routine. He’s always off work right on time, hasn’t had a second of overtime since-

He sighs, and pushes away from his desk, shrugging his coat on. He feels like it’s one of those nights where a bottle of whiskey is all the comfort and company he needs. His thoughts, those emotions are getting too close again. He can’t let them get too close.

Santi can’t remember how much is left in the bottle of Maker’s Mark he has at home. He can’t even remember if there’s another bottle tucked away behind that one, so he stops by the liquor store on his way back to his place and grabs three bottles off the shelf. The guy behind the counter recognizes him now, and the judgment in his eyes is always clear, but Santi always ignores it. He pays, and at that point he’s only a few blocks from his apartment, so he walks.

He walks and he doesn’t think about a damn thing. He’s gotten good at that, turning his thoughts off on command.

And he’s so lost in his nothingness he almost doesn’t notice when he gets home and his front door’s unlocked, deadbolt and all.

He’s never left the door unlocked. Not even before.

Santi slowly, silently sets his things down on the ground, and his hand easily finds the gun on his hip. He pulls it from its holster, flicks the safety off, but keeps it aimed towards the floor even though his first instinct is to shoot first, ask questions later. There’s only one person he thinks it could be.

But still, he keeps it pointing downwards, and pushes the door open with the toe of his boot.

The light in the hallway is on, and so is the one in the living room. He always makes sure all of the lights are off when he leaves in the morning, and Santi frowns. If Nathan broke into his place, he’s sure as hell not being subtle about it.

But once he makes it down the hall and into the main living space, he sees Jay standing against the island. Not Nathan. Just Jay.

He should’ve suspected the man with the key first.

“Jesus Christ, man,” he sighs, running a hand through his graying curls. Jay eyes the gun in his hand, like he isn’t surprised to see it pulled on him, and Santi sighs a second time before turning the safety back on and setting the weapon on the endtable by the couch. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Santi heads back to the door to grab his things, and he hears Jay’s shoes hit the hardwood floor as he moves into the living room and sits on the couch. Santi’s eyebrows furrow when he doesn’t say anything, and after he has his whiskey stored away for later, he finally looks at him. Really looks at him.

Jay’s face is pale, eyes a little puffy. He’d been crying, that was completely obvious, and as Santi moves closer, he can tell his hands are shaking.

“Hey, what is it?” Santi asks, sitting on the coffee table, hands resting on his knees as he leans forward.

The other man starts to bounce his leg, his eyes looking everywhere but at Santi. It takes him almost a full minute to finally speak, and when he does, his voice wavers.

“They found her,” he mumbles, a small, humorless laugh following his words. “We found her.”

Santi can tell from Jay’s tone that it isn’t good.

“We got a call from State Patrol earlier, about a girl they found in a ditch on the way out to Montauk. They needed someone to ID her so I went and-”

Santi feels that all too familiar bile rise in his throat, and he’s up before Jay can finish his sentence, running towards the kitchen so he can heave into the sink.

His head’s spinning. His arms and legs feel numb and the panic comes back full force. The pain, the grief, all of it hits him so violently in the chest he forgets how to breathe. It feels like the air had been forcefully knocked from his lungs and he feels like he’s getting ready to black out and-

And Jay knows he’s fucked up.

He quickly moves to Santi’s side and puts his hand on his shoulder, shaking his head almost frantically. “No, no. Santi, listen, hey, we need to get going.”

Santi just looks at him while his chest heaves, while sweat starts to drip down his forehead. “What?”

“I came over to take you to the hospital. Come on, you need to see her.”

Santi looks positively horrified, and it’s been months since Jay has seen him look so close to breaking down.

“You want me to identify her body now? Fuck, Jay, I thought you-”

“No.” Jay cuts him off, shaking his head again, mentally kicking himself for not starting the conversation this way, but to be honest, he still can’t wrap his head around it. He’s still in shock. “Santi, she’s alive.”

“Stop fucking with me man-”

“I’m not!” Jay promises, hands reaching out to grip Santi’s shoulders. He shakes once, twice, then laughs again, but this time, it’s in relief. “She’s alive. She’s alive and we need to get you to the hospital now-”

Santiago does black out.

He doesn’t remember much about the next hour. He doesn’t remember Jay peeling him off the floor when he finally came too, doesn’t remember being dragged downstairs to Jay’s truck, doesn’t remember the drive to the hospital out on Long Island, though he does briefly remember wishing they’d been able to get her back to the city. He trusts the doctors and the nurses at her hospital, wants them to be the ones taking care of her. He wants her closer to home, closer to something, somewhere familiar.

But even so, Santi doesn’t fully snap back to reality until he’s standing in front of Graves, and the numbness subduing his body and mind quickly fades into anger.

He’s so fucking angry. All he sees is red.

“You didn’t call me first? You were supposed to call me first, not anyone else.”

Graves holds his hands up, almost as if he’s afraid Santi’s going to rush him, and honestly? He thought about it.

“We wanted to make sure it was really her before we-”

“You had enough time to send Jay to my place. You could’ve called me at work, fuck, you could’ve just shown up-”

“We didn’t think that was a good idea-”

“Will you two shut up.” Cameron’s suddenly standing between the two, a hand on each of their chests, gently pushing them back from each other. “This is the last thing either of you should be doing right now.”

Santi knows she’s right, it’s the last thing he wants to be doing.

He just wants to see her, to touch her, to make sure she’s really there and breathing. His anger evaporates as quickly as it came, and he can’t pick an emotion to describe the feeling that replaces it.

“Can I see her?” he asks Cameron, coughing gently to hide the way his voice cracks, though she catches it. So does Graves, so does Jay.

Jay turns Santi to face him when neither Cameron nor Graves say anything, and he sighs, taking a moment to think about his words carefully before he speaks. “Santi...listen, she’s been through hell-”

“You think I don’t know that?” he scoffs, shaking his head. “You think I haven’t thought about that every damn day for the last fuckin’ year?”

Jay flinches, but he’s quick to relax. He reminds himself that everyone’s emotions are running high, he shouldn’t take it personally. “I just, I mean...fuck, it’s a lot, okay?”

He looks almost scared, and Santi suddenly understands why he’d acted so scattered back at the apartment.

Santi nods, but doesn’t say anything, mostly because he doesn’t know what to say. He just wants to see her. They all know that.

So Jay leads him down the sterile white halls, and Santi shoves his hands into his pockets. His stomach twists the deeper into the building they get, but he pushes down his fear of hospitals and doctors and instead focuses on the fact that she’s still alive.

She’s alive. They found her. She’s alive.

She’s alive.

Though she doesn’t really look it.

Santi stops the second his eyes fall on her, motionless in her hospital bed, hooked up to different wires and tubes. And just like earlier, it feels like the air has completely escaped his lungs. He thinks he might be sick again.

It’s her. It’s definitely her, but she looks so, so frail — so unlike herself, and though Santi expected it, he’s not prepared for it.

He blacks out again, and just like always, Jay catches him before he hits the ground.

#santiago pope garcia #santiago pope garcia x reader #triple frontier #triple frontier x reader #triple frontier fic

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twomanyideas · 3 years

Text

Through the Spyglass - Chapter 2 (Final)

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

Gratsu Weekend 2021 Prompt: Disaster Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu, Sting x Rogue

For @walkinginfiction

AO3 | Prev: Ch 1

Chapter 2

Passing the mirror in their small entrance, Natsu checked himself out just to make sure he looked somewhat presentable. His hair looked good. His shirt wasn’t bad either, save the glitter, but his skin looked like he’d been eating bacon everywhere Sting had applied the lip balm. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to get rid of the greasiness. It kind of worked, but some of that glitter must've been on his hand, and he’d now smeared it over his face, which still smelled like breakfast. As did his hand, and he couldn't even go back upstairs to wash it off because the muffled sounds told him he absolutely did not want to be there right now. So with no other choice, he opened the front door and stepped outside. Fuck my life.

That should have been a choice on those damn dice.

Natsu took a moment to examine the three pieces of mail in his hand. His eyes narrowed as he read: Or Current Resident typed beneath Gray’s name. He wanted to strangle Rogue. Junk mail? Really? What kind of idiot went out of his way to return junk mail?

Great.

He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that at least the last letter seemed important. Placing it on top, he figured he might as well get this over with. Gray could see what a fucking disaster he was, and he could get back to his famine.

Still, Natsu’s natural optimism refused to let him give up completely, not to mention his curiosity. After days of watching Gray through binoculars, he couldn’t help but be a little excited at meeting him in person.

He crossed the street, keeping his eyes fixed on Gray’s front door until he stood outside of it.

Alright Dragneel, you can do this. You have a valid reason to be here, and you’re looking very fine.

He was about to ring the doorbell when the door opened unexpectedly, putting him face to face with Gray.

The first thing Natsu noticed now that he could see him up close, was that his eyes were indeed blue, and as he stared into them, he couldn’t help but smile at being right.

“Hi?” Gray frowned, giving Natsu an inquisitive once over, gaze lingering on the glitter sticking to his shirt.

Natsu listened with fascination as Gray somehow made that one word sound like the sexiest thing he’d ever heard.

“Are you alright?”

Natsu blinked, confused by the question until he realized he still hadn’t said a word, just stood there gaping like an idiot.

“Mail,” he blurted out, holding out the letters. “I mean, I have your mail.”

“Oh, thanks for bringing it over,” Gray said as he grabbed the letters from Natsu. He looked down at the envelopes, his mouth twitching as he examined them.

“You, uh, really like glitter, huh?”

“Would you believe I was assaulted?”

“By who, the glitter fairy?”

Natsu roared heartily at that, earning himself a smile from Gray. “Close. I'm so calling him that from now on.”

“Well, it certainly looks good on you.”

Was Gray flirting with him? Yes!

“I’m Natsu, I live across the street.” he extended his hand for a handshake, completely forgetting about the lip balm.

“Gray, but you already know that,” Gray shook his hand, and it was only when he let go quickly, his expression changing from friendliness to disgust that Natsu remembered.

Noooooo! Things had been going so well!

Gray sniffed at the air, “Do I smell bacon?”

“Bacon?” Natsu chuckled nervously, wiping his hand on his pants leg, “That’s kind of random.”

“Right.” A beeping noise had Gray pulling out his phone, “Well, it was nice to meet you. I guess I’ll see you around,” he muttered, peering down at his phone’s screen.

“Yeah, bye.”

Natsu couldn’t believe he’d crashed and burned so hard, so fast. Fucking bacon balm. And now he’d have to go back home and listen to the two rabbits. He turned around, but Gray had grabbed him by the arm before he could get moving.

“Change of plans. I need a favor,” he said, dragging him inside the house and up the stairs.

“Hey, let go of me. What the hell?!” Natsu dragged his heels and tried to loosen Gray’s grasp on his arm. He was no slouch, but this guy was just as strong.

“Take off your shirt,” Gray said calmly, once they’d reached his studio. Damn that accent!

“Excuse me? Are you mental?” Natsu might have been protesting, but his fingers were moving, deftly undoing buttons until he stood with his shirt open, debating what to do next.

“Perfect, let me go get some things,” he left the room, and Natsu could hear the tap running, followed by the sound of him rummaging through drawers not too long after.

This wasn’t at all how he’d expected their meeting to go, but he sure as hell wasn’t complaining. He’d already unbuttoned his pants and was working them down his legs when Gray returned holding art supplies, which he immediately dropped.

Oh.

Natsu could literally feel the blood rushing to his cheeks, which was perhaps the best place for it to be right then.

“Whoa! What are you doing?” Gray yelped and looked away, similarly flushed.

“Yeah, I’d like to know as well,” Natsu griped, pulling his pants back up. “First you blow me off, then you drag me in here and ask me to take off clothes.”

“So you figured I’d gone from blowing you off to wanting to blow you instead?”

Gray looked away from Natsu, his hand moving to cover his mouth, but he soon broke into loud belly laughs. “Oh my God, you are so cute. But you’re right, I didn't explain.”

Natsu stood waiting, as patiently as he was able, while Gray picked up his supplies and set them on the desk. “Well?”

“Oh, right. I have a live model project due tomorrow and my mate cancelled on me at the last minute.”

“Mate?”

Of course Gray was already taken. The guy was gorgeous. It had been stupid of him to think otherwise.

“Uhm, what do you call it here?” Gray’s forehead creased in thought, “Buddy?”

Natsu desperately wanted to ask if he was taken, but he’d already humiliated himself plenty. “So what do you need me to do exactly?”

“Not sure yet.” Gray studied him, lifting Natsu’s chin and easing his face from left to right before removing his shirt and tossing it on the desk. He asked Natsu to turn around and observed him some more until finally seeming satisfied.

“Just stand over here,” he ushered him to a spot near the window where the lighting was better, and then posed him like a figurine. Gray fixed his posture, put his hands inside his pockets, and tilted his face at a slight angle. “I guess that’ll do,” he shrugged, taking a few steps back to assess the result. “Now all you need to do is hold that pose so I can draw you for my project. Think you can do that for me?”

Natsu massaged the back of his neck, unsure of what to do. While he’d like to stay and help Gray out, everything he’d said or done since he’d arrived had only made him seem like a complete idiot. Plus, he was notoriously bad at keeping still.

“I’d tell you I’d make it worth your while but, given the pants incident, I’m a little apprehensive about what you might ask for in return.” Gray prodded with a teasing smile.

Damn that accent, and his good looks. He didn’t want to give up and go home yet. Fuck it. How much worse could he possibly make it?

“How about you never bring that up again, and we’ll call it even.”

Gray laughed, “Deal, I’ll even throw in some pizza.”

Natsu tried not to focus on Gray's closeness, or the way his skin sizzled at the subtle touches as Gray moved him back into the pose he’d wanted to draw.

“Now, don’t move,” Gray warned, settling behind his desk. He grabbed a pencil and his sketchpad and got to work.

With not much else to do, Natsu watched Gray work, noticing little patterns here and there. Things he hadn’t been able to see from his window. Like the way Gray would draw his lower lip between his teeth right before doing a bunch of erasing, or the little half-smile he’d get when he was pleased with his progress. But Natsu’s favorite by far was the way his tongue peeked out the corner of his mouth when he seemed to be in deep focus.

Soon, even that wasn’t enough to hold his interest but anytime he tried to strike up a conversation, Gray ignored him. It didn’t help that he was fucking freezing, standing there half naked, or that his phone kept vibrating in his pocket. He began to fidget.

“You’re moving again,” Gray scolded.

“How can you expect me to stay still when it’s freezing in here? What are you, some kind of ice princess?”

“Funny.” he said, giving Natsu a dirty look. “I suppose I could turn the heat up a little. I wouldn’t want your nipples to freeze off before I could draw them.”

Gray got up and stretched, leaving Natsu alone in the room while he went to adjust the thermostat. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket, eager to see what all the notifications were about.

There were dozens of them.

How’s it going? 👀

Did he invite you in?

Way to go! 👍😎

You should have taken the condom I offered, 🍆💦🍑 🔥😏

Hey, you’re not answering, does that mean you’re busy?! 👀👀👀👀👀

What’s happening!!!!!

It went on and on… until he finally caught up.

Going to look for your binoculars….

Why are you standing there half naked? I see you reading…. Why aren’t you answering me?

He turned to look out the room’s window, mortified to see exactly what he’d been afraid to see: two shadows standing inside his bedroom. He had to close the blinds, but the sound of Gray’s footsteps echoed loudly in the mostly empty apartment, approaching too fast for him to make a move.

“You moved again, is there something outside?” Gray peered out the window.

“I thought I saw a light on in my room,” Natsu explained, pretending to give the matter little importance.

“Here, I made some cocoa to help warm you up. You might as well take a break.”

“Thanks,” Natsu accepted the mug gratefully, even as his phone continued to vibrate in his other hand.

“Shouldn’t you answer that?”

Natsu shook his head, “He’ll stop eventually,” he said, praying it was true. He wouldn’t put it past Sting to show up if he thought something was wrong.

“Needy ex?” Gray sat at his desk, leaning back in his chair with his own mug and studying his drawing. “Those are the worst.”

“Oh no, that’s not it,” He quickly changed the subject, realizing how embarrassing it would be to explain what was actually happening. “Can I see what you’ve done so far?”

“Sure, knock yourself out,” Gray had been about to pass him the sketchbook, when he seemed to reconsider. “On second thought, go wash the bacon grease off your hands first.”

“That’s not what it is! Do you really think I walk around with bacon grease on my hands?” Natsu protested.

“How would I know? I just met you. Anyhow, bathroom’s that way.”

Natsu put his mug down and looked at where Gray was pointing, noticing that the house had a very similar layout to his. His phone continued to vibrate, this time with an incoming call, but he waited until he’d reached the bathroom to answer.

“What?!” Natsu yelled as loudly as he dared.

“Don’t you what me, Dragneel! I was worried. You disappeared and then you weren’t answering,” Sting snapped, “We know nothing about this guy. He could be a serial killer.”

“I’m fine.”

“Yes, I know that now. Where’s your shirt?”

“I’m just posing for him for an assignment!” Natsu hissed, “His model bailed at the last minute.”

“Okay, I guess that sounds legit.”

“Thanks, Mom. Now can you please get out of my room before he sees you?” “He’s taking his shirt off!” Rogue’s voice rang through the phone. “Is that part of the assignment too?” “He’s primping in the mirror now!” Sting added excitedly, “Fixing his hair and… Oh shit.” “What?” “He, uhm... he just waved at us…”

“He what?! Gotta go, bye!” Natsu hung up, powering off the phone before they had a chance to call back.

Natsu turned on the faucet, letting the water warm up while he scrubbed his hands with hand soap. Examining his face in the mirror with a frown, he decided to go ahead and wash it before nervously returning to the studio.

Gray looked up at his approach, handing him the sketchbook without saying a word. Natsu saw that he had indeed taken his shirt off, but decided it best not to bring attention to it. He could feel him watching for his reaction to the drawing, which was much further along than he’d thought.

It was strange to see himself on paper, especially when the drawing made him look much better than he thought he did.

“Do you like it? I mean, it’s not done yet,” Gray crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.

“Like it?” Natsu puzzled, “It’s amazing! Even though you’re making me out to look much nicer than I really do.”

“What are you talking about?” Gray grabbed the sketchbook from Natsu, looking from him to the drawing. “That’s exactly what you look like to me.”

“I-,” Natsu couldn’t even begin to come up with a response to that, so he went ahead and addressed the elephant in the room. “I’m sorry about my friends.”

Gray waved away his apology, “They’re just being good friends. They probably expected you to have come home by now.”

“Yeah. They’re also a pain in the ass though.”

“You think they’re bad? Just wait til you meet my mate Erza.” Gray handed him the mug, “You should drink this before it gets cold.”

Natsu nodded, drinking the whole thing down in one gulp and setting the mug back on the desk.

“Alright, let’s get you back into your pose,” Gray stood up, following Natsu towards the window.

Fingers grazed Natsu’s cheek as Gray adjusted the tilt of his head, resting there as their eyes met. Natsu’s heart raced at the intensity of that gaze. He tried to tell himself that Gray was only studying him for the drawing, but it was hard to think when their bare chests stood so close together. Especially with the added torture of Gray’s fingers tracing their way up Natsu’s face.

“You got your hair wet. Let me fix it.”

Gray’s fingers tugged and pulled at Natsu’s hair, sending shivers of pleasure from his scalp all the way down his spine. “There you go, good as new.”

After making some final adjustments, Gray hurried back to his desk, picking up the pencil and getting back to work. He only looked up at Natsu a few times, the pencil diligently gliding across the paper as he kept adding to the drawing. At some point, he stopped to look at his work, the hint of a smile forming on his lips when he switched the pencil for what looked to be a white pen. He added some finishing touches here and there, and by the time he put the pen down, Natsu was equally relieved and disappointed.

Gray leaned back in his seat and stretched, presenting Natsu with a magnificent view of his chest and abs. It wasn’t like Natsu had never seen it before. The guy walked around his house shirtless more often than not, but he looked so much better up close than through a pair of old binoculars.

“It’s done. You can move now.”

“Oh. Right.”

Natsu took a moment to stretch as well, slowly rolling his shoulders and neck to ease some soreness out of his muscles. Once done, he made a beeline for his shirt, putting it back on and remembering to leave the two top buttons undone.

“So, what do you think?” Gray asked, handing him the sketchbook again so he could see the finished result.

Natsu was stunned. The drawing looked almost like a photograph. That white pen Gray had used towards the end had created some amazing highlights, like the glitter on Natsu’s skin and the light reflecting in his eyes, really making the artwork come to life.

The doorbell rang before he could give his answer.

“Oh good, it’s here. Hold that thought,” Gray led him to the kitchen where he grabbed his wallet from the counter before hurrying down the stairs to answer the door. Natsu continued to stare at the finished drawing with awe, having trouble accepting that this was how Gray saw him.

Soon, Gray returned, holding a large pizza box and a 2 liter of soda. “I did promise you pizza.”

Natsu watched with mixed feelings as Gray set the food on the counter, wanting to tell him he hadn’t needed to do that. That he’d had fun posing for him, but before he could do so his stomach growled in response to the smell of food wafting in the air.

“Is that... bacon?” he sniffed the air, then his hands again to make sure he wasn’t just imagining things.

“Yeah, I got you a bacon pizza considering how much you seem to love the stuff.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“Nope,” Gray snickered, opening the pizza box and helping himself to a slice.

Natsu grabbed a paper plate, loaded it up with slices, and looked around for somewhere to sit. Finding no other furniture, he sat on the floor with his back against the cabinets. A moment later Gray joined him, handing Natsu a paper cup and placing the two liter in front of them.

“Sorry about this,” Gray said, “I have to get around to buying furniture. I had to move rather unexpectedly, so all I‘ve got right now is my desk and a bed.”

“Well, you can always come over to our place. We’ve got a pretty nice setup.” Natsu bit into his pizza, moaning at the taste and shoving more into his mouth. “This is fantastic!”

Not seeing any napkins, he used the back of his hand to wipe some of the grease off his mouth.

“You’re easy to please, aren’t you?” Gray chuckled, stretching to open a cabinet and snatch a roll of paper towels, which he offered to Natsu. “Good to know.”

Natsu ripped one from the roll and shrugged. “I like things simple.”

“Can’t argue with that. Well, I for one am glad you showed up today. You really saved my bacon,” Gray snorted, dissolving into giggles.

Natsu groaned and pushed Gray with his shoulder.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist.” Gray pushed back, his laughter finally subsiding. “Anyhow, what did you think of your drawing?”

“It looks amazing! You’re so talented.“ Natsu said earnestly. “Can I see some of your other work?”

“Sure, I have some on my phone,” Gray took out his phone and started fiddling with it.

“So, uhm, how come you lost the shirt?”

Gray looked up with a frown, “You’re joking, right? It’s sweltering in here.”

“Sweltering?” Natsu repeated, dumbfounded. “Oh right, Rogue mentioned you were from Isvan.”

“Rogue,” Gray’s eyes sparkled with amusement, “That’s the bloke that stole my mail, right? I thought he was checking me out.”

“Nah, he’s my roommate's boyfriend. He was just trying to get me to come introduce myself.”

“So hang on, the glitter, the hair- that was for me?”

Natsu nodded, and not wanting to see Gray’s reaction to his admission he got up and snatched two more slices of pizza from the box.

“Okay, now I have to ask. What the hell was up with the bacon thing? That was nasty!”

“Right?!” Natsu sat back down and told Gray all about Sting’s makeover attempt, finding it pretty funny now that it was over with. He was delighted to hear Gray laughing along beside him, even as he fended off his attempts to steal one of his slices.

“Oh man, that’s great! You didn’t have to go through all that. Though I gotta say, the glitter definitely sold it.”

“I’ll make sure to let him know.”

“Uhm here,” Gray handed him his phone, “Just tap the screen to go to the next one.”

Natsu wiped his hand on the paper towel before touching the screen, soon becoming lost in Gray’s art. There were some other portraits of men, and Natsu didn't like those much. It made him think Gray might have also sat with them like this. There was a striking portrait of a redhead that caught his attention. She looked intense, certainly not someone you'd want to cross.

“That’s Erza, my mate I was telling you about.”

Natsu nodded, making a mental note not to piss her off before moving on to the next one. There were lots of different styles, including a few that looked like they would be at home in some of his comic books. He commented here and there, continuing to tap the screen, unsure of what it was he was looking for until he found it. The picture of the cat he’d seen Gray draw a few days earlier.

“You like that one, huh?” Gray peeked to see which one he was looking at. “That’s a recent one.”

Natsu smiled fondly, “Yeah, it reminds me of Happy, my childhood cat. We used to do everything together. He was my best buddy.”

He told Gray some stories about Happy, leading to them both sharing silly childhood memories as they finished the rest of the pizza and half of the soda. Much too soon, it was getting dark outside, and Natsu knew their time together was ending.

“Shall I walk you back home?” Gray asked, getting up and dusting off his pants. “You know, just to make sure the glitter fairy won’t worry about you.”

Natsu wanted to decline, he lived right across the street after all, and he didn’t need anyone to protect or watch over him. He’d be fine on his own.

But... that would be stupid.

“Sure!”

“Ok, let me just grab a shirt and turn down the thermostat.” While Gray disappeared into his bedroom, Natsu washed his hands in the sink, not wanting a repeat of earlier.

Gray followed Natsu down the stairs, locking the door behind them. It took them less than a minute to reach Natsu’s front door. He’d just curled his fingers around the doorknob when Gray cleared his throat behind him, causing him to turn and face him.

“So I was thinking, if you like that cat picture, I could, uh, send it to your phone.”

“Oh, sure!” Natsu remained oblivious to what Gray was asking for a few seconds, stuck on the thought of being able to look at the picture whenever he wanted. “Wait, you want my number?”

“Sure, I have a live nude project due next week,” Gray waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Wh-aat?”

“Relax, I was just teasing,” Gray’s laughter washed over Natsu, followed by words he hadn’t expected. “I would like to see you again, though.”

Natsu could only nod and stammer as Gray handed him his phone so he could add his number. He could barely even remember it, distracted as he was by the thought that Gray wanted to see him again, but he made sure he’d plugged the right one by giving himself a call before returning it.

“Well, uhm, good night,” Natsu waved, feeling awkward and not sure what else to do. Should he shake his hand, give him a hug?

He didn’t have long to worry as Gray peered into his eyes with the same intense gaze as he’d done at the studio. Closing the small distance between them with one step, Gray leaned in slowly, tilting his head and closing his eyes as he pressed his lips to Natsu’s for a soft kiss.

It only lasted for a second, but it was enough for Natsu to feel it all the way down to his toes. Gray moved back, licking his lips and opening his eyes.

“I thought about that a lot while I was drawing,” he admitted with a shy smile.

“Oh,” Natsu mumbled, amazed he’d gotten even that much out. His brain was a jumble of inner screaming, disbelief, and just pure joy at the idea that this amazing, gorgeous guy seemed to like him as much as Natsu liked him, and oh dear god that accent. He couldn’t get enough of it.

Gray chuckled, tracing his fingers over Natsu’s cheek one last time before waving goodbye.

Natsu watched Gray walk back to his house, wanting to see him until he went inside, but he found himself being dragged into his house and grabbed by the hands. Next thing he knew he was bouncing up and down with a screeching Sting and an only slightly less enthusiastic Rogue.

Thankfully Rogue kept Sting from carrying Natsu piggyback up the stairs in a victory lap.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he stopped celebrating long enough to check it.

As promised, Gray had sent the cat picture, along with a text.

Sweet dreams 🥓boy 😉

Rolling his eyes at the bacon reference, Natsu typed a reply, thrilled to know his famine was finally at an end.

A/N: We really hope you enjoyed this story at least half as much as we enjoyed writing it. This might be our favorite Natsu, Sting and Rogue combo we’ve ever written. It’s entirely possible we might visit them again someday.

#fairy tail #gratsu #gratsuweekend2021 #stingue #other #update #prompt: disaster #fics

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twoidiotwriters1 · 3 years

Text

Pure Blood 2 (Sirius Black x Fem!Oc)

Book II

Words: 2, 349

A/N: Now, meet Perseus John Black-Singh. I couldn’t resist casting Logan Lerman, he’s so beautiful. -Val

Masterlist:

Chapter 1: / Chapter 3

1980

“Hey, Sirius.”

“Hi, Jenna,” He greets with a frown. "Uh, Persephone isn't-"

She raises a hand, stopping him.

"Can I come in?"

Sirius nods, stepping aside. They both sit in the living room of the apartment.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here?"

She sighs.

“I waited for Persephone to not be here. This is not easy, but I didn't want you to hear it from someone else.”

"What happened?"

"It's Regulus,” She looks him straight in the eye. "What was the last you heard from him?"

Hearing the name of his younger brother Sirius feels a strong pressure on his chest. He understands why Jenna doesn't want Persephone here. Whatever the news are, he knows it won't be good for her and the baby.

"He joined the Death Eaters, as was his plan," He answers uneasily. She nods. "Just tell me, Jenna."

“Well, he achieved his and your parents' goal. He became a great member of the Dark Lord's followers. Some say that it’s close to him, but,” She fidgets on the couch. "I'm so sorry, Sirius. He died.”

A huge lump forms in Sirius's throat. The news these days are rarely good but he wasn’t expecting this.

“Shit," He says with difficulty. His breath hitches and feels his head spin. He closes his eyes for a few seconds, trying to control himself. “How— how did you find out?"

Although she and Sirius have never been close, no one deserves to go through all of this.

“He’d been missing since last year. The Death Eaters knew he was dead, but did nothing about it. Moody got that information.”

"Missing? Don't you know where the body is?"

"Sirius, please don't get hopeful. No, they haven't found the body, but it's been over a year now. You know that now that doesn’t guarantee anything.”

"How do you not want me to if—”

"What would you do? Go get him? Nobody has an idea where he might be and if he hasn't shown any signs this year, what makes you think he’ll come back? " She knows that she’s being very hard on him, but for that very reason is why she offered to break the news. If any of her friends did it, they would end up with some crazy plan, or if it was some authority, Jenna knew that the first thing Sirius would do would be to disobey. "You have other things to worry about, Black."

"It's my brother, Jenna,” He answers through clenched teeth.

“Yes and I’m very sorry, but there’s nothing you can do. Persephone needs you now more than ever. Your baby’s coming soon and I don't think she’ll allow you to go out on a risky mission right now."

"I can't stand idly by.”

"You must do it. For the sake of your family. Think of your son.”

The place remains in a tense silence. Jenna hopes Sirius doesn't do something stupid, while he struggles on what he should do.

"You're right,” He whispers.

Jenna takes his hand and squeezes it.

Feeling helpless, Sirius's eyes fill with tears. He holds Jenna's hand like his life depends on it. She lets him cry, she doesn't know what to say or do. After a few minutes, he wipes his face and breathes calmly.

"Will you tell Persephone?"

He shakes his head.

“I don't want this to affect her now. I'll talk to Remus, maybe after we have the baby, I don't know. I don't know what to do— I, uh…”

“Don't worry, it's okay. No one from the order will interfere in these matters. I took care of this.”

"Thanks, Jenna,” He smiles sadly at her.

All of this reminds him of the time he was told the news of his uncle Alphard. Him without being able to do anything, not even make a dignified funeral. With another person notifying him of the tragedy. Both in the wrong places, he can't help but feel chills at the thought that the most important people in his life were alone at that moment. And no one could say goodbye.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure"

“I want Reg to have a headstone in the same cemetery as my Uncle Alphard. I don't want him to stay with my parents."

"I can do that.”

"Thanks. I know it's a lot to ask, but now I have to ask permission for everything…”

"I understand, Sirius. You don’t have to worry. That's what your girlfriend's best friend is for.”

That makes them laugh a bit, until the apartment door opens.

"Sirius, you won't believe what we bought!" Persephone walks in, Remus at her back. They both have several shopping bags on both arms.

Sirius wipes his face completely, gets up from the couch and walks over to his girlfriend with the best smile he can do.

"Tell me everything, love,” He kisses her lips and brings a hand to her belly.

***

1991

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" He frowns.

I was scared.

"I wanted you to know what it is to have a normal life.”

His gray eyes look directly at me. Damn, he's just like his father.

“But it was never normal, I have never been normal. Everyone at school says so.”

"They don’t know what they say. They tease you because you're different, but it doesn't mean that's bad, my star. Besides, you're always going to face those taunts, both Muggles and wizards,” I grimace. "They'll always find something different in you to use against you, but—”

"I must not let them affect me, I know,” He rolls his eyes.

Smartass.

“Exactly,” I laugh.

"So, I have magic?" He says.

“Yeah, but it's not like in the movies, darling. It's not that you can manipulate everything with your hands. You need a wand, books, the teachers will teach you to control it…”

“A school for wizards. Cool.”

"Aren't you upset anymore?"

"I don't know,” He shrugs. He thinks for a few minutes and then smirks. "Does this mean that I’ll never see my classmates again? Nor Harry?”

Oh, no.

“You’ll no longer go back to that school, but you’ll still see Harry. He’s a wizard too.”

"What!?" He screeches. "Why? It's not fair, why does he always have to be everywhere? Who else is?” He crosses his arms.

"Uh, Harry, your uncle James, Remus, Andromeda, Dora, Jenna, Apollo, Jane, your cousins,” I look at him as his brow continues to frown. “Me."

"No, that's not true. I've never seen you do magic.”

“I had to hide it from you. Wait. I told you all those names and you just distrust me?"

"Sometimes you tell lies, mum.”

"It's not true,” I say offended.

"I know you forgot Uncle Moony's birthday, and you went to buy his gift when you said you were going for more soap," He says raising an eyebrow.

"That was different.”

"Who ate the last slice of the Phoenix cake?"

“Apollo."

"You had chocolate on your cheek.”

"Okay! Those were little lies, but I also have magic.”

“Show me.”

Now I raise an eyebrow.

"Why don't you look in the mirror, kid?"

His eyes widen and he runs to the bathroom.

"My hair is blue!" I laugh. “We're wizards!" He squeals excitedly, but his smile doesn't last long "Dad is too?"

"Yes, he is " I smile tensely at him.

“He studied at holwarts too?"

“Hogwarts," I correct him. "Yes, we were both there.”

"Wait, do you think he's in the wizarding world? I can look it up!”

The knot in my stomach tightens.

“Percy, we've already talked about this. He doesn't want to be found.”

“But—”

“Please."

He sighs.

“Okay," He says, looking down.

It hurts to see him like this. Telling him that his father is far away was not a good idea, but at that moment, I didn’t know what to say to him, despite having a plan. I couldn't just tell him that his father had died. I just can’t.

“Hey," I clear my throat and take his hands. "You should know more about the magical world.”

"What?"

"Well, in the school there are four houses and depending on your aptitudes, they’ll choose you in one of them, it’s like being in a team with the whole school,” He watches me attentively. "They are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor.”

"Which one were you on?"

“Slytherin, and your father in Gryffindor.”

"What do I have to do to get elected to one of them?"

“You'll know when you arrive.”

“Mum,” He complains.

“No, I won't screw it up. I— uh, there is something else,” I try to sort my ideas. "All houses have their history and Slytherin is not the best of all, but don’t get carried away by that. It doesn't matter where you stay,” I smile at him. “What matters is who you are, okay? I want you to continue being the same clever boy as always.”

"I can do it.”

I nod.

"Do you remember the story your Uncle Apollo told you about our family?"

“Yes."

“Well, it's all true, only with magic. The Singh have been very important wizards and witches in the wizarding world, almost all of them were in Slytherin… Listen, maybe someone they will recognize your last name and they know very… uh, scary stories about them. I just want to warn you of what could happen.”

"Don't worry, Mum. I'll be fine.”

"Okay, but if you need help, you know your cousins are there too,” He nods. "Okay, I think that tomorrow we can buy your books and everything you need,” I tell him, handing him his letter.

“Great," He’s about to leave, but he returns scared. "Can you return my hair to normal? I like blue, but not in my hair.”

I roll my eyes. I’ll never understand why Sirius and Perseus care so much about their hair.

“Done."

He sees his reflection in a pot and sighs in relief.

***

"And now everything’s ruined by Perseus,” says Harry when we reach his side at the station.

“I’m not excited to see your horrible face, four-eyes.”

"A beautiful day to take the train, isn't it?" James says to then hug me. I laugh corresponding.

"Do you have everything you need, love?" I ask Harry. "Your father can be very messy.” I raise an eyebrow at the man.

After witnessing the two Potters wanting to buy everything, distracted by pretty things in Diagon Alley, I had to help them.

"Everything on the list, Aunt P.”

"And a little more,” adds James sharing a giggle with his son. I roll my eyes. "Harry, why don't you introduce Ron and Perseus?"

"No, I saw him first. Perseus can get his own friends.”

"Harry," James says in a more severe tone.

“Fine."

"I don’t need his friends, surely he’ll be just as stupid as him.”

“Percy!"

"Fine!" He growls.

They both walk towards a red-haired boy along with a lady and a little girl.

"You know they don't have to share everything, right?" I tell James as the two of us watch our sons interact.

“Yes, but I've already given up on their friendship. So, I decided to have fun watching them fight,” He answers making me laugh.

"So, Ron?"

"The Weasleys. I think I heard that last name at school, but we never met them, their parents Molly and Arthur, they have seven children, counting Ron."

"What?"

"I know,” He laughs. "They seem like good people, and the boy was nice.”

“Okay…"

The whistle is heard throughout the station, all students must board the train.

"Ready?" I tell James and he nods.

When the two boys return, I ask Harry to come over and James does the same with Percy.

I crouch down to his level.

"Okay. I just want to tell you that I’m very excited that you are finally learning the truth about magic and that you’re starting your classes at Hogwarts,” He smiles at me. "We both know that things won't be easy with your whole story," He nods. “But, I want you to know that if at some point something happens, you can write to me. Hedwig will know where to go. If you have a problem, or just want to talk to me, don’t hesitate to do so, I’ll always answer you.”

"Thank you.”

"Come here,” I hug the boy tightly. "Oh, and something else,” I say as we part. “I know you don't like the idea, but I would like you to take care of Perseus too,” He’s about to complain, but I interrupt him. “I'm not saying that you’re his babysitter, I just want to know that if something happens, you’ll be there for him when I can’t,” He sighs. “Please? I won't be able to sleep if you don't promise, love,” I pout.

"I promise," He says through clenched teeth.

I laugh and kiss his cheek. I get up and we meet the others, now it is my son's turn. I hug him tighter.

"You won't give me another lecture, will you?" He says when we part.

"You've already gotten a lot,” He nods, I kiss his hair. “But there’s something I forgot to tell you. An advice.”

"What?"

"Have fun.”

One last goodbye and they both get on the train.

"Ha! I told you we would make it,” I turn to my right and laugh as I see Jenna and Marlene say goodbye to Josephine, who then runs and gets on the train.

"Who fell asleep?" I ask them.

"It was the silly muggle traffic, my wife didn't want to use any other faster means," says Jenna.

"I don’t regret it.”

The train begins to move, in the distance I see the small head of Perseus, as soon as he sees me he smiles and says goodbye. I wave at him back.

Little by little he goes away. Only until this moment does nostalgia come to me.

"Aw, you’re both crying," says Marlene.

I turn to James, who’s doing his best to hide his tears from us.

Taglist

@dielgonacoffee @avipshamitra @auroraawrites @findzelda @lizlil @siriusmuch @chloe-geoghean1 @reverse-hxlland @may-rapp @the-specific-oceans @eveft @secret-obsessions @theeicedamericano @xkonpinkx @littledeadgirlwalking @bloodorangemoonlight @siriuslysirius1107 @madmaiden2890 @ren-ela @inkandpen22 @just-here-to-escape-from-reality

@treestarrrrrrrr @thagreenmoon

#Pure Blood #Sirius Black #Sirius Black x reader #Persephone Singh #Perseus Black-Singh #Remus Lupin #Lily Potter #Regulus Black #Harry Potter #harry potter fanfiction #twoidiots writing #Perseus Black

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mindofharry · 4 years

Text

Motion sickness G.D

chapter 6.

in which julie realises she’s only with gray because of their kids.

chapter 1-5 can be found here!

fluff, angst, swearing and cheating. feedback is welcome as always!!

TW: some of the stuff mentioned in this series might trigger some people. please don’t read if you get triggered easily!

julie lay in bed that night, awake and alone. thinking of how wrong ethans lips felt on hers. But how good it felt, being wanted. no, it’s feel so fucking amazing to be kissed like that again. she used to kill for grayson to even look her way, to just breathe in her direction. and now it’s finally happening - with ethan, and julie couldn’t help the guilt crawling in her stomach. She knew what she was doing, they both did. So julie wondered why neither of them stopped. Ethans shirt was nearly off, until she remembered both of her boys were upstairs. fuck, she nearly had sex with their uncle, he “husbands” brother. She was such a bad person, julie thought. But was it so wrong, to want to feel like that again? to want to feel loved again?

she was overthinking again - her therapist said she needed to stop doing that. to just go with the flow more. she used to be like that, until she got married and had kids. julie needed routine, she always needed something to do to take her mind off the fact that her life was going to complete shit.

julie didn’t sleep at all the night, thinking about grayson, the divorce, ethan, the boys, the woman grayson decided to cheat with. was that woman ok? was she hurting too? or was she happy, happy that she finally had grayson to herself. happy that grayson no longer had to worry about kids and a wife. Julie wanted - no, needed some answers.

she picked up her phone, taking a the charger out and letting it drop to the floor. julie squinted at the light coming from her phone, the clock read 7:30. “fuck” she mumbled to herself, bringing down the brightness. julie opened graysons contact - which she just recently unblocked. yes, she’s petty, but she had a pretty good reason to be. ‘we need to talk some more. come by for lunch. julie x’

grayson smiled when he got the text. he used to love when she would put the little kiss after every text, sometimes she’d even leave him little notes in his coats or jean pocket. it was the highlight of his day. Grayson was currently staying in his old apartment, about 20 minutes away from julie and the boys. Julie and grayson used to come down here for anniversary’s or birthdays, or just some alone time. they hadn’t done it in awhile, he missed times like that. but grayson knew he only had himself to blame, but he was willing to try again. Even if julie wouldn’t take him back, he’d be a better dad.

he bit his lip, leaning on his elbow as he texted the message. ‘i’ll be there at 1:00 pm, cant wait, G :)’. Julie had seen the message and smiled to herself, things were going to get better, she’d focus on getting the divorce, taking care of herself and giving her boys the best childhood the could possibly ask for. She just needed answers, so she could fully move on. So she could finally be at peace.

And with that julie fell back asleep, with ease. she dreamt of a peaceful life, with no cheating, no kissing your “husbands” brother, no other woman. just pure bliss - but of course that didn’t last for long. sebastian came thundering in with alexander. “sebbie, lift me up” alexander whined, and sebastian laughed “no, you baby” he said cuddling into julie. julie heard everything, but god, she just wanted to ignore it and sleep even five minutes longer. “mama” alexander sobbed stomping his foot.

julie sighed sitting up in the bed, putting on a huge smile for her youngest boy. “no crying, honey. come cuddle with mommy” she cooed bringing him up to lay on her chest, he easily calmed down laying his head down in the crook of her neck, sucking on his thumb. sebastian climbed under the covers, playing with julie’s hands.

“you ready for school next week?” julie asked kissing sebastians forehead. he just shrugged “i guess.” he whispered snuggling into his mama more. “what’s wrong, bub” julie asked concerned, he was so excited last week, he couldn’t even keep still. “i’ll just miss you, mommy” sebastian said softly, making julie smile. “i’ll miss you too” she whispered kissing his temple.

soon enough it was time to get up and get ready, they had all stayed in bed as long as they possibly could. Well, julie needed to get the house cleaned before grayson got here, she didn’t want him picking anything out today - she really wasn’t in the mood. and alexander seemed to be a little sick, probably just a cold, but julie still felt bad for him nonetheless. he was exceptionally clinging, julie loved it when he was like this. but alexander was getting older and he talked a lot, even if he didn’t fully understand the words he was speaking. she couldn’t let him hear her and gray. but how was she going to put him to sleep, when all he did was scream when she put him down?

“hello?” grayson called out, the house was messy and the only thing he could hear was the tv coming from the sitting room. julie cursed to herself when she heard gray - turns out alexander has a fever and sebastian is in a mood. and julie is just so damn tired.

“i’m in here”

grayson walked down the hall, passing all the family photos. ones from christmas and halloween, his favourite time of year. the family went dressed as the addams family, luckily sebastian wanted to wednesday and he did a damn good job at it.

he walked into the sitting room and frowned at alexander. god, he looked sick. “he’s not well. the flu i think, some of his friends down the street from has it too. he’s passed out now, so hopefully he’ll sleep for awhile” julie sighed closing her eyes. “i’m sorry, i really wanted to talk, gray” she whispered rubbing her temples, her cold hands felts nice her throbbing head. “hey, it’s ok. i get it. let me take alexander, you go and relax for a bit.” grayson said smiling, julie bit her lip and started to overthink.

“don’t overthink it. i’m his dad, let me do my job”

those words replayed in julies mind, while having her bath. was he really going to try? she hoped so, for the sake of the boys. she just needed him to grow a pair, and be the father the boys need.

once she was relaxed enough and her headache had disappeared, she arrived downstairs to alexander speaking to his dad and sebastian pouting in the corner. “look who it is, baby” grayson cooed pointing at julie. “mama” both boys screached - alexander croaked more like.

she sat down pulling alexander on to her lap and letting sebastian cuddle into her side. “why are you pouting little man” you asked and sebastian shrugged. grayson grinned, standing up, and bringing sebastian up with him, making all of you laugh. “because you wanted to cuddle with papa, huh?” grayson asked placing sebastian on his shoulders spinning him around. you giggled, making alexander copy you, he sounded like a little mouse.

the look the boys had in their eyes, was something you never wanted to leave. grayson looked like your grayson, the grayson that laughed loudly, the grayson that let you climb all over him, the grayson that carried you everywhere. he looked like your husband again.

after some pizza and a little dance party between you and sebastian, the boys feel asleep for their lunch time nap, leaving you and grayson to your dreaded talk.

“i’m glad we’re talking again” grayson voiced taking a sip from his water, from dinner. julie nodded agreeing “i think we have to get along for this to work” she said smiling. “i just want to talk about a few things, that have been on my mind. before we properly separate” julie said and grayson sighed closing his eyes, before nodding “ask away”.

“why did you cheat on me?”

graysons eyes snapped up to julies , his mouth opening, but once again he couldn’t find the words. “i....i” he started looking down at his hands. “grayson. look at me. and tell me why you ruined our marriage” julie asked sternly, making him look up at her, again.

“i was depressed. needed something to make me feel young, and good about myself” he started, before julie interrupted “and i... we weren’t enough?”

“you want honest?”he asked and julies eyes filled with tears nodding “no, you weren’t. but julie, i wasn’t mentally there, i was off my rocker. i had no idea what was happening to me, and why i didn’t feel the same anymore. i was scared and i couldn’t find anyway to tell you. i knew you were tired too. and she was there, and she... didn’t know i was married. and it just happened” grayson said his voice cracking at the end. “do you want to know how long i knew?” she asked drying her tears. “1 year. 365 days” julie sobbed, making grayson tear up. god, he hated himself so much, for hurting her this bad. “i made up excuses for you for 1 year. i parented two kids by myself for about 6 months, while you were out living your best life” julie cried, slamming a hand to the table “god, i hated you so much. i hated that i still loved you and i hated how good you looked in that damn suit” she laughed quietly.

“i’m sorry, julie”

“i can’t forgive you, but i’m moving on. i’ll never forget what you did, and the boys will find out sooner or later. but i’m willing to play nice for their sake, ok?” julie said, moving her curls out of her wet, flushed face. grayson nodded, bringing a hand to his eye, rubbing away the tears.

“we should be able to get divorced sometime next year, which is a pain in the ass.” julie sniffled, itching her scalp.

“i want to be better, julie. i’m not seeing the girl anymore. she broke things off. i want to better for you and the boys. and me. i promise” he said grabbing her free hand. julie nodded placing a hand on his.

“please don’t break this promise. it’ll break me if you do”

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