#but in my defense that was not clear until like chapter 20 out of 25 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

spookykoolkat · 9 months

Text

eddie m. - you're just so sweet | 2

MDNI! 18+ ONLY! read at your own discretion!

chapter 2: i'm yours, you're mine.

part one here | main masterlist

pairing: older!eddie munson x plussized!reader

na: thank u for all the love on my eddie fics omg 🥹 especially on this series!! i've gotten a lot of love i appreciate it all and appreciate the feedback too omg pls let me know any suggestions or any comments! more parts to come!!

summary: it's been a few days since your last encounter with eddie and since you started avoiding him, so after your parents leave on a getaway trip, you decide to go out for drinks by yourself

warnings: age gap! (reader is 25, eddie is 43), body shaming, insecurities, self defense, alcohol use, face riding (f oral receiving), fingering, spanking, choking (lightly), p in v (unprotected) *this is fiction. wrap it up!*, breeding, and probably more but also a little bit of angst and fluff. *also was not proofread. and trying a new writing aesthetic style or something LOL*

after that night, two days went by and you refused to see him. how could you refuse to see him when he lived right next door to you? it was possible, you found. your parents ended up springing their real plan on you the morning after you had eddie's fingers buried in you. your father planned a getaway trip for him and your mother, and actually wanted you to watch the house until next monday. which means you have the entire house to yourself for a week, and nothing to do.

you were nervous to face eddie if you were honest. the reality settling in and realizing that maybe you did overstep. he was old enough to be your father for christ's sake, and yet for some reason you could not get him out of your head. you were obsessed with the way he looked at you, how he handled you as if he's known what you liked even without asking. in his presence, you felt like a dumb girl again. like you were 18 all over again, pining after your neighbor that you referred to as Mr. Munson until you were 20.

eddie on the other hand made it a habit to glance over at your house through his window every once and a while, wondering if he'd see you leave the house or meet with someone. he knew about your parent's trip and knew you were home alone, so he wanted to make sure you were okay. he knew that if you wanted to talk to him, you'd easily go over to his place and talk. but he knew you were avoiding him, for what reason? he couldn't figure it out.

it wasn't even because it was awkward after, seeing this man after you came on his hand. it was because you felt a bit self conscious if anything. you felt maybe he would think different when he was sober, and clear minded. maybe men really will fuck anything. you felt scared to face him again, in daylight this time, and not think about if he thought you were too big or too ugly. you felt like maybe he just wanted a quick fuck, something to get by. you wondered if he'd even try to talk to you, even though you were trying to avoid him. a part of you wanted him to show up anyways, ask you if you were okay and if you regretted it. he wanted to too. he wanted to see you and talk to you, to hear your voice again.

it was wrong, he knew. to be pining after his friend's daughter, to want her so unapologetically, to crave her. he didn't know what he was getting himself into when he pursued you. he didn't really think about it, though eddie doesn't think about much when deciding. he sure as hell couldn't have thought about it when you were right there, practically begging for him.

it was late already, around seven or eight in the evening when you decided you wanted to go for a drink. you figured the house would be okay for an hour or two until you get back, so you quickly got ready, putting on your usual black smokey eye makeup and your dark lipstick and putting on a tight fitting black dress that you seemed was casual enough. you put on black platform heels to match and grabbed your purse to leave the house. before leaving you check your hair in the mirror and run your fingers through it, fluffing it and fixing it to your liking.

finally, you're out of the house and you lock the door behind you before turning towards your car. you subconsciously catch a glimpse of eddie's house, seeing him standing on his porch with just a muscle shirt and his black jeans, smoking what you think is a joint. you don't give him a smile or a wave, you just watch him as he watches you get into your car and put your key in the ignition to drive off.

he was kind of upset actually. eddie, almost wanting to throw a tantrum because you hadn't spoken to him since that night and because you were dressed so sexy that he couldn't think straight. where could you possibly be going right now? it was almost night time, and you were stepping out on the town without him? he couldn't rack his brain for long thought because you took off and he has to be down at the bar in less than 20 minutes.

・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・

you went to the local club/bar, it was more of a bar to you but you saw flashing lights and people dancing so you kind of just went with it. you made your way inside and straight to the bar, speaking over the music to ask the bartender for a drink.

"hi! yeah can i get uh, i'll take two tequila shots and whatever sweet alcohol drink you have," you smiled at the man as he complies, smiling back at you. he was far from ugly, around your age, and he was admiring you under the lights. he was no eddie, he had no tattoos, no piercings, and not a trace of weed coming from him.

"here you go, beautiful. on the house," he said and you blushed a little, taking a look at his name tag, jordan, it read.

"you flirting with me jordan?" you teased, scooting the drinks closer to you.

"something like that, do you want me to flirt with you?" he asked leaning into your space over the bar, and you smiled, not feeling what you thought you were supposed to be feeling.

"depends how you flirt with me," you said and took a sip from the fruity looking drink in front of you.

"hey can i get a drink?" a guy called out from the other side of the bar and he excuses himself, going to do his job.

it wasn't long before you downed your two shots of tequila AND your fruity drink. you ended up drinking another fruity cocktail before deciding to go to where the crowd was dancing and dance to yourself, with yourself. it had been thirty minutes of you dancing with random girls and guys, letting your body move the way you want and feel the music under the colorful LED lights. the buzz of the alcohol made it hard to focus on the music changing after about five minutes, but then you heard the static of a microphone and spinned your head to see where it was coming from.

"hope no one minds live music, m' name's eddie and we are corroded coffin, almost 20 years strong," the familiar voice that warmed the inside of your tummy. he was here. for some reason, you wanted him to notice you. you wanted him to know you were here as well, that maybe this was a sign for you to finally face him after two days. you worried you wouldn't have enough time with him since your parents come back in five more days.

two days of yearning. he missed you since that night, he couldn't stop thinking about you or your moans, the way your body looked against his, how tight you felt around his fingers. he was dreaming of you at this point, wondering why you hadn't said anything but took a while to realize that this is on him. he is older, and in this dynamic he holds all the cards. he didn't like that at all. he didn't want you to wait on him for an answer or a call, he didnt want you to wonder if you did something wrong that he didn't like. he should've reached out to you the morning after, instead he came to the house and grabbed a cup of coffee before your parents left, completely ignoring your presence in the house even though you were quietly upstairs, listening in on their conversation.

you were nervous for him to see you because from your stance, you can see him very well. he wasn't wearing the same thing he was wearing when you left your house, now he wore a graphic black t-shirt that had the faded words 'metallica' on it and black straight leg pants that he seemed to love. he was so sexy like this, his fingers strumming his precious guitar as his voice boomed through the speakers, how deep into performing he got. you could tell he seemed eager, like he was feeling his music through his body and it controlled him.

you actually liked his music, and it did made you want to dance and head bang, but as everyone danced and eventually formed a small pit away from you, all you could do was stay still and watch him in awe. you stood there for about five minutes, listening to his songs and the sensual lyrics that poured from his lips. you noticed how his eyes never really left the center of the room, but with his lips pressed against the mic his eyes fell on you, and he almost had to do a double take. you were one hell of a distraction, and as you stood there in a tight little black dress with your black heels that added at least five inches to your height, your breasts pushed together and your curved and rolls being hugged—he was going feral onstage.

he felt embarrassed for a mild second. he felt ridiculous losing his mind over someone so young, someone he's never thought of in the way he does now. he wasn't a teen anymore, did he even have the right to lose his mind the way he did?

you couldn't shake the feeling of his eyes on you while he sung and screamed into his mic. you felt like he was undressing you as you stood, or maybe picking you apart, realizing maybe you weren't as pretty or attractive as he thought he did. you couldn't take it anymore, and you go to find a seat at the bar, meeting jordan once again.

"another fruit cocktail, sweetheart?" he asked and you wanted to cringe. it didn't sound right falling from his lips, his eyes meeting yours will never feel the same as your eyes meeting eddie's.

"yes please, can i also get another two shots?" and he nodded, getting your drinks as you crossed your arms on the bar. he brought you back three glasses, one large for your cocktail and the others being shot glasses.

"you here all by yourself?" he asked and you nodded, taking your shots without chasers this time.

"well, i'm off in fifteen minutes, you need a ride baby?" he asked and before you could answer, you felt a body stand next to you and put his band at your lower back. you didn't even notice the music changed back to the regular DJ, and now eddie stands next to you in all black, heat coming from his body.

"she's good, she's got a ride." eddie said without looking at you, only holding you from your back.

"and who are you, her father?" you almost giggled at jordan's remark but refrained, you didn't want to make eddie mad. any more mad than he already was.

"why don't you fuck off huh? you wouldn't even be man enough to handle all of her, you're the last fuckin' thing she needs," he spit and jordan threw his towel down and scoffed.

"yeah, like anyone'd be man enough to handle someone as big as her." before your fuzzy, tipsy mind can comprehend what you're doing, you grab the remnants of your drink and reach over the bar to splash him in his face, all of the ice hitting his nose and eyes.

"fuck you," you said, throwing the glass over the counter and listening to it break as you turn to move past eddie. but, eddie notices that jordan was a bit unhappy. he stormed around the bar to try to reach for you, and you turned around to see him charging at you. before eddie could even try to move in front of you to protect you, your hand reaches inside your bra and pulls out your usual all black pocket knife and flick it open with your wrist.

"woah, wait," eddie tried and attempted to grab you, but for some reason you were a bit slippery for him. you moved past him and charged at the man who was cussing at you, until he saw the blade in view and the demeanor of his face changed from angry to frightful.

"what? you're quiet now huh? where were the fuckin' balls you had two minutes ago? you're a fucking pussy," you said, holding the knife pointing away from you in a fist, your hands raising up in a defensive way. you didn't back down from anyone or anything, and you would rather die than let a man think he's able to do things to you with no consequences.

"let's go," eddie grunted as he wrapped his arms around your waist and hoisted you up after seeing everyone begin to record and grab their phones to call the police.

"no fuck that, fuck you! you fucking asshole," you yelled in eddie's arms at the man who thought he could disrespect you and get away with it. you formed saliva in your mouth and spit at him before eddie could drag you far enough and it landed on his face, bringing a smile to yours and forcing a laugh to bubble from your throat.

he needed to get you out of there before you get arrested, so he took your keys from you before grabbing your knife and folding it back up again, then putting you in the passenger seat and buckling you in.

he kind of smiled getting into your car, the little knick knacks and the cheetah print steering wheel covered made him snicker even more. this whole situation was so insane to him, that he truly thought he'd be coming to your rescue from a fucking asshole guy. he also questioned your father, remembering back to when he came to eddie's home asking him to watch you, make sure you stay out of trouble. it made him wonder how much trouble you truly get in usually and if it was more than just sleeping with your dad's friend. but tonight, he understood.

"what is so fucking funny," you hiccuped as he quickly started the engine and drove out of the parking lot and towards your cul-de-sac.

"you, sweetheart. you're is what's so fucking funny," he chuckled, deciding to turn up the radio to see what was in the disc slot.

"what do you know about Alice in Chains?" he asked curiously, listening to man in the box on the radio.

"why'd you have to pull me away," you groaned and shifted in your seat with your eyes closed. you weren't drunk, but you weren't sober, and you were tired.

"because if we stayed, you'd be in jail for that little stunt you pulled with the knife," he said as he stopped at the red light. he looked over to you and saw you sitting with your legs crossed, leaning onto the door of the car. he saw the way your dress rose up on your thighs as your body was positioned in a way to hike your dress up.

"he fucking deserved it, so arrest me! it was funny too. fuckin' asshole." you said, more towards the bartender but also to him.

"fucking pussy, ugh fuck i can't stand a lot of men. think they can just treat women like shit and get away with it," you kept on. your mouth didn't stop as your anger kept flowing, until eddie cut you off.

"yeah he did, and i would've fucked him up myself for saying that to you. what if he hurt you?" he said and you laughed to yourself.

"well you didn't, and he didn't hurt me." you said but then you felt angry towards eddie, "you don't know me, you don't even care except for the fact that my dad told you to look after me. you just want a quick lay from a younger girl because you can," you were sobering up a little as he continued the path to your house. you knew what you were saying wasn't true, at least you tried to believe it wasn't true.

"you don't know what i need. i don't need you." you finished.

"is that what you think? really?" he asked, but no anger on his words. he was genuine, sincerely asking if that's what you truly believed. that he only wanted you because you were young and 'easy'. but nothing about you was easy. you were faaaar from easy.

"why didn't you talk to me that morning?" you whispered as you opened your eyes back up to watch the city move past you.

"what do you mean?" he asked, but he knew. he just didn't want to admit it to himself.

"you know what the fuck i mean. i mean, that morning after you fingered me in my back yard, you just-," you breathed and started to try to cover yourself with your arms. "-you just looked at me. you didn't say hi, or good morning. you didn't even look at me like i was just someone you knew. you just looked at me with nothing. so i avoided you. i went back to my room and sat there. listened to you and my dad, and heard nothing from you. not even a slight tone in your voice voice that you have the same weight of what we did hanging over your head. like nothing happened."

he let you speak, and he listened. his knuckles turned white on the steering wheel and felt his anger creep up his neck as he could practically hear your heart breaking into two. he was fucking angry with himself.

"i, baby, just listen-" he tried but you shook your head enough for him to see.

"no, eddie. we don't have to talk about it. just take me home please," you begged and continued to stare out of the window, waiting to finally see your house creep into view.

the rest of the ride was silent except for the music playing in the background. eddie was unbelievably upset with himself, trying to rack his brain about how he could let himself be this dumb. he knew you were young, he knew how this could look, he knew this was going to effect you more than you think. but he didn't know it effected him just as bad. he craved someone that should be forbidden, he dreamed of someone who could do so much better than an old man.

soon, eddie pulled into your driveway and got out of the car immediately, slamming the car door making you jump. you lazily unbuckled your seatbelt and reached for the door before it was pulled from you, eddie going to grab you and carry you to the door bridal style. he managed to unlock the door and take you inside quickly, shutting the door behind him and going upstairs to your room. you snuggled into him regardless of what was said in the car, wanting some sort of warmth. for some reason you felt cold everywhere, and you needed someone to help you warm up like he could. and he smelled so good. he smelled like smoke, weed, and cologne like always. a little bit of sweat, but it was granted given his onstage performance.

he settled you into your bed and you refused, sitting up way too fast before you dragged your hand through your hair.

"you think i didn't want to talk to you? i didn't know how else to act. i'm an old man sweetheart, an old man with a bad temper and a grumpy look to em'. you, are the only thing that has made me ache." he said, moving from your bed down to his knees, resting his elbows on the bed in front of you.

"i should've talked to you. i should've made it normal but i made it awkward." he said and reached for your hands but you're reluctant.

"you could have anyone eddie," you began, looking at your fingers. "why would you want me? i'm insane. i'm actually crazy and i can't be looked after. i'm fat and i know that nobody really likes fat girls. i like how i look, i love fat girls myself. but i have everyone in my ear telling me i'm not pretty, yet here you are, telling me everything i wanna hear." you said and looked at him, his eyes never leaving yours.

"you tell me i'm pretty, that i'm sexy. that you, eddie munson, the guy everyone had a crush on, wants me?" you said and saw his hands reach for yours again.

"how many times do i have to tell you that you are nothing but fucking gorgeous? you are fucking unbelievable, princess. you think i don't like your body? that i dont like you and your fucked up attitude?" he asked, getting up from his knees and instead pulling you up with him, turning so that the back of his knees are at your bed. he sits with you standing between his legs and his hands resting at the backs of your large, wide thighs.

"what must i do for that pretty little head of yours to believe me when i say i think i could stare at you for hours?" he asked, his eyes no longer on yours but now on your tummy, and the way yours tits looked in this dress. most of all, the curve of your sides and how the dress hugged you in all the right way, he couldn't help but rub his hands all over your thighs and ass, to your waist and your back as he pushed his face into your stomach.

"i just fucking love feeling you, angel," he murmured as he felt you shakily breathe in, your hands deciding to rest at his shoulders.

"let me take care of you, baby. let me make you forget anything negative anyone has ever said to you. i know you can take care of yourself, but let me do it take care of you. tonight and until you want me to get out of your life," he said and thought his hands roaming all over your body was so seducing and the thought of his hands buried in your cunt again sent a jolt of electricity straight to your core.

you wanted to fight back, to tell him to let go of you and leave. but the truth is, you could get out of his grasp in the time it takes to blink. you didn't want to fight back. you wanted the man that had his face to your tummy with his hands slowly reaching up your dress.

"why would i want you out of my life?" you asked, your hands still at his shoulders as he grabs all over you and rubs over every crevice.

"mm, don't know, maybe it's just too much for you to handle, me being so attractive and all," he joked, making you laugh under your breath. he felt the vibration of your body and went to bite the curve of your hip and you winced, just because it was unexpected.

"you're a fucking asshole," you mumble, your hands going to his hair to tug.

"i know, baby, i'm working on it," he said and you couldn't help but break into a smile. he groaned when you tugged his hair, a groan you hadn't heard before but it sent you to think of what other noises comes out of his pretty throat.

"i didn't know you were in a band." you said as he pressed kisses into you over your dress.

"mhm, i am." he responded and grabbed two handfuls of your ass.

"is that why you're so good with your hands?" you asked, rubbing his head as your tits practically sat on it, and squeaked when you felt his fingers creep under your dress and to your clothed cunt from behind. he had to spread your cheeks, doing so to where he can rub you in your hugging position.

"i'd like to think so, but who knows. maybe my hands just were made to please you," he said and softly tried to bite your tummy.

"eddie," you moaned out as you felt him apply pressure to your clothed cunt.

"yes baby?" he asked as he pulled his face away so he could meet your eyes again.

"please, i want it," you whimpered as you pushed your tits in his face. he didn't even try not to look, he faced them and even left kisses on them.

"tell me with words, honey. what do you want? what can i give my sweet girl?" he asked, wanting to hear it from you yourself. he kept craning his neck to kiss the skin exposed of your tits, moving to just face plant straight into your cleavage. he just stilled, all his movements stopped and you got a little worried.

"eds? you okay?" you asked as you tilted your head down to see his mop of hair just on top of your chest, but you can feel his entire face in your cleavage.

"huh? yeah uh, fuck, sorry, you just looked perfect in this dress. it does a lot for these," he said as he pulled away to grab some air and cups them with both hands as he finished his sentence. he was a bit in awe, again. his large hands didn't even cover 2/3 of your tits, there was just so much he felt like a kid in a candy store.

"it's why i wore it, i like how it makes me look," you said as you stared into his eyes. your hands came to rest on his cheeks as your fingers rubbed over the stubble he had, seeing he hasn't shaved or bothered to upkeep his facial hair. you could see the grey and black peppered in his stubble, showing his obvious age, but not enough where you could ever think of him as an old man.

"tell me what you want," he said again, his hands resting at your hips and you smile.

"i'll give you anything you want, sweet girl. i'm all yours."

"i want you to fuck me however you want. show me how pretty you think i am," you said and with puppy dog eyes and whine, "please fuck me eddie."

eddie was trying hard to control himself with you standing between his legs, begging him to fuck you. you didn't even have to ask twice, he would've did it in a heartbeat. but he was worried, worried he wouldn't be able to do what he really wanted.

"what?" you saw the look on his face like he was contemplating something.

"are you sure? baby, i don't wanna make you uncomfortable." he said and you looked at him with an serious look on your face.

"i saw how mad you got in the bar because that guy called me fat. is it bad if i said i wanted you to fuck me in the restroom there?" you said, hoping he'd get the hint. you wanted him to be rough with you, at least once, so you know what he truly likes.

eddie's entire demeanor changed while looking up at you, his eyes grew a bit dark and his fingers squeezed tighter on your hips

"is that right?" he asked, standing up and spinning you around so that he can push you onto the bed and straddle your hips. while on top of you, he removed his shirt and threw it across your pink room. he put both hands on either side of your head, caging you in.

"you wanted me to take you in the restroom? would you have let me taste this pretty pussy in there too? maybe my angel isn't the angel i thought she was," he teased darkly, his lips going straight to your neck as he kissed and sucked on it, clearly leaving more bruises than before.

"ed-" you started but was soon cut off by a squeeze of your throat. you could feel your pussy clench around nothing, the way he watched as he choked you slightly.

"uh-uh, you've done enough talking tonight. you ran that little mouth of yours all night, hm? didn't expect that from my pretty girl," he said and took his hand from your throat, down to under the little black dress you wore.

"you want me to touch you right here princess?" he asked and you nodded frantically, trying not to make a noise.

"you gonna let me do as i please with this pretty cunt you have? i just have this urge to stretch you out, make you all nice and ready for my dick," he said against your cheek as he rested on his other arm, his hand dipping into your panties before pulling them down your legs as he went with it. now he's positioned in between your legs on the bed, your legs bent at the knee and his arms curled around your hips, gripping the tops of your thighs and your tummy that he finds so sexy.

he loved this position, and missionary, because he got to grab onto you and watch you until you can't go anymore. the way he grips onto your thighs as he admires the slick coating that was building up on your slit.

"m'sorry, i didn't shave and, she's kinda fat," you said, embarrassed. you wanted to give a headsup in case he was unable to find your clit, knowing it took a lot to spread the lips to really see your hole.

"even fuckin' better, don't tell me none of those little boys you've fucked never found the clit?" he said, looking up at you as you situate a few pillows behind your head so you weren't looking up at the ceiling. you wanted to see him.

"uh, they–i haven't really had anyone go down on me." you said as you moved your hands to your lips, biting on your nails.

"my, vagine, is fatter than most skinny girls. so, i don't know they don't usually gravitate towards that." you finished as he moved his position. you kind of started trying to close your legs again, his eyes going between you and your pussy.

"don't do that shit again, keep those legs open for me," he said as he slapped the bare cheek of your ass which made you pull your legs apart again. he situated between your thighs again before using both hands to push your legs further up, almost coming to your chest and you used your arms to hold your legs in place like that.

"look at that, fuck baby, you've been saving all this for me? i gotta say, i'm kind of glad none of those pricks went down on you." he trailed as he started to trace your pussy lips with his finger.

"wh-why?" you breathed shakily , watching through your legs.

"cus i'll be the first and the only one to ever taste this pussy," he replied and moved his lips down your thighs and over your pussy lip, moving his finger to tease your hole before finally dipping one inside of you as he used his other hand to spread your lips.

"fuck, look at you baby," he said, mostly to himself. he's so distracted and devoted to your pussy he doesn't even care that you've been talking this whole time, making noises left and right.

he manages to spread you open enough to see the nub of your clit and your labia, down to your hole that clenches around his one finger as he pumps it in and out of you.

"just like that, you're taking my finger so fucking good," he groaned as he watched you. he was rock hard and felt his dick strain against his jeans, almost uncomfortable but he didn't care.

your moans and throaty groans echoed throughout the room that was only lit by the christmas lights you had outlining your room, and a small dim lamp that was on the dresser across the room. you couldn't deal with how his finger felt inside, still not full enough but it still made your back arch as you cried out for him.

"what baby? you want my tongue? want me to eat this pretty pussy up?" he taunted and you cried.

"yes, please eddie please, i want your tongue, please eat me," you moaned, your eyes never leaving his even though yours flutter closed every once and a while. it felt like you were high, like you were fighting to keep them open.

"mm, i'm gonna need more than that," he decided and you huffed, which made him smirk as he added another finger inside. he noticed it was a little painful for you, but he just slowed down then sped up when you were ready.

"fuck, eddie please eat me out, i need it, please i wanna cum on your face, please let me cum for you," you cried out as you started to feel your arms give out around your legs, the pleasure of eddie's two digits weakening you to hold yourself up. eddie saw, and quickly used his other arm to press your legs to your chest.

"whatever you want, princess," he said and removed his fingers, using them to spread your pussy and flattening his tongue from your hole to your clit. but just as the pleasure started hitting you, he stopped and let your legs fall to their relaxed position.

"eddie what the hell?" you asked as you moved your arms on the bed, and he quickly took the opportunity to remove his jeans so that he's just in his boxers.

"i have realized that i need you sitting on my face. right fucking now," he demanded and of all things, laid on your floor.

"what are you doing??" you asked. you were so confused, a little drunk still, and hazy from the pleasure he was just giving you.

"stand up, and put your pretty pussy on my face. now." he demanded, watching you intently. you obliged, getting up from your bed still in your heels, and you walked over to where you were standing over his face. he could still see your pussy and the way your wetness was dripping down your leg, he couldnt help but groan at it. he needed you on his tongue right now.

"what if i hurt you eddie?" you asked seriously and he grabbed onto your calves, stating up at him as you stared down at him, your face barely peeking over the mounds of your breasts. you looked so delicious, he could eat your pussy until he fell asleep and would want to wake up right again between your legs.

"i really don't care baby, i want it, let me have it baby," he encouraged, gripping your calves and you reluctantly squat down just hovering over him.

"what'd i say? i said sit," he barked and it made you move to your knees now, still hovering and he spanked you, wrapping his arms around each leg and forcing your body down to literally sit on his face. you let out a small squeak as you feel his lips pressed against your pussy that's spread due to your legs being so far apart.

eddie wasted no time, his tongue swirled around your clit and labia as you stayed still on his face. he could tell this was new for you, so he grabbed your ass with both his hands and encouraged you to grind against his face.

"fuck, eddie, what-fuck oh my god," you said as you looked down over your breasts, his eyes only on you. he was devouring you, and when you finally got a whiff of confidence, you felt your hips grinding into his face trying to reach your own high.

"it feels sooo good, fuck eddie, please keep going," you begged as you moved your hands to your chest and moved the straps of your dress down your arms so you can allow your breasts to fall out of your dress. you needed that feeling of playing with your nipples while eddie sucks at your clit, moving his tongue to pass over your clit over and over.

you couldn't control yourself, the way he looked where you could only see his eyes and the bridge of his nose, and how you felt his hands start to move all over your body once you started to ride his face. you felt the way he started to lap up your juices and start to run his tongue from your hole to your clit as your grinding got more messy, not even worried now if he can breathe or not. he moved your own hands from your boobs as he replaced them, playing with them and toying with your nipples as he starts to focus his attention back to your clit.

"eddie please, it's-it's too much," you whined as he moved his lips to take your clit into his mouth, sucking and swirling his tongue around your sensitive nub. you weren't used to having this much pressure between your legs and you started to get needy. the feeling of your horniness and neediness becoming stronger and stronger as you watched eddie look blissful as he played with your tits and ate you out like a starving man.

he wanted so desperately to tell you how beautiful you looked riding his face, how sexy it was that you were this soaked for him, how he never wanted to let you go. it was dangerous. he was getting obsessed with every grind, every moan, every whimper that was whined just for him. the noises that felt out of your mouth felt oddly unlike you, you felt like you could moan as loud and as much as you wanted since it was just you and him. and here he was, in your girly pink room, eating you out as you rode his face on your floor. it was intoxicating, and it was something that made you want to ride more than just his face.

"mmfph, fuck baby i'm—oh my god—i'm gonna cum, please don't stop, dont fucking stop," you cried out as your hands went to his hair, tugging and pulling as you tried to ride your high go completion. it didn't take much when eddie was watching your body wiggle and squirm over him for you to cum, and it didn't take eddie much to want to cum all over you, and in you. he kept sucking at your clit and licking over your hole as you grinded on his face, until he noticed your body starting to tremble a little, and that's when he started to flick his tongue over your clit with every movement as you slowed down.

"i'm cumming, baby fuck i'm cumming," you moaned and left your mouth hanging open as you tightened your grip in his soft curls, riding his face rougher to where you can feel his nose rub past your clit as his tongue flattened against your warm cunt, wanting you to use his face as you pleased. you felt it build up in your tummy and the way your thighs tightened around his head, your body halted and you felt yourself come undone on his tongue as you moaned and cried out from the sensation.

eddie just watched you, soaking in every detail of the way your tits looked when you shook, how your thighs almost suffocated him when you squeezed them shut from the tingling feeling lingering on your clit. you could feel everything throbbing, and if you moved you felt like you could cum again. eddie could probably say he was in love. he was obsessed. he knew there would be nothing to compare to watching you cum on his tongue. he also knew this image was going to be burned in his mind and his jack off material for the next three months.

you finally composed yourself as you still sat on eddie's face and suddenly remembered your hands were in his hair and your thighs were practically cutting off his air supply, so you clumsily moved yourself from his face and landing onto your bare butt next to him. your legs were still thrown over his chest since you couldn't bring your legs to your body because of how weak you felt, but he just sat up with his hands on your legs and faced you, a dumb big grin on his face.

"i need that again," he said and your big doe eyes turned into panicked ones, you weren't sure you were ready to do that again right now. you knew your clit was sensitive, and you felt yourself try to calm yourself down, but the minute eddie moved to be in front of you, looking at your position and how you looked, you felt that electricity go straight to your pussy again and you whimpered a bit.

"what baby, you wet again for me?" he asked and moved your legs apart to see your fat pussy again, making him groan and take his lip between his teeth.

"fuck, i need to feel you around me princess, get on the bed," he said and stood up from his spot, lending his hand down to grab yours and pull you up into his body.

"i got you, baby. okay? trust me. i'll never let you go," he said as he stared into your eyes. even though his hard on is pressing into your bare hip right now all you can think about is him. how beautiful he looked all flustered and hot, how believable he was. you craved him over and over again and so did he. he wished to wake up next to you in his empty bed, seeing your back turned towards him before scooting next to you and pressing kisses into your back. dreamed about having you on his lap in the kitchen as he drinks his coffee and reads his old man newspaper. he wondered if you wanted him the same way he wanted you.

he couldn't be rough with you even if he wanted to. because truthfully, he wanted to enjoy his time with you. he wanted to cherish you, to hold you, to see you as he bottoms out inside. he wanted to worship your body and mark you as his, to make sure everyone knows that someone is tasting you and fucking you how you deserve. he wanted to fuck you hard, and fast, and tell you how good of a slut you were for him. but he only found himself ever at your mercy, unable to hold his dominance over you because truthfully, you held it over him.

eddie was at your disposal. he'd do everything and more to see a smile on your face, to know you were feeling good. he couldn't fuck you rough like he did every other girl, at least not right now. this was going to be your first time fucking him, and an older man in general, and he refused to make it degrading and pure sexual intentions. he needed you to know how much he craved to be inside of you.

eddie moved the rest of your dress down your legs and to your ankles, helping you step out of it and telling you to sit so he can take your heels off too. you were drunk off of pleasure, love? maybe. watching this man move his hands up and down your legs as he moves to undo the straps of your heels and removing them made you feel something you'd never felt before.

to see him move your feet so he can press kisses into them, and up your legs so he can caress and touch your bare body. he stood back up and laid you back on the bed where your pillow rested, and slipped off his boxers as he came to hover on top of you. but when he began to move towards you he saw you start to try to turn over, assumingly on your tummy

"no, none of that doggystyle shit right now. i wanna see you, let me see that pretty face baby," he said and moved to trap you while he hovered over you. he pressed kisses into your face and down your jaw, to your neck and chest area. he didn't want the first time he's inside of you with your head turned away from him, he wanted to watch you come undone, to see your face and all of your body unfiltered. he had a thing for the way your tummy looked even if you thought he didn't like it.

"do you want me to use a condom, baby?" he asked as he kissed over your skin. he had one just in case of course, wanted to be prepared for anything.

you didn't think about it, and even though you were on birth control the only thing you thought about was feeling the way he would fill you up.

"no, please i wanna feel you. wanna feel you cum inside me please," you whimpered as you wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled him closer, feeling his tip skim against your pussy lips and you jolt a bit.

"you're gonna fuckin' kill me," he groaned as he moved back to face you, watching your fucked out expression and how flushed your face looked. he couldn't believe what he was doing, what he was saying, who he was saying it too. in many ways it felt wrong, it felt almost criminal. not legally, but because of your father. he was worried about what would happen after this, what does this mean for the two of you?

"please, fuck me, i need you eddie i need your dick inside me," you begged with no mercy. you had no shame anymore, every ounce of resistance and pride you had was shot down. you couldn't resist begging for him as he teased your hole with his length. you managed to look down between the two of you and saw the sight of him positioning his girthy length into you.

he was even bigger than you imagined. the minute he took his boxers off you snuck a look, seeing the way it bobbed with every move and how angry and red his tip looked. he was thicker and bigger than most of the guys you'd be with, but definitely would rank the best of everyone.

"i'm gonna give it to you baby, you ready? you can take my dick?" he asked as he slowly went in and out of you with his tip, staring at you with nothing but lust and love.

"i can, please i can be good and take it all," you moaned, wrapping your arms around his neck and reaching to rub his cheek with your thumb.

"give it all to me, please, stretch me out like you wanted to," you said in a sultry tone, bucking your hips to his to try to make him go deeper.

"whatever you want princess, i'm yours," he said and started to slowly push himself into you, moving one of your legs up to your chest to get a better angle as he pushes further into you. he could feel the resistance of your cunt around him, how tight you truly were, and how much he was trying not to bust right then and there watching your face contort with your mouth hung open. eddie couldn't believe he could find you any sexier, but then you start to claw at his back and intertwine your fingers in his hair, telling him how good he feels being inside of you.

"fuck, i can feel it, you're stretching me so good baby," you moaned and watched as his face contorted to unbelievable pleasure. he refrained from fucking into you like a bunny because frankly, he needed to watch you. he needed to hear you and feel the way you felt around him without having the need to fuck you like he hated you.

"oh m- fuck angel, you take my dick so fucking well," he grunted as he finally managed to get balls deep inside of you, your body suddenly feeling tight and full of him. you practically felt him in your stomach, and without him even moving you felt his length and girth make you twitch and shake a little. it was a lot, way more than you were ever used to and he noticed.

eddie noticed everything about you. he saw your freckles when he was up close, he saw the blush creeping up from your neck to your cheeks, and he saw the expression on your face when you finally felt him give his all to you.

"you okay, baby?" he asked gently, moving your hair from your face and rubbing your cheek.

"mmhm, you're just so fucking big," you whined and shifted a bit to get more comfortable in your position with him still inside of you.

"you're so good for me, taking all of me in that pretty pussy, look at that," he said as he started to slowly pull out before slowly pushing back in.

"is that okay baby?" he asked and you moaned in response, the feeling of losing him just for him to fill you back up again was incredible. you couldn't believe he was inside of you like this, reaching places nobody ever has before you were practically a virgin.

"s' good, it feels so good, please-," you pleaded breathlessly, "please fuck me," you said and he kissed the cheek of your face and kissed down to your neck.

"anything for you," he mumbled and started to pick up the pace of his thrusts into you. you felt like you could feel the head of his cock hitting the spot that you yourself could never reach, and arched your back into his chest. eddie instinctively snakes his arm around your thick waist to hold you in place while he fucks you into the bed. his pace was hard but not incredibly fast, it was just at the right pace for you to feel it in your lower stomach.

"you looked so fuckin' pretty for me tonight, so fuckin' gorgeous," he grunted as he watched your tits bounce with every thrust, and he moved one hand to one of your nipples so he could play with them, like he did when you rode his face.

"please, fuck, eddie oh my god," you whined as his pace went quicker, now moving your legs to wrap around his waist as he holds himself up with his hands on either side of your head.

"talk to me, tell me baby," he encourages as he takes one hand strokes your face. you don't say anything because you physically cant, not with the way he's basically fucking the wind out of you. you just grab his large hand and place it on your neck.

"ohh, that's what my girl wanted huh?" he said with a shit-eating grin, you wanted to smack him. but the way his index finger and pointer finger pressed on one side of your neck while his thumb stroked the skin then pressed down, you couldn't think. you couldn't breathe, you couldn't fully capture this image of eddie fucking into you in your own bed while he choked you.

"eddieeee," you draw out as he looked down between the two of your sweaty bodies, watching how delicious it was to see his dick stretch you out ridiculously. he released your throat and pressed kisses into the skin of your neck, kissing over the slight bruise he created with his hand.

"you gonna cum f'me baby?" he asked, too drunk on pussy to really focus on anything else but you. he felt the way you clenched and pulsated around him and you almost lost him, he felt like he was a goner the minute he pushed you against that wall. he saw your hand go down to your clit to relieve some pressure, and he pretty much knew you were close.

"it feels, fuck i feel so full of you eddie," you panted, keeping your eyes on his and nothing else as he pounds into you. it almost felt like the recoil of the bed with every thrust made it easier to keep a steady pace, and it made you feel yourself build up that burning desire you've had for hours now.

"youre stretching me out so fuckin good," you cried as your eyes glossed over, feeling pleasure and pain as his cock splits you in half. you still hadn't gotten used to the size, or the way he holds you in his grasp.

"yeah? come on baby, cream on this dick, i need all of it pretty girl, my pretty girl," he said and reached down to kiss your lips, moving his slowly and obscenely against yours. he wanted to devour you whole, to taste you over and over again. you were his favorite flavor.

"please, please please make me cum," your breathing was labored and your bodies were both covered in a film of sweat, but he just couldn't believe you were anymore attractive than you were before. here you were, lying on your bed, taking him so well and he's just supposed to last?

"tell me i'm yours," he said and you almost snapped out of your haze, wanting to ask what he meant by that and if it meant what you thought it meant. he pushes your hand away from your clit and replaces it with his fingers, pressing onto your numb and slowly rubbing in circular motions.

"tell me baby, and i'll let you cum. you're all mine princess, am i yours?" he managed to ask as he himself felt his own release building from the way that you kept squeezing and clenching your walls around him. he'd never been so in a state of daze and dizziness that he was practically feeling his walls come down.

you couldn't say anything but the truth to him.

"you're mine, eddie, please be mine, i need you. let me be yours, i wanna be all yours," you were kind of just babbling at this point, but you meant what you said. the feeling of his fingers rubbing you while his cock fucked you with one leg around his waist and the other on his shoulder now, you felt him in angle you'd never felt anyone.

"cum for me pretty girl, wanna see you cum on my dick for me," he hastily said, his own voice covered in raspiness and desperation. you felt his thrusts get sloppy as you felt your release start to break down the walls, your cunt pulsating around him when you finally grab onto his neck and pull him down to you as far as you can, hugging his body as he kept fucking you through your orgasm.

"eddieeddieeddieddie," you cried repeatedly. "oh my god, i'm fuc-i'm fucking cumming," you cried in his ear and it sounded like it could be his favorite song. he could listen to you speak this way and call for him, moan and cry for him over and over again. he craved you in this way and now he finally had you coming undone around him, he couldn't help but smile against your skin as you started to jerk and shake under him. eddie managed to wrap his arms around you as you cried against his shoulder telling him how good it feels, wanting to bask in this forever. he didn't feel wrong anymore. he couldn't even manage to have a twinge of regret because right now he didn't care who's daughter you were, who his friend was, or if this was right or wrong. his heart was swelling just being in your presence.

"fuck baby, so good for me, this pussy is all fucking mine," he claimed and finally you felt his hips start to stutter, bucking against yours without a rhythm.

"fuuuuuuck, princess, fuck," he moaned loudly in your ear as he felt his cum pour inside of you, no barrier to protect. you knew that this wouldn't be the last time he was going to be inside you like this, you knew that every time would be more and more real, and you would fall more in love with him.

"i'm yours," you whispered as you felt him collapse on top of you, moving your fingers through his hair to see his face. you say it as in you're asking for clarification, like you weren't sure.

eddie moved off of you, kissing your face before walking out of your room naked and into the restroom. you kind of just laid there, your makeup smeared and your lungs aching for deep breaths. you were completely fucked out yet in the most adoring and loving way you've ever felt. you noticed that you didn't feel disgusting, or gross afterwards. and when eddie came back in, you turned your head and saw he held a rag in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. you didn't feel used, or made just for sex. you felt like you were glowing, or levitating.

"let me clean you up, okay?" he said and your eyes fluttered to his as he came and sat on the bed next to you, watching him put the bottle on your side table. you look to him lazily and nodded, letting him reach between your legs to wipe the mess that you two created. it was almost overstimulating, but it was over soon and he was sitting up on the edge of your bed with his hand on your outer thigh as you were laid down.

"i'm yours too," he whispered, moving the blankets to cover your body and let you get comfortable.

"do you want me to get you some clothes?" he asked as you struggled to keep your eyes open. he couldn't help but form a small grin as he started to wipe away the stray lipstick that was on your chin and the corner of your mouth. he knew that he had the same shade in his lips too, probably even more messily. but to him, it was just another for of marking him. he was yours.

you hummed no, and grabbed his wrist sort of tugging him towards you.

"can you hold me?" you asked looking to his face and he smiled again. he couldn't help but smile.

"that was the plan, baby," he said and decided to slip on his boxers that he found next to the bed and crawl over you, to the left side of the bed against the wall and underneath the purple bedsheets you had. he immediately pulled you against his chest, his arm wrapping around your waist and letting his hand rest on your tummy. his face was buried into your neck and your hair, not minding as he got to remember what you smelled like.

you wanted him to hold you and to feel what it was like to be cared for after sex, you wanted to soak in this moment where you didn't feel guilty and were ignoring your subconscious telling you that your dad finding out about this would be ruining. so you laid in eddie's arms, letting him leave tiny kisses on your shoulder and back, then moving back to his original position and listening to his soft snores that came quickly. you fell asleep to his own sounds, with the embrace of him keeping you safer than anyone has ever done.

it was bliss.

・❥・

TAGLIST

@bebe07011 @sleepy-bunnie @munsonzgf @emsgoodthinkin @olibxr @briamunson92 @uwantagoodbhloe

#fat girls #plus size smut #smut #chubby smut #chubby #eddie munson #eddie munson x plus size reader #eddie x plus size reader #plus sized #eddie x reader #plus size reader

300 notes · View notes

labarch · 3 years

Text

Attempt at a Witch Hat Atelier timeline

We are still missing a lot of backstory for our main cast, but I thought I’d try and write a timeline based on what we know so far, and explore where their storylines might intersect.

I am pulling these numbers out of my hat for convenience sake, but here are some approximate ages for the characters: at the start of the manga, let’s say Coco, Tetia and Agott are all 12, Riche is 11, and Qifrey and Olruggio are 28.

20-23 years ago: Olruggio leaves his birth town Godley and moves to the Great Hall, maybe as young as 5 years old.

While many witches are born in the Great Hall, Olruggio comes from a town called Godley in the North. Yet he doesn’t remember Utowin, who came from the same place. We know that young witches usually start their training between the age of 7 and 10, but since witch society is awfully elitist, Olruggio would have been sent there as soon as his talent for magic became apparent.

Being ripped from his home at an extremely young age could explain his fear of being unwanted and left behind: he overworks himself as a way to feel useful and validated, is defensive about his own feelings, and he gets agitated and sometimes aggressive whenever Qifrey hides things from him.

20 years ago: arrival of Qifrey at the Great Hall at age 8. Olruggio befriends him soon afterwards. The both of them start sneaking out at night to chase Brimhats.

8 year old Qifrey was one fierce little thing, you have to give him that. His abuse at the hands of the Brimhats was brutal enough to break a grown man, but he picks himself up and goes right after them like “Alright jerks, you’ve got some explaining to do and I want my eyeball back!”.

Also it cracks me up that Olruggio was carrying this massive book in their flashback. Gotta love that his reaction to Qifrey’s “Let’s go chase some terrorists!” was “Sure, let me just pack my homework =>”.

Finally, there might be a slightly more selfish motivation for Olruggio’s fast friendship and devotion to Qifrey. Olruggio’s self-esteem lies in his ability to help people, so he would naturally be drawn to someone helpless. It’s unclear how much of Qifrey’s memory was missing: apparently he didn’t know about birthdays. How many other basic concepts was he missing? Did he know how to read? Between that, his lack of knowledge about magic and his injury, he was probably completely dependent on Olruggio at the beginning. Given Olruggio’s wish that they go back to “the good old times” when they were always together, I am wondering whether some hidden part of him misses being essential to someone. It’s well-intentioned, but not entirely healthy, especially if he is using Qifrey as a coping mechanism for his own insecurities.

14 years ago: Olruggio and Qifrey make a pledge of (betrothal) friendship, exchange tassels and attempt the Librarian test at age 14. It is their last adventure together, but Qifrey will continue his investigations on his own, to Olruggio’s disappointment and betrayal. Qifrey starts wearing his half-tinted glasses.

In the pledge flashback, they are wearing their old tassels, but they have swapped them by the time they undertake the third test. Also, when he remembers that pledge, Olruggio says that Qifrey’s investigation “should have ended at the Tower of Books”. The tower is the last likely place where Qifrey could have found answers about his past and a non-forbidden way of getting his eye back. Olruggio probably made him promise that he would stop his search afterwards.

Beldaruit says that he thought Qifrey had given up on his search after the third test, but Olruggio tells a slightly different story. Apparently he thought Qifrey “finally stopped causing trouble” after taking in apprentices, which means he was still behaving suspiciously right up until he became a teacher. Alaira also comments on Qifrey’s interest in the Brimhats in the first volume, so clearly his investigations were common knowledge among his friends, even as an adult.

Olruggio’s anger whenever the Brimhats are mentioned would then be caused not just by his own fear of forbidden magic, but by the reminder that Qifrey broke his promise to him, and refused to leave his past behind. Naturally, Olruggio doesn’t know about Qifrey’s change in circumstances: he is no longer looking to retrieve what he lost, but trying to stop an impending threat.

Qifrey’s discoveries in the Tower of Books also seem to have renewed his disgust towards his own scar: he starts wearing glasses shortly afterwards, even though his eyesight hasn’t yet started deteriorating.

14-5 years ago: in that interval, Coco’s father dies of illness. Olruggio becomes more and more famous for his magical items, and is given the title “Shining Torch” / “Master of Lights”. His glowstone paths become widely popular, and are installed around the castle near Coco’s mom. Both Qifrey and Olruggio pass the fourth test and complete their training.

At this stage, I really doubt that Qifrey intended to become a teacher. Whatever information he found at the Tower of Books convinced him he had to stop the Brimhats’ plan. He was probably planning to complete his training and then go straight on to his quest, not really expecting to return alive.

There are also hints that this was a strained period for Qifrey and Olruggio: Olruggio mentions that he would like them to confide in each other “just like old times”, which implies that they grew more distant after the Librarian test. I’m suspecting that Qifrey was trying to slowly remove himself from Olruggio’s life, hoping Olruggio would be so famous and beloved by the time they graduated that he would forget about Qifrey and barely notice his disappearance. Qifrey’s self-esteem isn’t the best y’all.

5 years ago: Coco receives the magic picture book from Iguin at age 7 at the Silver Night Festival. The Brimhats stop showing signs of activity. Qifrey takes on his first apprentice (probably Tetia, age 7). He interrupts his investigation of the Brimhats and creates the atelier. Olruggio becomes his Watchful Eye.

We don’t know exactly how old Coco was when she got her book, but her tiny chubby face makes me think she was 6-7. Alaira also tells us in the first volume that the incident with Coco’s mother is the first sign of Brimhat activity in five years. I am thinking that after Iguin gave away the book, he instructed the other Brimhats to keep a low profile until his scheme could hatch.

I also wonder whether Coco getting her book might coincide with Qifrey becoming a teacher and creating his atelier. Given that Qifrey is probably tied to Iguin’s schemes, how coincidental is it that Qifrey wandered into Coco’s village and set her fate in motion? Perhaps Iguin contrived for them to live in the same area so that they would meet eventually. Either he somehow influenced Qifrey’s choice of location for his atelier, or he selected Coco as his “child of hope” because of her relative proximity as well as her love for magic.

7 years old is when we could expect Tetia to have passed the first test. For now we know little about her backstory, but we can guess a few things: she is enthusiastic and ambitious, but gets easily side-tracked by pet projects and struggles to stick to the curriculum. She craves positive feedback and is worried her spells and interests will be condemned as frivolous. It makes me think that she passed her first test early, but was then mistreated by her first teachers for being too childish.

We’ve seen that Qifrey has a compulsive tendency to adopt children in distress. It would fit his character if he became a teacher on impulse. Maybe he had to pass the fifth test in a rush to be allowed to keep Tetia by his side. This also brought Olruggio back into his life, as he was the only one willing to follow him away from the atelier as Watchful Eye.

The complicity between Tetia and Qifrey, and Tetia taking on the role of a big sister for both Riche and Coco, also make me think she was Qifrey’s first apprentice. Tetia is often shown teasing Qifrey, quoting both Qifrey and Olruggio, and imitating Qifrey’s teaching style: I can totally see them as a little family of three at some point in the past.

4 years ago: Riche starts training under her brother’s master, a creepy asshole, at age 7.

We actually have a clear timestamp for that one in chapter 25, woohoo! Riche’s old teacher can eat a brick.

3-2 years ago: Qifrey and Olruggio learn about Riche’s mistreatment in her old atelier and promptly adopt her. Beldaruit takes on Ririfin as an apprentice. Qifrey’s eyesight starts deteriorating. He adds the light protection glyph to his glasses.

Before that time, Qifrey might have intended to put his quest on hold until after Tetia’s graduation, but now his impending blindness puts him on a time limit. He can’t do a lot about it however, since the Brimhats have been keeping a low profile for years and are not leaving him any clue.

It’s unclear how long Riche stayed at her old atelier, and whether she joined Qifrey before or after Agott. I’m hoping she made it out as soon as possible.

2 years ago: Agott passes the first test at age 10. She gets accused of stealing someone else’s spell, is rejected from her prestigious family’s apprenticeship, and joins Qifrey’s atelier.

Agott has been treated harshly by her family for not being enough of a genius. She mentions passing the first test at 10, the upper end of the normal age range. She was probably given a hard time for starting her apprenticeship so “late”, which explains why she is now adamant about passing the other tests as quickly as possible.

I wonder whether she felt ambivalent about joining Qifrey’s atelier at first. On the one hand, Qifrey was taught by the Sage of Education himself and is clearly very powerful. On the other hand, he has only a couple students and lives in a weird little school in the middle of nowhere, a big fall from grace compared to her prestigious upbringing. I wonder whether Qifrey went to find her after he heard she was the object of nasty rumours (he knows a thing or two about those), and Agott didn’t feel like she had other options.

0 year ago: Coco and Qifrey meet. Iguin goes “F***ing finally, I thought I’d have to watch that humdrum one-eyed twink bake potatoes for another five years. It’s dragon-slaying time now baby!!!”

#witch hat atelier #witch hat meta #qifrey #olruggio #tbna #coco #riche #agott #everyone has a horrible time at the Great Hall: a wha timeline #Olruggio the wonder child arriving at the Great Hall at age 5 wrapped in an anxiety blanket and clinging to a plush toy #protect him #no mention of treefrey this time what are the odds

226 notes · View notes

laineybug04 · 4 years

Text

A Helping Hand Chapter 2: Where I’m Needed Most

In which Amy realizes she’s bitten off way more than she can chew and the Freedom Fighters realize exactly what she’s done.

First Chapter/Next Chapter

Prison Island Command Center 19:24

Captain Amanda Towers looked over the boundless expanse of the jungle before her. To the east of the watchtower she could see the ocean stretching out towards the horizon. Reds and oranges bled into the blue, and wisps of ivory clouds were dusted with pinks and purples. It was a beautiful, peaceful sunset.

And she had no idea why her father was so up her ass about a possible invasion.

Upon asking what she could expect, he had not given any answer. Just to be ready for anything from a lone man operation to a full scale assault from the Mad Doctor himself. In return, he promised as much man power as he could quietly provide. In particular, he wanted her to give special attention to the northern side of the island. She squinted her tired green eyes but couldn't see much of anything. Not that she expected much, her father had been uncharacteristically cryptic in his sources. She nursed her coffee before taking a tentative sip, readying herself for the night shift. For all that he was worried, she knew the prison was well maintained and empty of any problem prisoner. Once it was a prison housing the most dangerous of criminals, but now she could count on one hand all the humans here that weren't in her employ. It had become Now it was more of a Treasure Island; a place for the United Federation to house and protect its most precious possessions.

"And its most dangerous," she thought smugly of the new droids they'd created to directly fight against Eggman's forces, "Let him try..."

As if in answer, one of the other soldiers called out to her, "Captain! We have an unauthorized vessel approaching the island."

Amanda frowned, "How many, Lieutenant Adebayo?"

The Mazurian Lieutenant squinted against the screen to double check before hesitantly replying, "Just... one, Captain. It's a tiny thing- maybe a speed boat. About 25 klicks North east of us."

One of the petty officers snorted, "Probably some wingnut on vacation got lost."

The Captain frowned and glared down the officer before barking, "Hail the vessel. Tell them to get lost somewhere else."

The petty officer gulped and complied immediately.

Amy woke from her nap to the incomprehensible garbling of the radio. As the static and odd words began to irk her, she opened her eyes to see the jungle island on the horizon, quickly closing in. She was even more smugly pleased to see that there was indeed a metal harbor installed towards the southern side of the island.

"I knew someone was here!" she squealed with glee as she grabbed her camera from her bag, "And I'd bet my last ring that that's another Eggman base! Wait til Sally gets a load of this!"

Still, her ears twitched at the sound of the odd noises from the radio getting louder and more desperate. She took two quick pictures before she finally got sick of the sound and stomped over to the radio. Her ire grew when she realized that Tails had not labeled any of the buttons and therefore she had no idea how to shut it up. She quickly started button mashing before the radio cut out entirely. She sighed in relief until she realized the engine was shutting down and the console was folding out to reveal a countdown and a steering wheel.

"Oh!" she thought pleasantly surprised, "Well, I guess I'm taking over! One minute to shore, huh? Let's do it!"

It didn't take her long to figure out the throttle, and the steering was actually pretty easy to master. She gave a satisfied stretch as she searched the shore for a decent place to hide the boat as close to the harbor as she could without being seen...

"Prepare for imminent destruction. T-minus 1 minute. 59. 58.-"

The overlook had erupted into a hive of urgency.

"How long until the vessel makes landfall?"

"It's in tandem with the countdown. The target's at 20 klicks now and approaching!"

"Where is it heading?"

"Towards Dock 10!"

"Evacuate the Dock and deploy the droids! Aim the cannons and search for any follow up attacks nearby."

"There are no other vessels, it's just this speed boat!"

"Then shoot it out of the water. Do NOT let that thing make landfall."

"The cannons are locked and loaded, Captain!"

"Then fire, dammit!"

Amy's heart stopped as she saw incoming missiles approaching from the shoreline. She screeched as she swerved out of the way. The barrage just behind her and sent a wave that nearly capsized her. When she thankfully breached the wave, she grit her teeth and turned the boat towards the jungle side of the island and began weaving between the waves.

"New plan, wait out the heat and get to Eggman's base through the jungle!" she cried over the explosions, salt water splashing into her eyes and mouth. In spite of the danger, a smug smile spread across her face. This just had to be Eggman launching an attack on her, which meant he was definitely here. She struggled to steer with one hand as she tried to take pictures of the attack with her camera in the other.

Amy pushed the gas to full throttle and sped towards the shore. She growled, eyes growing wide and terrified as the barrage of bullets and missiles only got worse as she got closer to shore. She looked down at the counter- less than twenty seconds before landfall. Just a bit more if she could just...

Too late- a missile exploded behind her and this time the wave not only flipped the boat but the shock wave knocked her head-first into the console and her whole world went black.

Station Square Volunteer Center 22:01

Sally Acorn looked down at NICOLE's display, where Sonic stared up at her with an annoyed look on his face, "So Eggman wasn't at the base?" she asked morosely.

"He was- but he ran for it when I got here," Sonic rolled his eyes, "And he's definitely up to something. I don't know what it is but he's got these plans for a... new set of legs? I dunno if it's for real though- looks really small compared to what he's thrown at me in the past."

Rotor peeped over Sally's shoulder, "Send those along to me. Once Tails wakes up, he and I will figure out what's so special about it and see if we can't find a way to counteract it."

Sonic gave them a thumb's up, "Don't sweat it too much. I'll find a way to take that thing down before you can say..."

"Chili Dogs," the whole room rang out along with Sonic. Sally smiled wistfully while the room, including Sonic laughed along.

"See? We'll be fine! Smell you all later!"

Sally's eyes widened and she called out to Sonic as the crowd around her dissipated, "Wait! Before you go..."

Sonic raised an eyebrow, "Yea? What's up, Sal?"

Her eyes fell and she took a deep breath. It was a long shot, but she had to ask, "Have you seen Amy?"

Sonic's head pulled back in confusion, "Uh... no. Did you send her along?"

Sally shook her head, "I didn't. But, she had another vision and..."

Rotor and Sonic both gave audible groans and she could feel NICOLE judging her from her console. She held up her hands defensively but continued evenly, "I know you all don't think it's real, but... you have to admit her intuition is just too uncanny for there not to be some merit to it."

"It's called a cold read," Rotor argued, "And just because she's good at it doesn't mean she's reliable with it. Better to call a spade a spade and train her up to see facts not fairy tales."

Antoine shivered, however, "You can say zat... after what exploded ze entire city of Station Square?"

Rotor stopped but shrugged, "Apples and oranges. Just because one is true doesn't mean the other is."

"What'd she do?" Sonic asked finally.

Sally sighed, "Nothing... I don't think. She came to see me this morning and was trying to tell me Eggman was on an island off the coast of the Mystic Ruins. I... was a bit harsh with her. I haven't seen her since this morning and I'm worried about her."

Sonic looked slightly concerned but Bunnie came up to Sally and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder, "Now, don't you worry yourself too much Sally-girl. I'll bet she's just hangin' out with her new beau right about now!"

The whole room fell silent and everyone stared openly at Bunnie as though she'd just grown two heads. Sonic, especially started to scoff-laugh before asking, "Beau? As in boyfriend? She has a boyfriend now?"

Bunnie gave him a harsh look, "That's right, Sugah-hog, you waited too long and now she's with her Mister Tall, Dark and Handsome hog. She was tellin' me about him this morning- a black hedgehog she was dreamin' about. Ah'm just happy she took mah advice."

Sally's incredulous smile suddenly fell just as hard as her heart did, "...Did you just say 'black hedgehog'?"

Bunnie sized Sally up with her own confused look, "Yea...with red eyes. Y'all got a problem with that?"

"No, no, no- Amy told me he was in trouble, not that she was infatuated with him!"

"Same difference?" Sonic snorted.

Sally shot him a withering glare that had Sonic's hands up defensively, "Hey! Don't look at me like that- I've been dealing with her crushing on me for years now. It's about time she moved on!"

"None of you get it!" Sally cried out, "Amy thinks Eggman is going to use this hedgehog and it has something to do with that jungle island I told you about earlier."

Sonic shrugged, "So let me go get her! I'm a ways away but I can be at the island in two shakes before she gets herself into trouble..."

Sally shook her head, "We can't. When she continued to insist Eggman's plans would involve the island somehow the G.U.N. were very clear about them investigating it on their own. It's clearly some sort of secret outpost. If we set foot out there it will be a political nightmare."

Is this the section that you were worried about? Or is it later?

Her mind raced with all the possible ways to fix this when Rotor raised his hand hesitantly, "Yea... I think we're forgetting something pretty important. That island's in the middle of the ocean. It looks close on the map but it's pretty far away from shore. Amy's strong, but she can't swim out in the open ocean. She'd need a way to get there and she's no pilot."

Antoine and Bunnie gave a sigh of relief. Sally even chuckled a bit before she smiled, "You're right. You're right. I'm worrying about nothing. I'm sure she's just off in the city trying to figure out a way to swim it."

But she saw Sonic looking around the room skeptically before he said, "I hate to be the party-pooper but... where's Tails?"

The room froze, save for Antoine who answered, "Ze boy is sleeping. He 'azs been hard at work on a project in ze Mystic Ruins. He finally finished!"

He laughed and only when he was done did he realize the entire aura of the room had shifted to brick shitting mode.

"She wouldn't," Bunnie murmured, "She... she's only twelve years old. She can't even drive... can she?"

One Train Ride Later 22:41

Tails eyes fluttered open ever so gently. He ached everywhere and he was a bit on the warm side, but he felt way better than he had before. He looked at the clock and hissed, "Oops! There goes my sleep schedule!"

Not that he cared. He was extremely independent for an eight year old and with the project he'd just finished testing, it would be impossible for anyone to see him as anything less than a full fledged adult. He stretched out and slipped out of bed. He took a moment to contemplate what he could do now so late in the evening. He'd already finished one project, and his Revenge on Sonic Tsunami had most of the bugs ironed out finally. He considered adding one more joke to it, but then figured it was already overkill having a menacing countdown and an invisibility armor around it. He chuckled at the thought of taking that thing out to open water, "That'll show Sonic for hiding that thunder recorder in my lab!"

He was making his way towards the kitchen when he heard a pounding on his door. He rolled his eyes but strolled to the door with a small pep in his step. His whole demeanor changed when he saw the Freedom Fighters at the door with him.

"Tails, sweety, where's Amy?" Sally asked immediately, a strained smile pulling on the edge of her lips.

"Hey... guys...?" Tails asked hesitantly, "I... don't know? She came by earlier. She was looking for Sonic and..."

Suddenly Tails blanched and he scrambled back into his house. Sally and the gang took one look at each other before they ran after him. They were halfway down the stairs to his hangar when they heard a cry erupt from the bottom. As they all tumbled down the stairs they saw Tails with his mouth open over the gaping hole in his wall.

"My... my Tsunami!" he cried, his hands lacing through the fur on his head and over his ears, "My wall! My project! MY CHAOS EMERALD! THEY'RE GONE!"

Sally felt herself going faint. Amy Rose now had a ride and a chaos emerald, "Tails... please, how long ago did you see her?"

Tails ran towards the left wall of the lab, where a huge computer was set up, "I dunno… hours ago at least, but I can track the location."

Sally's heart sank further but she squared her shoulders and marched towards the computer to see what Tails was doing. He'd set the time at 13:00- to be safe. As they followed the trajectory of the boat, her heart sank further still as it ran ever closer to the little island that Amy had insisted on investigating. Her heart hit rock bottom when she saw the little dot on the map completely disappear at about 18:00 hours just off the northeast coast of the island.

Sally's hands found their way to her mouth and she slid down to her knees. She felt Bunnie's hands on her shoulders immediately while she heard Antoine scoff, "I just... I don't... What does zat mean?"

Tails eyes were down cast and Rotor had pulled his hat off. It was Tails who answered, "It means either the cloaking device got activated or the boat was..."

Sally could feel her shoulders shaking with sobs now. Not only was Amy possibly dead- but she'd been killed in an active raid against a military outpost of an ally outside of wartime. Meaning, unless Sally was willing to drag Amy's name through the mud, Amy's death could very well be an open declaration of war with the humans. It could lead to the Great War all over again.

Northeast quadrant of Prison Island 20:15

As Amy hid in the mud of a foreign jungle, away from Eggman's robots, in the dark- she took a moment to reacquaint herself with her ever-so delightfully unfair situation.

1. The Tsunami had been beached and flipped upside down into car mode and was basically undriveable at the moment.

2. She was not expecting anyone to help her out of this mess because she'd managed to get here without telling anyone where she was.

3. The Tsunami was now invisible for some reason... and she'd fumbled around the invisible deck until finally managing to fall overboard onto the sand. She would figure out how to fix it later, for now it was kind of a blessing. What better to hide a boat? Frankly she could figure out how to fix that later because...

4. Eggman's robots had almost immediately found her after she'd just barely recovered from being knocked unconscious and nearly drowned to death and were now trying to gun her down instead.

5. She now had a chaos emerald with her and knowing Eggman that meant having a homing beacon on her at all times.

Amy shivered against the mud- she'd run head-long into the jungle without any thought to where she should be going for more than half an hour straight and those robots were still hot on her tail. Not to mention she was tired, cold, hungry, and lost. She reminisced loathsomely to the time she'd been in Maginary world with Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. She thought her dress was ruined then? She was practically unrecognizable now and she was positive she was going to catch something gross when she got out of this.

The robots hovered ominously near her and she trembled further into the dirt soup, "If I get out of here," she thought miserably.

She shook her head then gasped in pain- she was sure she had a concussion at this point. But she grit her teeth and thought, "Then it's up to me! I gotta figure out where Eggman is, what he's planning and get off this crazy island!"

She military-crawled quietly away. After she stopped hearing any noises she got to her feet shakily and took one step forward.

Only to start plummeting through the ground and through a rusted metal wall. She felt the metal slice through her left arm as she screamed her way down another several dozen feet. She reached out desperately for a way to stop her fall, only to grab a metal cord that held her for a brief moment before snapping and letting her fall the rest of the way down to an unforgiving metal floor below her. She heard rather than felt the sickening crack of her left arm breaking. The wind knocked out of her lungs, she went entirely numb and her mind went still for what felt like hours. Only when she tried to move did a pain like a wildfire blossom from her arm. She tried to suppress a scream, knowing that she was still in danger and any sound could bring a hoard of bots to her location. She whimpered in pain against the cold, wet, muddy floor before she dared to open her eyes to see where she'd ended up.

The world seemed to freeze when she recognized the room she was in.

Clear as day, there was the console attached to a misty capsule from her vision. Amy clambered to her feet, wincing as she jostled her arm. She gingerly held it in place as she limped her way to the console. Unlike her vision, the keys were entirely dusted over and it looked like no one had been here in years. She looked warily around the room and breathed a sigh of relief when she found no red chalk curses on the walls.

"There's that at least..." she murmured to herself as she looked down at the capsule below. It was a ways down but if she squinted she could clearly see...

She gasped and her ears buzzed with adrenaline. She rushed towards the console and tried to turn it on.

She had to save the black hedgehog resting in the capsule.

When the machine refused to turn on she practically screeched in fury. The thing was dead and she had no clue how the hell she was going to get it working again. She nearly bashed the thing to smithereens until she tried to swing her hammer and couldn't without jostling her bad arm. As she pushed back the tears of pain and frustration she took several deep breaths and forced herself to think of something else.

That's when she saw the gem shaped indent on the keyboard- just like the one in Tails' boat. "No way…" She thought, her pain suddenly numbing with her realization.

Amy quickly pulled out the chaos emerald and shoved it into the indent. To her bewilderment, it turned on almost immediately. She was relieved to see that the user data was already entered for her.

"Gerald R. Gerald, huh?" she thought as she entered the password from her vision, "So that's Eggman's real name! Sorry, Doctor, I don't like you stealing little boys for your weird experiments!"

The computer flashed in assent and Amy was thrilled when it asked her if she wanted to unlock the capsule and immediately pressed yes. Amy cried out in fear as there was a great grinding of gears and a hiss came loudly from below her. She limped closer to the edge and watched as the capsule slowly rose up to her level. She shivered from the cold and anticipation as the capsule slid open with a screech. First one hand appeared, then another, before the mist revealed the boy from her visions rising slowly out of his confines to stand stoically before her.

Amy was immediately struck by his crimson red eyes. While her visions were normally very accurate, the sheer intensity of his stare was enough to leave Amy breathless. His unwavering gaze was unreadable and it left Amy curious about the boy she'd just released. Those eyes searched hers and she couldn't help but wonder if he was judging her and if she was measuring up.

Her next thought was a smug one- she was right!

"Hey there!" she called out gently gasping, "Oh wait! Stay right there! I'll find a way to get you acr-"

She stopped in her tracks as the boy jumped across the small chasm directly in front of her. She stumbled backwards and would have tripped if he hadn't caught her from behind to steady her. She cried out in pain- it would have been so sweet if she hadn't just slammed her bad arm against him.

She could feel herself growing faint from the pain. He seemed to see it too as he eased her gently to the ground and gingerly touched her arm.

"What have we here?"

Amy chuckled- he even sounded just like he had in her vision, "I uh... fell down from there and broke it."

She pointed up to the hole in the ceiling before cringing in pain, "But don't worry about me. How are you feeling? How long have you been trapped down here?"

He raised his brow, looked towards the hole, then allowed his eyes to fall slowly down to follow her fall. When Amy did the same she was shocked she hadn't died from that one. The hedgehog seemed to be mildly impressed before asking, "Long enough. What year is it?"

Amy's eyes widened, "Uh... today is day 159, 3237?"

His eyes shifted back and forth before he gave a wry chuckle, "Then it seems I've been here for about 50 years."

"50 years!?" Amy cried, "But that... that's impossible! Eggman's old but he's not that old!"

The black hedgehog shook his head, "I don't know who this Eggman is, but he's not the one who kept me here."

Amy's heart stopped, "But... if Eggman's not the one... who was shooting at me earlier?"

An alarm went off around them that made them both flinch. The doors behind them rumbled open and a large mech and a dozen smaller droids swarmed in around them. Amy felt the wind knocked out of her when she saw in bold black letters just who she had invaded.

"This is G.U.N territory!" the giant mech called out, "You are under arrest for trespassing, espionage, and jail-breaking. Come quietly or we will shoot!"

Amy felt the blood drain from her face, "J...jail-breaking?"

She looked up to the black hedgehog who only glared down the soldier, eyes shifting from droid to droid. Her heart broke. Here she was, stuck in front of a shooting squad with a convict she'd just broken out of prison.

"Why is this hedgehog even here!? He's just a kid...

"Just like Sonic," she decided, "Just like all of us."

Now she was angry. She stood up and roared, "NO!"

She stood tall and ignored the searing pain of her arm as she summoned her hammer in her right hand. She pointed it forward and cried, "What did he do? What did he do that made you put him to sleep for 50 years!?"

"Surrender or prepare to..."

"NO! WHAT DID HE DO!?" she demanded, "If you want to fight, then I'll fight but I'm NOT backing down until you tell me why he deserved to be chained up and locked away!"

"This is Scorpion Troop's Hot Shot!" the soldier barked out defiantly, "We've engaged the enemy! OPEN FIRE!"

Amy's heart pounded with fear, pain, and fury. She charged towards the first droid without a second thought, even as her left arm beat painfully and uselessly against her side. She was about to slam her hammer into the droid when she felt something powerful wrap around her waist and pull her back. Suddenly she was heaved back out of the way of dozens of bullets and lasers that ripped her would-be victim to shreds. Amy was hauled back towards the capsule and into the pit where the capsule had been. She turned in a rage where the boy had simply put up a hand to stop her, "Stay here."

Amy reached out with her good hand but not quickly enough to stop him from jumping off with the help of his rocket shoes. She stared in confusion at the spot he'd just been in, "How... long has he had those on?"

Her mind pivoted to a new worry, however, as she heard the battle raging overhead. She was alone, injured, and all she had between her and destruction was a stranger and the pit she was now stuck in. She had no idea if he was combat ready until she heard the noises above. It felt like an eternity of grinding metal and the whoosh of her protector jumping from droid to droid. It was maybe two minutes before she heard the more tell-tale screech of a huge hunk of metal being twisted into uselessness. She heard glass shattering and the terrified shriek from the pilot in the cockpit.

Then she heard silence- it was menacing, and thick with tension. Her ears twitched as she heard the hedgehog's steps towards the console. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw him safe and sound. Her heart stopped when he pulled the chaos emerald from the console and turned back away from her.

"Behold, the true power I possess!"

Amy's eyes widened, realizing what he was about to do, "Wait wait, NO DON'T DO IT! SHADOW, STOP! I'M BEGGING YOU!"

The silence was deafening. Her heart pounded in her ears as she waited for the dreadful sounds of a fleshy kill. She shook uncontrollably and tears started pouring down her eyes. She didn't want to hear it, but the not knowing was even more agonizing.

Finally, she heard a mighty rip and she held her breath as she heard the human whimper in fear. She listened intently as Shadow murmured something to the man. She fell to her knees and gave a huge, heaving sigh of relief when she heard the man running in the other direction. She was happy he hadn't killed the man, but she couldn't stop her crying. She barely heard Shadow land in front of her with two metal rods and strips of what she realized was the soldier's jacket.

She met his gaze with what she hoped was a fierce and defiant look. While he didn't seem cowed, his gaze did drop down to her bad arm. He knelt to her side and reached for it, "That must hurt for you to cry this hard..."

Her brows snapped together, "Excuse me?! You think this," she motioned to her tears, "Is because this hurts!? You almost killed someone!"

Now Shadow was glaring at her, "They shot at us first. Do you seriously expect the Ultimate Life form to simply not do anything?"

Amy's eyes squinted and her jaw dropped in absolute confusion, "The... what? Are you kidding me?! What do you mean 'Ultimate Life form!? You're just a kid!"

Shadow growled, "I'm no mere child and you know it."

"No! I don't! We just met!" she argued with a huff, "I don't even know who you are or what you did to end up here but if you're just going to go around murdering people I'll stuff your sorry butt right back into that pod!"

He rolled his eyes, "Well, I didn't murder him and now he's off to go get his friends. Now hold still. I need to reset this. Unless you want to try and stuff me in there with a broken arm and a toy hammer."

Amy pouted but her stomach rolled at the thought of the pain to come next. She screwed her eyes shut as tightly as possible while he felt along her arm gently to feel where the breaks were. When he didn't move to shift them after a time she peaked thru one eye to see him muttering to himself in confusion.

"Is it bad?" she asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

Now she caught Shadow looking from the ceiling, to the floor, then her arm and back again, "It's not broken."

Amy's eyes widened, "What? No, of course it is, it hurts like nobody's business!"

Shadow shook his head, "I don't feel the break. There might be a hairline fracture but I don't feel anything that needs to be reset."

He stared at it intently for a few moments before he glared at her suspiciously, "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

Amy blushed before giving a sheepish giggle, "Right. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself."

She held out her good hand to shake, "Amy Rose, at your service!"

Shadow eyed the outstretched hand, still skeptical of her- she'd answered one question but hadn't answered the important one. He hesitantly took her hand, gently shaking it, "Shadow, but it seems you already knew that."

Amy's blush intensified and her hand found its way to the back of her head, "Oh! That! Right, sorry, I have a really bad habit of figuring out people's names without any introductions. Just don't mind me, it'll get less scary the longer you know me…"

Shadow's glare came back in full force and Amy wondered briefly if that was just his natural face, "I'm not scared. Now- let's get this bandaged up."

She nodded and watched as he placed the two rods against her arm and commanded her to hold them still. He ripped the jacket into more strips and gently tied the rods to her arm. He then used the remainder of the jacket to make a roughshod sling and wrapped it gingerly around her shoulder and arm, setting it perfectly in place.

"Can you handle that until we get out of here?"

Amy stood, tentatively and took a few trial steps before she gave him a thumbs up, "Feels pretty okay to me! Let's go!"

Shadow nodded in assent and, before she could stop him, grabbed her bridal style and jumped them both out of the hole. When they reached the top Shadow gently put her down and eyed the hole Amy had dropped down from. Amy looked on in confusion as he pulled out Tails' chaos emerald.

"Uh... Shadow... whatcha doin'?"

He simply gave her a cryptic smile as he held it up, "It all starts with this- the jewel containing the ultimate power."

Amy looked on completely baffled and slightly amused but before she could ask he roared out, "Chaos Control!"

When they were met with nothing but silence, Amy had to do everything in her power to keep herself from laughing in his face. The urge to giggle became impossible to ignore as Shadow stared at the gem in confusion before holding it aloft again and crying out, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

Amy snickered under her breath as Shadow's confused look turned into one of pure rage as he shook the offending gem, "What the hell is wrong with this thing?"

Now Amy was outright laughing and Shadow turned his rage towards her, "This is NOT funny! Do you have any idea how we're supposed to get out of here without my chaos control? We're absolutely screwed without it!"

Amy's laughter slowly died down, but she had to remark, "But... I mean. Come on, that was a little funny. You were trying so hard..."

Shadow scoffed, "Well then you can laugh yourself into a grave. Unless you have a better way out of here?"

"Oh stop being so dramatic!" Amy cried, "That was probably Tails' project. You'll meet him once we're back."

She started walking towards the large open door and motioning for Shadow to follow, "Come on, Shadow the Warlock! Looks like we're taking the scenic route back up!"

As Shadow watched the pink hedgehog skip away he couldn't help but wonder if he really didn't want to kill her after all.

"In good time," a voice rasped inside his head.

He wanted to ignore the way his heart sank at the thought. Although she was a bit grating, the girl was oddly impressive. She knew his name but not what he was or what he was capable of.

Getting her to do what he wanted was going to be... difficult.

He shook his head- it wouldn't matter in the end. Nothing mattered anymore.

He followed her out the door.

#Amy Rose #Shadow the Hedgehog #Sonic the Hedgehog #A Helping Hand #Found a Friend

45 notes · View notes

crackedoutgiraffe · 4 years

Text

The Stars in Your Eyes

Part 2: Chapter 1 Part 2: Chapter 2 Part 2: Chapter 3 Part 2: Chapter 4 Part 2: Chapter 5

Master-list

A/N: Sorry this took so long to write. I haven’t really been in the right mindset to write this story. Thank you to everyone who comments, votes, and re-blogs! Ask to be added to the taglist.

2/20/2017

Reid was being held in the DC precinct. You spent all the time there that you could. Emily came in one morning to find you asleep on the chairs in the front office. JJ had been bringing him clothes and checking up on Diana.

Every time you got to see him your heart broke a little more. He kept a smile on his face, but deep down you knew he was hurting. Emily made sure that you were given enough sick time so you didn’t have to leave Spence alone.

The only day you weren’t with him was Friday. You had scheduled an appointment with your doctor to confirm your pregnancy, and she did. It was official in about 36 weeks you would welcome a brand new baby.

“Y/N,” Prentiss called, “a really good friend of mine is one of the best defense attorneys in DC, I was hoping it was okay if she represented Reid.”

You rubbed your eyes and yawned, “I’m okay with it, but you have to ask Reid. I don’t want to do anything against his will.”

“I understand,” she sighed. “Do you want to ask him now?”

You checked your watch, it was a little late, but we really needed this lawyer, “I suppose.” You stood from the uncomfortable chair you were sleeping in and went with Emily to his cell. The door creaked open and the two of you entered the cell block. You got to Reid’s cell and saw him sitting up, wrapped in a blanket.

“Hey,” he yawned. “You should be in the office.”

“I'm right where I need to be, you nodded. “You ok?”

“Yeah,” he said with a small smile on his face. “I'm ok. How's my mom doing?”

“She's doing well,” you haad been by to check on her every day for a few minutes. “JJ's been by to visit every day since your arrest. She explained everything to your mom. Cassie's been great. That makes a big difference.”

“I'm such an idiot,” when he hung his head your heart broke.

You wanted nothing more to hold him at this moment, “Don't, Spencer, don't. You were trying to help your mother.”

His eyes were sad, “I fell right into Scratch's trap.”

“He won't win,” you reached one of your hands through the iron bars. You watched as Spence stood from his bed and walked over to you.

“He already has,” he said as he interlocked his hand with yours.

You smiled at his touch, “just the battle, not the war. You didn't do anything wrong.”

“You and I both know that doesn't matter,” he looked you dead in the eyes. “All that matters is what the prosecutor can prove, and Scratch has stacked the deck against me. Even the FBI's abandoned me.”

“I know,” you brought your hands closer to you. “But we'll keep fighting.”

“I don't even have a lawyer,” he sighed.

“About that…” Prentiss interrupted. “I have a friend, Fiona Duncan. I've known her forever. Her father was in the foreign service, and we met in Italy when my mother was chargé d'affaires at the embassy there. After college, she was a Rhodes scholar. You'd like her. Anyway, now she's one of the best defense attorneys in D.C. I would like it if you would let me reach out to her about representing you.”

“Emily, I really, I appreciate it, but you helping me could destroy your reputation at the Bureau,” he turned toward your boss and let go of your hand.

“My battle, my choice,” she shook her head. “Please, let me help you. Tell me I can reach out to my friend.”

“Thank you,” he smiled and returned to you.

“Good,” Emily said. “Spencer, listen to me. We are gonna get you out of here, I promise.”

“Emily, I hate to ask this of you, but can we have a moment alone,” you gave her a warm smile and soft pleading eyes.

She returned your smile, “of course, I’ll be outside.” She started to make her way to the door; you didn’t talk until she had left.

“How stressed out are you?” you turned to Reid.

He furrowed his brow in confusion, “what do you mean?”

“I have some news for you, but if it’s going to cause you more stress, I won’t tell you.”

He brought your hand to his mouth and placed a soft kiss on the back of it, “whatever you have to tell me I can handle it.”

“I’m pregnant,” you blurted out. You watched as the words registered in his head. He let go of your hand. “Spencer?”

“Actually?” he asked.

You smiled, “actually.”

The mortified look on his face turned to a smile as he reached both his arms through the bars and wrapped you in a hug, “I’m going to be a dad!”

“Please keep your voice down, I haven’t told anyone else,” you sighed into whatever part of him you could.

“How far along are you?” he whispered, letting you out of the hug.

You smiled, “about four weeks.”

You watched as he dropped to his knees and put a hand on your stomach, “Hi there baby, I’m your dad.”

“And you’re going to be out in time to meet him or her,” you smiled at the love of your life kneeling on the floor. “I should let you get some sleep,” you sighed as he stood back up. He gave you a quick kiss and went to lay back on his bed. You walked toward the doors and waited for them to open.

When you arrived back in the waiting room, you saw Emily sitting in a chair on the phone. It was implied that she was on the phone with her lawyer friend, so you decided to get some sleep at home.

***

You woke up to a call from Emily saying that she was ready to meet with Reid. You quickly got dressed and made your way to the DC precinct. You found Emily and Fiona Duncan standing by the doors.

“You must be Fiona Duncan,” you extended your gith hand.

She reciprocated your handshake and smiled, “that’s me.”

“I’m Y/N. Thank you for defending my husband,” you smiled as the three of you walked into the precinct. You three walked to the interview room and talked for a minute before the officer brought Reid in.

“Spencer, hello,” she extended her hand for a handshake.

“Hi,” he gave her a small wave instead of a handshake.

“Fiona Duncan. Emily speaks very highly of you.”

“You, too,” Reid smiled. “It's nice to meet you.”

“I'm sorry to be meeting under these circumstances,” Fiona frowned. “Emily, Y/N, this is an attorney-client meeting. We'll need privacy.”

“Yes, of course,” you smiled.

“Are you ok?” you asked Reid before leaving. He gave you his answer with a kiss on the cheek. “All right. Bye.” The two of you were escorted back to the front desk by one of the officers. The only way you could think to pass the time was to tap your foot and pace the floor. Surely Emily was annoyed with you by now. Within an hour Fione came out of the shadows on a phone call.

“Alright, thank you,” Fiona’s heels clicked against the floor as she walked back. “That was the AUSA they want to make a deal.” The three of you made your way to Reid in silence.

“The AUSA has offered you a deal,” as Fiona delivered the news you watched as Reid’s face light up. “They want you to plead guilty.”

“They want me to plead guilty?” he repeated.

“To involuntary manslaughter,” Fiona sighed. “The offer’s for 2 to 5 years.”

Reid sighed, “2 to 5 years.”

“That's a lot of time,” you frowned. You tried to give him a look that said ‘hey i want you there to meet our child,’ but didn’t know if he understood.

“I understand,” Fiona nodded. “But it's all about perspective. It's a lot more than nothing, but a lot less than 25 to life, which is what you'd be facing if convicted.”

He turned to you, “do you think I should take it?”

“I think, given what's at stake, you owe it to yourself to carefully consider it,” you said.

“I don't think I can lie and say that I did this,” Spence hung his head. Your first reaction was to start rubbing his back. “Is that foolish?”

“No,” Fiona shook her head. “No, of course not. I don't want to see you plead guilty to a crime you didn't commit.”

“Or maybe I should cut my losses,” he looked at you. Seeming him so upset broke your heart.

“Well, the offer is so low, is that a good sign?”Emily asked. “Does it mean that the government thinks they've got a weak case?”

Fiona nodded, “possibly.”

“So that's good,” you smiled.

“Well, not necessarily,” Fiona said with a frown on her face. “It could also mean they're trying to clear the case quickly with minimal publicity. I honestly don't know what it means. And I'm not in the business of second-guessing good offers. Which this is. But I'm also not the one who will be doing time.”

“What would you do in my shoes?” Spence raised his head and looked at Emily.

“I'm not in your shoes,” Emily shook her head. “It's a decision only you can make. Whatever you decide, I'm always in your corner.”

We all are.

“Spencer, if you want to fight this to the end, I promise you I will bring everything in my arsenal to the battle,” the fact that Fiona was willing to fight for Spencer made you much happier. “But what I can't promise you is a better outcome than the one they're offering you today.”

Spence looked down at you. You could see the gears turning in his head, “I want to fight.”

You cleared your throat, “Fiona, can I talk to you in private for a moment?”

“Of course,” she nodded. The two of you left Prentiss and Reid alone to talk for a moment.

“I wanted to let you know that Reid and I are expecting a baby,” you fiddled with your hands and waited for her to respond.

“Y/N,” she sighed, “I am going to fight for him. I will give my all to clear his name.”

You met her eye-line and wrapped her in a hug, “thank you.”

***

You received a call on the day of Spencer’s arraignment that they had found the knife. Emily told you that they had offered a new deal of 5 to 10 years, but Spencer declined. You grabbed your keys and made your way to the courthouse.

When you entered you found Emily pacing the halls, “thank goodness you’re here,” she called when she saw you.

“Of course,” you wrapped her in a quick hug. “He’s still declining the offer?”

She nodded, “according to Fiona, yes.”

“That means we have to fight like hell,” you said as the rest of the team made their way to you. “I'm so glad you made it in time for the arraignment.”

“What did the kid decide about a plea?” Rossi asked.

“I don't know,” Emily shook her head. “I'm not sure he does.”

“I can't stand the thought of him being in prison,” Garcia said.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, “but 5 years is a lot less time than 25.”

“He must be agonizing over this decision,” you sighed.

“Well, whatever he decides, he has our full support,” Luke smiled.

“He knows that,” Emily placed a hand on you back. “It means a lot to him.”

“We have to prove that Scratch did this,” Walked sighed.

Emily nodded, “we'll get him.”

“They're calling his case,” you heard Fiona call from behind you. The eight of you made your way into the courtroom. You sat in the front next to Penelope.

“Case number 149-CR 0308, the U.S. versus Reid,” the bailiff announced.

“Ms. Duncan,” the judge started, “your client is an FBI agent, correct?”

Fiona stood from her seat, “that's right, your honor.”

“You're charged with murder, which is a very serious matter,” the judge addressed Reid directly.

He too stood from his seat, “yes, your honor.”

“All right, Ms. Duncan, does your client wish to enter a plea at this time?”

“He does,” she nods.

“And how do you plead, agent Reid?” the judge asked.

“Not guilty,” he announces.

“Thank God,” Garcia whispered.

“And as to bail?” the judge turns to face the other lawyer.

He stands from his seat and adjusts his suit jacket, “the people oppose bail and request remand, your honor.” The court was filled with various sounds. You almost had a heart attack there in your seat.

“Your honor, my client presents no risk of flight,” Fiona was trying her best to defend Reid.

“That's ridiculous,” the AUSA lawyer shouted. “The defendant was arrested after fleeing the murder scene in Mexico.”

“Those were extenuating circumstances,” Fiona sighed. “He'd been drugged against his will.”

“By failing to notify the FBI of his international travel, the defendant violated the Bureau protocol,” the AUSA lawyer’s voice was becoming very hostile.

“My client presents no flight risk,” Fiona started. “He has deep ties in this community. His mother suffers from Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia and lives with him. He is solely responsible for her well-being. Additionally, he's been a decorated SSA with the FBI's behavioral analysis unit for over a decade.

“And as an FBI agent, he has contacts all over the world,” the lawyer seemed to be fed up with Fiona’s argument.

“Agent Reid would be willing to turn over both his personal and government-issued passports,” she continued.

“If he wanted a counterfeit passport, he could easily get one,” the other lawyer argued.

“He has no criminal history,” Fiona rebutted.

“The defendant is uniquely situated to evade law enforcement should he flee the jurisdiction.”

She turned to face the judge, “your honor, he wants to stay here and clear his good name.”

“He should have thought about his good name before sneaking across the border,” the lawyer quipped.

“I'm prepared to present multiple law enforcement character witnesses on his behalf right now,” you listened as everyone behind you shifted in their seats. “The witnesses are here in the courtroom, all highly respected FBI agents.”

“Simmer down, Ms. Duncan,” you could hear the bitterness in the judge’s voice. “It's almost 6:00 and I'm not inclined to hear from character witnesses. Actions speak louder than words, I always say.”

“We'd be willing to abide by a curfew and strict monitoring of his whereabouts at all times,” she offered.

“Too little too late, counselor,” she sighed.

“Your honor his wife is pregnant,” Fiona finished. You saw Reid look at her and then you. You could feel the eyes of everyone in the courtroom on your back. They felt like hot knives.

“If past behavior is the best indicator of future conduct, and I do believe it is, then your client presents a flight risk. Bail is denied. The defendant will be remanded to federal custody pending trial.” You jumped at the sound of the judge’s gavel. Spencer looked back at you before he was dragged away. The panic in his eyes was enough to make your already broken heart shatter.

You stood from your seat and leaned closer to Fiona, “how long before his case goes to trial?”

“It's a complicated case. 3 months,” she shook her head before turning to face Spencer who was being dragged away in handcuffs. “Spencer, I'm sorry. I will come and see you as soon as I can.”

The rest of the night you refused to talk to anyone. The team tried to comfort you, but nothing worked. You cried yourself to sleep that night and every night after for a week.

Taglist:

@la-vie-en-amour1 @vixengustin88

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer #Criminal Minds #criminal minds fic #criminal minds fanfiction

35 notes · View notes

ohblackdiamond · 4 years

Text

little t&a (paul/gene, nc-17) (part 13 of 29)

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11 part 12 part 13 part 14 part 15 part 16 part 17 part 18 part 19 part 20 part 21 part 22 part 23 part 24 part 25 part 26 part 27 part 28 part 29

Four weeks before KISS gets back on tour, Gene discovers that Paul’s been cursed by a groupie. For the sake of KISS’ finances, Paul’s comfort levels, and Gene’s libido, this crisis must be resolved. Sexswap fic. In this chapter: Paul and Gene go to the temple of mammon, Studio 54.

“You look,” Gene said, throat drier than sandpaper, “really good.”

Good was an understatement. Paul looked hot. The light blue of the dress made a good contrast against his still-suntanned skin. The neckline made up for the dress length, providing more cleavage than Gene had seen out of Paul since he’d first met him on the front porch in the bathrobe. The heels accentuated his legs—even as a guy, Paul had always had nice legs—but for maybe the first time in three days, Gene was paying more attention to Paul’s face than his body.

It wasn’t like he’d done anything wild with makeup. Blush, red lipstick, eyeshadow, mascara. Except for the eyeliner maybe being a bit heavier, it was about the same look as the night prior. But Paul seemed happier. Relaxed. There wasn’t that tightness to his jaw anymore or that tension to his mouth. And that was a surprise, given the stilted way their dancing earlier had ended. Gene thought Paul might have been sore or tetchy, or at least awkward, but he’d just carried right on. Those sad brown eyes of his didn’t look sad at all, for once, and if Gene were sentimental, he would almost have said they were sparkling.

Maybe he’d just liked sharing a few dances with Gene. And maybe tonight really was the night that this would all be over. Every bit of it. Back to normal life for them both, touring and signing and interviewing. Back to life a hotel room away from each other. He’d be stupid to regret the change. Just stupid.

“You’re not half so bad yourself, Gene.” Paul crooked his head as if he hadn’t seen variations of his outfit at least a dozen times over just this year. As if he hadn’t been suggesting half of it while Gene had asked for the clothes to be sent over. Black leather everything, including the pants—something he already was regretting bitterly. Silver accessories. A belt with a spider encased in enamel as the buckle plate. The public demanded a monster movie out of Gene even when he got off the stage.

“That’s generous.” The limo was already idling in Paul’s driveway. “You ready?”

It took a few seconds for Paul to answer. He wasn’t looking at Gene, at least, not directly in the face; it almost seemed as though Paul was scoping him out, assessing him like there was something new to assess. Gene would have called him out on it, except during times like this, he never was sure if it was Paul’s hearing or Paul’s daydreaming to blame.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

The limo ride was uneventful. Gene decided he didn’t care for Studio 54 long before they pulled up to the VIP entrance. He decided that through the line wrapping around the building for what seemed like miles, the garish outfits of the wannabes begging for admittance, and the weird air of desperation mixed with eagerness that seemed to permeate through the limo windowpane. It made him feel itchy. Beside him, Paul had spent a bit of time doodling peace signs and dicks in the misted-up windowglass like it was a school notebook. His good mood didn’t seem to dampen until the limousine stopped, and he saw the press, out there already, all cameras and notepads.

“Gene—”

“It’s fine, I’ve got my bandana.” He’d forgotten to ask for it over the phone, but it’d been in the box of clothes for him anyway. A couple of them, actually. “Do you want one?”

Paul shook his head.

“No, it’s okay. Switch spots with me, would you?”

Gene swapped obligingly. The limo wasn’t roomy enough to avoid Paul brushing up against him as they traded seats. He caught the woodsy scent of Aramis cologne in Paul’s hair, just another indication of what he’d spent three days pounding into his head now.

“Want me to hold the door for you, too?”

“God, no.”

Gene laughed, and got out first. The bandanas always made him feel like he was about to rob a bank. Every so often, they’d get goofy with it, find weird headgear—knight and astronaut and football helmets—but for the most part, bandanas and scarves were enough out in public, real public. Places where they wanted to be seen, under normal circumstances. The first half-dozen camera flashes were blinding as always. He helped Paul out of the limo, hovering over him as he stepped out. Part of him wished he’d thought to bring a jacket, but maybe that would’ve made it worse, provoked the paparazzi more, if he’d tried covering Paul up too much.

“You okay?” he asked, as the crowd shuddered and swarmed around them. A horde, just a horde, worse than the CBGB crowd ever considered being. Fans would want an autograph or a lay. The press only ever wanted blood.

“I’m fine, I’m—”

“Mr. Simmons!” A woman reporter called out, touching his free arm. “Can I have just a moment?”

“No,” he said, brushing past, his hold on Paul’s arm only getting tighter. Walking quickly, not making eye contact, until the line—there was a line, unbelievably, for VIPs—forced him to stop. Paul had his head half-buried against his shoulder for the whole duration of their wait, tensing with every camera flash and intrigued leer. Gene realized, offhand, that the attention wasn’t pissing Paul off the way it had at CBGB. Instead, it was scaring him.

It made sense, he supposed. CBGB wasn’t nearly important enough to have reporters and cameramen about. They didn’t have big names there, either, no one that Paul would’ve really worried about bumping into. Paul had said earlier that he didn’t think he could pull off talking to someone that knew him, and Gene suspected he was right. Gene suspected an interviewer was even further beyond him at this point.

He’d expected to just be let in once they arrived at the velvet-roped entrance, not really believing Paul’s claims about exclusivity, but instead, a broad-shouldered kid with a grin held them up at the door.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Gene echoed, and shoved down his bandana. On wry automatic, he held up his free hand—full of rings, including the skull one that the teenyboppers seemed fascinated by—as if it was a secret signal. The doorman blinked, unconvinced. Gene could hear Paul snort beside him. “I’m Gene Simmons from KISS, and the—lovely Miss Eisen and I would—”

Still smiling, the doorman pointed at his own tongue.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” But Gene stuck it out anyway. The kid’s expression didn’t change much as he opened the door to let them in. Gene pocketed his bandana, but he didn’t loosen his grip on Paul until they were on the VIP floor, and hopefully beyond the bulk of the press’ touch, and even then, he didn’t let go. Paul looked a little shaken up, anyway, though Gene couldn’t blame him. It was a different beast from last night, for all their objective hadn’t changed.

“Don’t worry. They won’t have gotten any good shots,” Gene said.

“That may not matter. Depends on who else is here.” Paul sighed, worming his arm out from Gene’s, shifting to hold his hand instead. No hesitation. He was getting accustomed to it. So was Gene.

Gene stole a glance Paul’s way before really taking a look at the scene, trying to absorb New York’s hottest discotheque, decide if the interior impressed him any more than the exterior. He decided it didn’t. Maybe too promptly. But the flashing lights, the blaring music—all that was ostensibly no different from CBGB, or any other bar or club; it was just a matter of size and budget and spectacle. It didn’t matter if someone was worth ten bucks or ten million; they all looked the same passed out on the floor. Enough of them were already that Gene couldn’t quite believe they’d gotten to Studio 54 on time.

“What do you think, Gene?”

“You liked it here?”

The VIP floor was covered in lounge furniture, long couches and glass-topped tables. The carpets were dirty, and the smell of booze was heavier in the air than Gene had experienced in years. Probably not since that ill-fated Hotter than Hell shoot when they’d first started off, the one that had very nearly ended with—well. Gene wasn’t in the mood to consider that one, not given Paul’s current shape.

But almost every square inch of the place was smothered in people. Hollywood giants, of vintage and modern flavors. He saw Liz Taylor—wild, to see Cleopatra in the flesh, nearly fifteen years out from the role and easily fifty pounds heavier. He saw Michael Jackson, making moon-eyes as usual at Diana Ross. Poor, hopeless kid. He could’ve sworn he saw Truman Capote, hitting on a well-muscled, shirtless bartender. And all around the giants were the hangers-on and the hopefuls and the arm candies of the duration. Transvestites in g-string bikinis, lesbians in suits. It was viscerally strange, the sheer variety. No one was paying them much mind yet, aware, somehow, that they were too sober to be worth noticing. Paul cleared his throat, defensive.

“Well, yeah, I like it. It’s kind of wild, yeah, but—”

Three feet from them, a producer was puking straight onto the carpet, while a Playboy bunny rubbed the top of his head. On top of one of the tables, a guy was snorting a line of coke straight down a naked girl’s breasts, and as he kept sliding, Gene realized that the powder ran all the way down, bisecting her torso.

“Paul, this is a cesspool.”

“C’mon, you’ve seen this shit before.”

“Not all at once.” Gene shook his head. “You’re not even into it. Why would you go here?” He understood it for Ace and Peter, as drugged-up as they’d get. He didn’t understand it for Paul. What was he trying to accomplish? What would it really matter, getting with the big names right in their stomping grounds, when those names were so trashed that they were useless? I want to belong somewhere, that was what he’d said. But this somewhere wasn’t it.

“I just—”

“Mr. Simmons!” came a voice out of the din, eager and excitable. Not a VIP. The tone was too innocent, too close to admiring. Gene turned around.

“I’m not doing auto—”

“Mr. Simmons! I work for Mr. Rubell! I’m one of the doormen!” The kid couldn’t have been older than twenty, blondish and broad-shouldered. “Sorry I didn’t get you at the door, we’ve got a couple new guys, they don’t know—but listen, we’re all looking for that Carol chick!”

“Good.”

“We’ll tell Mr. Stanley when we see him, too.”

“Thanks.”

The doorman nodded, making an awkward salute before heading back. Obliquely, Gene wondered if Bill and Sean had checked Studio 54 out yet. Rubell seemed to have a hiring preference in line with their tastes. He turned to Paul again.

“Looks like they got the memo. You wanna sit down?”

“I… maybe for a minute.” Paul’s eyes darted around, searching for an empty table. Gene looked, too, but he didn’t see one. No corners they could tuck themselves into—not that a corner would’ve been great for keeping a lookout for Carol. Gene felt Paul squeeze his hand. Shot nerves already. Gene could tell that much before Paul spoke again. “If I can keep from talking to anybody, that’d be great.”

“I don’t think you’re going to be that lucky,” Gene said dryly, spying a tall man getting up out of his chair and waving them over.

“If it isn’t Gene Simmons!” the man called out in a distinctively non-American accent. Even if he hadn’t spoken, the feathered brown hair and bright smile would’ve made it obvious. It was Barry Gibb, holding a glass of champagne. “I thought your band was back on the road!”

“Barry, hey,” Gene said, sticking out his hand on automatic. Barry shook it exuberantly. “You’re a few weeks early for that one. How are you?”

Paul looked a bit like he wanted to die on the spot. Barry didn’t seem to notice.

“Great, great. My little brother, Andy…” if possible, Barry’s beaming increased, “he’s just released a single. It’s a guaranteed hit.”

“Really? I think I’d heard he had his own group in Australia—”

“Zenta! You do keep up!” Barry clasped his shoulder. “No, that’s done with now. He’s doing some fantastic solo work…”

Despite the meaningful, sour glances Paul kept throwing his way, Gene’s interest was piqued enough at the thought of a hit, and the thought of a worthwhile contact—the time or two they’d met in passing prior, Barry had been just about this congenial, so Gene didn’t think he was drunk—that he accepted Barry’s invitation to sit down. The next twenty minutes were filled with shop talk, Barry sending off for a Coke for Gene and a whiskey highball for Paul (Gene suspected Paul took Barry up on the offer as payback rather than an actual desire to drink, since he barely touched it), and praise Gene had a hard time fully enjoying.

“My son loves KISS, you know,” Barry said at one point. “He’s never gotten half so excited over our albums.”

“Really? How old is he?” Gene took a sip of his Coke, leaning forward. “We’ll have Casablanca send him something. We have a whole catalog of new merchandise in the works.”

“He’ll be four in December.”

Paul, who had stayed mostly silent up until that point, looked mortified.

“Four?” he almost wailed. Barry seemed amused.

“Oh, love, it’s not an insult. I wish we had that kind of mass appeal behind us.”

“Gene, this—we’ve got to talk to Bill, Gene, we just can’t—I know we don’t get taken seriously, but for God’s sake—”

Under the table, Gene nudged Paul’s bare ankle with his boot. Paul flushed and cut himself off abruptly. Barry glanced over at Paul, then took a swallow of champagne.

“The youth market's the best one to be in, Polly. I've been in this industry long enough to promise you that."

“What, ten years?”

“Next year it’ll be twenty.” Barry got up, shaking both their hands. “I hate to leave you too abruptly, but I’m to meet up with Maurice in a bit. Great to meet you, Polly, great to see you again, Gene.”

“Yeah. And I do mean it, about the merch. We’ve got dolls—”

“Oh, Steve’d love them. Thank you.” Another bright smile, and Barry headed off. Paul let out a groan as soon as he was out of earshot.

“Twenty years,” he mumbled, slumping forward, propping his head up with his hand. “How the hell was I supposed to know the Bee Gees have been at it for twenty years?”

“I didn’t, either,” Gene admitted.

“Fuck, how old is Barry, anyway? Peter’s age?”

“I have no idea.”

“At least he’s not gonna see me again like this. God, he thought I was a jackass…” Paul sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“He didn’t take it personally. Barry’s a good guy.”

“Twenty years stuck with his brothers. I’m amazed they haven’t killed each other.” Paul got up, stepping away from the table, and Gene followed suit. “Think we can get a better look around without getting interrupted? I couldn’t see anything from here.”

Just from a cursory glance, Gene doubted it. Most of the other tables were full or near-full, and no good for people-watching. They’d be better off on the floor.

“We’re going to have to stand to see.” Gene started to take Paul’s arm again, almost on automatic, but a glance at his shoulder stopped him. “Did you get another bra?”

“What?”

Gene pressed a finger against the purple strap hanging past Paul’s sleeve. Paul shook his head, looking abashed.

“No, this is… this is just the nightie.”

Paul’s cheeks were going a little pink. That pink went straight to red when Gene tugged the strap back into place for him. He had to push Paul’s hair back and turn up his sleeve in order to fix the strap up again to his shoulder, under the dress. His skin was soft, dotted with a handful of moles Gene hadn’t ever really noticed before. There was the pitted smallpox vaccination scar, and the tattoo, of course, the green stem peeking a little past his sleeve. Gene’s fingers lingered longer than they needed to on his arm before he remembered himself enough to pull back.

“The nightie? Why are you wearing that here?”

The redness in Paul’s face wasn’t anywhere near abating.

“Because I didn’t buy a slip. This dress is thinner than I thought.”

“I bet it looks cute on.”

Paul fidgeted, starting to adjust the strap himself, fiddling with the slider.

“Thought you said you just liked what was underneath.”

“Well, that’s the main event, but you’ve got to say something for packaging—"

“Keep pushing it and you won’t find out.”

“I’ll take the chance.” Gene grinned. “Dance with me.”

He said it on impulse, almost airily. The song blaring through the speakers—some new funk bit from Marvin Gaye was already midway through. Paul put one hand on Gene’s shoulder. Still worried about what people thought of him, even in a place like this. A place where no one would’ve even given much of a shit about them dancing if Paul was like he ought to be. And yet here Paul was, thinking anyone’d care about a girl leading a guy. Gene shook his head, taking Paul’s arm and moving it to his waist.

“No, you lead.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay.”

The driving, pulsating bassline and wailing saxophone were such a far cry from the CSNY album they’d danced to in Paul’s basement. There was a flippant, overly sexual air to disco that was kind of fascinating. More marketable than their own sordid stuff. Gene didn’t know if KISS would try and ride the wave—they’d talked about it, and Paul had tossed around a few song lyrics—but it hadn’t come to much yet. Might ruin their image. Might solidify it.

Step by step. Paul was stiffer on the dance floor than he’d been in the basement. Partially because of how he had to keep shifting them both around, to avoid dancing into other couples, or stepping on passed-out partiers. But there was more to it than that. His lips were pursed, as if he didn’t quite know how to handle the song. Maybe, for once, he was listening to the lyrics.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

A little sweat was clinging to Paul’s brow, and a little more to Paul’s palm, enclosed in his. He hadn’t tried anything close to fancy, not even any turns or spins. He’d seen Paul do better than this just a few hours ago. Nerves. Except the only time Paul didn’t nerve out was in front of an audience. And this audience was too wasted to care if the two of them were tearing up the dancefloor or stumbling through each step. Paul’s tongue was poking out between his teeth again, and he wasn’t looking Gene in the face, and he wasn’t looking around the room.

Something warm was spreading in Gene, the longer he looked at Paul, the longer they danced. Stepped in time, more like. That concentration made his features seem almost sweet. Paul’s hand on his waist was fidgeting, like he’d forgotten how to hold it. Gene squeezed his shoulder, and Paul raised his head, finally, as Gene cleared his throat to speak.

“Hey. What’d you say dancing was earlier?”

Paul blinked, caught off guard enough that he stopped moving.

“Getting a feel for your partner. Mirroring them.”

“That’s right.” Gene exhaled. His fingers inched up past Paul’s shoulder, touching his cheek for a brief second before returning to his shoulder again. “Could you mirror something for me, then? Right now.”

“Yeah.” Paul had turned his head towards Gene’s hand. Was looking right at him, all big dark eyes and red lips. Red lips that were twitching up, suddenly, in the faintest ghost of a smile. “What do you want to—"

Gene inclined his head and met Paul’s lips with his own.

Paul kissed back instantly. Greedily. Gene was almost taken aback. It wasn’t ferocious so much as desperate, as though all his pent-up energy was suddenly given just a single release. Paul’s tongue licked across Gene’s lips for entrance before Gene could even get there first, hot and overwhelming. Gene dropped his hold on Paul’s hand to cup his smooth, soft jaw, fingers careful not to brush too far past it. His fingertips caught onto Paul’s curls, stiff with hairspray, yet they still somehow felt good against his fingers. The scent of his cologne, emanating off his hair and neck, was almost overwhelming, cologne and sweat and something else; for an insane moment Gene felt like he could almost smell the want on him.

Paul tightened his grip on Gene’s waist, pulling him forward until their bodies were flush. Gene’s hard-on was getting unbearable, pressing up against Paul nearly worse than no relief, because of all the things wasn’t. Gene couldn’t think straight. Could barely let himself remember who was kissing him so ardently, who he was kissing back, whose lipstick was smearing against his mouth and jaw and neck—

Gene only pulled back to get a breath in. Paul’s hand had sunk below Gene’s waist, groping at his ass through the leather fabric. Paul kept shoving his hips against him, friction that didn’t really quite manage to hit its target. Too much of a height difference. They could fix that. Fuck, they could fix that right here in the disco, in one of those basement rooms—he could fuck Paul there, against the wall, or on the floor; he didn’t care, anywhere. He murmured against Paul’s neck, lapping and kissing, not quite daring to leave a mark against his skin. Gene barely felt Paul’s ankle latch around his boot, almost as if he was laying claim, but it warmed him, nearly as much as Paul’s little hitches for breath, the needy press of his lips against his skin. Gene grunted, fingers tightening on Paul’s hair, intending on tugging him back in for another kiss when Paul’s expression shifted, dilated, glassy eyes suddenly going wide, whole body tight as piano wire. His foot went back into place on the floor, stiff as a soldier, hands seeming frozen on Gene. The color was starting to drain from his face.

“Paul? What’s wrong?”

It must have hit him. His brain must have caught up with his libido faster than Gene’s had. Gene started to let go, feeling his brow furrow, a little, hopeless shame twitching in his gut, but then Paul grabbed onto him harder, shaking his head.

“It’s not you. It’s not you, I swear.” One hand withdrew, just to point. Gene couldn’t follow Paul’s finger at first, with the slew of people, but finally he caught sight of the blond doorman from earlier, ushering someone forward, towards them. Someone cute, but not beautiful. Not a VIP. Someone he knew wouldn’t belong on her own here, any more than Paul did.

A small young woman with light brown hair.

“She’s here.”

#kiss the band #paul stanley #gene simmons #gene simmons x paul stanley

23 notes · View notes

westannatasharomanoff · 4 years

Text

THG AU Chapter 26

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25

A reminder before we begin that this is an AU and not everything needs to be possible in original canon.

*Once Bruce and Natasha got back to the house and unpacked Bruce’s bags, they decided to sit together in the living room for a bit before dinner. Natasha lasted about two minutes before she fell asleep on his lap. About ten minutes later, he heard a knock at the door.*

Bruce: Who is it?

Wanda: It’s me, Wanda.

Bruce: Oh, come in. *points to Natasha* Just be quiet.

Wanda: *enters* I need to talk to you.

Bruce: What’s wrong?

Wanda: I need to know who’s okay. What happened to everyone in District 3?

Bruce: *sigh* Oh, that. Tony was with me and he’s okay. His daughter, Morgan, was found in an old storm cellar, so she’s alive. They never found his wife, Pepper, and Vision’s definitely dead. That’s everyone you know.

Wanda: *tears in her eyes* Oh.

Bruce: Are you all right?

Wanda: No, this is all my fault! I shouldn’t have- I’m so sorry! *runs to the door*

Bruce: It’s not your- *door shuts behind Wanda*

*Bruce sighed and looked down at Natasha. He kissed her on the forehead and stood up to make dinner. He woke her up to eat and they went to bed early. The next day, a hovercraft arrived with all of Bruce’s lab equipment and a spare bedroom was turned into a lab. They got settled pretty quickly, and after a week they couldn’t imagine things any other way. Two weeks after the wedding, the victory tour took place. The winner of the 90th Hunger Games was a boy from District 4 and his tour went pretty well. Two weeks after the tour, they got a visit from a man that looked strikingly similar to President Snow.*

Natasha: *opens the door* (shocked) President Snow! To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?

Ego: I’m not President Snow. I’m his brother, Ego. Although, I do bring a message from him. Can I come in?

Natasha: Of course! We were just about to eat breakfast. Bruce! The president’s brother came to see us.

Bruce: What? Oh! Hello sir. Please, sit down! Would you like some raisin nut bread?

Ego: Sure. Thank you.

Natasha: You said you had a message from the president?

Ego: Yes. I do. You see, there’s a rumor of a secret organization being started to rebel against The Capitol. We need you to give the districts something to talk about other than the accidental bombing of 3 so that this movement doesn’t take off.

Bruce: What do you want us to do?

Ego: Nothing too big, we just want you to have a baby.

Natasha: *dropping her plate* A baby?! Now what gave you that idea? I’m not- I mean- are you sure you meant to say baby? I never said we were having a baby!

Ego: Yes, a baby. That’ll distract the people. We’ll even send the best interior designer in The Capitol to build your nursery.

Natasha: We can’t just decide exactly if and when that happens! Like, what, you think we can just have one right now?

Ego: Both of my children were fairly easy. Make it happen. Anyway, where did you get this raisin nut bread? It is absolutely delicious and I want to bring some home to my daughter and son.

Bruce: Our friend Wanda made it. She won the 88th games and cooking is her hobby. She made several loaves yesterday.

Ego: I’ll have to ask her for one.

Natasha: Wait, so you're just going to force us to have a child? Shouldn’t that be our decision?

Bruce: Nat, calm down. We wouldn’t want to upset our guest.

Ego: Listen to your husband. Bruce, thank you for controlling your wife.

Bruce: She doesn’t need to be controlled, we just wouldn’t want to be rude to our special surprise visitor.

Natasha: Right, I’m sorry.

Ego: I’ll be back in a month to see how things are going.

Natasha: Okay. *under her breath* This is awkward.

Bruce: *after he leaves* What’s awkward? Why did you get so defensive? What’s gotten into you? Are you pregnant or something?

Natasha: *slightly annoyed* Surprise!

Bruce: Wait, what? Seriously?

Natasha: Yep. I wasn’t going to tell you quite yet, but...

Bruce: This is so exciting! I can’t believe this! You should tell Ego right now so he doesn’t have to come back!

Natasha: Uggh, fine.

*Natasha catches up to Ego and explains the situation. Two weeks later, The Capitol aired a news story announcing a baby naming competition.*

Natasha: Unbelievable! We don’t even get to name our own baby!

Bruce: I know you’re upset, but we have to play by their rules. Besides, not all of their name ideas are bad. I kind of like Carson for a boy.

Natasha: Well then I guess it’s a real shame we’re the only people in Panem who don’t get to vote.

Bruce: It’ll be fine. We still have each other and soon we’ll have- *hears tapping at back window* what is that sound?

Natasha: Nick Fury? Why is he tapping on our window? Who’s that guy with him?

Bruce: *opening the window* I have no idea.

Fury: I need to talk to you two. Natasha, is your friend Maria busy today? You know, the one from the wedding?

Natasha: She’s in the coal mines right now, but she’ll be home in a couple hours.

Fury: Perfect. Until then, Coulson, if you will.

* The mysterious man pushes a button, trapping Natasha, Bruce, Fury, and himself in a clear bubble.*

Fury: This thing is soundproof and we can see what’s outside of it without being seen. I can hear hear anyone who is outside of the bubble using this earpiece. We’ll know if someone enters.

Bruce: This is amazing! How did you make it?

Phil: Have you met a man name Leo Fitz? He’s about your age and he’s also from 3. He built this.

Bruce: How do you know Leo?

Natasha: More importantly, who are you and why are you here?

Phil: My name is Phil Coulson, District 9.

Fury: He’s here because we need to talk to you about S.H.I.E.L.D.

Natasha: What?

Fury: It’s an organization put together by a woman from District 4. Her name is Margaret “Peggy” Carter and her goal is to overthrow President Snow and the other hooligans he has running our government. I’m her second in command.

Coulson: Basically, S.H.I.E.L.D. is here to help protect the citizens of Panem from an oppressive government. Eventually, we’ll liberate them.

Bruce: How long has this been a thing?

Fury: It all started about sixteen years ago. Peggy and I as well as a few others were working with District 13 to try to start a rebellion.

Natasha: District 13 was completely obliterated almost 100 years ago! Are you saying it survived?

Fury: The Capitol mostly let it be. They were smallpox bombed once a few decades ago and it wiped out like half of the population, but they survived that. Unfortunately, they were smallpox bombed again after the berry incident and they all died off due to disease and a lack of resources. It looked like the revolution was over for good, but Peggy wouldn’t accept that. She founded S.H.I.E.L.D. as an initiative to save Panem, and now she wants you two in on it. She wanted Clint too, but...

Natasha: We’re in.

Bruce: What? Natasha, I can’t let you do this. We can’t do this.

Natasha: We have to! We can’t just sit here while the government does terrible things! That makes us no better than them.

Bruce: I am not letting my pregnant wife join a secret organization and attempt to overthrow the government! Keeping you safe will always be my number one priority.

Natasha: We have to do this. For Clint, for Yelena, for Vision, for Pepper, for Wanda and Pietro’s parents, and for anyone else that is defenseless against the might of The Capitol. Besides, if we’re having a child, isn’t it kind of our duty to create a better tomorrow? A world where they won’t have to worry about being reaped for the games and everyone has a fair chance at survival.

Bruce: That sounds amazing, but losing you is not a risk I am willing to take.

Natasha: That’s my decision, not yours. *turns to Fury* I’m in.

Bruce: I’m sticking with her, so I’m in too. I just have one question. How did Coulson manage to get here from 9 without The Capitol knowing?

Phil: We have someone in District 6. Alphonso Mackenzie, he fixes hovercrafts. We actually cloak hovercrafts and have important meetings midair. The Capitol hasn’t detected us yet.

*Later that night, Maria Hill was recruited.*

Fury: Welcome aboard!

Maria: Thanks, I’m glad to be a part of this.

Fury: Ever since the wedding I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that I know you from somewhere.

Maria: You know, it’s funny you should say that, because you do look familiar.

Fury: That is odd.

thank you to @fictionalfangirlsworld for helping me place characters in districts.

#the hunger games au #the hunger games #natasha romanoff #bruce banner #brutasha #brucenat #s.h.i.e.l.d.#marvel #avengers #mcu

8 notes · View notes

nicka-nell · 4 years

Text

There is no such Thing as a perfect world - Chapter 12: Everything breaks

Words in this chapter: 1.243

Warning: Mention of violence, mention of death, angst and more angst, Manga spoiler

Chapter 11 - Tick-Tack the time is up

(y/n) = your name | (l/n) = your last name | (h/c) = hair color | (e/c) = eye color

Huddled up, (y/n)’s lifeless body lies on the ground and is covered with wounds. His legs move faster than he can think, and he falls to the ground next to her. „(y/n)?" his softly broken voice can be heard as he tries to wake her up in vain. He turns her to himself and holds her in his arms. Through all the blood he can hardly recognize her. Her cold, lifeless body is covered in blood in his arms, and he holds her tightly to himself. Her whole body shows deep, partly already inflamed wounds. His whole body trembles, and he is now clear, his perfect world has been completely destroyed. So many emotions boil up in him at the same time: anger, despair, fear, hate, regret and grief. Tears flow along his cheeks, and he would love to scream, but he can’t. Crying, he presses her head, with his now also red-coloured hands by her blood, to his chest, when he hears a clicking of a door.

He quickly turns around and sees the man who was seen on the video. Like a lion he leaps up and wants to kill the man who caused his love such torment. With a loud desperate scream he runs towards him before the man can pull something out of his pocket and hits him several times in the face. The breaking of his bones is heard and blood flows over the face of the man. „You wanker! You asshole! You bastard!" Wakatoshi roars and strikes again, grabbing the man by the collar and throwing him into the other corner of the room. Lying on the floor, he groans in pain and reaches into his pocket. “You idiot! Because of you, I can’t enjoy my work until the end. How could you even find me? That’s impossible!" Hisses the man whose nose and cheekbone are broken. He holds a gun in front of Wakatoshi and a loud bang can be heard. Briefly, Wakatoshi sees his life passing by with (y/n) as he hears the bang of the gun.

But it is not Wakatoshi lying motionless on the floor. It is the disgusting man whose skull content is now partly stuck to the ship’s wall. "Wakatoshi? Why did you go down here alone?!" shouts Yato to him, who is upset about Wakatoshi’s sole action. When he heard his scream, he quickly came down and saw that the man had pointed a gun at Wakatoshi. He acted quickly and shot him in self-defense. Wakatoshi doesn’t answer him, he slowly stumbles back to (y/n)’s body and falls to the ground in front of her again. Only Wakatoshi’s own breath, his own heart and this terrible beeping on his ears can be heard. With shaky and bloody hands, he presses her body back to him in the hope that she simply opens her eyes and everything was just a bad dream. Yato’s blood freezes when he sees his little sister like that and his gun hits the ground. He also goes quickly to the two and checks her pulse. "Wakatoshi? Wakatoshi! I’m calling an ambulance!" he shouts to him. "She’s alive, she still has a weak pulse, I go up and call an ambulance." A glimmer of hope can be seen and with shaky fingers, he types the number of the emergency call into his mobile phone. Wakatoshi had put his jacket over (y/n)’s body and held her back to his body, so she wouldn’t lose any more heat. It doesn’t take long for the ambulance to arrive. (y/n) is placed on the gurney and taken to the hospital with blue light. While Yato has to report to the police, Wakatoshi is taken to a room where he is interrogated about the incident. It is decided that he acted out of self-defense and that he can get out of the police station again. He wants to go straight to the hospital, but there he is told that (y/n) is not allowed to receive any visitors as she is in a critical circumstance. Scared for her, he leaves the hospital when he receives a message from his friend.

Satori Tendou [03:20 p.m]: Hello Wakatoshi-kun. Did you find (y/n)? How is she? Wakatoshi Ushijima [03:21 p.m.]: Hello Tendou, we have found her but her condition is not stable.I am not allowed to visit her in the hospital yet. Satori Tendou [03:22 p.m.]: Do you want to talk? Wakatoshi Ushijima [03:23 p.m.]: I think I’m trying to distract myself with my training. Satori Tendou [03:24 p.m.]: All right, but if you want to talk, just let me know. I’m here for you, my friend. Wakatoshi Ushijima [03:25 p.m.]: Thank you Tendou.

When he arrived at his training, his teammates greeted him friendly and teased him with the fact that he hadn’t been there for so long. "Did you and (y/n) have a couple of long nights or what was the reason for your disappearance?", grins Romero and hits him lightly on the back. "(y/n) has been kidnapped and is in hospital. The doctors don't know if she'll survive." he answers him coldly and passes by the shock-filled faces. "That's a bad joke, isn't it?" Romero asks him in horror. "Do you really think I'd make jokes about something like that Romero?" He's hissing at him. "Ushijima... I'm terribly sorry. Don't you want to be with her?" he asks with a pitying expression on his face. "No. I'm not allowed to see her yet. At home, everything reminds me of her. I need a distraction. Let's train." he already answers him with his back to his teammate. For a long time he stays in the hall and is only together with his trainer in the big room. The other members went home exhausted, but they told Wakatoshi that tomorrow they will try to distract him as long as they can. "Ushijima... You should go home. I know it's hard, but you need your sleep." his trainer tries to calm him down in a calm tone and puts his hand on his back. Like a worried father he looks at him. „I can’t do that.", Wakatoshi’s quiet, broken voice can be heard. „Everything reminds me of her." Sighing, his coach stands up and hands him his hand. "At some point you'll have to go home. Go now and get some rest. Don't think so negative. That doesn't help her." For a long time he stands with his outstretched hand in front of Wakatoshi, until after several minutes he looks up at his trainer and lets himself be pulled upwards by his hand. Every step closer to their shared apartment hurts. Arriving in front of the apartment door, he notices how his hand begins to shake, and he does not manage to put the key into the lock. Sighing, he leans his head against the front door. "Please, (y/n)... I believe in you. Please don't die." he whispers quietly and breathes deeply. Again he tries to open the door and goes into the apartment. The living room table is still devastated and the wall in which he has punched his fist several times is still lightly colored by his blood. He does not manage to go into the bedroom and tries to fall asleep on the sofa for several hours. But every time he closes his eyes, he sees his beloved (y/n) covered in blood lying in front of him. Lifeless.

Wakatoshi Ushijima [03:49 a.m.]: Tendou?

Chapter 13 - A true friend

12 notes · View notes

worldcakecakecake · 4 years

Text

Feliciano and the King of Hearts

Chosen by the gods as the Queen of Hearts from the moment of birth, we follow Feliciano’s story as he grows into royal life, learns to rule, go against age old customs, and his relationship with his husband to be, the King of Hearts.

Chapter 1 I Chapter 2 I Chapter 3 I Chapter 4 I Chapter 5 I Chapter 6I Chapter 7 I Chapter 8 IChapter 9I Chapter 10I Chapter 11I Chapter 12 I Chapter 13 I Chapter 14 I Chapter 15 I Chapter 16 I Chapter 17 I Chapter 18 I Chapter 19I Chapter 20 I Chapter 21 I Chapter 22 I Chapter 23 I Chapter 24 I Chapter 25 I Chapter 26 I Chapter 27 I Chapter 28I Chapter 29 I Chapter 30 I Chapter 31 I Chapter 32 I Chapter 33 I Chapter 34 I Chapter 35 I Chapter 36 I Chapter 37I chapter 38 I Chapter 39 I Chapter 40 I Chapter 41 I Chapter 42 I Chapter 43 I Chapter 44 I Chapter 45 I Chapter 46I Chapter 47 I Chapter 48 I Chapter 49 I Chapter 50 I Chapter 51 I Chapter 52 I Chapter 53 I Chapter 54 I Chapter 55 I Chapter 56 I Chapter 57 I Chapter 58 I Chapter 59 I Chapter 60I Chapter 61 I Chapter 62 I Chapter 63 I Chapter 64 I Chapter 65 I Chapter 66 I Chapter 67 I Chapter 68 I Chapter 69 I Chapter 70 I Chapter 71 I Chapter 72 I Chapter 73

Chapter 74

It was the third day of Feliciano’s journey in the interludes, well-marked before all in large writings tall above the pool. Louis had made it to keep themselves counted, to make sure and not miss a single beat of this mission. They kept their watch on the body. It was never left unseen. There was a rhythm of turns they had already begun to get used to, all while others took their own turn attending to the war. The room was never quiet, someone was always running in and out, stomping, throwing items or shouting, making it almost impossible to take any sleep as they had hoped.

“-It is imminent! We need to guard even the Northern Heartian border. The Faroe Islands I’m sure have enough people to act,” Aldrich commanded with those slams on the table that had the sleepers startled away from whatever dream they tried to manage.

“They only have a population of fifty-thousand, and thirty-thousand of them have already been sent to aid the front with Destro!” Elizabeta joined in those hits.

“Then they have another ten-thousand to protect their own Kingdom from being attack by Khaos.”

“Many of those twenty-thousand left are children and caretakers!”

Aldrich groaned and growled into the palm of his hands, rocking in a way that almost looked like he was defeated in tears.

Kandake sighed, “I’ll send a messenger to see if there are more soldiers they can offer. If not, then we’ll have to call soldiers back to defend.” Kandake gazed to the latest numbers sent…it looked that perhaps she might have to send from her own people…it hurt and pained how less they had become by now.

“Tunisia in my kingdom is one of the closest provinces to them…I’ll see if they can send from their own to help,” Lili began, each time tiring, her eyes darkening and ready to fall to the pavement as she stood. Vincenzo, who had awoken and could not find it to rest again, stood and offered to give Lili the chance to sleep. She finished writing her message and headed off without a word.

Kiku, Louis, Arthur and Renata kept the current watch on Feliciano, close, Kiku at one point had even let himself rest on Renata’s shoulder, and she smiled and caressed his arm. Feliciano still floated just the same, nothing of difference.

“Tomorrow is the fourth day,” Renata reminded. “After, Feliciano should be heading to the second realm.”

Kiku yawned, “do you think he’s found something by now?”

A lulling silence, even Arthur and Louis beside them were struggling to keep their eyes open.

“I don’t know…we can’t really tell…”

“Forward! Forward!” Manuel shouted, many others spreading the message and thus the men and women, a mixture of Clubian and Diamond soldiers, stood before the strong winds Khaos blew in rage. At Manuel’s words, they extended their frontal leg forward and raised their hands in a defense posture for the spell. From the united magic and force of these thirty casters, long piercing pillars of emerald emerged from the ground to stand as a wall and hurt the large menace. Khaos was ready to fire with a demanding swish of his hand, but these walls did well to do nothing to the small creatures that laid behind.

“Now! Now! Now!” Antonio called, riding one of the long dragons that a Clubian infantry let him use. He raised a light in his hand and all ran and rode between the crevices of the pillars, Khaos before them clear to attack with many balls and rays of light that brought another shriek in this large plain.

“Fire!” A Diamond woman called from a distance, with a long line of Clubians with arrows, their ends with fire and magic, to add, targeted perfectly to blow with the light spells. In his anger, Khaos gained the energy he needed to completely crush the pillars. Many squashed horribly under him and their very own creations, yet still there were survivors who continued their light, the arrows joining in continuing to madden the Dark god.

Yong Soo could have met his end at the ground underneath him, but to his luck, Zuma came in his own St. Mark, catching him so he could ride as comfortably as he did. “Did you do it?”

“It’s good and ready!” Yong Soo smiled greatly as if there wasn’t blood dripping from the side of his head and they weren’t right before a nine-hundred meters monster.

“Get out of there, you two!” Lukas shout came through a small device, a recent creation in the mess that had done them well.

They hurriedly flew off, at whatever range could save them from the coming blow. To activate it, Lukas used every particle of energy in his being, such a drain that had him falling, gone. Matthias was there to catch him before he hit the ground, sending other casters to finish the last piece, but luckily it worked. It shimmered in different colors, quite beautiful before it teared and pained. Destro screamed and fought on with the soldiers on ground that tried to stall the pace of his walk how they could.

Yong Soo and Zuma landed on what they considered command grounds, where messengers came and every act began. “We got some time! Now the healing wards can move,” Zuma told and messengers moved to get it done.

From their far off distance, they could only watch as Destro continued to convulse in the bomb and spell, hoping indeed that he could do so for the mere minutes they needed.

The darkness remained, the blue light of the line the only divide, the only ground, the only thing that made him aware of the steps he took.

He had begun to get used to the bodies floating around him, only stumbling and whimpering at the sight of people who were mere citizens, those who couldn’t evacuate in time and were left in the crush. He tended to run past them, hurrying at a pace that still left him in the same nothingness.

It was hard to find an essence of time, but Feliciano knew that enough have had to pass. Perhaps two days?

He had walked on, not feeling any tiredness or drain in his legs. To spend some sort of time, he imagined and thought about the people he passed by, wondering their stories, remembering, hoping to find anybody he could give his condolences and help when he returned…if he ever did. No one else awoke, no other walking figure, it was only now that he reached some sort of difference.

Large chunks of buildings, teared, broken, from all kinds. Churches, schools, homes…stationary, their presence creating bigger glows that gave Feliciano ease. He came close, touching and feeling their smoothness, their crevices, their designs…he never though he would long so much to just touch something that didn’t shock him in pain. He smiled true, exploring where the lines of this window could take him, still in his frontal path, on and on until…big green open eyes, startled, a clear gasp, a figure…a moving figure…running away. Feliciano startled himself, moving back, trying to calm down how frantic he had gotten. When he relaxed…the sudden realization.

“Someone! There’s someone!” He shouted to himself, taking a run. “Wait! Wait! Wait!” He called and begged behind the rushing green figure, losing finally the single line he had made this entire journey, crossing and turning around all these different ruins as the figure continued to evade him and even try to hide.

“Please! Please! I need your help! It’s a matter of saving the four kingdoms!” He hoped could convince, but yet they were running, the debris now growing larger, entire courtyards and tall pillars surviving here. It made it easier for the other to hide, to lose himself between in clear knowledge of where he was, Feliciano easily losing sight of him.

No…no, he couldn’t loose a chance like this!

He stopped, a realization and then a groan at understanding the idea he had. How he hated it…but if it meant he could get this person to stop…

“Halt! I order you to stop and come to me in the name of the Queen of Hearts, Feliciano Valenti of Italy!” He shouted in strong command…just as Ludwig taught him.

Feliciano heard a distant gasp, the footsteps stopped…and they started again, coming close, the figure shy in showing itself, slowly peeking from the crumble of a wall. It just wasn’t his eyes that were green…the top of his head was green…his skin, his light, even the hands that slowly came up to hold themselves, pulling him slightly more up to reveal how even his body was in the same color. With the brightness of his shoulder length sleek hair, Feliciano imagined that in his life it must have been blond. He wore a long flourishing blouse, with a vest rich in floral sewing even to his boots, and fine jewelry. Clubian…as if the mere color wasn’t proof enough to show his kingdom.

“…your majesty…it’s you…it’s really you…” then he was confident enough to show himself completely, lithe, about Feliciano’s own height…he wasn’t resting…or producing light to offer to this realm…he was just as Feliciano that moment. “But you can’t be! If you’re here… then that must mean you’re-”

“I won’t be.”

Astounded eyes, riddled in question, already asking for the Queen to answer.

“I’m not actually supposed to be dead. My body is currently in a pool in the Berlin castle being watched. I’m here to look for the power of the universal alignment. Once I get it, my mother will release me from a spell, and I can go back and do the job I was prophesied to do!” He rushed and panicked.

The other looked perturbed and he shone on with more questions.

“I don’t have any time to loose. Please, just tell me what you know and anything that can help me!”

With the silence that came, Feliciano worried the man didn’t understand well the common language, but he was thinking, debating. “So…you’re not some spy trying to trick me?”

“No, no, no! Why would there even be spies here?!”

“Okay, yeah, maybe not spies, but there are some creepy stuff going on from time to time, I mean, just look at you!”

Did he have some extra appendage? No, he looked down to himself and only saw his usual. He was to comment on it, but then comparing, he realized that he still kept his own colors. His hair was still brown, his skin maintained its bronze cream, his boots black, his pants and simple blouse shirt in white. The only difference was his silhouetted red glow, and still it did not fill him in completely.

“From who I’ve met here, you’re only supposed to awaken once all your magic is drained in here.” His green outlook was the proof of all magic gone, the shell of a person’s spirit. “If you’re like this, then either your magic is still with you, which is just weird…or some other crazy crap I don’t know about,” he wailed his hands showing his frustration.

“I don’t know either! The book didn’t mention something like this and after-” he realized something in what he just said. “Wait! From who you’ve met? You mean there are others!”

“Oh yeah, tons! All of us who’ve woken up and are waiting for the second realm.”

“Please, take me to them! They might know something.”

“I doubt it. Most of them are as confused as I am. There’s really nothing out there helping or explaining anything to us. I came her actually trying to find someone who could or just someone who woke up and needs to calm down.”

“Then please, take me to them! Perhaps together we can work something out,” he neared already providing a warm comfort, one that made the other smile, already accepting.

“Well, come on then! We’re not too far, hopefully. We try to stay by recognizable stuff, so we won’t get lost.” He started a route that Feliciano happily followed behind. He didn’t know if this could actually lead to finding out something, but it was still very nice to just meet somebody else, talk and have company.

“Feliks Łukasiewicz. From Clubs if that isn’t obvious enough. Province of Poland,” he introduced.

“Feliciano Vale-”

“Yes, yes, you already introduced yourself all haughty and mighty. Everyone knows who you are, and you will give everyone quite the surprise once they see you. Man, how cool is that, meeting the Queen of Hearts here and on some special mission. I wish I could tell Toris that.”

It was a long walk, hours surely, much easier as they now had this debris around them to landmark. Feliks knew his way around, with ease, sometimes whistling or chatting on. Feliciano deeply appreciated it, even joining in song or talking of the lifestyle in the castle, something that Feliks constantly asked on.

“Eight cooks!”

“The main ones at least. Each one has around eight helpers.”

“And, like…do they make absolutely, everything you like?”

“Everything!” Feliciano smiled, already missing it…back before the war, before bearing, when Ludwig…he shouldn’t let himself wallow like that, not when he found this sudden happiness here.

“I bet you never had to go to the kitchen.”

“Actually, I do love cooking and sometimes went there myself to make my own food. Many times, I’ve actually fed all who were in my table.”

“Wow. If I had a team like that in my kitchen, you would never catch me there.”

Feliciano chuckled, “there was a time, back in my year of arising, where all I wanted to do was stay there…at the time I was avoiding my King.” The miss, the lessening of his spirit, holding his hands to himself as control to not fall so deep in that misery. Feliks now had to keep his glance on him, worried and wondering. “…but later,” he smiled again, the sweet of the memory giving his cheeks a pinkish glow that made Feliks slightly jealous on Feliciano’s kept colors. “…he would bake me the sweetest cakes…. he would try to make them tall, all because he remembered how as a child he used to say he would one day make them reach the ceiling for me, and well, it was just fun.”

Feliks didn’t know how to answer, brought into silence, only continuing his heading, that memory of the Queen bringing him to his own memories of the same nature. He sighed, “I guess I know the feeling. A…friend of mine lived pretty far from me, a good three-day coach ride further north. When we were young, we would only see each other once every three months and…we couldn’t stand being so long without the other. He did a short apprenticeship in Washington in Spades and when he came back, he brought this…contraption with him that could bring him way faster to me…only mere hours. I think it was called a…bicycle or whatever. Even if he did have something that made him come more often and quicker, it was still a hard route and many hours of peddling, but…he always came to see me no matter.” He didn’t need to blush in red, Feliciano could somehow see it glow on him with a beautiful green. It made him smile and ease, letting that moment one to appreciate sacrifices and devotions. He was to ask more on this man, but a diverse glow in the distance caught his attention. It was people…awake, moving, many of them, all shinning in different colors and huddled under the ruins of an old dome.

“That’s them! Come!” Feliks rushed them those last steps.

They weren’t paying attention to their approach, instead, they focused on the sleeping body of a young girl, a mere teenager, in her last descend down, slowly coming into their arms. Only her arm was left in her old colors, the rest of her now in blue. In one last small shock, the last of her magic was gone and she was completely drained. She fell into the arms of another young man, this one full in yellow. From what Feliciano could tell in his clothes, he was of the highest aristocracy in Diamonds.

“Be sure to be careful,” one woman in blue told him and he nodded, being gentle as she opened her eyes, gave small groans, looking how she could, trying to make sense. Not recognizing anybody, not understanding where she was, she instantly drew into a panic, sitting up, breathing again harsh and hurting. The man began to soothe, rubbing a hand on her back, calm, something that the rest showed, beginning to give space. Feliks and Feliciano did well to remain in the back. Feliks had seen this happen enough times to know, while Feliciano took the time to see it for the first time and understand.

“We wish you no harm, we only want to help. Please, tell us your name.”

She refused to, shaking her head, untrusting.

“I am Aaron Harbia of Diamonds. The province of Emirates. I am here because I got too close…too close to the furies of Khaos along with a large division of my men and women. I was wiped under him and now I’m here. Do you know where you are?”

The girl’s breathing slowly relaxed, yet she fretted and shook as if she was attacked by a big cold. “I-I’m…I’m…Sam! Sam Kimura of Spades. The island of Anguila in the Oralee. I….I don’t know. Where…where am I?”

“Do you not know?”

She couldn’t recognize anything, nothing of what she had known or knew.

“Darling,” the near blue woman came down, offering her comfort along Aaron’s, “you’re in the Interludes. You have begun a process of death…”

She stilled…so hurt, lost more than ever even when the answer was given to her.

“No…no…no, I can’t be!” She teared, having nothing to hold but to Aaron, taking a harsh grip of his jacket, the kind of force that would have torn if they were back in the living world. “My father would have found me…he wouldn’t have let me…he wouldn’t have let me alone…he didn’t know…he didn’t know…” she was wallowing now, in hardships that didn’t let her speak more. They all gave her that space, understanding well what she was going through.

“Most of us awake just like this,” Feliks told Feliciano in the lowest whisper he could manage. “At least she has us now…most are not so lucky.”

“You can tell us what happened. It might help,” a man in green neared.

They waited until she calmed down, until her breathing eased enough to the point she could speak coherently. “My…my father was called to fight. He…wasn’t so good at fighting…only sailing as all Oralee should and should only do. My family…we begged him not to go, that it was all under control, that we were sure the Kings, Queens and Jacks could manage on their own. But as things got worst, as news of a second monster came, as messengers arrived begging for new people to go and fight…my father wanted to obey to some…sense of calling and pride that I still don’t get.” She whimpered that moment, lost again. More they waited for her voice to come back. “He left with that group…and I couldn’t take it…so I followed after him, dressed to look older…they were so desperate and worried that they didn’t give me a second glance to know if I was age appropriate or not. I followed him the entire time, across the sea, across Spades, I think…I think we reached Clubs when…I saw him…I saw him…” she trembled now in utter fear, those who were there understanding, the very reminder making them sweat and shake, the air becoming somber. “They planned to do a surrounding on two of his sides, with Gegen spells, then fire the Sloan cannons…we were part of the huddle. I tried to stay close to him…and I did…but…I’m not old enough to do Gegen spells, I couldn’t do it. I was trying so hard to do one that I didn’t notice his closeness…it wasn’t until part of my armor disintegrated that I saw the darkness that came, eating and tearing apart everything in its path. My father called for me…he saw me…I know he tried to come for me…but…all I remember after that is pain and darkness…and…now I’m here…” The telling of her story helped to relax her…to come into acceptance of where she was, the ease she was currently in and the comfort of these strangers that surrounded her.

“I’m…so sorry this happened to you. If there is anything we can do, and it is within our reach, we’ll offer it,” the blue woman said.

She thought of something, debating if the answer would be to her liking or hurt, “…my father…have you seen my father here? His name is Justo Kimura. We look very similar, but he has very long dreadlocks and a scare on his chin…he-he'll tell you it was from a fishing accident as a kid.”

“I’m sorry, but we haven’t found anybody of that description yet,” Aaron told her.

“If he is not here, then take joy that he is still alive and well,” a diamond woman told.

“I…I really don’t think so. We were both under the same darkness.”

“If he is here, it could be that he is still asleep,” a Heartian man guessed.

“Not to worry, child. You will meet him, I’m sure of it. All who die must come here.”

That was a realization that widened Feliciano and brightened his eyes. “Of course…why didn’t I think of it sooner? Ludwig…it means …Ludwig has to be here!” He smiled large and loud, turning and hoping to see him that instant. His loud proclamation could not be ignored, all taking a glance to the back wondering.

Many gasped and fretted.

“It’s the Heartian Queen!”

“Wha-what?”

“You-you-your majesty!”

“No! No! You’re supposed to be in Berlin. You weren’t fighting in the war!”

“Don’t worry! I’m not really dead! But Ludwig! Ludwig! I have to find him! I just have to!”

“Wait! Wait! Your majesty!” A Spadian woman called and came near when Feliks couldn’t take a grasp of him.

Feliciano halted, lost again, not knowing where to look, where to go…for a moment he forgot that he was here to look for something else…not his King. He realized how fretful he was being, especially after what the girl went through, embarrassed to show himself.

“Sir, the King died many weeks ago,” the Spadian woman reminded, “…he shouldn’t be in the first realm anymore.”

Like being taken away from him again, Feliciano gripping, hating how easily he could still tear up at his fault.

“But…it is possible he could be in the second one,” Feliks came close and smiled up to him, a comforting hand on his shoulder, trying to pull him back, to their company…what he wanted…help and the presence of others.

Feliciano gave him a grin, taking a deep sigh, telling himself to be patient…and focus on what he came here to do. He turned to the rest, showing himself…the others transfixed at how he kept his own colors, shinning unique and truly queenly. Even Sam, in her curiosity and wonder, managed footing again, standing and joining the rest in their impression.

Feliciano came back, nervous and unsteady, but trying out a smile that was offering. “I apologize. It was very rude of me to cut in like that.”

“You are desperate to find someone you love…especially after you thought you’d never see them again…” Sam said, shy…she had never been before the presence of royalty. “I understand…and I guess, we should all help each other to achieve that.”

“That’s a plan I’ll gladly be a part of.”

“First of all, your majesty, I would love to understand what you’re doing here. You mentioned you’re not really dead. What is going on?” Aaron could stand again, his direction towards him like the rest.

“I…I don’t know what you were informed, but I was unable to get the power of the universal alignment. Ludwig was really worried about me…especially after finding out I was bearing…” He liked that he didn’t have them so obvious here, people’s gazes wouldn’t go so quickly to them, they could pay attention to him and what he had to say. “He trapped me at the bottom of the castle without any reach to the outside so I wouldn’t dare go back to the war and risk myself. But…afterwards, we…found a way to get it again…and it involved coming here to the Interludes.”

“So…you killed yourself to get it?” The Spadian woman questioned.

“Well…yeah, kind of, but, it was carefully planned in the suggested way. My body right now is being held under a spell in a place I can come back to once I get it. And when I do…I can face Khaos and Destro and put an end to all of this.”

Silence as they all gazed between themselves, taking the time to understand and realize.

“What do you need now?” Another Heartian woman came forward, ready to act and do what was needed.

“Information. What do you know of here? How is the second realm reached? The books mentioned that the arsenal of power is in a deep connection between the first and fourth realm. What does it mean?”

And they all thought and gathered in their minds all they have recently found out.

“Out of all of us, I have been the longest here.” Aaron offered himself, coming forward to answer. “As I’ve learned of my time here, when you arrive, you are in this deep sleep while your magic is drained. As soon as it’s done, you awaken in the state we are in and linger still in the first realm. I assume I’ve been here about five days. I did meet this lady from the White Kingdom…from those who had been fighting. She was the one who found me and helped me to calm down. After she reached about a week here…she suddenly…” They all came close, eager. “It was like she got frozen…her eyes were covered in light. I tried to speak to her, anything to get her off it, but she stayed…then the next moment, she had her arms spread open and she was swallowed down into the water.” He pointed to the very ground they stood on, all fearful as if it was ready engulf them that instant. “I haven’t seen her since.”

“It has to be…” One spadian woman worded what all had begun to make certain.

“But we can’t be sure…until it happens to us,” Feliks reminded that they were still intended to head on that very same faith.

“Anything else?” Feliciano hoped for. “Anybody else out of the ordinary…anything…that explained to you more of what’s in here…Angels…even an Ace...”

By the emptiness, Feliciano could already tell there was no such answer.

“It has only been us…” she then looked around…the ruins, some bodies floating by, yet the darkness, “…and this,” the Diamond woman replied, bringing dread to Feliciano, already feeling like he was back at the beginning, lost in nothing and alone.

“It will happen to all of us though…the second realm…perhaps there you can find the answers you need…” Sam tried to alight him, and although it raised his eyes and a smile…it was not closer to what he needed.

#Feliciano and the King of Hearts #fatkoh #f&tkoh #gerita #gerita fanfiction #gerita fanfic #gerita fic

9 notes · View notes

thebiasrekkers · 4 years

Text

Make It Right [BTS Mafia!AU]

Plot: “It’s always darkest before the dawn…” It’s a dog-eat-dog world in Seoul, South Korea. One has to dwell in the shadows in order to reach for the light. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to feel the sunlight on your face? What will it take to drag you back into darkness? How long will the journey be to make it right?

Rating: NC-17 // NSFW

Genre: Series | Mafia!AU | Crime!AU | Angst | Romance/Fluff

Pairings: Jin x OC | Taehyung/Hoseok x OC | Yoongi/Jungkook x OC

Warnings: Graphic Violence, Heavy Language, Angst, Slow Burn, Smut

Previous Chapters: Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Links: FAQ || BTS Masterlist || Admin E’s AO3 || Admin E’s WP || [ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ]

Word Count: 2,060

Chapter 30: N.O

“Who do you think is the one who makes us step on even our close friends to climb up? What?”

© thebiasrekkers (Admin E). All rights reserved. Reposting/modifying our work is prohibited. Translations are not allowed. Plagiarism/stealing is not tolerated by any means. Legal action will be taken in instances of theft.

“Check,” muttered Namjoon, his fingers leaving the Rook he’d slid up the board.

Shownu smirked, pressing a hand to his chin as his eyes scanned the board while pondering his next move.

The rain fell relentlessly, splashing along the pavement and roaring loudly. Even against the double paned glass, the noise was only barely muffled. Namjoon lifted his cup of coffee from the saucer, crossing one leg over the other as his eyes focused on Shownu’s expression. He continued to look at the board, his brows knit together in focus and refusing to let any outside noises or movements interfere from his thought process.

Exactly three months had passed since the two of them were together; alone. The few moments they brushed by one another was in passing and usually in the company of their bosses. In those instances, neither spoke a word to each other. Neither did their bosses. Their eyes, however, spoke volumes each time.

Shownu moved his Bishop in the path of Namjoon’s Rook, blocking the check. Namjoon set the cup down, eyeing the board as his opponent sat back in his chair. If he overtook his Bishop, his Rook would be devoured by Shownu’s Knight.

“Your warning,” he began, watching Shownu’s eyes rise to meet his, “does it mean you haven’t wrangled your boss like I suggested?”

He watched the older man smirk while giving a one shoulder shrug. “Ambition is a powerful thing, Namjoon-ah.” Shownu paused, placing a hand into his lap. “You should understand that fully.”

“There is also a thing called restraint, Hyung.” Namjoon reached forward for his teacup.

“Changkyun-ah’s offer wasn’t a bad one.”

His fingers paused just as they were about to loop through the cup’s handle. Slowly, his eyes rose to look back at Shownu whose smile remained. Namjoon chose to say nothing, however, waiting for him to continue.

“With your ambition alone, I wanted to believe you would convince Hoseok-ah to agree to the alliance.”

Namjoon’s hand fell to the surface of the table, resting just to the right of the wooden chess board. His brows furrowed as a few tendrils of his hair fell across the bridge of his nose. Shownu turned to look out the large window, watching the pedestrians running to cover their heads with what few items they had on their persons to shield themselves from the rain. Namjoon’s gaze was fixated on Shownu, watching as the man seemed to turn something over in his mind.

He may have been a lot of things, but Kim Namjoon was no fool. This conversation was the real chess game.

“Money and manpower? They only go so far. But respect?” Shownu smirked, craning his neck to look back at Namjoon. “Respect gains loyalty. Loyalty equals power.”

“What Changkyun-ah wants is meaningless.” He saw Shownu’s smile falter for half a second. Namjoon decided to press it further. “He wants another war and it will result in absolutely nothing. My brothers and I chose this life as a means to an end. That end has come to pass.”

Shownu quirked a brow. “Has it ended?”

Namjoon took the white knight piece, moving it forward to overtake a black pawn in the middle of the board. “What do you mean?”

There was a space of silence that unnerved Namjoon, his fingers lingering on the head of the knight as he looked across the board at Shownu. Glinting in his dark gaze was an expression he couldn’t read. But one thing was certain: it was clear Shownu knew something that Namjoon didn’t. That certainty made his spine shiver.

“Five years ago, the Golden Jackals established themselves as the rulers of Gangnam. The Jade Fangs were eyeing that district for a while, and yet it was clear you would not let anyone else have it. Your determination to destroy anything and everything, everyone, who dared to stand in your way was apparent.” Shownu faced the window once more. “It was raining just as fiercely that night…”

Namjoon tried to figure out what he was trying to say, reading between the words. There was a deeper meaning there, a meaning he wasn’t saying out loud. Not completely.

No, he thought, frowning as his hand lifted from the chess piece, he’s warning me about something. A subtle threat…

He heard Shownu sigh, his arm lifting to rest on the back of his chair. He continued to look out the window while Namjoon, in turn, refused to take his eyes off his opponent.

“You willingly threw the keys to your kingdom away. You disbanded your soldiers and walked away from the protection of the shadows,” he heard the older man say. “Your once impregnable castle is falling apart from lack of care.”

Namjoon felt a lump form in his throat. However, Shownu shrugged and closed his eyes. Finally, he turned to look back at Namjoon, his smirk returning to his features as he slowly raised one brow.

“Stepping into the light has made locating your weaknesses that much easier.”

Namjoon’s eyes widened as he watched Shownu’s hand shoot out to grab the black Queen, sliding it up the board through Namjoon’s defenses. He slammed the piece down onto a white square, his smile growing. He looked down at the board, realizing seconds too late what happened.

“Checkmate, Namjoon-ah.”

Jumping from his chair, the legs scraped loudly across the floor. A few patrons of the café stared at them, wondering what happened. They’d kept their conversation quiet up until that point – hidden away from prying eyes.

His heart jack-hammered against his ribs, making it difficult to breathe. Namjoon’s hands curled into fists at his side and he watched Shownu stretch languidly against his chair. There was a smugness there that normally didn’t showcase itself on the older man’s face; not in all the years he’d known him. Namjoon missed something. Something small but obvious. Yet he’d still missed it. Both on the game board and in their conversation.

“…what have you people done, Hyung?”

Namjoon’s phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out, seeing Jungkook’s name appear on the screen. Not taking his eyes off Shownu, he answered.

“Jungkook-ah,” he said, attempting to keep his voice as even-tempered as he could, “what’s up?”

“Hyung, where are you?”

He frowned. It sounded like Jungkook was in a vehicle. “I’m in Sinchon. Why?”

“It’s the Jade Fangs, Hyung. They…they attacked Eden Noona!”

Namjoon’s eyes widened for half a second before narrowing them severely at Shownu. “… what? ” Though unintentional, it came out as a growl. “Where?”

“In Sichon! She’s at the hospital with Raelyn Noona now.”

Pivoting on his heels, he turned away from Shownu. “How badly is she hurt?”

He could hear Jungkook’s voice shaking, as if someone were trying to calm him down. “I…I don’t know. Raelyn Noona just told us what happened and said to hurry to the hospital. She didn’t have time to tell us anything.”

“Who is with you right now?”

“Jimin and Tae Hyung. T-Tae Hyung is driving.”

“Text me the hospital address. I’m on my way.”

Without waiting for Jungkook’s reply, he hung up and whirled around to face Shownu who was methodically putting the chess pieces away while folding up the board. Namjoon resisted the urge to lash out and cause a scene. However, he took a single step forward – enough to close the distance between them.

“Shownu Hyung,” he said through clenched teeth, “you just made a big mistake.”

“No, Namjoon-ah. You did.” Shownu placed the board into the carrying bag he’d brought with him. Rising to his feet, he slid the bag strap over his shoulder. “You all did.”

His hand snapped out, snatching Shownu by the lapel of his jacket. In response, he felt the other man’s hand encircling his wrist, his fingers and thumb pressing hard into Namjoon’s flesh. There was a pinprick of pain near the nerves at his palm, but he only acknowledged it with a twitch of his eye.

“You can’t erase the sins of the past. You can’t run or hide from it.” Namjoon attempted to pull his wrist free but Shownu held strong. “And neither can the people you’ve entangled in your lives.”

As if he were tossing off a piece of trash, Namjoon felt his hand being shoved off to the side. He glared at Shownu as the older man readjusted his jacket.

“Legality means nothing if you don’t have the power to safeguard that which belongs to you.”

It was as though his very words had knocked the wind out of him. Namjoon had nothing to throw back at him. All he could do was watch as the Bear of the Jade Fangs casually walked out of the café without so much as a backward glance or a cluster of parting words. Even as he saw him unfurl his umbrella and step out onto the sidewalk, melding with the other civilian bodies, Namjoon couldn’t muster up the energy to chase after him.

He’d been careless. They’d all been careless.

Falling into his chair, he stared blankly at the table’s surface. He barely noticed the money that was left on the table. He was knocked back into reality when he felt the vibration of his phone in his pocket.

Namjoon didn’t need to look at it to know that it was Jungkook.

He rose from his chair and ran outside, barely feeling the rain pelting his form while hailing a cab.

When Namjoon arrived at the hospital twenty minutes later, he saw Yoongi leaning against one of the pillars outside. A cigarette was perched between his lips, a long cylinder of ash barely hanging on before it fell at his feet. He’d hardly noticed Namjoon’s approach until he was standing directly in front of him. His brother let the cigarette fall from his mouth, landing ignored between them.

“N-Namjoon-ah,” Yoongi said, blinking slightly. Namjoon’s brows furrowed at the slightly dazed look on his face. It was like he was seeing him for the first time.

“Eden-ssi,” he began, seeing Yoongi’s shoulders tense up slightly, “how is she?”

There was a small measure of silence that wafted between them before Yoongi averted his eyes. “She’ll be fine. She just dislocated her shoulder.”

Namjoon let out a sigh of relief, stepping to the side to lean against the other side of the pillar with Yoongi. “That’s good.”

“No, it’s not.” He could hear the anger in his brother’s voice. “It’s not good at all.”

“Who was it?”

“The Jade Fangs.”

“I know, Hyung,” Namjoon replied calmly, “which one of them?”

“…Raelyn Noona said it was the Jindo Dog.”

Even though he couldn’t see him, Namjoon craned his neck to stare at the stone pillar. “Minhyuk Hyung?”

“Don’t call him that.” Yoongi’s tone held a finality to it that Namjoon rarely heard. “Did you let Hoseok-ah and Seokjin Hyung know what’s going on?

Biting his lower lip, he closed his eyes and rested his head along the pillar. “I told them on the way here.”

“Good.”

For a moment, neither of them said anything. The roar of the rain as it fell overhead seemed relentless. Unfortunately, it couldn’t silence the thoughts screaming inside of Namjoon’s head. It couldn’t silence Shownu’s blatant words against him; against them.

“They’re trying to make a point.”

Blinking rapidly, he took a step forward so he could better see Yoongi who was still pressed against the pillar. He’d absentmindedly lit another cigarette but wasn’t smoking it. The older man flicked his zippo lighter open, flinging it closed with a loud metallic clicking sound. Over and over he did this and Namjoon realized he couldn’t find the words to alleviate the rising anger that was clearly reflected in his older brother’s eyes.

“They’re telling us that we’re weak.”

“Hyung…”

“Namjoon-ah,” he heard Yoongi say, his voice cold and even as their eyes met, “it may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. But they’re going to do it.”

He slapped the lid to his lighter closed, the sound ringing out over the noise of the rain.

“…they’re going to declare war.”

“No, Hyung. They’re not going to.”

Namjoon’s voice was quiet, but Yoongi raised his brows to show he’d heard him.

“…they already have.”

The real question was apparent, but neither of them said it aloud.

Are we going to let them get away with it?

7 notes · View notes

argylemnwrites · 4 years

Text

Unbelievable

Pairing: Seth Levine x MC (Jessica Parker)

Book: Red Carpet Diaries (around Chapter 11 of Book 2)

Word Count: ~2900

Rating: PG-13 (language, innuendo)

Summary: Watching football for the first time with Jessica during the playoffs is an interesting experience for Seth

Author’s Note: As some of you may know, I don’t really self-insert with my MCs, but I usually share one or two traits with them. Well, Jessica Parker and I share a love of football passed down from our fathers. Since she comes from Iowa, and they don’t have a NFL team there, she had three real options for her team pulling from the surrounding area - the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears, and the Minnesota Vikings. Naturally, I selected my own love, the Vikings, for her.

This is written for my Choices Big Game Blitz event. It doesn’t feature the Superbowl, but it does feature one of the more exciting playoff games in recent history.

Seth had known Jessica was a Minnesota Vikings fan, at least in theory. On Sundays this fall, he’d seen her in a Vikings t-shirt or an Adrian Peterson jersey. But he’d never watched a game with her, at least until today.

Truth be told, he never really cared about football. Maybe it was a side effect of growing up just outside of Cincinnati and therefore having to root for the Bengals, but Caleb was a pretty avid OSU fan, so there went that theory. At the end of the day, sports weren’t really Seth’s thing. With what he knew about Jessica, he’d assumed they weren’t really hers either.

But it turned out, football was very much Jessica’s thing. He had thought it was a little strange when she said she couldn’t go to the movies with him because of the playoffs. Seth had wanted to actually go out together, now that her faux-mance with Chadley was over and she wouldn’t get chewed out if they were spotted together too often. Jessica instead invited him over to her new penthouse to watch the game. Seth had figured the game would kind of be on in the background while they talked, or maybe even fooled around a bit. That theory went out the window when she didn’t even get off the couch to great him, just threw up a hand in a vague wave as she kept her eyes glued on her television.

“You missed kickoff. The Saints went three and out, but it’s still the Vike’s opening drive,” she said, barely acknowledging him when he kissed her on the cheek as he sat next to her on the couch. From that point on, Seth wasn’t even sure that she remembered he was there half the time. Basically anything she said was directed at the people on the TV, whether it be the coaches, the players, or the announcers, all of whom she referred to by name, like they were her close personal friends or her mortal enemies. It didn’t take long for Seth to learn that Mike Zimmer was a genius, Sean Payton was a smug asshole, and Joe Buck and Troy Aikmen were just the worst. It was only during the commercials that she would chat with him, but she mainly seemed to want to discuss the most recent plays, and as soon as the game was back on, her head snapped back to the TV, her attention completely focused on her favorite team.

Seth understood the basics of the game, run versus pass, how downs worked, turnovers, most of the penalties, that sort of thing, but after the first couple of drives, it was clear that he had almost nothing he could add to the conversation. Jessica was naming both offensive and defensive schemes, talking about things like “the slant” or a “double A gap” like those words were supposed to mean something to Seth. Meanwhile, the only player on the field he had heard of before today was Drew Brees, and he certainly wasn’t going to try to talk to her about the man she had just referred to as a “little punk ass ponzi scheme shill.” And that description was polite compared to the way she talked about the Saints coach, dropping more swear words in one description of him than he had heard her say the entire rest of the time he’d known her. So instead of saying something that would put him in the hot seat, he just watched along with her, going to grab them new beers or some more snacks from her kitchen every so often.

If was kind of fun, seeing this completely different side of her. She was loud, energized, and vibrant. Normally he was the one who would geek out about things, whether it be old-school B-movies, obscure video games, or TV shows with a niche cult following. But after the first quarter, it was clear that Jessica was a football nerd. The only thing he’d ever seen her close to this passionate about before was film, and that was her line of work. She was yelling at the Saints players whenever they committed penalties and dancing when the Vikings scored, and even Seth found himself cheering and exchanging high fives with her, her energy infectious. He quickly learned to keep his beer in his right hand, far away from Jessica, after she nearly knocked it to the ground when she went wild after one of the Vikings players picked off Brees.

She was in a great mood going into halftime. The Vikings were up 17 to 0 and their defense, which Jessica seemed to love way more than the offense, had two interceptions and a couple of sacks already. But after halftime, Seth felt the energy in the room start to shift. The Vikings offense stalled, the Saints scored a touchdown, and then Case Keenum, the Vikings’ quarterback threw a bad interception. Jessica’s good mood was quickly evaporating with the Viking’s lead. By the start of the fourth quarter, she was twisting her hands around each other in her lap and chewing on her lip.

“Damn it,” she muttered, when one of the Viking’s players got pulled for an injury evaluation in that goofy looking blue tent on the sideline. “Not Rhodes. Shit.” Seth was going to ask her why losing that particular player was such a bad thing, but then the Saints scored again, bringing the score to 14-17, and Jessica let off a string of curses, rubbing her hands over her face.

“Hey, they still have the lead,” said Seth, placing a hand on her back, trying to be reassuring, but Jessica just shook her head, rolling her shoulders slightly. She clearly didn’t want him touching her right now.

“You don’t understand. The Vikings always choke. Always. They are gonna piss this away. We have a chance at a home Superbowl, and we’re gonna choke away a three score lead at home.”

Jessica’s prediction turned out to be right. The Vikings added a field goal, but then the Saints blocked a punt, something Seth didn’t even know a team could do, and turned that good field position into another touchdown. The Saints had the lead by one, and he thought Jessica was going to lose her mind. Her hands kept clutching at her cheeks and temples between plays, fingers twining together during the action. All the fun and joy of the first half was gone, replaced by pure anxiety and frustration. It was uncomfortable even sitting next to her. Seth wanted to tell her that it was just a game, but he was pretty sure that would get him kicked out of her apartment, if not straight up dumped on the spot, so he kept his mouth shut, praying that the Vikings might still pull off the win. He didn’t know how bad Jessica would be after a loss, but he was pretty sure it would ruin their entire night.

Just when Seth thought it couldn’t get worse, the one announcer said, “I know Vikings fans don’t wanna see this, and they’ll blame me,” before showing a highlight package of Vikings missed field goal attempts from playoff games in years past.

“And those are just the kicks,” added the other announcer, “I mean, they’ve had some other devastating losses over the years in other ways.”

“Oh just rub it in, you fuckers. Fucking Joe Buck and Troy Aikmen,” she growled. Before Seth could think of anything to say to her that would have any chance of calming her down, one of the wide receivers for the Vikings, Seth thought it might be Adam Thielen, made an impressive catch, and Jessica swung from annoyed anger to pure joy in a nanosecond, jumping off the couch and letting out a massive cheer. She stayed on her feet for the rest of the drive, holding her breath as she watched the Vikings kicker make a pretty long field goal to take a two point lead.

Seth thought Jessica would be overjoyed that her team was back on top, but she seemed stressed as ever when she sat back down.

“Uhh, not to bother you, but shouldn’t you be happier that your team has the lead?” Seth asked during the commercial break.

Jessica shook her head, “There’s too much time left on the clock and all they have to do is get to the 35 yard line or so. A field goal wins it.”

“But the announcers keep talking about how the Vikings are the best defense in the league.”

“Not this half, they aren’t.”

All Seth could do was sit there and watch as Jessica became more and more agitated as her prediction proved eerily accurate. When the Saints kicker drilled a field goal through with 25 seconds left on the clock, he dropped his hand to her knee.

“I knew it, I just knew it,” she moaned, dropping her face into her hands. “It’s over. One and done again.”

Seth knew better than to point out there was still time left on the clock. Even he knew that 25 seconds was not a lot of time to score.

The drive was off to a bad start when the Vikings got a penalty right away, but then they picked up about 20 yards on one play. Before Seth could even mention that maybe her team had a chance, Jessica was talking.

“Fuck, over the center of the field. Damn it, now we don’t have a time out left for the field goal even if we can manage to get into range. The Saints are just gonna cover the damn sidelines.”

The next play was an incomplete pass that left 14 seconds on the clock. As the Saints called a timeout, Seth’s mind started racing, trying to come up with the right thing to say when that clock ticked down to zero.

“Offer to get drunk with her. Or curse out the Saints and call them cheaters, she seems to do that often. No, just hug her. Don’t say anything. There’s not going to be anything she wants to hear from you.”

“And now ten seconds remain,” called out the announcer after another incomplete pass, “in what could be a heartbreaking loss for the Vikings, and a thrilling come-from-behind win from the Saints. Winner goes to Philly.”

Seth could tell Jessica’s heart was racing. As much as she claimed this was over, he knew part of her was still hoping for a miracle. Hell, even he felt nervous, and prior to today, he didn’t think he’d ever even seen a Vikings game. As the Vikings lined up and snapped the ball, he braced himself for the next play or two which would inevitably seal this as a loss. Case Keenum launched the ball into the air.

“Keenum steps into it,” said the announcer, “pass is CAUGHT! DIGGS! SIDELINE! TOUCHDOWN! UNBELIEVABLE! VIKINGS WIN IT!”

Seth watched in awe as a Vikings player not only came down with the ball, but somehow wasn’t tackled by any Saints player. Instead, he sprinted down the sideline and into the endzone as the clock hit zero, throwing his helmet off and holding his arms out in celebration to the crowd. It’s how he would have written the ending in a sports movie, but it was happening in real life.

Jessica had somehow vaulted over her coffee table and was shrieking almost inhuman noises as she fell to her knees in front of her television. Seth, meanwhile felt glued to his spot on the couch, his jaw hung open in absolute shock as he watched the stadium turn to absolute pandemonium on the screen, fans going wild, players running all over the field, and the player who made that spectacular catch, Stefon Diggs, being completely mobbed in the endzone. He was pretty sure Prince’s Let’s Go Crazy was playing at the stadium, but it was hard to make out between the cheers from the television and the insane shrieks coming from Jessica.

A loud buzzing noise attracted Seth’s attention. He glanced down and saw Jessica’s phone, lit up with “Dad” glowing across the screen.

“Jessica?” he said, standing up and holding out her phone, “It’s your dad.”

Jessica climbed across her coffee table, knocking over a bowl a tortilla chips in the process, grabbing her phone with one hand and flinging herself at Seth with the other, nearly tackling him to the couch with her enthusiasm. She clung to him as she swiped to answer her phone, her hand visibly shaking.

“Ahh, Dad!” she screamed into her phone, nearly painful for Seth as she was dangerously close to his ear, “I know!... I KNOW!... I thought so, too!... YES!...Yeah, I know!...Skol!”

As she began to recount the game with her dad, she unglued herself from Seth, sitting on the floor in front of her TV and watching the chaos and excitement unfold at the stadium. Seth couldn’t help it, the whole thing was so surreal that he just started laughing lightly. Things like this just didn’t happen outside of movies. Figuring that Jessica was going to be caught up in this excitement for a while, Seth grabbed the trash can from the kitchen and started cleaning up the mess of chips that Jessica had knocked everywhere.

He had just about cleaned up all the scattered chips when he heard Jessica say “Oh, wow,” before she went silent. Seth glanced up he saw Case Keenum, a hero of a quarterback now, leading the entire stadium in the Vikings’ “Skol” chant. He sank onto the couch, watching in awe as the camera pulled back. He got chills, and it wasn’t even his team.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll let you go, Dad.... Yeah, I love you, too.” Jessica said before setting down her phone and joining Seth on the couch, curling her legs up underneath her body. “Can you believe it?” she asked, shaking his shoulder lightly.

“No,” he replied with a chuckle, “Why did they have another play there?” he asked, gesturing to the TV. After the cheer, Keenum had lined up and taken one more snap before kneeling down. Seth would have thought the game was over with the insane touchdown.

“They still had to either attempt an extra point or and two-point conversion after the touchdown,” she explained, “Diggs scored at the end of regulation, so it wasn’t sudden death or anything.”

“Why didn’t they just kick the extra point? Why kneel it?”

“Don’t want to risk a blocked kick that the Saints could try and run back or any injuries.”

“Interesting,” he said, nodding slightly. It was a lot more enjoyable watching the game with someone who would actually explain the little details to him

“Thanks for cleaning up, by the way,” she said, gesturing to the coffee table.

“Of course, Iowa.”

“So, I’m gonna need you here next Sunday evening. You are clearly some sort of good luck charm.”

“Oh, I see how it is. All I am is some human prop your football team,” Seth said dramatically, flinging his head back against the top of her couch in mock indignation.

Jessica grinned down at him, “Why else would I want you around? Seriously, though. You should come over next week.”

“Sure, why not? I managed to survive this game with you; I can probably handle another.”

“Oh no,” said Jessica, drawing her hand to her mouth, “Was I really that bad?”

Seth laughed, “Come on, you have to know what you’re like when you watch football.”

“I don’t know, I always watched with my dad growing up. I didn’t think we were too crazy.”

He just continued to chuckle, watching Jessica clearly attempt to remember her actions over the past three hours, “Let’s just say that I’m pretty sure this afternoon was the equivalent of about 32 major life events. There was joy, despair, worry, frustration, anger, excitement-” he listed, holding up his fingers as he started counting off emotions in jest, but Jessica cut him off with a kiss.

“I’m sorry I was so nutty,” she said as she pulled away.

“Nah. It’s fine, Iowa. Like I said, it was like going through a bunch of life’s ups and downs all back to back. It’s kind of nice getting a little preview of what the hell I’m apparently getting myself into.”

Jessica swatted him playfully, swinging her leg over his lap and straddling him. “There was one emotion I notice you didn’t list,” she said into his ear, grinding down against him.

“Seriously? Football turns you on?”

“No, the Vikings winning turns me on,” she replied, working her lips across his jaw, “Come on, Seth. Don’t you want to celebrate with me?”

Groaning, Seth turned his head, capturing Jessica’s lips in a heated kiss, sliding his hands under her jersey and tugging it over her head. “I think I can definitely get on board with this whole football thing,” he said between kisses. Jessica laughed, clutching tightly to his shoulders as he stood up and made his way toward her bedroom, ready to start their own private victory celebration.

Permatag: @speedyoperarascalparty @mfackenthal @lilyofchoices @thequeenofcronuts @jamesashtonisbae

Red Carpet Diaries: @octobereighth

Seth x MC only: @choicesarehard

#choices big game blitz #seth levine #seth x mc #rcd fanfiction #minneapolis miracle #rcd #red carpet diaries #choices rcd #choices #playchoices #choices stories you play

16 notes · View notes

txladyj-blog · 4 years

Text

This Time Around Chapter - 20

A Daryl Dixon x OFC collaboration written by @xmistressmistrustx by request of @txladyj-blog

Rating: Explicit

Relationship: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character

Tags: Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Awkwardness, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Crush, Fluff and Humor, Angst and Humor, Mild Smut, Strong Language, Eventual Sex, Eventual Romance, Slow Burn, Canon Divergence, Some Canon Scenes and Dialogue

Chapters 25/?

The next morning brought with it the promise of rain and a mist that had descended over the woodland surrounding Alexandria that made it both hard to track and see anything in the distance. Jess exercised her morning hunt and Walker elimination with extreme caution, although the party the night before had attracted unwanted attention from the undead due to the humdrum of noise and light from Deanna’s house. The numbers of animals were still thinning and she found a need to expand the area she usually covered.

With her mask and hood equipped, she decided to check Enid’s usual spot for any signs of life before she headed further out into the woods. Eventually, she found her conscientiousness paid off when she came across the girl where she was normally sitting, in a hollowed-out tree that doubled up as an ideal hiding spot from Walkers. She was reading and her head snapped up unexpectedly when she was stirred by the sound of Jess cracking a twig beneath her boot. A rookie error when in stealth mode.

Enid quickly began to shove her book back into her backpack and scramble to her feet, using the trunk of the tree for stability. Jess held out her hands to halt her.

“Woah, it’s OK. It’s just me.” She said.

Enid regarded her with suspicion and began to loop her arms back through the backpacks handles, soon settling it just below her shoulder blades. She took an obvious step forwards, but then changed her mind and retreated back to the hollow of the tree.

“I-I was just heading back.” She stammered.

“No, you weren’t.” Jess countered “But it’s okay. You know you can stay within the boundaries we talked about. You’re fine here.”

Enid was partially hiding behind a curtain of long, brown hair and kept her head low, as if she was afraid of someone being able to see who she was, what she was thinking and what she was all about like she wore it across her forehead. Jess could relate.

“It’s not about the boundaries.” Jess stated knowingly with a small nod. “You want to be left alone.”

She didn’t need a reply or a confirmation either way, it was written all over what she could see of the girl’s face. Being outside helped her to feel something. Anything. It made her feel alive. The walls were imposing and prison like, boxing her in and making her complacent when she thought about the world outside.

“I get it. Stay. If you want. This side is clear of Walkers so you’re safe enough. For now.” Jess informed her. “Just, don’t stay out here too long. I’ll be around so I’ll check on you in thirty minutes or so.”

Jess, having laid down the law and done her parenting duties for the day, turned on her heel and set off for the hunt. She was reasonably satisfied that Enid would be safe enough until she returned. After all, the girl was probably out there more than she was when she really thought about it.

“Parker?” Came a small voice from behind her, cutting through the air like a songbird, soft and innocent.

Jess stopped and turned around blinking with the realization that Enid was quite possibly the only one that didn’t know her real name yet. Her absence at the party meant she’d missed the drama and revelations. Jess gently flipped her hood back and nuzzled out of her mask, seeing Enid’s eyes widen slightly.

“Please, call me Jess. Parker is my brother’s name.” She smiled

Enid moved closer, shrugging her black backpack further onto her shoulder. She studied Jess’s features and scanned the rest of her while she had her locked in her sights.

“Why lie about your name?” She asked.

“Same reason you like to come out here and read, all alone.” She answered confidently “Anonymity. Privacy. Peace.”

The young girl seemed to understand and nodded with a small smile. Nothing else needed to be said when there was a mutual comprehension between them both. Jess had been keeping an eye on Enid for as long as she'd lived at the fairground. She needed the freedom of being able to leave for her own sanity and she also had no one behind the walls to tell her otherwise. She spoke to Aaron, who cast a watchful eye over her when he could, but on the outside, Jess made sure she came to no harm. They rarely spoke and when they did it was only when necessary and Enid was grateful for that. In fact, the extent of her gratitude reached further than Jess thought. She inched closer and quickly looked around at their surroundings, Jess remained in place.

“Right. I just wanted to say thanks. For looking out for me.” Enid said sincerely.

Jess was rooted to the spot when the girl loosely wrapped her arms around her middle in a feeble, fleeting but meaningful hug. She found herself smiling as Enid stepped back and a genuine grin was exchanged between them before Enid head off in the direction of the gate.

Jess decided to wait until The girl was out of sight, something in her gut told her there was a reason for her lingering until she’d gone. It was proved right when she saw another figure emerge from between the trees from the other direction.

Shards of light from the sun beaming between the leaves illuminated Carl’s Sheriffs hat and Jess sighed to herself. She should have known that where Enid was, Carl wouldn’t be that far behind, despite her earlier warnings for him to stay inside the walls.

She wasn’t surprised when he stopped moving upon noticing her presence, his shoulders sagged and he offered her a strained smile that told her; ‘Alright, you caught me.’ Jess marched towards him and motioned to a couple of tree stumps to her right. Trees were cut down occasionally to allow for the community to make fires for cooking and warmth, thus saving the generators for as long as possible. He plonked down onto the stump, readying himself for what was expected to be a long lecture about following Enid over the walls.

“What did I tell you, Carl?” Jess started.

His defenses went up and he turned to her, his eyebrows knitting together and his face changing to an expression of desperation.

“She’s alone out here! I can’t just leave her!” He cried.

Jess held her gloved hands up to quieten him. Sensing that her intentions were not solely to scold him, he immediately backed down and she gave him a sympathetic smile.

“I knew she was here. I just spoke to her. She’s gone back over the wall now.” She explained “You’re the one that was alone. You need to be more careful, Carl. Stop following her out here or I’ll have to tell your dad.”

Yes, it was a threat but it was only delivered out of necessity and Jess had faith that Carl would heed her advice, meaning that she wouldn’t have to follow through and inform Rick of his son’s venturing into the woods in pursuit of a girl. What’s more, she hoped she wouldn’t have to explain her knowledge of it for the past few weeks and why she never spoke up in the first place.

“You wouldn’t.” Carl challenged.

“Wouldn’t I?” She smirked in response.

Don’t test me, kid.

“Uggh, don’t be a snitch” He groaned “I just get worried about her, okay?”

“I know you’re worried about her. That’s what happens when you care about someone. But you have to look after yourself too. You have a Family that love you and don’t want to lose you.”

If she had to be honest, she couldn’t say that if she was Carl’s age and in his situation that she wouldn’t have done the same. But Carl was precious, not just to Rick but to the whole group and the community having to come to terms with such a loss didn’t bear thinking about.

“I know. You’re right.” He conceded.

It was the perfect opportunity to bring up the topic of discussion between her and Daryl in the abandoned house. Jess took a few moments to decide which angle to approach it from and shifted her body to face Carl.

“Daryl told me you were asking him what you need to do to be good to Enid.” She said. “You already know this, in your heart. But I guess a little more advice wouldn’t hurt.”

Carl shrugged a shoulder up, if he was anywhere near embarrassed, he wasn’t showing it.

“Yeah, Daryl said to ask you because you’re a girl.”

Jess almost laughed when she remembered Daryl’s reasoning for dragging her back into the fray.

“Yeah, I got that.” She sniggered “OK, I’m going to tell you something and you have to promise not to tell anybody else.”

His face lit up at the prospect of being trusted with information that was to stay between the two of them. First, he’d kept her identity under the radar, now, she was relying on him to keep something else to himself. It’s had become. A strange bonding exercise, being entrusted as the keeper of secrets.

“Yeah. Sure. Of course.” He quickly agreed

“And you have to promise not to come out here alone anymore” she added.

“But Jess-”

“Carl” she warned with a stern voice and a raised eyebrow.

“Ok, fine. I promise.”

Jess took a deep breath and tried to evaluate the consequences her words would have should Carl fail to keep them under wraps. It was a risk, but one she could probably explain away should she need to. It all depended on how she worded what she was about to say

“He doesn’t know it, but Daryl is who you should be using as a good example of how to treat a girl. You should pay attention to how he treats me.”

It had been said and it wasn’t until she heard the words spoken instead of in her head, that she realized just how much she believed them.

“What?” Carl said “You mean, you guys are-”

“-No! Oh, no!” She corrected, a little quicker than desired “We’re friends. Close friends. But he knows how to treat a girl the way she deserves and it’s strange because he’s never had anybody in his entire life to tell him how to do that. He just knows.”

“Well…What does he do?”

Her vision moved out to the trees while her mind worked to filter though her memories of Daryl and every time his actions or words had made her feel like she was worth something. There were a lot and she was sure that if she ever told him he wouldn’t have even known.

“He makes time for me. I think he likes being around me. He laughs with me, teases me, actually listens to what I have to say and if I need him, I know he’ll be there.”

“That sounds nice. For you.” Carl mused.

“Yeah, and it’ll be nice for Enid to have somebody like that because you can bet your ass that idiot boyfriend of hers hasn’t got a clue what he’s doing. If he did, she probably wouldn’t be out here most days on her own” she told him with a wag of her finger

Carl laughed at her take on things “hope you’re right” He mused. “If Daryl is so good to you, why aren’t you his girlfriend?”

A wave of nervous energy washed over Jess and she couldn’t help the strained and somewhat odd giggle that escaped her lips. Knowing her only option to bypass being tangled in a conversation on a topic she really did not wish to discuss was ignoring the question, she slapped her hands on her knees, rubbed over her jeans and got to her feet.

“Carl, you’re never going to get a chance with the girl you like unless you stay inside the walls. Because you’ll be dead. Now, c’mon, let’s get you home” She declared.

With that, she linked her hand under his arm and pulled him upright, frog marching him towards Alexandria and trying to ignore the mocking grin he was giving her.

Daryl was sitting in a truck by the gate when Jess managed to smuggle Carl back in without Rick or anyone else but the gate guard noticing. Stealth and secrecy were her expertise and Carl was glad of it when he spotted his father outside the armory in discussion with Carol. He quickly ran behind the houses, evading Ricks focus.

Daryl smoked a cigarette and followed Jess with his eyes as she crept around the perimeter, keeping Carl in the shadows and sending him on his way once he was out of sight. Then, she made her way towards him where he was already enjoying seeing her inside the walls with her hood down and mask hanging around her neck as opposed to hiding her face. She’d braided her hair and the loose strands from the front blew gently in the breeze, it added a delicate and feminine edge to her mysterious and capable front.

He squinted at her in the sun and pushed away his anxiety about what had transpired the previous night. It wasn’t something he’d planned, or even thought about. Rather, it had just happened and he couldn’t say that he regretted the mildly flirtatious things that he’d said. The result was better than he could have anticipated and instead of him needing to awkwardly back track and apologize, Jess reacted in the best way possible; he could even hazard to say that she’d flirted back, not to mention that she’d referred to him as ‘handsome’. Daryl mused that there was indeed a first time for everything and for him, it was being able to steer a conversation with a pretty girl towards something that hinted at a little more than friendship, even if he wasn’t necessarily sure that she was on the same page. The prospect of her having a genuine interest in him in that respect had come from the certainty that she did indeed have a crush on him back at the quarry and that she quite frequently appeared flustered while in his presence. But now he was under no illusions that their flirtatious exchange was likely to be little more than an instance of getting to know one another. After all, she’d probably forgotten all about it by then anyway. He dared to hope for anything more, disbelieving that he was anywhere near good enough for her anyway.

He watched her closely as she crossed the street and headed in his direction, her hand lifted in a small wave and his fingers rippled up on the frame of the open window of the truck, acknowledging her and returning the gesture. She was back in her regular clothes but Daryl would never forget the image of her in a dress with soft curls and wearing a shy and altogether bewitching smile when he’d informed her of his interest in finding out more about her.

“Morning handsome” she greeted in an echo of the night before

She leaned against the open door of the truck and smiled broadly at him. Something had changed in him and the longer his eyes lingered on her the more he wanted to follow through with his idea of working harder to find out the things about her that he didn’t yet know.

“Not sure which nickname I prefer” he expressed “that or ‘Stinky’.”

“‘Stinky’ is now reserved for when you piss me off. ‘Handsome’ is for when you’re in my good books.” Her head tilted to one side and she traced over the edge of the truck’s door with her fingertip.

“I’m in you good books now?” He asked

“You might be.”

“How’d I manage that?”

“Told me I looked nice last night.” Was her honest and surprising reply.

Daryl was shocked to discover that his flirtatious comments hadn’t been brushed off like yesterdays shopping list at all. They were very much still at the forefront of her mind and for some reason he couldn’t quite place, she presented as different to him. She was bolder and for the first time he was able to see a glimmer of a side to her that had hijacked his curiosity more than he cared to admit.

“You did” He reiterated bravely.

“Ooh.” She hummed “You’re determined to stay there, huh?”

“Kind of a good place to be” He mentioned “Better’n you pointin’ guns at me in the woods like a crazy lady”

“Aaaand you just secured your place back in the bad books, Stinky.” She giggled while she his gaze, bravely grinning at him and trying to stop the sparking mass of excitement in the pit of her stomach from making her do something she would regret. From her peripheral vision, she could sense Rick at the other end of the street. He was still at the top of the armory steps, shoving his Python into its holster at his hip.

“You heading out?” She asked Daryl.

“Yeah, found a guy livin’ in the woods a few miles out all by himself. Rick is coming with me to talk to him, see what he’s about” he explained.

The smile stayed on Jess’s face and she nudged her head up, conveying that she understood. Part of Daryl wished he didn’t have to leave, that Rick wasn’t on his way to climb into the truck and venture with him outside of the walls. He wanted to stay, to stay with Jess and spend the day just talking to her. Or, to at least find a reason to spend time in her company.

“Come with us.” He suggested from nowhere. It was driven by impulse, and idea that wasn’t thought through but said regardless.

“Thought you didn’t want me going anywhere that wasn’t local. You put your big, protective foot down, remember? Breaking your own rules, Dixon” She reminded him with an element of smugness.

“Ain’t gotta.” He shrugged. “plus, what’s the point of rules if they ain't for breakin’ from time to time?”

“Daryl Dixon, the eternal rebel.” She smiled with a much better executed wink than her previous effort “I’ll tag along.” The idea of a trip far from the town was an appealing one and not just because of the company she would be keeping. Jess was beginning to get cabin fever after pacing the same paths and looking at the same walls. She left the quarry to be a free bird, to go where she pleased and on occasion, she felt nothing but hemmed in. She needed to be busy and Daryl’s offer couldn’t have come at a better time. She hopped in the back and hung an arm on each of the seats in front while they waited for Rick to arrive. Daryl discarded his smoke and swung his legs into the truck, closing the door and turning his head to see Jess peering at him from her position between the seats.

“So, what’s the deal with you bringin’ Carl through the gates like he’s contraband?” He wanted to know.

“Oh, about that, I caught him outside the walls looking for Enid. I’m keeping an eye on him. Don’t tell Rick”

A slight glance over his shoulder told her that he didn’t like the idea of withholding information from Rick, but some things need not be said to save any unnecessary dramas.

“You tell the kid what ya told me?” he asked.

“Told him what he needs to do, yes.”

“Alright. We’ll see if it works, I guess.”

“It will.” She commented with a firm confidence only to be met with a suspicious side glance from Daryl. “It will!” She reiterated “He’s got excellent mentors.”

“What, me n’ you? Two people who ain't never had a relationship before? Alright, whatever you say.”

Jess playfully slapped at his shoulder and scoffed at his negativity, although she couldn’t deny that he had a point, she wasn’t about to agree with his statement.

“It doesn’t need experience; it needs patience and faith. You’ll see.”

“OK, cupid.” He mumbled. A thin piece of red thread garnered his attention on the dash and he picked it up and began winding it around his fingers as he leaned on the steering wheel. “Whatcha say to him anyways?”

It was the second time he’d made a try for specifics on the subject and his intent felt dangerously thinly veiled. He was interested, curious to know about Jess’s expectations and advice. For a moment, he considered the idea that he probably needed the advice more than Carl did. A quietness from beside him concerned him and he looked to his side to see her lip curled up at one end and a glint in her eye.

“That’s between Carl and I.” She finally replied. “Maybe I’ll tell you one day.”

A short huff from Daryl meant he was dismissing the subject rapidly and started to rummage around in the glovebox, secretly hoping that she would grace him with the truth someday. More than aware that her conversing with him was becoming a lot more than just chit chat and jest, Jess toyed with the idea of asking something a little more direct than she usually would.

“Were you drunk last night?” She questioned.

As if the notion had sparked a fire under him, Daryl shot back to his seating position and frowned at her.

“What? No.” He answered, “Why?”

“Wondering, that’s all. Was thinking maybe you were drunk or it was the dress that I told Aaron was too short but he made me wear it anyway.” As she spoke, her nerves began to rise and it was translated into the flicking of her hands in the air, making her appear to be rambling when she wasn’t.

“What are ya talkin’ ‘bout?’ He queried, turning his body to face her. She blinked at him and sucked her lower lip into her mouth.

Say it, Jess. Just say it. You want to see his reaction.

“Just…trying to figure out why you flirted with me.”

Far from the response she wanted, Daryl slowly twisted back and settled in the driver’s seat. She heard him sigh deeply, a long, drawn out exhalation. Along with the drumming of his fingers on the steering wheel, she figured they would be the only two sounds she would be presented with. Seconds passed, the longest seconds she’d ever encountered and she was on the verge of sitting back in the seat and pretending she never even bothered to ask.

Daryl was at a loss for words. Such a question was totally unexpected and he hadn’t given a single thought to how he might answer it. He could have been revealingly honest and told her he’d flirted with her because he had feelings for her that he couldn’t explain but didn’t dislike. But the point of such an admission would have been absent and so, he resigned himself to the less is more approach.

“That a problem?” He eventually muttered.

“Uh…No.” She replied uneasily.

It may not have been a problem, but it was still an issue of some sort and for Daryl it was enough to make him highly uncomfortable. His face was stoic with a discipline he’d practiced for years, he peered out of the windscreen at the gate guards swapping shifts. Then, movement in the mirror caught his attention. Rick was on his way to the truck. The air was thick with anticipation and as much as he just wanted to keep quiet and not fuel any more confusion between them, he knew he owed her an answer at least. With Rick a few feet away from the back of the truck, Daryl diverted his gaze to the rear-view mirror and found Jess peering back at him innocently and with a hint of worry on her face.

“Was sober n’ it wasn’t ‘cause of no dress.” He whispered just as Rick interrupted by climbing into the truck.

Over an hour of fleeting glances in the rear-view mirror and frustration near to boiling point meant Jess had to force herself to swallow the urge to ask a barrage of questions pertaining to Daryl’s absolute conundrum of a statement. Reaching their destination, Jess jumped out of the truck and demanded to be shown the route they were taking on a map. Once she had a clear idea of the direction they were headed in, she surged ahead, not wanting to having to endure any more confusion by meeting Daryl’s eye.

Since when did he flirt with her? Since when did he offer such a non-answer when questioned about something? Since when did everything get so complicated? She needed to know what was happening, because something was and she could feel it in her gut. Something in him had changed and she needed to know what. It was obvious that he’d timed his answer strategically, in the seconds before Rick opened the truck door and climbed inside. He knew she wouldn’t continue probing about such a sensitive subject in front of anyone else and he took advantage of it.

Smart She thought Smart and annoying.

The day was hot. Dry, dusty air howled through the leaves and branches of the woods and Walkers were congregating in higher numbers than Alexandria had to deal with. Rick and Daryl took it upon themselves to put most of them down as the small group moved towards their destination with Jess picking off the stragglers at a distance with her bow. Multiple times she’d heard Daryl call her name during combat with the undead, but every time she ignored him. She could handle a few Walkers with her bow and didn’t need his assistance. What she did need, was an explanation.

As they approached a camp nestled in the bushes, Jess slowed her pace and switched her bow up for her machete, gripping it in her hand until her knuckles turned white. She didn’t know why she was so uneasy about the situation, but a niggling in the back of her mind was telling her to proceed with caution. Rick signaled silently with his hand for Daryl to take the left while he took the right and the three of them crept closer, scoping out the area and listening for any sounds. Jess halted and squinted at the dull light in the trees, thinking she’d spotted movement in the entrance of a ripped and moldy tent.

The wind was knocked from her lungs when Daryl's arms locked around her middle, yanking her body backwards and causing her boots to scuff along the ground. He held her flush against his body while hissing in her ear after she yelped in surprise.

“Shhhh”

“Wha-what are you-?" She tried, but his hand shot up and clamped over her mouth. She could feel his breath on her neck as he held her still, his strength obviously hard to rival.

“Trap.” He breathed in her ear.

Rick quickly shuffled along from the far side and partially knelt in front of them, positioning himself in Jess’s eye-line. He raised an arm and traced along the nearly transparent wire that she had almost activated.

Jess wriggled from Daryl’s grasp and brushed angrily at her clothes. Why hadn’t she seen that? She had one that was identical set up by the gate of the fairground. Her mind had undoubtedly been elsewhere and now she was embarrassed about missing a trap she considered to be child’s play.

“Y’all go ahead” she told them both. “I’m too distracted to lead anymore”

The displeased glare that Daryl received as she passed him was not lost on him and he charges ahead, stepping over the trap with Rick and pushing through the trees towards the tent.

Everyone knows the feeling; when you’re looking at someone and you know that you’ve seen them somewhere before but your mind withholds vital information that would lead you to figure out exactly why that person was already in your memory before you happened upon them.

Daryl and Rick kept their distance and their weapons drawn while the scruffy, toothless man before them rambled about living in the woods for months and how hungry he was. Tilting her head to the side, Jess examined his arms and the rotund shape of his stomach. This man most certainly was not starving and his voice was also ringing a bell. It made her skin prickle and turn cold. She stalked back and forth behind her two comrades, aware that she was not avoiding the leering gaze of the man that was sitting on the floor outside his ruined tent. His clothing was in decent enough condition. Holes in the knees of his pants sewn up and his plain, blue shirt was devoid of the stains and rips that living in the wilderness would create. Something was amiss. Jess stopped walking and adjusted her grip on her machete.

“How many people have you killed?” Rick asked. It was one of three questions that were customary in the recruitment of outsiders that helped to identify a good person from a bad one.

“I dunno… a few. Gotta do what you’ve gotta do, right?!” The man declared before releasing a throaty, loose laugh that seared into Jess’s memory.

I know you.

She charged through the gap between Rick and Daryl and flung her machete at the man, stopping centimeters from his throat. Time suspended around her and for a few seconds, there was nothing but her rage and the flash of fear in the man’s eyes. She was sure Rick and Daryl were speaking to her, probably urging her to back down. But she heard nothing but the thud of her heartbeat in her head.

“Did you find what you were looking for in the city?” She hissed

“W-woah, lady. Relax. I don’t know what you-” he stammered, saliva sprayed from his toothless mouth as he spoke, dotting her blade with spit.

“-are you sure? Because I remember you. That phlegm infested laugh and how you drummed on the metal cage you drove through the streets with a half naked, screaming woman inside.”

Gradually, the sound of Daryl and Ricks voices began to sleep through her rage and she could sense Rick approaching her, holding a hand out towards the handle of her blade.

“What did you do to that woman?” She wanted to know.

“What woman? I don’t know what you’re talking about!” He cried

“The woman from the damn cage, asshole! I know you and I know the band of pricks you’re working with! I heard you in the woods, before we killed your buddy. You’re collecting women, and you’re out here as bait, aren’t you?! Poor, starving guy all alone in the woods, begging for help from passers by. Where are the rest of your group?”

The man’s face began to tremble with each escalation of fury in Jess’s voice. Her anger was rising and everything blurred when she bypassed needing an answer to her question and moved her arm back, readying herself to slice his head clean off.

Daryl came out of nowhere, barging into her and knocking her to the floor. Her machete left her hand and scattered across the dirt, skidding to a stop a few feet from her fingers while Daryl pinned her to the floor. Her back hummed with pain from the impact and her shoulders were locked under his weight. She kicked and bucked beneath him, her strangled yells sounding out across the area. She could see Rick lunge towards them and scoop up her blade with his revolver still pointed at the man, who was staring, wide-eyed at the scuffle.

“Let me go!” She growled “I know what he is… fucking rapist bastard! We need-we need to kill him!”

Daryl was shushing her as best he could, but his words were falling on deaf ears.

“Let me go, Daryl! GET OFF OF ME!” She bellowed. But he shifted his grip on her, most of his body now covering her in the dirt. He managed to bring a hand to her face, steadying her thrashing and lowered his lips close to her ear.

“I get it” he told her “I get it, Jess. But you gotta calm down. We gotta be sure”

“Let me go” she snapped

“Can’t do that until I know ya ain’t gonna chop his head off or put an arrow between his eyes. We can’t just kill him.”

“Yes, we can. He’s one of them. The men from the woods when we hid in the stream. You know what they are. I saw him, I looked back and I saw him. They pick up women and use them. I saw them in the city. They had a woman in a fucking cage, Daryl!” Her lungs were straining and her speech was forced from her throat into a stream of rambling. She paused and struggled, snapping her head to the side and locking eyes with the man “Rapist pig!”

“Hey, hey, hey, c’mon. Don’t look at him.” Daryl soothed, gently turning her head back to him. “Look at me.” He peered down at her flushed and enraged face, noticing that the fight seemed to have left her limbs “Look at me. it’s just me n’ you. Please.”

He was so close to her that the sweaty strands of his hair were tickling her face and it occurred to her that if she lifted her head slightly, she could see right down his shirt to the toned landscape of his chest. All at once, the situation became about more than just him keeping her in line.

At least I get to know what it’s like to be under you, Dixon.

The contact wasn't lost on Daryl either, who was becoming starkly aware of the dangers that friction coupled with being on top of an attractive woman held. He forced his mind to the task at hand and tried to remain logical and focused. But the curve of her hip and waist was making things extremely difficult.

She grit her teeth and wriggled while shooting him an angry look and breathing through her nose. She had to concede soon or the man had a good chance of escape. She needed to change tact and the only way she could do that was if Daryl allowed her to get up from the ground. She began to calm and shifted slightly under him.

“fine.” She spat.

She turned her head and huffed against the dirt, sending a cloud of brown dust up in front of him.

“Slowly. Don’t try nothin’. Please” he requested as he gradually moved back and let her have control back in her upper body. She sat up and he still held onto her legs, still straddling her thighs, untrusting and wary. She brushed the dirt from her hair and clothing and stared at him.

“You alright?” He asked

“You know we have to kill him. He’s not going anywhere near our people” She whispered with a quick glance at the man, who was now being grilled by Rick and staring down the barrel of his gun.

“We can use him. Keep in the cell. He could have information.” He reasoned.

It took all manner of pleading looks before Jess finally gave in and agreed not to hurt the man if Daryl let her up from the floor and when she was finally able to stand, she cleared her throat and dusted herself down, throwing an awkward glance Daryl’s way and finding him imitating her expression.

Maybe I should kick off again, that was kinda fun. She thought.

After a detailed discussion between Rick and Daryl while Jess paced angrily back and forth behind them, it was decided that the stranger was to be tied up and taken back to Alexandria’s jail where he would be interrogated for information. Daryl was confident in Jess’s declaration that she knew the man and had seen him twice before. If he was a part of a larger group that were a danger to the people of their town, then they needed to know what they were up against.

Throughout the negotiation and with a gun still pointed to his head, the man remained adamant that he had no idea what Jess was referring to and he was, in fact, simply a drifter living alone in the woods.

“You got any weapons?” Rick asked.

“No. Even if I did, you could shoot me in the head right now.” He answered.

Daryl and Rick didn’t believe him any more than Jess did and so it was with great caution that he was lifted to his feet with Jess volunteering to search him and bind his hands at his back. Rick handed her some rope and she stepped around him, lowering her eyes to his wrists which he’d brought around to his lower back. Between his hands, she spotted the unmistakable grip of a pistol tucked deep into his waistband.

“He’s got a gu-”

It was a blur and it felt like her feet lifted clear of the ground. In one swift movement an arm was clamped around her throat, pressing on her windpipe and her other arm was bent behind her back. A cold, circular pressure on her temple made her heart sink. Her chest constricted and fear hammered through her veins. She tried to struggle, to use her feet to stamp on his boots, her one, free hand desperately clawed at his forearm but he didn’t budge.

“Back up or I shoot her.” The man said calmly with a crazed grin on his face that made Daryl’s blood run cold. Both Rick and Daryl took a couple of steps back, Daryl’s face etched with worry. “Weapons on the floor”

“You don’t have to do this.” Rick tried as he and Daryl placed their weapons in the dust. “We’re just going to take you back and talk to you. Let her go.”

The man turned his head and pushed his nose into the side of Jess’s hair. He sniffed loudly, his eyes rolling up and a laugh crackling from his lungs.

“Let her go?” He chuckled. “Why would I do that? She’s a prize find. They don’t come in such good quality after all this time. He’s gonna loooove you, sweetheart.”

“I’ma fuckin’ kill you” Daryl growled.

Jess’s body began to shake with terror and her mind kicked into overdrive at the many horrendous possibilities that could befall her if the man was able to drag her away somehow. She tried to think, tried to formulate and plan and hoped that Daryl and Rick were coming up with something themselves.

Another mocking laugh and Jess could feel the vibration from it rumble through her back. Nausea swept over her and she swallowed hard, her eyes lifting to Daryl who stood, motionless and staring at her captor as if he was imagining tearing him limb from limb. Rick was still trying to talk him into submission, his every attempt met with mockery and an even tighter grip around her neck. Around his prize.

Out of nowhere, Daryl dived at them, his shoulder colliding with the man’s hip and lifting all of them into the air.

BANG

Jess landed with an almighty thud at the same time as the gunshot rang out through the woods. She shook her head as her eardrums ached and her hearing muffled and quickly felt over her clothes for wounds or blood. In her peripheral vision she could see Rick running towards them in slow motion.

Am I hit? Did he shoot me? I can’t feel anything. No, I’m not hit. Then who did he…?

She scrambled up to her knees, spinning around and taking in the scene before her. Everything was still moving in slow motion and her ears were now ringing with pain from the noise. Her mouth dropped open. She was hyperventilating. She blinked rapidly, able to make out Daryl scrapping with the man on the floor. Punches were being thrown and footsteps neared her. She was knelt on something metal; her knee was thrumming with discomfort. She shifted and picked up the strangers gun.

“ON YOUR KNEES ASSHOLE!”

It didn’t even sound like her own voice. It was loud and built of fury and fire and a determination unlike she’d never felt before. The man threw his hands up and climbed up from where he’d been subjected to Daryl raining punches down on him.

“Woah, lady. Everything was goin’ just fine until ya boyfriend here jumped in.” He commented. “We was just gonna have ourselves a little trip before I delivered ya to the big guy. It ain't nothin’. Just give this up n’ nobody else has to get hurt. We’re all just trying to survive, right? Whatever ways we know how? Why don’t ya just put down the gun? Huh? Sweetheart.”

Rick, who was also pointing his gun in the same direction, noticed Daryl roll onto his back and clutch his thigh. Strained grunts and cuss words filled the air and Jess put two and to together. They exchanged a glance that conveyed Jess would be the one to hold the assailant at gunpoint while Rick dashed over to Daryl and began applying pressure to his wound.

He shot Daryl.

Tears filled her eyes and her vision blurred. The man’s face distorting through a glassy view and her breath suddenly becoming incredibly difficult to pass through her lungs. Intermittently, her eyes flickered over to Daryl on the floor, losing blood quickly as the crimson pool in the dirt beneath him grew larger. Rick partially obscured her view as he tended to him, using his knife to carve off a part of his sleeve to double it up as a tourniquet.

“Daryl?!” Jess yelled, ignoring the pleas from her target who was still waffling on in front of her and trying to talk his way out of being shot in the head. “Daryl?! Are you Okay?!”

“Uggghh…yeah. M’okay.” Came the unconvincing reply. Her hands were shaking around the gun. The gun that she’d failed to check for ammo. She quickly examined the magazine, satisfied that she wasn’t being taken for a fool. Her blurred vision coupled with Rick’s body positioned in front of Daryl meant that she still couldn’t see much and she began to panic.

“RICK?!” She bellowed but was met with nothing. Her labored and shallow breaths sounded ten times louder than usual and she felt like everyone could hear the terrified rhythm of her heart pounding in her chest. “RICK?! ANSWER ME!”

“Yeah?” He shouted back.

“Tell me the truth, is Daryl lying to me?”

At her feet, the man was giggling maniacally and Jess was trying her hardest to ignore the uncomfortably unstable way in which he was conducting himself in such a situation.

“It’s funny.” He chucked “This is all pointless. You’re all going to die anyway! Ain't nothin’ but the hell down there and the hell up here!”

“Shut up” Jess snapped. “Rick?! I need an answer here!”

“Yeah. He’s hit. Got him in the thigh.” Rick eventually called over his shoulder to the tune of Daryl’s painful cries. Jess’s stomach flipped.

“Tell me that bullet hasn’t hit his femoral artery” She told him.

“No, I think it missed it.” He replied, straight away this time. “You alright over there?”

“Yeah. I got this.” She affirmed.

Jess messily swiped at her eyes with her sleeve, clearing her vision somewhat and allowing her to see the blackened rings under the man’s eyes, his toothless void of a mouth twisted into a sickening grin and the rapid swelling of his cheekbone that must have been courtesy of Daryl. She tilted her head to the side and shifted her weight evenly over both feet. Both of her hands gripped the gun and she sniffed away her tears, finding some semblance of strength that had suddenly been mustered from some part of her being. It didn’t need to be thought about, she knew what she had to do.

She lowered the gun slightly and pulled the trigger. The deafening noise ripped through the trees.

“Jess!” Daryl yelled, quieted when the man’s piercing screams sounded up from in front of her as she stood over him and watched him grip the bleeding, ragged wound in his thigh. He squirmed and writhed in agony. Her face was blank and her actions were fueled by a need for a violent revenge. Jess had never been a violent person and recoiled at any type of physical force. But it was the end of days, humanity was reduced to a ‘them or us’ mentality and when it came to those she cared about; it was a different. No one shot Daryl and got away with it. She slowly crouched in front of the bloodied stranger, hoping that he was feeling even an ounce of the torture that Daryl was experiencing.

“Shh” She hushed gently. “Shh. It’s going to be alright. You’ll see” The man gradually raised his head to her, his face revealing the extent of his pain. She held the gun up to his temple, choosing the angle so she could escape being splattered with blood. It was strange how her logic was working when everything else was a mess.

“No. No. Please” he cried, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Shh” she cooed. One of her hands sought his, taking hold of his bloodied fingers and tenderly rubbing her thumb across his skin. “It’ll be alright” She repeated. “You’ll see.”

BANG.

Bright sunlight was the first thing Daryl saw when he woke. He squinted in discomfort and turned his head away from the window. His head was heavy and his stomach was empty. His throat was dry and there was a dull numbness to his entire body that he thought was consistent with the time he’d raided Merle’s stash and taken his Oxycodone. But he didn’t remember taking anything. In fact, he didn’t remember much at all. He sucked in a deep breath, feeling his lungs tighten and his limbs tingle. Just how long had he been asleep?

Moving his head back, he scanned the room, alarmed to find that it was not the usual place he lay his head. He recognized it to be the infirmary and like a floodgate had opened, everything came rushing back to his memory. The woods. The stranger with the gun. Pinning Jess to the ground. The gunshot wound to his leg. Jess putting an end to it all.

Jess. Where is she?

He grunted and screwed his face up when he tried to move. It dawned on him that he was actually under the influence of strong painkillers that were doing a good job of masking the pain, but not managing to take it away altogether. His leg spiked with agony and he balled his hands into fists as he raised his head from the pillow and noticed the still form of Jess, sitting by the side of his bed with her head resting on her arm on the mattress. Her dark hair was covering her face and her hand was draped over his forearm. He swallowed; his throat drier than the Mojave Desert when he tried to speak.

“J-Jess?” He croaked.

She stirred and let out a small moan, adjusting her position on her bent arm. Daryl smiled at the sight, he didn’t want her to see him in his current state at all, but in truth there was no one else he wanted to see in that moment. He glanced down at her hand delicately placed over his forearm and rotated his wrist, bringing his elbow back and catching her hand in his. He could have stayed there like that for hours. With her fingers wrapped in his grip and her sleeping on his bed. But he needed to know if she was okay and so, he squeezed her hand.

Jess shot up and jerked her hand away from him, her chair scraped against the infirmary floor and her wild eyes checked the room before landing on Daryl. She brought her hand to her chest and caught her breath.

“Oh my god. You’re awake.” She sighed.

She ran a hand through her hair and blinked the sleep from her eyes. Daryl noticed her clothing, a far cry from what he was used to seeing her in. She wore plain black jeans and a white T-shirt. No logos, no emblems or superhero symbols.

“How long ya been here?” he rasped.

“Since we brought you in.” She said “I haven’t left this room.” He furrowed his brow and tried to comprehend exactly how long she meant and wondered how she’d managed to change if she’d not left the room. “Eric brought me some clothes. I got changed while you were sleeping.” She explained, like she could read his mind.

“How long have I been here?” He wanted to know.

“Almost forty-seven hours.” She yawned, covering her mouth and propping her head up on her elbows, using the mattress beside him as a table.

“Jesus.” He grunted. No wonder he couldn’t properly feel his limbs.

She rose to her feet and hovered her hands over him as he struggled to sit up. When she tried to offer her assistance, he quickly held up a hand and shook his head, wanting to complete the simple task himself.

For a moment, Daryl pondered over who had undressed him when he looked down at his bare torso and his arm hooked up to a drip as he sat there, shirtless and slowly dragging the covers up as far as they would go. It had, in fact, been Jess and Denise that had teamed up to get him into bed, aided by Rick, who did the heavy lifting due to Daryl passing out from blood loss and becoming a dead weight.

Denise, who was trained as a surgeon but ended up in psychiatry before the turn, had panicked when it was revealed just how much blood loss she was dealing with. Daryl’s blood type being a complete mystery to everyone in the room only served to heighten her worry. It was Jess that volunteered to donate, quickly announcing that she was O negative and therefore able to donate blood to anyone. She was quickly hooked up and gave as much as she could without collapsing, eventually falling asleep in the chair next to Daryl’s bed and moving only to explain the drama to Aaron and Eric, who brought her clothes and food and tried unsuccessfully to coax her back to the comfortable, warm, spare bed at their place.

“How are you feeling?” She questioned.

“Kinda lit” He admitted

“That’ll be the Oxy” She replied with a quick giggle. “The bullet missed your femoral artery but you’ve got some damage to repair and it’s going to take time. Denise got the bullet out but she says you’ll need physiotherapy to build the muscle strength back up in your leg."

“Mm. Great. This Oxy’s some good shit. You know where she keeps it?”

She didn’t bother to answer, only throwing him a stern but amused look under a raised eyebrow. Sitting back down in her chair, she was aware that the cushioned seat had now become flat and hard from hours of being compressed by her tired body. She really needed a bed for a couple of hours and a belly full of decent food. But leaving Daryl when he’d just woken up was not an option. She briefly reached up and checked his drip was still working, looking over the connections in the wires and gently turning his arm to check the valve. Feeling him staring at her, she met his eye and sat back against the backrest.

“You good?” He asked.

She didn’t know the answer. On the one hand, she was filled with overwhelming relief that he was alive and would live to carry on his constant mockery of her. On the other, she was horrified at the very real possibility that should the bullet had hit his artery, she’d have been preparing to attend his funeral instead of staring him down when he hinted at wanting more Oxycontin.

"Fine" She squeaked.

She cursed herself internally when she couldn’t hold her tears back. Like a freight train, the events of the last two days had hit her all at once and it was wholly overwhelming. Salty drops flittered down her cheeks and she lowered her head, hoping that Daryl was high enough not to notice.

“Don’t look fine.” He commented.

Typical. Turns out he’s not high enough to overlook me being an emotional wreck.

“Don’t. Don’t do that” He urged.

She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve and sighed quietly.

“Jess” He cooed, his tone of voice quieter and soothing “He’s dead. It’s over.”

“He shot you” she exclaimed abruptly, “I won’t have…have anyone hur-he shot you. It’s- no. Just no. I won’t have it.”

She wrung her hands in her lap, irritated by the sound of her blathering.

“Been shot before. Takes more than that to kill me” Daryl pointed out.

She managed to look up and meet his eyes, smiling at him tearfully and fiddling with the corner of the blanket on the bed. She froze when he subtly but very deliberately slid his hand across the sheets and touched her fingers to interrupt the twiddling of the blankets hem. He lightly rubbed back and forth over her index and middle fingers. Her skin ignited and she gazed down at his bloodstained hand over hers.

“What are ya doin? You actually cryin’ at me right now?” He asked.

“No” She lied with a croak.

“Stop this now, alright?” He told her. “C’mon, don’t be no crybaby, s’posed to be a badass.”

Jess couldn’t help but laugh. She was discovering fast that playful, well-meaning jest was actually customary to his personality, he was just very selective with whom he chose to share it.

“No, that’s you. Mr. Indestructible.” She chuckled with a couple of sniffs.

“Hey.” He uttered, noting her gaze drop again and forcing her to look up at him with a slight squeeze of her fingers. “Thanks for shootin’ that prick. I’d have done it myself but I was-”

“-Dealing with a hole in your leg?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll kill anybody that tries to hurt you.” She revealed without thinking. Too terrified to look at him for fear of him thinking her comment strange and dramatic, her lips parted and she fixed her vision down into her lap.

Oh, lord. Apparently, I’m just broadcasting everything in my head now.

“Same.” He mumbled unexpectedly.

The eye contact that transpired between them following such a deep confession was unlike anything either of them had felt before. It was an intense, lingering connection in which the rest of the room seemed to fade into a vignette effect and there remained only the two of them. Time became irrelevant, it could have been hours that passed and neither one of them would have noticed. It was only when a noise from the door snapped them out of their trance that Jess flinched and swallowed hard. Now slightly uncomfortable, but determined not to show it, Daryl simply observed her shift needlessly in her seat. It was quite the moment to him and one that meant so much without saying anything at all.

Masterlist

tagging as requested

@lilred254 @woundmetender

#daryl #twd daryl #daryl fanfiction #the walking dead daryl #daryl x oc #daryl dixon #twd fanfiction

9 notes · View notes

semi-imaginary-place · 4 years

Text

In which I play maddening classic with only Byleth and Dimitri and liveblog on discord 1/15/20 - 2/2/20

because if I’ve got to see a character die repeatedly, countless times, it might as well be dimitri.

So I'm on maddening and classic with only dimitri and I’m going to kill off every other character. I heard if they reach 0 hp in part 1 they stick around the monastery and you can talk to them they just aren’t a part of your class anymore. Give me your blessings.

I died on the prologue! ... i dont have a healer... Death count:2

I am definitely new game+ cheating this for professor level and skills. I was thinking magic focused but she can't be too squishy... Gremory would help that. Also why do all the magic classes have bad growths. Give me a moving fortress of magic!

Ashe went down, 7 to go. Ch3 turned into a survival horror... but i made it out

Ch 6 is hell. Any idea for how to kill every last one of them in 25 turns with only byleth? Or alternately get to and take down the death knight. Only byleth and dimitri run. And no dimitri this chapter, Byleth's a thief

My main problem in crowd control. If i had infinite turns then i could agro them 1 by one... Maybe I've built byleth wrong and just don't have the stats. Is the warp route faster? Haven't tried that yet. In hindsight this was a bad idea for my first maddening run. I'm so used to not using byleth much that this is very different. Damn archers... Got done in by chip damage the first time...

I I dont know what happened... but I beat the death knight.... I was expecting to die becausr i accidentally opened the door so i skipped what actually happened.... Next thing I know game is telling me i got a dark seal What Did I crit? With a silver sword? Im in shock I DONT EVRN I dont even know if it was a crit! But byleth is thief so lethality is out of the question Maybe I should go give a sacrifice to rng god

so I was in shock but yeah I used the warp route and avoided fighting most of the enemies.

So i'm now at the winter ball chapter and felix is still alive (i've decided to off one character every chapter so Miklan downed sylvain. oh and first time through ch5 i accidentally stepped into range of one of the center archers so every unit rushed me and i died) and i tried felix's paralogue and wowo its impossible. Rodrigue dies in 2 attacks, outruns my healing and likes to charge headfirst into the enemy. My record so far is 3 turns before he dies. Might give up since this is optional.

(i eventually finished the paralogue but gave up saving anyone else so i didn’t even get anything good out of it)

The ally A.I. is sooo bad. Jeralt. Dad. Please stop getting yourself killed

Almightly Father in Heaven preserve me. I'm making dimitri learn reason. maybe his rationale will start making sense no more moon logic for you boy

Hey. Why wont the game let me make dimitri a dark bishop

I need dark mage certification first? Or is the internet lying to me

Well dimitri is at c+ reason but I'm tired of grinding.

got dimitri from c+ to b+ in a battle. But the boredom makes me want to cry. Also might have miscalculated.... Fighting an assassin in a forest.... i have 35% hit and no other weapon. They have like 18% hit.... When will i be free...

I made dimitri into a dark bishop and he beat lysithea in the magic tournament. Also just the thought of dimitri in slithers is funny to me

wrath is how i survived the sothis paralogue. crit everything

chasing the empire around in the hold tomb with 2 units was actually kinda fun

I cant believe that worked... Final battle of part 1. I charge down the middle. And it works 4 turns for infanty to cross the field... and it worked ... Welp i somehow made it to part 2 intact. Endless waves of reinforcement here i come

(Oh yeah and rng is punishing me right now by giving terrible level ups)

For the bridge is it best to go straight for the commander?

bridge wasn’t too bad but I was convinced to spare dedue so i had to fend enemies off him like ants to a dropped ice cream cone. if dedue reaches 0 hp or you don’t do his paralogue he dies in fhirdiad and I’m trying to get everyone off my party but not dead, soooo he’s along for the ride

I'm stuck on am ch 14 ... how do I defend 4 spaces when I have 2 units... Those pegasus knights keep dodging too... Damn pegasus knights.... without them i could just hold a choke point with 1 unit. I have 4 gambit uses maximum... Another thought I had is to out fly their flyers so I can shift byleth over quickly. if I take out randolf in delusional prince the map doesn't end. It just stops reinforcements right?

Soo I tried to kill randolf but my movement is too low. It takes 3 turns to reach him...

Yup this is possible. But because I can't do things the quick way. I'll have to do the long way of waiting out the right side and then heading for randolf with byleth all the while holding out with dimitri in the center and hoping rng favors me for lije 20 turns

ALRIGHT WhIcH oF yOuSe a LIAR Sooo .... killing randolph does not stop reinforcements nor does it get you a victory, the fire attack is the only way. Time to go guard another npc with a death wish. Also Gilbert is unkillable in AM

FEAR ME The only way to beat a pegasus knight to to out pegasus knight the pegasus knight Falcon knight bae-by! I am unstoppable I. Am absolute (I am never doing this again)

Finally got past that defend 4 spaces with 2 units and endless reinforcements

I've figured out how to level grind since same level enemies are giving like 7exp each

Alright. Taking suggestions, on how to keep hilda and judith alive in golden deers plea. Alternately, how to kill arundel in 2 thurns without archers destroying me. With only byleth and dimitrti. Right now I'm thibking retribution-> byleth and gunning it. Suggestions for abilities/battalions? My current thought is vantage, alert stance+, renewal, wrath, pavaise, and evasion ring and bridgid hunters

Well i can get to arundel before hilda dies but not judith. I'm starting a campaign to save judith. Please pledge your support on the indiegogo page below

whew judith and hilda and both alive! Stride was a good idea. just make a run for arundel. Kinda sad i didn’t get the aurora shield but eh I got the stat increases at least. I also tried propping up judith with byleth healing them but tanking doesn’t exist in maddening so that didn’t work.

I've been skipping cutscenes because there’s no one else there but gilbert

Things I have learned this playthrough: how to grind skills, how to grind levels, how to save scum level ups.

I’m actually getting a lot of dialogue I missed before just because Byleth and Dimitri are taking down every single enemy unit

At fort merceus, and i want the black pearl. And i'd like to avoid lindhardt and caspar. I'm thinking 1: fly over nab the pearl and kill death knight. 2: wait it out and eliminate every last unit ob the map. What turn does death knight start running? Or is when you get to a specific part of the map? Or am i thinking of an entirely different map...

New plan. Forget everything else and kill death knight

I have beaten the death knight. I have beaten the impregnable fortress. 44% crit rate. But I didn't get the black pearl in the treasure chest and i want my item so... i might redo the battle

Got my pearl. for an idea what the battle is like each turn each of the 2 units needs to be on one specific tile for the best chance of survival, if they die i usually had to restart the battle or change something to get a reroll. and you do this for like 5 turns learning the combinations with a mix of guesswork and trial and error. you also need to move quickly because if 4 units surround you, you’ll be stuck until you’ve defeated every single enemy unit on the map or more likely you die.

Ok story time. So I'm on ch 21 of AM now and aux battle no longer give me exp so my only way of leveling is healing (the exp curve is brutal). Even with the double use of bishop, i'm running down to the wire getting 1 level up/battle (plus the next battle where they gain stats for its more like 1 level/2 battles). I ran out of healing with like 500exp left to go so i restarted but by the end of the 20 heals and 10 recovers I had a different number and now I’m confused Reddit is telling me turn count? Affects exp gain?

Anyways I'm in enbarr. One of the many wonderful things about playing with only dimitri and byleth is that you can't change their starting positions in battles

Wow i did that on my first try. O.o Huh that actually worked... Good thing hubert is squishy. spared dorothea and petra too. huh.

I just had a realization... on the last map of AM. If I apply retribution to everyone... could I kill edelgard with that without having to cross the room? Hmmmm must try it out

Nope cant counter attack. Good thing enemy units on this map are acting defensively and only attack when you go into range. If they swarmed me I'd be dead (again)

Once you reach a certain tile they do swam... i lasted like 4 turns... need to clear the room to stop reinforcements...

(its impossible to stop reinforcements with 2 units on maddening. once you get to the throne room a new wave comes each turn. but clearing the rooms before hand buys you time before you are overwhelmed). To give an idea of what’s going on aux battles are aprox 10 levels below my units. regular enemies are about the same level (so each is a threat and my 2 units can die on any turn) and bosses are usually a couple levels higher.

Hehehehe I am so powerful I have beaten maddening with only byleth and dimitri (Dedue came along for the ride too but was never deployed to battle)

The final AM wasn't as hard as some of the others (defending garreg mach) but boy is it long. I think my final turn count was in the 50s. Also the credit screen character battle count maxes out at 999

I think I got dimitri and byleth up to like 70 base crit last playthrough. Plus wrath and defiant crit almost garunteed each hit was a crit.

nope it was more like base 120 crit

In the end for both dimitri and byleth I used rng based builts around avoid and critical hits (after i figured out what the hell i was mid way through part 1). dimitri went through the brawler line and then split time between war master and great lord. Byleth went up the thief line to assassin and then falcon knight. for both of them i also got most of the class skills.

considering this was my first maddening or classic run, I looked at 0 strategy guides (like an idiot) and had no idea what i was doing in the beginning, I’d say I did pretty well for myself.

oh and I was mistaken about something, if a unit reaches 0 hp in part one they die off screen during the timeskip (except gilbert to my despair) so there was no real point to sparing dedue. I really do hate gilbert, it seems no matter what you do you are stuck with him all of AM. there is no salvation. and this is why i skipped all the cutscenes this time around.

Dedue didn’t have much if any influence on the playthrough. Dedue was never deployed in any of the chapter battles but he did tag along as an adjunct (no weapon equipped) in aux battle sometimes because I felt bad for leaving him out all the time (that and dedue pops up later in battle on the map in part 2 and if he was still a level 1 commoner i would have 0 chance of beating the map since enemies rush him). so him leveling up was to negate the consequences of keeping him alive. If i had gotten him killed i wouldn’t have to worry about keeping him alive later. By the time I got to part 2 the skill gain from tutoring was negligible compared to the amount gained from grinding in battles, also both units were starting to max out on skills (S+) so choosing to explore the monastery gave little benefit. Interestingly, you can’t do a lot of the monastery activities if you only have 1 student (choir, dining, etc). So even after Dimitri stops loafing around, having dedue there for eating meals and stuff wouldn’t have helped and I’d choose battle anyways.

I now know more about how the game works than I ever wanted to... For example the calculations for any probability check (hit/miss, crit, level ups, pass/fail) are long done by the time you see them. so to reroll the dice so to speak you have to go back a certain amount of time (varies for each thing. Level up stats are determined before you enter the battle field so you have to reload a save on or before the preparations screen. Whether you pass/fail a certification is already determined by the time you reach as given calendar date, so you have to reload to before that day. If you divine pulse a 95% hit rate that your unit missed to right before any action is taken with that unit, they will still miss. With only 2 units you will probably have to rewind to the previous turn, but with a full party you need to go back at least a few units but I don’t know the exact number. More or less forcing the game to run at least one different probability calculation than your target will reset whatever result was determined for your target.

When you have an infinite number of iterations, even the most unlikely outcomes eventually come to pass.

This run was 60% luck, 35% perseverance, 4% "grinding", 1% skill, 100% pain

edit: 5/1/2020: looking back, i was a stubborn idiot (as usual) for refusing to look up strategies or other solo maddening runs that people had already done. i can definitively say omegarevolution dealt with the defend map far better than i did. i never even considered +20hit to deal with falcon knights

oh yeah and i don’t have dlc or the nintendo online subscription so i couldn’t use any of that.

#fire emblem #Fire Emblem Three Houses #fe #fe3h

7 notes · View notes

thewritewolf · 5 years

Text

Inseparable Chapter 15: Animal Tendencies

Adrien struggles with his newfound knowledge.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

@ladynoirjuly2019

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

Marinette - Ladybug - had asked him what he wanted to watch. Somehow, Adrien agreed to a movie. He has no memory of doing so, but since they were laying side by side in her bed, laptop on her lap as the light from the movie illuminated them in the dark, it clearly had to have happened. He risked a glance to the side, aiming to get another look at the incriminating T-shirt.

There were probably other explanations. She was a personal friend of Jagged Stone. Maybe he sent the shirt to her, or maybe she got it because she was such a big fan of his. Adrien had found a way to get it early - it was possible she managed it as well.

Then his eyes traveled up to her face and he felt his heart flip as she laughed at a joke from the movie. Logic flew out the window. There was only one girl who could make him feel this way, even if he had been steadfastly ignoring how he felt around Marinette. A flicker of a smile came to his face when he realized he’d been denying that crush out of a sense of loyalty to her alter ego.

The smile quickly passed as the gravity of the situation crushed him, doubts hounding his every thought.

There was nothing he wanted more than to stay here like this forever. Close together, the space between them practically nothing. His hand was itching to grab hers, so maddeningly close… but he couldn’t do it. Not yet. He felt lost - confused. There were too many unanswered questions right now for him to make any kind of move. Which just left him beside her, yearning to reach out but paralyzed by uncertainty. One movie ended, another began. Just when he had nearly built up the courage to say anything, a knock on the door jolted him back into reality. The world suddenly became more than just him and her.

“Adrien,” Tom’s voice called through the wood of the trapdoor, “A, um, very large, silent man is standing outside the bakery. We think he is your… bodyguard?”

Relief poured down his spine like cold water even as a part of him was sad to leave. He was galvanized into moving for the first time in hours.

“I, uh… I had fun today…” Marinette fidgeted with her hands as he was halfway down the ladder. Even in his turmoil he stopped to smile softly at her shyness. “Maybe we can…” She waved her hand at the laptop, “...again, sometime?”

A long moment passed before he registered that he needed to respond. “Oh! Y-yeah, I’d like that.” Another pause as they watched each other, words hanging unsaid in the air between them. “I’d better get going.”

“R-right, of course.”

“The Gorilla is waiting…”

“Mmhm, yup.”

“...But I’ll see you at school. Later.”

“Yes! Later is good.”

“And probably after school. Since we, uh, we have a project to do.” He hated that he was rambling but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. He didn’t want to leave her, but he couldn’t stay either.

“Lots of work to do on that project.”

“So… bye?”

“Y-yeah. Night good!” She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. “Good night,” she repeated, slowly.

He nodded and shut his mouth. He awkwardly climbed down her ladder in silence and left the bakery after a few words of thanks to her parents. The Gorilla was characteristically silent as he drove Adrien to the Agreste estate before leaving for home himself. There was no one to greet him when he got home, so he shambled off to his room in silence.

At least, until they reached the privacy of his room and Plagg emerged from Adrien’s bag.

“Well, well, well,” Plagg said while rubbing his paws together with a nearly malicious glee. “Looks like lover boy has made a discovery.”

Adrien sat down on the side of his bed. “Marinette is Ladybug.” Somehow, saying it out loud made it feel all the more real.

“Marinette is Ladybug,” Plagg nodded.

“I’m in love with Ladybug.”

His kwami sighed. “You’ve made that abundantly clear, kid.”

“...I’m in love with Marinette.”

“Because she is Ladybug? Or was there something there before?” When Adrien opened his mouth to speak, Plagg hushed him. “And be honest!”

Rubbing the back of his head, Adrien struggled to find a response. “Well, I… now that I think about it I guess you could say that I… but…”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, kid. Out with it! This isn’t that difficult.”

“I… love her.” He let out a wistful sigh. “I guess I always did.”

“Great. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, how are you going to break the news to Pigtails?”

“I don’t know, Plagg… This changes everything!”

“Okay kid now you’ve lost me again. Didn’t we just cover that you definitely like this girl? What does this change?”

Adrien began pacing, nervously adjusting his ring as he did so. “Well, Ladybug was always kind of a long shot. She’s just so confident and courageous and beautiful. But I love her and I was hoping she’d be willing to give me a chance.” He stopped and looked at Plagg with a look of anguish. “But Marinette? She is definitely out of my league.”

“What.” Plagg stared at him incredulously.

“Marinette is kind, caring, creative. She could impress my father and Chloe’s mother with her work. There are lifelong designers that couldn’t do that! I can't impress my father! She’s personal friends with Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale. Everyone loves her - including me, apparently. And apparently she is Ladybug on top of it all. How can I possibly measure up to that?”

Plagg tried his best to face palm with his paws. “You’re a model? And the son of her favorite designer? And you’re Chat Noir?! Does none of this ring a bell to you?”

“I didn’t choose to be a model, or who my parents were. Besides, Marinette isn’t shallow - that’s not the sort of thing she would be interested in. And clearly being Chat Noir doesn’t matter since she… doesn’t…” His eyes widened with sudden realization. “She doesn’t love Chat Noir.” He crumbled onto the bed, hands buried in his hair.

“Woah, woah, kid.” Plagg landed on his shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself short - you’ve got plenty to offer.” Adrien sniffled and looked up. “You’re a sweet kid, and we both know that counts a lot to Pigtails. And you know Ladybug was turning Chat down for someone else - maybe that someone else was you all along?”

Adrien looked to the side, away from his kwami, as he felt the sting of tears. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“I mean, yeah. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.” Plagg zoomed in front of Adrien. “Listen, kid. You can go ahead and keep this to yourself for now, if you want. But you’ve got a patrol with her tonight, don’t you? You’ve got to decide what you’re gonna do when you see her.”

He brushed aside his tears and laid down on his bed. “I don’t know,” he whispered into the vast emptiness of the room. “Nothing, for now. I won’t let her be disappointed in me just because of how I’m feeling. She deserves that much while I get my act together.”

“Kid, I can tell you that I’m sure everything will work out fine. Go ahead and take some you time. I’ll be over here, with uncomplicated cheese and no heartache.”

“Thanks, Plagg.”

------------------------

Marinette landed on a rooftop wholly unremarkable except for the view of the moonlit Seine. The patrol wasn’t going great. Sure, they were covering ground like never before, but only because Chat Noir was being uncharacteristically bashful and quiet. Everytime he caught her staring concernedly at him, he’d blush and look away. It was a far cry from the sly alley cat she’d come to know. The stark difference had almost made her think that there was some akuma nonsense at work.

Now, she was fairly sure she was just dealing with a sad kitten. While that raised questions all on its own, it was at least something that she knew just how to handle.

“Okay, Chat,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, “this looks like as good a spot as any.”

Hesitantly, he shot her a curious glance. “Good spot for what?”

“Training, of course.”

“Ah.” He settled back into his glumness, but took a defensive position.

Instead of taking out her yoyo like he no doubt expected, she kept her hands behind her back and took a few steps towards him. His confusion grew until she entered his personal space and he put both hands on his baton and leaned back, his face a red, flustered mess. She smiled and poke his nose.

“Tag. You’re it.”

And just like that, she had run away. Without looking behind her, she could feel Chat chasing her. It had been too long since they had fun on their patrols, and she knew that he could use the distraction. Besides, he wasn’t the only one who can stand to get things off their mind for a little while. She replayed her time with Adrien earlier that day over and over - whether it was in the comfort of her own head, or dissecting everything with Tikki, she felt like it was an important milestone with them. They might not have made much progress with their school project, but she’d never felt closer to Adrien.

Stolen glances confirmed that her plan was working. Worry had melted from his face, leaving only the joy of the hunt. It was just like when they had first taken up the mantle of superheroes, still exploring the boundaries of their powers. Not that there still wasn’t things they didn’t know - these recent… hiccups with their abilities proved that. But now Marinette felt the weight of her responsibilities on her shoulders, a weight she had only managed to bear this long with Chat’s silliness to keep her sane. If he needed a little of that now, then she was happy to help.

The chase lasted long enough that even her superhuman endurance was running thin. She landed and held up her hands in surrender.

“Okay, kitty, you got me. Can we take a break now? My legs feel like jelly.”

He flashed her a warm smile, her reward for a long run. “Heh. Same here.”

He sat down, leaning against a chimney. She found a spot next to him and before long, mutual exhaustion and the cold had them leaning against each other. She snuggled against him, resting her head against his shoulder. It worried her that he froze for a moment afterward, but soon his head was resting on hers and he’d snaked an arm around her waist. They’d grown close during their long war against Hawkmoth. Personal space had been thrown out the window ages ago, a casualty of cold winter patrols and the close calls of a fight.

Her eyelids became heavy as she got lost in her partner’s warmth. What jolted her awake was a strange rumbling coming from inside her chest. Instantly, she pulled away from her partner, who she noticed was gawking at her in disbelief.

That shock faded quickly, replaced by a wide grin. “Did you just… purr?”

“N-nope!” She lied, unconvincingly.

“That was adorable!” He scrambled closer to her, eyes sparkling. “Do it again!”

“I don’t want to,” she complained. Their little side effects of having their miraculous had been floating freely between them, but she thanked her lucky stars that it hadn’t swapped their powers again. She still needed to speak with Master Fu, but unless she found some time to speak with him outside their schedules, she wouldn’t be seeing him until next week. In the meantime, she’d just have to deal with it.

“C’mon, please? Just one more? You make me do it all the time.”

“Once. I had you purr on command once and you complained the whole time since you found it so embarrassing.”

“Yeah, so that means you owe me one, right?”

Rolling her eyes, Marinette took out her yo-yo. “Good night, chaton.”

“I don’t think I will now.” He crossed his arms and looked away, but Marinette could see his tail sweeping back and forth contently. He was feeling happier, at least. That was all she could really hope for.

“Oh? Is that what you want your last words to me tonight to be?”

There was a pause. He sighed and looked back at her, pouting. “Good night, m’lady.”

“There’s a good kitty. See you later!”

She was too far away to hear Chat Noir sigh under his breath. “Sooner than you think…”

#Miraculous Ladybug #LadynoirJuly2019 #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Adrienette #Ladybug #Chat Noir #Ladynoir #Plagg #ml fanfiction #my writing #Inseparable

35 notes · View notes